[FM23] Deportivo La Coruna: Redemption and a return to the top flight?

[Jtomsett11]

Final squad August 2030

That leaves us with this for the first team.

And the second string.

You'll notice it's a 25 man squad, with Huarte, Rubio and Agirrezabala adding numbers. I found last year that we needed 5 DMC and 8 players across the 3 AML, AMR and AMC positions due to injuries. 

Notable promotions for Koliada and Edu who make the second spot LB and RB positions respectively, while Oca will now be a full-time backup rather than competing with Padilla. The first team has no youth academy prospects, the second team has 4 and there are also 2 extras in the 25 man squad. 

You will also notice that Banjac is wanted and is also unhappy. He wants £100k a week to sign a new contract, which I'm not prepared to offer. I cannot find a replacement CB at the moment, but would rather leave the chance of him leaving for his release clause which has been met twice already but surprise surprise nobody is offering him enough money! Mara's unhappiness I've already covered. Basic I'm happy to have him leave at the end of the season as I suspect another DMC will be ready to step up, or we'll be targeting that position in the transfer market anyway.

Deportivo Fabril

I've got a few players who may leave on transfers, and registration issues, so I'll come back to this closer to the time. Ones to watch out for:

Martin did really well last season as a substitute/ backup as we didn't have a full 11 to rotate (and we won't this season either). I've just noticed his contract; he needs a new one pronto! 

David is our next potential DMC - I really like him but another season at this level will be good for him.

Alende is a weird one; potential but not really improving. He's going to play every game he is fit for this year and we'll see if that helps.

Oliveira has had mixed success on loan; let's see what he can do starting ST every game; Curran was too expensive to keep.

U19s

Too many wingers on the bench, but in reality a lot of these won't make it so it's just about weaning out the rubbish ones over time and loaning out those who could benefit from developing as we're likely to release them at the end of their contract anyway. Gonzalez needs to develop more on loan, Ramirez is looking a star at AMC and Leiva is still highly rated despite low starting attributes. Gil and Asin are the others to keep an eye out for if we need starters in the first team due to injuries.

[Jtomsett11]

August 2030

Frustratingly we lost our progress after a 2-0 win over Almeria, so had to replay and won 3-0. 

However, as you can see, the big game of the month was a frustrating one for us as we went down at home to Barcelona.

Deportivo 3-0 Almeria

In the original game, Oca scored after Scholl scored from a set-piece, so it was nice to see our young DM scoring the opener here, arriving late in the box to slot home from Fondevila. Then it was all about Mara who continued on from a great season with 2 goals, as assist from young RB Edu also welcome. 

Getafe 0-3 Deportivo

Another convincing win. This time it was Carrasco who did the damage, his first after a parry from the keeper; I'm not sure he knew anything about it! The second followed a lovely through ball from Imaz, who already looks a decent signing. His second assist, another through ball for Mara to grab his 3rd of the season. All good so far!

Deportivo 0-2 Barcelona

I don't know if it's in my head, but we concede a lot of penalties in the big games. The penalty here after a shove from Seiwald put Barcelona in front, and then Costa performed brilliantly in goal for them to keep us out. Lamia sealed the three points for Barcelona in what is a huge disappointment for us. We played well which I told the boys, but they didn't agree with me; hopefully that doesn't affect morale too much as our next game is away to Real Madrid!

September

It's too early for the table as most teams didn't play their third game until September 1st. We've got a huge month in the league with two tough away games. We could easily be stuck on 9 points from 6 games if we're not careful (assuming we beat Athletic Club which is not guaranteed). 

Our Champions league group looks tough.

Out of our home games, it's only really Kobenhavn and Lazio that are ones you'd put down as wins. Bodo Glimt should be 3 points but again it's tough away games. I'd be happy securing the 10-11 points needed for the play-offs this season, especially as we usually play our second team in the Champions League.

Transfers and finances

We sold a couple more players.

Ludewig has played a vital role in our transformation, but Edu is ready to take over now and this brings in £1million for Fabril plus takes his £26k a week wages off the bill.

Colley maybe played one or two first team games ever, but I show you him as he's worth £6 million at Benfica so maybe that 25% transfer clause will come in handy one day. He was down to the last year of his deal so I just wanted to get him gone!

We've got a long way to go before we're really up there. We do have a new stadium in the pipeline which is probably going to be needed if we're to generate income enough for our wage allowance to increase to allow us to compete in the long term. With that in mind, our last three years of 1st, 3rd and 2nd are brilliant.

The increased TV money has allowed for record spending this year so it is all looking positive and the club continues to grow.

 

[Jtomsett11]

August 2030 Deportivo Fabril

After much loaning and trimming, the B team looks like this. I wanted Crespo gone for some money, but he'll play out his last season rotating in when others are unfit, as will Lavin.

We've started the season pretty well (2 wins and 1 loss), and Oliveira has started really well. Alende has also picked up two assists; I'm really hoping both can develop significantly this season.

[Jtomsett11]

September 2030

We may have only won 50% of our games so far this year, but the three we haven't won were away at Madrid, Sevilla (both draws which I think are excellent results) and home to Barcelona (the only bad result as we lost this).

Real Madrid 1-1 Deportivo

I played this quickly having loaded up my laptop to play 1 game and then shut the laptop again. This seems to be causing my laptop to do something that then corrupts the file as I've had this problem twice recently (never before) having played one game quickly (usually my daughter wakes up from a nap!). On play through original, we drew 1-1 despite being down to 10 men for most of the game. Imaz also scored an incredible individual effort, dribbling from his own half to score. 

Luckily the backup save was after the previous game, so we lost just the one game. Usually when I replay a lost game, I like the result to be the same as I feel cheated otherwise, either positively or negatively. In this case, the replayed games went: win, win, win, loss, loss, win, loss and I nearly gave up, but eventually I did get another draw.

No wonder goal for Imaz though

Deportivo 3-0 Kobenhavn

This game looks a stroll, but we really struggled in the first half and it took two subs and a revitalised Gordon to start off the goal scoring. He set up Arsenijevic to put us ahead and shortly after he played through Agirrezabala to finish smartly before Scholl nodded a corner down to the lurking Carrasco to seal the 3 points to start the Champions League campaign off nicely. This was a must win if we want to qualify (we do) so I was quite relieved.

We did lose Vidovic late on, which means Rubio and Agirrezabala will have more opportunities; we're well covered up top.

Deportivo 3-0 Athletic Club 

A very routine and comfortable win which saw Carrasco bag all three goals. The first involved Bella-Kotchap playing a superb ball over the top and the second involved Carrasco nicking the ball off the keeper, before he scored a tap in at the far post after Gordon crossed the ball over the two centre backs.

Sevilla 2-2 Deportivo

This felt frustrating at the time due to the xG, but when I look back and subtract the penalty, it's probably a very fair reflection of an even game. I went for the rotated team despite the importance of the game, so when we consider that the team did really well. However, when Fondevila set up Gordon to score a superb 25 yard piledriver, I really thought we'd hold on to our 2-1 half time lead. It wasn't to happen, and a draw away to Sevilla isn't a bad result.

6th, but we've only lost points to the top three and two of those games were away. 

October

4 very winnable league games and one tough Champions League game and one very winnable one. The first team will play the weekend games.

[Jtomsett11]

October 2030 takeover news

This came up in the news and I don't really remember any news about it previously.

This is definitely a recent development but I've no idea when it happened! Looks like we'll be sold, but I have no further details currently.

[Jtomsett11]

October 2030

Most months where you win 5 out of 6 games should feel really successful, but we shouldn't be losing to Racing de Santander. Well, at least I feel that we shouldn't, especially as it was our well rested first team playing. I've got it into my head that we may drop points to the top 3 (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla) but beyond that we should be winning every game. Perhaps that's too much to expect.

We're actually not playing brilliantly at all, so losing wasn't a huge surprise. The new players, Vidovic in particular, and some of our backup players, Basic for example (despite contributing goals) have been looking rusty and giving the ball away quite a bit and it's not helping us at all.

Benfica 1-2 Deportivo

This was completely smash and grab. We never looked like we'd get back in the game, but Garner headed home from a cross and then Carrasco snuck in just before the keeper from a through ball to seal all three points. Probably a huge result as with our home games we should now qualify for the play-offs at the very least, and stand a decent chance of the top 8 places.

Deportivo 3-0 Granada

We played much better here with Imaz showing what he's capable of. Despite missing a penalty (one of two we missed in this match), he completed a hat-trick with a header, screamer and brilliant dinked finish past the keeper. He also scored another offside goal as well!

Las Palmas 0-1 Deportivo

Imaz sealed us the second lot of three points in a row with a lovely finish through the keeper's legs from Garner's clever through ball, but to be honest this one was tough and we never felt completely in control. We gave the ball away a lot; it doesn't feel like our full backs and our wingers are on the same page yet so the sooner that happens the better.

Bodo/Glimt 0-4 Deportivo

An easy win with a brilliant free kick from Basic being the highlight of the game. He's looking quite slow and off the pace when I bring him on as a sub (which is worrying as Padilla who I let leave in the summer excelled in this sub-role) but when he starts he plays well and his free kicks added a good number of goals last season. Arsenijevic had 2 goals and an assist here; he's a superb second choice AMC.

Racing de Santander 2-1 Deportivo

Nikolic performed pretty poorly in this game, as it was his poor decision to come to collect a corner (he missed the ball) that left Bravo an open net to finish into. While Carrasco quickly equalised, conceding had thrown us and we just didn't quite look like we were going to win. To make matters worse, Tomeo finished with pace and accuracy from outside the area, but again I feel Nikolic should have done better with his positioning. A loss here feels hard to take. We had decent chances; we just didn't take them.

Deportivo 3-1 Valencia

I was really worried after the Racing game that we'd drop points again with the second team, but they did me proud here. Basic scored twice, one free kick which settled our nerves and then a deflected shot which essentially sealed the game. That third came after Gordon had scored a spectacular effort from an Oca lay-off. We did concede, which was annoying, but just taking the three points feels good enough after a loss.

With a game in hand on Athletic, at the moment we look the 4th best side in the country. Barcelona drew 3 games in a row which is why the defeat to Racing feels so irritating; win that and we're right up there. 

November

There's nothing in November in La Liga that should cause us too much concern, but I said that last month. 9 points from 9 has to be the target. I'll probably play the second team against Tottenham, but I may rotate - as long as we beat Espanyol - and play the first team against Bayern because we may need a point or a win from that game. I can make that decision after the international break.

Contract renewal

I don't normally put in the contract renewals of B team players, but David's had to be renewed due to strong interest from Spurs and Napoli and a release clause of just £8.5 million.

He has a long way to go, I definitely fancy him to play in our first team in the future (although his potential dropped as soon as the new contract landed). 

Takeover talk

It all appears to be over now! I'm sure it'll appear again in the near future if it's been squashed now.

[Jtomsett11]

November 2030

Another month with 1 loss, but this time I feel a lot happier with the 4 wins and overall it's a quality month.

Deportivo 5-0 Lugo

We did win 5-0, but we struggled to break down Lugo and the first two goals were screamers rather than intricate moves. It was good to see Vidovic and Seiwald making contributions, the former as it was his first goal and best performance for us so far, and the latter because he didn't have a single goal or assist when signing for us last year!

Tottenham 1-2 Deportivo

That's two games where we've ridden our luck in the Champions League now and two wins pulled off against Benfica and Spurs. This time, Mara scored superbly early on after nicking the ball off a defender and then Scholl headed in a corner. Even though Spurs got one back they couldn't find an equaliser. 

Espanyol 1-2 Deportivo

To say we lacked control in this game would be an understatement. We owe the win to Vidovic, who scored from the edge of the box early on and then was instrumental in getting the ball into the box for a pre-assist for our second. Espanyol grew in confidence and should have scored before they did, but we did well to hold on.

We have picked up a couple of injuries.

It could be worse as we do have cover at AMC and Edu is getting more time at RB.

It did get worse a few days later.

We are definitely light at CB, but this does arrive at a good time as I've had complaints over playing time. 

I've been able to change the agreed time for both Bella-Kotchap and Sosa but I need to play them more in the meantime, so Bella-Kotchap will play every game while Rotena is out.

Deportivo 1-0 Rayo Vallecano

Incredibly, this game only finished 1-0. We missed a penalty and a hat-full of chances, but Carrasco did score to give us another three points.

Deportivo 1-2 Bayern

I played the reserves as we'd won the first 4 games of the season and actually we deserved to win here and were just unlucky. This probably makes up for our lucky wins against Benfica and Tottenham.

League table

Our three wins on the bounce and some dropped points from our rivals sees us up to second place. A great position to be in with 4 games to go this calendar year. Some tough games to play but we'll see how we perform!

Deportivo Fabril

We started off La Liga 2 on fire, but we went on a woeful run that saw us drop right down the league. Fortunately, we've finally won after 7 games without a win leaving us in 13th.

[Jtomsett11]

December 2030

I have thoroughly enjoyed this game month! 18 goals scored in 5 games; we are absolutely purring. Dropping points at home to Porto isn't the best result, but we probably were always going to drop something somewhere with 5 games in 15 days.

Real Sociedad 1-4 Deportivo

Real Sociedad are no mugs so to beat them 4-1 at their own place is excellent. The manner of the win was also superb. Carrasco scored twice in quick succession as we responded superbly to going behind, but it was Vidovic who stole the show with a superb finish from another Seiwald assist having already set up Carrasco. He then set up Arsenijevic with a mazy run and cross and we saw out the rest of the game.

Deportivo 7-3 Real Betis

We played the B team here and boy did they deliver. Mara got 4 goals, Agirrezabala got 2 assists and a goal and Gordon also scored and assisted as we once again responded like a disturbed hornets net to going behind. Note, first year top youth prospect Yusuf scored against us; he's on loan to Betis and scored a beautiful individual goal. Normally, conceding 3 goals isn't something I'm pleased about, but when you score 7 you can't complain!

Villarreal 1-3 Deportivo

We've picked up a few more injuries, and we're very light at CB now. The winter break should sort us out though!

Enrique still wasn't fit, so Agirrezabala started again and he scored (another brilliant Vidovic assist) and then set up Garner who responded (again immediately) when Villarreal equalised. This is another great result as I didn't really expect to beat both Sociedad and Villarreal away. Carrasco sealed the deal.

Deportivo 2-2 Porto

The only blip in the month; another Champions League dropping of points when we probably deserved all 3. They scored from a corner and a screamer, so sometimes these things happen, especially when your defenders are running on empty. 

That point sees us see end the year in a good position in the Champions League. We probably need at least 1 win from our final two games (away at Inter and home against Lazio) for direct qualification.

Deportivo 2-0 Celta Vigo

Another injury at CB saw us start Rotena and Fort in an previously - unused centre back combination.

This was probably our toughest game of the month. Vidovic opened the scoring, continuing his fine recent form, but then we toiled and it was only in stoppage time that we sealed it with a brilliant Gordon finish.

League table

We've gone top before the end of the year. Our superb month and a Barcelona loss sees us just 1 point clear, but it's really tight, with 4 points separating the top four. 

January

There's a minimum of 7 games here, but if we win the Supercopa Semi and the Copa del Rey third round I think we could end up playing 9 games. I think the second team play the games in the week and first team at the weekend.

Loan player insight

Escabros is on loan to Rayo Vallecano and until recently he's been pretty poor. However, 7 goals in three games has taken my attention. He's probably a bit below the standard required up front, but I'll keep an eye on his development for the rest of the season.

[Jtomsett11]

December 2030 performance analysis

Goalkeepers

Nikolic is overperforming his expected goals conceded, preventing 0.16 goals a game, while Settineri is currently letting in too many goals. We expect that though, as Nikolic is the more senior goalkeeper and experience seems to count for something in goal. Nikolic has become a really reliable, top quality keeper. I've stopped using the keepers for goals at the moment.

Outfield players

Central defenders

I find the centre back data hard to fathom sometimes. Why is Scholl so low in his tackling success for example? Or Banjac so poor at winning headers? I don't notice these things in-game highlights. All 4 CBs have a positive average rating which is nice. It's a shame that Rotena is nearly at the peak of his development as I was hoping he'd displace Banjac. Bella-Kotchap remains our best defender arguably statistically and ability wise; he's on a lot of money and entering his 30th year and with a £35 million release clause I'm convinced someone will activate it in the window.

Full backs

Edu and Koliada stepped up to second choice RB and LB respectively, and it's interesting to see how they stack up to Fort and Sosa. Edu seems to win the ball back less than Fort, but beyond that he's doing just as well, and actually creating very similar numbers of chances. Koliada seems slightly less effective than Sosa (who has had a very good season) and I think annoyingly the fact he's tiny (3 for jumping) really knocks his average rating. His dribbles are up higher than anyone else in the squad though, so he's a very attacking full back and with his potential, I'm pleased with the start he's made; remember, Edu had played quite a bit of first team football last year so it's a bigger step up for Koliada. 

DMs

Garner has had the best season, with 6 assists and the most progressive passes, 3 goals as well as a decent pressing game, but I've also been pleased with last season's signing Seiwald who finally has some assists with 3 and the highest open play key passes. Basic keeps banging in the goals and doing a decent job, much better than early on in the season, while Oca's numbers don't look particularly impressive but I do like his contributions to our game when he plays.

Attacking mids

Agirrezabala, Arsenijevic and Enrique are the AMCs we've used this season, and arguably our starter Enrique has significantly underperformed. He's been unlucky that he hasn't recorded more assists, but Agirrezabala is producing many more assists and goals and Arsenijevic is also contributing more goals. 

Inside forwards

Imaz and Vidovic have had a really big impact so far despite the latter's slow start. They have the highest average ratings, and 9 and 8 goal contributions respectively. Interestingly, from less minutes, Gordon also has 8 goal contributions while Fondevila has 7 assists which puts him top of the assists. Rubio has had a bit part role with just 1 start, but 3 goals is a decent contribution relative to his time. No problem from our inside forwards!

Strikers

There's also no problem with our strike force. Carrasco's xG looks higher, but he has taken a number of penalties and missed at least a couple from memory, so his 15 goals is pretty decent from 13 starts (18 total appearances). Actually that's excellent isn't it, I think Haaland in real life has made me think again what 'decent' is and I'm being harsh on him. Mara has 12 goals in less minutes, but 4 of those did arrive in one game which always helps. It's so annoying he's unhappy and has been for over a season due to broken promises as I'll probably need to sell him at the end of the year despite him being an excellent backup.

 

[Jtomsett11]

December 2030 youth intake preview

This looks really positive, especially when you consider we have much better players at the club now. We don't use wide midfielders, but can always adjust position, and with two handy wingers as well we maybe have 4 decent potential players coming through.

[Jtomsett11]

January 2031

We started the month really poorly and grew throughout the month, although there were a lot of second half goals required for the 4 wins. 

Atletico Madrid 1-1 Deportivo

We went behind early on, but grew into the game and Seiwald scored a wonderful drilled effort in the second half from the edge of the box. We then had multiple chance to score with Carrasco missing an absolute sitter and then Mara doing the same after his disallowed goal. A draw here is really a good result, but it's always frustrating not to win when you feel you should.

Deportivo 1-2 Real Madrid

The second team played here and to be honest they were outplayed for large parts of the game. We won this competition last year, but this year I want to focus on the league, then Champions League and then the Copa del Rey, so I wasn't too upset by the defeat. Laporte scored a 25 yard strike and then Araujo lobbed Settineri after a brilliant move and although the penalty got us back in the game, we couldn't do any more.

Mallorca 2-2 Deportivo

This result really sucks. We started well enough, Vidovic finishing after a great through ball from Seiwald, before Carrasco finished a similar chance. He then missed a penalty, and from the resulting play Mallorca got back in it and then scored late on with a sucker punch Padilla assist. We should have won 4-0 minimum and instead went away with just a point. This game might prove seriously costly come the end of the season.

Ponferradina 0-3 Deportivo

Finally a win, but boy did we work hard for it. Agirrezabala was the one who made the difference, coming on after a very drab and poor first half devoid of creativity on our part. He set up Carrasco to finally open the scoring, scored a brilliant 20 yard drilled finish himself and then set up Scholl from a corner. We're through to the 4th round!

Inter 0-1 Deportivo

Back to the Champions League and a really tough game. Garner scored from 25 yards after being set up by Seiwald and from then on we defended resiliently and largely kept Inter at bay. This is a key result as we needed this win if we were to stand a chance of finishing in the top 8.

Deportivo 3-0 Getafe

We really struggled to get going here and I had to adjust the tactics quite a bit to try and overcome a sluggish start again lacking any creativity. Again, Agirrezabala coming on helped hugely; he came on after 50 minutes and while he didn't set up the first, he just moved the ball about more quickly and created things, making space for Oca to pick out Gordon for the first goal, then assisting the second from a corner and working hard to help Gordon win the ball back for his second of the game.

Mara was injured in this game so Carrasco will probably play the next few games.

Deportivo 2-0 Lazio

It feels like we're not able to play well for 90 minutes this month. The first half wasn't great, so I demanded more at half time and Imaz turned it on to provide for Enrique to score (a rarity this season) before he scored himself with a lovely bent finish around the keeper as he cut in on a crowded box. 

Champions League table

This is the table that looks good. 

This is the one not looking as rosy as last month.

February

I think the first team, having played against Lazio to ensure our qualification without the play-offs, will rest against Almeria and perhaps against Las Palmas too so they can then play the next three games in a row. The last game of the month will be no walk in the park either! 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th in one month. This will really dictate where our season goes; if we end February within 3 points of top spot we will be well in with a chance I feel.

 

[Jtomsett11]

January 2031 transfer window and contracts

I very rarely enter the market in January for first team players unless we're doing really badly or I lose a player. We did have a lot of interest in players such as Bella-Kotchap, but no bids emerged. Despite this, with his £34.5 million release clause representing pretty good value, I'm sure he'll be off at some point. He wants quite a lot of money to renew and I'm not sure whether cashing in might not be the best option in the summer. With that in mind, I made a move for the end of the season.

He'll be 31 when he joins, but boy is Van Hecke a decent defender. He's miles ahead of our next best defender in terms of his technicals, and I can see us getting two good years out of him. For a free transfer, that's great. Bella-kotchap is 29 now, so if interest continues we now have a really good signing coming in to help with this role.

We did receive a number of interesting offers for players.

Now, there's a lot of money being offered here, but all three players are doing well for the B team, are tied to decent contracts and have 4 star potential. Whether they all make it or not is another thing, but we have other B team players who I think I'd rather sell. 

Contracts

There's quite a few contracts I need to take a look at, but two first team players I wanted on better minimum fee release clauses were Koliada and Fort. 

Fort is earning £13k more a week but his minimum fee goes up from £28 million and his value is now £33-£36 million.

Koliada signs for 5 years and also has a very high minimum fee release clause. I think this lad is going to be world class, but I might be wrong. 

Finally, I also cashed in on and old transfer clause.

Vallejo is out of contract in the summer and isn't getting game time, so this makes sense. Not sure why the Baggies agreed to it to be honest!

[Jtomsett11]

February 2031

This might be the best month of this save so far.

Our progression in the cup completely threw my team rotation as we ended up with the first team playing at weekends so the second team had to play an in-form Barcelona. Despite that, we win all 7 games and concede just twice. I've adjusted tactics this month, throwing caution to the wind and playing our more offensive tactic with wing backs. It seems to be working!

Almeria 0-3 Deportivo

We struggled a little to break Almeria down, but the penalty which Carrasco scored gave us a little breathing space and then Gordon played a great through ball over the top and Carrasco finished nicely to seal the 3 points. It was great to see Enrique score as he starts to get over his poor first half of the season.

Deportivo 2-0 Las Palmas

Mara being injured means we're having to rotate up top, and that definitely blunted us here. Despite that, stand-in left winger Agirrezabala showed his value once again with another goal and then Arsenijevic sealed the victory with a penalty. If Carrasco or Mara had been up front, we'd have hit more.

Deportivo 4-0 Celta Vigo

A derby in the cup, what's not to like? We were sensational here. Imaz opened the scoring with a goal that reminds me of Salah, cutting in from the right of the box and curling the ball beautifully into the top left hand corner. Sosa pounced on a rebound to send a great cross in for Enrique to score and then Carrasco scored twice, the first a complete accident as he was just in the way of Enrique's shot (delivering again) and then he scored a delightful chip from Garner's lofted through-ball. The rating of the wing-backs here really showing the impact of our shift in tactics with both bombing up and down and getting an assist each.

Deportivo 2-1 Barcelona

I've only just realised now that this was just the first leg. Still, it was an excellent come back. Rotena gave away the penalty and I thought, "here we go again, conceding a penalty in a big game". However, he then made amends with his first goal for the club from a corner and as the subs made the difference. It was Vidovic who delivered the perfect corner, but he then went one better with a lovely drilled finish from a tight angle as Arsenijevic's through-ball started to drift wider and wider of the six yard box and with two defenders closing in. A beautiful way to take an advantage into the second leg.

Deportivo 2-0 Real Madrid

A few games ago, Real Madrid lost unexpectedly, and it was our man on loan, Escarbros, who did the damage.

Therefore, we came here with Madrid slightly off the pace. A win would give us a huge advantage.

We played well in the first half, but it was in the second half as I brought on 5 substitutes at once, that we really started to turn the screw. I thought we weren't going to do it, but we flooded forward on the counter on 79 minutes and Agirrezabala bundled home after a defender blocked a shot/ attempted pass. Two minutes later, another sweeping move saw Fondevila slot home - I genuinely jumped up off the sofa at that goal! A stunning result!

Athletic 1-2 Deportivo

This message came up just before this game, and I thought it would curse us. For large parts of this game, we were terrible, and it was only really the efforts of one man that earned us the victory.

We went behind as Williams scored a header at point-blank range from a knock-on at a corner and it was only a brilliant free kick from Vidovic that saw us level at half time. I made a big error in praising the group and they reacted really badly; morale was low for the rest of the game. Despite that, one man wasn't bothered. Carrasco had a big slice of fortune in that he played a poor through-ball, but it bounced off the defender and he was able to play in Vidovic who made no mistake to win us the game. 

Arsenijevic is out for a bit, but Agirrezabala is chomping at the bit for more involvement so this isn't a huge problem!

Deportivo 4-0 Sevilla

Sevilla were top before this game. Our second team annihilated them. 

Gordon went on a brilliant run and when tackled, he checked back and set Agirrezabala free. He had a lot to do, but continued and then fired a superb effort in across the keeper from just inside the area. Mara then nodded in after Scholl had had a headed effort saved from a corner; not to be denied, he scored from another corner late on and in between Seiwald scored a classy goal after good work from Koliada to drag defenders with him to the byline before he passed to Garner who set up Seiwald. 

League table

Look at that! What a month! Madrid are at least 9 points behind, Barcelona at least 5 and Sevilla at least 3, with potential for 6 if we win our game in hand. 

11 games won in a row in all competitions. Our fans are still not completely happy .

March 2031

It's Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, which I thought sounded an easy fixture, but they have quite a few world class players. With that in mind and the relative quality of our opposite in the league, it may be that after the Lugo game the second team play weekends. 

[Jtomsett11]

February 2031 debuts and contracts

Enrique had a poor first half of the season, but he has been really good recently, and the big chance seemed to be me giving him a new contract.

I suspect he'll be bought at some point so upping his minimum fee release clause was also good.

One debutant of note, for the B team rather than the first team, is Ramirez from the 2030 intake.

He has 3 goals in his first 3 games, and I'm really excited about him. He's versatile and apart from his teamwork, he has no obvious flaws. He's taken to La Liga 2 incredibly well and will be getting a lot more game time between now and the end of the season.

[Jtomsett11]

March 2031

We won 13 matches in a row up until the Bayer Leverkusen game, after which we had a mini wobble, but we seem to have righted the ship with progression in the Champions League and a solid win in La Liga.

Lugo 1-4 Deportivo

A good start to the month. Carrasco scored from a brilliant cross from Imaz early on and then doubled the lead fortuitously as the ball bounced off him and in. We then conceded as Nikolic was caught off his line, but really Cuellar's finish was delightful. Fortunately, they picked up a red card and that put paid to their brief hopes and an Imaz header and Fondevila driven effort saw us take the three points. 

Deportivo 3-0 Las Palmas

Easy peasy at home. Well, that's what a 3-0 scorelines suggests, but really we struggled for the first 40 minutes to break them down. In the end, Agirrezabala cut in from the left hand side of the box, beat his man and smashed home and then it was a brilliant header from Vidovic and then lovely dinked finish from Imaz to seal the points; Fondevila delivered an excellent cross for the former and superb through ball for the latter having already assisted the first; a brilliant performance from him.

The game wasn't without it's negatives, as Basic is out and is unlikely to ever play for us again as I plan on releasing him at the end of his contract. We may try to survive with 3 midfielders for a bit, but we do have David in the B team who could be promoted (as was the plan for next season).

Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Deportivo

Bayer Leverkusen have a brilliant squad, so our performance here was remarkable. We really should have been more than 1-0 up, but with Carrasco misfiring and Mara still injured, we used Fondevila up front, and while he scored a great finish past the keeper when one-on-one, he also missed two chances I think he should have scored. We paid the penalty literally, as Fondevila (of all people) handballed and Udogie slotted home to keep them in the tie.

Granada 1-0 Deportivo

The theme of missing chances continued here. 13 wins in a row, then a draw and now a loss. To be fair to Granada, they were actually very impressive and at this point of the month I was really quite worried.

Deportivo 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Wow! An xG of 4.73 might be one of the highest I've ever had in a competitive match, let alone the Champions League last 16. The fact we only scored three suggests we're still lacking that clinical edge. Carrasco scored twice but he missed a hatful of chances, and the late Imaz goal was a huge relief as I knew then we were safe. 

Deportivo 3-0 Racing Santander

We scored 3 lovely goals here. Sosa did really well on the left, but when he cut back onto his unfavoured right, I was not expecting a superb cross for Mara to deftly head home. Fort then drove forward on the right and exchanged the ball with Gordon in a lovely one-two before sending in a pin-point cross to Fondevila who nodded home, before Arsenijevic set Mara free with a lofted ball over the top and he finished superbly. We also missed a host of chances which seems the norm for us this month.

League table

I hate playing catch up, as when you do drop points you feel like you're throwing it away, as other teams pick up more points simply by playing more games. We're second, but it's all to play for.

If we win our games in hand and assume everyone else does, we'd be on 73, Sevilla 68, Barcelona 67 and Celta Vigo 66. We face Barcelona and Celta Vigo (that's our final game of the season) away, so it's a slight advantage to us, but it could all go wrong with our busy schedule ahead of us. 

April

Flipping heck, what a month this is going to be. And what happens if we make it through in the Champions League; we've got 5 games in May so if we went all the way in every competition, we'll play 17 games in two months (I know, big if!). 

I think we'll keep the first team for the weekends and second team for the week games as it's so tight in the league and I'm doubtful we'll win the Champions League.

[Jtomsett11]

March 2031 Youth intake

It's an interesting intake in that we have 3 or 4 players of a very good level of potential, and maybe 2 more of first team potential. One of those Aranda we will not sign due to his personality - low self belief. Therefore, I'm only likely to sign the top five, plus Fuente.

The attribute analysis backs that mostly, apart from Sola and Izonritei who score quite highly for wingers but when I take a look at their profiles it's for areas like work rate.

I'm not sure what Quindimil is yet in our team as we don't really have playmakers. I may train him as an inside forward. He looks really good when you consider he's also accomplished or natural in 4 positions which costs a lot of CA.

Fuster is a bit more of a classic inside forward but he can't finish (although he is composed). He's not as impressive as Quindimil. 

I post De La Feunte because he looks great even if he has limited potential. Apart from his tackling he's pretty well rounded.

What a weird striker. He'll suit our pressing forward role to be fair, it's just a really interesting attribute distribution. The more I look, the more I like him though. Does he really have a weakness?

Well, he's a righty on the right which isn't great. I think I'll train as an AMC and see what happens.

 

[Jtomsett11]

April 2031

We ended up with just the 7 games this month, but I show May as well to show how tough it's getting. Arsenal, Espanyol and Villarreal is 3 games in 5 days. We've been absolutely decimated with injuries as well, but this run in is turning out to be one of the most enjoyable I've ever played.

Barcelona 1-0 Deportivo (Barcelona win on away goals, 2-2 tied)

I was fuming after this one. I looked at the rules at half time but couldn't see anything about away goals and was getting ready for extra time. We should have scored at least the goal needed to win this tie, but Carrasco missed a few chances (to be fair, brilliant goal keeping) and we therefore went out. We played the first team as well so to lose this one unexpectedly is frustrating.

Those who are eagle eyed will have noticed David made his debut for the first team; he looked a little out of his depth but then again, Barcelona away is a tough introduction.

Deportivo 2-0 Real Madrid

That's how you do it in the Champions League!! 

We absolutely bossed this game with our second team, but had nothing to show for it until Oca turned the tie on it's head from a poor 0-0 to a well deserved 2 goal lead. Firstly, he won the ball back in midfield and played a beautiful pass curling past and around the defenders for Carrasco to finally finish, and then he arrived late in the box to smash home from Imaz. Two brilliant moments right at the end of the second half.

Rayo Vallecano 0-0 Deportivo

Ah yes, the post- Champions League come-down game. At least we didn't lose this one, but we had our defence to thank for it. Remember, this is the first team as well! We should, could, and nearly did lose this.

Another injury, just 3 weeks but he's out of some key games.

Real Madrid 0-4 Deportivo

I can't quite believe this was the result. Again, the defense was supreme; Settineri had the best game of his career for us with some fine saves. At the other end, we were lethal. Arsenijevic drilled home a cut back, we scored two corner headers and then Rubio slotted home as he replaced Fondevila. Fortunately, he only had a dead leg.

The Arsenal draw saw a number of fixture changes and biggest among them was the moving of the away game against Barcelona to the penultimate game of the season; we now finish away to Barcelona and then Celta Vigo. That's tough!

Valencia 0-3 Deportivo

This was tough. Valencia gave us a good game, and I was relieved when Sosa managed to squeeze an effort home at the near post before Carrasco and then a Banjac corner goal gave us the three points. We're riding our luck slightly in these away games at the moment; 6 out of 7 games this month have been away and the league games have been the hardest. 

Real Betis 0-1 Deportivo

Another really, really tough game. Okay, Betis did not test Nikolic too much apart from one brilliant save, but equally they always looked dangerous. Luckily an Imaz smart finish after good work in the box was enough to win the game and give us 7/9 points for the month.

Arsenal 4-0 Deportivo

Ouch. 3-0 down after 14 minutes with Arsenal having an xG of 0.30 at that point. We were taught a lesson in this game. Arsenal scored brilliant goals and just overpowered us. When we did get forward, our two decent efforts weren't as clinical as them and to be honest that's us out of the Champions League for this season. We've made it to the semi-finals though which is very impressive. The big cost is injuries to two left wingers, while Oca is also injured.

Bearing in mind we face Espanyol in two days, our normal second string line up is missing 2 DMCs, our AMC played for the first team and our backup AMC played 89 minutes of this game while our first choice AMC is still injured, and our backup AML and first choice AML is injured leaving just one AML available for both teams. We're going to be very short for the next two games and it's probably going to necessitate a call up for some 16 and 17 year old's from the B team!

League table

It's so bloody tight at the top, I think I need a separate post to work out the possible points total and run-ins for each team.

[Jtomsett11]

May 2031 first week

I decided to play the first week before looking at the other sides and working out the points we're likely to need.

Deportivo 4-1 Espanyol

When we went 1-0 down, I thought the worst, but Mara equalised with a brilliant volley and Gordon then scored from a brilliant through ball from David who is starting to look like he fits in nicely. Espanyol made it easier by going down to 10 men, and that allowed space for Fondevila to score and then win a penalty, which Mara dispatched. First team debuts for Asin, Martin and Ramirez as we simply don't have the numbers right now. 

That wasn't made easier by this news.

He's out for the season in a month where we have 7 games in the remaining 24 days. Damn it!

Deportivo 2-0 Villarreal

Thank god for the home games this month! I think without the run of home games and our injuries, we'd be dropping points left right and centre. Instead, Garner's deflected effort broke the deadlock and then David got his second assist in 3 days to set away Agirrezabala to seal the points. 

We're back top, with games in hand on our two closest rivals. If everybody wins their games to 35 games we'd be on 86, with Sevilla on 78, Celta Vigo 79 and Barcelona 81. 

These are the run ins.

Celta Vigo

I think Celta Vigo will struggle to beat Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and us, but that game right at the end could be crucial. They can end on a maximum of 88 points, but I'd expect them to be on 81 or 83 when they face us at the end of the season.

Sevilla

I think they'll win all 3 of these and finish on 87 points.

Barcelona

3 away games that could test them, but I think it's likely that they'll be on 83 points when they face us. 

Deportivo

We will play a scratch team against Arsenal. I think we should win the 3 home games to take us to 89 points. However, if we did that, and lost to Barcelona and Celta Vigo and Barcelona win all of their games, we will lose the title on head-to-head. We need to win the next 3 home games (if Barcelona win all of their next 3) and then take a point again Barcelona or Celta Vigo to win the title.

[Jtomsett11]

Sevillano May 2031

I like to keep an eye on my loan players, and one who has really caught the eye is Sevillano, who we signed for £8.5 million in the summer. I had a plan to replace Gordon with him this summer and he's looking like he could be our next superstar.

There's a lot of development still needed, but he's looking like a very solid player and one I'll be very happy to incorporate next season. 

 

[Jtomsett11]

May 2038 part 2

Ahead of our match against Atletico Madrid, we had a massive boost in that Barcelona and Sevilla dropped points. Could we do our part?

Deportivo 2-3 Atletico Madrid

No.

We really should have won this game. Arsenijevic was in fine form for us, but we shipped goals very easily as their two man strike force found a lot of space and Balikwisha took advantage to level twice before Fati scored against the run of play. A gutting loss and one I really thought would end our title charge.

That's our first choice AML, second choice AMR, both backup AMR/L/Cs and our second choice DMCL out. It's not getting any easier!

Next up, Real Sociedad.

Deportivo 4-1 Real Sociedad

We bounced back in style here. Carrasco smashed home to start the win, but the penalty really, really helped settle nerves. Garner then smashed home after great work from 16 year old Ramirez after Sociedad got one back to worry us, before Mara slotted home as Carrasco's stint on the right wing earned him 2 goals and an assist! Relief!

Remember, our last two games are away at Barcelona and Celta Vigo. If we win our next game, Celta Vigo and Sevilla will be out of the race, but Barcelona would still be able to catch us if they win. They face Rayo Vallecano by the way, with our very own Escabros playing for them.

Deportivo v Mallorca

A win was a must. 

Fondevila was just superb here. We struggled in the first half and I really thought it wasn't going to happen. Fondevila managed to slot home just after half time before he returned the favour to Arsenijevic who drilled home from the edge of the area. Imaz and Scholl added the gloss to the victory. We've set ourselves up perfectly for the last two games.

Right?

At the end of the game, I saw the last bit of text mentioning 'Champions'. I quickly checked the scores from around the other grounds.

Incredibly, Escabros sealed a victory for Rayo Vallecano, meaning Barcelona cannot catch us!

An audacious chip to seal us the title!

I haven't yet played the final two games of the season, but this feels like a huge achievement. 2 title wins in four years, but this time we also went to the semi finals of all the competitions we entered, playing a huge number of games and surviving a horrendous run of late season injuries.

Champions!

[Jtomsett11]

May 2031 overview

The last two games of the season see just 2 goals, but I'm very pleased with how we finished off, not dropping off after our title win.

Barcelona 0-0 Deportivo

We played the second team here, but I still wanted a positive result. That we came away with one is largely down to some great defending and particularly some decent saves from Settineri, who has quietly developed into a very reliable goalkeeper in the second half of the season. We had our chances as well, but ultimately keeping Barcelona out is a great result.

Celta Vigo 0-1 Deportivo

Considering how early and easily we went in front, we made this game a lot more stressful than it needed to be to be honest. Fort crossed superbly for Carrasco to get his 31st strike of the season in all competitions and then we missed quite a few decent chances. We held them out though to win the derby, hit 90 points and finish the season on a positive!

League table

We win this year with fewer points than last year, but what we're now doing is consistently finish on 86 points plus for the last four years, so it means that when the big two have a dip, as they both did this year, we're right there to pounce and take the title. What a season and what a result for us!

Deportivo Fabril

What a season the B team have had. Bearing in mind they were newly promoted last year and only really survived once I took over and used instant result, and that our wage budget was only £70k a week this year, meaning we registered very few players, I think this is superb and says a lot about our young players. 

I won't do a detailed analysis of B team performance, but you can see the key details here. Gil, Asin, Ramirez and Martin are perhaps the most exciting. There's a tonne of players out on loan as well, so we may do some business this summer if we don't think they're likely to play ever (see the bid status for Riley, for example).

Club developments

Wow, I was not expecting this to happen at the end of the season. 50,653 capacity is 16K more than we currently have and obviously we'll own the stadium.

Despite the sponsorship and loan, we've lost way more than £40 million in this deal. I think the sponsorship is £5 million a year rather than up front. 

Wow, £1 million a month, we're going to need to maintain our success! Especially when we start paying for the stadium 3 years before it's built! 

 

[Jtomsett11]

End of season 2030/31 review

Overall, this was a superb performance this season as we progress further in the Champions League and make good progress in the Copa del Rey. Bear in mind that when we won it twice, we had seriously easy runs to the final. I'm hopeful that the financing of the new stadium won't hamstring us, but it does mean we need to perform really well and probably sell to buy for a season or two.

Team of the year

Of these, Sosa, Bella-Kotchap, Fort and Imaz were in the La Liga Team of the Year, with Carrasco, Garner, Vidovic, Banjac and Nikolic on the subs bench! Superb effort!

Individual awards

Incredible performance this year from Imaz who gets 18 goal contributions in 32 games, but also look at those dribbles and key passes. He's been superb overall and I'm so glad we bought him.

Funnily enough, he also won these awards, with Carrasco sneaking in with the best goal return of a striker in my 9 seasons at the club. He missed about 7 penalties though, so he should have nearly 40!!

Player performance break down

Keepers

Well, Settineri has done superbly in the second half of the season to come out with a positive XGP! He's still not saving as much as he should, but he is preventing goals now which is positive. We have two really solid goalkeepers. 

Outfield

I won't go through all the players, but I'll pick out some that shout out to me.

Sosa has been elite at LB. His defensive stats are way out in front of the other full back/ wing backs with the exception of assists, where Fort has double the number, but all the underlying stats stand up. Encouragingly, although not as impressive, Edu and Koliada look the real deal and their performances show I was right to trust in them. In the long term I assume they'll take up the number 1 spots.

Last season our DMs had a poor campaign relatively; this could not be further from the truth this season. 26 assists plus 13 goals from 5 players. Garner stands out again with 10 assists and 6 goals, but Seiwald also had a much better season with 7 assists and 2 goals, and Oca also had 6 assists. David and Oca were both impressive, with the former having a really good expected assists considering he played just 11 times (5 starts). 

Going forward, Agirrezabala is just so impressive, with 20 goal contributions from 11 starts and 1425 minutes in total. If Enrique has another poor season (just 9 contributions in nearly 2000 minutes)  I can see Agirrezabala taking up the spot for himself. It must be said that he does take quite a few set pieces so that may explain some of the difference. 

Fondevila may not have been number 1 AML this season, but when Vidovic (who performed very well after a rocky start) but his 6 goals and 11 assists is pretty impressive for a 19 year old. 

I've just given him a new contract with a £93 million release clause (up from £54 million). 

[Jtomsett11]

Attribute analysis June 2031

This year I've left analysis of the attribute changes of my players until July 1st, essentially to allow some transfers to go out and some to come in. I decided to do this to cut down on the number of players I was analysing as even though my spreadsheet calculates automatically for exported players, last season's 92 players meant the lists for each position were huge. Does this mean I might let someone go who has grown significantly? In theory yes, but usually attribute analysis forms one part of my squad planning rather than dictating it. I'll do a summary of transfer business after this post.

Goalkeepers

I think this may be the only position where we've had no incomings and no outgoings. Nikolic and Settineri both become our first 80 point keepers and we're very much in the category of having class keepers now, if not quite world class. There isn't much depth behind them, but then again they're both in their early 20s! Luca grew nicely in the B team last year (he has 3.5 star potential so could still be pretty decent), so it's likely I'll sell Cano so he plays ever game, while Daniel also has decent potential and grew nicely. Sarabia will be on his way out of the door as well in all likelihood. He's 18 and unlikely to play even for the B team.

Centre backs

Quite a significant change at CB, with Rotena leaving and two incomings, Van Hecke and Gustavo. Banjac and Restrepo are also likely out of the door as I think they're hitting near their peaks plus the latter is non-EU. Marcos, Angel, Daniel and Ban played for the B team last year, and it's likely the latter two will do so this year, while I look for a loan for Marcos to play in La Liga and a permanent sale of Angel who has hit his potential. Carles is the biggest prospect in our academy so he'll step up to the B team. He grew significantly last season. 

Wing backs

That growth from Edu! He's now our second best wing back attribute wise; amazing growth. I'll still keep him behind Fort, but I wonder if he'll break the 80 point barrier next season. Koliada had his breakthrough season too and 4.5 point growth isn't bad at 19; I imagine he'll push on again this season. Albes, Torres and Diez played for the B team last year, while Gil was in the U19s and Salas was on loan. Gil will move up to the B team to push him as he has superb potential (5 star) and needs development, while I'd be open to offers for transfers for Albes, Torres, Salas (especially) or Diez as I don't quite see them making the first team. Some will probably end up in the B team alongside Gil and some will be sold. Torres' growth suggests he may have more to offer us going forward than Diez and Salas so perhaps it's those two who will go and Albes, Gil and Torres for the B team.

Segundo Volante

Oca becomes our second best player according to the attributes; I wonder how much growth he has left in him as he's slowed right down. David had a breakthrough season but has also slowed his growth; again perhaps his growth is limited. One new exciting player is Rothwell who technically cannot play DMC yet, but will be trained there. A 17 year old Dane/ English player, he's an exciting option once he's up to speed. Pablo is an ever-present B team player and will probably play second fiddle to Asin and Rothwell this coming year, as I look to maximise the growth of 4.5 star potential Asin (and Rothwell for that matter). Falque may also stay in the B team squad despite limited potential as he's a useful rotation option to have. Lavin and Luis will stay in the U19s for the time being along with Naveira, but time is probably up for da Silva due to limited potential and limited growth. 

Attacking mids

Arsenijevic and Enrique swap places from last year and I'm tempted to swap their role as starter and second team too. I haven't finished my deliberations on that one; Arsenijevic definitely delivered more last year. Agirrezabala and Rubio played in this role too for the first team, but while I plan to keep the former, the latter will probably leave to allow for some youngsters to step up if we end up with injuries. 

In the B team, Martin and Ramirez shared time in the role, with the latter growing by 6 points but the former starting at a much higher attribute score. Gonzalez was on loan last year, as was Augusto and Tortosa. Gonzalez and Augusto have better potential, so I'll probably loan them both to La Liga sides to continue their development and to cover for one of our first choice players leaving, but Tortosa has hit his potential and is unlikely to ever play; he'll be sold. Vivar is young as are those towards the bottom of the list so they're likely to stay in the U19s for now. Abdul Rahman is a funny one; he grew quite a bit this season but still doesn't look that great to me. Perhaps another loan will help? Leiva may slot in to the B team this year along with Martin and Ramirez this year due to their flexibility and low wages (I'm anticipating tight wages again). 

Inside forwards

I don't play Carrasco as an inside forward, but perhaps I should looking at his rating and his growth! Imaz also grew nicely this season to hit 87 points; a very respectable and 'leading La Liga' type number. You may notice Gordon is gone and I've lined up Sevillano for his role; he now scores 84 and his loan spell has done him wonders. Perhaps the most pleasing growth is from Fondevila who stagnated somewhat last year in terms of attribute growth, but this year has improved by nearly 6 points. Gonzalez appears here too, and his growth has been significant while his potential is still high; perhaps after another season on loan I need to consider how he fits in to the first team picture. Rivera grew, but will be sold due to having nearly hit his potential, while Ramirez will likely be sold or stay out on loan (he's too expensive for the B team). Torres is a reliable B team player, and he'll be joined by the likes of Oliveira and Leiva who can play multiple roles. From Quindimil down are younger players with varying potential; they'll stay in the U19s unless a decent loan is offered for the higher potential players, or any loan for those I have decided will never make the grade and will leave at the end of their contract is we can't sell them sooner (Kanoute, I'm looking at you!)

Pressing forwards

Carrasco has developed into an almost elite striker now. It's the number 2 slot that's interesting as Escabros had a superb season and his development puts him right in the picture; however, Mara has been so good at number 2 in the last two seasons, hitting superb numbers. Curran is likely to be sold; he's not as suited to the role and is near his potential and worth £25 million ish. Alende may play in the B team or be sold if there's interest, while Lavin will definitely leave. Oliveira did well in the B team last year but injuries have scuppered him. I'm not sure he'll reach his decent potential, but maybe he deserves another chance. Munia down (except Ramirez), I'll keep in the U19s unless we look like we need players in the B Team, or can sell less high potential B team players and promote one of them up. 

[Jtomsett11]

Transfers July 2031 (so far)

Out £63.75 million

Riley Priest 

Kai Gordon

Alberto Huarte

Stephane Rotena

Toma Basic

In £20.6 million

Jan Paul van Hecke

Matthew Rothwell

Gustavo

We're not finished, but we've bought in two CBs and a future DMC. 

Transfers out

Priest scored 17 times in 76 games for the B team, but I just felt he wasn't going to feature for us. A £10 million + 50% profit offer from United seemed a great deal and will help finance the B team. If he lives up to his potential we may get some more money out of this one.

Gordon is a much bigger loss.

He's had a huge impact for us, turning in performances consistently for us, but he's non-EU and if he's not starting (and he isn't behind Imaz), then it made sense to free up a spot for our new CB.

Huarte looks pretty decent, but he can't jump and he also can't dribble, which are really important for my full back/ wing backs. If you can't do either, it's probably not going to work.

He played his part, and could earn us more money yet due to clauses, but he deserves to play some first team football.

Rotena isn't a bad centre back, but he's also not brilliant and I thought we could improve on his position this coming year. We make a decent profit on him, considering 6 months ago we were getting bids of £3.5 million for him.

Basic joins on a free and leaves on a free, but he was crucial last season and played an important role until his injury this season. He's given time for Oca and David to develop enough for me to trust them next season.

Transfers in

A free transfer, he doesn't suit our usual ball player on the right particularly well, but I may shove Bella-Kotchap to the left and allow him more freedom there. He was too good not to bring in and from our attribute analysis you can see he's our best CB.

I saw him after a scout report and thought he was way too good not to go after. Imagine how good he'll be if his potential is anything like what it says it might be. With a bit of development and retraining to DMC he'll be a perfect segundo volante. £4.1 million release clause; bargain.

We may have overpaid at £16 million, and his marking and positioning are slightly questionable and need work, but I think we could have a serious defender on our hands if Gustavo has the potential my scouts think he does. He will play as second choice at LCB this year alongside Scholl and I'm excited to see how he develops. He's a non-EU, but I expect him to start as first choice next year after a year of bedding in and development.

Remaining transfer plans

I've got quite a bit of sorting to do with the B team, and a lot of that will be down to the budgets which still haven't been confirmed. It's likely that Banjac and Hector Rubio will leave permanently, and I have a number of others who are now in the 19-22 year old bracket who are unlikely to play for us. It'll be a matter of weighing up permanent vs loan moves for the remaining and ensuring game time for the B team goes to players with the highest potential. 

[Jtomsett11]

Rest of July 2031

Further transfers out

These permanent transfers out were all planned, with Curran perhaps the biggest player out who hasn't seen first team action. He came in for just £2 million so it's a big profit with potentially more to come for a player who wasn't going to be in the first team.

Incomings

Torres will go out on loan this season, but I couldn't resist buying him when other teams became interested. I've had my eye on him for a while.

Teams

That leaves us with the following for the first team:

Second team:

B team:

We also have Tortosa in this list as we've failed to sell him and nobody wants him on loan currently.

U19s

Out on loan

Finances

Our sales this summer have boosted our money situation after the stadium costs.

We also had a big boost to our TV revenue after our average league positions in recent years.

 

Pre-season

It really frustrated me that we started our new season so late on, in fact the season roll-on date was after our first friendly. That meant I couldn't cancel the tour of the Netherlands which meant we couldn't play our cups effectively and we had two fewer pre-season friendlies than I wanted. Otherwise, a very good pre-season.

Season preview

We're predicted 3rd for this year, which is hopefully a minimum of where we'll finish.

[Jtomsett11]

August 2031 

Deportivo 1-2 Villarreal 

What a great start to the season - not! We should have won here as we created enough, but we didn't finish enough. It was a great free-kick that saw us lose the game in the end. 

Celta Vigo 0-2 Deportivo

I was very nervous about this game after our opening day loss, but we came back with a win after a nervy first half. Fort set up Mara for a brilliant headed goal and then Mara won the penalty that Enrique converted.

Deportivo 3-0 Mallorca

A comprehensive victory, started with a goal from a corner from Bella-Kotchap, extended by Carrasco slotting home after Arsenijevic putting him clean through and finished when Arsenijevic got on the score-sheet himself with a smart finish after arriving late in the box. 

League table

Not the best start, but you'll notice that Madrid and Barcelona have dropped points as well, while Sevilla have also drawn, so it could be a lot worse than it is.

September

The first team may play on the week days as I think the second team are good enough to win the two weekend games. We need a result against Real Madrid away.

Our first Champions League tie looks winnable, and our fixtures look very reasonable this year.

 

[Jtomsett11]

September 2031

An interesting month. The Rennes result was a complete shocker, but other than that we've played well and once again have been seriously unlucky in a big game against Real Madrid/ Barcelona.

Elche 0-4 Deportivo

Prior to this game, we picked up a couple of injuries.

Oca is out for 3-4 weeks as is Van Hecke which is frustrating as both have started the season well.

It didn't affect us here.

Mara picked up one goal last month and in his first start in the league this season, he hits a hat-trick. Seiwald set up the first with a brilliant pass and then Koliada delivered a lovely right footed cross having cut back from the byline and Mara headed home. Sevillano then got his first goal, a drilled effort after Scholl set him free. We scored our fourth in injury time, but couldn't add to the scoreline in the second half.

Rennes 1-5 Deportivo

Oh dear! We received a lesson in football from Rennes, who I didn't realise are Champions of Ligue 1. To be honest, we weren't really that bad; we made some poor errors in defense but Rennes were just lethal. It reminded me of Arsenal away last season and shows me again how far we have to go before we're an elite side. We're probably overperforming consistently in the league and in Europe.

Deportivo 3-1 Espanyol

The B team came in here and did a fine job. Mara opened the scoring and then Carrasco came on to round the keeper after a lovely lofted through ball from David, who I'm really liking this season. Imaz then scored a thumping header, but Carrasco once again missed a penalty; he just doesn't seem to be able to convert them effectively! Espanyol had scored from their only shot after Mara's opener, so it was heartening that we went on to win so comfortably.

Real Madrid 1-0 Deportivo

I think Koopmeiners name is too long to show that this was a late penalty that won Madrid the game. Once again, we're undone by a penalty against one of the top sides in a tight game. It must be quite a few times this has happened now and it's really frustrating. We'd done so well so show how effective we can be and I really thought we were the more likely to win it. Carrasco was poor as he had two really good chances and should have scored. A second loss of the season feels like a blow.

League table

It's really tight at the top. Everybody has dropped at least 4 points already which is quite unusual. I'm frustrated that we didn't draw with Real Madrid, but at least we're still showing enough in our other games to say we'll be there or there-abouts come the end of the season.

Fixtures 

October looks interesting; we start with a winnable fixtures in the Champions League and then a tough game in La Liga - I feel we have to win considering Sevilla have started quite poorly. I think we should be winning all four of these league fixtures and both Champions League games, however, history tells me it's never quite that simple.

Finances

We may be losing money monthly, but if we win some Champions League games we'll be fine most months.

I was shocked when this came through at how little everyone other than Barcelona and Real Madrid make in commercial income. I would hope our new stadium helps with this, but it's still 3 years away.

We've done very well to win the league twice in four years considering our pretty low wage expenditure.

B team

I noticed this and realised the B team have started the season really well.

I simulate all the games, but I'm not bothered about results really; it's all about player development, whether that is to sell the player or develop them for the first team squad. Therefore, I don't really look at the league table unless we're losing lots of games and are at risk of relegation (which is when I sacked the manager and took over simulating the games a couple of seasons ago!). Regardless of this, the team is clearly doing well and that says something for the caliber of player in the squad.

Oliveira, although unlikely to ever make the first team, has started the season very well. It took him much longer to get going last year.

[Jtomsett11]

October 2031

For the first 4 games of the month, this was a perfect, perfect month. And then the last two games came along. Frustration is again the word of the month.

Deportivo 10-1 Trabzonspor

We were 9-1 up at half time, so I really thought we might have a cricket score on our hands, but we slowed down and it ended just 10-1. Mara got 4 and Enrique got 3 in a devastating spell in the first half. Okay, they're crap, but we looked amazing. Annoyingly, it only equalled our best ever win.

Sevilla 0-2 Deportivo

This was really satisfying. A really tough game, but we were clinical when we needed to be. Firstly, Fort smashed in his first for the club after clever wing play from Vidovic and then a great pass to a lurking Fort. Then, just after half time, David set Imaz free, but he had loads to do and I was delighted to see him drill a low shot beyond the keeper from a pretty tight angle midway inside the box with two defenders harrying him. That was enough to see us win this really important game. A draw or loss here would have felt a huge step-back.

We did have really bad news after this game, as 9 goal Mara is out for 3 months. Escabros was kept in the squad for exactly this reason, but he's not quite match fit and it's a big ask for him to replace Mara's goals.

In other striker news, Carrasco claimed the best U21 award. He's not hit the ground running in quite the same way this year yet, but I had forgotten he was still only 21!

He's not far off elite; I just wish he could take penalties and for someone with such good finishing and composure, he can miss too many chances at times.

Deportivo 1-0 Valencia

We made really hard work of this one after the international break. I had to mix up the teams as most were pretty tired after the international fixtures. Arsenijevic scored an absolute belter, smashing in a volley early on, but from then on I feared an equaliser as Carrasco failed to fire and then Valencia had a few half chances. Fortunately, we'd done enough to shut them out and earn the three points.

Deportivo 3-0 Leicester

I wasn't sure how we'd do against English opposition, considering our performance against Arsenal last season, but we comprehensively won here. It all swung on a penalty save from Settineri after Gustavo had chopped down their player (he is taking a little bit of time to settle in, but he is in a new country and 18 years old!) from which we won a corner and Scholl rose highest to head home. Potentially 1-0 down to 1-0 up in one highlight. It took some good defending in the rest of the first half, but after half time we looked the better side and Escabros did really well to set both the AMR and AML up for almost identical finishes but from opposite sides of the box. 

We're still not into the top 8 in the Champions League, but these two victories this month are key to helping us get there.

We do have cover in Agirrezabala and Rubio is still with us, but this isn't the injury I wanted to see as he's started the season really well I feel. Nevermind!

Deportivo 0-0 Racing de Santander

Yeah, there's not much to say here. You can read it all from the scoreline and our xG. Should we have won? Absolutely. Carrasco and Escabros were two men guilty of awful finishing. However, much must be said for the defending of the Santander players; there were so many amazing blocks and some fantastic saves. Frustrating though of course!

Getafe 1-1 Deportivo

This game was really frustrating, but more so because we actually probably deserved to lose it. Maybe that's harsh, but to give up 1.77 xG is very unlike us. We only scored a penalty, but we hit the woodwork at least 3 times that I can remember. It's just not quite happening for us at the moment. 

League table

If we win our game in hand, we'll be joint top with Barcelona, so it's obviously not going too badly this season. However, our 2 points per game is our worst ratio for 4 seasons and it's clear that a number of teams aren't performing at the moment. I have a feeling that the team/s that find their feet first will run away with it this season.

I think the first team will keep playing the weekends and the second team the Champions League games, both of which are tough. I think we probably need 10 points in the league to be top at the end of this month. Whether we can do that is another question with our recent mis-firing offence.

[Latynos]

Awesome stuff, love reading!  You've inspired me to do a 'save' with Deportivo too. Like to how you handle young players, managing them through u19 and B team  I hope to see you team playing at the new stadium, keep it up!!

[Jtomsett11]

On 28/02/2024 at 13:09, Latynos said:

Awesome stuff, love reading!  You've inspired me to do a 'save' with Deportivo too. Like to how you handle young players, managing them through u19 and B team  I hope to see you team playing at the new stadium, keep it up!!

Thank you! I've really enjoyed playing with them, and managing young players is definitely my favourite part of the game, whether they be young signings or youth intake players. I also hope I get to play at the new stadium, my playing speed is pretty slow these days!

[Jtomsett11]

November 2031

Right, where were we? Oh yes, 6th, and slightly frustrated despite a 10-1 win in October. 

In terms of frustrating, November had some of it again, as we win 2 and draw 2 of our games, including a 3-3 and 2-2 classic. The Champions League is going a lot better than the league!

Eibar 0-1 Deportivo

Not a pretty start to the month, but a win is a win. We needed a penalty here, which Carrasco, misser of so many penalties, did score. Convincing we were not, but after two disappointing draws, just to get over the line is satisfaction enough.

Deportivo 2-1 Chelsea

Our struggles on the league are shrugged aside in the cup. Enrique has been superb this season after a very poor last season and I'm considering swapping him into the first 11 after this game. We went behind just before half time, but Enrique responded in the second half and a drilled effort after an Escabros cut back and then he arrived late to power home a header in injury time. A superb win for the second string.

Deportivo 2-0 Las Palmas

Back to the league and a struggle of sorts. Carrasco finished smartly from Seiwald's through ball early on, but we then toiled after Imaz hacked down one of their players and although we dominated the ball still, we couldn't create as much with 10 men. We finally won a penalty in the second half that Carrasco duly hit against the bar (that might be it for him and penalties to be honest!) before he assisted Oca for a lovely low finish from the edge of the box to seal the three points.

Deportivo 3-3 Atletico Madrid

For about 75 minutes, I thought we were back to our absolute best. Enrique opened the scoring with a penalty, then a truly superb volley and Sevillano also got in on the act after fine play from Vidovic on the opposite flank to put the young winger through. I then made some substitutions and complacency snuck in. The first goal was decent, but the second, Nikolic should have saved and then we conceded after failing to clear a corner. I'm absolutely livid; I think this might be the first time in this save we've thrown a 3 goal lead, but to do it when it seemed we'd finally recovered our ruthless streak is truly gutting.

Porto 0-1 Deportivo

A very good performance in Porto from the second team. I was hoping for a draw, but we created the chances to win if Escabros could score, and then we did score from a corner and managed to hold out for all three points. 

The bad news was the Fondevila injury. We have squad players in Rubio and Agirrezabala so we shouldn't miss him too much, although I was hopeful he'd kick on this season even further so this will hold him back, even if just stopping him getting into a decent run of form.

Athletic 2-2 Deportivo

Williams tore us apart in the first half, stealing the ball off Van Hecke to slot home the first after a one-two and then burying a header after Vidovic had equalised from a free-kick. I thought we were going to drop 3 points again, but in injury time, Koliada delivered a superb cross for Vidovic to volley home. Frustrating to drop points yes, but it could have been much worse!

League table

If you'd said to me, you'll pick up 8 points from 4 games and you'll then be a point clear at the top at the start of the month I'd have laughed, but that's where we are. Bizarre season with big teams dropping so many points. If it carries on like this the league winners would have 76 points!

December

A front-loaded month to finish the calendar year. We should be getting 9 points out of 12 here.

Youth development

I thought this was great; 24 players produced by us playing in the top flight. I'm not sure if this is directly from our youth academy or also youngsters we buy and then train; I imagine the latter as there's a few in our squad now trained by us that I bought at 16-18 years old.

[Jtomsett11]

December 2031

Our best month of the season, especially in the league as we take 10 points from 12.

Barcelona 3-3 Deportivo

We either get a clean sheet or concede a hat-ful! Oca started the game of well for us, nodding in from a free kick, before two ruthless goals from Barcelona had me fearing the worse. We won a penalty, which Gustavo scored and then we responded immediately to Saltor's driven finish by going up the other end, Arsenijevic playing a through ball that Carrasco smashed home to equalise. Both sides had chances to win it, but neither did in a result I'm actually quite happy with, especially considering our second string started the game!

Deportivo 2-0 Real Sociedad

We rode our luck here at the start as Sociedad had 2 superb chances, one fluffed wide and one which Nikolic saved superbly. After those chances we took control and once Sevillano slotted home from a great Fort cutback, we never looked like conceding. Gustavo played a worldie of a lofted pass in the second half which Carrasco volleyed home to seal the win.

Ranger 0-2 Deportivo

We continue our march in Europe despite a slightly sloppy first half. Escabros scored a rare goal but a really well taken one, before Rubio scored what might be his final goal for us with a scrappy finish after the ball bounced around the area. He's requested to leave due to a lack of game time (fair enough) and will depart a legend if someone bids the right money for him. 

Deportivo 1-0 Real Betis

The xG tells the story; we could have had 3 or 4 goals easily. In the end, after countless misses, Van Hecke nodded home from his own awful miss that fortunately bounced back to him. I was just glad we'd scored!

Levante 1-3 Deportivo

That's it! Carrasco is never taking a penalty again! He may have made amends here with two finishes either side of Seiwald's excellent drilled finish from the edge of the box, but I was highly stressed when he missed (another keeper save) as we were 1-0 down at the time.

League table

We extend our lead at the top to 2 points. Both Barcelona and ourselves have won 3 games since our drawn match together. Could the form be picking up for both sides?

Champions League

We've basically qualified with 2 games to play, as I doubt we'll get 0 points and others will all get enough to knock us out into the play-offs. Famous last words of course! The other Spanish sides aren't doing very well!

January

This month always changes due to Supercopa (if we beat Real Madrid) and then qualification in the cup, but here's the provisional games.

 

[Jtomsett11]

December 2031 winter break review

It's been a while since I've posted, as life became very hectic and playing the game took precedent over writing about it. I'm back now and will aim to catch this up with where I am in game.

First up, it's the review of our performance at the (almost) halfway point of the season.

Goalkeepers

I've given up on goalkeeper goals, so I should probably update my stats page at some point. This still gives a nice insight into performance however. What I find interesting here is how Nikolic has conceded all 14 goals in just 6 of his games, keeping 9 clean sheets in the others. It shows how we've either been completely on it, or dreadful in defence this season. Settineri has played the better of the two by far at this point. I'm not tempted to swap their roles in the squad yet however. 

Outfield squad

Centre backs

Bella-Kotchap has won 100% of his tackles this season, which is unbelievable! Van Hecke is up there too with 92%, and while Gustavo and Scholl are lower for that measure, they both do well in other areas such as blocks and interceptions. I've been really pleased with my four centre backs so far despite our form not being particularly brilliant (yes, yes, we're top, but the standard has been much lower).

Full backs

Fort and Edu get the higher average ratings, but it's quite hard to pick out why Koliada scores so lowly when he has 4 assists, the highest number of pressures completed and decent ratings elsewhere. It may just be that he's tiny and winning just 1/5 of his headers. I've been really impressed with his development, along with Edu as they're both showing solidity in defence and creative ability going forward. Fort and Sosa are in danger for next season perhaps.

Segundo volante's

Defensively, Oca stands out by a mile, winning the ball more, pressing the opponents more and winning more headers and tackles than Garner, Seiwald and David. Offensively, it's David who is creating the most, although it's quite tight beyond actual assists and Garner is creating more from open play, it's just chances aren't being finished. I think this is an area that's dropped this season as Garner is nowhere near as effective as normal. Last year he got 4 goals and 8 assists in the league.

Attacking mids

Enrique has 8 goals and 3 assists this year, which is significantly better than his performance last year. Arsenijevic may be creating more chances on paper, but Enrique is finding himself in those positions to score us goals and that's crucial. Agirrezabala is just as creative as normal, while Rubio has barely seen game time this year and will probably leave in January as he wants to go.

Inside forwards

Vidovic and Fondevila actually have very similar Xa, but the latter has 0 assists to the former's 6. Funny old game! I think that beneath the numbers, Fondevila may be a better player and Vidovic does well by scoring free kicks and assisting corners and free kicks. Something to think about for next season. On the right, Imaz has had a poor season with just 2 goals and 0 assists. Sevillano has had the better time of it, with 4 goals and 2 assists showing his worth. I'd back Imaz to pick up again as he's definitely a class act.

Pressing forwards

Mara has 9 goals in 293 minutes. Yes, 6 of those were in one game, but that's still 3 in 200. He's a lethal backup. Carrasco has been somewhat disappointing, but still has 9 goals to his name. Escabros looks out of his depth to be honest. He might go out on loan again.

 

[Jtomsett11]

Youth intake preview December 2031

A good centre back would be great. An attacking mid and striker are never to be shirked either!

 

[Jtomsett11]

January 2032

Woah, 15 goals in two league games! We lost in the Supercopa (again!) but all in all, this is a brilliant start to the new year.

Rayo Vallecano 2-8 Deportivo

I made an error in my last post, Mara got 5 in one game. Well, Carrasco now has 6 in one game! Imaz and Garner, both struggling with assists this year, get 2 apiece. What's funny is that we actually played pretty badly in the first half. Rayo took the lead through a penalty, and while Carrasco scored twice, the first a lovely chip and the second beating the keeper for pace from excellent through-balls, they then missed a second penalty before equalising just before half time. Luckily, Enrique scored again after being put through to give us the lead before half time. After half time it was a different game. A Carrasco header, sublime finish gave us breathing room before Mara, on at AMR scored a beautiful finish from the edge of the area. Carrasco then scored twice more, the first a simple finish and the second a poacher's chance after a terrible touch from a demoralised defender inside the box. 9 goals all season then 6 in 90 minutes!

New records for the club!

Deportivo 0-1 Real Madrid

This felt tough. Mara was poor and Carrasco also failed to find his finishing boots from the previous game, and Madrid did just enough to beat us. You'll notice a new name, Popovic, at AML. More on him in the transfers post. He replaced Fondevila and will get game time this month due to this injury.

Deportivo 7-0 Celta Vigo

I was nervous about this game to be honest, but we were never in trouble. The first three goals all came from set-pieces. Bella-Kotchap headed goalwards from a free-kick and Van Hecke nodded in, then Imaz smashed in from a Garner layback after a poor corner. Van Hecke returned the favour for Bella-Kotchap and we were three goals to the good. Imaz then produced a lovely lofted ball which sent Popovic in for his first goal for the club. The red card didn't help matters as then Seiwald produced a great through ball for Carrasco (just the one goal for him today) before the Austrian charged into the box, admittedly with Celta Vigo defenders parting like the red sea before Moses, to score his third of the season. Agirrezabala then got his assist for another Van Hecke header. 

We'd had to jiggle the line up slightly, as with Fondevila injured and Popovic subbed after picking up a niggle, Vidovic then had to come off as well.

Popovic and Agirrezabala will be in for games over the next 3 weeks at least.

Alcorcon 1-5 Deportivo

Enrique has turned into a fox in the box. His first, set up by a beautifully weighted from Sevillano, was dispatched in style, while he then scored our fourth, chipped over the onrushing keeper after a lofted through ball from Scholl. In between Mara scored a penalty and then slid in from another great Sevillano delivery, before Van Hecke let them have a consolation by missing a header and allowing their striker to run through to score. Agirrezabala had the final say, scoring from a free-kick. Through to the next round of the cup.

Deportivo 1-1 Monaco

Back to the Champions League and our second team played again to get our first team back playing Saturday. They were therefore, a little tired and it showed as we could only draw. I thought we'd done enough when Enrique nodded home after Imaz seemed to have shot with the ball bouncing off a defender and into the air. However, with 89 minutes on the clock Ekitike sent a header into the net from their only decent chance. Still, a point isn't a disaster considering how well we're doing in the Champions League.

Villarreal 0-1 Deportivo

Sometimes a game is just not going your way and then you get that little bit of luck. Here I pissed everyone off by praising them at half time. Imaz created chance after chance that we didn't put away, before Seiwald lined one up from distance and it bounced in off their defender despite initially heading wide. I'll absolutely take that as we win 3 on the bounce in the league this month and 6 in a row in total since our excellent 2-2 draw with Barcelona.

Liverpool 1-3 Deportivo

A superb result and performance. Agirrezabala scored an absolutely ridiculous free kick from out wide and nigh on 35 yards to open the score. Honestly, watching it back now it's definitely a shot, but the bend on it is just ridiculous. I thought that would be enough, but with 85 minutes gone, Gouiri was sent clear and slotted home. 1-1, still a decent result away to Liverpool. Then after some attempted slick passing from us and some very good defensive interceptions by Liverpool that kept deflecting back to us, Garner found space to slot a ball through and Sevillano slid the ball under the keeper to put us back in front. Mara then scored from the penalty spot to seal the 3 points.

There was also a debut for Torres.

He may never make the first team, but we should make some decent money off him if he doesn't!

Champions League table

Celta Vigo just miss out. Our best Champions League finish yet!

League table

Ourselves and Barcelona appear to have put our poor starts behind us and we're leaving the rest behind currently.

February

Lots of big games here, but all winnable I feel!

 

[Jtomsett11]

January transfer window 2032

Incoming

I can't remember how I found this guy, but I think it was clicking through teams playing in the Champions League. I met his £3.2 million fee (plus some add ons) and he agreed to join us! I love the look of him and at the age of 20, if he improves a few points across the board he'll be elite. He's looked superb this month.

Out

A big sale as Hector Rubio leaves. The sole survivor of the 2023 intake, he played a vital part in our progress but had requested to leave due to a lack of game time. He leaves with our blessing.

We also say goodbye to B team player, Dan Ban who has also appeared for the first team a few times.

He's running down his contract and this offer was too good to refuse.

My view is that yes, I'd like to develop all my players, but where I can see a natural limit meaning we might lose the player on a free transfer, I'll always look to sell now. It's a fine line between keeping players to play in the B team and selling them as once they're at a reasonable level (La Liga 2 ability) they want £7-15k a week to sign a contract and that often means paying them more than they will then generate in a sale. 

Rejected bids

I had no desire to lose Oca. Even if he doesn't develop much further, segundo volante's are hard to come by and he's playing well this season.

 

[Jtomsett11]

February 2032

A quite odd month as we were completely superior excepting our two losses. 

Mallorca 0-3 Deportivo

A strong start to February. Enrique opened the scoring with a well dispatched penalty, before Carrasco turned provider to set Imaz through. He still had plenty to do but with their keeper rushing out he chose to lob from 20 yards and the ball nestled into the corner. Sevillano then produced a lovely cut back to late arriver David who smashed home to seal the victory, although it was never in doubt as Mallorca barely made it out of their half. 

Huesca 4-3 Deportivo (aet)

Umm. 

This was not in the plan. Edu had picked up an injury, so Gil came in for his debut and had a torrid time, gifting Huesca the first goal after a hospital pass from Scholl. However, looking at our ratings and xG, you can see this was a freak game where they scored every chance (with Settineri also gifting a goal). When leading in extra time I honestly thought we'd see the game out, but conceded twice on the counter to go out. Not exactly what I wanted to see!

Deportivo 4-0 Elche

The first two goals here were sensational. Seiwald won the ball back and sent a ball forward over the defenders which Enrique beat the keeper to, volleying beyond him. Garner then produced a wonderful cross-field ball to set Carrasco free who similarly beat the keeper. Imaz then received the ball back from Garner after a short free kick and arrowed in from the edge of the box; 3-0 after 15 minutes. An excellent answer to our last game. Enrique then scored his second penalty in two league games.

Deportivo 1-2 Real Madrid

We had a nightmare here.

Two injuries just before the game.

Yes, that's both of keepers out for this game.

Luca came in for his first team debut and let in two long range efforts, at least one of which I'm sure our first team keepers would have saved. Seiwald scored after a brilliant move to set us on our way but it wasn't to be as we lose our first league game of the calendar year and concede our first league goals since January 4th.

Deportivo 4-0 Eibar

We bounce back to thrash Eibar.

Enrique has been pushed into the first team ahead of Arsenijevic and he keeps rewarding us. Here, another striker's finish after Carrasco set him free. Imaz then headed home after Sosa received the ball in the area from Fondevila. Bella-Kotchap got in on the act from a corner and then Carrasco scored himself, a lovely volley after a great cut-back from Imaz. The red card barely altered the outcome to be honest.

Espanyol 0-1 Deportivo

The 4-0's are good of course, but to win titles you need to grind out games when you're not creating. Here we did that. We missed quite a few chances, but Mara did not miss the big one after he'd been chopped down in the area. 

Valencia 0-1 Deportivo

Another away win and another 1-0 win. This time, a header from Van Hecke saw us win the three points. We largely kept Valencia at bay but did really struggle to create (our 1 shot on target from 17 shots testament to that). Two away games that were tough, but we keep clean sheets and we take six points from them!

Fort's injury means that Gil will get a chance to make up for his terrible debut. 

League table

Barcelona dropped points in the last game of the month which allowed us to go top. They've dropped just 2 points and we've dropped just 3 since we faced each other back in December. The title race is on!

March 2032

Just the 5 games, but we play Real Madrid in the Champions League; a chance for revenge for our defeats in the Super Cup and in the league in February!

Transfers out - missed one!

Escabros left on loan late on in the window (2nd Feb) as I didn't think he'd be getting enough game time for us. 

[Jtomsett11]

March 2032

Another excellent month. 5 wins, through in Europe and no goals conceded in La Liga.

Deportivo 4-0 Sevilla

We normally struggle against Sevilla, but we seem to now have their number as this is two 4-0 wins in a row at home and we also won 2-0 away this season.

Our opening goal was excellent. Garner sprayed the ball out to Vidovic, who cut it back to Sosa, whose floated ball was powered home by Imaz. Lovely stuff! Imaz then turned provider for Carrasco, sliding the ball through with the Argentinian then outpacing the defenders and slotting home under the keeper. Imaz and Carrasco have certainly been much better since the turn of the year! Vidovic's corner was nodded home by Van Hecke before Agirrezabala set up Enrique for the final flourish. 

Real Madrid 1-2 Deportivo

Revenge in sweet! Our second string dominated against Madrid and deserved the win. Bella-Kotchap opened the scoring from a corner (we score a lot of headers at the moment!) before Koopmeiners scored a direct free-kick to level. With the game heading into the last 20 minutes, Edu received the ball and was running back towards his own goal when he slipped the defender and set David free at the edge of the area. He skipped past one defender and then smashed the ball low and hard from the edge of the six yard box to put us 2-1 up. Real Madrid couldn't break us down, so we took the goal advantage back home with us!

Deportivo 2-0 Getafe

A nice easy victory. Imaz once again assisted Carrasco, this time a first time defence-splitting pass which the striker buried. Carrasco then assisted Fondevila who scored a wonderful chip after bursting into the area. The only problem was an injury to Enrique, but we do have the capacity to cover.

17 goals and 5 assists from 32 appearances; what a turnaround from last season!

By the way, Gil has been much improved in this period of injury absence for Fort. 

Deportivo 6-2 Real Madrid

A superb performance, although we did switch off after 60 minutes. An Agirrezabala master class. First, a good ball through for Carrasco to finish off. Then a free kick which Scholl headed home. He then took a break as Fondevila set up Carrasco who was in clinical form and tucked the chance away into the corner. For the fourth, good play from the midfield then saw Agirrezabala receive the ball in the area; he laid it off to Sevillano who buried it. Just a few minutes later, and this time good play from Edu out wide saw their roles reversed. Not content with his goal and assist, Sevillano then added a second; a superb ball through the David which he curled around the keeper. 6-0 for our second team against Real Madrid. Yes, we then allowed them 2 goals, but the damage was done and we win 8-3 on aggregate.

Racing de Santander 0-2 Deportivo

We finish the perfect month with another win. Imaz was crucial again here, first helping to recycle a corner and finding Arsenijevic free who slotted home, before he found space in the box and was found by Sosa to seal the victory just before half time. Before the end of first-half flurry, it had looked as if this would be a tough game. Once 2-0 up we saw out the game with relative ease.

League table

Another Barcelona draw sees us stretch our lead to 3 points.

It's fair to say we've both been supremely good this half of the season so far!

April 2032

We've drawn Liverpool who we beat in the group stages, but it'll be a tough tie. Two away ties in La Liga, with the Atletico Madrid tie very tough before two home games, including the crucial game against Barcelona. Beat them and we'll be in a great position for May.

Betis looks tough as does Sociedad, but I'd be confident in the other two games. Beating Barcelona is probably key to making sure we're in control. 

Edited April 3 by Jtomsett11

[Jtomsett11]

Youth intake 2032

A very interesting intake. 5 players with decent enough potential, and 3 more I'd normally sign, although two of those are unambitious and with determination 1 so I've not bid for them (Israel and Cifuentes). It's a shame about these two as their starting attributes looked great.

Attribute analysis suggests that Jose would also be a decent signing with good starting attributes, so I also signed him up. 

Best players:

Probably best suited to CB, his technicals aren't great, but most of his mentals are good and his physicals are okay for a 15 year old.

Unambitious and low detemination but decent potential. I've kept him but I don't expect him to develop much. A shame as he looks really good.

Physicals and key attributes are decent.

Two-footed and hard working but with limitations. Let's see what happens to him.

I need to train him to play AMR but I like him to start. 

[Jtomsett11]

April 2032

A superb month in the league, again without conceding a goal and winning all our games. Disappointment in the Champions League as we're brought down to reality with a bang. 

Las Palmas 0-3 Deportivo

Enrique opened the scoring here, once again getting into a striker's position and when the ball came through from Oca, he prodded underneath the onrushing keeper. Seiwald then got the second with a piledriver from the edge of the box after good work from Koliada before Scholl found himself out wide in the 94th minute following a corner; he delivered the perfect ball for Vidovic to nod home unchallenged.

Liverpool 4-0 Deportivo

I'm really gutted here. We went behind in the first half, but were playing well until Edu, who'd been on the pitch about 5 minutes, lunged in and got a straight red. Carrasco then picked up a knock in the 85th minute, and down to 9 men we fell apart as Liverpool took full advantage to score 3 late goals. Last year we were torn apart by Arsenal, this year by Liverpool, but I do feel that with 11 men we'd have come away with a draw or loss by a single goal, giving ourselves a much better chance in the second leg. As it is, we knew we were out at this point. With that in mind I switched the first and second eleven to prioritise the league games.

Atletico Madrid 0-1 Deportivo

A crucial result and really good win with a slightly mixed squad due to fatigue from the Liverpool game. Garner produced a moment of magic with a penetrating cross and Imaz arrived to half-volley home for the only goal of the game. We could, and should have scored more, but it's the victory at this stage of the season that matters!

Deportivo 2-2 Liverpool (2-6 on aggregate)

Well, we played a decent game and were unlucky to draw really. 

Elliot opened the scoring emphatically after a cut-back from Alexander-Arnold, but we hit back quickly through Fondevila from the edge of the area after a nice lay-off from Enrique. I really enjoyed our second, as Koliada had run beyond Fondevila, who fed him superbly before the Ukrainian got the byline and drilled across; it more hit Vidovic than he deliberately headed it in, but it gave us the lead. A lead which lasted less than 4 minutes as Moukoko scored from a tight angle. We've shown we can compete in Europe, but we're just not quite there yet to challenge for the Champions League.

Bella-Kotchap is out for most of the rest of the season, but Gustavo has been playing really well so he'll just play all the games from now on at DCL.

Deportivo 4-0 Athletic

Emphatic. Seiwald absolutely smashed one in from 25 yards to get us underway, before Vidovic scored directly from a free-kick. He got his second after a failed clearance allowed Imaz to find him in the box and he drilled in. Imaz then headed home from a lovely floated cross from Enrique. Vidovic missed his chance for a hat-trick by missing his penalty which was a shame!

This result set us up perfectly for our match against Barcelona. A win and I felt we'd be 6 points clear, really 7 due to the head-to-head rules in La Liga. With just 4 games to play that felt like too much. A draw would be okay. A loss would hand the initiative to Barcelona as they'd be level on points with us if they won their game in hand and have the advantage in the head-to-head.

The only issue would be I'd prioritised the other games, so our second string would play the game!

Deportivo 2-0 Barcelona

Our aerial prowess was absolutely key to this victory. Koliada took the corner that Scholl headed home; a perfect delivery for the defender to run on to. Scholl then got his second of the day from Arsenijevic's free kick to win us the game, and most likely, the title. This was one of our best performances against Barcelona, bearing in mind our second team played as well. 

League table

If Barcelona win their game in hand it'll be a 6 point advantage, but with home games against Levante and Rayo Vallecano (we beat them 8-2 away) to come, I can't see anything other than a second consecutive title and a third overall. 

[Jtomsett11]

May 2032

The La Liga title was ours after the Levante game, so I think the second team suffered from a lack of motivation against Betis as we conceded our first goals in La Liga since our loss to Real Madrid. 

Real Sociedad 0-2 Deportivo

Sometimes you just need your top players to stand up and be counted. Carrasco did that here, with two lovely finishes to seal 3 points from a very tricky fixture. Sociedad created early on, but once Carrasco had curled in after receiving a brilliant pass from Imaz, we took control and it was only the second goal missing. That arrived on 79 minutes when Carrasco absolutely buried a half-volley after being set up by Arsenijevic. 

Deportivo 4-0 Levante

Any nerves here were ended by Imaz, who scored two great goals, a classy finish from Fondevila's through ball and then a volley from Enrique's nod on. Carrasco then sent Enrique through before he got in on the goals himself after Popovic's superb through ball. An all round excellent performance, made more excellent by a Barcelona draw earlier in the month, meaning that we sealed the title here.

Now that's something you love to see. 3 La Liga titles in 5 years. Can we seal three in a row next year?

Real Betis 3-2 Deportivo

Classic when you've already won the title. We couldn't really cope in defence, Scholl was particularly poor as he was caught for the first goal, although David had played a hospital pass to him. He then lost the ball out wide for Jorge to score after Popovic had done really well to create a lovely cross for Mara to equalise. Mara then got a second after a little bit of ping-pong in the Betis box before we allowed Barcola to run at us and find Jorge in the middle. Gil was probably at fault, but none of the defenders did well here. You have to lose at some point, and doing so after winning the title is probably understandable, so I'll try not to read too much into individual performances.

Deportivo 4-0 Rayo Vallecano

For 64 minutes, Rayo Vallecano held us at bay. However, they couldn't deal with our 5 substitutions. After an Imaz pass had bounced off a defender, Mara smashed in a volley off the bar from the edge of the area (our xG was over 2 at this point so we really should have been ahead already). We continued to miss chances until the 84th minute when Van Hecke scored from a corner. Imaz then finished his fine second half of the season with a direct free-kick, before Van Hecke scored a rebound from a Mara effort from another free kick. That's 9 goals from indirect free kicks, 9 from corners and 3 from direct free kicks this season in La Liga alone!

League table

We finish with 92 points, which is our highest yet. 

Of the 21 goals conceded, 16 of them came in the first half of the season. We gained 10 more points in the second half of the season than the first half as well. 

[Jtomsett11]

Financial management 2032

One of the things I pride myself on in football manager is managing my finances extremely well. I'll only really spend big money if I'm also bringing in big money from transfers. I'm meticulous about managing my younger players playing time to develop them with a view to selling them one day, and rarely keep a player past the point where he can be sold for a final pay-out. 

I think these results are testament to that approach, which when you consider we shelled out £100 million odd on a new stadium last year is pretty impressive. I'll continue this approach this summer as we look to improve some key positions, evaluate B team players, the U19s and those on loan to work out what the best approach for each player is. 

Wages to turnover

Profit

Transfer spend

Finances

The dip there is purely due to the investment in the stadium.

[Jtomsett11]

Review 2031/32

A very positive year with a record points total for us (in La Liga at least) but less success in the cups. We've had our training and youth facilities downgraded so we'll need to upgrade those again. A very successful year financially considering the stadium investment last year. I'm looking forward to the new stadium in 2034, although my playing speed is so slow now I wonder if I'll get there before FM25 (which at the moment I plan to get).

Team performance

Goalkeepers

I'm pretty sure a negative Xgp/90 means both keepers conceded more goals than they should have. Having just checked December stats, Settineri saw a massive swing from +0.10 per game to -0.24 and I think that's largely down to him playing in both of our cup shockers (I think). Despite these stats, I'm still generally happy with both of them as they're top class keepers. Settineri wants silly money to renew his contract which lasts until 2034, so next season might be his last one unless he agrees to lower demands.

Outfield

Centre backs

I'm pretty happy with all 4 centre backs, although Van Hecke and Bella-Kotchap stand out to me (which is why they're the first choice pair) for their tackling expertise. Gustavo had a good season and Scholl is an excellent backup. I'm debating moving Gustavo to the starting LCB role but on this analysis, perhaps I keep Bella-Kotchap there another season. He's out on contract next year but I'm keen to renew as long as he doesn't want higher wages.

Full backs

Koliada and Edu both had excellent seasons, especially when you consider the B teams conceded more goals. Koliada creates a lot of chances while Sosa is a little more defensively solid, especially in the air. I've an interesting dilemma as to first choice next season really. I think Gil will go out on loan despite again good defensive statistics; he needs solid game time and is probably good enough for a low level La Liga side next season.

Segundo volante's

Defensively, Oca stands out, while offensively nobody creates more than Garner while nobody is as dangerous as Seiwald. Seiwald is probably the best all-rounder. I'm considering selling Garner despite his 11 assists and open play key pass creation; he uses up a valuable foreign spot and would potentially lose his place to Oca next season. He's also getting on a little bit and was less effective defensively this season. That could be a mistake, but I thought I couldn't upgrade AMR a few seasons ago when Gordon did really well and then we bought in Imaz.

Attacking mids

Enrique has been just superb this season. 19 goals and 8 assists in 40 appearances (28 of those starts) is superb. The fact he's expected to get 16 goals, whereas Arsenijevic expects just 5 goals from 2/3 of the minutes shows how he's progressed his game this season to get into the perfect positions to score goals. I can't honestly say I've done anything different with him, but he has gone to another level. Agirrezabala has been brilliant in terms of assists, but a lot of those have come from set plays. There's a lot of interest in him and he's after more game time so it may be necessary to let him go.

Inside forwards

Imaz leads the way here,  but there's also impressive contributions from Vidovic and to be honest, I also think Sevillano did pretty well for his debut season with 6 assists and 7 goals. Fondevila was disappointing in terms of numbers, but he should have scored more and he has the same expected assists per game as Sevillano. Popovic had a good cameo role from January and 3 assists and a goal from 700 minutes is pretty good. 

Pressing forwards

Carrasco slightly outdid his expected goals here and with 25 goals and his 5 assists were slightly up from last year. Mara scored more goals than he has appearances. I'm going to renew his contract (again runs out in 2033) as he's just an outstanding backup. 

Awards

Imaz has just been superb since arriving (despite the poor first half of this season).

A deserved award for Nokilic who also kept the most clean sheets in a season for us .

Best eleven

No real complaints with this. Interestingly our back LB and RB are in the side; perhaps it's telling me something! 

[Jtomsett11]

All time XI 2032

Nikolic made the subs, but otherwise no new additions to the all-time XI. 6 players here are still with us and of those, Bella-Kotchap and Carrasco are still going to be first team players tomorrow, with Garner I'm undecided yet. 

[Jtomsett11]

Attribute growth June 2032

Goalkeepers

Nikolic looks like he's stalled, while Settineri is getting closer. It'll be interesting to see if there's much more development in him. Luca has slowed down and Daniel is progressing nicely, having started in the B team towards the end of the season.

Centre backs

Van Hecke progresses despite his age and Gustavo has come on leaps and bounds. Marcos has also developed on loan, but I'm not sure he's good enough for the first team. His value has plummeted which is a shame. Of the players further down, Carles is impressing, while Salas has improved significantly despite being at the club just months. He only has 3 star potential but perhaps that's been understated.

Full backs

Edu becomes our first 80 point wing back. He's progressing really well each year, as is Koliada. Are they ready for number 1 status? Gil has developed to a good standard while de la Fuente has massively improved. Again, 3 star potential, but perhaps a future here if he continues to develop.

Segundo volante

An 80 points segundo volante as well! Rothwell did not improve much this season, but he did learn DM position to natural from nothing in one season, so that will have taken up some CA. Asin has improved significantly and still has 4 star potential, but it's Luis who is the most improved with a huge 9 points of growth. Can he continue his almost 10 point a season growth going forward?

Attacking mid

Enrique's growth reflects his excellent season. Vivar is yet to play a game and his all-round attributes are limited, but I'll be looking to loan him out next season to see how far he can go based on his excellent growth in the U19s. Other notable improvers include Alberto and Muina. 

Inside forwards

Carrasco doesn't play here, but look at his continued growth into an elite player. Popovic has also come on superbly since we signed him. Sevillano and Fondevila have also grown this season and they've got time on their side for further development. We have lots and lots of young players in this position. I'm not entirely sure who is getting priority in the B team, who will go out on loan and who will be sold yet. 

Pressing forwards

I'm not sure Escabros will make the grade but I think another season on loan would suit him at this stage. Most impressive of our younger players is Muina who has grown superbly this season. He'll be in the B team next year. 

[Jtomsett11]

Deportivo Fabril La Liga 2 title

Interestingly, under my 'instant result' management, have won La Liga 2. Interestingly, I never managed that with the first team, but it's put me in the hall of fame!