FM23 Les Verts - Restoring a Sleeping Giant

[BethFM]

 

Founded in 1919 (now known as Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire), the club based in the Rhone-Alps region is actually the joint record holders of the number of Ligue 1 titles. Les Verts have won ten titles, a number which Qatari backed PSG equalled with their title victory last season. 

The club was founded by employees of a grocery store chain called Groupe Casino, the choice of their famous green kits was due to it being the primary colour of the aforementioned grocery store. Upon football becoming professional, in 1933 the club  changed its name to AS St Etienne and was inserted into the second tier of French football. The club gained promotion to the first division during the 1938-39 season under the stewardship of Englishman Teddy Duckworth. 

Moving forward in the timeline, between the years 1956 - 1981 Les Verts secured their place in the history of French football by winning ten league titles, a record that has only just been equalled by PSG. The first of these came in the 1956-57 season where St. Etienne won the title by finishing four points ahead of Lens. The next title was secured in the 1963-64 campaign, then a period of domestic dominance ensued as the club won the Ligue 1 title on four consecutive occasions from 1966-67 to 1969-70. After a three year drought, the club had another burst of success as another three consecutive titles were won from 1973-1976.

In 1976 Les Stephanois also reached the final of the European Cup where they faced Bayern Munich, who were chasing their third European Cup win, at Hampden Park. The French Champions were narrowly defeated 1-0. The game began with Gerd Muller going on an incredible solo run after winning the ball back in his own half and finding the back of the net, the goal however was ruled out for offside. Les Verts could breathe easy for a while, they actually had plenty of chances to score but ultimately failed to do so after hitting the woodwork on multiple occasions. In the 57th minute Bayern broke the deadlock as captain Franz Beckenbauer played a short free kick to Franz 'Bulle' Roth who found the back of the net. 

 

In 1981 the club won its final league title to date as captain Michel Platini lifted the Ligue 1 trophy. What immediately followed can only be described as a downward trajectory of epic proportions. The year after their final league title win saw long time president Roger Rocher jailed for his role in a financial scandal. Unsurprisingly the club suffered relegation to Ligue 2 in 1984. The club once again returned to the top flight in 1986, they would retain their status for a decade despite the ongoing financial insecurities, in '96 the club was relegated back to the second tier and bounced back to Ligue 1 in 1999. The following year there was yet another scandal as two players were found to be using fake passports - after an investigation which showed some staff members were involved in the acquisition of the forged documents, the club was docked seven points and relegated. After another three seasons in Ligue 2, St Etienne returned to the top flight for the 2004/05 campaign. They arrived back in the top division with a new philosophy to which the clubs investment in youth was central. The 04/05 squad consisted of a core group of players who had either emerged through the academy (Bafetimbi Gomis and Loic Perrin) or were shrewd investments in quality young French players (Blaise Matuidi and Dimitri Payet). Perrin, who I will write about in more detail at a later date, stayed with his boyhood club throughout his entire career and is considered to be one of the best players to wear the green of St. Etienne in recent years. 

 

After maintaining its position in Ligue 1, the year 2013 saw Les Verts secure their first domestic trophy for over thirty years as they won the Coup de la Ligue. The following year saw the team secure a home victory agains fierce rivals Olympique Lyonnais for the first time in twenty years. Moving forward a few years, the club secured a fourth place finish in 2019, however troubled times returned as the club was put up for sale the year after and the team battled relegation one again. After going on a ten game winning streak St. Etienne secured survival for another year, sadly the following year saw the inevitable happen. Les Verts struggled throughout the 2021/22 season, spending the majority of the campaign in the relegation zone, they were eventually sent back down to Ligue 2 after losing the relegation play off to Auxerre... and that is where we are at the start of this Football Manager save. 

Edited January 1, 2023 by BethFM

[BethFM]

A Couple of Facts About St. Etienne You Might Not Know:

In 1958 club legend and second all time leading scorer Rachid Mekhloufi made the decision to sacrifice his playing career to go and join the fight for Algeria in their battle for independence from French rule. Mekhloufi and ten other players based in France made the choice to play football for the FLN Football Team (The National Liberation Front was leading the fight against French forces). At 21 years old the young St Etienne player used his footballing skills to bring awareness to the ongoing battle between Algeria and its coloniser. This was incredibly brave as they were essentially playing for a country that did not fully exist yet (when France colonised Algeria it became classed as part of the nation of France meaning in the eyes of the French the nation of Algeria ceased to exist). The FLN team won 65 matches in four years which meant that the Algerian cause could not be ignored as many fans who supported the players also made their voices heard in their wishes to see an independent Algeria. The war raged on and the players including Mekhloufi lost family members and friends to the intensely bloody battle. However Mekhloufi himself stated that the experience of wearing the colours of Algeria and signing what would become the national anthem 'couldn't be bought with all the gold in the world'. Mekhloufi and his compatriots were celebrated as heroes as they continued to pay for the FLN until 1962 when Algeria achieved independence. Some people may criticise the politicisation of football but no one can deny that Mekhloufi's decision to use his talent to protest French rule was incredibly brave and no doubt instilled an even higher sense of national pride in Algeria.

 

Striker Dominique Rocheteau was known as L'Ange Vert - The Green Angel. He was given this nickname as he was famously never booked throughout his career. Rocheteau was part of the team that lost in the 1976 European Cup final. Upon their return to France, Robert Herbin's men were welcomed as heroes. French fans frequently comment that had the goalposts been round instead of square, they would have won as Jacques Santini and Dominique Bathenay both hit the frame of the goal.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by BethFM

[BethFM]

Transfer and Recruitment Policy: The Luis Campos Way

 

When talking about modern French football, it is unavoidable to mention Luis Campos, he is the man responsible for some of the biggest and shrewdest transfers in football today. Currently, the Portuguese native is Sporting Director at PSG, the Qatari backed club have assigned him the responsibility of assembling a team that can challenge for the elusive Champions League trophy that they so desperately desire. Campos recruitment policy is admired for his intelligent approach to transfers, and most notably the substantial profits made on player sales. Let's take a look at the career of Luis Campos... 

After a decade long manager career in his native Portugal, in 2012 Campos became a scout at Real Madrid under the management of Jose Mourinho, where he also worked alongside the likes of Aitor Karanka. Campos utilises technology better than most, he even created tactical software for clubs including the Mourinho Tactical Board, specifically designed for the man himself. Whilst working at Real Madrid, he continued to develop scouting software which many clubs use today. One of his early recommendations to the Spanish giants was to sign the Brazilian Fabinho, whilst the player would only make a single appearance for Los Blancos, he would be reunited with Campos at Monaco where he would develop into a player that could be sold for €50 million. 

2013 saw Luis Campos join Monaco initially in an advisory capacity, a year later after the clubs unsustainable spending spree was forced to a halt, his position was upgraded to Technical Director, great show of faith in his methods. Campos assembled a squad of promising youngsters who had the potential to be sold on for significant profits. Bernardo Silva came in from Benfica for €15.75 million, Tiemoue Bakayoko from Rennes for €8 million, Fabinho from Rio Ave for €6 million, Thomas Lemar from Caen for €4 million. All would later be sold for vastly higher fees. Campos also recognised the huge potential in the then young starlet Kylian Mbappe, he ensured there was a clear pathway to the first team for the youngster to develop. Campos' signings not only helped Monaco romp to the title, they also generated close to €1 billion for the Stade Louis II club. 

In 2017 Campos made his way north to Lille, during his tenure at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy he spent at total of €225 million and recouped €354 million, meaning he generated a profit of €129 million for the club. Other players that Campos signed such as Ikone, Maignan and Soumare were also sold for significant profits after his departure. 

Campos honed his recruitment policy at Lille, placing great emphasis on signing players aged 17-20 - The Potential Phase. There were also a number of signings aged 21-23 - The Pre Peak Phase. 

 

Recruiting in The Potential Phase:

 

During his time at Lille, Luis Campos brought in sixteen players who fit The Potential Phase criteria, the majority of which were signed from club academies in Europe. Rafael Leao who is now considered to be one of the leading strikers in Europe is a prime example of the Campos methodology, he was signed on a free from Sporting and sold to A.C. Milan for a fee of €29.5 million. Premier League side Newcastle United paid €37 million to acquire the services of centre back Sven Botman whilst Jonathan Ikone was sold for €17 million and Soumare brought in €20 million. Victor Osimhen was sold to Napoli for a club record fee of €70 million that could potentially rise to €80 million. As the above graphic demonstrates, Lille did pay a decent fee to bring the Nigerian to the club, however Campos held the belief that this would be more than doubled when the player was eventually sold on, he was of course proven right. 

 

Buying and Selling in The Pre Peak Phase:

Players Out:

 

The graphic above demonstrates the outgoings at Lille who were in the Pre Peak Phase. As you can see, Campos is more than happy to move players on during this phase, for the right price of course. This also demonstrates his ability to replace players as Canadian Jonathan David was signed as a replacement for Osimhen while Sven Botman was brought to Lille as a replacement for Gabriel. Yves Bissouma's departure was also covered as Soumare was still at the club and able to step into the vacant role in central midfield. 

 

Players In:

 

Above are the players signed by Campos who were in the Pre Peak Phase (21-23). This consists of players who would go on to become integral to Lille's success, as you can see, heh as a tendency to look beyond the 'big five' leagues for quality players, the majority of whom he will have followed for a number of years. Once again, it is worth noting that these players would go on to bring in huge profits for the French team, Nicolas Pepe's performances for Lille convinced Arsenal to shell out €80 million for him, a €62 million profit. The biggest outlay of course was to sign Renato Sanches who at the time had struggled at Bayern and endured an ill fated loan spell at Swansea, Campos though trusted his own judgement and believed the player would thrive in the right environment. 

 

Buying and Selling Peak Players: 24-28 Years Old

Campos refused to break the bank to sign players in their peak, he would only sanction he signings he considered to be necessary to the squad and would not spend a significant amount on these players. In other words, peak players could be signed but only at the right price and where possible he wold still look to turn a profit on these players.

Incoming Peak Players:

 

Outgoing Peak Players:

The €156.9 million generated by peak player sales accounts for 44.34% of the fees received. Of course, that is mostly accounted for by the fee for Pepe, but there were some other decent examples of profit being made. Campos was not afraid to sell first-team players such as Thiago Mendes or Ibrahim Amadou and replace them with young players coming through, as he did with the pre-peak players earlier. 

 

The final piece of the puzzle... Experience:

Despite the success Campos had signing young players, there were some very important players brought who were classed as being in the decline of their careers. With a high proportion of the squad being young players and with many of those players being sold before hitting their peaks, a little bit of experience needed to be brought in to give the squad a better balance.

 

In the list of the more experienced signings made by Campos, there are two signings that were particularly important. They were both over the age of 34-years-old and picked up for free. Those signings were Burak Yilmaz and Jose Fonte, who were both vital in Lille winning the league in 20/21. 

Fonte, the former Southampton centre back, proved to be the perfect partner for the far less experienced Botman, with the Portuguese man starting every game of the season, bar the two he was suspended for. That partnership was the bedrock of Lille’s exceptional defensive record, which saw them concede the lowest total in the league of just 23 goals. 

Meanwhile, Yilmaz provided the goals at the other end of the field. The Turk scored 16 goals and assisted five on the way to the title, with his lethal finishing making the difference for his side on several occasions.

 

It is this transfer policy I will be adopting for my Football Manager save with St. Etienne, we will mostly look to sign players in the Potential Phase with the idea to develop them and sell them on for profits. There will also be signings in the Pre Peak Phase, is is these two phases where we will spend money, any Peak or Experienced signings will have to be well considered and at the right price. Of course as Campos' has demonstrated, if the right offer comes in then it will be accepted, even if they are a first team player, it is always important to remember that through detailed scouting a replacement can be found. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by BethFM

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Interesting read so far. I look forward to seeing you implement your transfer policy.

 

[BethFM]

14 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Interesting read so far. I look forward to seeing you implement your transfer policy.

 

Thank you, yes I think St. Etienne is a great club to implement Campos' recruitment methodology since they are renowned for developing players like Saliba and Fofana who were sold for €25 million and €35 million. Managing the finances will be a key aspect of this save, especially if we want to get promoted and stay there. 

[BethFM]

St. Etienne 2022/23 Squad:

Goalkeepers:

Etienne Green (22)  Matthieu Dreyer (33)

 

Defenders:

Mickael Nade (23)  Saidou Sow (20)  Leo Petrot (25)  Anthony Briancon (27)  Jimmy Giraudon (30)  Gabriel Silva (31)  Yvann Macon (23)  Sergi Palencia (26)

 

Midfielders:

Thomas Monconduit (31)  Aimen Moueffek (21)  Louis Mouton (20)  Koimizo Maiga (21)  Victor Lobry (27)  Benjamin Bouchouari (20)  Mathieu Cafaro (25)  Dylan Chambost (24)  

 

Forwards:

Ibrahima Wadji (27)  Lenny Pintor (21)  Jean-Philippe Krasso (25)  Charles Abi (22)  Edmilson Correia (22) 

 

 

Overall squad analysis:

 

 

 

 

The Luis Campos Squad Analysis:

Players in the Potential Phase: Aged 17- 20

Saidou Sow, Louis Mouton, Benjamin Bouchouari.

 

Players in the Pre Peak Phase: Aged 21-23

Etienne Green, Mickael Nade, Yvann Macon, Aimen Moueffek, Koimizo Maiga, Lenny Pintor, Charles Abi, Edmilson Correia.

 

Players in the Peak Phase: Aged 24-28

Leo Petrot, Anthony Briancon, Sergi Palencia, Victor Lobry, Mathieu Cafaro, Dylan Chambost, Ibrahima Wadji, Jean-Philippe Krasso.

 

Experienced Players: 29+

Matthieu Dreyer, Jimmy Giraudon, Gabriel Silva, Thomas Monconduit. 

 

[Jellico73]

A lot of people doing ASSE saves this year, including me.  :-)

Interested to see in how you get along, my journey has been...interesting thus far.

Jellico

[_Ben_]

Absolutely brilliant introductory posts there. Will definitely sit down and read and re-read that! Keep it up. 

[BethFM]

10 hours ago, Jellico73 said:

A lot of people doing ASSE saves this year, including me.  :-)

Interested to see in how you get along, my journey has been...interesting thus far.

Jellico

Thank you 😊

How have you been getting on?

The squad looks pretty decent but I feel like promotion has to be achieved in the first season or most will want to leave.

[BethFM]

10 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Absolutely brilliant introductory posts there. Will definitely sit down and read and re-read that! Keep it up. 

Thank you Ben, have to say I love following your save - little shy to post in the thread but the detail you go into is just wonderful. Appreciate you taking the time to read mine. 

[BethFM]

July and August 2022

 

 

Pre season went as well as I could hope for, especially after a disappointing first outing against Ligue 1 side Nice. I used these games to develop a tactic that would suit the players I have inherited. The board and fans both require us to be immediately promoted back to the topflight which I do feel is a tough ask considering the quality of some the teams in this league such as Bordeaux, Metz, Le Havre and Sochaux and taking into account there is only two promotion spots available. The victory against Hungarian champions Ferencvaros was pleasing as I didn't expect us to walk away with a win from this game. However a negative that came from our preseason was that three players who would be in the starting eleven picked up injuries that meant they would be unavailable for the first few weeks of the season.  

 

Our first game of the season rolled around rather quickly, we were away to Dijon who have plenty of Ligue 1 experience and would certainly be no pushovers. We also began the season with a three point deduction due to the crowd behaviour that was very well documented as ASSE were relegated last season. Based on the players at the club I have opted for a 4-3-3 formation with the intention firstly to keep possession. Jose Mourinho famously believes that maintaining possession is not necessary as the team with the ball is more likely to make a mistake, my thinking is the opposite of this, I believe that if we have control of the ball then with our passing abilities we will be able to carve an opening for our attackers. I also would like us to press high up the pitch and force our opponents into turning over possession, the main thought behind this is that as per the squad analysis above, we possess a high amount of pace within the attacking element of the team so our ability to attack with a certain amount of speed should be utilised. The Wing Back and Full Back have licence to get forward and cross more often which is why I have opted for a Half Back who will drop back and form a defensive back three which should enable us to be able to contain the opposition counterattacks. 

The opening game saw us pick up a win away at Dijon, we kept possession very well and limited them to only five shots throughout the game. Charles Abi opened his account for the season with a simple tap in after a lovely cross from the right wing from Ibrahima Wadji. The Advanced Forward role suits both Abi and Krasso well as they both have the pace to cause a constant problem for opposition defenders by running in behind their defensive line. Our second goal was more luck than anything else as Moueffek had a shot from the edge of the area and the Dijon keeper seemed to palm it into his own net, no complaints from us though. Nice to start the season with a victory and make up the -3 point deduction right away. 

   

 

I felt that to fully get the best out of the Half Back we would need to recruit a better player than Mouton, his lack of determination and bravery was concerning to me and his lack of technical ability also worried me with our desire to maintain possession. We had just over €8k available in wage budget and zero transfer budget, having looked at the free agent market myself and not finding a suitable player, I set up two priority recruitment focuses, one for transfers as we could adjust the budgets to give us approximately €200k in transfer budget and another to see if there were any opportunities to loan a talented young player to fill the gap. The latter recruitment focus drew my attention to Alexis Beka Beka who is a young player at Nice. On the whole he possesses excellent attributes to play as a Half Back, his high level of determination though is what drew me to making an offer for a season long loan. After agreeing to pay 60% of his wages, the player signed on the dotted line and went straight into the line up for our upcoming game against Nimes.

 

 

 

What a game it was! A wonderful 4-1 victory was secured via four goals from Charles Abi including a first half hattrick. As you can see from our attacking positioning the Central Midfielder on Attack gets so high up the pitch that he is often acting as another striker which helps to create space for the Mezzala to exploit. All four of our goals were virtually identical as they stemmed from a ball over the top which enabled Abi to latch onto it and place the ball past the keeper. Abi bagged the four goals while two assists were claimed by Ibrahima Wadji who on the support duty dropped back into the defensive third to receive the ball and swiftly played in Abi who made excellent runs throughout the game. Debutant Alexis Beka Beka had a brilliant game, he was key to us not only maintain possession but using it in a positive fashion as he completed over 100 passes which propelled our attack forward down the flanks. He also  capped of a great performance with an assist.

 

Our good form continued throughout the month of August, Abi continued his good form by scoring both goals in a victory away to Quevilly-Rouen. A 1-0 victory at home to league favourites Le Havre followed, Yvann Macon was incredibly influential throughout this game, not only did he get an assist after Lenny Pintor ran in from the left wing to tap in a teasing cross played across the Le Havre penalty area after a swift counter attack, Macon was a menace all game down our right had side and on another day it could have been two or three. Ibrahima Wadji rescued a late draw against Valenciennes whilst Charles Abi was back amongst the goals in the 1-1 draw with Bastia. Whilst I am still learning about the team, we are defensively quite compact though I would like to see a few more clean sheets on the horizon. There may be some tactical tweaks in the near future but on the whole I am happy with the shape and the attacking output, it's been a good start to our season, hopefully it will continue. 

 

 

[_Ben_]

6 hours ago, BethFM said:

Thank you Ben, have to say I love following your save - little shy to post in the thread but the detail you go into is just wonderful. Appreciate you taking the time to read mine. 

Please don't be shy! Comment away as the interaction is what drives me to write more.

In terms of your save - what is your database setup like? I really want to dig into your thoughts on recruitment knowing that you need to get promoted, really, before it kicks off.

• I see Campos didn't target the top 5 really. Is that something you'll do?
• Do you have any players now (not brought in by you) that a sale would fit into the Campos model or is it all about being promoted, first?
• Any youngsters that you want to give the Mbappe model to?

[BethFM]

September 2022:

Deadline Day Signing: Bobir Abdiholiqov €26k from BGU Minsk

Bobir's signing was not exactly planned, Jean-Philippe Krasso (who has been less that impressive when called upon) stated that he was going to 'explore his options' when his contract expired at the end of the season, Edmilson Correia did the same, though I doubt he would ever become more than a backup option. My scouts were already looking for strikers as Abi is the only one who is impressing and I already had reservations about the abilities of the other two before they stated their intentions to explore their options. I was in the market for a replacement and Abdiholiqov peaked my interest, his contract at Minsk was expiring therefore he was available at a knockdown price, his wages are also half of Krasso's, with Abi pretty much locked in as our starting striker, Bobir looks to be a fine understudy and more than capable of leading the line when needed plus there is also the opportunity to retrain him.

How does Abdiholiqov fit with the Luis Campos recruitment policy:

- 25 Years Old - Peak Phase.

- Bought for 26k with potential for a high resale value.

- Low wages.

- Significantly improves the squad.

 

 

It's difficult to tell whether September was good or bad in terms of the results, on the one had we remained unbeaten, on the other had we had failed to win in five matches now. The game against Pau was largely disappointing as we dominated and really should have found the back of the next more than once. We were hit on the counter in the 87th minute which resulted in us conceding the equaliser. The game against Bordeaux saw us take an early lead through a Mathieu Cafaro penalty, what ensued afterwards can only be described as them absolutely peppering us with shots, thankfully goalkeeper Etienne Green had the game of his life and limited them to one goal. A rather drab 0-0 draw with Guingamp closed out the month. 

Looking at the data hub, I found that we were underperforming defensively and I think using a CM on attack and a Mezzala with the Half Back meant that our midfield was generally getting bypassed as they were all inclined to leave the space open for opponents to launch a counter attack. Based on this I opted to change the Mezzala to a Ball Winning Midfielder on Support duty.

 

In other news, experienced Left Back Gabriel Silva who is our highest earner on a whopping €20k per week agreed a deal to return home to Brazil by signing with Vasco da Gama, a transfer that will go through in January. We received a fee of €180k for him, a good deal for us as he is a backup option and his contract was expiring at the end of the season so it made sense to get some money for him and get those dreadful wages off the books.

 

 

[BethFM]

2 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Please don't be shy! Comment away as the interaction is what drives me to write more.

In terms of your save - what is your database setup like? I really want to dig into your thoughts on recruitment knowing that you need to get promoted, really, before it kicks off.

• I see Campos didn't target the top 5 really. Is that something you'll do?
• Do you have any players now (not brought in by you) that a sale would fit into the Campos model or is it all about being promoted, first?
• Any youngsters that you want to give the Mbappe model to?

I'll make sure to pop up in the comments then!  

Database - Playable leagues I have:

France Ligue 1, 2 and Championnat National. The remaining T5 leagues and their second tiers. Then I have the players from every team in every top tier league worldwide, so that gives me about 112,000 players and means that those teams will continue to generate players so we should get the opportunity to scout some talented youngsters. I would like to focus on players based in Africa as in France the majority don't require a work permit and are not classed as foreign players. I think I will only sign players from the top 5 leagues if it was the right deal for the club. I plan on managing the finances really tightly in this save (will write in more detail about this at a later date). I want to create a clear wage structure throughout the club.

Currently Charles Abi is firing on all cylinders, whilst I plan on offering him a new contract, I know the big clubs will come calling and I would certainly be willing to sell him for the right price. Yvann Macon is a player that had interest from Premier League clubs when I took charge at St Etienne, whether they will renew their interest in January remains to be seen. 

There are a couple of highly rated youngsters that I plan on clearing a pathway for, Saidou Sow is a player that I think could be a key player for us for years to come and if he gets regular first team football I think he could either sell for a high profit or be our one club man, much like Loic Perrin. I plan on writing about the development of some of the prospects in ASSE-2 and the Under 19s over the coming weeks.

Speaking of Mbappe, we have agreed a deal to sign Diagne from Diambars in Senegal, our wingers are somewhat lacking and this guy was highly recommended by the scouts, after further scouting a deal was agreed for €60k. I think he actually could resemble Mbappe in his style of play. At 19 he is in the 'Potential Phase' and Porto were already interested in him so I decided to swoop in there.

 

[BethFM]

October 2022:

The first game in October saw us pick up a 3-0 victory against third placed Grenoble, high flying Charles Abi continued his good form, he is currently leading the Ligue 2 scoring charts with thirteen goals. I have offered him a new contract to deter any interest from bigger clubs. Whilst I have no doubt that we will have to part ways with him at some point, I would like to continue developing him and eventually sell him in the 'Peak Phase' for a high amount. We then secured a victory against Souchaux, once again thanks to Charles Abi. Another victory followed against Paris FC, Abi on the scoresheet again, this time joined by Mathieu Cafaro who I have changed to play as an Advanced Playmaker on the left wing as I want to see him drift in to the number 10 role as often as possible. What followed was a disappointing performance and defeat to Amiens, whilst I am unhappy with the performance I don't feel the need to panic and make any kneejerk reactionary changes to the tactic or personnel. The final game of the month saw us grab a victory in the Coup de France against Genets Anglet, Bobir Abdiholiqov made his first start in this game and bagged himself a hattrick. On to the next.

[_Ben_]

34 minutes ago, BethFM said:

Speaking of Mbappe, we have agreed a deal to sign Diagne from Diambars in Senegal, our wingers are somewhat lacking and this guy was highly recommended by the scouts, after further scouting a deal was agreed for €60k. I think he actually could resemble Mbappe in his style of play. At 19 he is in the 'Potential Phase' and Porto were already interested in him so I decided to swoop in there.

He looks insanely promising! I immediately checked if he was in my database but, sadly, he's not. Very well rounded and probably only needs work on his Composure.

League looks to be going very well - are you expecting an immediate return to the top flight?

[Jellico73]

21 hours ago, BethFM said:

Thank you 😊

How have you been getting on?

The squad looks pretty decent but I feel like promotion has to be achieved in the first season or most will want to leave.

I got promoted 1st season, finished midtable the next season.  Fighting for an outside chance at 6th/7th place now. 

My issue is I bring in good players on the cheap, they have a great season and leave for a bigger team, or I bring in a loan player with an optional fee I can't afford.
We will get there though. 

Youth Intakes like this don't hurt either:

 

I am liking it though, my first ever FM save was with USL Dunkerque back in FM17, I like playing inf France, beating PSG (eventually) is always fun...

Jellico

 

[SixPointer]

Lovely start! Love how you have zoned in on a specific recruitment style!

[BethFM]

November 2022:

 

The opening game of the month of November was a big one, we were up against fellow relegated side Metz who have one of the most exciting squads in French football, full of young talented players who will undoubtedly go on to become household names. Reading the scout and analyst reports on our upcoming opposition, I found that they consistently line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with two Defensive Midfielders, I was also informed that they struggle the most when facing this same formation. Armed with this information I decided to match them formation wise. We lined up in this 4-2-3-1 formation for the game. We played exceptionally well and managed to walk away with a victory. This propelled us up to third in the Ligue 2 table. Alexis Beka Beka was the standout player as he has been all season, however shortly after this game he suffered a lower back stress fracture which sees him having to sit on the sidelines for approximately 9 weeks. We couldn't follow up our hard fought victory against Metz with a victory as we only managed a goalless draw against Rodez, we did proceed onto the next round of the Coupe de France after a 2-1 victory against UF Macon. That completed our competitive fixtures for the month as we reached the mid season break for the world cup, I have arranged some friendlies to keep us match fit and in the flow of playing regular football, the first of these was against league leaders Caen where we eased to a 3-0 victory, hopefully a result we can replicate in the league.

Off The Pitch:

Transfer Deal: Reading some of the latest scout reports, my attention was caught by Meleye Diagne of Diambars FC in Senegal. He is clearly incredibly talented and there were no red flags in his hidden attributes. At 19 years old he fits into the recruitment model as he is in the Potential Phase which means we have the ability to develop him and sell him on for a big profit. Diambars were willing to accept a deal for €60k which is a great deal for us in terms of outlay. I took the decision to act swiftly and get the deal done as Porto were interesting in him and if we entered a bidding war or the player was forced to choose between us and them, I would guess he would have opted for Porto so I decided to swoop in. 

 

There were some other changes off the pitch, our good form meant that when I requested a few improvements, the board were willing to accept them.

Transfer Budget

Wage Budget

Youth Recruitment

[BethFM]

16 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

He looks insanely promising! I immediately checked if he was in my database but, sadly, he's not. Very well rounded and probably only needs work on his Composure.

League looks to be going very well - are you expecting an immediate return to the top flight?

Scouting Africa is certainly throwing up some potential gems! 

We currently sit in third, I'm pretty confident we can get promoted - we seem to have hit some good form and are in a decent flow. I don't plan on making too many signings in January so not to upset the team cohesion. 

[Jellico73]

2 hours ago, BethFM said:

Scouting Africa is certainly throwing up some potential gems! 

The additional bonus is that many (all?) of the African Countries count as EU for France, so there aren't any Non EU player issues with them.  Africa has been cracked for me this year, I've scouted so many good to great newgen players there, and there is a lot of existing talent there as well, you just have to load the continernt as part of the database to scout/sign them.

Diagne is a very nice signing!

[aghtao]

excellent results and the signings are promising.

[BethFM]

8 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Lovely start! Love how you have zoned in on a specific recruitment style!

Thank you! Going well so far and the scouts are reporting back with some great prospects.

2 hours ago, Jellico73 said:

The additional bonus is that many (all?) of the African Countries count as EU for France, so there aren't any Non EU player issues with them.  Africa has been cracked for me this year, I've scouted so many good to great newgen players there, and there is a lot of existing talent there as well, you just have to load the continernt as part of the database to scout/sign them.

Diagne is a very nice signing!

Yesss, it's brilliant to be able so sign so many talented African youngsters. Hopefully we can develop them and sell them on for profits. 

 

44 minutes ago, aghtao said:

excellent results and the signings are promising.

Thank you!

[BethFM]

December 2022:

 

December saw us continue to play friendlies to maintain our match fitness before our Ligue two fixtures resumed with a trip to FC Annecy, a game which saw Bobir Andiholiqov thrive in the number 10 role as we continued to use the 4-2-3-1 formation that served us well for a couple of games prior to the winter break. Up next was a visit from top of the table Caen, overall it was a pretty even game which saw us squander some good chances, Charles Abi had a rare bad day at the office and miss some pretty easy opportunities, his hidden attributes suggest he doesn't enjoy 'big games' so perhaps the magnitude of the game got the better of him. Mathieu Cafaro calmly slotted away an 89th minute penalty to ensure we took all three points which is vital to our promotion campaign. To end the month we received our Youth Intake preview - hopefully we will get some quality youngsters coming through the academy pathway.

 

Player Focus: Charles Abi

 

 

One of the biggest reasons for our current and continued good form is thanks to the goals from Charles Abi. A product of the ASSE academy the young forward is enduring a controversial time in his career in the real world as the club recently suspended him for drink driving, however in the virtual world he is absolutely flying in this save. Abi has bagged 16 goals in 20 appearances so far this season which has been integral to our promotion charge, these goals also mean that he is leading the Ligue 2 scoring charts. Looking at his stats and data we can see he is doing well in the Advanced Forward role, Abi does most of his work in and around the box but he does work the channel as expected for the role. As we can also see, he does not have a high physical output, this could be due to the fact that we are a high pressing team, meaning we inevitably turn the ball over higher up the pitch so he requires less effort to get into a goalscoring position. Another factor could be that most of our build up play is via the flanks so Abi is best placed in the penalty area to try and get on the end of any incoming crosses. He is pretty reliable in possession and most of his passes find a teammate however we don't necessarily get a creative output from him in terms of progressive passes or assists as he registers a significantly lower number than the league average. An area of concern for me is the lack of other contributors to the goal tally, should our star man become injured or suspended we don't have anyone who is even half capable of stepping into his shoes at the minute. 

 

   

 

 

 

 

[SteinkelssonFM]

Really enjoyed this thread, sorry to only just post as have been lurking for a few posts. Abi is doing bits in the role of the advanced forward, a role which I am too having success with. I think if you can secure a strong supply line for this role the chances will come, especially with the use of your mid-block. 

[SixPointer]

Bobir looks like a true fm bargain buy!!!

[Hootieleece]

A little late to the party. I am glad to see someone do justice to a great club! I thought about doing an ASSE Career save, but you beat me to it. Also, you are doing a far better job of telling the story and explaining things.

 

Onwards and Upwards Les Verts!

 

[CameronFM]

A marvellous read Beth.

Really gripping as to the direction you want to take the club, whilst implementing a set recruitment strategy and a disciplined wage structure. Africa looks to be producing talent by the barrel-load this year with Abi’s stats really backing the need for a new contract. Diagne looks an absolute steal and will bankroll you in the future no doubt.

Love it! 

[BethFM]

January 2023:

As the new year rolled around I was hopeful that we could continue our good form and break into the top two, which we would need to do sooner rather than later if we are going to get promoted back to Ligue 1 this season. As mentioned previously, our main source of goals has been the ever present Charles Abi, as influential and important as he has been I have noticed that he does have a tendency to go missing in 'big' games. Plus, if he were to pick up an injury that would keep him out for a number of weeks there isn't really anyone I would trust to step into his shoes. Given that we are obviously Ligue 2 we can't necessarily attract the calibre of forward that I would be happy with until we are promoted so I made the decision that we would enter the market for a short term fix, we needed a striker who could step into Abi's shoes when required and who would be able to hit the ground running as we have a very pact schedule coming up after the winter World Cup. A well known young striker appeared on the loan list and after a scout report I was more than sure he would be able to help us out for six months, so we did this.

 

 

We love a 1-0! The results in January saw us continue our good form and saw Yvann Maçon really come into his own, he's been such a good player for us this season that his stats deserve a more detailed look (which I will do at a later date, it's been a bit of a mad start back at work so game time is limited this month). Charles Abi continued his good form in a 1-0 victory at home to newly promoted Laval. New signing Youssoufa Moukoko made his debut in the Coupe de France game against fellow Ligue 2 side FC Annecy, the Dortumund loanee bagged himself a goal to cap off an impressive debut. First choice goalkeeper Etienne Green picked up a twisted ankle in training so that meant Matthieu Dreyer would be getting a run in the first team for the foreseeable, he stepped in with a Player Of The Match performance in a pretty drab 0-0 against Niort, a game where neither team had their shooting boots on. An early goal from Moukoko sealed a 1-0 victory against Caen in the Coupe de France. We followed this up with another two 1-0 victories against Sochaux and Bastia. At the end of the month we found ourselves still sitting in third place, however the gap between ourselves and league leaders Caen was down to two points and only a single point between us and second place Dijon, who were are due to face in February - a potential six pointer if you will. 

 

 

Deadline Day Singing: 

We were beginning to look a little short on numbers as I had let attacking midfielders Benjamin Bouchouari and Victor Lobry leave on loan, the latter has been complaining about his lack of minutes but I am happy with the way we are playing currently and Bobir Abdiholiqov has really made that number 10 role his own so I can't envisage Lobry getting much game time with us so will likely be looking to offload him in the summer. In the mean time our affiliate team Clermont Foot came in with a loan offer for him and he was more than happy to leave. Bouchouari on the other hand is a promising young player who I sent out on loan so not to stifle his development, Dutch second tier side Ado Den Haag came in and offered him regular playing time so I accepted. 

I was on the look out for a player who could mostly play out wide as our two wing players are instructed to switch positions so I wanted someone who was comfortable on either side as neither Wadji or Pintor have been outstanding, Cafaro is a nailed on starter, primarily on the Left but we really needed an upgrade on the right, plus I wanted someone who could also play as a ten if required. César Gelabert is our latest addition, on the transfer list at Osasuna, he was available for €925k which was a mere drop in the ocean from our €7.4 million transfer budget. At 22 years old he is in the Pre Peak Phase which means we should be able to get a good few years out of him before we have to look at moving him on. After we signed him is value immediately jumped up to €2.8 - €6.4 million so I think there is the potential there for us to receive a significant profit in the future. Overall he looks to be a quality player, he is strong on both feet, excellent in possession of the ball, good passer and is a flair player which is something we have been lacking, plus he does not have any player traits which means we can train him in the traits that will best suit our team. All in all, I am very happy with our January transfer window.

 

Creating a wage structure:

Managing finances will be key throughout this save, we are never going to be able to compete with the likes of PSG so I feel it is important to create a structure that can be adhered to in order to make sure we don't overpay and waste money on players who don't necessarily warrant such an outlay. This is what I have come up with:

At St. Etienne we currently have a wage budget of €259,270 for the purposes of this I am going to round it up to €260k just so it's an easier number to deal with. 

In order to work out how much money should be allocated to each player, it is important to assess their status within the squad:

Key Players - 5

Regular Starters - 6

Squad Players - 8

Youth Players - 56 Players in total at the club.

Then assessing how much of the wage budget should each group be allocated this is what I came up with:

Key Players - 30%

Regular Starters - 30 %

Squad Players - 25%

Youth Players - 15%

 

Doing the maths:

Key Players: 30% of €260,000 = €78,000. €78,000 divided by 5 key players = a maximum wage of €15,600 per week. 

Regular Starters: 30% of €260,000 = €78,000. €78,000 divided by 6 regular starters = a maximum wage of €13,000 per week.

Squad Players: 25% of €260,000 = €52,000. €52,000 divided by 8 squad players = a maximum wage of €8,125 per week. 

Youth Players: 15% of €260,000 = €39,000. €39,000 divided by 56 youth players = a maximum wage of €696 per week.

 

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by BethFM

[BethFM]

On 04/01/2023 at 21:07, MattyLewis11 said:

Really enjoyed this thread, sorry to only just post as have been lurking for a few posts. Abi is doing bits in the role of the advanced forward, a role which I am too having success with. I think if you can secure a strong supply line for this role the chances will come, especially with the use of your mid-block. 

Thank you Matty. Abi has been in amazing form this season, really enjoying the Advanced Forward role this year, finding it works the channels so well compared to previous years. 

 

On 05/01/2023 at 22:55, SixPointer said:

Bobir looks like a true fm bargain buy!!!

Yes! Can't believe we picked him for 26k, he's developing nicely as a number 10 as well. His pace is proving to be so useful when we counter. 

 

On 06/01/2023 at 09:16, Hootieleece said:

A little late to the party. I am glad to see someone do justice to a great club! I thought about doing an ASSE Career save, but you beat me to it. Also, you are doing a far better job of telling the story and explaining things.

 

Onwards and Upwards Les Verts!

 

Thank you! I've had many enjoyable FM saves with Lyon over the years, decided to take the reigns of their bitter rivals this year, such a massive club with a great history that deserves to be in a much better position than they currently find themselves.

 

On 06/01/2023 at 09:31, CameronFM said:

A marvellous read Beth.

Really gripping as to the direction you want to take the club, whilst implementing a set recruitment strategy and a disciplined wage structure. Africa looks to be producing talent by the barrel-load this year with Abi’s stats really backing the need for a new contract. Diagne looks an absolute steal and will bankroll you in the future no doubt.

Love it! 

Cameron - thank you! I know I've told you before but you are such an inspiration when it comes to documenting an FM save. Yes, there is an incredible amount of talent coming out of Africa and as African players are not subject to foreign player rules in France there is a pathway to Europe and the opportunity to pick up some great talents for smaller fees. This is going to be pretty vital to us since we can't compete with PSG's Qatari money. 

[BethFM]

 

 

A one club man is essentially a player who spends his entire career at a single club, largely out of loyalty and love for the club. The player often becomes synonymous with the ethos of the club and the community. The idea of a one club man is becoming less and less common as football becomes increasingly guided by financial gain and agents are becoming much more influential in the decisions made by the players they represent. Footballers are rarely privy to the negotiations of their own contracts anymore with their chosen representatives given the power to thrash out a deal with the club and should terms not be agreed, said player will be swiftly touted out to gage if any interested parties are willing to engage in formal talks.

The landscape of transfers in football was forever changed in 1995 with the 'Bosman ruling' this rule meant that a player could leave his current club at the end of his contract without the club having to receive a fee. This gave the players huge leverage when negotiating contracts with their potential employers and meant they were able to demand larger salaries and signing on fees due to the lack of transfer fee. This in turn placed a lot of power in the hands of agents. Around the time, the ruling facilitated big moves for Edgar Davids and Patrick Kluivert (Ajax to AC Milan, 1996 and 1997), Brian Laudrup (Rangers to Chelsea, 1998) and Steve McManaman (Liverpool to Real Madrid, 1999) among many others.

Another reason the one club man is seen less and less is due to players looking to prolong their careers by dropping down the footballing pyramid and playing at a less taxing level such as John Terry signing for Aston Villa. Others look to move abroad to still be able to play frequently such as the influx of players who head to the MLS (Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, David Villa, Steven Gerrard, Nani, David Beckham - the latter making the MLS a much more viable option for footballers). 

There are a few footballers though who saw out the entirety of their careers at just one club, a few of these players:

Paulo Maldini - A.C. Milan - In a career that spanned more than 25 years, Maldini only ever stepped onto a football pitch wearing the red and black of A.C. Milan. He made over 900 appearances for the Rossoneri, winning seven league titles, five Champions League titles and Club World Cup and so many more in a trophy ladened career. He has also gone on to become Sporting Director. Maldini followed in his fathers footsteps playing for Milan and his two sons also were coached through the academy. It's impossible to think of A.C. Milan without thinking of Paulo Maldini.

Tony Adams - Arsenal - Should I say, 'Mr Arsenal' as he is known. The former Arsenal and England captain spent his entire career at the North London club making over 600 appearances for the gunners. Adams won four league titles during his time and three FA Cups. It's no secret that Tony Adams battled with alcoholism throughout his career, Adams has credited the arrival of Arsene Wenger as a key factor in his ability to stay sober. The Frenchman had a good understanding of psychology and was able to be a constant support to Adams who reward his manager's loyalty by captaining the side to two league and cup doubles. Adams retired from professional football in 2002 and is still very much loved by the Arsenal faithful. 

Carles Puyol - Barcelona - 'El Tiburón' captained the Catalan giants for ten years and picked up countless trophies during his career. A product of the famous La Masia academy, the club were in fact willing to sell Puyol in 1998 after receiving a bid from Malaga, the young defender refused to leave and wanted to force his way into the first team. The following year he was promoted to the first team where he would stay until his retirement in 2014. During his time at the Camp Nou, Puyol won six league titles, three Champions League's and two Club World Cup's, not to forget the World Cup and European Championship with the Spanish national team. In 2011, Puyol paid for Miki Roqué (a young footballer from his home province) to undergo specialist treatment in his ongoing battle against cancer, sadly Roqué passed away in June 2012.

Other one club men include: Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Francesco Totti, Matt Le Tissier, Jamie Carragher, Xavi.  

 

Who was St. Etienne's One Club Man?

Loic Perrin is the epitome of a one club man, born in St. Etienne he was scouted by the club in 1997 at the age of twelve, his commitment and work ethic meant that he was able to continue through the academy before being promoted to the first team in 2003. Perrin made his ASSE debut aged 18 whilst the club was playing in Ligue 2. The young centre back became a stalwart at the heart of St Etienne defence and was soon handed the captains armband of his hometown club. Perrin went on to make 470 appearances for Les Verts and stayed loyal to them throughout the turbulent times, despite various opportunities to move away. Perrin himself stated that he would find it 'weird' to play for another club. The closest Perrin came to leaving was a brief flirtation with Arsenal in 2014/15, The Gunners were serious suitors of the St. Etienne captain with Arsene Wenger reportedly a big fan of him but a formal offer was never made, likely due to Wenger's indecisiveness in the transfer market during his later years at the Emirates. In 2020 Perrin called time on his career after 23 years at the club in total, he stepped out in the green of St Etienne for the last time in the Coupe de France Final against PSG, the game didn't end how the Les Verts captain would have liked as he was shown a red card for a foul on Kylian Mbappe. St Etienne continued to battle but Les Parisiens seized the trophy with a 1-0 victory. St Etienne have recently retired the number 24 in honour of Perrin and have also installed him as their Sporting Director in the hope that he will be able to steady the ship at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

 

  

 

Looking for Loic in FM23:

It would be wonderful to have a player emulate Perrin's loyalty throughout this save, a player that can captain the side over a number of years and be at the core of our successes. We currently have two potential candidates at the club:

Aïmen Moueffek

Positives:

• Recently agreed a new deal to take effect at the end of the season
• Has been a regular starter 
• Product of the youth system
• Showed no desire to leave when bigger clubs were interested
• 4.5 - 5 star potential

Negatives:

• Balanced personality
• Lack of determination

 

Saïdou Sow

Positives:

• Fairly determined personality
• Product of the youth system
• Become a regular stater this season

Negatives:

• May want to leave due to interest being shown in him
• 3 - 4 star potential ability

 

We will have to wait and see how the save unfolds to find out if either of these two players will be able to emulate Loic and become a club legend but I imagine it is going to be interesting to see what happens.

 

[Hootieleece]

You may have to look for a younger player to become your one club player. I always look for a player with good leadership (12+) and personality (could possibly be mentored) and generally plays CB or CM.  Usually, my perfect candidate becomes Captain before age 25.

 

How old are these players and is there possibly time to mentor them with a Determined, Driven, Fairly Professional, or Professional Personality player?

[BethFM]

February 2023:

 

 

February turned out to be a phenomenal month for us, we kicked the month off with a 3-0 victory at home to relegation threatened FC Annecy. The following game saw our Coupe de France campaign come to an end as we suffered defeat at the hands of Ligue 1 side Lorient. I can't say I was disappointed with this result as I want to focus on our league campaign so exiting the cup gives us the opportunity to do just that. Next up was that 'six pointer' agains second place Dijon, a victory would take us top of the league, a loss would see us fall off the pace. What a performance!  Our unbeaten run continues. One of the best games we've played all season, new signing César Gelabert was brilliant throughout the game and managed to open his account with a header on 39 minutes. Our 4-2-3-1 formation sees us play very narrow and very often we have three or four people in the box who could get on the end of a cross or through pass. We counter press and are able to regain possession extremely well which enables us to utilise the pace of the likes of Bobir Abdiholiqov and Charles Abi. A hard fought victory against Nimes was secured thanks to a hat trick from Youssoufa Moukoko, this was followed by a five star showing against Pau which saw Abi continue his good form by adding two more goals to his season tally.

The table after the Dijon game looked like this:

Edited January 7, 2023 by BethFM

[Matty Aqua]

Really enjoyable read!, I like the idea of a one club player tho getting harder and harder to make that a reality!.

I would like to do a St.Etienne save at some point and will be tracking Saido Sow in my save!.

I think the addition of Moukoko makes you favourite to go up!, will you opt to try and loan him again next season?

[Jogo Bonito]

Very nice background story and ideas, an enjoyable read. It looks like you're already on track to complete phase 1 of the recovery plan. Good luck in the rest of your first season. 

[BethFM]

March 2023:

 

The month of March saw our unbeaten run continue, we have stuck with our 4-2-3-1 and It seems to be doing the trick! We kicked the month off with a 0-0 draw away to Bordeaux in a game where neither team took their chances it was probably a fair result. We followed this up with a 4-1 victory against Amiens with help from a Mathieu Cafaro double. He is currently on loan with us from Belgian side Standard Liege, we do have an option to buy included in the loan for a fee of €450k and I have to say, I am seriously considering exercising that option. Cafaro has been in good form for us this season and is a player that I feel is capable of stepping up to Ligue 1 level should we gain promotion. The loanee scored again in the final game of the month as we beat Le Havre by two goals to one. 

Youth Intake:

As it is the month of March we received our first youth intake of the save, back in December we were promised an 'excellent intake' and I must say, for the most part that is exactly what we got. Here is a look at the four most exciting prospects:

The stand out of the intake is centre back Chancel Mulenda. Whilst his technical attributes need some work, there is the making of great defender there. He has excellent tackling, good decisions and bravery. As with most youth players, he hasn't quite developed physically yet but I am confident you will see this guy in our first team in a few years.

The next player worth drawing your attention to is Nicolas Ollier - a left back/defensive midfielder who possesses fantastic determination and natural fitness. He is already a fairly decent crosser of the ball and has the trait 'gets forward whenever possible' so he will be a great attacking outlet for us should we utilise him as a left back.

Younes El Kaddouri looks like he could be a very good striker in the future. He possesses good technical abilities for his age and has excellent natural fitness as well as good acceleration and pace. 

Another defensive midfielder in Gwendal Leonard but honestly I think he looks like he could develop into a fantastic player. Maybe the one I am most intrigued to watch develop from this intake. 

 

 

[BethFM]

16 hours ago, Matty Aqua said:

Really enjoyable read!, I like the idea of a one club player tho getting harder and harder to make that a reality!.

I would like to do a St.Etienne save at some point and will be tracking Saido Sow in my save!.

I think the addition of Moukoko makes you favourite to go up!, will you opt to try and loan him again next season?

Thank you! Agreed - that's kind of why I want to see if we can actually develop a player who wants to stay with us, requires loyalty from their side but I have to ensure the club continues to grow so all of our best players actually want to remain at the club. Sow and Moueffek have been brilliant for me this season. Moukoko coming in has really helped us maintain our promotion push especially as Abi's form has fallen off slightly. I'm unsure if we will try and loan him again - I think I will look to bring in a striker permanently, I'm don't really want to spend too much time and money developing players who come in on loan for them to just return to their parent club. 

 

3 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Very nice background story and ideas, an enjoyable read. It looks like you're already on track to complete phase 1 of the recovery plan. Good luck in the rest of your first season. 

Thank you! Much appreciated!

 

On 07/01/2023 at 19:59, Hootieleece said:

You may have to look for a younger player to become your one club player. I always look for a player with good leadership (12+) and personality (could possibly be mentored) and generally plays CB or CM.  Usually, my perfect candidate becomes Captain before age 25.

 

How old are these players and is there possibly time to mentor them with a Determined, Driven, Fairly Professional, or Professional Personality player?

Yes, I think you might be right there, we've just had the first youth intake of the save - there's a couple of players who look they could turn out to be really good. Just overhauled my U18 coaching staff to ensure we've got the right personalities in there.

Moueffek and Sow are 21 and 20. They are both quality players so I plan to keep them as long as possible. Will remain on the look out for our potential Loic Perrin of this save. 

[SixPointer]

I like your system. I like that it has a clear overload and exploit side to each side of the system.

also love the quest for a one club man! A fantastic side story. 

[BethFM]

15 hours ago, SixPointer said:

I like your system. I like that it has a clear overload and exploit side to each side of the system.

also love the quest for a one club man! A fantastic side story. 

The system works so well, Cafaro and Gelabert are instructed to switch sides throughout the game and that seems to be really effective.

Thank you - one club man is a rare thing these days but I always thought Loic Perrin was a bit of an unsung hero at St Etienne so it would be good to be able to emulate his loyalty in game. 

[_Ben_]

How has Beka Beka faired for you? He popped up in a scouting mission and I remembered his name…

[BethFM]

April 2023:

 

Our unbeaten run continued throughout April, beginning with a 1-0 victory at home to Niort. We left it late but thankfully Youssoufa Moukoko came off the bench to ensure we took all three points from the game. Charles Abi found the back of the net against Paris FC, whilst his form has fallen off slightly compared to the start of the season, he still scores vital goals for us and is attracting interest from Serie A clubs such as Udinese and Torino. A Moukoko double ensured we saw off Grenoble, Right Back Yvann Maçon has been something of a creative force for us this season and he grabbed another two assists in this game. Next up was Metz who had fallen off the pace and found themselves in 5th, somewhat surprising given the quality their squad possesses - should they not gain promotion it could be worth looking at some of their players as possible transfer targets. We closed the moth with a very poor 1-1 draw with Rodez. We were trailing for most of the game but thankfully Lenny Pintor came off the bench and tucked away a penalty to bring the scores level.  We also received notification that our Under 19s team had reached a play off spot as they were top of their Under 19 league.

 

[BethFM]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

How has Beka Beka faired for you? He popped up in a scouting mission and I remembered his name…

He's been quite good for us, he started out playing as a Half Back but then we changed to the 4-2-3-1 which sees him play as a BWM. Looking at his stats he averages 2.27 tackles won per 90, 93% pass completion with an average rating of 7.2. I'd say he is very reliable and just a good all round DM. His aggression does mean he picks up quite a few bookings which I kind of expected when deploying him as a ball winner. 

[BethFM]

May and June 2023

 

Our unbeaten run continued as we moved through May. Charles Abi notched up his 20th goal of the season in the 3-0 victory agains Guingamp, this victory meant that avoiding a loss in our next game would essentially seal the title for us. A comfortable 3-0 victory against Laval meant that we were crowned champions! At the start of the season I questioned our title credentials, I didn't think our squad was strong enough to successfully battle for the title. I don't really know what I was so worried about, we just seemed to carry on winning. Abi and Moukoko have both been phenomenal for us this season, with the latter joining us at a time when Abi's form was dropping off slightly. We finished May with another two victories as Mathieu Cafaro scored the only goal against Quevilly-Rouen while Moukoko and Lenny Pintor saw to it that we walked away with all three points from a trip to Caen. The final game of the season saw us play Valenciennes at home, Moukoko once again ensured we finished the season on a high. As we had guaranteed our promotion, the budgets for next year were announced. We have a significant war chest to be able to strengthen our squad, which we will definitely need to do if we are going to avoid a relegation battle. 

I made two pre transfer signings this month firstly Mathieu Cafaro will be joining us permanently as we activated our €450k option to buy in his current loan deal, Cafaro has been ever present for us this season and managed to score 11 goals playing on the wings. At 25 he is classed as being in the 'Peak Phase', one of the few players I intend to buy in this phase. We may look to move him on in a few seasons but we are in a good position to make a significant profit on him. In an ideal world I would like to sign Alexis Beka Beka on a permanent deal, however DM is an area I feel we are lacking particularly as I wish to offload Monconduit as he is 32 years old and in the 'Experienced Phase' meaning this is our last chance to get any sort of money for him. I am willing to consider any bids that should come in for Briançon and Giraudon due to their ages and squad status. My scouts drew my attention to Han-Noah Massengo - he was refusing to sign a new deal at Bristol City so we could approach him directly. At 21 years old he is in the 'Pre Peak Phase' meaning we still have plenty of time to develop him and look to sell him for a profit. After some further scouting I decided to go for it, should we fail to sign Beka Beka, he will be our starting Ball Winning Midfielder, if we can hash out a deal with Nice for Alexis Beka Beka then we have an excellent understudy in Massengo who will get plenty of game time over the season.

 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by BethFM

[Hootieleece]

Great Job winning the Title! Charles Abi played well in spurts for me when I tried to save Les Verts in an undocumented save using FM22. Glad to see he is firing on all cylinders for you.

 

I think it is going to have to be a season of consolidation in Ligue 1 to help make sure there is no repeat performance of the '21-'22 season.

[BethFM]

On 09/01/2023 at 22:18, Hootieleece said:

Great Job winning the Title! Charles Abi played well in spurts for me when I tried to save Les Verts in an undocumented save using FM22. Glad to see he is firing on all cylinders for you.

 

I think it is going to have to be a season of consolidation in Ligue 1 to help make sure there is no repeat performance of the '21-'22 season.

Thank you - this system seems to suit Abi, it enables him to be in the right place at the right time.

Definitely, my only target for next season is to avoid relegation. Don't get me wrong I'd like to completely avoid a relegation battle if possible but main thing is to stay in ligue 1 and then we can build on that.

[CameronFM]

Massengo looks a quality acquisition at this stage, a push in the right direction and he could be a key figure at the club, and a key financial backer when the time comes to move him on.

Ligue 1 will certainly challenge your side's mental ability, but the Ligue 2 success would suggest that you will be well equipped to handle the step-up in quality!

[BethFM]

July 2023:

Transfers Out:

The transfer window is upon us and preparation for our Ligue 1 campaign begins. Firstly, we said goodbye to some players who have either gone out on loan to get some first team experience or have departed permanently as they weren't good enough for Ligue 1. We raked in a fair amount of money from these departures especially as the board already gave us a transfer budget of €21 million. The likes of Leo Petrot and Ibrahima Wadji weren't really good enough for us in Ligue 2 so it was an easy decision to accept any offers for them. Jimmy Giraudon is a player I would actually have liked to stay with us but Reims came in with a offer and the he made it clear he wanted to leave so rather than disrupt the squad harmony I let him go. Troyes were happy to give us €500k for veteran keeper Matthieu Dreyer which I thought was a fair deal as we have a good replacement at the club already in Boubacar Fall. Jack Jenkins a young player released by Leeds that our DoF picked up was loaned out to Cambridge United for first team experience. Dylan Chambost and Benjamin Bouchouari wanted first team football which I couldn't guarantee so I was more than happy for them to go on loan. Newly relegated Nantes and Toulouse seemed to bid on the majority of players we transfer listed, the former took Lenny Pintor and Anthony Briançon off our hands. Pintor was a difficult one as at 22 I feel he could have developed into a good player however he was on quite a high wage in relation to his squad status and there was no way he was going to agree to a lesser deal. With 12 months left on his contract I thought better to offload him now that lose him on a free. Monconduit and Lobry departed for Toulouse, Monconduit was an easy one, he is 32 years old and one of the top earners in the squad, it made sense to let him leave while Lobry wanted first team football which again I couldn't guarantee. The remaining three transfers were youngsters sent out on loan for experience.

 

 

Transfers In:

Potential Phase: 17-20

Breno Bidon - Free Transfer

A young Brazilian midfielder who looks like he could fill the Segundo Volante role for us in the future. He has the trait 'tries killer balls often' which I like in a midfielder and despite lacking in aggression he is a good all-round player with plenty of time to develop. He has gone on loan to Guarani FC to hopefully get some first team experience.

 

Cher Ndour - Benfica - Free

The opportunity to sign such a talented player on a free transfer was impossible to refuse. I see Cher as our starting Attacking Midfielder, don't get me wrong Abdiholiqov has been brilliant but I did only ever see him as a squad player and I feel that this guy really is a step up in terms of quality. Looking to the future there is a very high chance that Ndour will prove to be very profitable for us in the future.

 

Scouting Africa has proven to be fruitful once again with our next four acquisitions. Diagne I have mentioned previously, he and N'Diaye will play a role in our first team squad this season while I have opted to allow Sané and Traore to leave on loan to Amiens and Niort respectively. I have taken this decision as I feel it is important they both get first team football this year as I would like them to come back and become first team players for us next season. Regular outings in Ligue 2 should ensure they continue to develop, I have the option to recall both of them should they not receive the required amount of football. 

Ibou Sané - Generation Foot - €475k

Amadou N'Diaye - AS Pikine €105k

Mélèye Diagne - Diambars FC - €120k

Seydou Traore - RC Abidjan - €325k

 

Pre Peak Phase: 21-23

Kofi Balmer - Crystal Palace - Free

Released from Crystal Palace, Kofi Balmer hasn't lived up to his potential and I'm not entirely sure he ever will but I am willing to take a chance on him. He joins us on the basis that he will provide cover in central defence or defensive midfield should we require. I don't see us making a huge profit on him in the future but given that we have paid nothing to bring him in, a small fee will be sufficient. 

 

Han-Noah Massengo - Bristol City - Free

Massengo I have mentioned previously, he and Beka Beka will be battling it out for that DM role and he will go on to be a quality player I am confident. Plus he is French so it's nice to bring a home grown player in. 

 

Facundo Colidio - Inter Milan - Free

WIth Moukoko returning to Dortmund we were in the market for another striker, I don't know how well Charles Abi will fair with out step up to Ligue 1 so I wanted a player that could battle for a first team place and Colidio is just that. Available on a free transfer from Inter Milan I feel like he will get plenty of football for us and could step into ABi's shoes very easily. 

 

Tyreece John-Jules - Arsenal - Free

Released by Arsenal, TJJ was available on a free transfer and was asking for a relatively low wage. I'm bringing him in to provide cover in the wide areas, I don't expect him to break through and command a place in the starting eleven but I certainly think as an option off the bench, we could do a lot worse. 

 

José Marsà - Sporting CP - €1.5 million

An absolute bargain! I truly couldn't believe it when I was alerted to the fact that Marsà was available for such a small fee. He will be our starting left sided Centre Back. His value has already risen to €6 million before he has even played a game for us. Again, I don't think he will be with us for a substantial amount of time as I reckon if he plays well, some bigger clubs could come knocking but he could command a hefty transfer fee. 

 

Frederico Pereira - Liverpool FC (Uruguay) - €1.4 million

Maçon was brilliant for us last season but one of the gaping holes in our squad was that there was no one who could step in when he was unavailable. It usually resulted in us having to play a DM out of position. So Frederico Pereira comes in to be the understudy. He has such quality that he could eventually become our starting Right Back especially as Maçon continues to attract interest from Premier League clubs.

 

Alexis Beka Beka - OGC Nice - €6.75 million

After an excellent loan spell, I just had to bring him back. Truthfully I couldn't stand the idea of such a good player stagnating in Nice's reserve team. The transfer fee was a decent amount but one we could easily afford and one I am extremely confident we will recoup and then some. 

 

Peak Phase: 24-28

Toti - Wolverhampton Wanderers - €700k

We needed someone who could step into Marsà's shoes should be become injured or suspended and Toti was highly recommended to me by the recruitment team. There were a lot of clubs interested in him as Wolves had set an asking price of €700k. At 24 years old he is at the lower end of the peak phase and I believe we can get a few years out of him before looking to move him on. I don't think we will see a big return on Toti but I think we could at least double our money. 

Experienced: 29+

Alexis Sanchez  - Free Transfer

We have a very young squad and I felt an experienced player would be useful in terms of leadership both on and off the pitch. Alexis had been released on a free transfer and still appears to have excellent abilities (despite the lack of strength). I didn't want to sign a player purely for the experience alone, I wanted him to still be able to provide us with an input on the pitch and I think Sanchez will be able to do just that. 

 

St Etienne 2023/24 Squad:

I am quite pleased with our squad for the upcoming season, Mahdi Camara and Yvan Neyou return from loan spells away from the club last season to become valuable depth options for us. Boubacar Fall has been promoted from the second team to be the understudy to Etienne Green. Charles Abi will start the season leading the line but with Colidio and Sanchez we have two players who could take that place should he not be bagging the goals for us.

Preseason:

Our preseason fixtures went rather well in July as we played well in all the games, winning against sides such as Nantes and Bordeaux was expected. We did lose at the hands of Real Madrid but we played very well, we were incredibly unlucky to fall to a late defeat. 

[Hootieleece]

Do you ever think about using Sanchez as Trequarista in the AMC/Striker role? With his movement and ball skills it might be a game changer as a super sub.

[_Ben_]

10 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Do you ever think about using Sanchez as Trequarista in the AMC/Striker role? With his movement and ball skills it might be a game changer as a super sub.

Why not go one more and a full on Regista? Still got the passing range and, to be fair, his legs are there. Just don’t expect him to position himself well defensively. 

[weecoOk]

Came across your post on twitter yesterday and was very intrigued as i too am doing St Etienne save.