[FM24Beta] Colombia - Envigado. Quarry of Heroes. [Youth Only]

[Jimbokav1971]

[Jimbokav1971]

I haven't given loads of thought to where my FM24 journey was going to start, but Envigado Fútbol Club S.A. of Colombia jumped out at me when I was searching online, so here I am.

Once I had already taken over I started researching the club some more and found the info in the 1st post and it suddenly seemed like an ideal fit.  

I have obviously heard of James Rodríguez & Fredy Guarin, but if truth be told I don't immediately recognise the name of the club itself, (although I understand that they have a reputation for producing wonderkids....

With that in mind.....

In terms of how that looks in terms of numbers..... it looks something like this, (and the way my brain works the number are much better for me). 

Training Facilities. 12/13
Youth Facilities. 14/15
Junior Coaching. 14/15/16
Youth Recruitment. 19/20

In terms of expectations, I didn't have a clue, but this doesn't look great. 

The board, (what's the South American for El Presidente......? I think it's probably still El Presidente), are in no mood to be involved in a relegation scrap and we're expected to to establish ourselves in the First Division and also avoid Relegation on Average Points, (which I think is based on a 5 year average or something, but more on that later). 

Because I'm taking over at a big club rather than a small club, (as is my norm), I've allowed the game to pick my badges and reputation based on the club. 

In terms of the players at the club, I'm not overly concerned about how good they are right now, but we have 11 players with 5.0 PA rating in the senior squad, and 10 more in the U20 squad, (so 21x 5.0 PA players in total). That's something to be getting on with I think you would agree. 

1st Team.

U20's.

I haven't looked at any players yet but I will re-create my trusty old tactic again and then start filling in some gaps and get back to you. 

[Jimbokav1971]

In recent seasons I have had a few interesting saves that might be interesting for you if you enjoy this one. 

dafuge Challenge, (but with Youth Only addition).
Gundo Challenge, (N.Ireland) but with Youth Only addition. 
England at the World Cup, (where I could only use players who hadn't been called up to the real ENG squad). 
San Marino Challenge. 

German, Youth Only. (Regensburg).  

Gibraltar, Youth Only. (It appears I had 2 goes at this). 

 

Serbia, Youth Only. (Partizan)

Iceland Youth Only. Wow I loved this save. 

I did a save where every update I did had a music video, but I can't remember which club or even Nation that was....

Spain, Youth Only. (Bilbao). Beta save I think. 

A Youth Only save, (Iceland), in a team without a Youth Team? (I don't remember this one at all). 

Scandi Journeyman. 

An ode to Erling Haaland. 

Scandi, Journeyman. (Youth Only).

England, Sunderland. Just 1 season. 

FMT. Scotland, Youth Only. (Hibernian). I had forgotten about this one too. A brief dabble with FMT. 

Wales (Ton Pentre) Youth Only.

England L10, (Irchester Utd). This was great fun & everyone so do it once, Youth Only.

Denmark, Journeyman. (Not sure of this was Youth Only or not. To be quite honest I have very little memory of this save at all). 

England, Youth Only, (AFC Rushden & Diamonds). A pretty short-lived thread. 

Gibraltar, Youth Only, (Lincoln (GIB)). (A short-term save to keep me going while they fixed some major bugs). 

Scandi Journeyman, (I think I was only able to sign players who were products of clubs I had managed in the save). 

Barcelona, (where I had to pay of £2.4B worth of debt over 4 years while remaining competitive). This was actually really fun and I really enjoyed it. 

A Balkan Journeyman save. (I don't really remember this one at all). 

Portugal, Youth Only, (Belenenses). 

 

Spain, Youth Only, (Belenenses). 

Kosovo, Youth Only, (Shkëndija Hajvali). 

[Makoto Nakamura]

Best of luck with this Jimbo! I hope you're ready for the madness of the Colombian league!

[Jimbokav1971]

2 minutes ago, Makoto Nakamura said:

Best of luck with this Jimbo! I hope you're ready for the madness of the Colombian league!

I know that there is a league and then a 5 year average league, (or something like that). 

Knowing my luck we will win the league and still get relegated or something silly like that. 

[kandersson]

With Colombia's tradition of eccentric goalkeepers and about a million games every year this should be perfect for your scoring GK challenge 

[Makoto Nakamura]

5 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I know that there is a league and then a 5 year average league, (or something like that). 

Knowing my luck we will win the league and still get relegated or something silly like that. 

If I remember correctly the playoffs after the league get added to points on the league table so the bottom half sides finish on 38 games but the top two teams can end up on 52 games at the end of the season.

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, kandersson said:

With Colombia's tradition of eccentric goalkeepers and about a million games every year this should be perfect for your scoring GK challenge 

I remember the day this happened. 

Rene Higuita  scored 41 club goals and 3 International goals in real life and is a very very decent starting point for a Goal-scoring GK in this save. 

I wasn't actually aware that there were loads of fixtures in Colombia. All I know is that the rules are a bit mad and that I think you are relegated based on an average number of points over 5 seasons or something, but I'm honestly not 100% sure. 

Yes by the way, my GK's will absolutely be taking pens and free-kicks in this save. 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 minutes ago, Makoto Nakamura said:

If I remember correctly the playoffs after the league get added to points on the league table so the bottom half sides finish on 38 games but the top two teams can end up on 52 games at the end of the season.

I will have to work it out as and when we get there, (which is part of the fun). 52 games sounds great for a GK wanting to score goals..... 

[kandersson]

9 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I remember the day this happened. 

Rene Higuita  scored 41 club goals and 3 International goals in real life and is a very very decent starting point for a Goal-scoring GK in this save. 

I wasn't actually aware that there were loads of fixtures in Colombia. All I know is that the rules are a bit mad and that I think you are relegated based on an average number of points over 5 seasons or something, but I'm honestly not 100% sure. 

Yes by the way, my GK's will absolutely be taking pens and free-kicks in this save. 

You need to hire him as a GK coach at some point 

Looking forward to this!

[Jimbokav1971]

Tactics schmactics. Dec 2022. 

I've plugged in my tactic that I've been using for the last few issues of the game, (yes really), and asked the Ass Man to pick the team as if we have a game now. 

It seems as if we have ridiculous depth, (in terms of PA), but not actually much CA. 

I'm not going to use this squad selection. It was just to give me some insight. Instead I will do the usual squad depth charts and then go from there. 

Our best player, (ranked by CA), is Henry Mosquera and he's a wide player, but he looks plenty good enough to play in one of the wider positions up front, (but when I say he looks plenty good, remember that I've been managing in Kosovo recently and the standard has jumped up just a little). Despite that, my initial reaction is that I wouldn't be adverse to selling him, (because he's not a product of our Academy). He's still obviously good though and because he's here when I arrived, we can still play him. 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 minute ago, kandersson said:

You need to hire him as a GK coach at some point 

Looking forward to this!

OMG I had never even considered hiring him as staff! 

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Dec 2022. 

GK. a 4.0 CA GK who is only 22 years old is a pretty decent place to start. 

1st Team. Parra 6'0"
Backup. Fontalvo 6'4"
Loan. Daniel Melo

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Dec 2022. 

DL/WBL. (I call this position DL, but it's actually a player in the WBL slot because we use WB's, so apologies if this causes confusion). 

I have no idea how many fixtures we will have and if we have a lot of fixtures together if they will be crowded together, (although @kandersson& @Makoto Nakamurasuggest that there could be as many as 52 league games a season if we're successful), so I will plan for us needing to rotate 2 different teams. 

1st Team. Rodallega
2nd Team. Celedón
Sell. Renteria. SELL

Edited October 19, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Dec 2022. 

DR. (But remember we use a WBR rather than a DR). This appears to be a real area of weakness, (at least in terms of CA). Andrade is the best right now, but he's still not good and I'm already considering if it's worthwhile cutting our losses and just sticking a 5.0 youngster in there from the start? 

1st Team. Andrade
2nd Team. Zuluaga

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Dec 2022. 

DC. We only 8 what looks like 8 centre-backs at the club, and we need 6 to rotate in the 1st Team, so this isn't ideal at all, but it's just how things are when you start a new club and want to play 3 at the back with 2 rotating XI's. There isn't actually much to choose between many of these players so we will just start with this and see how we go. 

1st Team DLC. Banguera 6'4"
1st Team DC. Noreña 6'0"
1st Team DRC. Palacio 5'10"

2nd Team DLC. Aponzá 6'3"
2nd Team DC. Ordóñez 6'1"
2nd Team DRC. Suárez 6'4"

Edited October 19, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Dec 2022. 

MC. There's lots of PA here again, but with the exception of the 1st Team starters, there doesn't appear to be a lot of CA on show. I think Moreno is also the 1st player older than 23 I've seen. (I wonder if that is as much about not being able to afford the wages of experienced players as anything else, but I haven't even looked at finances yet). 

1st Team MLC. Moreno
1st Team MRC. JM.Zapata

2nd Team MLC. Reyes
2nd Team MRC. D.Zapata

[Jimbokav1971]

Squad Depth. Dec 2022. 

SC. It's worth pointing out to anyone that hasn't read my threads from the last couple of saves that we're playing 3 up front and 3 at the back and our width is provided by full-backs and to a much lesser extent the 2 wide forwards, (who currently have PF duties). We seem to start off with the central player dominating our scoring opportunities, but as the quality of player improves and we start to be more successful, the 2 wide forward positions start to become far more influential. I'm not really sure what's going to happen here because of (a) the standard we're playing at, but also because of our position in the hierarchy within Colombia. I would suspect that the wide players might create more and the central striker finish them, (to start off with at least). 

We have no less than 14 (FOURTEEN) players who can play in forward positions and who have 5.0 PA. That's ridiculous quite frankly. 

1st Team SLC. Mosquera
1st Team SC. Paternina 5'5"
1st Team SRC. Rodríguez

2nd Team SLC. Rubio
2nd Team SC. Díaz
2nd Team SRC. Sinisterra

[Jimbokav1971]

Saved Team Selections. Dec 2022. 

I'm really big on using these. It just makes it so much easier. 

2023.1.

2023.2.

Edited October 19, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Finances. Dec 2022. 

Well this is a pleasant surprise. I was half expecting us to be cash-strapped.

I'm guessing though that the fact that there are only 2 players at the club aged older than 23 suggests that the experienced players have been sold, so perhaps that makes sense actually. (Just for the record Noreña 6'0" is 24 and Moreno is 26). Both of them have contract that expire in 12 months. 

Wages. This is a problem, but assuming I can sell players to generate a profit, future budgets should rise as our spending power rises so I'm not overly concerned beyond the 1st season. 

Transfer Budget. This isn't good, and it's also not really what I was expecting. I was expecting that much more of the bank balance was going to be made available for transfers, (which I could then transfer into wages). It's not an enormous problem other than the fact that I think our 1st Youth Intake will probably send us over our budget, (and I REALLY don't want to be over our budget), so I will have to see what I can do about freeing up some wage spend somewhere. 

Clauses. When I take over a club, there isn't really any point looking at this because small clubs like I'm used to managing will probably have never sold a player for a fee never mind about be owed a fee, but this situation is different and this club already has a reputation for selling gems, (from what little I've read). 

Please be good news. 
Please be good news. 
Please be good news. 
Please be good news. 
Please be good news. 

Let's look at the 2 who have deals done for the clauses 1st. 

Iván Angulo HG is a product of our Academy, (hence the HG in his nickname now), and he is at SEP in the Brazilian top tier. He's got 2 years left on his contract. He needs scouting so I don't know what he's like or what his valuation is yet. He has a 30% clause that we can sell for £183k, but I have no idea if this is a good idea at the moment so will hold off. 

Carlos Terán HG is a product of our Academy, (so can technically be brought back to the club). He's playing at Chicago in USA and appears to be a decent centre-half with an enormous long throw. He has a 20% clause that we can sell for £178k, but again I don't have enough info to know whether this is a good deal or not. His valuation ranges from £325k-£3.2M so I think I will hang on. 

Cristian Arrieta HG was sold to América de Cali, (who are another Colombian top tier club), for £300k, and we a 50% clause on him. He's worth £350k-£1.1M but he's 26 years old and only has 12 months left on his contract. I would love the DoF to do a deal for that clause. 

Yaser Asprilla HG is another product of our Academy and this time I've actually heard of him. He was sold to Watford for £2.4M and although he's still a teenager, he's already got 3 Caps for Colombia. He's valued at £13M-£17M and as well as a 30% clause on him, we're also due 2 more, (annual) payments of £500k. I'm loving the way this club do business in real life. 

Yeison Guzmán HG is an Academy product who went to Atlético Nacional, (one of the bigger Colombian clubs I think), for an undisclosed fee, (I flippin hate undisclosed fees!)  He's valued at £250k - £2.5M and we have a 25% clause on him. 

Daniel Londoño HG is an Academy product who has just joined Independiente, (1 of the Big 3 in Colombia), and while he's valued at £160k - £1.6M, (with 3 years left on his contract), we have a 20% clause on him. 

Sérgio Mosquera HG is another Academy product, but he's been gone since 2016 and has just moved clubs so I don't know how we have a clause on him, (but we do).  He's valued at £75k - £750k and we have a 20% clause.

Alexis Zapata HG is the last one on the list, but also a strange one, (in real life). Loaned to Serie B, sold to Serie A, loaned to Serie B again, signed on a free by Millonarios, (I think), and then re-signed by us on a free before we sold him to Emelec of Ecuador. 

Ranking our squad by Transfer Value shows that we don't have any players worth £millions, but in particular my eyes are drawn to the likes of Josep Mejía valued at £275k - £600k on a Youth contract and Juan Andrés Quintero valued at £250k - £600k, again on a Youth contract and I think there is money to be made here. The former is 18 and the latter 17, and I'm guessing that they're on a YC either because we can't afford to sign them to a pro deal without breaking the wage budget, (or they just don't want to re-sign). 

[Jimbokav1971]

The Table. Jan 2023. 

Just to give you an idea of what we're up against, this is the real life league table for this season.....

We're rock bottom of the table and have only won 1 of 17 games. 

I think it's time we looked at the Average Table, (or whatever it's called and see how bad things will be if we finish bottom). #

We won 44 points in 2021 and then 57 points in 2022, (so if our improvement continues then we should get 70 points this season and finish as Runners Up). 

First Division. Phase 1. It says that there are 20 games, but there are 20 teams so there can only be 19 games. Right? 
First Division. Phase 2. 

The bottom 2 Teams on the Average Points over the last 3 years are relegated, but I'm not sure if that also includes the newly promoted clubs. The fact that Unión Magdalena are the only club who were promoted last season and are still here suggests that they can be relegated after the 1st season if their average is low enough, so that means we have to be REALLY bad to finish in the bottom 2 because we're starting with quite a hefty head start. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Transfer decisions. Jan 2023. 

Our 2 best players are both wanted by other clubs, Mosquera & Moreno, but both players are only contracted for 12 months.

Under normal circumstances I would either sell them or sign them to new contracts, but signing them to new contracts isn't possible due to financial constraints and if we sell them we're likely to only get a nominal fee by the looks of it, (£150k - £250k for each), and that won't make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, so I'm actually considering keeping them for this season and then letting them leave on a free at the end of the season, (hopefully once they have done enough to keep us up and away from the relegation bu average points).

My thinking is that although they will then be gone, all our young players at the club will be a year older and that's where our focus should be. The problem is that I need to break the cycle somehow. 

This is going to take some doing..... 

What on Earth have I got myself into here?  

[Jimbokav1971]

Penalties. Jan 2023. 

I have remembered to set my GK's to take pens and free-kicks and this caught my eye. 

I don't care how many pens my GK misses. I want him to keep taking the next one. 

Very nice touch though. 

I was half expecting to see, (if player is fouled then can he take the penalty in there too).

[Edit]

Oh thank God for that. I can still delegate the set-pieces, yet regain control of who takes them. 

[Edit2]

The only problem with that is that you don't appear to be able to get to the Set Piece takers list if you're not in control of the set pieces yourself. 

[Edit3]

It looks like you have to be in control of Set Piece Tactics if you also want to be in control of the set piece takers list. 

[Edit4]

Let's try this a different way. 

This is me currently delegating all set-piece duties. 

I only want to take control of 1 of these. (Handles Team Set Piece Takers List

It won't let me though. The "Take control" button isn't there. I can only change who it's delegated to. 

I have already changed penalties and they are staying changed. 

But because free-kick takers are under Set Pieces rather than "Set Piece Takers", I can't get into it without taking it over. And I don't want to take it over. 

When I take it over, set the set-piece takers to my GK's and then come out and delegate it back again, it's obviously swapping back. 

It would also make sense if it was possible to control either only attacking or defensive set-pieces rather than all of them. 

[Edit5]

In the short-term I have just resorted to my GK only taking penalties rather than free-kicks too, but assuming they can't resolve this I will have to become an expert in the set-piece system and take it over fully so that I can dictate that my GK takes them too. 

Things like this are so frustrating. 

In FM23 I could dictate who took my free-kicks and corners. 
In FM24 I now can't do that unless I also take over every aspect of both attacking and defensive set-pieces. 

That's surely not how this is meant to work. 

Edited October 20, 2023 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2023. 

First Division. 1st Phase. I was a little nervous as to what to expect from out 1st game, and when we were smashed 3-1 in our opener I thought this had the makings of a South American Regensburg debacle. América de Cali are top of the table and unbeaten after 3 games and were 5th favourites for the title and the only team predicted to finish in the Top 8 who aren't playing Continental football this season, so maybe I needed to just give us some more time. Our 2nd game was much better though and while we scored 6 goal, we could have scored 10. 

Paternina 5'5" deserves a mention for his hat-trick. 

Finances. 

[Etothe2power]

New game (even if only early access) brings new excitement! I have lurked so much and not commented in the past. My Envigado save on FM23 was epic according to my standards at least, in that I managed to 2073. I prefer long term saves and this was long by my standards. All this is to say I cannot wait to follow your progress. I can't wait to see where this goes!!!

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2023. 

First Division. 1st Phase. If frustrated that we haven't got more points this month, but I can't really complain. Deportivo Pereira are 8th and only beat us by 1 goal, (a corner), and Atlético Nacional are 3rd and have only lost 1 game from 7 so far this season and it took them an injury-time goal to beat us after we had played really well. 

Colombian Cup. The 2nd Team stepped up and got the job done. 

Goal-scoring GK's. 1 pen scored from 2 taken. 

Finances. 
Oh wow. We're losing approximately £500k per month.  This just isn't sustainable. 

I really just don't know what to do...... I mean I do. The obvious answer is that I sell players, but alternatively I treat this save like I would any European save and just keep plugging away in the knowledge that once we qualify for Continental competition then all our money worries will be a thing of the past. Is that really what we're going to gamble on? 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Etothe2power said:

New game (even if only early access) brings new excitement! I have lurked so much and not commented in the past. My Envigado save on FM23 was epic according to my standards at least, in that I managed to 2073. I prefer long term saves and this was long by my standards. All this is to say I cannot wait to follow your progress. I can't wait to see where this goes!!!

Hey @Etothe2powerdo you have any advice with regards to the finances? It's a looooooong time since I managed in South America and I have never managed in Colombia before and there seems to be very little money domestically. Would you advise selling players or qualifying for the Copa Libertadores/Copa Sudamericana? 

[Thebaker]

Good to see another save from you. I expect Mosquera was sold with sell ons (the sale isn't shown on the career screen but it didn't look like a free) and you are due 20% of those sell ons which is why it still appears in your finances. ie 20% of 20% maybe.

The set pieces just don't take into account anyone having the GK take FK's, post it as a bug as it does happen IRL especially in south america just not often.

[Jimbokav1971]

18 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

I expect Mosquera was sold with sell ons (the sale isn't shown on the career screen but it didn't look like a free) and you are due 20% of those sell ons which is why it still appears in your finances. ie 20% of 20% maybe.

I don't think so. 

When you sell a player, the clause vanishes after the next transfer, (I think), even if you are still due a % of the % of the subsequent transfer. Will have to keep an eye on this actually. You might be right but I'm sure that's not how it worked in previous issues of the game. 

[Scribe]

I almost bought an Envigado shirt once. I used to play a weekly game of 5s and one team would always wear orange bibs. I needed a shirt, any shirt, that I could wear to avoid those horrible bibs that no one ever washed. The shirt was out of stock in the end so I never did get it. 

 

All the best in the save 👍

[Jimbokav1971]

21 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

The set pieces just don't take into account anyone having the GK take FK's, post it as a bug as it does happen IRL especially in south america just not often.

I have posted it as a bug, (and 1 of the other bugs I saw in there was someone complaining about the AI setting his GK to take corners and he was unable to fix it without taking control of all set-pieces. 

It's not actually about a GK specifically, (and I didn't even mention my GK when I reported the thread). 

In FM23 we could easily control who took what set-pieces.
In FM24 you can only do that if you also control absolutely everything else relating to set-pieces. 

They have made it less user-friendly rather than more. 

All that was needed was the old drop-down menu be moved from being within the Set Pieces tabs, to being within the Penalties tabs, and then they could rename it "Set Piece Takers" list. It was so easy to implement. 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 minutes ago, Scribe said:

I almost bought an Envigado shirt once. I used to play a weekly game of 5s and one team would always wear orange bibs. I needed a shirt, any shirt, that I could wear to avoid those horrible bibs that no one ever washed. The shirt was out of stock in the end so I never did get it. 

All the best in the save 👍

Thanks. 

There are actually 3 kits in the game. 

The orange one is really good in the game because it really stands out.
The striped away one looks like it's run in the wash. 
The Green and Yellow monstrosity looks awful here, but actually looks really good in the ME. 

I'm a Barnet fan and we play in Black and Amber, so you can see why I quite like the orange already, even if it is a bit garish. 

[Thebaker]

20 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I don't think so. 

When you sell a player, the clause vanishes after the next transfer, (I think), even if you are still due a % of the % of the subsequent transfer. Will have to keep an eye on this actually. You might be right but I'm sure that's not how it worked in previous issues of the game. 

It didn't tend to show on your screen, maybe as it could not be negotiated which has now changed. The money always went to the other club though so the clause was still there in the background

Edited October 20, 2023 by Thebaker

[Jimbokav1971]

40 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

It didn't tend to show on your screen, maybe as it could not be negotiated which has now changed. The money always went to the other club though so the clause was still there in the background

Do you fancy expanding on this a little please. I understand the money always went despite the clause no longer being visible. What's changed now? What can be negotiated? 

I will be completely honest with you and admit that I have not looked at any content creators so I don't know what the new features of the game are yet. 

What are you saying can be negotiated? 

[Thebaker]

7 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Do you fancy expanding on this a little please. I understand the money always went despite the clause no longer being visible. What's changed now? What can be negotiated? 

I will be completely honest with you and admit that I have not looked at any content creators so I don't know what the new features of the game are yet. 

What are you saying can be negotiated? 

the sell on clause. I assumed the clauses that showed on your screen were the ones that could at some future point be negotiated even if they often were not.

The % of a % sell on clauses did not previously show as they could not be negotiated and maybe now can be. It could also be they should always have been shown on your screen and simply now are shown.

[Jimbokav1971]

Sale. Mar 2023. 

I've been so caught up in the new game and whether we would be competitive or not and whether I would be sacked again, (like Regensburg),  that I wasn't quite aware quite how many players had contracts who were expiring at the end of this season.

In the 1st Team squad we have 28 players, and 24 of them have contract that are expiring in the Summer, (actually it's the Winter because the Colombian season runs from Jan to Dec), but you get my drift, and that doesn't even include 5 of 6 players who have been sent out on loan. 

I've just checked and there are 15 more players in the U20 squad who's contracts also expire at the end of the season. 

That's 48 players leaving on a free unless I can flog some of them between now and whenever the window opens. 

[Jimbokav1971]

34 minutes ago, Thebaker said:

the sell on clause. I assumed the clauses that showed on your screen were the ones that could at some future point be negotiated even if they often were not.

The % of a % sell on clauses did not previously show as they could not be negotiated and maybe now can be. It could also be they should always have been shown on your screen and simply now are shown.

Ok I get you now. 

I will keep an eye on it & try and check as we progress, but I think it's more likely that the clause is visible incorrectly as a bug, (but on the plus side, at least it's there). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2023. 

First Division. 1st Phase. I've got to be really happy with our league form. We're the joint highest goal-scorers in the league, (having played a game less than many), and even if we drop off a but I think we're looking really good for the rest of this season at least. I would love to push for a Continental spot, but I'm really not sure how realistic that is. When you consider that the players are still learning to play together, and to a new system there is probably loads of improvement to come, and that's over and above a really young squad just developing over time. 

Colombian Cup. I don't know if we lost because we're not very good, or we were not very good because I listed most of the squad for transfer and offered them all out to other clubs. 

Injuries. We've been having a few niggles, but the Moreno injury is a blow because he's probably our best player. 

Goal-scoring GK's. We scored another pen this month, but Parra 6'0" was injured so Fontalvo 6'4" took his chance. 

Finances. ONG we're haemorrhaging money like a big sievy thing with holes in that's been damaged to create even more holes. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2023. 

First Division. 1st Phase. An unbeaten month sees us move up to the heady heights of 3rd, (which is ridiculous considering the pre-season odds and that we didn't sign anyone). We've also got a game in hand on most teams too. 

I made a tactical tweak at the beginning of this month in that I changed crossed from mixed to whipped. We've scored 1 goal from exactly that, but I think it's helping our overall play a little too. 

Is now a good time to remind you that there are 8 continental slots available in Colombia. 

Rodríguez is deserving of a mention this month having contributed 5 goals and 1 assist in his 4 games this month. 

Finances. I might have to stop posting pictures of our finances. 

[Rikulec]

Some proper madness happening already.  Good luck mate!

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2023. 

First Division. 1st Phase. There appear to be Semi-Finals at the end of the 1st Phase of the league, and because we finished 3rd we qualify for the Semi's. I didn't know this before so in my infinite wisdom I picked the whole squad for the La Equidad game based on PA because we were decimated with injuries and suspensions so I gave 8 players their competitive debut and although we went 2-0 down, we fought back for a great draw and should have won it in the end.

The number of times this happens is ridiculous. They were 2nd and flying and we had our best 4 central midfielders out and both WB's were 1 booking away from a suspension so I just threw the kids in and they did the business. 

What the hell is this? 

This isn't a Senme-Final. This is another league! 

First Division. 1st Phase. Semi Final Group A. I rested the kids again against Millonarios, and although they gave us a thumping, it was all worthwhile 3 days later when we completely dominated a Junior side who are actually significantly better than us. 

Goal-scoring GK's. No goals this month, but you can see that 18 year old Santiago Asprilla and 17 year old Andrés Tovar have both made their debuts for us in rotated squads. 

Finances. This is getting messy rather quickly. I'm not completely sure how we qualify for Continental competition. It could be via the Final League table or it could be by these Semi-Final League things, (or it could be a mix of the 2 + the Cup), but it's clear we desperately need money from the Copa Sudamericana or the Copa Libertadores. 

[Jimbokav1971]

17 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

Some proper madness happening already.  Good luck mate!

These mini League "Semi-Final" Stages are confusing the hell out of me. I'm not even sure what the point actually is.   

I understand the average league points over 3 years. (At least I think I do). 

The money though. Wow the money. 

[Etothe2power]

3 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Sale. Mar 2023. 

I've been so caught up in the new game and whether we would be competitive or not and whether I would be sacked again, (like Regensburg),  that I wasn't quite aware quite how many players had contracts who were expiring at the end of this season.

In the 1st Team squad we have 28 players, and 24 of them have contract that are expiring in the Summer, (actually it's the Winter because the Colombian season runs from Jan to Dec), but you get my drift, and that doesn't even include 5 of 6 players who have been sent out on loan. 

I've just checked and there are 15 more players in the U20 squad who's contracts also expire at the end of the season. 

That's 48 players leaving on a free unless I can flog some of them between now and whenever the window opens. 

You've hit on what was going to be my biggest piece of advice...It is maddening keeping track of contracts! Given the marathon season domestically you'll need a deep squad. I found it difficult the first few seasons managing contracts, especially youth contracts. With so many high potential players, I had a struggle knowing who to keep around, who to let go on a free, and who to sell.

Which brings me to my second bit of advice: don't get too attached to players! With the great facilities and youth setup, as expected I had consistently at least decent, if not great, youth intakes. So, sell when you can and when if makes financial sense. Qualifying for the Copa Libertadores definitely helps financially. I think you get something like $400-500,000 for reaching the qualifying rounds. If you make the competition proper that obviously helps too. Advancing out of the group stage was the real benefit because I think the appearance money then is $1,250,000.

As far as qualifying for the Copa Libertadores of Sudamericana, the aggregate table determines that. The top two teams get into the Libertadores and 3-6 get into the Sudamericana.

[Jimbokav1971]

12 minutes ago, Etothe2power said:

You've hit on what was going to be my biggest piece of advice...It is maddening keeping track of contracts! Given the marathon season domestically you'll need a deep squad. I found it difficult the first few seasons managing contracts, especially youth contracts. With so many high potential players, I had a struggle knowing who to keep around, who to let go on a free, and who to sell.

Which brings me to my second bit of advice: don't get too attached to players! With the great facilities and youth setup, as expected I had consistently at least decent, if not great, youth intakes. So, sell when you can and when if makes financial sense. Qualifying for the Copa Libertadores definitely helps financially. I think you get something like $400-500,000 for reaching the qualifying rounds. If you make the competition proper that obviously helps too. Advancing out of the group stage was the real benefit because I think the appearance money then is $1,250,000.

As far as qualifying for the Copa Libertadores of Sudamericana, the aggregate table determines that. The top two teams get into the Libertadores and 3-6 get into the Sudamericana.

That's brilliant info. Thanks. 

We're losing just under £500k per month I think, (it's just over $420k I think but £500k is a nice big round number), and I haven't sat down and done any maths yet, but with a £14k capacity stadium, (that I think has a lower capacity in Continental games, that's a lot of prize-money, TV money, tickets sold to make up what will be between £4M - £5M per year. Later on down the line I can see it not being a problem, but in the short-term here and now it absolutely is a problem. 

In the short-to medium term I might have to rely on El Presidente injecting funds to keep us afloat, (although that hasn't happened yet). 

The other thing I was thinking though, was if the player sale are going to be a pee in the ocean, (not much good at all), then it would make sense for me to weight the back end of the deals in terms of sell-on fees, and have the initial fee quite low so that while we might lose now in the short term, (it doesn't matter because as long as we're within budget then El Presidente will have to keep injecting funds, and then when we do get a payday from a big sell-on clause, it's a BIG payday rather than just something that tides us over for a couple of months. 

I've just sold the 1st player in the save, and because he had 6 month(ish) left on his contract I was desperate to get anything for him. He went to Argentina for £350k(£400k) + 25% re-sale value. I immediately transferred the received transfer funds into wages and signed as many of the brightest prospects, (just going by PA and Det), onto long-term deals. 

It's certainly working me hard in a way that my saves don't usually impact me at all, (although the Barca £2.4B debt was decent fun. 

ps. I am well known for having big squads and I think it will pay big dividends here. I think this is going to be a challenge I can really get my teeth into. Really enjoying it so far. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2023. 

First Division. 1st Phase. Semi Final Group A. I rotated players for the 2 games against Millonarios, but it was the 3-2 loss away to Alianza Petrolera that really cost us. If we draw that we're level on points with the top 2, and if we win it we top the group. We were really good in the game but things just didn't fall for us and they scored 3 goals and we only scored 2.  Fine margins at play here. I've got to be happy with our 1st Phase of the League campaign out of the way. If you had told me we would have finished 3rd in the First Phase and then take 9 points in the Semi Final Group, while I wouldn't have had a clue what you were talking about, I would also have been well chuffed. 

 

Goal-scoring GK's. We've already had a GK score a brace of pens in a match thanks to Parra 6'0". As soon as I get some research done on Set-pieces I will overhaul the whole thing and he will start taking free-kicks too. We had 35 corners this month and managed 1 shot on target from a corner I think. 

Finances. I'm going to do a seperate post shortly on Transfers and Wages. 

[Jimbokav1971]

The Colombia First Division structure. Jul 2023. 

I think I know what's what now with regards to qualification places for the Continental competitions. 

1. The winner of the Final, (between the 2 teams that top the First Phase Semi Final Groups), gets the 1st qualification place. 

2. The winner of the Final, (between the 2 teams that top the Second Phase Semi Final Groups), gets the 2nd qualification place. 

3. The Cup winner get's the 3rd qualifying place, (unless they have already won a qualification place). (I don't think the Runner Up gets the spot if the Cup winner has already qualified). 

4. The 5, (or 6 if the Cup winner doesn't need a spot), remaining places go to the highest placed team, (Combined League Table).

Glad that's sorted and everyone is completely clear now. Right?  

[Jimbokav1971]

Transfers & Finances. Jul 2023. 

We've made our 1st permanent transfer out, for actual cash money. 

Mosquera had just over 6 months left on his contract and I was desperate to get him out the door. To be brutally honest, I would have let him go for £0 + 25% of future sale with the added bonus that we would also get his wages, (which I think were approx £4.6 per week), off the books. In actual fact, not only did we get £4.6k pw off the books, but we also managed to reinvest the cash from the same back from the Transfer Budget into the Wage budget. He was our top goal-scorer since I arrived, (with 9 goals in 24(3) appearances), but he certainly wasn't the star of the show and not what we particularly needed in any position. His new valuation of £3.9M - £7.2M will largely be driven by his wages, and as we get 25% of the next sale, the better he does and the higher he's valued the better. 

Finances. You have already see than the bank balance is bad, (and getting worse). My usual strategy is to try and generate a sizeable income early in order to keep the El Presidente away from transfer bids on our players. The main problem with the finances at the club right now is that it's very hard to turn down any reasonable offer, and it feels like I've hardly got my feet under the table yet and I'm still managing someone else's squad. 

100% of the £350k went into out Transfer budget, and I immediately transferred it over to our wage budget. 

This means that we're now spending just £59,837 pw of a £76,505 pw budget, meaning that we have a surplus wage budget of £16,668 pw.  

That's not all though, (because I have been busy). 

This is all the players at the club now, ranked by PA, and let's have a look at their contract expiry dates, (and the option clause). 

Juan Felipe Holguín is still on a Youth Contract and I keep failing to sign him to a pro deal. I'm going to keep trying. 
Felipe Russell has signed a pre-contract deal with either a +2 or a +3. 
García has just signed a 3+2 deal. 
Leider Pacheco has just signed a 2+2 deal.
Bonilla has just signed a 3+1 deal. 
Emanuel Londoño has just signed a 3+2 deal. 
Reyes has just signed a 3+2 deal.
Zuluaga is on a 2+2 deal.
Pablo Álvarez is on a 2+2 deal.
Rubio is on a 2+2 deal.
Aponzá 6'3" is on a 2+2 deal.
Daniel Arcila is probably not going to be offered a new contract. 
Banguera 6'4" is on a 2+2 deal.
Díaz is on a 2+2 deal.
Diego Betancourth is probably not going to be offered a new contract.
Palacio 5'10" I'm still negotiating with, (but hopeful of getting a deal done). 

It means that in terms of position depth, this is what we will have contracted next season. 

GK. 

Fontalvo 6'4"
Daniel Melo
Andrés Tovar 6'0"

DL.

Celedón
Emanuel Londoño

DR.

García
Zuluaga

DC.

Banguera 6'4"
Suárez 6'4"
Didier Palacios 5'11"
Felipe Valencia 6'4"
Aponzá 6'3"

MC.

JM.Zapata
Reyes
D.Zapata
Juan Andrés Quintero
Roldán

SC.

Rubio
Díaz
Pablo Álvarez
Juan Pablo Aristizábal
Felipe Russell
Juan David Ramírez
Alejandro Chalarca
Leider Pacheco
Bonilla

Looking at the above list, the area in which we most need to strengthen..... is centre-half. 

And those leaving, (who will free up wage budget for someone else). 

£4,300 Parra 6'0"
£4,300 Moreno HG
£1,300 Rodallega HG
£1,700 Ordóñez 6'1" HG
£850 Hurtado HG
£1,600 Palacio 5'10" HG
£1,600 Paternina 5'5" HG
£1,300 Noreña 6'0"
£1,600 Rodríguez HG
£55 Juan Felipe Holguín
£55 Tomás Soto
£725 Daniel Arcila
£775 Sinisterra
£825 Déiler Córdoba
£55 Santiago Asprilla 6'2"
£1,200 López
£850 Andrade
£725 Miguel Álvarez
£460 Juan Andrés Acevedo
£90 Neymar Uribe
£325 Andrés Jiménez 6'4"
£55 Jackson Jaramillo
£575 Duque HG
£700 Heiler Mosquera HG
£625 Yeiler Mosquera 6'1"
£55  Palomino
£725 Renteria
£725 Jhon Torres
£55 Josep Mejía
£575 Samuel Bello
£775 Yilson Mosquera MC
£625 Duván Mesa
£850 Diego Betancourth
£525 Kevin Maya
£725 Juan Esteban Cortés

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2023. 

First Division. 2nd Phase. We've had an unbeaten month before. Now we've had a 100% month. 

Goal-scoring GK;s. No goals this month. 

Finances. Come on El Presidente. Stick some money in please. 

[TheMadMonk]

18 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Penalties. Jan 2023. 

I have remembered to set my GK's to take pens and free-kicks and this caught my eye. 

I don't care how many pens my GK misses. I want him to keep taking the next one. 

Very nice touch though. 

I was half expecting to see, (if player is fouled then can he take the penalty in there too).

[Edit]

Oh thank God for that. I can still delegate the set-pieces, yet regain control of who takes them. 

[Edit2]

The only problem with that is that you don't appear to be able to get to the Set Piece takers list if you're not in control of the set pieces yourself. 

[Edit3]

It looks like you have to be in control of Set Piece Tactics if you also want to be in control of the set piece takers list. 

[Edit4]

Let's try this a different way. 

This is me currently delegating all set-piece duties. 

I only want to take control of 1 of these. (Handles Team Set Piece Takers List

It won't let me though. The "Take control" button isn't there. I can only change who it's delegated to. 

I have already changed penalties and they are staying changed. 

But because free-kick takers are under Set Pieces rather than "Set Piece Takers", I can't get into it without taking it over. And I don't want to take it over. 

When I take it over, set the set-piece takers to my GK's and then come out and delegate it back again, it's obviously swapping back. 

It would also make sense if it was possible to control either only attacking or defensive set-pieces rather than all of them. 

[Edit5]

In the short-term I have just resorted to my GK only taking penalties rather than free-kicks too, but assuming they can't resolve this I will have to become an expert in the set-piece system and take it over fully so that I can dictate that my GK takes them too. 

Things like this are so frustrating. 

In FM23 I could dictate who took my free-kicks and corners. 
In FM24 I now can't do that unless I also take over every aspect of both attacking and defensive set-pieces. 

That's surely not how this is meant to work. 

I've not tried it but doesnt just assigning "Hnadle Set Piece Takers List" as below to you work ?

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, TheMadMonk said:

I've not tried it but doesnt just assigning "Hnadle Set Piece Takers List" as below to you work ?

No, it doesn't work. I tried that.