bowieinspace Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 On 22/12/2023 at 06:40, Skora11 said: I am looking to replicate the Bilbao model with my local team (Kilmarnock). Does anyone know how to implement a strict board policy where I could only sign Ayrshire based players? Sorry for the slow reply on this! It's very difficult to do honestly - from my understanding the best way is to set up detailed scouting filters searching for players by place of birth, and then including every named location within Ayrshire, as well as filters based on what club they were developed at... honestly a bit convoluted and you'll always have to deal with scouts being useful and pulling in reports on all players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Season Review - 2028/29 After taking December off (too busy with work and then family stuff over Christmas) I am back! La Liga - 1st, 88 points (quite a bit down on previous years) Copa Del Rey - Lost in SF to Barcelona Supercopa - WINNERS Champions League - Lost in SF to Man City Overall a pretty good year, we won the league thanks largely to Real not quite maximising their own season - 88 points isn't an amazing total, albeit not too shabby. We also won the Supercopa which was a nice bonus, and got conclusively beaten by a much better Man City side in the Champions League semi final. We are well into a phase now of being good enough to compete, but probably an outside shout to win the Champions League - we'd need the right run in the knockouts to have a chance I think. For anyone interested, my experiment moving Nico Williams to right back has been pretty successful His cuts inside from both wings trait is quite interesting on a wing back. Transfers We said goodbye to a few familiar faces this year, Aihen Munoz was allowed to depart thanks to the emergence of Eneko Cordoba, and a bit of depth in midfield meant retraining one of our CM's into left back to provide cover there. We also said goodbye to Igor Zubeldia - he did a great job for us over a few years, but again just too much depth with newgens coming through now. We also big farewell to Julen Jon Guerrero who didn't look like he would make it for us, as well as Gorka Merino (one of our hot prospects) - his development stalled and there were better options out there. We also moved on Mikel Rojo, an excellent centre forward who has been part of our team for a few years, however again just too much depth coming through to keep everyone. The departure of Gorka Merino was pushed on by the arrival of a young talent from Real Sociedad, Julen Aguirre. We paid 32million (GBP) for him. He looks an excellent prospect with some potential and some fun attributes - he's not the ideal fit for my system but that's kinda why I went for him, I wanted a different option to use within our system who may help in certain scenarios. Squad Probably the biggest highlight of this save is having 3 French Basque players in the squad, and they're all amazing! We've also shuffled things around this summer with Unax Urrutia coming into the first team as a right back, meaning Josu Blasco has been shifted from RB to CB, allowing Javi to move into a half back role which is a better fit for him i think. GK - Simon, Agirrezabala, Iker Alvarez RB - Nico Williams, Unax Urrutia LB - Eneko Cordoba, Mikel Guruzeta CB - Dani Vivian, Josu Blasco, Carlos Saenz, Jose Jimenez DM (Half Back) - Javi, Vencedor DM (DMS) - Hugo Guillamin, Ibon Marin CM (DLP) - Sancet, Alboniga-Menor AM (AMS) - Aimar, Jon Castro CF (DLFS) - Jon Ibanez, Julen Aguirre CF (PFA) - Jon Martin, Aitor Gorrotxategi I thought given the break this was a nice time to update on development of these guys, as I normally post screenshots when they first come into the squad, so apologies for the length post with more images here: First up, new signing Julen Aguirre. I like his attributes for a kinda off-type DLF or AM - his passing needs some work, but his pace, flair, first touch, composure all make for an interesting player in the space between the opposition defence and midfield. He's obviously not a playmaker, but I'm looking for something different. Next up Jose Jimenez, our new option at CB - I love this guys attribute spread for a CB and he will get plenty of minutes this season, I expect him to be with us for a long time. He's one of those guys who always had fairly average potential, but just kept improving and improving and now looks like he's going to be class. Eneko Cordoba is one of my real success stories - an incredible wing back for us. We paid a lot of money for him when his attributes needed a lot of work - if you look at him on my previous screenshot to see how much he's improved... wow, totally worth the outlay. Ibon Marin is a tidy defensive midfielder with some quality on the ball - he can play in the DM role or the DLP role for us which is great. One of our French Basque players I had doubts about Josu Blasco simply because he felt like one of those classic full back newgens... he's kind of a good right back, kind of a centre back but not really excellent at either (unless you want a pure defensive full back). I've now moved him to CB and I have to say he's really excellent there - his attribute spread, aside from slightly low jumping reach is brilliant. Carlos Saenz - I really like this guy as a CB, good attributes, just hasn't quite kicked on in the way I hoped. None the less, an excellent option at the back. It's been a long time now since Javi came into the side, or it feels that way. His move from CB to DM is definitely the right one. My concern with Javi is that he's had elite player potential for a long time but his rate of development is very slow, despite being a key starter for us. I think he will likely top out some way below the potential he has but will still be an awesome option for us... hopefully I'm wrong and he takes some big leaps forward! In contrast to Javi, Jon Ibanez just keeps improving, and improving, and improving. He's now our first choice DLF and has pushed another hot prospect, Aitor Gorrotxategi out of the team. We have SO much strength in terms of forwards coming through which is awesome. Jon Martin has been a top top player for us in recent seasons playing as both a DLF and PF. He's lost his place in the first choice XI due to Jon Ibanez but he's still a very hot prospect. He is rotating with Jon Martin for the PF role and I anticipate he will be world class in the future. Another French Basque, Mikel Guruzeta is being retrained as a left back. There's a real lack of left backs out there and we've got depth in midfield, Guruzeta is very capable as a left back so out there he goes! At one point Jon Castro and Gorka Merino were giving me headaches in terms of how I'd fit all my AM's in the team. However both have seen their potential drop off a bit, Gorka Merino significantly so... a bit less so for Castro who is still a magnificent AM, but not quite perhaps the world class potential he once had. Hopefully my future star right back. Converted from an attacking midfielder he will hopefully be a long term staple in our side. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Season Review 2029/30 La Liga - 2nd, 93 points Supercopa - Winners Copa Del Rey - Winners Champions League - Lost in QF to Man City So close to the league title, but a domestic cup double is a pretty good result overall. In the league we were ahead with 3 games to go, but two draws in our final 3 games meant we lost to Real Madrid by 4 points - they did deserve it overall though, scoring 125 goals they certainly dwarfed our stats, and our closely fought games eventually came to bite us at the end. In the Champions League we lost again, outclassed by Man City. The loss to Man City and ludricous riches we have in terms of young attacking talent has prompted a tactical shift for the 30/31 season. We've kept some of the same overall ideas within this system, but moved things a touch wider in the attack, opting for an offset 4-2-3-1 (which basically plays like a 4-2-4 a lot of the time). We needed to find easier ways to get all of our attacking players into the team! GK - Simon, Alvaro Fernandez, Iker Alvarez RB - Nico Williams, Unax Urrutia LB - Eneko Cordoba, Gaizka Alboniga-Menor CB - Dani Vivian, Josu Blasco, Jose Jimenez, Aitor Etxeberria DM - Hugo Guillamon, Javi, Ibon Marin, Mikel Guruzeta RW - Jon Martin, Isaac Gomez LW - Jon Ibanez, Julen Aguirre AM - Oihan Sancet, Jon Castro CF - Aitor Gorrotxategi, Juan Etxabe You may notice a few familiar names who have been moved on - Unai Vencedor was allowed to leave to accommodate having one less central midfielder spot in the squad, while Aimar was also sent on loan for a year to be reviewed in the summer...this was a tough call as he has been exceptional for us over the years, but Sancet is a better player and Jon Castro is younger and arguably better (albeit doesn't always show it output wise). This allowed us to welcome Isaac Gomez and Juan Etxabe to the first team! We also brought Aitor Etxeberria up from the B team, while Carlos Saenz was sent on loan. Seemingly excellent potential here for Etxabe, he will be back up to Aitor Gorrotxategi this year. Meanwhile Isaac Gomez (who appears to be a Jon Ibanez clone) also comes in, he is providing cover for Jon Martin at right wing. Aitor Etxeberria is my third and final new academy addition - an excellent defender, albeit not a tall one, he comes in at centre back this season and is honestly immediately in consideration to start. Vivian will need to be phased out in the next year or two as he starts to decline, so I'm very comfortable now with my options in this area. Where I am not so comfortable however is GK - Simon is starting to show signs of decline at 33, but he probably has 2 seasons left at the top level I think. Alvaro Fernandez is one year younger, so he won't be far behind. Unfortunately there hasn't been a single good Basque GK come through since my save started, which poses a real issue. As it stands, once Simon declines too much, we are going to be down to some very average options in goal. I may purchase Julen Agirrezabala back as a stop gap as he's a couple of years younger, but there's a HUGE issue with not a single Basque goalkeeper out there worth looking at, there's barely any who are even La Liga standard. I have one in my youth ranks (17 years old) who might be a decent La Liga keeper eventually, but he's far from a Simon replacement. This could spell major trouble for my save. In other news, we're now regularly fielding a team of entirely Athletic Club academy graduates, not a single purchased Basque player which is awesome. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
basqueliverpool Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 On 25/01/2024 at 02:38, bowieinspace said: Season Review 2029/30 La Liga - 2nd, 93 points Supercopa - Winners Copa Del Rey - Winners Champions League - Lost in QF to Man City So close to the league title, but a domestic cup double is a pretty good result overall. In the league we were ahead with 3 games to go, but two draws in our final 3 games meant we lost to Real Madrid by 4 points - they did deserve it overall though, scoring 125 goals they certainly dwarfed our stats, and our closely fought games eventually came to bite us at the end. In the Champions League we lost again, outclassed by Man City. The loss to Man City and ludricous riches we have in terms of young attacking talent has prompted a tactical shift for the 30/31 season. We've kept some of the same overall ideas within this system, but moved things a touch wider in the attack, opting for an offset 4-2-3-1 (which basically plays like a 4-2-4 a lot of the time). We needed to find easier ways to get all of our attacking players into the team! GK - Simon, Alvaro Fernandez, Iker Alvarez RB - Nico Williams, Unax Urrutia LB - Eneko Cordoba, Gaizka Alboniga-Menor CB - Dani Vivian, Josu Blasco, Jose Jimenez, Aitor Etxeberria DM - Hugo Guillamon, Javi, Ibon Marin, Mikel Guruzeta RW - Jon Martin, Isaac Gomez LW - Jon Ibanez, Julen Aguirre AM - Oihan Sancet, Jon Castro CF - Aitor Gorrotxategi, Juan Etxabe You may notice a few familiar names who have been moved on - Unai Vencedor was allowed to leave to accommodate having one less central midfielder spot in the squad, while Aimar was also sent on loan for a year to be reviewed in the summer...this was a tough call as he has been exceptional for us over the years, but Sancet is a better player and Jon Castro is younger and arguably better (albeit doesn't always show it output wise). This allowed us to welcome Isaac Gomez and Juan Etxabe to the first team! We also brought Aitor Etxeberria up from the B team, while Carlos Saenz was sent on loan. Seemingly excellent potential here for Etxabe, he will be back up to Aitor Gorrotxategi this year. Meanwhile Isaac Gomez (who appears to be a Jon Ibanez clone) also comes in, he is providing cover for Jon Martin at right wing. Aitor Etxeberria is my third and final new academy addition - an excellent defender, albeit not a tall one, he comes in at centre back this season and is honestly immediately in consideration to start. Vivian will need to be phased out in the next year or two as he starts to decline, so I'm very comfortable now with my options in this area. Where I am not so comfortable however is GK - Simon is starting to show signs of decline at 33, but he probably has 2 seasons left at the top level I think. Alvaro Fernandez is one year younger, so he won't be far behind. Unfortunately there hasn't been a single good Basque GK come through since my save started, which poses a real issue. As it stands, once Simon declines too much, we are going to be down to some very average options in goal. I may purchase Julen Agirrezabala back as a stop gap as he's a couple of years younger, but there's a HUGE issue with not a single Basque goalkeeper out there worth looking at, there's barely any who are even La Liga standard. I have one in my youth ranks (17 years old) who might be a decent La Liga keeper eventually, but he's far from a Simon replacement. This could spell major trouble for my save. In other news, we're now regularly fielding a team of entirely Athletic Club academy graduates, not a single purchased Basque player which is awesome. love reading your posts. what do you do re staff? stay basque? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 8 hours ago, basqueliverpool said: love reading your posts. what do you do re staff? stay basque? Thank you! I've got another season update I should do, but I'm halfway through the next season after so may just do two years at once at this point. Staff wise I stay flexible, I always look out for Basque staff but I'm happy to take the best available option to be honest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 (edited) Big Update! September 2032 My last update was the 29/30 season, so I've since done two further seasons and a summer transfer window, sitting now in September 2032. 30/31 Competitions: La Liga - 2nd, 86 points (Real Madrid winners) Copa Del Rey - Lost in QF to Real Betis Supercopa - Winners! Champions League - Lost in final to PSG Ahh our first Champions League final, and we sadly lost 3-1 to PSG. I said previously we probably needed a favourable draw to get to the final, and we did have one this one, however couldn't beat PSG in the final. It's a shame as we've played PSG previously and done really well, so I had high hopes, but we simply weren't good enough. A Supercopa win kept the trophy count rising though. 31/32 Competions: La Liga - 1st, 98 points Copa Del Rey - Lost in QF to Real Madrid Supercopa - Lost in SF to Real Madid Champions League - Lost in QF to Napoli Back on top of the league, but Real had the better of us in the cups. A really disappointing QF lost to Napoli, in the first leg at their stadium in the first half we managed to concede 3 goals and 2 penalties (both saved), and they still only racked up 1.85xG haha. We battered them in the second leg but only scored 2, and missed chances in the first leg also. We really should have made the semi Looking ahead in September 2032: We've had some squad turnover this summer with some legends leaving the club... I'd like to applaud: Unai Simon - 548 league appearances Dani Vivian - 442 league appearances Hugo Guillamon - 250 league appearances Aimar - 220 league appearances This summer really felt like the end of an era. Unai Simon at 35, I was hoping would manage another year or two but he had declined pretty badly, he was still ok but his performances in the second half of last season showed some signs of decline. I elected to take the opportunity to bring back Julen Agirrezabala as a stop gap while I brought a couple youth prospects through. I said previously we had an issue with GK's in my save - we finally have 2 semi decent newgens who I think are going to be good La Liga level in the future, one is my back up this season (probably the worst of the two, but at 18 he's closer to stepping in), while the other is only 16 and is in the U19s still. Agirrezabala was always very capable when he was with us before, so was a no brainer. I had to pay over the odds to get him back, but at this point in my save money is no object. I still have Sancet, but again decline is setting in, this may well be his last season with us and is now a squad rotation option. We nearly lost Nico Williams, but after some haggling I was able to renew his contract with 9 months to spare. Current Squad: GK - Julen Agirrezabala, Iker Alvarez, Iker Zubillaga RB - Nico Williams, Unax Urrutia LB - Eneko Cordoba, Mikel Guruzeta CB - Josu Blasco, Aitor Etxebarria, Jose Jimenez, Carlos Saenz DM - Alboniga-Menor, Javi, Jorge Murillo, Iban Marin RW - Jon Martin, Isaac Gomez LW - Julen Aguirre, Jon Ibanez AM - Jon Castro, Oihan Sancet CF - Aitor Gorrotxategi, Juan Etxabe *The three highlighted players were academy products of (all others are either original squad members or our academy players): Cordoba - Arenas Club Carlos Saenz - Osasuna Julen Aguirre - Real Sociedad Julen Aguirre and Cordoba are standout first XI players of course, but Carlos Saenz is fourth choice and may well be replaced like for like with a player from our academy later this season, so only 2 players purchased from outside the club. This is both a real positive for our academy production, but also shows our poor Osasuna and Sociedad intakes have been! *A note attached to a player denotes either a lack of consistency or issue with big matches, usually not both (I think one player has both). Consistency is always an issue with academy players, but it does improve over time, so just gotta give those kids time! As you can see, Eneko Cordoba is an absolute monster, and Julen Aguirre who I originally brought in thinking he would be a rotation option has just bloomed so well. Juan Etxabe is one I am very excited about, he's coming on leaps and bounds and could be the type of striker to fire us to Champions League glory. We are however a little lop-sided in terms of all of our strength being up front, wings and full backs - the core spine of the team (GK, CB, DM) is perhaps serviceable at best. Josu Blasco is a solid centre back, as is Alboniga-Menor in a DLP role, but we don't have a world class option in that defensive spine in any of the positions. I think going bold with our 4-2-4 is the best play, just to try to utilise our attacking players as best we can. I think next season with Sancet's likely departure, we will see Nico Williams moved back up into the attacking midfield area, as I have a good young RB ready to come in as deputy, and Unax Urrutia is ready to be first choice. Jon Martin will shift into the AM role when needed as a result, allowing Nico to play on the right wing, but my front 4 all rotate positions fairly regularly depending on need. The Trophy Cabinet so far: La Liga - 2026, 2029, 2032 Copa Del Rey - 2024, 2030 Supercopa - 2026, 2027, 2029, 2030, 2031 Overall I'm pleased with this. It's perhaps one of the weaker records I've had over the years at this stage of my Athletic saves, however given how ridiculous Real Madrid are I feel like it's a pretty respectable record. I really want that European trophy, but we've not had the quality just yet to do it. Edited February 4 by bowieinspace 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 2032/33 Update - Another Champions League Final La Liga - Winners! 99 points, Real Madrid on 97 Copa Del Rey - Lost in final to Barcelona Supercopa - Lost in final to Real Madrid Champions League - See below.... Club World Cup - Lost in QF to Real Madrid So this team is finally starting to come together - we have some balance issues in terms of a lack of true world class quality at GK, CB and DM, however there's other stuff starting to come through for us. For years this team has suffered from two main areas - 1) A lack of height and size/strength in the air and 2) Inconsistency and a fear of big matches. We've been able to flat track bully La Liga and win a good number of cups, but especially in the Champions League eventually our inconsistency hits us and we take a battering off someone at a key moment. I'm starting to see some of these areas sort themselves out now. Juan Etxabe is now the main man leading the line - he is a god as far as I'm concerned, one of those rare FM players that is just remarkably effective. In Juan Etxabe we have an incredibly consistent advanced forward who can score every type of goal... 18 off the ball and 18 finishing, 16 pace/acceleration, 16 flair, 16 jumping reach... whereever you put the ball for this guy, to feet, the head etc, he can score, and does... frequently. He's ultra consistent and enjoys big matches. Prior to this we had Aitor Gorrotxategi leading the line. Now I love Aitor Gorrotxategi... he is a wonderful man who does a lot of charity work. Unfortunately he's always been inconsistent (per attribute, you can see above). However his consistency that used to be really terrible has improved a bit with age and he is now only fairly inconsistent... he's also developed a love for big matches which is handy. Now he is a physical monster but in a slightly different way to Etxabe - he lacks in height and can't lead the line in such a complete way as Etxabe does, but he does have great vision and good passing instead. When he was up front, too often he would drop 6.2-6.4 ratings and miss chances when I really needed him to come up big for the team. In our system now, I've been able to deploy him as an AM(A) offset from Etxabe, this allows Gorrotxategi to use his physical abilities and rounded game to influence, without being the main person required to score goals. His improvements in consistency are showing and he is getting better and better. Alongside them up front, we have Julen Aguirre, a world class inside forward, and Jon Ibanez who is a bit slower and plays more of a creator role, with some great back ups to boot. Etxabe is the key though, an aerial presence we so desperately needed. Behind them we lack the quality - a range of CB and DM options who are good La Liga players - mainly good on the ground but poor in the air (our starting CBs have 11 and 13 jumping reach). We need some size badly - a big physical CB would be the dream, but alas we do not have this at the moment, so we go with what we have. To win the Champions League with our team over the last 5 years or so I'd say would have been difficult, requiring a bit of luck. We had one season where we reached the final but got pumped by PSG, but otherwise always dropped a stinker at some point. We had too many young players who were inconsistent, or older players who disliked big matches. This is changing now - our initial newgen options are now 25 years old, and with that comes improved consistency. Our newer newgens coming through like Etxabe are mentally stronger and more consistent, and I finally feel like we're getting to a place where we should be thinking about a Champions League each season as the goal. That brings us to this season. A La Liga win (just) over Real Madrid was a great reward, however they beat us in the Supercopa final and we lost the Copa Del Rey final to Barcelona. This meant the domestic trophies were shared between the big 3 - no real complaints here - Real Madrid in particular are so strong. In the Champions League a superb group stage saw us finish 2nd and qualify straight into the last 16. We then had chance to exact revenge against Napoli who knocked us out last year - a first leg away saw us go down 1-0 thanks to a Khvaraskelia worldie - neither team created much in that one. We then battered them at San Mames but struggled to score, Alboniga-Menor opened the scoring just after half time to level the tie, and in the 87th minute Jon Martin scored the winner to avoid extra time. Following that we were drawn against Milan in the last 8 - a 3-1 victory at home in the first leg made me feel fairly comfortable going into the second leg, however we got absolutely battered at their place - we lost 1-0 to sneak through 3-2 on aggregate but honestly it should have been more... we could have lost this game badly. We then took on Arsenal in the semi final, again at home in the first leg. We won 1-0 at home thanks to Etxabe, and it could have been more, but ultimately I was happy to take a lead into the second leg. At The Emirates we took a very early lead thanks to a banger from Gorrotxategi in the 2nd minute, from there it was a fairly even game, but they came back into it with a goal on the stroke of half time to make it 1-1 on the night, they then added a second in the 77th minute to level the tie. Extra time was back and forth, unfortunately Julen Agirrezabala went off with a season ending injury in the 90th minute, leaving us with 18 year old third choice keeper Iker Zubillaga in goal as our other option was also injured already). We stayed strong and took the game to penalities. Up step Iker Zubillaga - the 18 year old is our least exciting of 3 young goalkeeper prospects I desperately need to develop, but that didn't stop him from saving 4 penalities in a row to win the shootout! Unreal! The final was vs our domestic rivals Real Madrid - they're an unbelievable team...usually neutral grounds they get the better of us, but we beat them at San Mames, so while having a familiar foe was somewhat comforting, I also know how difficult it is to beat them in cup finals at neutral grounds. We start the game really well and take an early lead via an Etxabe header - however the were the better side generally in the game and got an equaliser only 10minutes later via a long range effort. While they did have the slight edge on us in the game it wasn't one sided, and we hit the post in the 115th minute, and then had one blocked on the line 2 minutes later! They also had their chances but just couldn't convert...it went to penalities. The hero of the semi final Zubillaga was not in goal for this one, and in hindsight I wish I'd brought him on - we sadly lost the penalty shootout 4-3... absolutely gutted. While it was a very dissapointing season in that we lost 3 cup finals, we did at least pip Real Madrid to the league title. Overall I'm far more optimistic about this team, I feel like the transition to our newgens has now fully completed and we are mostly through the inconsistency phase. We have a solid group of players who can win stuff now, hopefully that Champions League title isn't far away as this is the longest it's taken me in an Athletic save for sure. In transfer news, this season we said goodbye to: Oihan Sancet - 400 league appearances What a legend! Sad to say goodbye to Oihan but it was time, I think next season may be the last for Nico Williams potentially. We welcome a few new newgens also to the team - Aitor Etxabe, Xabi Aizpurua, Alex Etxeberria and Carlos Etxeberria (I won't picture Carlos as he's a 2* back up keeper). GK - Julen Agirrezabala, Carlos Etxeberria, Iker Zubillaga RB - Unax Urrutia, Alex Etxeberria LB - Eneko Cordoba, Mikel Guruzeta CB - Aitor Etxeberria, Josu Blasco, Jose Jimenez, Carlos Saenz DM - Gaizka Alboniga-Menor, Ibon Marin, Aitor Etxabe, Javi RW - Jon Ibanez, Jon Castro LW - Julen Aguirre, Jon Martin AM - Aitor Gorrotxategi, Xabi Aizpurua CF - Juan Etxabe, Nico Williams In reality the front 4 are fairly interchangeable when rotating, Nico Williams for example fills in everywhere and Gorrotxategi would go into CF if Etxabe was injured. Now, those new newgens: His heading is poor, but with 15 jumping reach he offers something we really lack - a bit of height. I can see him being quite important for us in a DM role. Xabi Aizpurua looks to have a lot of potential, and has done well in his first team appearances this season. He lacks a bit physically but that could improve. Alex Etxeberria has come on leaps and bounds and is now a great back up for Urrutia at right back, allowing Nico Williams to move further up the pitch again. Goalkeeper wise, we're hanging on with Julen Agirrezabala, but I have a great prospect in the youth team playing for the B team this season. Hopefully next year he'll be ready. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dothestrand Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Great updates @bowieinspace and you've had some excellent players come through Lezama. I'm very envious. I'm a few seasons back and will get back into playing. I luckily do have some good keepers coming through so that position isn't a long term issue. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 7 hours ago, dothestrand said: Great updates @bowieinspace and you've had some excellent players come through Lezama. I'm very envious. I'm a few seasons back and will get back into playing. I luckily do have some good keepers coming through so that position isn't a long term issue. Yeah so much talent in the forward areas, and wing backs are good but all the key defensive areas are awful haha Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branst23 Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Random question: Who do you tend to get as your Head of Youth Development at the start of a new save with Bilbao? And who do you aim to get in after a few season? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 1 hour ago, Branst23 said: Random question: Who do you tend to get as your Head of Youth Development at the start of a new save with Bilbao? And who do you aim to get in after a few season? I can't speak on the wider database, but I have Volker Kersting... model citizen with good stats. Personality is super important, and I think their preferred formation can impact too, alongside their stats 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bianconeri96 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 @bowieinspacegreat updates and inspiring save! Just wondering how come your 20ish years old in 2033 have real pictures? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Beckham Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 31 minutes ago, bianconeri96 said: @bowieinspacegreat updates and inspiring save! Just wondering how come your 20ish years old in 2033 have real pictures? He uses a facepack most likely that gives newgens real faces. If you google Newgan it will tell you how to do it yourself. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branst23 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 What is your tactic when you get bids on people like Nico Williams - keep on rejecting and just annoy the squad as he is too valuable? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 10 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said: He uses a facepack most likely that gives newgens real faces. If you google Newgan it will tell you how to do it yourself. Yeah newgan facepack 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 (edited) 6 hours ago, Branst23 said: What is your tactic when you get bids on people like Nico Williams - keep on rejecting and just annoy the squad as he is too valuable? 1) ensure release clause is insanely high 2) reject offers 3) in the resolution chat with the player, tell them how influential they are and hope they are happy with that. If unhappy, dismiss them/tell them it's not happening. Alternatively tell them a fee that's acceptable if you think it could be unachievable for the buyer but it's more risk. 4) continue rejecting offers 5) if squad come to you backing up the player, or team leaders, tell them you don't want to weaken the team. If they disagree, then you agree to disagree and end the conversation. 6) wait for transfer window to close and interest to subside. 7) once interest is gone, if required/possible renew contract. Don't let contract go within 24 months of expiry Edited February 13 by bowieinspace 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 (edited) 2033-34 Update - Athletic Club vs Real Madrid For the second edition of FM in a row I have a ludicrous rivalry with Real Madrid. For those who didn't follow, or don't remember, in FM23 my rivalry with Real Madrid got to a point where they didn't lose a league game for 2.5 years, and we still shared the La Liga titles over that period - it was epic. We are heading back that way again this year. Our season started with a tough run of La Liga games: Real Sociedad (A), Barcelona (H), Real Madrid (A) - we beat Real Sociedad but then Barcelona grabbed a 1-1 draw at San Mames (a sign of things to come from them as them embarked on a really strong season), and we then lost our first tie of the season against Real Madrid 2-1. A tough loss after they beat us in the CL final and Club World Cup QF at the tail end of last season. After that we hit our stride - a run of 12 consecutive wins scoring plenty of goals made me very optimistic for the season, however Real Madrid were more than matching us stride for stride - by the time we reached the halfway point of the season Real Madrid had won 17, lost 1. While we were only 2 points behind. We then faced Real in the Supercopa final, a chance to get revenge for the recent final losses.... but no - a 3-1 defeat made me feel pretty down about our chances of overhauling them in any competition this season. We then lost again in La Liga to Barcelona to fall 5 points behind Real and I was fearing the worst. But then things changed, starting with a 5-0 battering of Real Sociedad at San Mames, and a 4-0 beating of Osasuna. January was busy with cup ties - a win over Valencia in the Copa Del Rey quarter final gave us a favourable semi final tie against Valladolid, which we won comfortably. In the other semi final, Real Madrid of course - beating Getafe 15-1 on aggregate (lol) - another final showdown awaited us in April. February and March brought win after win in the league, and a tough draw in the Champions League round of 16 against Arsenal. While we continued to win, so did Real Madrid and the gap at the top of the table remained the same. I noticed also at this stage Barcelona were not going away - having played a few more games, they were still right in the mix although we would go ahead by winning our games in hand. Our match up with Arsenal was a repeat of last seasons CL semi final. We put in a wonderful performance at The Emirates to win 3-2, after being 2-0 down, and then finished the job with a 2-0 victory at San Mames...the 3-2 away was the one that really convinced me we were one of the best teams in Europe, as coming back from 2-0 down away from home against a top side like that is no easy feat. We continued to win in the league throughout March, with a Champions League quarter final vs PSG and Copa Del Rey final in April to look ahead to. This season was either going to be the banishing of a lot of ghosts, or the death of this save for me - having lost to PSG in our first Champions League final a few years ago, drawing them in the QF was a big deal. We played the first leg at home and took a deserved 2-0 lead thanks to a couple of late goals from Nico Williams - one of the biggest strengths we had this season was our quality off the bench. We went to Parc Des Princes and played really well, taking a 2-1 victory and seeing off PSG in wonderful fashion. Next up - a Copa Del Rey final against Madrid. I was conscious that they'd already beaten us in the Supercopa final, we had them here in this one, and they'd also won their Champions League quarter final. Combined with neither team slipping up in the league this felt like it was heading towards a real showdown. We needed to start landing some blows and we did, 2mins into the final Julen Aguirre gave us a 1-0 lead, and we never looked back - in fact we suffocated them. They ended the game with them having 3 shots on goal, 1 on target. A 1-0 win and we were Copa Del Rey champions again. We smelt blood in the water - Real had some fixture congestion and after a first leg win against Napoli in the CL SF, they had to go to Elche two days later with a tired team... they lost 1-0... was this it? Were they about the crumble? Well not in the Champions League anyway as they saw off Napoli to book their place in the final. However that took it's toll, as they then lost away at Valencia in the next game - suddenely we'd gone from 5 points back to being right on them (despite a draw we had vs Alaves, and our next game... Real Madrid at San Mames. Barcelona were still there too - they'd won every league game since the start of Feb, but were still a few points behind due to the unreal form of us and Real. We had also comfortably dispatched Porto in our Champions League semi final too by now - apart from a bit of a scare in the first 30mins of the second leg this felt never in doubt - we won 3-0 at San Mames, but they scored 2mins into the second leg and could/should have scored again in the first 30mins, but we held on and then turned the tide, winning 3-1 and 6-1 on aggregate. Once again we lost Julen Agirrezabala to injury in early May - the Champions League final was 3 weeks away and he was borderline to make it. Our next best keeper? A 2* player in Carlos Etxeberria rated as a 'good Liga 2 player' (albeit with a solid attribute spread and high consistency rating). To be fair, Agirrezabala is only 2.5 stars so it's not much of a downgrade - we're still struggling for keepers. At this stage in the league: Barcelona - P36, won 30, draw 5, lost 1 - 95 points Athletic Club - P34, won 30, draw 2, lost 2 - 92 points Real Madrid - P34, won 30, lost 4 - 90 points Real Madrid at San Mames was our chance to twist the knife, and we did. We really did. A 5-1 BATTERING, and Real Madrid were shook - they also lost Vini Jr and Endrick to injury late in the game. We then beat Betis 6-2, a 1-0 win against Espanyol followed, and a 2-0 win against Valencia on the final day saw us take the title. Barcelona kept winning, and they draw 2-2 with Real on the final day to secure 2nd spot - a big improvement from them this season. That made it Athletic Club 2 (La Liga, Copa Del Rey) - 1 Real Madrid (Supercopa). With a Champions League final to come. A really competitive title race - hard to believe Real Madrid came third with 97 points haha. Carlos Etxeberria did well in goal over that period - he's a reliable back up. The Champions League final, to be played in Kyiv was to be the final showdown, could we put Real Madrid to the sword and comprehensively see them off this season, or would they take another final from us and continue our CL final dissapointments? They were missing Endrick still but Vini Jr was fit enough for the bench, surely this was our chance? Julen Agirrezabala was back in full training the day before the game - aside from some tired legs we were good to go - quite a few of the team were getting jaded, but so were Real. We kick off and there's an early highlight... a corner to Athletic Club - delivered by Jon Ibanez to the back post and Eneko Cordoba is there to head home, 1-0 3 minutes in! Is this going to be another battering?? Sadly not - Real Madrid kept it tight and equalised in the 42nd minute. We had been the better side but this game could definitely go either way, and after losing the previous year final on penalties I was still a bit traumatised. A positive team talk at half time and we were back in the ascendancy in the second half - and then a penalty! Jon Ibanez steps up to take and hammers it home to restore our 1 goal lead in the 54th minute. We kept Real Madrid largely subdued and managed to see the game out, with one scary moment leading to a great save from Agirrezabala. And we did it, Champions of Europe! After two lost finals, we finally did it! And we deserved it too, the best team in Europe this season. A treble! The trophy cabinet so far: Champions League - 2034 (runners up 2033, 2031) La Liga - 2026, 2029, 2032, 2033, 2034 Copa Del Rey - 2024, 2030, 2034 Supercopa - 2026, 2027, 2029, 2030, 2031 The Players: A few specific shout outs first of all: I've shouted out Juan Etxabe and Aitor Gorrotxategi in recent posts, however these 3 deserve some love - our key players. Squad wise we've trimmed a bit for the 34/35 season. We allowed Mikel Guruzeta (a wonderful servant) to depart for 46 million - with the emergence of Aitor Aketxe in midfield, and a young left back coming through to cover Cordoba at left back we didn't have much need for Guruzeta anymore. I really like this guy, but it was time to allow him to move - he just lacked the height I wanted in midfield. I was happy to keep him as back up to Cordoba and loan out our left back prospect, but he was going to get unsettled and I couldn't be bothered to deal with it. We then let young prospect Jorge Murillo depart - he looked like he could be a key midfielder for us, but he just never kicked on, and a broken leg hampered his progress. A good loan last season nearly convinced me to keep him, but it felt clear he was not going to displace our current midfielders, and he was another short one like Guruzeta - he moved to Napoli on a cut price deal. We then let Isaac Gomez go - he looked a really good prospect, and in any other save he'd be part of the squad, but our ludicrous forward talents meant we didn't need him as back up. He's moved to Aston Villa. Finally we let go of Gaizka Alboniga-Menor for 44million to Tottenham. A another great servant for us, but again just no room for him. I have retrained Jon Castro to play defensive midfield as a DLP to give us another space for young attacking mids in the squad, and he's our first choice in that position. We have Ibon Marin as back up - he has some issues but is just really effective in our system, and younger also, so he stays. The squad (with some embedded screen shots for players not recently featured): GK - Alberto Etxabe, Julen Agirrezabala, Carlos Etxeberria (Iker Zubillaga out on loan) Clearly this is a problem position. My plan this year was to give Julen/Carlos a rotation - Julen is reliable as is Carlos, and Carlos will benefit from the minutes to maximise his potential - I don't think he gets much better at this stage. Alberto would represent the B team and be third choice. However an early season 6 week injury for Julen convinced me to just throw caution to the wind and throw Alberto in - he looks tidy and I hope he improves quickly. I feel like Alberto with Zubillaga and Carlos backing him up is our long term solution. RB - Unax Urrutia, Alex Etxebarria Two fantastic options here, Alex is a bit more defensive in his approach, Unax is a standout wing back (he came through our academy as a winger and I retrained him) CB - Aitor Etxebarria, Josu Blasco, Jose Jimenez, Carlos Saenz (Sergio Goti out on loan) Aitor and Josu are our first choice pairing - weak in the air but strong on the ground. Jose Jimenez and Carlos are better in the air, so we do use them to mitigate teams with big aerial threats as best we can. LB - Eneko Cordoba, Ander Santos Eneko Cordoba is a world class full back and will be our main man for a long time - Ander Santos looks a very capable prospect who will be his back up. DM (DLP (S)) - Jon Castro, Ibon Marin Jon Castro is an AM retrained to play DM. I identified two key issues with our defensive midfield - 1) We needed a superb ball player in there to play out from the back and get a key pass through to the front 4 - when we played two midfielders not so strong on the ball we struggled against top teams who pressed super high. Jon Castro is our man who can pass and dribble through anything to play the ball out from the back successfully. Marin is very good on the ball also and a very tidy DLP. The second issue was height.. DM (DM(D)) - Aitor Aketxe, Javi Aitor Aketxe has become our functional midfield partner for Castro - well rounded and decent on the ball, but TALL. Javi is good defensively but is prone to being caught in possession and doesn't offer much aerial support for defending in the air. AM - Aitor Gorrotxategi, Xabi Aizpurua Not a lot to be said here - Gorrotxategi is quality (no longer inconsistent, yay), and Aizpurua has been an incredibly effective second choice, with room for him to grow. RW (IW) - Jon Ibanez, Ismael Lafuente Ibanez is super important for us - he plays as an IW but with more risky, direct passing selected. He's a creator with an eye for goal also. Ismael Lafuente - see below. LW (IF) - Julen Aguirre, Jon Martin Julen Aguirre is a natural first choice inside forward a world class player. Jon Martin is a top tier player also, and is basically our first off the bench if we need to turn a game around - he's consistent and loves big matches. CF (AF) - Juan Etxabe, Nico Williams (Inaki Goti out on loan) Etxabe leads the line, Nico Williams (a bit like Martin) can fill in multiple positions across the front line. Next season Nico will leave on a free at 33 years old, and Inaki will be a more natural advanced forward back up. We also have to introduce potentially the best prospect we've had - Ismael Lafuente - he's improved a decent amount but he was already a 2* player when he arrived to Eibar on intake day, so he came in with a very high current ability immediately - he's skipped the B team largely and come straight into the first team squad for the most part, albeit he will play a few B team games this season so I can share game time around for our top players. You can find screens of our other new players embedded above. As mentioned previously the big issue we had with this squad came down to: 1) After Simon declined, a lack of goalkeeper quality 2) Centre backs who were good but not great, with limited aerial ability 3) Defensive mids who were good but not great, with limited aerial ability. We couldn't easily resolve 1, but Julen Agirrezabala is at least a very reliable option. For 2 and 3, Josu Blasco and Aitor Etxeberria weren't suddenly going to get a few inches taller, but they have improved as players and offer a very solid centre back pairing. In defensive midfield, this is where we've made the biggest improvement - retraining Jon Castro to be our DLP has been a masterstroke - having that type of ball playing quality working the ball out of defense is so important to our system. We then needed to pair him with someone who has a bit of height, but also decent ball playing abilities - Javi did not progress really at all from about 19 years of age, and he's another small guy. Aitor Aketxe has been a key influence, even if he's not the best overall player - he just has the right attributes for what we needed. I've had a few weeks off work and will be slowing down with the updates now Edited February 13 by bowieinspace 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
basqueliverpool Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 congrats Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 What database do you suggest when starting the save and what active leagues have you ran with? @bowieinspace Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 10 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said: What database do you suggest when starting the save and what active leagues have you ran with? @bowieinspace Obviously a bit dependent on computer speed! I generally run all the top European leagues (the more you have active the more competitive European competition is), with most of them view only below the top division (I shoot for about 8-10 counties) Medium database size, plus I run some south American leagues also. Ultimately the more you can run the better. Id never recommend using a small number of leagues and a large database... Makes the transfer market too quiet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Presumably you have opted to load up all players from Basque nationality also. (Silly question 😂) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 6 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said: Presumably you have opted to load up all players from Basque nationality also. (Silly question 😂) Yes but honestly not that important in my opinion - if you load all of Spain and the main European leagues you are getting everyone relevant anyway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dothestrand Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 It's been a while since I've done a season update. I tried a few other saves but nothing is quite like an Athletic Club save. I'm not even sure I posted an update on my 2027-28 season - we finished second behind Real (their fourth title in a row). 2028-29 Season Review: Double Winners! La Liga: 1st (+1) - 95 points (+5) Copa Del Rey: W (beat Osasuna 2-0 in final) Super Cup: F (lost to Real Madrid) Champions League: Knockout Play Off Round (lost to Barcelona) Our most successful season so far, winning our first two trophies of the save, including La Liga. Real Madrid were ahead for most of the season but surprisingly slipped up a couple of times in the final few weeks, so we went into the last day of the season with a one point lead. We were away to Sevilla, which was a potentially tricky tie. Luckily the fixture computer did me a favour as Real were away to Barcelona. Anyway, as long as we did our job, it didn't matter what happened at the Camp Nou. Well, we were absolutely hammered 3-0 with our defence getting nervous and losing the ball in dangerous positions, and a clinical Sevilla forward line just picked us off. Luckily, Barcelona took an early lead and I was just crossing my fingers than they'd hold on - which they did! So, not the victory lap I'd have liked, but the title was ours nevertheless. The Super Cup was a familiar tale - play Real in the final and lose. However, we beat Real in the QF of the Spanish Cup and despatched Villareal in the SF. Playing Osasuna in the final was very kind and it was a routine victory. Champions League was a bit of write-off as Barcelona demolished us at home, which left us too much to do in the return leg. Squad Performance We'd played a 4-3-3-0 for most of the save but the emergence of a potentially world class striker (Bittor Casado) as a real attacking focal point meant we changed to my preferred 4-3-2-1. We're starting to see some regens in the first team squad too - with Javi Jimenez, Oier Benito and Casado amongst my strongest performers. I'll share some screenshots of the next generation of talent below. Peio Huestamendia has become a really good wide option in my save - it'll be interested to see whether anyone's got anything from him. Unai Vencedor was a rotation option too, and most of the rest of the squad are other regens too. Transfers In the 27-28 season, the main signing was Kepa to strengthen the GK positions (700k!) whilst I had sold Alvaro Fernandez, Laporte, Djalo and Moncayola for around 80m combined. This season had few incomings - Merino came in for around 50m (even at 32 he's world class) and otherwise just other Basque regens. Le Normand went back to Saudi Arabia and we sold an unhappy Aimar Vicandi to Southampton for 25m (max of 30m with add-ons). We've reached the point now where we will only sign regens and just sell off the ageing original players. Youth Development This is really starting to pay off now. I have SEVEN wonderkids - a goalkeeper, FOUR defenders, and two attackers. Screenshots below! And then there is a huge amount of talent waiting to come through. If they're not ready for first team action or I'm already strong in their positions, then loans really accelerate their development. And we're likely to be strong in all areas going forward as we've had players come through in all positions. Xabi Jimenez (GK) (HG) denotes home grown btw (and ** is just an internal note for me to watch them)! Xabi joined us in 24-25 and has spent two seasons on loan at St Etienne and the last season at Getafe in La Liga (they were relegated but he performed well). Hopefully he gets a bit stronger over the next few seasons but his raw goalkeeping ability is excellent. He will probably stay on loan for another season as we have Agirrezabala and Kepa - hopefully in La Liga again. Javi Jimenez (RB) Another player from the 24-25 intake, he's really kicked on over the last year as our first choice RB - hopefully he can develop those technical stats more. Oier Benito (DL/DR/DC) A versatile defender who can play anywhere across the backline - I'd see him more as a CB in the first instance, but he can deputise in the full back positions when needed. He cost 20k from Burlades (a Navarre-based club in the fifth tier). Carlos Acosta (DC) The best of the defensive wonderkids, I think. He was pretty much my first-choice CB this season. He cost 135k from Laredo, a fifth-tier side (which is not in the Basque country but he is Basque) and will be capped by Spain soon. Alejandro Larrazabal (DC) I'm surprised he's a wonderkid really as his potential isn't quite as high as those above, but he will be a solid CB option to come. He's been on loan twice in the Championship and also in the second division in Spain - all of these have helped him progress. Bittor Casado (ST) Our first-choice striker and if he could improve aerially, he'd be frightening! But give him a sniff in the box and he'll score. Great mental stats too - perhaps a potential captain? Cost 20k from Huarte, another Navarre-based side in the fifth tier. I've really lucked out with regens coming through the lower divisions that can make the grade. Eduardo Martinez (ST/AMR) It took ages for a decent striker to emerge, and now I have two wonderkids up front. Eduardo cost 875k from Alaves at the age of 16, and he's had loans in Spain, France and England, hitting the net with regularity. The other good thing about Eduardo is that he can play AMR and he'll probably alternate playing up top with playing as an inside forward. I could bombard you with screenshots of other players, but I'll wait until they become wonderkids. There are probably 7-8 guys with 5* potential and then loads more between 4-4.5*so we're spoilt for choice really. The next players to transition out will be Guillamon, Vivian, Aihen Munoz, and Vencedor. One of the two CBs may leave this Summer, Munoz almost certainly will and I'll take good offers for Vencedor as he's become a bit of a prat to manage. Sancet is 29 but still has a few years at this level. Next season, I hope we'll make a better crack at the CL. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dothestrand Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 (edited) Next update... 2029-30 Season Review: Back to Back Titles La Liga: 1st (-) - 99 points (+4) Copa Del Rey: F (lost to Real Madrid 0-1 in final) Super Cup: SF (lost to Barcelona) Champions League: SF (lost to Inter Milan 2-4 on aggregate) Another successful season, as we retained the La Liga title with more points than the previous season (had we won our final game against Betis, we'd have passed 100 points) and we performed consistently well in the cups. We actually won La Liga with a couple of games to go, which meant a stress-free last couple of games. Barcelona were our closest rivals, 7 points back - Real Madrid a further 5 points off them. A poor season for Los Merengues, but I'm sure they'll be back. Barcelona defeated us in the Super Cup semis - let's move on, and Real Madrid defeated us in the Copa Del Rey final - shame we couldn't bring another piece of silverware back. We had a great season in the Champions League though. We finished fourth in the league phase and our reward in the last sixteen? You guessed it - Real Madrid! We lost 0-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu but won the home leg 3-1. An epic 7-6 penalty shoot out went in our favour. In the QF, we beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0 over two cagey legs. Then in the SF, we won the home tie against Inter 1-0, but that was wiped out by DiMarco's worldie in the first couple of minutes and we just couldn't hold them off. A chance missed, maybe, but good progress nonetheless. Squad Performance No real tactical innovations - we're well set up to play a 4-3-2-1 with the emphasis on retaining possession. The squad is pretty much the same as before, with some players really stepping up like Huestamendia, Guerrero and Benito, and others like Merino and Casado, our young striker, having relative blips. Transfers Nothing major to report. We signed Iker Galan from Osasuna for 1m - he became a wonderkid immediately (screenshot below) and the better of our strikers. We also signed a young Basque regen on loan from Man City (they'd signed him from Eibar) with an optional release fee, but he almost certainly won't move. Dani Rodriguez was the main departure. His development had plateaued and we had better long-term options. Youth Development The guys posted in the last update remain wonderkids or are too old for that status (but still excellent!) As expected now, Lezama is a superb conveyor belt of talent and we're spoilt in all areas. We have Xabi Jimenez, our promising keeper out on loan still - and I have two five star potential keepers also out on loan - both probably at the same level. In terms of new wonderkids: David Albisu came through our academy and spent the last season in La Liga with Cadiz, averaging nearly 7.0 in a midtable side. Excellent technical stats and some good mental and athletic stats. I'd like that teamwork/workrate to improve though! Asier Extebarria had a reasonably okay season in Ligue 1 but needs to improve technically and mentally before he's ready for a first team squad place. To be honest, I'm surprised he's a wonderkid as I think I've got better long-term options here. Iker Galan is a very solid, all-round forward with no real weaknesses. Whilst I think Casado and Martinez (on loan at Valencia) are more likely to succeed, Galan will be a good backup or can be sold later for a good profit. Looking ahead, we've a few more potential changes to the squad to make. Vencedor wants to move on, and I won't stand in his way. I don't think I'll get his 50m value, but I'll take a decent bid. Merino has 1y left on his contract and is considering his options - I'd take a bid if one comes in. Guillamon is 30 now and reached his peak a few years ago, so a good offer would also be accepted. No real transfer options, but the pipeline of young talent makes that unnecessary now. Can we make it a hat trick of titles? Edited February 26 by dothestrand Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
southside_hitmen Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 (edited) 24.3 Basque Fixes The attached file adds Basque as a 2nd nationality for 12 players who were born/trained in the Basque region but didn't have Basque 2nd nationality set in game. It also properly moves the city of Oyón to the País Vasco region (it's in Alava province irl) so regens born there will get Basque nationality. Original bug tickets entered produced 38 players with Basque nationality added from 24.0 >> 24.3 database so a few more players in the pool there as well. I will enter a bug tracker ticket for the 12 "new" players I found this round poking through the data as well to hopefully be included in the last update for FM24. Put it in your `Documents\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2024\editor data` folder to use when starting a new game if you like. Full list of changes below City/Club Changes City Larrabetzu No local region selected, still assigned to nation of Pays Basque, but should be in Spain and País Vasco City Lesaka No local region selected, still assigned to nation of Pays Basque, but should be in Spain and País Vasco City Oyón Local region listed as Navarra, but should be in País Vasco (it's in Alava province irl) and people born there should get Basque 2nd nationality (this does not currently happen for newgens from here) Spanish Player Changes Based In ID Name Details Spain 2000301799 Markel Peral Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Andoáin, País Vasco) Spain 2000251496 Jagoba Gil Roz Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Erandio, País Vasco) Spain 2000261422 Íñigo Astudillo Campos Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Estella, Navarra) Spain 2000121920 Daniel Sancho Macaya Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Pamplona, Navarra) Spain 2000306027 Miguel Auria Olazabal Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Pamplona, Navarra) Spain 2000266034 Alexander Esparza López Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Tudela, Navarra) Spain 2000194136 Asier Osambela Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Pamplona, Navarra) Spain 2000308028 Javi Gambra Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Pamplona, Navarra) Spain 2000335346 Abderrahman Akbache Larbi Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Vitoria, País Vasco) Spain 2000312519 Pablo Arenzana Mínguez Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (trained with Real Sociedad since he was 8, signed by them at age 12) Spain 2000143010 Tomás Mendes Mendes Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (signed by Alaves at age 14) England 2000272181 Victor Osezele Musa Aigbomian Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Tudela, Navarra) If you noticed I missed anyone, please let me know. Thanks! 24.3 Basque Fixes.fmf Edited March 15 by southside_hitmen Updated 24.3 File 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
holidaysong Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Thanks for the Basque fix for the new update! About to kick off a new save 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristianT Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 (edited) I have a journeyman save from FM23 that I have carried over to FM24. I am in 2056 and took over Athletic. They had just been promoted after one season in Segunda. Bit of a new challenge taking over the team after so many years and with no known players. Edited March 7 by KristianT 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 On 08/03/2024 at 05:59, KristianT said: I have a journeyman save from FM23 that I have carried over to FM24. I am in 2056 and took over Athletic. They had just been promoted after one season in Segunda. Bit of a new challenge taking over the team after so many years and with no known players. On the plus side usually Basque youth development is quite strong, so hopefully there's plenty of options around for you signings wise Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 (edited) I had a fun save with Athletic back on FM21 but never posted about it on here. Decided to do one with the 24.3 update though so here goes... 2023-24: Season Review La Liga: 7th, 61 points Copa del Rey: 4th Round, lost to Alaves Feels like a waste of a first season in a way. After a great start that saw us beat Madrid and pick up 14 points from our first 6 games before seemingly endless frustration followed. With Atletico pulling away at the top, 2nd to 10th were pretty close for most of the season and we kept on hovering outside the continental spots. We had the 3rd highest goals scored and GD but kept misfiring in crucial games - losing twice to Cadiz and only managing 1 point out of 6 against Almeria, Sevilla and Girona. We were 3rd on expected points but 7th on the table that matters. We also saved one of our worst performances for the cup as Alaves knocked us out 2-1. A missed opportunity as Barca and both Madrid clubs also got knocked out by the quarters. 2 wins in our last 2 saw us sneak into a Conference League spot as Cadiz lost to Atletico and Barca before a promotion to the Europa League thanks to an extra CL spot. Transfers I've arguably botched it even more here! I didn't notice Vivian's release clause and he went off to earn Saudi riches in January for €55m. I did at least manage to renew Nico Williams' deal with a big release clause though. I also missed out on Aihen Munoz before he went off on loan to Man Utd and then had to wait another year to sign him, eventually doing so for €22m. Lekue left at the end of the season for 6m to Villarreal as he wanted a new challenge so Jesus Areso is in to replace him at double the price. Unai Garcia came in on loan from Osasuna with a mandatory 1.2m clause after Yeray got ruled out for a couple of months. Dani Garcia, Raul Garcia (retired) and Ander Herrera were all released at the end of the season while Yuri went off to Saudi Arabia on a free. Unai Gomez had a loan spell at Toulouse from January and was alright there so he can get a few more chances now while Benat Prados is getting loaned out again. A couple more transfers at the end of the season saw Muniain (€10.25m, rising to €12.5m) and Villalibre (also €10.25m) heading off to Saudi Arabia too. Moncayola is in for €9.5m after Osasuna went down with Guillamon coming in for €11.5m after being uninterested in January. Squad Standard 4-3-3 formation with attacking fullbacks. GK: Simon, Agirrezabala RB: Areso, De Marcos CB: Yeray, Unai Nunez, Paredes, Unai Garcia, Josu Romero* LB: Munoz, Imanol DM: Vencedor, Moncayola, Guillamon CM: Sancet, Ruiz de Galarreta, Vesga, Unai Gomez RW: Nico Williams, Nico Serrano LW: Berenguer, Adu Ares ST: Inaki Williams, Guruzeta * - Newgen Paredes and Berenguer are still attracting interest from Saudi Arabia, hopefully those come to nothing. Some nice youngsters came through: Josu Romero (DC): Spoiler Originally had fickle personality but that has changed to fairly ambitious now. Already at a good level and made a few appearances towards the end of the season. Inigo Albisu (DR/AMR): Spoiler Rated as having the highest potential. Seems to have lots of room to grow into a very attacking FB/WB. Hugo Palacios (GK): Spoiler Looks quite handy, except for the complete lack of composure. Edited March 15 by Darius1998 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saras-13-Bodiroga Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 How is Athletic after the update? Any significant changes? Boosted or nerfed players? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
southside_hitmen Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 (edited) On 01/03/2024 at 11:57, southside_hitmen said: 24.3 Basque Fixes The attached file adds Basque as a 2nd nationality for 12 players who were born/trained in the Basque region but didn't have Basque 2nd nationality set in game. It also properly moves the city of Oyón to the País Vasco region (it's in Alava province irl) so regens born there will get Basque nationality. Original bug tickets entered produced 38 players with Basque nationality added from 24.0 >> 24.3 database so a few more players in the pool there as well. I will enter a bug tracker ticket for the 12 "new" players I found this round poking through the data as well to hopefully be included in the last update for FM24. Put it in your `Documents\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2024\editor data` folder to use when starting a new game if you like. Full list of changes below City/Club Changes City Larrabetzu No local region selected, still assigned to nation of Pays Basque, but should be in Spain and País Vasco City Lesaka No local region selected, still assigned to nation of Pays Basque, but should be in Spain and País Vasco City Oyón Local region listed as Navarra, but should be in País Vasco (it's in Alava province irl) and people born there should get Basque 2nd nationality (this does not currently happen for newgens from here) Spanish Player Changes Based In ID Name Details Spain 2000301799 Markel Peral Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Andoáin, País Vasco) Spain 2000251496 Jagoba Gil Roz Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Erandio, País Vasco) Spain 2000261422 Íñigo Astudillo Campos Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Estella, Navarra) Spain 2000121920 Daniel Sancho Macaya Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Pamplona, Navarra) Spain 2000306027 Miguel Auria Olazabal Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Pamplona, Navarra) Spain 2000266034 Alexander Esparza López Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Tudela, Navarra) Spain 2000194136 Asier Osambela Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Pamplona, Navarra) Spain 2000308028 Javi Gambra Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Pamplona, Navarra) Spain 2000335346 Abderrahman Akbache Larbi Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Vitoria, País Vasco) Spain 2000312519 Pablo Arenzana Mínguez Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (trained with Real Sociedad since he was 8, signed by them at age 12) Spain 2000143010 Tomás Mendes Mendes Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (signed by Alaves at age 14) England 2000272181 Victor Osezele Musa Aigbomian Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in Tudela, Navarra) If you noticed I missed anyone, please let me know. Thanks! 24.3 Basque Fixes.fmf 15.44 kB · 0 downloads Just a note, picking through my personal save I found 3 more players who need Basque set as a 2nd nationality (bringing the total to 15) Based In ID Name Details Germany 2000311617 Efe Korkut Martín Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (born in San Sebastián, País Vasco) Spain 2000265645 Oier Guerreiro Vicuña Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (signed by Beasain at age 14) Spain 2000148199 José Alejandro de León Gómez Should have Pays Basque 2nd nationality (signed by Alaves at age 15) I've updated the original 24.3 Basque fixes file on the original post and attached it here as well if you could update the post on the first page please @bowieinspace I also added bug tracker tickets for the missing players so they are added to the next official update from SI, which you can follow along with here, here, and here if you like 24.3 Basque Fixes.fmf Edited March 15 by southside_hitmen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 (edited) 2024-25: Season Review La Liga: 4th, 70 points (+9 points, up 3 places) Copa del Rey: Runners-up, lost to Girona Europa League: Quarter-finalists, lost to Aston Villa Great season until it wasn't. At the start of February, we were in 2nd and trying to hold off Real Madrid but by May, we were hanging on to a European spot and only sneaked into 4th on the final day. We won 5 of our last 15 league games, with 2 of the wins coming in the last 3 as we just about held our nerves. A draw with Celta combined with Real Sociedad losing at Barcelona gave us Champions League football while our Basque neighbours fell all the way to 7th, with Real Valladolid steaming through on the back of a superb run. The cup run was fun as we beat La Real after extra time in the quarters before winning 3-2 after extra time at the Bernabeu after drawing 1-1 in the home leg. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the final, we were in a rut and Girona scored a 95th minute winner, just days after Aston Villa had done the same. The EL saw a rotated team lose at Basaksehir before quickly turning things around to finish 7th with 19 points. We beat Hoffenheim on pens at home after two 1-0 home wins before facing Villa. We didn't take our chances in Birmingham and were held to a draw while the 2nd leg saw them score 3 goals from 2 shots on target - Emi Buendia's 95th minute goal knocked us out. Transfers Most of our business was done by June of last season so there were only 2 more incomings - Gaizka Ayesa joined on a free as 3rd choice keeper when Simon got injured while Jon Martin, an 18 year old CB from Sociedad joined in January. Unai Garcia left after barely playing as Granada paid €1.5m for him. Josu Romero spent the season on loan at Valladolid and played 29 games across the league and cup. Some others like Albisu and Palacios from the last intake also went on 6 month loans in January. Benat Prados had a good season on loan at Boavista but we're stacked at CM and he's off to Strasbourg for free in the summer. Saudi clubs are constant nuisance too. They came for Vencedor, Simon and Moncayola in January and I tried to agree high prices for them. Simon and Moncayola accepted that and didn't make a fuss as I knocked back some bids. Vencedor wanted to be let go for 23m and I wasn't having it. At one point, he even handed in a transfer request and missed a training session. Eventually, things cooled down after the window ended and he's still here. Youth Candidates We got a golden generation with at least 5 highly rated prospects. Asier Alberdi (AMC/DM): Spoiler Has the technical ability and flair, just needs to improve physically and in a few mental attributes. Asier Albisu (AML/R/C): Spoiler Very promising winger. Only agreed to a €4m release clause though so hopefully that won't cause trouble. Sergio Aguirre (DC/L): Spoiler Maybe the best of the lot. Being poor in the air despite his height just holds him back a little at the moment. Alex Rubio (MC/R): Spoiler Creative playmaker, has minimal physicality though. Javier Gabilondo (AMR/MR/ST): Spoiler More of a playmaker than a goalscorer, might need retraining. Squad GK: Simon, Agirrezabala, Ayesa RB: Areso, De Marcos, Inigo Albisu* CB: Yeray, Unai Nunez, Paredes, Josu Romero*, Jon Martin LB: Munoz, Imanol DM: Vencedor, Moncayola, Guillamon CM: Sancet, Ruiz de Galarreta, Vesga, Unai Gomez RW: Nico Williams, Nico Serrano LW: Berenguer, Adu Ares ST: Inaki Williams, Guruzeta * - Newgen De Marcos will retire at the end of the season so I can either use Yeray and Nunez to cover for Areso. Albisu can probably get some chances but he's very young and not exceptionally developed like Romero. Martin can hopefully get loaned out for a season of regular football. Edited March 18 by Darius1998 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dothestrand Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 (edited) 2030-31 Season Review: Three in a row La Liga: 1st (-) - 101 points (+2) Copa Del Rey: W (beat Deportivo 3-1) Super Cup: SF (lost to Barcelona 1-2) Champions League: QF (lost to Paris St Germain 2-4 on aggregate) A third consecutive La Liga title was won fairly comfortably, 10 points ahead of Barcelona in second, and 18 ahead of Real Madrid in third. A favourable early season fixture list allowed us to race out of the blocks, and it was only towards the end of the first half of the season that we met our league rivals. We only lost one game all season in fact; away to Celta Vigo, which was fairly disappointing really. We actually did the double over Barcelona and drew both matches against Real Madrid. This might be a high watermark in the league as I'd be amazed if the fixture gods would be so kind again. We won the league and cup double against surprising opposition in the final. For Deportivo, the glory days of Roy Makaay and Diego Tristan seem an eternity ago, and we polished them off in the final with no real alarms. We had quite a kind run to the final, though we did knock out Real Madrid in the SF. We finished top of the Champions League group stage, winning 7 of the 8 matches (and drawing the other). We beat Chelsea in the last sixteen, but couldn't get past PSG in the QF. Squad Performance Here's our best XI. Not too dissimilar to last season, with the same standout players, though Xabi Jimenez, our previous wonderkid GK is now our first choice. I will talk about Mikel Gomez more a bit later. Despite doing so well, our strikers - Galan and Casado - are inconsistent. Fortunately, we're scoring so many from midfield that we can cover their profligacy. It was a good all round effort with the squad though, which is evolving nicely. Transfers Mikel Gomez was the big signing, a wonderkid from Osasuna, who cost a cool 66m. Absolutely worth it though as he can play anywhere in the midfield though he's more likely to play CM alongside Sancet. The main other signings were speculative punts on young Basque players who may or may not come good but we've so much money in the bank that it's no bother. We sold Agirrezabala to Man City for 80m - probably didn't need to but we've got so many good keepers that it seemed crazy to turn it down. Jimenez is at his level already. Youth Development More wonderkids are coming through and some positions will really be spoilt for choice. Jose Mateo My Dennis Irwin/Phil Neville, a full back who can play both sides of the pitch. We signed him at 16 from Osasuna and it's really in the last season or so that he's really kicked on, since we moved Aihen Munoz on. Iker Etxebarria He's been a bit of a slow burn, but a couple of decent loan spells have really helped him develop, especially in terms of his physical attributes. He can play both deep and attacking midfield, so may deputise for both Sancet and Gomez next season seeing as we're going to try to move JJ Guerrero on (he and Guillamon are the two I'd like to sell this Summer). Javi Lopez Not sure I need another striker, but he can play AML, so will give us another option there. Likely to spend more time out on loan as we're well covered in those positions. He signed from Eibar's academy at 16yo for 1m. Markel Olabe A strange sort of player - incredibly versatile but I wonder whether he'll be good enough to nail down a single spot in the side. I see him more as a full-back than a winger, but his defensive attributes aren't so good. Xabi Ruiz An excellent prospect at LB - he played the first half of the season in the first team squad, but I sent him on loan for more game time (but Brest barely played him!). He'll be back next season though. We got him on a free from A. Cirbonero, a small club in the Navarre region! And besides these wonderkids, there are many more talented players who could develop into strong first team players. After three titles in a row, I'm still hungry, but I want to really crack the Champions League. We've just got to be more consistent against the bigger teams. Edited March 20 by dothestrand Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilbaoBagginsFM Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 I'm just trying to catch up on everyone's fabulous saves before I dive in with one of my own. Bilbao are an amazing team full of heritage and a real beacon for identity. Scouting and transfers have never really been a focus for me in FM so a youth only save (or close to) seems right up my street. This is a great thread for a great club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 (edited) Just had a look at the updated DB in game, some nice improvements to Adu Ares, Unai Gomez and Benat Prados (not sure there was enough improvement on Prados to be honest) and some other rebalancing on players elsewhere, but a bit dissapointed that Gorka Guruzeta and Aitor Paredes particularly didn't see much improvement following their performances this season having been starting most weeks Edited March 21 by bowieinspace Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dothestrand Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 On 21/03/2024 at 21:44, bowieinspace said: Just had a look at the updated DB in game, some nice improvements to Adu Ares, Unai Gomez and Benat Prados (not sure there was enough improvement on Prados to be honest) and some other rebalancing on players elsewhere, but a bit dissapointed that Gorka Guruzeta and Aitor Paredes particularly didn't see much improvement following their performances this season having been starting most weeks It always annoys me that given Athletic Club's history of developing young players, the game never seems to start with many young players capable of stepping up. Vicandi and Huestamendia are the only players this year who really came good for me. Given the intakes I subsequently had, I'm amazed the game didn't really rate some of the young players higher. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saras-13-Bodiroga Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 46 minutes ago, dothestrand said: It always annoys me that given Athletic Club's history of developing young players, the game never seems to start with many young players capable of stepping up. Vicandi and Huestamendia are the only players this year who really came good for me. Given the intakes I subsequently had, I'm amazed the game didn't really rate some of the young players higher. Agree with both of you!! If anyone edit a database with more accurate Athletic player ratings both current and potential please share it with us !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nampuk Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Recently started my traditional Bilbao save. This year I will be keeping it even after the new version because Athletic is enjoyable anytime and regens actually make it even more exciting. Currently in my 3rd season. In the 1st I managed to win a double (!!!!). Don't know where it came from but I'm also surprised. In the 2nd I managed to win only the Copa. Now, in the 3rd I'm going strong, but who knows. I don't think I will be able to win anything big because both Real and Barca became significantly strogner as the game propgressed while the Basque players seem to be below mediocre this year. Two popular targets for me Hugo Guillamón and Jon Karrikaburu are a lot worse than last year. To add up to my disappointment Al-Ittihad came and snatched Dani Vivian after the first season offering him 1,100,000 p/w. Obviously nothing to do about it but managed to replace him with Guillamón and Jon Moncayola. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 (edited) On 25/03/2024 at 01:02, dothestrand said: It always annoys me that given Athletic Club's history of developing young players, the game never seems to start with many young players capable of stepping up. Vicandi and Huestamendia are the only players this year who really came good for me. Given the intakes I subsequently had, I'm amazed the game didn't really rate some of the young players higher. I think the researcher has a tendency to give a lot of -7 to -7.5 potential spots, with the odd -8. This isn't necessarily wrong in a literal sense, but it often plays out badly in game. Those -7 to -7.5 guys more often than not hit the lower ends of those potentials when the game is loaded and a precise value is assigned, or they hit the higher end but then it's a dice roll as to whether they get the hidden attributes to achieve the potential (as often they have 0 values for professionalism, amibition etc in the DB), so you end up with a youth academy full of players hitting between 110-135 ish, which is never going to be a viable first team player. If you then get one or two -8 potential players on top, but one of them gets loaded in with poor hidden attributes as well, all of a sudden your pipeline is non-existant. Unai Gomez, Adu Ares, Prados, Paredes are all good examples of players who have historically always been basically useless in an Athletic save on FM, but this year all of them are somewhat significant in the first team squad. Spoiler below contains factual CA/PA info from the 24.3 database (most recent) for the purpose of this discussion thus HEAVY SPOILER WARNING: Spoiler There's two primary issues here... firstly academy players who break into the first team are very slow to improve their CA, I don't think Athletic has a dedicated researcher so this probably makes sense as if it's a generic La Liga researcher then they're not going to be as clued in across the board. Examples of this: Unai Gomez - now a regular first team player in La Liga starts in game with a 122CA and a PA of -7 (120-150), meaning he needs the luck of the dice roll to be in the top area of that bracket to be useful, and his CA is probably too low to be immediately viable. He has 0 for all hidden attributes, so that's an additional diceroll.... If you're LUCKY, you may get a player who is decent off the bench. Mikel Jauregizar - In and around the first team squad at 19 years of age has a PA of -6.5, so he's basically a total write off. Gorka Guruzeta - 13 goals in 28 La Liga appearances this season, leading the line for a team currently in the top 4... 129 maxed CA after the recent update, e.g. a write off. He's been something of a revelation this season. His stats last season were modest in terms of goals scored and he's been a bit of a late developer, so I can understand a lower CA going into this edition of the game, but following his first half of the season, his lack of a boost in the recent update is an oversight, and I think his CA was too low based on his development last season anyway. His statistical output this season shows a high quality pressing forward, so his attribute distribution in game is ok, but it's all just too low. This guy is 27 years old and has all 0's for hidden attributes... Aitor Paredes - 27 appearances, mainly as a starter in La Liga, ousting Yeray to sit alongside Dani Vivian... 130CA, 135PA.. e.g. a write off long term. Another player who has developed well this season after a modest 22/23. Did not get a fair bump in the recent update similar to Guruzeta. Based on his statistical data he shouldn't be a top tier CB, but 130CA is a chunk too low for a player with limited room to grow in game. Yeray for reference only has 136CA, so he's not far off. He probably doesn't need a huge move but he's a bit on the low side. Again, all 0's for hidden attributes. Benat Prados - 19 appearances in La Liga and regularly starting, 120 CA which is scraping by as a Liga 2 player. He does have a bit of potential at least, but at best will be a rotation player. His statistical data for this season IRL shows a player with top level defensive attributes and a moderate passing game, but his profile doesn't really reflect it. Guess what - 0's across the board again for hidden attributes. So there's some issues updating players who have come to prominence in recent times. This leaves the current save feeling like it's relying a bit too much on older players - I found personally it felt like there was no real pipeline when I loaded my game up. I did have one player in Alboniga-Menor who proved to be a very capable first team regular, but others who are highly rated at -7.5 or more went no where. Second issue is related to depth of PA... in the B and C team there are 12 players with a PA of -7.5, e.g. 120-150. That should provide squad depth for many years, but if only half of them are in the top 50% of that band, spread between 135 and 150, and then half of those are loaded in with randomly generated poor hidden attributes, you might get 3 who become viable as rotation options longer term, which is pretty weak. I think the poor hidden attributes is perhaps the biggest issue, and a few of those players rated at -7.5 sit at 18/19 years old with less than 90CA, so it's a big reach for them to get to their potential anyway. There's also two players at -8 potential in Serrano and Vicandi. Vicandi's attribute spread is pretty specialised so he will likely never be world class even if his PA allowed it, and Serrano again despite being 20 years old has mostly randomised hidden attributes, meaning not only do you get the PA diceroll, but you also get the professionalism, determination and ambition dice rolls. The chances of him getting both a high PA and good hiddens to allow him to reach it is... pretty slim. Basically it feels like Athletic's youth PA ratings are ok, arguably a bit low, but ok, but then youngsters emerging in the first team are very cautiously rated also, meaning the pipeline feels very slim indeed. Combine with far too many dicerolls in terms of PA and hidden attributes, it leads to a situation which doesn't quite reflect RL. If I was starting a new save I'd probably do a bit of database editing, keep a lot of the randomised PA's the same but fix the hidden attributes to stop people rolling in super low professionalism, ambition etc, and then I'd bump a few of those first teamers up to be more in line with their colleagues. Edited March 25 by bowieinspace 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 (edited) 2025-26: Season Review La Liga: 2nd, 87 points (+17 points, up 2 places) Copa del Rey: Semi-finalists, lost to Valencia Champions League: Quarter-finalists, lost to Arsenal Supercopa: Semi-finalists, lost to Barcelona Unexpectedly brilliant season. In the first two seasons, we had badly struggled to keep out opposition teams, constantly conceding more than what we were expected to. That flipped this season as we let in 9 fewer goals than expected and had the 2nd best defence in the division. Our only defeats were at home to Real Betis and Eibar and away to Real Sociedad. We did the double over Madrid, even smashing them 4-0 at our place in February while gaining 4 points out of a possible 6 against both Barca and Atletico. Barca did easily beat us in the Super Cup though (and really should have won their home game in the league). We beat Atletico 4-1 at home in the cup to reach the semis but imploded in the first leg as Valencia won 4-1 at San Mames despite us having the better chances. A tame 1-1 draw after we scored within 15 seconds at the Mestalla followed to knock us out. The Champions League campaign was the best part of the season. After gaining 4 points from Sparta Prague and Fenerbahce, we lost to Inter, Galatasaray (who scored 2 from 1 shot) and Feyenoord in games we really should have won. A defeat to Milan had us reeling before a 1-0 win over Ajax in the final game saw us through in 23rd. We dominated Lazio at home but only won thanks to Berenguer's late goal. They had a better game in the 2nd leg but we held our nerve to win 2-1 and go though 3-1 on aggregate. Man City were next and we smashed them 3-0 at home, before a nervy 1-0 loss where they kept missing chances. Another first leg home tie followed against Arsenal where Williams and Adu Ares scored before Havertz pulled one back. Unfortunately, they were too good for us in London, winning 3-0 to reach the semis. Transfers Benat Prados (Free) and Ruiz de Galarreta (€4.8m) both left for Strasbourg while Mikel Vesga left for Shanghai Port in winter for €7.5m - not the worst sum for someone who was falling down the pecking order and had 6 months left on their contract. Jon Martin spent a season on loan at Eibar and a few of our youngsters also had some temporary spells away from the club. Inaki Williams wrecked his cruciate ligaments on AFCON duty so Asier Villalibre returned to the club on a free transfer, just 18 months after leaving after being released 18 months into a 4 year contract at Al-Ittihad. Ended up scoring 10 goals in half a season. Forgot to add this earlier but we also lost a couple of youngsters - Elijah Gift left for Brentford for €10.5m while Aimar Vicandi went to Burnley after they triggered his €5m release clause. Both were decent prospects but didn't look anything special so I was okay with letting them go. Youth Candidates A decent generation of players. After all, nothing was going to match last season's explosive intake. Benjamin Francoise (AMC/ST) Spoiler Highly rated at the club. Lacks a little bit of composure and teamwork but looks good overall. Ivan Llorente (AML/C, ML): Spoiler More of a wide player, further along in his development than Francoise. Inaki Rubio (AML/ST): Spoiler A striker with decent finishing! Looks promising and can hopefully fill out that potential. Squad GK: Simon, Agirrezabala, Ayesa RB: Areso, Inigo Albisu* CB: Yeray, Unai Nunez, Paredes, Josu Romero*, Jon Martin LB: Munoz, Imanol DM: Moncayola, Guillamon CM: Sancet, Unai Gomez, Vencedor RW: Nico Williams, Nico Serrano LW: Berenguer, Adu Ares ST: Inaki Williams, Guruzeta, Villalibre * - Newgen Hopefully Inaki doesn't lose out too badly with his injury. Guruzeta struggled a fair bit this season, only scoring 10 all season, compared to last season's 23. He's clearly nowhere near as good as he has been IRL but there's nothing to do about that. I tried to get Laporte and he agreed to a deal at €180k p/w but Benfica offered him 225k instead and I couldn't be bothered when his agent came back asking for more. Edited March 27 by Darius1998 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gleesefc Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) Firstly, what a fantastic thread. I don’t tend to update on saves but I’ve enjoyed reading this so much that I thought I’d contribute. Thanks to @bowieinspace for setting it up and @southside_hitmen for the heroic work on the filters. I’m now into my ninth season managing Athletic Club and we’re finally in a position to challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid on a regular basis. The problem with both of them, though - especially Eddie Howe’s Read Madrid - is that they tend to only lose 2-3 league games per season. Season review: League and cup double 🏆 La Liga: 1st (102 points) Copa Del Rey: Winners (beat Real Madrid 4-3 on penalties) Super Cup: Runners-up (lost to Real Madrid) Champions League: Round of 16 (lost to Arsenal 4-2 on aggregate) A historic season for the club as we lifted our first double since 83/84 and managed to beat Real Madrid in a final for the first time. My record against Barcelona and Real Madrid is dire so I was delighted to take them to extra time in the Copa Del Rey final and then win 4-3 on penalties. In the league we were imperious all season and had to be. Despite finishing on 102 points and scoring a record 123 goals - we only finished four points ahead of Real Madrid. This is our second La Liga in four seasons with Real taking the two titles in between. Hopefully the start of a period of dominance. The Super Cup is proving an incredibly frustrating mini-tournament to enter each year. Across nine seasons we’ve been to three finals and lost them all. I’m beginning to wonder whether it’s even worth it. Our Champions League record doesn’t make for much better reading. Despatched by Arsenal this season in the Round of 16 despite a superb group stage where we finished second and beat eventual champions PSG. Our best performance so far was in the 30/31 season where we were knocked out by Man City in the Quarter Final despite an impressive 0-0 draw away from home in the first leg. Squad Performance After being my undisputed first choice, we started to see some signs of decline in Unai Simon towards the end of the 30/31 season. So to start this one I went with Julen Agirrezabala and it proved to be a masterstroke as we only conceded 18 goals in the league, by a distance our best performance. In front of Agirrezabala at the back were Ander Lasarte and Mikel Delgado. I recently moved Lasarte back from DM to CB and partnered him with Delgado who was fresh from a loan with Cadiz. Along with Agirrezabala they provided a solid foundation for the rest of the team. At full back we have the rampaging brilliance of Ricardo Llorente and Aritz Guerrero who after a couple of seasons as rotation options are now firmly first picks in my XI. Both were signed from Eibar who have been the best academy to source youth from so far, better even that Real Sociedad. Shielding the backline is Asier Iriarte along with one of three other DM options on rotation. Iriarte was a marquee signing from Real Sociedad and someone I hope will become a stalwart of the club for years to come… once the fans have forgiven his past with La Real. Up top, this is the first season that Nico Williams has faced a real challenge for his place in the team. He’s been a standout performer since the start for me as an Advanced Forward but Pedro San Martin’s development has seen him take on a reduced role. San Martin wasn’t cheap (he cost £48.5 million from Real Sociedad) but what a player he’s turning into. Already an elite striker at 21. With Williams' contract up for renewal and his agent demanding £400k per week it might be time to move him on to the Saudi Pro League and promote someone from our B team to act as an understudy. Behind Williams or San Martin are Julen Jon Guerrero, an absolute revelation of a signing since joining from Real Madrid. On the right of the front three is Peio Huestamedia (re-signed from Almeria for £17 million after I released him on a free) and to the left is Javi - a regen from Lezema who I let down with his development early- on but who still performs incredibly well as a shadow striker on the left. Squad GK: Julen Agirrezabala, Unai Simon CB: Ander Lasarte, Mikel Delgado, Kike Guerrero, Dani Vivian RB: Aritz Guerrero, Benat Etxebarria LB: Ricardo Llorente, Iker Martin CM: Asier Iriarte, Igor Zubeldia, Hugo Guilliamon, Oihan Sancet AM: Julen Jon Guerrero, Javi, Peio Huestamedia, Jon Diaz, Nico Serrano, Jon Velez ST: Nico Williams, Pedro San Martin Youth Development Lezema hasn’t disappointed so far and with a few players likely to leave or retire soon, we have a stockpile of young players ready to step up. I’ve picked out the four best who with either another season on loan or some exposure to the first XI should be ready to replace the likes of Vivian, Guilliamon and Sancet as they ready for their post-playing careers as TV pundits or podcast hosts. Franck Prevot - his lack of pace and acceleration is a worry but his technical and mental stats should make up for that as he develops. He’s currently on loan in Ligue 2 to build up experience. Eneko Agirre - our best attacking prospect for a while. Amazingly nobody came in for him on loan so he's now moving between the first team and B team. Edorta Blanco - off the back of a promising loan spell with Malaga in La Liga 2 he's currently on loan with Deportivo in La Liga. He'll be ready to replace Vivian in the first team next season. Josu De La Fuente - already dubbed a wonderkid by the media. De La Fuenta is on the cusp of the first team. His crossing makes him a great option for RB but I see him more as a Ball Playing Defender in the long-term. Edited March 27 by gleesefc 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich162 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) Hi, I have a question about youth development. In season 2 when the U19s have two matches per week (European and Spanish U19s) , is it better to put a couple of the best prospects in the C team so that they a) benefit from a higher standard of football and b) can spend more time training and working on their attributes? Most of the training categories of the C team are 4 star as they share trainers from the other Athletic teams so I think the quality of the training should be the same as the U19s. I think for U19s more training is better than 2 matches per week I want to build a pathway of the C team in the 4th or 3rd tier, B team in the 2nd tier, loans at 1st division clubs and then the first team. My b team were promoted last year to the 3rd division and the C team are now in the 4th. Both are top of their leagues Edited March 27 by Rich162 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 (edited) 9 hours ago, Rich162 said: Hi, I have a question about youth development. In season 2 when the U19s have two matches per week (European and Spanish U19s) , is it better to put a couple of the best prospects in the C team so that they a) benefit from a higher standard of football and b) can spend more time training and working on their attributes? Most of the training categories of the C team are 4 star as they share trainers from the other Athletic teams so I think the quality of the training should be the same as the U19s. I think for U19s more training is better than 2 matches per week I want to build a pathway of the C team in the 4th or 3rd tier, B team in the 2nd tier, loans at 1st division clubs and then the first team. My b team were promoted last year to the 3rd division and the C team are now in the 4th. Both are top of their leagues Honestly you could go either way with it. I prefer to keep them in the youth team until they turn 17 personally, I don't like them being in the c team. Once they've turned 17 they go into one of 3 pathways: 1) elite talent OR someone who needs mentoring, they go to the first team and are made available for B/c as appropriate 2) good enough for B team but not someone I think will be a future first team player go to the B team 3) the rest go to the c team Edited March 28 by bowieinspace Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 2034/35 Season Review - Defending European Champions La Liga - 1st, 105 points (new La Liga record) Copa Del Rey - Lost in final to Real Madrid Supercopa - Lost in semi-final (penalties) to Atletico UEFA Super Cup - Winners, beat Juventus in final Champions League - Winners! An excellent season as defending European Champions, firstly taking the Super Cup curtain raiser vs Juventus comfortably. We blitzed La Liga, winning 35 and losing 3 to score 105 points. Our losses game away to Valencia in the penultimate game of the season (heavily rotated team), and losses away to Barca and home to Real Madrid in games which could have gone either way. In the Copa Del Rey we had a superb semi final comeback against Barcelona to set up a final with Real, however superstar Julen Aguirre got himself sent off in the first half and we went on to lose 1-0. We rotated in the Supercopa and although being the better side, eventually lost on penalties in the semi final vs Atletico. The Champions League defence was an impressive one, topping the league phase with 7 wins and 1 draw, the draw being away at Arsenal on the final day when we rotated our team, with wins vs Man City, Juve, PAOK, Rennes, Sporting CP, Club Brugge and Bayern (the latter a 5-1 pasting). Straight into the round of 16 and a draw against Juventus - a 0-0 at their place set us up nicely for the home leg and we saw them away 4-1. We then met Arsenal in the quarter final, a team who have caused us some issues in the past... the first leg at San Mames was comfortable and we scored 5 - unfortunately a late penalty made it 5-2 to give them a sniff at home if things went their way. However we held strong in the second leg despite being the worse team on the night, 0-0 through until the last minute when they got a late consolation goal giving us an overall 5-3 victory. We then moved onto a semi final against Man City - a tough first leg at their ground saw us run back to San Mames with a fortunate 2-3 defeat - it could have been worse so I was very happy to be in touching distance for the home leg. We then took control in the second leg with two first half goals to see us lead on aggregate, only for an equaliser against the run of play meaning we went to extra time. It came down to a bizarre lobbed header from young star Ismael Lafuente to see us take the lead, and the win in extra time. We then had a final against Bayern, meaning we had the odd coincidence of playing every knockout round against a team we'd played against in the league phase. We'd battered them 5-1 at San Mames in that phase, so I was optimistic going into the final, even with a squad plagued by injuries - over the last few months of the season we'd lost our starting keeper for 4 months, star player Jon Ibanez to a cruciate ligament tear for 9 months, Jon Martin (first back up in the forward areas) for a month (return date a few days after the Champions League final) and Unax Urrutia (starting RB) with a similar injury/timeline. We also lost Julen Aguirre, our other star winger on the opposite side to Ibanez, and he was set to return a few days before the final. We'd also lost our backup LB, back up striker for 3-4 weeks in April, and Juan Etxabe our starting striker for a month in April, meaning during the semi finals and league run in we had hardly any options to rotate players. By the time the final rolled around we were still missing Ibanez (out until Christmas), Unax Urrutia and Jon Martin, but we were otherwise mostly healthy... just a couple players still not fully match fit. We kicked off the final to an immediate highlight - Alex Etxebarria our right back running down the line, beating his man and putting in a low cross which was turned in for an own goal 16 seconds into the final! We didn't look back from there and despite them equalising midway through the first half, we went on to win 4-1 and defend our Champions League crown! Squad Building No transfers of significance really, we did let Mikel Guruzeta, Isaac Gomez, Carlos Saenz and Jorge Murillo all leave as they were surplus to requirements - decent money for them but given we have 600million GBP in the bank I don't worry about transfer fees and just try to find good moves for my players now. By far the most significant departure though was on a free transfer - we have said goodbye to Nico Williams who has just turned 33 - he hasn't declined much (he has a bit but he was still a 4* player), however he wanted star player status still on a multi year new deal and he's not a starter anymore due to the insane level of Etxabe, Gorrotxategi, Aguirre and Ibanez - we allowed him to leave on a free after 17 odd years at the club and 452 league appearances. A wonderful servant to the club. That means we now have no real players left at the club - a full team of newgens. Gk - Alberto Etxabe (Academy graduate, from Barakaldo) Iker Zubillaga (Academy graduate, from Vitoria) Carlos Etxeberria (Tenerife academy, from Estella-Lizarra in Navarro) Rb - Unax Urrutia (Academy graduate, from Portugalete) Alex Etxebarria (Academy graduate, from Galdakao) Lb - Eneko Cordoba (Arenas Club graduate, from Getxo) Ander Santos (Academy graduate, from Azpeitia) Cb - Aitor Etxebarria (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) Josu Blasco (Academy graduate, from Leioa) Josu Jimenez (Academy graduate, from Sestao) Sergio Goti (Academy graduate, from Vitoria) Dm - Javi (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) Aitor Aketxe (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) Jon Castro (Academy graduate, from Sestao) Ibon Marin (Academy graduate, from Basauri, also French Basque) Am - Aitor Gorrotxategi (Academy graduate, from Galdakao) Xabi Aizpurua (Academy graduate, from Vitoria) Rw - Jon Ibanez (Academy graduate, from Erandio) Jon Martin (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) Lw - Julen Aguirre (Real Sociedad graduate, from San Sebastian, also French Basque) Ismael Lafuente (Eibar graduate, from Eibar) Cf - Juan Etxabe (Academy graduate, from Ermua) Inaki Goti (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMartello Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 15 minutes ago, bowieinspace said: 2034/35 Season Review - Defending European Champions La Liga - 1st, 105 points (new La Liga record) Copa Del Rey - Lost in final to Real Madrid Supercopa - Lost in semi-final (penalties) to Atletico UEFA Super Cup - Winners, beat Juventus in final Champions League - Winners! An excellent season as defending European Champions, firstly taking the Super Cup curtain raiser vs Juventus comfortably. We blitzed La Liga, winning 35 and losing 3 to score 105 points. Our losses game away to Valencia in the penultimate game of the season (heavily rotated team), and losses away to Barca and home to Real Madrid in games which could have gone either way. In the Copa Del Rey we had a superb semi final comeback against Barcelona to set up a final with Real, however superstar Julen Aguirre got himself sent off in the first half and we went on to lose 1-0. We rotated in the Supercopa and although being the better side, eventually lost on penalties in the semi final vs Atletico. The Champions League defence was an impressive one, topping the league phase with 7 wins and 1 draw, the draw being away at Arsenal on the final day when we rotated our team, with wins vs Man City, Juve, PAOK, Rennes, Sporting CP, Club Brugge and Bayern (the latter a 5-1 pasting). Straight into the round of 16 and a draw against Juventus - a 0-0 at their place set us up nicely for the home leg and we saw them away 4-1. We then met Arsenal in the quarter final, a team who have caused us some issues in the past... the first leg at San Mames was comfortable and we scored 5 - unfortunately a late penalty made it 5-2 to give them a sniff at home if things went their way. However we held strong in the second leg despite being the worse team on the night, 0-0 through until the last minute when they got a late consolation goal giving us an overall 5-3 victory. We then moved onto a semi final against Man City - a tough first leg at their ground saw us run back to San Mames with a fortunate 2-3 defeat - it could have been worse so I was very happy to be in touching distance for the home leg. We then took control in the second leg with two first half goals to see us lead on aggregate, only for an equaliser against the run of play meaning we went to extra time. It came down to a bizarre lobbed header from young star Ismael Lafuente to see us take the lead, and the win in extra time. We then had a final against Bayern, meaning we had the odd coincidence of playing every knockout round against a team we'd played against in the league phase. We'd battered them 5-1 at San Mames in that phase, so I was optimistic going into the final, even with a squad plagued by injuries - over the last few months of the season we'd lost our starting keeper for 4 months, star player Jon Ibanez to a cruciate ligament tear for 9 months, Jon Martin (first back up in the forward areas) for a month (return date a few days after the Champions League final) and Unax Urrutia (starting RB) with a similar injury/timeline. We also lost Julen Aguirre, our other star winger on the opposite side to Ibanez, and he was set to return a few days before the final. We'd also lost our backup LB, back up striker for 3-4 weeks in April, and Juan Etxabe our starting striker for a month in April, meaning during the semi finals and league run in we had hardly any options to rotate players. By the time the final rolled around we were still missing Ibanez (out until Christmas), Unax Urrutia and Jon Martin, but we were otherwise mostly healthy... just a couple players still not fully match fit. We kicked off the final to an immediate highlight - Alex Etxebarria our right back running down the line, beating his man and putting in a low cross which was turned in for an own goal 16 seconds into the final! We didn't look back from there and despite them equalising midway through the first half, we went on to win 4-1 and defend our Champions League crown! Squad Building No transfers of significance really, we did let Mikel Guruzeta, Isaac Gomez, Carlos Saenz and Jorge Murillo all leave as they were surplus to requirements - decent money for them but given we have 600million GBP in the bank I don't worry about transfer fees and just try to find good moves for my players now. By far the most significant departure though was on a free transfer - we have said goodbye to Nico Williams who has just turned 33 - he hasn't declined much (he has a bit but he was still a 4* player), however he wanted star player status still on a multi year new deal and he's not a starter anymore due to the insane level of Etxabe, Gorrotxategi, Aguirre and Ibanez - we allowed him to leave on a free after 17 odd years at the club and 452 league appearances. A wonderful servant to the club. That means we now have no real players left at the club - a full team of newgens. Gk - Alberto Etxabe (Academy graduate, from Barakaldo) Iker Zubillaga (Academy graduate, from Vitoria) Carlos Etxeberria (Tenerife academy, from Estella-Lizarra in Navarro) Rb - Unax Urrutia (Academy graduate, from Portugalete) Alex Etxebarria (Academy graduate, from Galdakao) Lb - Eneko Cordoba (Arenas Club graduate, from Getxo) Ander Santos (Academy graduate, from Azpeitia) Cb - Aitor Etxebarria (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) Josu Blasco (Academy graduate, from Leioa) Josu Jimenez (Academy graduate, from Sestao) Sergio Goti (Academy graduate, from Vitoria) Dm - Javi (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) Aitor Aketxe (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) Jon Castro (Academy graduate, from Sestao) Ibon Marin (Academy graduate, from Basauri, also French Basque) Am - Aitor Gorrotxategi (Academy graduate, from Galdakao) Xabi Aizpurua (Academy graduate, from Vitoria) Rw - Jon Ibanez (Academy graduate, from Erandio) Jon Martin (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) Lw - Julen Aguirre (Real Sociedad graduate, from San Sebastian, also French Basque) Ismael Lafuente (Eibar graduate, from Eibar) Cf - Juan Etxabe (Academy graduate, from Ermua) Inaki Goti (Academy graduate, from Bilbao) Always love your posts in this topic! Is it possible for you to share your savegame like you did in the past, so we (or at least I ) can take a look around? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 1 hour ago, TheMartello said: Always love your posts in this topic! Is it possible for you to share your savegame like you did in the past, so we (or at least I ) can take a look around? Yep no problem. I'll sort that out next time I'm at my laptop 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dothestrand Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 IRL, Athletic Club often re-sign players who didn't quite make the grade during the first spell at the club - Gorka Guruzeta and Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta being two current examples. Has anyone had this happen in their save? He left FOUR seasons ago, and has been at his current club the best part of two years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 8 hours ago, dothestrand said: IRL, Athletic Club often re-sign players who didn't quite make the grade during the first spell at the club - Gorka Guruzeta and Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta being two current examples. Has anyone had this happen in their save? He left FOUR seasons ago, and has been at his current club the best part of two years. Id say that's a bug to be reported on the bug forum honestly. That message is supposed to be much shorter term Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristianT Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 22 hours ago, bowieinspace said: Yep no problem. I'll sort that out next time I'm at my laptop Would also love that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowieinspace Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 (edited) You can find my save file here: https://filetransfer.io/data-package/KsTiiifp#link The only odd thing I've done in this save is due to the insane lack of goalkeepers who came through, I was beginning to wonder if there was legimately a bug - from the game start through until 31/32 season when Alberto Etxabe came through my youth intake in late March, there wasn't a single newgen Basque goalkeeper who had the ability OR potential to be a decent La Liga keeper. At that point Simon was rapidly declining and other options who start the game such as Remiro etc were all too old also. My only option as a stop gap was Julen Agirrezabala who I resigned for a ludicrous fee just to give me a couple more years of having a playable keeper, he came back in summer 2032. Outside of Agirrezabala there were 1-2 2* CA options and the rest were absolutely miles off. I'd kept an eye on another keeper Jesus Valencia, who had been at Gernika and Lugo and was considered a top Liga 2 keeper, but he moved to a Saudi club the year before in 2031 and was miles off it according to my scouts, I've just re-scouted him and he's a 1.5* player despite looking half decent on the limited knowledge view on this save file). Agirrezabala was by far the better option despite the crazy fee, and Valencia was someone I could think about later if I was desperate. In January 2032 a couple months before Etxabe appeared and I bought Agirrezabala back, I decided to sign a spanish keeper who was 16 who looked decent enough to be first team capable in the future, just as a fall back option in case the situation with keepers continued to decline, with the view I'd only use him if there were no viable other options. Worth noting at this time also Agirrezabala was a key player at Bournemouth and they wouldn't consider selling him under any circumstances. He played in the B team a bit and I gave him a few first team appearances in dead rubber games/off the bench/due to injuries while Julen Agirrezabala was my number 1 to allow him to develop a bit (he was very young and a big step down from Agirrezabala at the time). I didn't want to use him at all but the situation was dire so I wanted to at least give myself an option I could consider down the track. I was basically down to the prospect of 1.5/2* goalkeeper options within a year or so who had hit their peak already. Fortunately Etxabe did appear so now in summer 2035, although Etxabe is my best keeper at 2* CA, I at least have a bit of potential there and a couple options who will be decent longer term. In the end I couldn't stick the idea of breaking my own rules for the sake of having a decent keeper, and Etxabe (although a way off first team level) looked like he would be decent enough in the future, so I sold the keeper for near enough what I paid in summer 2034, committed to my rules and throwing Etxabe in at number 1 despite his 1.5* CA - his name is Jose Angel Blanco and he's at Spurs now not getting any game time, I don't consider him as someone I would ever repurchase so I just ignore him on player search. If you search for Basque keepers now, you have him, Jesus Valencia (previously mentioned above) and then the rest is utter garbage. My situation now at keeper is still pretty bad, Etxabe is number 1, he is 2* current ability, but I also have Carlos Etxeberria who is 2* and consistent with a nice attribute spread (he's improved well but always had low potential), and then Iker Zubillaga is my other back up - he's just had a really positive loan spell and looks set to be a long term squad member. I had a decent looking keeper in my last intake also. Edited March 29 by bowieinspace 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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