FM24 - Athletic Club (Bilbao) - Loyalty and Long Term Saves!

[Rich162]

55 minutes ago, bowieinspace said:

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.

Thanks for the earlier feedback on youth development.  For people starting their save, there is a goalkeeper in Barca B in 23/24 that is worth a look at. In my save he is 4 star potential. He is miles better than the Athletic goalies in the b team and could come good. His name is Andre Astralaga. I have had him for 6 months and he is developing nicely. Born in Berango - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berango. He cost me a million euros but given the goalie issues you were having I thought it might be worth it. 

Edited March 29 by Rich162

[bowieinspace]

23 minutes ago, Rich162 said:

Thanks for the earlier feedback on youth development.  For people starting their save, there is a goalkeeper in Barca B in 23/24 that is worth a look at. In my save he is 4 star potential. He is miles better than the Athletic goalies in the b team and could come good. His name is Andre Astralaga. I have had him for 6 months and he is developing nicely. Born in Berango - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berango. He cost me a million euros but given the goalie issues you were having I thought it might be worth it. 

Yeah he's on my save, may have had a boost in the last update potentially. He's pretty good in my save he was on my list of potential options around the 1.5-2* CA, had a really good attribute spread, he's a good suggestion for sure if he has more potential that he showed in my save or in the new db update, or just as a good back up

Edited March 29 by bowieinspace

[dothestrand]

I've had Astralaga as a third keeper but I don't think he's ever better than that. 

[MattyC78]

It has been a couple of months since I have posted.  I have been off playing other saves but I have enjoyed catching up with your Athletic updates.  Thank you in particular to @bowieinspace, @dothestrand and @Darius1998. 

I always enjoy a save where you can sign wonderkids but I have now got bored of the constant churn and yearn for the Athletic world where you develop stronger ties with your players because there is only them and your developments and achievements mean more.  So I am back to managing Athletic and rather than starting again I have picked up my save from earlier.  So I am in 2028 and after five years of coming second, a moderate performance in the Champions League and with a couple of Spanish cups and three Spanish Super Cups, I want to push on for some sustained success.

Whilst I can remember most of my players (even better than the players in my last save - the beauty of Athletic) I cannot remember the situations in relation to staffing, tactics, contracts, dynamics, training etc so I am treating this as I would if I was taking on a new job.  The first thing to decide is to determine whether I continue the Lezama only perspective or allow myself to purchase the odd player to bolster the ranks.  

[dothestrand]

@MattyC78 I find I can never get past a few seasons of another save before returning to Athletic Club, a save I know I can keep going til the next FM comes out. In any other save it's too transfer-heavy, transitioning the squads constantly. With Athletic Club you know there's a focus and an ethos that gives you something to work with and you can work with players over a long period and to help them develop. I could go Lezama only but that's not probably not realistic and the game usually factors in that certain players would never move so it's not like you can hoover up every Basque player. 

[Darius1998]

2026-27: Season Review

La Liga: 3rd, 78 points (down 1 place and 9 points)
Copa del Rey: Semi-finalists, lost to Barcelona
Champions League: League Phase (27th)
Supercopa: Semi-finalists, lost to Atletico

Very different season to 2025-26 as we started off slowly, losing 3 matches by the end of October - as many as we had lost in the whole of last season. We were massively underperforming in all underlying metrics - xG, xGA, expected points, etc. but a great run through November turned the season around, only losing to Real Madrid (twice) and Barcelona after that. We made the top 7 in the 14th round of fixtures and then spent the 2nd half of the season hauling down (and eventually passing) Sevilla and Real Sociedad. We had a chance to seal CL football and Sevilla but threw away a 3-0 lead in the last 10 mins, before Sancet's goal secured a 1-0 win in the Basque derby in our penultimate game.

We took revenge against Valencia for last season's cup semi-final by beating them 3-0 at their place in the quarters. In the semis, a 1-1 draw at home was followed by a 5-0 pasting at Camp Nou to knock us out. The players ended up refunding the fans for it.

The CL campaign was a disappointment but was really tough from the get go. A poor loss at home to Ajax dampened our hopes and although we beat Zulte and Lille, that was followed up by draws against Barca and Arsenal and then losses against Bologna, Juventus and Milan.

 

Transfers

Two incomings of note - Julen Jon Guerrero joined for €1m from Milan. He hasn't really developed since going there from Alaves and seems to have some unfulfilled potential. Low-risk signing anyway and he spent the season on loan at Serie B's bottom club Vicenza. The other was 16 year old CB Dani Martin from Eibar. Came in for €250k and went into the U19s. I mostly got him for his professional personality so hopefully he can fulfill his 4/4.5* potential.

One major outgoing as Unai Simon had his €85m release clause triggered by Man Utd and left in the summer.

 

Youth Candidates

Some really nice prospects again.

Miguel Jimenez (DR/MR):

Spoiler

A good attacking full back.

Ibon Serrano (DM/DC):

Spoiler

Talented DM who can drop into defence if needed.

Fran (AMR/ST):

Spoiler

The cream of the crop. Another excellent wide player through the ranks. He already looks very good too.

 

Squad

GK: Agirrezabala, Ayesa, Hugo Palacios*
RB: Areso, Inigo Albisu*
CB: Yeray, Unai Nunez, Paredes, Josu Romero*, Jon Martin, Sergio Aguirre*
LB: Munoz, Imanol
DM: Moncayola, Guillamon
CM: Sancet, Unai Gomez, Vencedor, Julen Jon Guerrero
RW: Nico Williams, Nico Serrano
LW: Berenguer, Adu Ares, Victor Villanueva*
ST: Inaki Williams, Guruzeta, Villalibre

* - Newgen

I promoted a number of youngsters from the 2025 batch and loaned most of them out. Aguirre (loaned to Recreativo) and Villanueva (loaned to Rayo Vallecano) highlighted as they are probably the closest to being first team ready. Albisu was going to get more first team games but had a couple of injuries and I sent him to Numancia in the 3rd tier for 6 months where he has done well.

Berenguer was phased out for Ares and Serrano and will move to Rayo Vallecano for 5m in the summer while Inaki is on the decline and will be off to Damac in Saudi Arabia for 19.5m.

[vvegg]

Great thread as always.

My question would be if there is a way to keep Vivian in the squad with the new database. He has a relatively low release clause fee and refuses to renew his contract. The Saudis were interested and eventually signed him in my first save. After a 5 season save I restarted a new game and the situation seems the same. After 3 seasons Nico Williams is also gone for 180 million euro release fee.

Another problem with the save I discontinued was too many gk newgens. Every year there were 1 or 2 4/5 star potential basque gk newgens with promising attributes.

There were not enough left backs to sign or produce from youth system. Any suggestions? I thought to retrain Vesga for a lb but could not take the risk and he is already fine for dm anyway. Javi lopez was a good option but I had to wait for Alaves to get relegated and Aihen Munoz to be transfer listed.

Quick tip for right back is if you sign Guillamon from Valencia he could be retrained for rb and becomes a rb for the national team level.

[Darius1998]

2027-28: Season Review

La Liga: 3rd, 84 points (no position change, +6 points
Copa del Rey: Quarter-finalists, lost to Barcelona
Champions League: Quarter-finalists, lost to Porto
Supercopa: Semi-finalists, lost to Atletico

Very good season overall as we blitzed a few goal records along the way, notching up 104 in the league itself. Barcelona ran away with it and it was a battle for 2nd between us and the two Madrid clubs. Real Madrid edged us out towards the end but it was still incredibly fun nevertheless. At home, we were imperious, even beating Barcelona and Real Madrid and rallying from 2 down to draw against Atletico. 65 of those 104 goals came at home, giving us 16 wins and 3 draws.

A bad injury crisis from December to February saw us lose 4 of our 6 defenders at one point, needing to promote Diego Martin from the U19s to fill in at RB as I didn't want to recall those out on loan. He did well and then got injured himself as we got dumped out of the cup by Barca while we lost the Supercup semi 4-3 to Mourinho's tycoon-owned Atletico.

The CL campaign was wild. We have often had luck going against us in Europe but none of that happened in the League Phase as we finished inside the top 8, even beating Man City 2-1 despite conceding over 4 xG to them at the Etihad. A 2-2 draw at Lille was followed by nearly getting knocked out in the 2nd leg, only for Josu Romero to make it 2-2 on the night in stoppage time before Adu Ares scored the winner in ET. Porto were the best draw possible but we fluffed it, going down 2-0 and then immediately conceding an equaliser after going in front at home.

 

Transfers

Just one transfer in - An 18 year old LB Pedro Agirre joined from Real Sociedad for €7.5m, which may some day rise by another 1m. He spent the season on loan at 3rd tier Cordoba. No major outgoings either after Inaki Williams and Berenguer left. A bunch of players went out on loan and some of them look good enough to get first team games next season.

 

Youth Candidates

Decent intake with two standout prospects.

Jon Garrido (MC/R, AMC):

Spoiler

Talented two-way midfielder.

Inigo Rodriguez (AML/R):

Spoiler

Another wide player. We have loads of them but with a small talent pool, I'm hardly going to be annoyed about that.

 

Squad

GK: Agirrezabala, Ayesa, Hugo Palacios*, Francisco Hernandez*
RB: Areso, Inigo Albisu*, Diego Martin*
CB: Yeray, Unai Nunez, Paredes, Josu Romero*, Jon Martin, Sergio Aguirre*
LB: Munoz, Imanol, Pedro Agirre*
DM: Moncayola, Guillamon
CM: Sancet, Unai Gomez, Vencedor, Julen Jon Guerrero, Asier Alberdi*, Alex Rubio*
RW: Nico Williams, Nico Serrano, Javier Gabilondo*
LW: Adu Ares, Victor Villanueva*, Asier Albisu*
ST: Guruzeta, Villalibre

* - Newgen

Yeray's contract is up and I will be letting him go. Sergio Aguirre will return from his loan spell at Las Palmas to take his place. Inigo Albisu had a good spell at West Brom, even though they finished 23rd in the Championship and can compete with Areso on the right. Guerrero spent a season at 2nd tier Numancia will take Gomez's place in midfield while Villanueva is ready to play more regularly. The other newgens all spent a season out on loan and will hopefully do so again next season.

Also here are the newgens who are good enough to be squad players/regular starters now:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Slightly off-topic but it was great to see Athletic win the Copa del Rey IRL yesterday. The 40 year wait is finally over!

Edited April 7 by Darius1998

[dothestrand]

On 06/04/2024 at 11:56, vvegg said:

Great thread as always.

My question would be if there is a way to keep Vivian in the squad with the new database. He has a relatively low release clause fee and refuses to renew his contract. The Saudis were interested and eventually signed him in my first save. After a 5 season save I restarted a new game and the situation seems the same. After 3 seasons Nico Williams is also gone for 180 million euro release fee.

Another problem with the save I discontinued was too many gk newgens. Every year there were 1 or 2 4/5 star potential basque gk newgens with promising attributes.

There were not enough left backs to sign or produce from youth system. Any suggestions? I thought to retrain Vesga for a lb but could not take the risk and he is already fine for dm anyway. Javi lopez was a good option but I had to wait for Alaves to get relegated and Aihen Munoz to be transfer listed.

Quick tip for right back is if you sign Guillamon from Valencia he could be retrained for rb and becomes a rb for the national team level.

My game is very flush with keepers. My first choice is a regen and I've got these two out on loan:

I reckon Mateo is the best of my three keepers, but I don't really want to lose any of them so I'm fine with loaning him out (I've also brought Unai Simon back to the club in the 31-32 season as backup).

[bowieinspace]

On 06/04/2024 at 23:56, vvegg said:

Great thread as always.

My question would be if there is a way to keep Vivian in the squad with the new database. He has a relatively low release clause fee and refuses to renew his contract. The Saudis were interested and eventually signed him in my first save. After a 5 season save I restarted a new game and the situation seems the same. After 3 seasons Nico Williams is also gone for 180 million euro release fee.

Another problem with the save I discontinued was too many gk newgens. Every year there were 1 or 2 4/5 star potential basque gk newgens with promising attributes.

There were not enough left backs to sign or produce from youth system. Any suggestions? I thought to retrain Vesga for a lb but could not take the risk and he is already fine for dm anyway. Javi lopez was a good option but I had to wait for Alaves to get relegated and Aihen Munoz to be transfer listed.

Quick tip for right back is if you sign Guillamon from Valencia he could be retrained for rb and becomes a rb for the national team level.

I can't comment on Vivian in the new DB sadly, I've not explored it with a full save (I started my save during the beta). 

I certainly don't share your newgen goalkeeper experience haha, you can check previous posts I've made on this thread. I didn't get a single Basque newgen keeper in my entire DB with La Liga level potential for the first 7 or 8 years of my save, but I'm blessed with attacking talent... probably just variance/luck of the draw.

Edited April 7 by bowieinspace

[bowieinspace]

Also Aupa Athletic! I hope everyone was able to catch the Copa final over the weekend. Very stressful but so good in the end.

[MattyC78]

I have completed my first season back at Athletic.  After five years of coming second, a moderate performance in the Champions League and with a couple of Spanish cups and three Spanish Super Cups, I wanted to push on for some sustained success.  I came in and reviewed the whole structure as if I was a new manager.  I overhauled the staffing structure, initially focussing on coaches and scouts, changed the training schedules and tweaked the tactical style based on the strengths of the first eleven.  No stone was left unturned I hope the hard work delivers some longer term success but this season we finished third and failed to win any trophies!

The season was not a complete write-off though with a couple of our youngsters making significant development progress.

Arkaitz Aranburu had a big season as he broke into the first team and will be first choice alongside Dani Vivian next year.

Gonzalo Astrain has been retrained to be a left back and is ready to take over from Imanol

Mikel Eguaras is our one striling hope and has taken the lead role from Inaki Williams.

Inaki Pascual already plays a crucial role in our centre midfield alongside Oihan Sancet.

Santiago Kortina  is a very able back-up to Nico Williams who gets more than enough games to allow his development.  At the moment we have two options on the right but we are considerably weaker on the left with Jon Morcillio, Peio Hestamendia or an out of position Nico Williams.

Asier Alonso is older than Inaki Pascual.  He does not have the same level of quality but he has still developed into an able deputy. 

We shall dust ourselves down and go again.  This summer we need to decide what to do with Inaki Williams and Julen Agirrezabala as they want to leave for new challenges and neither are first team players.  I am also going to have to try to fight off Newcastle who have set their eyes on Unai Simon.

The one thing that has happened this summer that I have never noticed before is that I have had youth players poached.  Is this something that other people have experienced?  I have lost three players in the early part of the summer to Lugo, Alaves and Huesca.  I was not expecting this.  I thought it was more likely that we would be doing the poaching.  I have made a list of the names to track their progress when they enter the game.  Hopefully we have not lost our best players.

So far I have not bought anyone.  I missed out on Aymeric Laporte as he left the game before I could persuade him back to Athletic.  I am wavering and considering buying some Basque youngsters to bolster the ranks.

[bowieinspace]

Some good youngsters @MattyC78! 

I've not had any poached this year I don't think, maybe 1? Certainly not that many anyway, and interesting they're being poached by smaller clubs. I'm not sure what prompts that happening but maybe someone knows about it 

[bowieinspace]

Season 2035/36 Review - The Perfect Season?

 

La Liga - 1st, 102 points
Copa Del Rey - Winners
Supercopa - Winners
UEFA Super Cup - Winners
Champions League - Winners

Yes oh yes oh yes oh yes!

We lost a handful of games during the season (away to Real/Barca in the league), but otherwise we were comfortable this season. I did feel like we lacked a bit of depth off the bench in the forward line (in terms of raw quality), as our youngsters were a bit of a step down from the forward line. Jon Ibanez came back around Christmas time from a 9-10month ACL injury and my goodness was he impressive on his return, notching 15 goals and 10 assists as an inverted winger on support from 18 league games, with equally impressive contributions in Europe. 

In the Champions League we had a pretty friendly league draw and qualified at a canter, we then beat Leipzig comfortably in the round of 16 6-1 on aggregate, before beating Man City 3-0 on aggregate. We then took on Spurs in the semi final - the first leg at San Mames was comfortable, we took an early 1-0 lead and then they went down to 10 men about 20mins in, and we ended up comfortable 4-0 winners at home. The second leg at their place was a bit different, they really took us apart in probably the only game all season we were outplayed, they won 2-0 and honestly it could have been more, so I was happy to get into the final without a second leg bottle job! In the final we took on domestic rivals Barcelona, who have built a really good team now. A tight game but we didn't give up many chances and created the best one - Gorrotxategi getting the winner. 

A couple of our youngsters, noteably Inaki Goni and Ismael Lafuente didn't really come on that well this season which contributed to the lack of forward quality off the bench, especially as we lost Aizpurua for large chunks of the season too. To fix this I've spunked 135million GBP on Julen Diez from Stuttgart - he came through the Alaves academy before moving to Man City, I didn't pick him up at the time due to the quality we had coming through at the time, but he barely featured for Man City over 4 years or so before moving on to Stuttgart, where he's become a key player. Now, a resolute personality, super consistent and enjoyer of big matches he's an ideal addition to my forward line. Inaki Iturrino was our other big highlight this season as he performed well off the bench and is improving well, so he sticks around to complete my forward line. 

 

 

So 3 consecutive Champions League titles now is really something - this team is impressive. We still lack top, top players in central defence, goalkeeper and defensive midfield, but the players we have in those positions are pretty effective and our immense forward line just gets the job done. 

[dothestrand]

2031-32 Season Review: Fourmidable!

La Liga: 1st (-) - 101 points (-)

Copa Del Rey: QF (lost to Las Palmas 0-1)

Super Cup: W (beat Real Madrid on pens, 1-1)

Champions League: QF (lost to Man City 1-2 on aggregate)

Another comfortable La Liga title, our fourth in a row now. We finished on 101 points again, 14 clear of Barcelona and 18 clear of Real Madrid. We lost one league game, our 34th of the season, which was away to Alaves, a game that we were clearly not going to win. We went behind twice and equalised, then had a man sent off and conceded again. So close to being an Invincibles! Despite this performance in the league, we only had four players in the team of the season, which was dominated by Barcelona (if their players are individually performing so well, how are they losing matches?)

We won the Super Cup for the first time in this save on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid. We were defeated in the Copa Del Rey at the QF stage by Las Palmas with a very lacklustre performance. Had we won, we would've played Valencia in the SF, who won the competition, so consider that a trophy missed out on. We finished second again in the CL group stage, and our reward in the last 16 was a tie against Man Utd, who we beat 6-5 on aggregate. In the quarters, another trip to Manchester beckoned. City defeated us 2-1 on aggregate, so fine margins. City then hammered Inter in the SF and are playing Chelsea in the final.

Squad Performance

A real squad effort this season with more rotation than usual, with 15 players making more than 20 league appearances, and another 3 making more than 10 appearances. Nobody played more than 25 matches, and that's not down to injuries. Fortunately, we have enough squad depth now that we can switch up the starting XI often, and the players are just about happy enough with it (you get the odd gripe about starting enough games but that usually goes). The attacking players were in great form, with nine attacking players averaging more than 7.0 in the league. The defensive ratings were interesting as apparently my two Spanish international CBs were not the best performing!

Transfers

Not much to report. We brought Unai Simon back as a rotation GK - he's 34yo and still Spain's number one. We also signed this wonderkid from Man City. He started at Eibar and wouldn't sign for us, and then went to City. We loaned him a couple of seasons ago, but still wouldn't sign permanently. Then after a great loan at Palermo, he finally agreed. He's an AMC/AMR by trade but very quickly retrained as a CM, so that versatility will get him more game time.

We also signed an attacking midfielder from Real Sociedad for 20m-odd who may come good, but we can afford the gamble.

Youth Development

A poor intake this season but it doesn't really matter - we've got so many promising players anyway. No new wonderkids at the moment - Eguaras is the only players who's gained this reputation this season, but I'd expect a few other youngsters to have that status soon, so you'll see them then.

Going Forward

Well, hopefully it's another league title and can we go further in the Champions League? Let's hope so. A few seasons back, the elite sides would've battered us, now we can definitely compete, so with a bit of luck, we can hopefully get a few results together in the knockouts. In terms of squad changes, Vivian, Sancet and Aimar are in their 30s now, Simon too - any decent offer for any of them would probably be accepted as we can cover their departures. But I am just as happy to keep them around. 

 

[Rich162]

Hi, has anyone had a problem where the C team players suddenly become ineligible with a message saying that they cannot play for an affiliate when registered for the main club?   The 9 players are definitely not registered for Athletic so I am not sure what is happening.  Is it a bug? 

[bowieinspace]

2036/37 Season Review

 

La Liga - Winners, 103 points
Champions League - Lost in QF to Bayern Munich
Copa Del Rey - Winners
Supercopa - Lost in SF to Atletico
UEFA Supercup - Winners
Club World Cup - 3rd place, lost in SF to Liverpool

Our European winning run is over  We ran into a stubborn Bayern Munich side in the QF, who beat us 1-0 in the first leg at San Mames (and deservedly so) and then 2-0 at their place. The 2-0 scoreline at the Allianz Arena doesn't really do it justice though... we were comfortably the better side, missed our chances while they scored an own goal and a freak one that bounced over the keeper off a goal kick. Over the last few years there's always been one knock out leg that felt a bit ropey... this one just didn't go our way. 

We cruised the league and Copa Del Rey, and add i the Supercup and we won a treble of sorts, so still an excellent season. I was really hoping for success in the CWC at the end of the season but unfortunately we lost 2-1 in the semi final to Liverpool in a close game, before beating Milan in the 3rd/4th playoff.

Squad wise, we've sold a few youngsters in Inaki Goti, Ander Santos and Ismael Lafuente who plateued - they may be players we go back for in a few years but they are't good enough right now. This year our squad is basically the same, with the addition of a young centreback Sergio Garmendia, who looks promising.

Interesting the core of our squad are all approaching their late 20s... Jon Castro, Josu Blasco and Jon Martin will be 30 come the end of the season, with Ibanez, Gorrotxategi, Aguirre, Cordoba, Javi, Jimenez, Diez all 27-28 at the time of writing. Basically we're in our absolute peak at the moment, but within a couple of seasons we'll likely be crossing that peak. We don't have anywhere near enough quality coming through to replicate this squad at the moment, but it's a worry that's a few years away and I'm not sure if I'll keep the save going much longer anyway. It kinda makes it interesting to keep going though!

[bowieinspace]

2037/38 Season Review - The best season I've ever had

 

I'll preface this by saying I've had a week off work so I've been on the FM buzz this week haha. 

La Liga - Played 38, won 36, drew 2. Scored 115, conceded 16 - 110 points

I'm pretty sure that is the best season I've ever had on FM, or certainly in recent version of the game with Athletic. This team is completely at it's peak - a team full of consistent players, all but 1 or 2 love big matches and the average age is around 27 or so. We are going to be moving past this peak I'd imagine and our next generation doesn't look as good, so I'm enjoying this while it lasts.

Champions League - Winners

We went in at half time in the final 2-0 down to a Milan side who had just walked Serie A - but I hit the right notes with the team talk and we blitzed the second half, winning 4-2. Prior to that we beat Real Madrid in the semi final, Napoli in the 1/4 final on penalties and Porto in the round of 16. 

Copa Del Rey - Winners

A 3-0 final victory against Real Madrid after favourable draws all the way to the final

Supercopa - Winners

We beat Barca 4-1 in the semi final and Atletico 4-0 in the final

 

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to recreate this season honestly, utterly incredible and the comeback in the Champions League final was the icing on the cake. Our draws in La Liga both came at home to the two Madrid clubs FYI, and we did lose a few games during the season against Bayern (league phase) and Porto and Napoli both away in the Champions League.

 

No major transfer business to speak of, just some young prospects from other Basque clubs (and a Basque player from Barcelona also). 

One of the reasons I'm retaining an interest in this save is because we are close to another generation coming in. Currently we have:

Gk - Etxabe 22, Zubillaga 24, Etxeberria 25
RB - Urrutia 27, Etxebarria 24, Lafuente 20
LB - Cordoba 29, Jimenez 28
CB - Blasco 30, Etxebarria 27, Goti 26, Garmendia 20
DM - Castro 30, Javi 29, Aketxe 25, Marin 27
AM - Gorrotxategi 28, Aizpurua 24
RW - Ibanez 28, Diez 28
LW - Aguirre 29, Iturrino 21
CF - Etxabe 26, Martin 30

Cordoba at 29 is a key player, he's about to turn 30 next week in game (September), Castro is a key player and has already turned 30, Javi is first choice DM and hits 30 in Feb, Blasco will be 31 in April and is our key centre back, Gorrotxategi turns 29 in November but fortunately Aizpurua is a world class player in the same position, Jimenez is a key option to cover Cordoba and at 28 is not far behind him in years, Jon Martin is a super sub across the front line and will be 31 this season. Basically we have a large group of players who are going to be passing their prime in the coming years - we're probably good for 2 seasons and then we'll start losing elite players with young players coming through who don't look anywhere near their level, so I'm keen to keep playing the save to see how that transition plays out - we've got time, but it's such a big group of key players who are all going to need to be replaced around the same time that makes it fascinating.

 

 

 

[MattyC78]

17 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

2037/38 Season Review - The best season I've ever had

 

I'll preface this by saying I've had a week off work so I've been on the FM buzz this week haha. 

La Liga - Played 38, won 36, drew 2. Scored 115, conceded 16 - 110 points

I'm pretty sure that is the best season I've ever had on FM, or certainly in recent version of the game with Athletic. This team is completely at it's peak - a team full of consistent players, all but 1 or 2 love big matches and the average age is around 27 or so. We are going to be moving past this peak I'd imagine and our next generation doesn't look as good, so I'm enjoying this while it lasts.

Champions League - Winners

We went in at half time in the final 2-0 down to a Milan side who had just walked Serie A - but I hit the right notes with the team talk and we blitzed the second half, winning 4-2. Prior to that we beat Real Madrid in the semi final, Napoli in the 1/4 final on penalties and Porto in the round of 16. 

Copa Del Rey - Winners

A 3-0 final victory against Real Madrid after favourable draws all the way to the final

Supercopa - Winners

We beat Barca 4-1 in the semi final and Atletico 4-0 in the final

 

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to recreate this season honestly, utterly incredible and the comeback in the Champions League final was the icing on the cake. Our draws in La Liga both came at home to the two Madrid clubs FYI, and we did lose a few games during the season against Bayern (league phase) and Porto and Napoli both away in the Champions League.

 

No major transfer business to speak of, just some young prospects from other Basque clubs (and a Basque player from Barcelona also). 

One of the reasons I'm retaining an interest in this save is because we are close to another generation coming in. Currently we have:

Gk - Etxabe 22, Zubillaga 24, Etxeberria 25
RB - Urrutia 27, Etxebarria 24, Lafuente 20
LB - Cordoba 29, Jimenez 28
CB - Blasco 30, Etxebarria 27, Goti 26, Garmendia 20
DM - Castro 30, Javi 29, Aketxe 25, Marin 27
AM - Gorrotxategi 28, Aizpurua 24
RW - Ibanez 28, Diez 28
LW - Aguirre 29, Iturrino 21
CF - Etxabe 26, Martin 30

Cordoba at 29 is a key player, he's about to turn 30 next week in game (September), Castro is a key player and has already turned 30, Javi is first choice DM and hits 30 in Feb, Blasco will be 31 in April and is our key centre back, Gorrotxategi turns 29 in November but fortunately Aizpurua is a world class player in the same position, Jimenez is a key option to cover Cordoba and at 28 is not far behind him in years, Jon Martin is a super sub across the front line and will be 31 this season. Basically we have a large group of players who are going to be passing their prime in the coming years - we're probably good for 2 seasons and then we'll start losing elite players with young players coming through who don't look anywhere near their level, so I'm keen to keep playing the save to see how that transition plays out - we've got time, but it's such a big group of key players who are all going to need to be replaced around the same time that makes it fascinating.

 

 

 

Looks like a week well spent to me.  Congratulations. 

That's the thing about Athletic, there is always a challenge.