[FM24] UD Ibiza - The White Isle Adventure

[thefmjock]

It was supposed to be a short, relaxing break on the White Isle of Ibiza - A chance to recharge the batteries and consider my next career move. 

That was until a chance interaction with businessman Amadeo Salvo and an eye-watering bar tab changed everything.

A few spontaneous discussions and decisions later, here I am, the ink drying on a 2-year contract confirming me as the new manager of UD Ibiza.


Club History

UD Ibiza were founded in 2015 by former Valencia CF president, Amadadeo Salvo, as a revival of UD Ibiza-Eivissa following their liquidation 5 years earlier due to financial issues and debts.

Starting in the regional leagues, he club have progressed through the tiers over recent years, achieving promotion to the Segunda Division in 2021 where they have spent the last 2 years.

Unfortunately, that stay has now ended, with the club relegated back to the Primera Federacion last season, and this is  where I'll take up the task of taking the club forward.


Initial Expectations

The board's short-term expectation is to achieve a playoff spot this season, which is backed up by the media's prediction of a 3rd place finish.

In the longer-term, we're expected to become an established LaLiga 2 team, all whilst working within budget and growing the club's reputation in the process.




Budgets

We have a small amount of funds available to make some squad changes if needed, however the wage budget is already maxed-out so we may have to operate a one in, one out system initially until the financial situation improves. Our scouting network is restricted to Spain as you would expect at this level.




Squad Overview

An initial look at the squad looks fairly promising although I would like a bit more depth in a few positions before the transfer window closes.
 

Frustratingly, 2 of our better players are currently out on loan for the season, but without any option to buy so I hope to see them back in the squad for the following season.

Next Steps

The plan now is the evaluate the squad and build tactical plan around our current strengths.

I will also be evaluating the current staff situation and filling any gaps we have in the coaching & recruitment teams.



Next update to follow at the end of our pre-season preparations....

Edited November 9, 2023 by thefmjock
Detail

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Great to see you on here! I’ll be following.

[Sizeman21]

Excellent opening there FM Jock. What are your personal goals of this write up, if you have any of course. Always interested.

[thefmjock]

On 09/11/2023 at 09:24, DefinitelyTaylor said:

Great to see you on here! I’ll be following.

It's taken a while to get started but welcome to Ibiza! 

 

 

On 09/11/2023 at 16:23, Sizeman21 said:

Excellent opening there FM Jock. What are your personal goals of this write up, if you have any of course. Always interested.

Thanks!  I suppose one of the goals is to have the world's best players visiting Ibiza for Champions League nights at Can Misses, rather than a summer holiday to Ocean Beach Club!

In all seriousness, my main goal is just to build the club and see how far we can go. Build the reputation in the process and become one of the established names in Spanish football.

[thefmjock]

Season 1 - July / August 2023

PRE-SEASON RESULTS

I wanted to start our pre-season off with an intra-squad fixture to allow me the chance to run the rule over everyone returning from the summer break.
Things didn't quite go to plan however as the majority of the B team failed to report to the training ground, and the game became more of a shooting drill than anything else.



Although we lost the games, I was really pleased with how we played against Crvena zvezda and RC Lens, considering both are competing in this season's UEFA Champions League.
Our victories against the smaller opposition were great for fitness and morale, as well as a chance to cast my eye over some trialists at the same time.

With our preparations now complete, we can head into the competitive fixtures with every confidence of a successful season.


TACTICAL APPROACH

As you can see from the friendly results, I have mostly stuck with my preferred 4-3-3 formation and have found this to be a good fit for the players already at the club.

I do like to tinker when it comes to roles and instructions, depending on opposition etc, however my baseline is something like the below.

The secondary 5-2-3 tactic will be a work in progress 'Plan B' at this stage if and when required.

       



TRANSFERS

There are quite a few squad registration rules to meet in this division, most notably a maximum of 18 players over the age of 23.

These rules, coupled with the wage budget restrictions, meant that transfer business was minimal.

These rules, coupled with the wage budget restrictions, meant that transfer business was minimal. I am also fairly happy with the squad at this stage so can revisit again in January.




IN - Vasco Sousa (Loan from FC Porto) - No Fee, No Wages

Young but talented and can comfortably play in both the Mezzala and Advanced Playmaker roles I intend to use in my tactical approach.




OUT - Freiner Duran (Sold to Cordoba) - £25k

Was part of the B team squad and transfer-listed when I joined the club. No space in squad registration so happy to take the boost to the small transfer budget we have for the winter window.




STAFF

I still have a few vacancies to fill, however the majority of my preferred backroom team are now in place and I'm pleased with the results. 

[Sizeman21]

Woah, nice start there. Do you mind showing Cedric? 11 goals in a friendly is too hard to pass up. I'm intrigued. 

[thefmjock]

Key Players

In addition to the signing of Vasco Sousa who I highlighted in my last post, I've picked out a few other players who I think will be key this year to achieving our goals this season.

Fabricio - GK (Sweeper Keeper)

A solid, experienced option between the sticks who my coaches tell me is consistent and enjoys big matches.
His advancing years and short-term contract may mean this is our only season together, but he will have a big part to play in it I feel.




Joseda - DR (Inverted Fullback)

One of the youngest players in the squad but bags of potential which we'll hopefully see develop with 1st team football.
Another who is out of contract soon but a new deal is in the works with a reasonable release clause should a bigger club come calling.




Alex Gallar - AML (Inside Forward)

One of the best players at the club in terms of ability, and one who I have high hopes will chip in with his fair share of goals and assists this season.
Given his age we might start to see a decline in some of his attributes soon, but for now, he's a big part of my plans.
 

 

Cedric - ST (Advanced Forward)

Goals win games and this is the man I am relying on to deliver on that this season.
He has unfortunately spent most of pre-season injured, but is now working back towards match fitness.
 

[thefmjock]

Season 1 - August / September 2023

After a strong pre-season, it was finally time to get our league campaign underway.
 

Mérida (H)

It was a comfortable win in the end, with 2 late goals in the 2nd half after the visitors went down to 10-men.

The game really should have been put to bed by that point, if not for some poor finishing. Important to start off the season with a win though.

 

San Fernando (H)

Next up was an away trip to San Fernando and a much better showing in front of goal.

With Cedric still struggling for fitness, it was pleasing to see Obolskiy come in and take his chance with an impressive brace and MOTM performance.

Linares (H)

A story of spurned chances and some great saves from the Linares goalkeeper kept this tie a lot closer than it should have been.

Obolskiy continues his goalscoring form, grabbing what turned out to be the winning goal as well as consecutive MOTM awards.

 

 

Ceuta (A)

After 3 wins from the opening 3 games, there was perhaps a degree of over-confidence going in to this match. Fast-forward 45mins and we were 2-0 down at the HT break!

Some choice words and a few tactical tweaks were enough to turn the game on its head in the 2nd half, only to then concede a sloppy equaliser almost immediately to ruin the hard work.

Our first dropped points of the season, and definitely some things to work on defensively moving forward.

 

Intercity (H)

Back to winning ways but we made hard work of it, coming from behind only to give up the lead again.

Luckily it was captain Escassi to the rescue and we were able to hold on for the victory.

Special mention to Obolskiy as he continues his goalscoring run, with 5 goals in the last 4 games.

 

Algeciras (A)

A poor performance from start to finish, losing an early goal then struggling to break down their defensive shape.

It took a set-piece for us to get on the scoresheet with 5mins remaining, Bobadilla heading home for his 1st goal of the season.

We kept the pressure on to push for a winner, only to be sucker-punched on the counter to give us our first taste of defeat this season.

 

Melilla (H)

An eventful opening 10mins with an injury to Patrick Soko ending his evening before it really got started, a great penalty save from Fabricio to keep it goalless only for Abde to give us the lead shortly after.

The equaliser did come midway through the first half, but we responded well and  scored twice before HT to make things more comfortable. That's how it stayed for the 2nd half and continued our 100% home record.
 

 

Castilla (A)

A really tough away fixture to finish the month, and quite the dramatic ending for the fans and neutrals watching our first televised game of the season.

Castilla boasted Turkish wonderkid, Arda Güler, in their line-up but it was Theo who ran the show in this fixture.
His double looked to have won it for his side late in the game but that man Obolskiy popped up again to equalise in added time.

Jubilation turned to despair though as a ball in behind failed to be dealt with and Cucalon buried the last kick of the game to give Castilla the victory.

 

 

Results & League Table

5 wins and a draw from our opening 8 games see us sit in the playoff places, with Malaga and Cordoba still undefeated thus far.

 

Upcoming Fixtures

[DefinitelyTaylor]

A pretty decent start. There is some stiff competition in this division with the likes of Malaga and Cordoba, who have wasted little time in getting off the mark too. They’ll be the ones to beat.

[thefmjock]

 

Season 1 -  October/November 2023

Cordoba (H)

I mentioned Cordoba's undefeated start to the season in my last update, so was delighted to be the team to inflict the first loss of the season on them.

We were by no means in control of the game, rather just clinical in the chances that we did have, going in 2-0 at the break and extending this lead to 3 shortly after. 

I took a more cautious approach after the red card and we were able to defend our lead to claim the 3pts. A fine win!

 

Real Murcia (A)

After such a good result last time out, this result was a real kick in the teeth and another example of our indifferent away form shown already this season.

Murcia took the lead with their first shot on target , but after some stern words at half time, we levelled early into the 2nd half through that man Obolskiy again.

Unfortunately, we were struck by late goal voodoo yet again, giving away cheap possession in our own half and being punished for it.  

 

Antequera (H)

It was important to bounce back from that disappointing defeat and we did just that, continuing our unbeaten home form in the process.

Vasco Sousa had missed the last 3 games through injury and international duty, however he returned to the starting line-up with a bang, scoring 3 goals in a MOTM performance.

A solid win in the end, but will we ever keep a clean sheet this season....

 

Recreativo Granada (A)

After taking only 1pt from our 4 away games played so far this season, I decided to take a different tactical approach this time, switching to a more structured 5-2-3 formation.

Roberto Olabe was asked to play in a deeper role than normal and he was easily the best player on the park, grabbing a goal and an assist in the process.
Vasco Souza also following up his hattrick last time out with another goal here.

Overall a really good performance with plenty chances created,  so the revised tactic has definitely given some food for thought going forward.

 

Castellón (A)

I'm not sure why I reverted back to our standard 4-3-3 for this away game given the last performance, and thought I was going to be taught a tough lesson when we ended the 1st half a goal down.

A more attacking approach and some words of encouragement later, we managed to turn the game on it's head through Olabe and Obolskiy, holding on for the victory in the end.

 

Malaga (H)

This was supposed to be the toughest test of the season so far, with Malaga huge title favourites and top of the table already.

The first half was fairly even and I was delighted to sneak a narrow lead at the break thanks to Alex Gallar goal.

Now for the drama. In an incredible 13min spell, that narrow 1-0 lead turned into a 5-0 domination, with almost every attack resulting in another goal. Quite unbelievable scenes! 

We did drop the tempo given the comfortable score line which seemed to give our opponents a late boost but it was too little, too late.

 

Alcoyano (A)

I'm not sure what the biggest surprise was here. The fact we were on the positive end of an injury time goal for a change, or that we finally managed our first clean sheet of the season!

This was far from a classic and felt like one of those days you could play for hours and still not score. That was until Fausto Tienza's long range effort claimed all 3pts, making it 5 wins on the trot for us.

 

Atlético B

The final game of November saw us host Atlético B as we looked to continue the impressive home form.

We created plenty and took a deserved lead through Olambe on the half hour mark, only to then concede an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.

Poor finishing in the 2nd half was letting us down, however an inspired double substitution played dividends with both Cedric and Patrick Soko coming from the bench to give us some breathing space in the match.

A late consolation goal made for a nervy last minute or so, but we held on to maintain our current win streak.

 

League Standings

A fantastic period of fixtures with 7 wins and 1 defeat, including victories over our main league rivals in Malaga and Cordoba.

 

Upcoming Fixtures

As well as league action, we also have the 1st round of the Copa del Rey, with a home draw against LaLiga side Villareal.
Whether we can cause an upset is a different story but hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves and make it a competitive game.

[thefmjock]

Season 1 - December/January 2023

Atlético Sanluqueño (A)

With wins in our last 6 games, confidence was high for our visit to the club at the bottom of the table. 

That confidence carried into the performance with goals from Soko, Escassi and Eugini giving us a comfortable 3-0 lead at HT.

An early 2nd-half penalty gave the hosts a glimmer of hope, before Soko put the game to bed with his 2nd of the game. Or so I thought!

We took the foot off the gas a little and another penalty plus poor defending made it a much nervier last 15mins than it should have been.

Recreativo (H)

Another fairly dominant home performance, but still unable to keep a clean sheet unfortunately.

Goals from Abde and main-man Obolskiy had us two goals to the good round the hour mark, before the visitors were able to pull one back.

The 2-goal lead was restored a few minutes later via the penalty spot and we saw out the game to keep the winning streak going.

 

Atletico Baleares (A)

Our problems on the road no longer seem to be the concern they were in the early part of the season, as we continued our rich vein of form.
The concern now is the lapses in concentration that are leading to avoidable goals being conceded.

3 goals to the good after the hour mark, we gifted away another clean sheet, before Eugeni finished off the day's scoring and kept our promotion push on course.

 

Villareal (H) - Copa Del Rey 1st Round

When the draw was made, it was safe to say my expectations of progression plummeted and it was more about giving a good account of ourselves instead.
Well we certainly did just that, causing arguably the upset of the round in the process.

All level at the break, the game came to life just after the restart when Olabe gave us the lead with a sweet strike from the edge of the area.
The celebrations were short -lived though as straight from the restart, Villareal waltzed their way through  our team and Alex Baena levelled the tie.

No further goals meant extra-time, and within a few minutes, Villareal were a man down after a dangerous 2-footed lunge from Juan Foyth. Full advantage was taken though, as from the resulting free kick,
Ruben Diaz found himself free in the box and fizzled a shot across goal and in to the bottom corner.

We had to withstand some heavy pressure after that, but held strong and confirmed our place in the 2nd round draw.

San Fernando (H)

We returned from our winter break fresh after the excitement of the Copa del Rey match almost 3 weeks prior, ready to continue our good form.

Goals from Soko and Olabe either side of half time were enough to claim the victory, but the defensive display was equally as pleasing with a rare clean sheet recorded too.

Our opponents seemed to lose their head a little in the final stages and were lucky to finish the match with 11 men, as were we to finish with no injuries.

 

Real Zaragoza (H) - Copa Del Rey 2nd Round

After the drama of the last round, we again faced higher league opposition in she shape of 2nd-tier side Real Zaragoza.

It was a dream start for us, with goals from Olabe and Obolskiy giving us a 2-0 lead before we even had 10mins on the clock. Ivan Azon was able to pull a goal back but we went in at half-time with a lead to defend.

We didn't manage to defend that lead for long though, with Vallejo levelling the tie shortly after the restart. Less than 10mins later, we had the chance to restore our lead from the spot, and Alex Gallar made no mistake.

There were chances at both ends as the game headed towards the closing stages, and it was the visitors who managed to level the game with only a few minutes left on the clock. A horrible goal to lose so late in the game and it was in to extra-time.

Extra-time was a tense affair with neither side looking to over-commit. Just as it looked like the match was heading for penalties, substitute Abde popped up to give us a late lead and book our place in the 3rd round. Phew! 

 

Merida (A)

Follow on from the midweek extra-time drama, it was back to league business with a visit to Merida,

Obolskiy was on target again, grabbing a brace to put us 2-up midway through the first half. A cheap penalty gave the hosts a way back in to the game but we half a narrow lead at the break.

Another poor defensive error saw the game levelled on the hour mark but we rallied and took the lead again a short while later from a Bobadilla header.

That should have been 3pts confirmed but Merida kept pushing and levelled the game again in injury time for a share of the points.

 

Espanyol (H) - Copa del Rey 3rd Round

I didn't think we would top the drama of the first two rounds to get to this stage but I was wrong! That man Obolskiy opened the scoring and Alex Gallar doubled our lead as we headed toward half-time.

The joy was short-lived though with 2 goals in 5mins pulling Espanyol level in first  half injury time. Gallar had the chance to give us the lead again from the spot but saw his effort saved.

Espanyol took the lead for the first time in the tie just before the hour mark but we keep fighting and Patrick Soko grabbed an equaliser with 20mins to play.  No further goals meant it was extra-time once again!

It was Espanyol who struck first in ET through Jose Gragera, but Soko grabbed his 2nd of the game and took the game to a penalty shootout. This was where our luck unfortunately ran out.

Linares (A)

This was a bit of a jaded performance to end the month with some players still feeling the effects of the extra-time minutes last time out.

Alex Gallar was back on the scoresheet again in the first half and could have doubled his tally from the spot, however for the 2nd match running, he failed to convert.

3 penalty misses in 2 matches tell me it's perhaps time for someone else to step up now! Fortunately the miss didn't cost us this time and we held on for 3 points.

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by thefmjock

[thefmjock]

Season 1 - Winter Transfer Window

We're in a really poor financial position so there was not much room to manoeuvre in the window and I didn't rally have any plans to change anything.

That was until I realised my error with Vasco Sousa's loan deal, with the player recalled for not playing enough in his preferred position.

He had a big influence in my midfield 3 and so it was essential he was replaced.

 

IN - Hugo Sotelo (Loan from Celta Vigo) - No Fee, £1.8k wages

Another young talented midfielder who fill step in and fill the void left by the departure of Vasco Sousa.

 

 

[Jogo Bonito]

I was quite impressed at the squad Ibiza has (I wonder what the attraction may be?) and think it won't be long before you're at the next level.

I like sunny Mediterranean islands, and this is a great choice of smaller club to build up. Best of luck.