Matty Aqua Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 (edited) Welcome to Vizela, a team that currently plays in Portugal's top-flight football league Liga Portugal Bwin. Futebol Clube de Vizela is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vizela, Braga District. Founded in 1939, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal Bwin and plays its home games at the Estádio do Futebol Clube de Vizela, with a capacity of 6,100. A small club that has risen through the ranks of the Portuguese divisions over the last few seasons. Portuguese football has been dominated by 3 teams Porto, Benfica, and Sporting CP with only 2 other teams in history winning a title Belenenses in 1945 and Boavista in 2001. Vizela is currently in 16th position after a run of 12 games without a win in this FM save universe mid-January after sacking former manager Pablo Villar, so an immediate change in form is required to survive in the top-flight. The long-term plan is to become the top club in Portugal. Backroom Staff - Assistant Manager My first task after an assessment of the club was to bring in an assistant manager, again with a financial budget in mind I'm not willing to buy anyone out of their existing contracts or overpay in wages. I also wanted some sort of semblance of realism so I employed a young Australian assistant to help me in the dugout. Diogo Ferreira is a good fit for the assistant manager role as he is from Melbourne, is of similar age, fluent in Portuguese and is reasonable in wages. I've already asked the board to send him on a coaching course as developing my backroom staff is something I want to achieve. I am hoping his language fluency can help smooth the transition of an English-speaking manager. Diogo Ferreira has a Professional personality and good working with youngsters attribute which is important for a club like Vizela who is going to rely on player sales to generate income. Diogo Ferreira is the only backroom staff I have added so far, there are many expiring staff contracts I will attend to at the season's end. Squad Overview FC Vizela consists of 4 teams, competing in various competitions and has a very diverse squad consisting of 17 different nationalities. First Team Spoiler Liga Portugal Bwin Taça de Portugal Allianz Cup Arranged by current ability, Nuno Moreira (Winger), Samu (Central Mid) and Anderson Jesus (Centre-Back) are our key players. The senior squad consists of 24 players from 16 different nations. Majority of players have played at bigger clubs at the youth level. Under 23s Spoiler Portuguese U23 Premier League Miguel Constantinescu, José Sampaio and Nikola Bursać have the potential to be part of the first-team squad. Under 23s will be used for senior players to pick up sharpness & conditioning. A stronger focus on technical coaches will be implemented to get players ready for first-team football. Under 19s & Under 19s B-Team Spoiler Portuguese U19 First Division Ary needs to develop mentals and gain experience at a higher level. João Ferreira 6'2" being re-trained as a left-sided Centre-Back. A stronger focus on physical development to develop players for first-team football in the future. --- First Team Analysis Taking over mid-season means there is no pre-season to tinker with the tactic, it's about diagnosing the problems and creating solutions as quickly as possible. Looking at the attributes of our players allows me to spot the strengths and weaknesses of the starting lineup. ~ (Players are organised by position) Defenders Below-average physical ability. Average to slightly above average mental ability. Decent physical ability. Anderson Jesus has good Concentration and Determination. Midfielders Average physical ability. Average to slightly above average mental ability. Experienced midfielder Samu has exceptional mental attributes for this level - (Aggression, Bravery, Determination, Teamwork and Work Rate) Physical attributes are average. Attackers Below average technical ability. Alex Méndez has great First-Touch and Composure. Physical attributes are above average. Technical attributes are slightly above average for this level. Vizela is in 16th position and has conceded the highest amount of goals (33 goals conceded in 18 matches) The Expected Goals table shows we should have had 2 more goals scored and conceded 6 goals less. The goal output data shows me the obvious - that we are leaky in defence and not scoring. General performance data shows we have a good pass-completion ratio compared to the rest of the league. The team has been getting shots on target but not converting. The data shows defensively we are getting lots of blocks and lots of clearances and winning Aerial duels which is positive, but most of our defensive actions have come from deep in our box. Perhaps the defensive line has been too deep? maybe we are being pushed back too often by not retaining possession. In possession of the ball, we have been wasteful and our crosses have not been impactful. We currently have a few key players away on International duty for the upcoming matches. Tomás Silva has 13 Crossing attribute and only managed to complete 9% of his crosses. Collating all domestic league data 122 Shots attempted 22 On Target 18 Goals Judging by what the data tells me. we may not be making the best decision in front of the goal but we seem to have a decent return on shots on target. Samuel Essende has a 46% Shots on on-target ratio and a return of 7 goals, the only data available from the match against Boavista shows how deep positionally Essende has been playing. Below is Samuel Essende's average position vs Boavista and the 3 shot attempts at goal, he is sitting very deep. Below is Samuel Essende's average position vs Boavista and the 3 shot attempts at goal, he is sitting very deep in the previous formation. --- Tactic and Play-Style I want the formation to be structured to concede fewer goals and offer an attacking threat in transition, based on the information gathered in the data hub. The tactic considered for this squad now is a 4-4-1-1 based on the squad's strengths and weaknesses. Higher press to pressure the opponents on the ball. Attacking players in wide positions, central positions stay compact Monitoring the BBM role as it could leave too much of a gap in the middle if he roams too much on the pitch, despite Samu having 17 for Positioning the Inverted Winger and Box-to-box midfielder may take up the same space on the pitch. Target Forward able to hold up the ball and play quicker players into transition counter-attacks and also be a threat in the box (May change to a Deep-Lying Forward) *I will play a few games and make some necessary changes to the tactic, this is just a starting point. --- Club Dynamics One of the first things I do when taking the managerial position is create training schedules based on the style of play I am trying to implement, there is a lot of great information on the forums about training but this is just the way I approach it, some prefer to simply leave it to the assistant manager. I don't think there is a wrong way to train players providing you don't overload them, but I do believe you can get the maximum potential out of your players with specific training schedules and balancing rest, training, matches, and recovery, again I emphasize that you can train your players how you wish and there is no right or wrong way. I also focus on building Team Cohesion, Tactical Familiarity and Morale over the first few weeks, integrating specific training sessions that can improve those facets and benefit the squad's performance. FOCUS Fitness Pre-season is all about getting those kilometres in the legs, from my experience unfit players don't hit the season in good form and tend to become a bit fatigued and jaded in the February/March months. You don't want your promotion push to be hampered by players being too tired to play, do you? Morale Morale is linked to club atmosphere, general happiness of players regarding training and playing time on the pitch as well as confidence, Spending a few minutes having a chat with some of your players regarding their recent, training performance or solving some issues can see a change in attitude and up-turn in form. Players at the top of your hierarchy can potentially have an influence on less influential players below them. Tactical Familiarity Getting players to 100% tactical familiarity as soon as possible is crucial, I focus on one tactic and one mentality for the first few weeks to make sure that the base of what we are trying to achieve on the pitch is understood, then create the same tactic with a different mentality and train that as a secondary with some tweaks and adjustments (ex: width, tempo, passing, defensive lines) to make sure players have familiarity with alternative instructions, should I need to make in-game changes the players will be familiar with different options. Team Cohesion I put so much importance on Team Cohesion when joining a new club and there are multiple reasons as to why I do so. Team Cohesion can influence how your team gels together on the pitch, without Team Cohesion you will see players give away free kicks, penalties, set-piece goals, missed passes, and goal-scoring opportunities which can result in bad morale and players losing support in the manager quickly. There's also a chance you're managing in a country where you don't have language fluency yet, and potentially neither do some players, this has an effect on the pitch as players will often have neutral or bad body language and not feel comfortable on the pitch, so it's important to have a culture where players are all on the same page and support the manager. I've set up mentoring groups factoring in the social hierarchy status of players, personality, time at the club, position and unit of players. At this point, both leaders Anderson Jesus and Samu are not willing to sign new deals but they are the leaders of the dressing room with experience and good personalities. I'd like to sign both players on extensions to keep some continuity throughout the group also Vizela doesn't have much money to spend and is still a small club, so replacing ready-made senior players won't be easy. Alex Méndez is a player I think could go on to play for bigger clubs, so his short time under the influence of our team captain Samu may have a small but positive effect. If you have read this far, thanks for reading! you can find me on Twitter or you can check out some of my other threads on the forums that I update sporadically. Union Berlin - Developing Football within a City Saint-Étienne - All that Glitters is Green Edited January 31 by Matty Aqua 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 (edited) --- January 2024 --- LIGA PORTUGAL BWIN Our first match is against Chaves, who is currently in 10th position under manager Moreno and I have to say it was a great debut match as manager! The high-press 4-4-1-1 tactic worked well against Chaves's deep 3-4-2-1 creating an outstanding amount of shots. 32 shots and 18 on target compared to Chaves 5 shots in total is a great sign the players are adapting well to the tactic Only 3 clear cut chances Samuel Essende scores, Tomás Silva the assist and picks up the man of the match award, and Vizela has won their first match in 13 games! --- LIGA PORTUGAL BWIN Two wins on the bounce and another clean sheet vs Farense! Vizela moves one step away from the relegation battle as the January transfer window is about to shut. Diogo Nascimento scores his first goal of the season and is very quickly becoming a favourite player of mine. --- Transfer Deadline Day --- I didn't have any money to spend in January. A 6,000-seater stadium that averages a crowd of 2,000 for home games isn't going to bring in much money despite the recent turn in form and excitement around the club. Not only did we defeat Farense but they did us a small favour by selling former Vizela player Luiz Felipe to Nashville giving us a small amount of transfer money. Unwilling to spend that money on a permanent transfer I opted to look for loans to solidify us in the Portuguese top tier and move Vizela up the table. Spoiler --- I made multiple offers to loan Porto midfielder Romário Baró but he rejected every offer (annoying! 😡) Baró has not seen much game time at Porto and is transfer listed for €5M but he opted to remain with Porto and rejected loans from Feyenoord and Anderlecht. I've shortlisted him as a loan option for the summer transfer window, sent my scouts to watch him, and I'll attend some Porto matches to look at him in action and see if I can convince him his future is with Vizela! --- I completed a loan deal for Gonçalo Esteves from Sporting CP on deadline day. We needed cover at the RB position and captain Samu wanted me to strengthen the defence, time was limited as the clock was ticking down. But I am happy with the signing, Esteves joins us for the rest of the season. --- Starting the campaign with two wins and adding some depth at right-back is a good start to end things, Samuel Essende picked up Player of the Month and is in red-hot form with 6 goals this month. I'll play through the rest of the season and most likely do an end-of-season update. Still, for now, I'm focusing on contract extensions for players in the current squad who can help us in the upcoming season and scouting players in the Portugal and Spanish regions. Starting the campaign with two wins and adding some depth at right-back is a good start to end things, Samuel Essende picked up Player of the Month and is in red-hot form with 6 goals this month (5 goals under the previous manager). I'm focusing on contract extensions for players in the current squad who can help us in the upcoming season and scouting players in Portugal and Spanish regions although our scouting knowledge is decent in certain South American countries, I don't have the staff to scout multiple nations yet so I'm focusing on free transfers and offering trials to try and find some gems! - Thanks for reading! Edited January 30 by Matty Aqua 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 (edited) --- February 2024 --- LIGA PORTUGAL BWIN A draw vs Estoril Praia in a rather uneventful match, they didn't create much but we didn't either. The 5-2-2-1 formation was heard to break down, maybe I should have pressed them even higher? GK Fabijan Buntić picked up Player of the Match despite Estoril Praia only having 1 shot on target. --- Gil Vicente scored the first goal and despite not winning the possession battle, we thrashed Gil Vicente 7-1! 19 shots, 12 shots on target, Samuel Essende scored a hat trick and Alex Méndez scored 2 goals. Samuel Essende makes the team of the week after that performance, Ballon d'Or form? --- Our next match will be the toughest yet, we face FC Porto at home. February has been a busy month for FC Porto, but Sérgio Conceição has them flying at the moment and hasn't lost a game this month winning their last 5 matches. I'm preparing for FC Porto by focusing the training for the week on getting tactically familiar with our defensive structure. FC Porto striker Mehdi Taremi has scored 7 this month and is in form. Both Mehdi Taremi and Samuel Essende have 11 goals for the season Taremi has hit the ground running having only featured in 8 matches this season. We scored 2 goals early and held off Porto well, very happy with the result. Alex Méndez scored early and in-form striker Samuel Essende scored 6 minutes later! --- Contract Extensions Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Ending February with a bit of housekeeping, I managed to sign some players on new deals to secure the first-team squad next season. This lightens the stress on a very small scouting team and keeps some continuity within the group next season. I also need to try to sell some of these players in the future to generate some income. Edited January 24 by Matty Aqua 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 (edited) I will add some more to the OP over the next few days, anyone know why I cannot change image sizes? I've also added a scout to our recruitment team, tho it's still limited Adolfo Valencia brings us experience and knowledge of nations such as Colombia, Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela. I'll set his recruitment task to focus on Portugal at the moment to have him gain knowledge of Portugal. Spoiler Edited January 30 by Matty Aqua Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 (edited) --- March 2024 --- LIGA PORTUGAL BWIN The win against FC Porto was certainly a great achievement as it moved us well away from the relegation zone and boosted morale but there was no time to rest on our laurels as we have a tough month ahead facing Braga, Benfica and Famalicão. We matched up with Braga well, an entertaining game with both teams hitting the bar and near misses! We should have held Braga to a draw but an unlucky deflection opened an opportunity for Ricardo Horta right in front of goal in the 82nd minute! Samuel Essende and Matías Lacava are the goal scorers for Vizela. --- We have Benfica next! Facing another 4-4-2 After weeks of training and strategizing, I decided to implement the 4-1-4-1 formation for our next game. With this carefully crafted plan, I was confident that we had a strong chance of success. I was confident that we had a strong chance of success as we went into half-time 0 - 0 but another defensive mistake by Bruno Wilson cost us a penalty. I'm starting to regret his contract extension. '59 minute - João Mário scores a penalty. '90th minute - The Benfica defender closes down Matías Lacava leaving Diogo Nascimento open ...and he slots the goal into the top corner levelling the score 1 - 1 The action didn't stop there, keeping the 4-1-4-1 formation, I substituted Samuel Essende in the 85th minute. Samuel Essende had played well, but he looked fatigued, Jardel comes on to offer something different upfront. A defensive error sees a stray pass intercepted by Matías Lacava who quickly runs to the byline whipping in a pin-point cross to Jardel... '95th minute - Jardel scores!! in some last-minute madness! Yes! you are reading that correctly! 2 late goals were scored to secure three points in the match against Benfica! Benfica maintained 59% possession but both teams were relatively well matched looking at the stats. Despite the average ratings being low, the stats tell a different story, I'm happy with how we played and thought we deserved something from the match - 3 points a great result. We've defeated FC Porto and Benfica in my first few weeks as manager, surely the fans are excited about the future! --- Despite defeating Benfica we didn't carry the momentum into the Famalicão match. Famalicão had the momentum all match with 17 shots at goal, Alex Méndez did equalize in the 83rd minute off a deflected free-kick but a minute later Otso Liimatta put Famalicão ahead. --- Thanks for reading! Edited January 30 by Matty Aqua 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixPointer Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 PORTO & Benfica Sublime sir! turned the season around and some more. I love how simple tactics are, very effective clearly. Look forward to reading more 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 Thanks for reading as always! I like the simpleness of the tactic as the individual attributes of the team bring lots of creativity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoOSTAR Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Can you share the 4-1-4-1 variation as well? Great read and great story you are bringing here! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 (edited) 15 hours ago, JoOSTAR said: Can you share the 4-1-4-1 variation as well? Great read and great story you are bringing here! Sure! and thanks for reading! The idea behind this tactic is to be solid in defence and still maintain the ability to press the opposition. Slightly stronger emphasis on counter-attacking against stronger opponents (Porto, Benfica, Sporting) Utilise a Deep Lying Forward to drop deep and connect the play instead of a Target Forward as the Target Forward can get isolated. Depending on the opposition I switch the Advanced Playmaker role to a Central Midfielder and the Mezzala to a Box-to-box midfielder. A positive Mentality increases the individual mentalities of all players which makes a naturally defensive tactic a bit more attacking. Edited January 30 by Matty Aqua 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 (edited) --- Youth Intake --- Head of Youth Development coach Cristiana Teixeira has just announced the first prospects from the youth academy, only 8 players received professional contracts. Despite these players being a few seasons away from senior football it's promising. Tomás Cruz and Carlos Sousa look like they have the potential for first-team football in the future. All players will be placed in the under-19s squad for now to develop their attributes and see regular minutes on the pitch preparing them for senior football in the future. Tomás Cruz 15 years old and 16 finishing! - by far the most exciting prospect from the intake. Training as a Deep-Lying Forward to improve Balance, Passing and Teamwork. Individual training focus set to improve Balance. Carlos Sousa 6'2" and won't be afraid to get stuck in with 18 Aggression. Training as a Box-to-box midfielder. Sousa may never be the quickest player in the world but improving his mental and technical skills could make him a force in the middle of the pitch. Pedro Carrapiço Tall Centre-Back and great Jumping Reach for a 16-year-old. Training as a Ball-playing defender. He could develop into a squad player. Vasco Fernandes Bit of a project as Fernandes is a bit small and lacks the acceleration and strength to be a top-class Full-Back (could improve?) Technical and mental attributes are rather low but has the potential to improve. Decent with the ball on both feet and 15 Natural Fitness Training as an Inverted Full-Back (L) Ricardo Cabrita Training as a Wing-Back (R) Great Natural Fitness for 15 The tackling attribute is good, but needs to improve positioning and pick up some pace. João Cunha Short and not very strong Cunha is going to have to rely on his ability to be in the right spot at the right time to score goals. Training as a Poacher. Individual Focus on Attacking Movement. Dinis Madanços 15 Natural Fitness and a good first touch. Lots of room for development. Speaks Portuguese, English, French and Spanish at 16 years old. Training as an Advanced Playmaker. Individual training focus on Attacking Movement. Could be a squad player in the future. Carlitos Training as a Wide Midfielder (L) The ability to play the ball on both feet already at 16 is good. Initially a natural winger, but I want the coaches to develop his playmaking ability. --- Overall not a bad intake, I wouldn't class this as an outstanding youth intake but it's solid. Our Head of Youth Development coach Cristiana Teixeira is out of contract at the end of the season and although it's a solid first youth intake I'm not sure she is worth €4,100 per week. I'm also prepared to look around for other candidates for the roles based on the fact she has a Balanced personality, there may be better development coaches who could get the very best out of our youth academy prospects available at the end of the season. Director of Football Valter Vieira is also out of contract at the end of the season and although I'm not utilising the DOF in a "realistic sense" as I am handling scouting and contracts - I still think it's realistic to have a DOF at the club. Thanks for reading! (All Newgen faces are from the NewGan Face pack brought to you by the guys at View from the Touchline, the website link is here) Edited January 30 by Matty Aqua Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 (edited) --- April 2024 --- LIGA PORTUGAL BWIN A routine win with a slightly rotated squad, 19-year-old Ary starts as the striker to rest Samuel Essende. Samuel Essende's goal-scoring form has dried up recently as his loan spell is coming to an end, he has signed permanently with Vizela in real life unfortunately he is not interested in signing in this universe. Estrela Amadora didn't threaten us throughout the match and a solid 2-0 win tho we had only 2 shots on target. Loan players Matías Lacava and Aleksandar Busnić score the winners for us, both will most likely return to their parent clubs in the summer. --- A disappointing loss to a struggling Moreirense team this season. Samuel Essende struggled to have any influence on the match. Moreirense continues to fight relegation dragging us back into the fight with them tho we still have a few points of safety. --- Looking at the average position we played too narrow and probably didn't press Portimonense enough allowing them too much time on the ball. 2 losses in a row at this time of the year is something that needs to be rectified. Some minor injuries, fatigue and general complacency have set it, I need to make sure it doesn't become permanent. --- After reminding the team the job is not done! - they came out and blitzed Arouca 3-0 Arouca played a 4-4-2 and we have done pretty well against the 4-4-2 and had a more difficult time against the 4-2-3-1 and the 4-3-3 I've noticed in my short time as manager. Our best 11 return to the starting line-up and put in a shift, 27 shots, 13 on target and XG of 3.46. I felt like we probably should have scored a few more of our chances but happy with the 3 points that secure us for next season in the top flight! --- May 2024 --- With relegation no longer looming over us, I decided to get some game time into players contracted for next season and beyond. Unfortunately, Captain Samu still isn't interested in signing a new deal with Vizela. I was expecting Sporting CP to play their 5-2-3 formation but instead, Rúben Amorim played a 4-2-3-1 and they comfortably defeated us as we yet again struggled to match up against the 4-2-3-1. Nuno Santos put on a clinic scoring a hat-trick for Sporting CP and Samuel Essende picked up a knee injury early in the match and looks like he has sadly played his final game for Vizela before returning to SM Caen in the summer. --- A frustrating match to watch! Chaves had 6 shots and 6 on target scoring 3 goals! Again, I persisted with a rotated squad of mostly players who are contracted to Vizela next season. Miguel Constantinescu joined on a free from Benfica at the start of the season and is emerging as a young prospect who will most likely be promoted to the senior team next season. Chaves take the 3 points and thankfully we're not in danger of relegation. The final game of the season was a goal-fest! Nuno Moriera and Alex Méndez scored 2 goals and Anderson Jesus thumped home a header in extra time. 19-year-old midfielder Miguel Constantinescu had another solid match picking up an assist and finishing with an average rating of 7.4. --- Thanks for reading! Next post will be an end of season/next season update. Edited January 31 by Matty Aqua 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixPointer Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 The sad thing about really good loan players that don’t have a good buy out clause. Hard to not become attached. A really good season though, looking forward to your transfer dealings 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 (edited) --- End of Season --- At the end of the season, the board allocated 65k for a transfer budget so the majority of the transfers will have to be free transfers. With players moving back to their parent clubs and other contracts ending, some positions in the squad need immediate attention. I have cast the net far and wide looking for players that have contracts that are about to expire offering trials to as many players to gain knowledge as possible. Samuel Essende's return to SM Caen leaves a big hole in the striker position he finished with 13 goals for the season. Samu not interested in re-signing with us next season means I am in the market for a midfielder and I'm still very much chasing a loan deal for Romário Baró and he still is very much uninterested. I'm conscious of not blocking pathways for younger players Miguel Constantinescu and José Sampaio will be promoted to the senior team next season, and both players will play minutes in the first team next season. So the main philosophy of this off-season is based on patience, I'm preparing for players to be sold and funds are limited, as much as I would like to build around some of the youngsters in the squad such as Diogo Nascimento and Alex Méndez I'm anticipating bigger clubs putting in bids so having the patience to make the right replacement signing will be key this window. The above picture shows how the squad look with all the loan players returning to their parent clubs and as you can see there are many gaps to fill in the starting 11 as well as a lack of depth on the bench so it's going to be a very busy window period. Replacing Samuel Essende's goals won't be an easy task. My first off-season task was to review the backroom staff and make a few changes. I managed to sign a new Head of Youth Development coach Edgar Cardoso as I felt he was a better fit with higher working with youngsters attribute and Fairly Professional listed as his personality, he also wanted much cheaper wages compared to Cristiana Teixeira and was a better all-round fit for the club. Valter Vieira signed a new deal, there also weren't many options for DOF that financially we could afford anyway and I could have opted to go without a DOF but for realism purposes, I resigned him and his a decent scout nonetheless. Our financial position is going to need some attention, since we do not have a big stadium or a large status among the rest of the football clubs the only way we can make money is through player sales and potentially getting into a European competition but for now, that seems a long way off as I imagine next season we can aim to finish mid-table. Edited February 5 by Matty Aqua 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaosReiter Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Really enjoyed this post, very immersive, learned a lot from it. The only thing missing is the thought process behind tactical decisions after the very first part in which using data hub to repair the team, really want more of that. Following. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted February 5 Author Share Posted February 5 21 hours ago, ChaosReiter said: Really enjoyed this post, very immersive, learned a lot from it. The only thing missing is the thought process behind tactical decisions after the very first part in which using data hub to repair the team, really want more of that. Following. Noted! I will add some information regarding the tactical decisions I make if readers are interested in more of that! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Aqua Posted February 5 Author Share Posted February 5 (edited) --- Off-Season --- The summer transfer window was a frustrating experience, Our captain Samu who refused to sign a new deal was the first to sign elsewhere signing a a deal with Anderlecht on decent wages and now has a transfer value of over €20,000,000. I was anticipating clubs attempting to pry away some of my young players, but I was unprepared for the board to sell half my starting eleven! At the end of the season, there were rumours of some clubs that were interested in Matheus Pereira and before I could even negotiate a better deal he was sold for €1,600,000 to Luton Town. The board decided to sell many players that I thought we could have received better transfer fees for and there wasn't much I could do about it, Alex Méndez was another player I thought we could have received more for but the board were adamant about selling him to Espanyol for €1,100,000 was a deal to good to turn down. Anderson Jesus was a player I recently signed to a new deal but I was anticipating him wanting to move if a bigger club came in. AZ Alkmaar came in with a €3,000,000 bid and the board accepted immediately. I made a few other smaller deals for players I thought wouldn't see much game time in the future or benefit the club. Jardel was sold for €180,000 which was mostly profit as he had signed on a free transfer at the start of the season and only found the back of the net twice for Vizela, Dylan Saint-Louis and Iker Unzeata were both deemed not good enough and moved on to generate some transfer flexibility and get the wages off the books. After missing out on many targets due to not offering high enough wages (because I refused to overpay) and players choosing destinations of more reputable status I was quietly content with the summer window transfer dealings. --- --- New Signings --- Tomás Pozzo - Free (Indepiente) Tomás Pozzo was the first signing I made and I committed to him being part of our plan early, Pozzo had impressed me with 3 goals and 3 assists in 13 games for Argentian side Indepiente so I had my eye on him early throughout the trials and fought off other interested clubs to his signature. I don't plan on shifting away from the 4-4-1-1 formation and I'm very content with the Wide Midfielder role on the right which Tomás Pozzo will be a huge upgrade on from last season. Tomás Pozzo already has a transfer value of over €6,000,000 - so I 'think' this is a good signing, I am excited to slot him into the starting lineup next season. Good technique, Flair, Determination and Balance. Resolute personality, Consistent performer and enjoys big matches! Reasonable wages and transfer value. Preferred left foot and reasonable right foot. He will be playing as the starting (R) Wide MIdfielder. --- Omar Janneh - Free (Atlético Madrid) Released from Atlético Madrid, I kept a keen eye on Omar Janneh throughout the season wondering if he would re-sign with Atlético Madrid but he agreed to a contract with Vizela until 2027 for a very low €400p/w. I signed him with a view of being a bit of a project player, standing 6'2" with great First Touch, Heading, Aggression, Determination and Balance at such a young age I figured it was worth a chance to try to develop Omar Janneh into a future Target Forward. Omar Janneh isn't quite ready for first-team football in my opinion and will most likely be loaned out and monitored throughout his development. 18 years old, good potential. Tall, Aggressive and Determined player (typical Diego Simeone) Low wages, low risk - high reward! Will look to find a loan for Jannah in Portugal to gain fluency in Portuguese. --- Cassiano - Free (Estoril Praia) Veteran Cassiano agreed to a one-year deal with Vizela after being released by Estoril Praia despite scoring 12 goals for them last season. Cassiano has played for Vizela in the past and has good work rate and leadership qualities and experience. I signed Cassiano as a backup striker option despite being a rather slow player. He was significantly cheaper wages and can slot into the Target Forward role if needed, I know it's not ideal to sign players of this age but I need to add depth as well as players to our starting 11. Initially, I thought he could have been a decent mentor as well but he doesn't enjoy big matches and only has a balanced personality so not particularly traits I wish to pass on to prospects from the youth academy. Good Leadership and Work Rate. Can play Target Forward Role despite lack of acceleration. --- Vasco Fernandes - Free (Casa Pia) Another veteran signed for depth, experience and leadership. Vasco Fernandes has signed for one season and although he isn't the quickest his mental attributes are still shapr and he can play both DM positions and CB. Anticipates situations well. Decent marking and Brave. Edited February 7 by Matty Aqua 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Naysay Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 Ouch, and a lot of people would say it's unrealistic but in reality the board might for either nefarious or altruistic reasons do that irl. I hope you stick with the save though because I am enjoying it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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