[FM24] Lions Gibraltar - Build a Club and build a nation

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League Round of 16:

We drew A. Madrid who play in the Spanish First Division. Spain is 2nd in the nation club rankings and A. Madrid are 14th in the club rankings. This should likely be a defeat for us, given their ranking and players.

First leg at home and I will take a draw for sure.

We took home a victory away from home and move on!!!  Both games were relatively close on the stats page too.

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UEFA Champions League Quarter Finals:

For the quarter finals we are up against Paris SG who play in the Ligue 1 Uber Eats. France is 5th in the nation club rankings and PSG are 2nd in the club rankings. We played them in the league phase and managed a draw, but realistically, we should not have much chance.

Well, that wasn't pretty as we were soundly beaten.

Back home for the second leg and managed a victory! Too little, too late, but a nice way to finish off the competition. We were still outplayed which shows there is more work to be done.

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End of Season 9 (31/32) Analysis:

The team average rating improved by 1.7, improving from 65.7 to 67.4 moving us closer to England Championship level(68.1 average).  The season over season growth rate for the squad has been very consistent at around 1.7 per season or so as you can see from the chart lower down. I think that is directly correlated with the growth in the club reputation driving the quality of player we can see and who is willing to join the club. Our scouting staff is now well developed so we are getting broad visibility.  We do have a few players now developing very nicely for the club which may help get a boost to the rating growth. Based on the growth rate, we will surpass the Championship target by the end of this coming season. That should make us competitive, with an outside shot to win the Champions League. This past season, we made it to the Quarterfinals and had a decent showing against the eventual winners PSG a result in line with the squad quality assessment.

Reminder that the rating for each of the leagues below is the average of the top 10 rating for each position across the entire league. The appropriate top 10 average for the positions in my tactic are then slotted into the chart and averaged across the 11 ratings. Only a few teams in each league would have a player in each position that ranks in the top 10, so by using this as a target, it provides a measure of when the raw attribute ratings of the team would position it near the top of the league being compared against. We all know that cohesion, morale, happiness etc. gives the human manager the edge, so when my team hits the rating for one of the leagues, I would expect it to be able to win, or at a minimum compete to win, the league. I have seen that team can successfully compete with most of the teams in a league above their rating. This means that once I can get the Lions to the ENG Champ level, we should be able to compete in the Champions League.

We now have four positions at / above the target: Left Fullback, right fullback, left central defender and attacking midfield. Blasco's rating declined slightly, so BWM dropped a bit under the rating. Rojas at GK should develop to, or past, the target this season.  We have high potential players at DLP and AF, so they could also develop to the target..

Looking at the graph of ratings growth and I find it interesting that it has settled into an almost straight line of growth.

 

The majority of the end of season squad is signed on for the upcoming season as well. The only exception is Merino at AP who is on loan.

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POSITIONAL REVIEW (I have highlighted homegrown players in blue in the charts) I have again been messing around with ways to show player progression by position to try and not miss any up and coming youngsters in the lower teams.

GK - Champ target = 62.9
Rojas Fedorushchenko is our clear starter. He played all the tough games and did quite well this season. Sidibe played a lot of the domestic games and continues to improve statistically. The worrisome save percentage from previous seasons was much better this season. Santos was a new signing with high potential to develop as contingency in case Rojas leaves.

Rojas grew very nicely last season and is close to the target rating, so a bit more growth and he will be there.

Fedorushchenko grew nicely with a one point jump in a few attributes. He should now make the target rating and we will see how much he can develop. I have him on GK Reactions training to see if we can boost his reflexes.

Sidibe is still growing very well with his scouting report saying he is close to full potential. Interestingly, that is what Rojas' report said last season and then he had a nice development year, so we will see what happens. He has become homegrown now, so will definitely be our backup for a long time as it frees up another spot on the European rosters for an import.

Plan - Start Rojas. Give Sidibe playing time to grow and if any playtime is left, give Santos a match or two.

 

CD - Champ Target = 69.2
The numbers from the central defence are getting better. Puljic in particular had a good season statistically. Puljic, David and Albiach were basically a 3 man rotation with Fredricson and Morata getting some filler time. Puljic had the best numbers with David and Albiach close to each other.

Puljic is at target with slight growth. David grew nicely and should hit target this coming season. Albiach had a bit of growth and is in a good spot to be the primary backup again. McNeil is ready for the 2 backup role to get some playtime and see if the growth can be encouraged.

Plan - Start Puljic and David with  Albiach ias primary backup. McNeil is ok as the 4th backup as well.

 

Left FB - Champ Target = 65.8

FB seems to be a position that generates good match ratings in our tactic. Konate was the starter with Leyland and Chiab as the primary backup this past season and all three of them having good stats with Konate having the best.

 

Leyland continued to develop and his scouting report says he could improve significantly, so will definitely keep him playing to see how far he will develop. He plays both right and left FB, and will be the primary backup this coming season.  Kept Chiab around as a contingency plan as Leyland is likely to end up as the right FB.

Konate is above the target rating, so don't need to upgrade this spot.

Loving the growth from Leyland he had 24 starts evenly spaced through the season, which helped him be rested enough to train as well.

Plan - start Konate with Chiab as backup and Roman as contingency. Make Leyland the primary backup at RFB.

 

Right FB - Champ Target = 65.8

FB seems to be a position that generates good match ratings in our tactic. Biten Valere was the starter with Leyland and Waidner backing him up. Biten Valere had a good statistical season, so no reason to change.

Biten Valere improved slightly and is above target. Waidner declined a bit and Leyland developed a lot. Not much happening with the youngsters.

Plan - start Biten Valere with Leyland as the primary backup.

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BWM - Champ Target = 71.0
The BWM stats aren't great with our tactic, so I lean towards the match ratings to give additional insights. Blasco started, Edwards was played in league matches to see if he would develop. I started to play Lambert more towards the end of the season when it was clear Edwards wasn't developing. Blasco played well enough as did Edwards and Lambert.

Blasco's rating is pretty much at target. Our new project will be Pizarro now that he has had a year of training and is showing good development, so he will get a chance this coming season to show if he can keep growing.

Plan - Blasco is the starter and at target. Pizarro to get 20'ish starts - we have El Azzouzi and Lambert/Edwards for depth.

 

DLP - Champ Target = 69.7
El Azzouzi was the starter with Chirivella as the main backup. Junyent got 8 games and Muller filled in on occasion as well, but mostly played ST, so didn't include his stats. Stats wise, they all played pretty well with Juyent's stats skewed from playing mostly at AM.

Junyent is the best DLP, but is our starter at AM. El Azzouzi was the primary starter to see if his growth would continue, but he didn't grow much. Too early to give up on him, but I expect there to be options to bring in at or above the target rating. Chirivella has started to decline due to age and won't be back unless he signs on as a fringe player.

Interesting to look at El Azzouzi's development. He still had a number of attributes increase by 1, but not the ones that affect the rating much. Further support to the argument to keep him around.

Plan - Find an upgrade and start El Azzouzi until then.

 

Winger - Champ Target = 69.6
I am analyzing LW and RW together as all the top players can play both. Vincent and Marek were the starters, Holcroft, Abid and Juninho got a lot of play time as well. All the wingers played very well in the support role, so no action required based on the statistics.

Vincent showed a nice development burst last season. Holcroft's growth continued at a bit of a slower rate, so we will give him playtime again to see if the growth returns.

Vincent had progression in a lot of attributes last season - maybe he is a late bloomer and will grow again

Holcroft's had attribute growth across the board, hope that continues.

Plan - start Vincent and Marek with Holcroft to get league time to further his development. Try to find a winger at target rating to replace Marek.

 

Advanced Playmaker - Champ Target = 68.4
Junyent and Merino played most of the matches. Merino had good stats, but Junyent's are outstanding. He is doing it all, scoring, assists.

Junyent declined slightly in rating but I think he may have played too much along with injury. Hopefully that trend changes next season. He is above the rating target. Merino is a loan, so won't be back.

Plan - Start Junyent and try to find a good backup option. Meireles is proficient here, so can backup ST and AM.

 

Advanced Forward - Champ Target = 68.2
Muller was the starter and scored 42 goals!!!!. Meireles scored 24 goals as well. Both of them have very good stats with Muller better in the air and Meireles better dribbling. 

Muller had nice growth and if he does it again, he will make it to target. Meireles recovered a bit, but that is just likely the ratings "wobble" from attributes being right at the rounding point.

Plan - Start Muller with Meireles as backup.

[mpm2342]

Upcoming Season recruiting needs based on the Championship target:

GK         Gap: 0.6% - We are good
CD         Gap: 0%, 1.1% - We are good - opportunistically look for another backup
FB          Gap: 1.3%, 0.3% - We are good
BWM     Gap: 0.4% - We are good
DLP        Gap: 2.1% - Need an upgrade to pair with El Azzouri - Urgent
Winger  Gap: 1.5%, 2.1%  - Look for at least one upgrade - - Urgent
AP          Gap: 0.6% - We are good
ST           Gap: 2.1% - We are good - opportunistically look for a young backup.

Only a couple of urgent needs. Next season we will switch to the Premier league as a target.

[mpm2342]

Fast forward to the end of June and Gibraltar slightly improved it's rankings in the Nation Club coefficient thanks to our strong run and the club improved a lot to 29 in the European club rankings.  Gibraltar has not made any significant improvement and the HC is still there. I will likely abandon the build a nation part of this if I can't get the HC gig. The league moved up 7 more spots which has been helpful in getting players. Our club ranking improved a little bit, and we stayed at 2 stars for reputation. No additional upgrade for the youth facilities has come available to request. We have a very healthy cash balance and the board gave me a generous transfer and wage budget that I will not be able to spend.

Scouting budget is re-upped at world, so don't need to adjust.

Signed a couple of players and signed Merino for 2.5M at the end of his loan. He is a model citizen and good enough to play, so will be key to help develop other players personalities over time..

Jimmy Deniau is our new DLP. He has a rating of 71.2 and a great personality. Signed him for 8M

Metzler is our new LW with a rating of 72.4. Signed him for 1.9M

The current situation looks like this.

Updated Current Season recruiting needs based on the Championship target:

GK         Gap: 0.6% - We are good
CD         Gap: 0%, 1.1% - We are good - opportunistically look for another backup
FB          Gap: 1.3%, 0.3% - We are good
BWM     Gap: 0.4% - We are good
DLP        Gap: 2.1% 1.5% - We are good
Winger  Gap: 1.5%, 2.1%  2.8% - Continue to look for an upgrade for RW - not urgent
AP          Gap: 0.6% 1.2% - We are good - Junyent moves here from DLP with the signing of Deniau
ST           Gap: 2.1% - Now the "worst" position, but Muller has a ton of potential, so am not going to replace him and we are good - opportunistically look for a young backup

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League Champions Path Second Qualifying Round:

We entered the competition this season in the second round against Tobyl. Tobyl plays in the Kazakhstan Premier League. Kazakhstan is 32nd in the nation club rankings and Tobyl are 266th in the club rankings. We should be able to win this round fairly easily.

Nice victory in the first game, not by as much margin as I would have thought, but will take it.

Played a number of the second tier players and came away with another victory.

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Silly me for thinking the team was set for the season . We are at the end of July and it feels like the entire team has been under attack from the vultures. So far El Azzouzi, Junyent, Puljic and David have forced their way out. I was trying to hold onto David, but he started skipping practice, so I had to let him go. Interestingly, I got a good loan offer for him with no future clause and £300K in extra fees for us. He accepted to go there after I rejected all the transfers. Will be interesting to see what happens at the end of the season as he is still under contract for one more year.

El Azzouzi was going to be a backup this season, so was ok to let him go. Got £975K +30% for him after siging him for 325K 3 seasons ago

Junyent was signed last season as a free transfer and was sold for 800K +40%. He was going to be the starter at AM. Fortunately we signed a better player to replace him in El Mourabet.

Puljic and David were our two starting centre backs, so it hurts to lose them.  Puljic signed last season for 450K and sold for 750K + 40%. David was signed for 400K and we are getting 300K for the loan and will either have him as a player next season, or will get a transfer fee then. The replacement options were not good as our scouts were not able to find better players who were willing to join us. I ended up signing one and loaning in 3 for 4 total replacements (went a bit overboard).

The vultures are also after Blasco, Rojas and Biten Valere, but so far they have not shown much interest in leaving.

New Signings:

El Mourabet is rated 71.7 as an AP which is an improvement on Junyent's 69.6.

The 4 central defenders are: Gauld (67.7), Mepham (64.4), Ochoa (66.6) and Klein (66.1). All of them are rated lower than Puljic (69.2) and David (68.1). Will have to check again in January and see if I can find a really good one. In the meantime, I will rotate the new guys and see who plays the best.

 

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League Champions Path Third Qualifying Round:

Next up is Derry who play in the Irish Premier League. Ireland is 25th in the nation club rankings and Derry are 118th in the club rankings. We should be able to win this round fairly easily.

First leg in Ireland and a draw. Fairly close match, hope for better on the return leg.

Second leg at home and a more positive result with the Lions in control of the match.

 

UEFA Champions League Champions Path Playoff Round:

Next up is AIK who play in the Swedish Premier League. Sweden is 20th in the nation club rankings and AIK are 86th in the club rankings. Getting tougher matches now, but we should be able to win this round. We played them a few years ago with the away team winning both matches.

First match away and a solid victory

Played a lot of backups in the home leg and came away with a draw. Won the round, so am happy.

[mpm2342]

On to the League phase and we have drawn a decent lineup of opponents:

I would predict 4 wins, 2 loses and 2 games that could go either way.  We should be able to make it past the league phase.

[mpm2342]

Signed two more players during the transfer window:

Joao Carlos as an 18 yr old to develop at CB and add to the homegrown contingent. Trying to find players with good personalities to build the core of the team around and he fits that for sure.

Castro is signed to be depth at DLP and AM as we are a little thin at DLP for sure.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 1:

First up is RSC Anderlecht who play in the Juniper Pro League. Belgium is 13th in the nation club rankings and RSC Anderlecht are 40th in the club rankings. We should have a decent chance of getting a result from this match.

Nice win to start the League phase off with. We had decent control of the possession and XG, so a legitimate result as well.

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 2:

Next up is Dinamo who play in the Croation First League. Croatia is 17th in the nation club rankings and Dinamo are 50th in the club rankings. We should win this one. We played them last season and came away with a win and a draw.

Lots of goals to be had in a resounding victory. We had the upper hand in all the stats from the match, so it looks like a solid victory and a great start to the league phase.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 3:

Next up is FC Porto who play in the Portuguese Premier League. Portugal is 6th in the nation club rankings and FC Porto are 44th in the club rankings. We should win this one based on the rankings, but they are a big club with big wages, so don't think it will be easier. Still we need to pick up points from the teams in Pot 3 and 4.

Ouch, the scoreline is generous to us as the statistics show a rather convincing win for Porto.

Edited May 8 by mpm2342

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 4:

Next up is Chelsea who play in the Premier League. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Chelsea are 8th in the club rankings. Don't think we are ready for the top teams yet, so hoping to keep it close. We played them a couple of seasons ago, but they played some backups, don't expect the same.

That was a pretty dominant win from Chelsea.

 

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 5:

Next up is Arsenal who play in the Premier League. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Arsenal is 17th in the club rankings. Not likely to win this one, but hope to sneak a result or keep it close.

Not bad, not great, but not a blow out.

 

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 6:

Next up is Bayer 04 who play in the Bundesliga. Germany is 3rd in the nation club rankings and Bayer 04 are 56th in the club rankings. We should win this one based on the rankings. We beat them two seasons ago, but they played backups in that match.

Nice win powered by a great game from Rojas our keeper and a bit of luck for us.

 

6 games in and we are in a playoff position with 9 points with 2 to go.

Edited May 10 by mpm2342

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 7:

Next up is Tottenham who play in the Premier League. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Tottenham is 13th in the club rankings. Doubt very much we can win this one, though the pollsters give us more chance than I do. We won a few years ago when they played backups, but that won't happen this time. Hoping to keep it close.

Not bad. Lost as expected, but managed to put some goals away and make the game exciting.

 

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 8:

Next up is Borussia Dortmund who play in the Premier League. Germany is 3rd in the nation club rankings and Borussia Dortmund is 4th in the club rankings. Expecting a defeat again especially in their stadium.

Based on the statistics, we should have won the match. I take that as a very positive statement of progress by the team.

We made it through the league phase and into the knock out round.

Edited May 10 by mpm2342

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League Knock Out Playoff:

We drew Lazio who play in the Italian Serie A. Italy is 4th in the nation club rankings and Lazio is 65th in the club rankings. We should have a solid chance to advance.

First game has us pull a victory out of a match that they held the statistical advantage. Worries me a bit for the return leg in their stadium, but happy to have a 2 goal advantage.

Didn't expect to dominate both the score and stats in their stadium, but am happy to take it and move on.  Rojas had a couple of really strong games and will be key if we hope to advance further.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League Round of 16:

We drew FC Bayern who play in the Bundesliga. Germany is 3rd in the nation club rankings and FC Bayern are 3rd in the club rankings. This should likely be a defeat for us, given their ranking and players. We played them last season and it was reasonably close, but not expecting to win.

Nice! we won the first leg at home even though we were out played based on the statistics.

Back down to earth we go with a solid beating in their stadium.  Still lots of work to do on the squad.

Edited May 11 by mpm2342

[mpm2342]

End of Season 10 (32/33) Analysis:

The team average rating improved by 1.5, improving from 67.4 to 68.9 moving us past the England Championship target rating(68.1 average).  My previous comments hold no matter how hard I work to find the best players, the result is still about the same. The season over season growth rate for the squad has been very consistent at around 1.7 per season or so as you can see from the chart lower down. I think that is directly correlated with the growth in the club reputation driving the quality of player we can see and who is willing to join the club. Our scouting staff is now well developed so we are getting broad visibility.  We do have a few players now developing very nicely for the club which may help get a boost to the rating growth. I have added the Premier League as a target now. I would expect us to reach the Premier target in 4-5 seasons and start making a serious run at the Champions League trophy during that time.

Reminder that the rating for each of the leagues below is the average of the top 10 rating for each position across the entire league. The appropriate top 10 average for the positions in my tactic are then slotted into the chart and averaged across the 11 ratings. Only a few teams in each league would have a player in each position that ranks in the top 10, so by using this as a target, it provides a measure of when the raw attribute ratings of the team would position it near the top of the league being compared against. We all know that cohesion, morale, happiness etc. gives the human manager the edge, so when my team hits the rating for one of the leagues, I would expect it to be able to win, or at a minimum compete to win, the league. I have seen that team can successfully compete with most of the teams in a league above their rating. This means that once I can get the Lions to the ENG Champ level, we should be able to compete in the Champions League.

We have 3 positions to strengthen based on the Championship target: CD, RW and AF. The entire squad needs improvement based on the Premier League target, so no position is off limits for improvement with the exception of DLP where Deniau improved quite a bit and could make the target..... if I can keep him from the vultures.

Looking at the graph of ratings growth and I find it interesting that it has settled into an almost straight line of growth.

 

The majority of the key players are signed up for next season. We will have holes at CD, though David returns from loan and hopefully will play for us this season.

[mpm2342]

POSITIONAL REVIEW (I have highlighted homegrown players in blue in the charts).

GK - Premier Target = 70.4
Rojas Fedorushchenko is our clear starter. He did well this season, but not as well as the previous season. Sidibe played a lot of the domestic games and continues to improve statistically. Santos didn't have great stats from his loan stint, but that didn't hurt his development.

Rojas didn't grow much last season so likely has reached his plateau.

Fedorushchenko didn't grow - 2 attributes up and 2 down. If we are lucky, we might get another point or two in ratings for him, but not enough to get to the Premier target.

Sidibe's growth slowed last season. is still growing very well with his scouting report saying he is unlikely to improve. He has become homegrown now, so will definitely be our backup for a long time as it frees up another spot on the European rosters for an import.

Santos had a nice development year on loan and could use another one as he won't get playtime with the first team. That will give us time to see if his growth will continue. His scouiting report says he can improve a lot in the future and he has 4 stars of potential which would give him a higher rating than Rojas if he can achieve it.

Plan - Start Rojas and look for an upgrade on him. If we find an upgrade, sell Rojas. Give Sidibe playing time in league matches and easier cup matches and see if he can grow a bit. Loan Santos out.. try to get him on a team in a high reputation league.

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CD - Premier Target = 75.9
The numbers from the central defence are ok, but not great. I attribute that to the domination we have in the Gibraltar league causing our defence to not have to do much defending when we always have the ball.  Gauld was the best of the bunch, but he is on loan and won't re-up or accept a transfer. Klein was on loan and Mepham is retiring, so we have David returning from loan along with Albiach and Carlos.  Albiach and Carlos were ok, but not great on the year, but because Albiach is homegrown and Carlos will be, they both will be part of the go forward plans.

David grew a bit and could make it closer to the target, but I doubt he will make it. Albiach has plateaued as an ok second/third string. Carlos takes over as a primary backup due to his growth and potential. Nobody else in the development ranks will amount to anything useful.

Carlos showed very nice progression across the board even with injuries that dropped his determination. Another couple of seasons of that kind of growth would be awesome. His coaches report says he can improve a lot, so fingers crossed. He has 4 stars of potential, which, if true, wouild put him into the 70s for a rating.

David's rating didn't improve much last season, but a fair number of attributes did.  If he can keep that up, he will push his rating closer to the premier level, however I do not expect him to get there as his report says he is close to his potential.

Plan - Find at least one starter. Start them along with David and have Albiach and Carlos as backups.

 

Left FB - Premier Target = 72.8

FB seems to be a position that generates good match ratings in our tactic. Konate was the starter with Leyland as the backup this past season and they both had decent stats.

Konate is hanging around the 67 rating and won't make it to the Premier League target, so will likely need upgrading. Leyland grew nicely again, but his dominate foot is his right foot, so he would be better there.

Leyland he had 23 starts fairly evenly spaced through the season, which helped him be rested enough to train as well again. We will keep at it and hopefully he will continue to grow.

Plan - start Konate. Search for an upgrade / backup - ideally an 18 or under who can become homegrown for the backup.

 

Right FB - Premier Target = 72.8

FB seems to be a position that generates good match ratings in our tactic. Biten Valere was the starter with Leyland backing him up. Biten Valere had a good statistical season, so no reason to change unless a solid upgrade can be found.

Biten Valere declined a bit and looks like he has plateaued. Leyland should be the primary backup.

Plan - start Biten Valere and look for an upgrade. If found, sell Biten Valere. Leyland will be the primary backup.

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BWM - Premier Target = 76.9
The BWM stats aren't great with our tactic, so I lean towards the match ratings to give additional insights. Blasco started, Pizarro was played in league matches to see if he would develop, since Edwards didn't last season. Blasco played well and Pizarro was just ok.

Blasco looks like he has plateaued, but he is not too far off target. Pizarro is growing nicely, but I would expect his ceiling to less than 70, so he will be an adequate homegrown backup at best.

Pizarro showed nice development across the board, so will keep going with the current approach.

Plan - Blasco is the starter and at target. Pizarro to get 20'ish starts - we have Lambert/Byrne for depth.

 

DLP - Premier Target = 78.4
Deniau was the starter with Castro as the main backup. El Mourabet got 10 games and Muller filled in on occasion as well, but mostly played ST, so didn't include his stats. Stats wise, they all played pretty well.  I suspect the match rating / stats difference between Deniau and Castro is a result of the difference between the championship league and the Gibraltar league.

Deniau had very solid growth last season and isn't too far away from the target. Castro is growing slowly, but won't get too much higher.  I doubt the two youth players: Bartley and Whiteman will get above 65 in their ratings, but we will give it a shot with the U19 and U23s and see.

Deniau improved most of his attributes, hoping for more of the same.

Plan - We are good as long as we can hold onto Deniau and he doesn't force his way out to a larger club. Castro is a great backup.

 

Winger - Premier Target = 76.2
I am analyzing LW and RW together as most of the top players can play both. Vincent and Metzler were the starters, Metzler and Merino are LW only with Merino splitting time between LW and AM. Everyone had good numbers in the support role with Metzler's 16 assists standing out.  Holcroft was loaned out, so his stats are from the loan.

Vincent showed a nice development burst last season, but levelled off this season. Most of his attributes show up arrows, so his levelling off is likely due to the improvement being a few hundreds, not enough to move the 1-20 rating. Holcroft actually declined which is disappointing as his rating really isn't good enough to be a backup in the European competition.

Plan - Look to upgrade both positions with potentially starting Metzler if we can't find a replacement.  Look for an 18 and under backup in the mid 50's rating who can become homegrown.

 

Advanced Playmaker - Premier Target = 77.1
El Mourabet and Merino played most of the matches with Castro filling in for a couple. They both had good stats with El Mourabet scoring lots of goals.

El Mourabet improved his rating by a point last season, not enough to get to the target, but enough to keep his starting role. Castro and Merino basically stayed the same.

Plan - Start El Mourabet with Merino and Castro as backups. Opportunistically look for upgrades to be ready in case El Mouirabet gets poached.

 

Advanced Forward - Premier Target = 76.9
Muller was the starter and scored 25 goals, quite a bit less than the 42 goals last season with Meireles outscoring him. Muller got hurt during the year, so didn't play as much, but still got 28 starts.  Both of them have very good stats with Muller better in the air. 

Muller declined a tiny bit, not meaningful other than it wasn't another jump. Meireles stayed the same. I don't think either one of them are going to make the Premier league target, so will sell and replace if the vultures come with a good offer.  Some decent progression by some of the younger players maybe enough to be a backup someday.

Plan - Try to find an upgrade and replace the two of them and start Muller with Meireles as backup until then.

 

[mpm2342]

Upcoming Season recruiting needs based on the Premier target:

The only position that has a realistic chance of making the Premier League target is DLP. Everything else will have to be upgraded. This season will be a balance between the ability to find meaningful upgrades at a position and the amount of turnover we want to incur in the squad.  Some positions I can't find anyone better than what we have with Deniau at DLP being the best example. If he leaves, we will likely end up with a player with a lower rating than him,

GK         Gap: 7.6% - Need an upgrade - Urgent
CD         Gap: 5.9%, 7.5% - Need one starter and upgrade on second - Very Urgent
FB          Gap: 5.9, 6.9 -  Upgrades required - Important
BWM     Gap: 5.8% - Upgrade if possible
DLP        Gap: 3.7% - We are good if we can hold on to Deniau
Winger  Gap: 4.9%, 8.1%  - Need to upgrade RW - Urgent
AP          Gap: 4.3% - We are ok for now
ST           Gap: 10.8% - This definitely needs an upgrade - Very Urgent.

Going to be a busy transfer window combing through the scouting reports.

[mpm2342]

Fast forward to the end of June and Gibraltar improved it's rankings in the Nation Club coefficient and broke into the top 20. The next target for the rankings is to get to 15 where 5  Gibraltar clubs will make Europe. That will need one or two of the other clubs to win a few games and start to do better. The club improved to 21 in the European club rankings which along with the reputation boost has some of the players who wouldn't previously talk to us be open to loans and transfers.

Gibraltar had it's first meaningful jump in rankings, hopefully that will continue. The league moved up 4 more spots to 42 in league reputation right behind England League One. We moved up to 2.5 stars for reputation. No additional upgrade for the youth facilities has come available to request. We have a very healthy cash balance and the board gave me a generous transfer and wage budget. Going to try and spend more of the transfer budget this season since some of the better players are talking to us.

Scouting budget is re-upped at world, so don't need to adjust.

A fair number of moves and a few in the works, so I will go through them once the last few settle out.  On a happy note, David has withdrawn his transfer request. Last season he essentially threw his toys out of the crib and wouldn't show up at practice, but I had him on a long term contract and managed to get him to agree to a loan. I guess our reputation (and maybe squad) improved enough over the year that he is happy to stay now.  That is good news. Although if he doesn't improve with the team this season, I will likely have to replace him next season to get closer to the Premier League target

[mpm2342]

Lots of additions and changes to the squad.  We upgraded the ST position and sold Muller (for 2M - could have gotten way more, but he had a big sell on fee and we had to pay a profit percentage, so I sold for what we paid and put a future profit fee in) - That pissed off one of the newcomers who is now not happy and is supported by the guy we signed to replace Muller !!!  We brought in a new winger, an upgrade at SK on loan and some depth at other positions. Metzler got an offer from a Premier league team and went unhappy - currently selling him as I work the best price for him.  David got an offer from a Premier League team as well and also went unhappy, so I am selling him too. I really only want one unhappy player - Deniau who I can't replace, but need to get rid of the others before the morale completely tanks.

Kevin White was brought in to start at CD alongside David. He is rated 69, the same as David and an upgrade on Albiach (63.4) and Carlos our backups.

Signed for 4.5M.. pricey, but needed the upgrade.

Ortiz was brought in as an upgrade at RW. He is rated 69.1 with upside taking over from Vincent (68.1)

Free transfer.

Nolan was brought in to be the new Striker. He has a 69.9 rating taking over from Muller (66)

7M transfer fee.

Levy is in on loan to be the new GK. He has a rating of 65.4 taking over for Rojas (62.8)

Weigandt is a depth player for RFB with a rating of 64.

Free transfer.

Rasmussen is a signing for the future as an 18yr old he will become Homegrown. He has a 63.8 rating as DLP and 63.9 as AP, so a solid backup already.

250K transfer fee.

Martinez was signed at 18 to become homegrown, but I screwed up and agreed to a loan back which wrecks the homegrown deal. He is a strong ST (rating 67.4) and winger (rating 67.8), so hopefully I can get growth from him and he can become a starter at some point, or at least a solid backup.

525K transfer fee.

Edited May 16 by mpm2342

[mpm2342]

Updated Season recruiting needs based on the Premier target:

The only position that has a realistic chance of making the Premier League target is DLP. Everything else will have to be upgraded. This season will be a balance between the ability to find meaningful upgrades at a position and the amount of turnover we want to incur in the squad.  Some positions I can't find anyone better than what we have with Deniau at DLP being the best example. If he leaves, we will likely end up with a player with a lower rating than him,

GK         Gap: 7.6% 5.0%  - Upgrade found and will roll with for the season.
CD         Gap: 5.9%, 7.5% 5.9% - Got a starter in, but are going to lose David, so need a second starter. Have a loan offer out to an upgrade - hope he comes
FB          Gap: 5.9, 6.9 -  Upgrades required - Important - nothing cooking other than an upgrade at backup
BWM     Gap: 5.8% - Upgrade if possible - not much out there, so will roll with Blasco
DLP        Gap: 3.7% - We are good if we can hold on to Deniau. He is annoyed, but going to roll with it and hope he gets happier after the transfer window is done.
Winger  Gap: 4.9%, 8.1%  7.1% - got an upgrade for RW a little bit, have a loan offer out since I am going to lose Metzler at LW.
AP          Gap: 4.3% - We are ok for now
ST           Gap: 10.8% 7.0% - Upgraded a fair bit, long way to go still.

Interesting to remember to not get attached to a player - especially when the club reputation is improving every season. We only have one player who cannot be upgraded - Deniau and that is because he grew significantly last season.  Everyone else, I try to hold onto, like David and Muller gets upgraded when I finally let go of my attachment.  We will go into this season with a better team, but the team is in a bit of a disarray because of the vultures forcing the moves.  Extension of the lesson is to move faster to get them out rather than optimizing the $ for the transfers.

[mpm2342]

Metzler and David moved on and the two loan players joined the club.

Mane will take over from Metzler ad the starting LW. His rating is 71.6 compared to Metzler at 71.3, so basically the same with a slight upgrade.

Siebert will take over from David at CD. His rating is 69.9 compared to David's rating of 69, so a slight upgrade as well.

 

Deniau is under more transfer pressure from Premier League teams offering tons of money. I am going to capitulate and sell him as he is very unhappy and I am pretty sure I won't be able to keep him.  Castro is a decent alternative, though the rating drops from 74.7 (Deniau) to 69.8.  Will look for alternatives, but image I won't be able to find any much better than Castro.

[mpm2342]

The rest of the Gibraltar league has now all turned professional. At the beginning of the season we received £3.2M for playing in the league as did all the other teams. That puts all the teams in the league with a nice positive balance and hopefully will generate improvement.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League Champions Path Second Qualifying Round:

We entered the competition this season in the second round against RFS who play in the Optibet Virsliga. Latvia is 33rd in the nation club rankings and RFS are 179th in the club rankings. We should be able to win this round fairly easily.

Nice win at home, though the score could have been better.

Second leg away and another solid win. We do lose Deniau for the next game which is a good test for the future without him.

[mpm2342]

 

UEFA Champions League Champions Path Third Qualifying Round:

Next up is Basel who play in the Swiss Super League. Switzerland is 21st in the nation club rankings and Basel are 86th in the club rankings. Tougher matchup, but we should be able to win it

Well, going down a man at the 10 minute mark is not the way to do it, but the results are still good. Looks like Levy had a great game in goal.

Second leg back home and we finished the round off nicely.  The team is starting to come together.

 

 

UEFA Champions League Champions Path Playoff:

Next up is Galatasaray who play in the Turkish Super League. Turkiye is 12th in the nation club rankings and Galatasaray are 52nd in the club rankings. Another tough matchup in the preliminary rounds for us. We have played Galatasaray a couple of time before and managed a draw... hoping for better this time around.

A draw at their place is good and the stats say we had more of the play and could have won... optimistic for the return leg.

Nice win at home to move onto the League phase.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 1:

First up is Arsenal who play in the Premier League. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Arsenal are 19th in the club rankings. I think the top Premier League teams are still just a bit out of our reach. We have played Arsenal the last two years and are yet to beat them. The scores have been close, so maybe we can sneak a result here.

Another close score, though they outplayed us more than the score indicates.

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 2:

Next up is Chelsea who play in the Premier League. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Chelsea are 6th in the club rankings. I think the top Premier League teams are still just a bit out of our reach. We have played Chelsea a couple of times in the competition and are yet to beat them. Hope to keep the score close.

Nice, a draw is good. Again we were outplayed, but pulled out the draw on the scoreboard. I will take the points against a top team.

[BML]

Nice to get the two (presumably) Pot 1 games out the way first, should allow a nice run for the rest of the games without the potential morale hit.

[mpm2342]

5 hours ago, BML said:

Nice to get the two (presumably) Pot 1 games out the way first, should allow a nice run for the rest of the games without the potential morale hit.

The first three were tough ones. Arsenal was Pot 2, Chelsea Pot 1 and game 3 is Real Madrid in Pot 1.

It is nice to get them out of the way early and to snag points as well.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 3:

Next up is Real Madrid who play in the Spanish First Division. Spain is 3rd in the nation club rankings and Real Madrid are 1st in the club rankings. Top ranked club ... not sure we are quite ready yet. Hope to keep the score close.

Nice another draw against one of the top ranked teams.  We drew the top matches in the first 4.

 

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 4:

Next up is Benfica who play in the Portuguese Premier League. Portugal is 6th in the nation club rankings and Benfica are 12th in the club rankings. Another top ranked club, though they are not as high budget as the first three and look a bit more in our class.

Wow... didn't expect that. Nice to take a victory and more points.  

 

 

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 5:

Next up is Legia who play in the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa. Poland is 15th in the nation club rankings and Legia are 62nd in the club rankings. We played them a few years ago and won and have improved a lot, so even assuming they improved, we should be able to win this one..

Score was closer than the game stats, but a victory is a victory, so am happy. Lots of yellow cards building up to give us some selection fun soon.

 

Edited May 20 by mpm2342

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 6:

Next up is Inter Milan who play in the Italian Serie A. Italy is 4th in the nation club rankings and Inter are 23rd in the club rankings. This is likely to be a close one. Hopefully we can get a result.

Nice to get another win. Game was close with them having the edge on the field, but us coming away with the win.

 

After 6 games, we are sitting in a good position in the standings:

 

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 7:

Next up is BRG who play in the Portuguese Premier League. Portugal is 6th in the nation club rankings and Inter are 39th in the club rankings. We played them a long time ago and are a much better team now. This is a game we should have a very good chance to win,

No win, but at least we got a point and clinched a playoff spot.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League League Phase Game 8:

Next up is Bodo/Glimt who play in the Norwegian Premier League. Norway is 14th in the nation club rankings and Bodo/Glimt are 65th in the club rankings. We should win this game and have a shot at skipping the playoff round.

Dominate victory and just a point shy of making the top 8. I recalled Deniau from loan and he seems happy to play for us now ... hopefully that continues.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League Knock Out Playoff:

We drew Feyenoord who play in the Eredivisie. Netherlands is 10th in the nation club rankings and Feyenoord is 33rd in the club rankings. Going to be a tough one, but we should have a decent chance.

First leg away and we managed a victory in spite of being outplayed statistically. Happy to come home up a goal.

So much for locking down a lead. Poor game from Sidibe in goal didn't help things. Levy got recalled on me, so am now using Sidibe. On the bright side, maybe it will boost his progress. Their late push wasn't enough to keep us from advancing though.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League Round of 16:

We drew Chelsea who play in the Premier Division. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Chelsea are 6th in the club rankings. we have played them a fair bit recently and managed a draw last season, but I am expecting a defeat here.

First leg at home and we managed a draw in a fairly close game statistically. I am happy with that, but not looking forward to the away leg as Siebert, Mane, Konate and Deniau all picked up their second yellow to get suspended for the second leg.

Well, that was totally unexpected. We should not have won that based on the squad on the field and the match statistics... maybe some reverse FM juju happening for the team this season.

[mpm2342]

UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals:

We drew Liverpool who play in the Premier Division. England is 1st in the nation club rankings and Liverpool are 10th in the club rankings. A second large England side in a row.... will need some more luck to get through this one.

First leg away and we managed to keep the score within one while being soundly outplayed based on the match stats.

Back home and it wasn't going to happen this season. Another decent showing on the scoreboard.

The squad is getting closer - with hopefully a reputation bump and some upgrades for next season, we might be in the right range to have a serious chance.