Jtomsett11

I did think you'd survive the first season after the form in March, but looking at the bank balance, the progress on youth recruitment and junior coaching and the better youngsters coming through, I can't imagine relegation being a bad thing in the long run (unless you can't get promoted again of course!)

August 2028 Villarreal 2-1 Deportivo We really struggled here, and I'm not convinced with my new line up. Firstly, Bella-Kotchap was banned, so we played the second string CBs. Bernabai was directly at fault for one of the goals through poor positioning, and I think having him as first choice is probably an error when we're going to have to try and build momentum again this season; Williams is much stronger defensively. Oca was also unfit and Padilla looked much better when he came on. Garner scored a free-kick, but other than that we deserved to lose. Real Sociedad 0-3 Deportivo Much better. In comes our new first choice CBs and we revert to Williams, Ludewig and Padilla in the starting 11. Yaakobishvili scored his first league penalty, Gordon provided a lovely assist for Cirjan and Cheddira finished off a bobble to seal a well deserved 3 points. Deportivo 0-4 Real Madrid Ouch. Back down to earth with a bang. The first half was actually very good, but once we went behind, Yaakobishvili started letting in every shot and yes, it could have been more than 4. I really don't think we'll be competing for the title this year! Champions League draw We've had the draw for the Champions League, and as you can see, it's pretty tough. From reading other people's saves, 10-11 points is needed for the knockout playoff. The home games against Celtic and Antalyaspor will probably be crucial, while Plzen away also looks very important. This should be fun to at least compete in, but it could also be very demoralising! At least we did get some money for our efforts! Finances As well as the Champions League cash, we've been boosted by our best season ticket sales ever. In addition, the big sale of Mella went through. So, we get £15 million now, a guaranteed £11.75 million in installments (I haven't checked the frequency of these) and I think there's some other clauses in the sale that mean we might get more. Pretty good for a youth player that we just gave a chance to! He is good, but that valuation looks ridiculous to me! We now have £60 million in the bank, but the board won't give us anymore transfer money, so a transfer budget of £9 million is what we're left with just a few days before the window closes. I'm considering a goalkeeper, but I'm also considering just seeing how we do for a bit and investing in January if we need to. Too loyal to players? Perhaps, but I'm keen to give them as much of a chance as I can. One player has just left. Huarte goes out to get experience at La Liga 2 at left back. I'm then hoping he'll be ready to play for us next season. We did have one final bit of news for the month. Mara is injured, so Cheddira will be first choice and Escabros gets his chance in the second choice XI. September I'm likely to prioritise the Antalyaspor game, so will play the second string against Betis and Barcelona, before prioritising Mallorca and the B team can play against Lazio. Probably.

Pre-season friendlies July-August 2028 I was annoyed that I couldn't cancel the tour to the Netherlands as the season reset date was so late I was basically already there. That prevented me using the cup approach to friendlies for a little bit. Overall, I'm quite pleased, but I think the Atletico result probably shows you where we will be this season; i.e. not challenging for the title. The start to the season isn't easy really. If we'd had lots of money to improve, I'd say we should aim for 4-6 points, but I'll take 3-4 points here.

I spend a lot of time ensuring the coaching set ups are good - signing good coaches with good personalities at all levels. All my coaches have 4 star or higher skills at all levels and training load is always 'light'. I do control first team training now having followed your posts for a while, but while I control individual training for the youngsters I don't control general training. I often use position training to suit the attributes I want grown, so although I only use pressing forwards, the positional training will vary dependent on the weaknesses of the players, as although I want a pressing forward in the side, I wanted them to be well rounded. The key thing I've noticed from my years of playing is to only loan a player out if you're either not bothered about controlling attribute growth (i.e. their potential is too low and you just want them to develop), or if you're happy for attribute growth across the board (they've got no obvious weaknesses) as you obviously can't control the training they do. They also need to be at a level above what you can offer for them, which with a B team who are now in the third tier is going to be easier for me to control I think. When playing elsewhere, I'd rather not loan a good prospect out to a team below the second tier, or possibly third tier if they're very young and the club have reasonable facilities. For example, loaning to Vanarama National in England seems to have absolutely no benefit for decent prospects, compared to remaining at the state of the art training facilities of a Premier League side when under 18.

I'm enjoying your light hearted approach to this, it's enjoyable to read (as always) but you also seem to be making progress quite rapidly. How successful are top flight teams in Europe? I can imagine the money from qualification for say the Conference League is enough to fund teams for years.

Summer 2028 and pre-season I've already shown the screenshots of our 5 star, 4.5 star and 4 star potential players in the post above, so won't again. However, I've used this quite extensively to try and plot out the squads for U19, Deportivo Fabril and the first team (and second string in the first team squad). We've also made a number of transfers. I've realised that B Team players don't appear on your history when you sell them, which is annoying as I've also sold 3-4 other youngsters who weren't renewing deals, or worth renewing deals for and were out of contract next season. We actually made a record amount from transfers out and that's helped leave the finances in a great position, despite investing (again) in the training and youth facilities. This is the most money we've ever had in my time here. Transfers in Ignore Justo and Boedo, the former on loan, and the latter a youth player i didn't snip off this. Gordon you already know about as he joins on a free, but Scholl and Banjac are CBs to replace Basso and Nicolaisen while Agirrezabal is a young player we are taking a punt on (he's immediately out on loan to La Liga 2). Of these, Banjac will be our starting LCB while Scholl will be backup RCB. Gordon is first choice AMR replacing Mella, who by the way is now worth £124 million! More on him later! Transfers out I feel we've upgraded at CB and actually only spent £100k more in transfer fees than we received for Basso and Nicolaisen. We also received our money for McAtee. And we received some transfer money from previous sales. There was also a big chance of losing Williams as his release fee clause was met. However, he's now signed a new contract at just £5k more a week but with a release clause of £25 million. Much better! Padilla is another who is maybe on the way out, requesting a transfer, but I don't see anyone meeting his £7.5 million release clause, so he'll probably drop the request soon. Season expectations One really annoying thing was that the league didn't reset until something ridiculous like the 13th of July, by which time we'd started playing friendlies! It meant I didn't know until late on that we wouldn't receive any more TV money than last season. I read somewhere that it averages your last 5 year league finishes to calculate and I've seen from other saves that it does go up, so hopefully this will improve. So, our expectations are as they were: I think this is realistic with our budget (now £2 million left after Scholl's arrival), but obviously we overachieved last year by a huge amount. Let's just see how the season goes! The media has us as finishing 8th - I'd be happy with any European performance. One thing that could have an impact on our budget is a potentially huge transfer. We'd be entitled to half of this, which surely would boost our budget by a reasonable amount! Real Madrid are also in for him, I really hope he doesn't go there! Final squads I'm going to keep an eye on the B team and U19s, as their respective managers don't seem to stick to my team selections. I have tried to reduce the number of poor players who get picked over my prospects. I'm also looking at some loans for U19s with high potential who don't kick on just from training, however, I do want to have control over their development for a little longer. 1st team: 2nd team: Spares/ may go on loan still/ injured and returning B team U19s

As always, have enjoyed this thread! Looking forward to your next one!

Thanks @_Ben_ It's interesting that you've picked out those players, as I wouldn't have grouped them, but you are right, they're were all considered lower on the PA scale when they came through. Let's take them in turn of intake year. Hector Rubio and Jorge Vallejo This was the intake when Rubio came through. Bearing in mind our level (third tier), there's no reason to think either Rubio or Vallejo would go on to feature in the first team. They don't even have particularly good CA either, which often helps players reach their potential. I've had the same HOYD the whole save, Fran, who has 13 for judging potential, and I can't remember who my assistant manager was at this point or whether he was any good, so there's a good chance he just got the judgement completely wrong. Here they are now. Those attribute improvements from Rubio are nothing short of remarkable. He is now at full potential (near enough) and considered as a good La Liga player. I personally think he looks a little average still, but his performances are incredible. I do remember that he grew significantly on loan and that's what drew my attention to him. He went on loan at the age of 17 I think and while he didn't perform well, I think he played enough minutes to develop into a 2.5 star player, which is why I then put him in the team at AMC for 25/26. He did well there, but due to the arrival of Cirjan, he was shunted out to AML for the La Liga campaign, playing second fiddle to Capone I believe. As you can see, with 7 assists, he did quite well, but he really earned his first team place due to his sensational form at the start of this season. He's 21 now, and has 120 league appearances to his name and another 9 cup appearances, which is probably largely the reason for his growth. His personality, fairly professional with 14 determination, so perhaps that's also helped. The early loan is probably what accelerated his growth and made him known to me, and then it was selecting him regularly that helped his growth. Vallejo isn't as talented yet, but has also clearly grown well. With him, I am quite pleased with the plan I had to get him game time. I chose teams with as good facilities as possible and who wanted him as first choice until I felt he was good enough for La Liga 2, at which point (the season just gone) I've given him game time. Now, he only actually played 12 games last season, so I've probably held him back a bit, but I hope with Champions League football this year he'll get 20 games. If I had more money, I'd buy a better, younger keeper, but he's currently my best bet so he stays and gains the experience to at least be a decent number 2. Budget restrictions have probably helped these two a lot to be honest. Costa Costa is now on loan, so I can't see 'overall attribute growth' (which is annoying). This is his rating now according to the assman. This was him when he came through the youth intake (I didn't take a screenshot as he was so low down). With Costa I think I've played him because his growth stood out as did his pace, and I thought he could make a difference for us. I've found this screenshot from 1st March, so I probably again saw his CA and PA and thought, I need to play him! Sure enough, 21 days later I gave him his debut. What does it tell you? Probably that I mainly prioritise players who our staff say are growing well and developing their CA, at which point I make sure I give them game time. He's out on loan this season as he's not really good enough for us and we now have better prospects (both in terms of CA and PA) and I want to give him La Liga experience to see if he develops enough to play a role for us. Huarte Now, Huarte came through in a golden generation. Of these players, Huarte and Alende are still considered 5 star prospects, Queijeiro and Oca 4.5, Torres, Pablo and Colley 4 star! So, Huarte was an F simply because so many other good players were around him. He has definitely grown the most out of those players however. He's had no loans, so here it was deciding he'd be better off as a full back and then focusing training on wing back attack role with speed as an extra focus. There's still a big issue with his dribbling, but it's his one big issue for me now and he still has a lot of potential (or so the coaches say). I have promoted him to the first team squad; he'll either go on loan, fill a B team role with potential for cup games or perhaps even be our number 2 left back if we lose Williams to his release clause. Takeaways What this analysis has shown me (and you may have taken other points from it), is that potential ability is often completely misjudged on intake day. I often respond to perceived current ability stars probably more than I should. Appropriate game time, even at an early age, is absolutely key to development. We probably knew all of that already but it's interesting to do this sort of analysis!

Attribute growth June 2028 I have been using the saved team selection feature to keep track in the first team this year, but I think I am going to start doing that for the B team and U19s to help me track who is next in line as it's not always obvious. I am releasing most of the B team players apart from a few useful ones, as I'd like to use the B team to develop my young players once they turn 18 if they're not good enough for La Liga 2 level loans. Who knows, Deportivo Fabril may be promoted again next season. Goalkeepers We're a little short of star quality here. Vallejo improved last season and will get more games, but is showing as 3 gold star potential now, the same as Yaakobishvili who is probably a little short of the quality we need to compete consistently at the top. Cano will play for the B team next year, with Angueira going out on loan or sold if we can get any interest as he's stagnated on loan. Luca and Salgueiro will be in the U19s still; Luca shows 3 gold star potential at this point but he needs a lot of growth to be a useful keeper for us. Centre backs Nicolaisen and Basso will be leaving if I can get some money for them; they've both turned 31 and despite good technicals, I don't trust them and they aren't physically good enough. Rotena was bought in for £1 million, but then I didn't register him for the B team or first team, so he's played in a few Copa del Rey games. He's got 4.5 star potential, but wants a loan and I may grant him one. He has 10 for pace which isn't ideal for a high pressing side, so that needs to click up a couple at least. His acceleration of 14 is at least good enough to make up for some of that I suppose. Nadrani was created by the game when the B team got promoted, and will stay in the B team along with Herrero (same deal). Cousillas plays DM mainly, while I may also promote Angel to the B team. Sergio I extended his contract but he'll stay in the B team just for numbers in case of injury. I have some hope for the last three on this list, all who have shown decent growth, but they're young so U19s football remains the best bet at this stage. That will leave 2 slots at CB in the first team squad which I'd need to fill, unless I retain Rotena which I'd worry about due to his pace at this stage. Full/ wing backs Money dictates that the top 4 will be the starting and reserve left and right backs this year. Hoever continues to develop from when I bought him and perhaps deserves a chance at the number 1 right back spot this summer. He had a minimum fee release clause of £7 million which was met, and I've had to give him £35k a week to stay (I looked at alternatives and you can't get better for that money at the moment), so it probably makes sense to play him more. Behind them, it gets interesting. Huarte, Salas, Priest and Edu are all rated potential at 4.5 or 5 stars. I need to work out who to loan out, who to play in the B team, whether any deserve to be in the first team (Huarte maybe as he's grown rapidly in the last few months) and then there's a whole host of others who probably need to go out on loan again or be sold e.g. Azzaoui, Boedo and Kotsaridis who are unlikely to ever be good enough. Segundo volante Originally, I'd wanted to sell Gonzalez, but at just £5.75million release clause (which nobody would meet) I'm tempted to let him get over me trying to sell him as we just don't have the cash available right now to get another Garner. Val has performed the worst this season so I might let him leave if we can get suitors, and then it's Padilla and Oca for a season, with Padilla really needing to kick on a little bit if he's to be a long-term choice. In the B team, Jorge is another made up player and I realise I've left Cousillas out of this despite him playing there for the B team all last year. Ah yes, that's why, he's terribly rated (54) in this position. Well, perhaps Jorge stays and Pablo joins the B team, with David having another season down in the U19s. David has 5 star potential, Pablo 4 star and Oca 4.5 last time I checked. Attacking mid You can see why Arsenijevic has competition for the backup AMC as Enrique, who we signed for a pittance, has grown significantly on loan at Almeria despite having a pretty terrible season. His potential is lower than Arsenijevic, so there's an option to sign him to a new contract with a higher release clause and send him back on loan to La Liga and see how good he can become. Crespo will play in the B team next year, possibly with Jimenez, with Diez possibly loaned or sold, and Tortosa loaned as well. All of their potential has dropped significantly. The long term hopes here are 5 star potential Rahman and Gonzalez. Torres probably needs a loan as well. Inside forwards Mella Again, budget dictates that Rubio and Capone stay on the left, while we're bringing in Gordon to replace Mella on a free. Does Man deserve another chance after an injury hit year? What about Fondevila, 8 points of growth in his first season?! The other player who stands out is Escabros, but I have a plan for him at pressing forward. Priest has big potential, but is young enough to stay in the U19s and continue to develop, although he hasn't developed much so far. Oliveira played for the B team last year and may do so again this year with Queijeiro taking the other wing. Costa will go out on loan to La Liga 2 winners Osasuna which leaves a few like Ahlmann, a free signing who now will just go out on loan until we sell him I imagine. Edu I like for right back. Pressing forwards Mara and Cheddira will stay unless we get big bids as we have no money. It's Escabros who I want to give some game time in rotation with Cheddira to see if he can make it. He has 4.5 star potential so could be better than both our strikers and when you have no money, invest in what you already bought in right? Barroso is a B team generated player who won the Segunda Federacion top scorer last year, so he earned a new deal, but I'll probably start Torres in the B team, or perhaps loan him and start Alende (or vice versa!). Savone and Lloyd stay in the U19s for now. Overall thoughts We've got some really good growth and then quite a few stuttering players, but the B team is now at a level we can utilise for growth and I really hope that will help. Before the new season I'll show a few more profiles of any significant players I promote.

Season overview 2027/28 I still can't quite believe we've won the domestic double in our second season in La Liga. An outstanding season by any measure. The updated trophy numbers above show how significant these titles are for the club with the first successes in over 20 years (if you don't count my Primera Federacion win in 2023/24). We've also improved the training and youth facilities this year, and overall there's a slight improvement to finances. I'm really hoping the TV revenue goes up for next season as if not we probably need to be successful in the Champions League to some extent to earn enough money to improve our squad. Player performances Goalkeepers We had no penalties most of the season, then 8 in about 10 games! We're not great at finishing the penalties, but Vallejo has scored 3 goals in 12 games which is pretty good. Our keeper performances were much better this season, with Yaakobishvili actually keeping out more shots than he should have, a first for me on this save. Is he good enough for a La Liga winning side? No way! However, he's good enough and in light of having played a month ahead and seen how limited our wage and transfer budget is, we're not going to be improving on him anytime soon. Vallejo has done an okay job for his first season, and with European football next year he'll see more games. I'll analyse the squad in more detail next, but I think he's our best prospect at the moment. Outfield squad I know that's a lot of data in one go, but I hate copying and pasting and slicing different bits, so that's how I'm posting it! My centre backs have been very interesting this year. Panzo and Bella-Kotchap have played as first-choice and their average ratings are both excellent. Overall, if you look at them compared to Basso and Nicolaisen, they come out on top in more areas than the latter two, but it's not as cut and dry as it feels in game. When looking at data analysis within game (which I feel is too hidden away), Panzo and Bella-Kotchap come out on top for strong, but infrequent tackling and aerial dominance. Bella-Kotchap in particular is one of the best in the air in the league. For my full/ wing backs, I like them to press, win the ball back, but also create chances. With the exception of Bernabai, all of them press well and win the ball back well. Hoever, who is backup to Ludewig at right back, definitely outperforms the German for defensive play and I need to consider who is number 1 next year if I cannot upgrade. Bernabai got 9 assists this year, which dwarfs the others (in fact I'm majorly surprised by this) but his open play key passes are behind all the others. Essentially, he's a set piece expert with 2 goals and 7 assists from free kicks. Ludewig stands out with key passes and expected assists. My defensive midfielders both play as segundo volante's. I've noticed a big difference with my two left sided players, Garner and Gonzalez, both winning more possession and making more interceptions, but they may also be because they're better players. Creatively, Padilla and Oca outperform Val and I think the latter may be on the way out, making room for the home-grown higher potential player Oca, as Padilla has been first choice DMR this year. Garner is our absolute standout player in the midfield, 11 assists and 6 goals in 42 appearances (31 starts) - incredible! On to our inside forwards and it's Mella and Rubio who are head and shoulders above the rest. Both have 21 goal contributions each, and when you consider Mella is the much, much better player, Rubio has done really well this season. Man barely played due to injury, and while Costa (not pictured above, sorry!) played initially, it was Fondevila who then filled in despite being right footed (so ideally played on the left). He's been sensational, although I'm annoyed his potential is down to 4.5 stars now. 7 assists and a wordie-goal from just 6 starts is brilliant for a 16 year old. I must get him into the first/ second string squad next year. Capone got 9 assists and 2 goals, so did pretty well, but Rubio just outshone him and won the starting spot. It's interesting that Rubio brings both goals and assists, whereas Capone and Fondevila (so far) just bring assists. Our two attacking midfielders had quite different seasons. Cirjan was a force all year and he was unlucky that Mara picked up towards the end of the season or his 15 goals in 27 starts would have earnt him the squad's top scorer. Arsenijevic was average for most of the season, but slowly earnt more starts and the 9 goals and 5 assists is pretty decent. He's got a tough time holding on to the second starting AMC position though, as we've got some good AMCs coming through. We only have two strikers who both play as pressing forwards. Mara has 17 goals this season, but his xG suggests he's underperformed and I'd agree with that; he misses quite a lot of chances. Cheddira was a reliable backup and in light of our budget, may remain that way next season while we bring through a younger player. He outperformed his xG, but 8 of his goals were in the Copa del Rey. Team of the year and awards Probably fair, although Gonzalez and Garner didn't play together once. The goals from the front four! We also had 4 players in the ToTY, with 5 in the substitutes as well. Mella finished 3rd in the Player of the Year award and Yaakobishvili finished third in the Goalkeeper of the Year award. I won manager of the year which was pretty obvious! Sadly, we're extremely unlikely to see Mella again unless he has a terrible season at Newcastle next year and then goes out on loan again. Sad times for us!

Very impressive results for an AFCON year. I remember you previously saying that winning the treble during an AFCON year would be the ultimate achievement, could this be the year?! No pressure Will De Backer come into the first team/ second 11 for next year do you think, or too early to say?

Thank you so much! I write this for my own enjoyment, but it's great when others also enjoy it!! I think next season is going to be tough as all signs are that upgrading the squad is going to be hugely challenging until my TV revenue increases/ I earn money from European competitions. Transfer budget of £7 million and only earning 50% of any sales for the budget is not helping me much, especially as a lot of players want wage rises after our success! Spain does seem to be more challenging than England for example, simply because there's money, but not much of it and not enough to build quickly.

May 2028 Part 2 - match day 38 - the title decider Barcelona vs Deportivo I started our first eleven, having rested enough of them the previous Tuesday and having subbed Garner, Panzo and Bella-Kotchap early enough to give them enough of a rest to be fighting fit for this match. I deliberated but then chose our defensive version of the 4-2-3-1 tactic, with both full backs on defensive duty and a reduced amount of pressing. Sit back and defend has worked a few times away recently e.g. away at Atletico Madrid. It didn't work here. Barcelona swamped us early on and took the lead on 23 minutes, Pedri setting up newgen Hauge for a simple finish. Thing got worse despite a switch back to our normal away tactics (more pressing and full backs on support duty) as Yaakobishvili somehow caught a shot and then stepped back into his goal. Disaster as at 2-0 down we were set to finish 2nd. At half time I gave the team-talk of the 'this is unacceptable' variety. It's the first time I've berated them in a while and I've avoided all 'team meetings' as we're overperforming to such an extent that I can't think of any way they'd help. The players were fired up, and all we would need is an unanswered goal. The second half was a complete reversal of the first. The pressing game paid off instantly, with Mara winning the ball back, sliding it into the feet of Cirjan who smashed home from inside the area. 2-1! Then on 63 minutes Bernabai, on for Williams, delivered a peach of a ball and to the back post and there was none other than Mella to head home to equalise. 2-2! Barcelona didn't seem to have an answer, and on 83 minutes it got even better, with Capone switching the ball across the box and Mella again finishing brilliantly. Barcelona finally seemed to realise they were losing the title and had two very good chances, but both were skied over the bar when really they should have at least tested Yaakobishvili. Even if they'd have scored both, it wouldn't have been enough due to our 3-1 win earlier in the season. It finished 3-2. Somehow we'd found a way to comeback from 2-0 down to not only draw, but beat Barcelona, completing the double over them and also completing the domestic double! Our league form has been sensational, but it's the second half of the season where everything has clicked. Just 5 goals conceded in the last 19 games compared to 24 in the first 19! My mission to bring redeem Deportivo and bring them back to the top flight and to the trophies is complete! A La Liga and Copa del Rey double goes beyond what I thought would be possible so early on in this save. This may be my biggest achievement, as our squad just isn't good enough to be winning the double. I feel like this is just the first step as I'm thoroughly enjoying this save and imagine it'll only get tougher as we look to compete in Europe as well with our ridiculously small budget. I'm now a club icon which is nice, but it's the legends list I'll now aim for!

May 2028 Part 1 Match day 36 Deportivo 1-0 Rayo Vallecano This was a real struggle. We played our first team, but the front four were largely ineffective. On came Arsenijevic, Cheddira, Fondevila and Cheddira and they were all involved in a move that switched from one flank to the other, before Arsenijevic thread the ball through for Cheddira to slot home, winning us the 3 points. We were never really in any danger of conceding, but it had looked like a 0-0 draw all the way until the goal. Barcelona then faced Atletico Madrid away the next day. A huge match. Unbelievable! It doesn't actually change the parameters for success that much; we still play Barcelona in the final game and presuming we both win our next game, we can now win the title with a draw, win or loss by 1 goal against Barcelona. Match day 37 Real Sociedad vs Deportivo Barcelona vs Valencia I couldn't quite bear to play the full second string, so we had our 2 centre backs and Garner starting with a view to bringing them off when they got tired. It paid off as Bella-Kotchap headed in from a corner early on to set us on our way. Fondevila provided another assist, laying it on a plate for Arsenijevic and then Vallejo scored a penalty, won by our 16 year old winger sensation. So, how did Barcelona do? It's down to match day 38. We beat Barcelona 3-1 at home, so we can win the title by beating them, drawing with them, or losing by just 1 goal. A 2 goal loss would mean the title is decided on goal difference, where Barcelona would clinch the title. We know what we need to do.

Just out of curiosity, how much do you get for TV rights now you've had consistent finishes near the top? Has it increased at all from the basic £34 million or so split into £17 up front and the rest over the season? Just curious as I'm guaranteed 2nd position with Deportivo in my save having finished 8th in the previous season and wondering if TV money will go up as a result (it didn't change from last season to this season), or whether I'm stuck with horrendously low income!

Deportivo Fabril Some more success before the massive conclusion to the season ahead in May comes in the form of promotion for Deportivo Fabril, our B Team. Largely this has been down to the players generated when they were promoted from the unplayable league as I'd already agreed loans for most players who would have played at this level. Now they've been promoted, I'll probably keep 2-3 of the generated players, release the rest and use our 18 and 19 year olds who can't yet play at La Liga 2 level or in our first team to give them game experience.

April 2028 part 2 - Copa del Rey Deportivo vs Real Betis We started off extremely poorly, giving the ball away left right and centre. Indeed, just 2 minutes in, a lofted ball after poor work in the midfield from Garner resulted in Betis taking the lead. We struck back in the 11th minute, Cirjan taking the ball off Mara's feet after he'd been tackled and slotting home, before we again conceded, this time really unfortunately with Bella-Kotchap scoring an own goal having blocked a clearance. We'd created a lot by this point, with our xG over 2 at just 20 minutes played, yet we were 2-1 down. Mara wasted two really good chances, but the front four were all guilty of poor finishing. Step up Williams, who took on a pass from Rubio and smashed in his first goal for the club to draw us level on 27 minutes. I was then delighted when Mara finally scored on 32 minutes with a deflected goal to give us the lead. It stayed 3-2 for the rest of the game, with us missing more chances to make it secure. Then, in the 90th minute, a penalty was awarded. Fortunately, it was for us, and Yaakobishvili sealed the victory for us. An incredible moment to finish the game and a superb achievement for us in our sixth season, and just second back in the league.

April 2028 A huge month, which I'll split into the league and cup action. This was another top month, as we only lost to Las Palmas in a game we really should have won with our rotated side. Deportivo 3-0 Getafe We tore Getafe apart. Padilla set up Garner in the box to open the scoring and then Mella produced another moment of magic with a delightful through ball for Cirjan to bury. The icing on the cake was a lovely delivery from Fondevila to allow Cheddira to score. Atletico Madrid 0-1 Deportivo I played the second string here and was blown away by their performance. Vallejo was superb in goal, although it must be said that Atletico were extremely wasteful, and then Fondevila got another assist as this time he played a ball across the six yard box after some fine dribbling for Arsenijevic to bobble home. Our only shot on target, but yet another clean sheet means we keep racking up the points. Alaves 0-6 Deportivo A culmination of our performances this season. Everything just clicked. Rubio probably takes the plaudits with a goal and two assists, but all over the park the performances were superb. Deportivo 1-2 Las Palmas This game needs the context of coming just after the cup final, and I think it caught up with us. Our second string started really sluggishly and just kept giving away the ball. Two errors by our centre backs shows the need to strengthen our backline in the summer. We never really recovered from those two errors, and despite creating a million chances, we couldn't get the equaliser our play deserved. Mallorca 0-3 Deportivo Prior to this game, I thought our loss to Las Palmas would allow Barcelona to ease into the lead, but they also lost to Villarreal to leave us neck and neck. I was concerned we might have lost our way against Las Palmas, but we bounced back here to win convincingly. Mella was the star of the show, scoring a brilliant goal having taken four players on and then smashed it past the keeper, a little Michael Owen vs Argentina-esque. He also provided a brilliant assist. Unfortunately, I just don't think we can afford the £48 million agreed fee in the loan agreement, even if we get 50% of it back. Deportivo 1-0 Elche Barcelona won one of their games in hand, but just before we played Elche they played their second and lost to Almeria. This opened the door back up for us. We struggled to break Elche down, but then Bella-Kotchap nodded on from a free-kick and Mara bundled home. With 3 games to go, we lead Barcelona on head-to-head even if they win their game in hand. Of course, we have to go to the Camp Nou in the last game of the season! These are the fixtures for Barcelona. They could yet drop points, but then so could we. I think we'll go into the final game of the season with a chance of winning the title, beyond all expectations. We've already confirmed Champions League football next season. I have to say, I am pretty disappointed by this as it's going to be very hard to strengthen with this amount of money, bar some sales coming in. You can see why we can't afford Mella! In light of that, I made an early move to replace him. He may be slightly less of a creator than Mella, but he comes in on a free and still has potential to fill according to the scout reports. He takes up our remaining non-EU spot but that's fine by me.

Youth intake 2028 Compared to last year, this is a really poor intake, especially when considering the personalities. I've signed the ones who say 'bid' above, plus Villegas as he also has a decent personality. The rest have a combination of poor determination, ambition or both. In terms of attribute scores, Gonzalez stands out with his current attributes, but he's the only one really and nowhere near the quality of last year. Fairly loyal and only 6 determination doesn't shout out as a winning personality, so we'll see how he develops.

March 2028 It's another great month, as although we lost our unbeaten run, we qualified for the final of the Copa del Rey and then beat two decent sides without conceding. Deportivo 7-1 Andorra We see off Andorra 10-1 on aggregate. The second string did their job superbly, with Cheddira getting a hat-trick, Capone showing his worth and yet another good performance from 16 year old Fondevila. Vallejo scored his penalty this time! Even better, Betis pulled off a shock in the other semi-final. We now face them in a very winnable final! Real Madrid 1-0 Deportivo We were without both first choice DM's for this, so it was always going to be hard to get a result. We were so close to a draw, and we really deserved it as we restricted Real Madrid to one really good chance and a lot of half chances. However, on 90 minutes, Tchouameni scored a screamer from 25 yards to end our resistance. We can be really proud of our performance though. Deportivo 3-0 Espanyol I gave Arsenijevic the nod here at AMC and he responded really well, delivering a great corner for Bella-Kotchap to nod us into the lead and then finding himself on the end of a lovely ball from Rubio to score as well. Mara got his first goal in what feels like a long time, which shows you how well we're performing overall that our main striker going a while without scoring hasn't been a problem. Real Betis 0-2 Deportivo In a preview of the cup final next month, we came and fully deserved our victory. Rubio got yet another goal after Panzo reworked a corner really well and then Bernabai came on to score a free kick, his second of the season. Oca has been very impressive in DM since coming into the side with Padilla injured and Pedro also out injured. I am starting to consider whether he can make the step up next year to our second string. He's not looked out of place yet. Madrid have been in really poor form, so it's probably Barcelona's title to lose with their three games in hand over Madrid and two in hand over us. We're 16 points clear of 5th with a game in hand, so really now we'd have to do really badly to lose a top-four spot. Remaining fixtures This is how April and May look. April is busy, with 7 games, so that'll really test our squad. We've actually already qualified for European football even if we lose every game from now on, so we've already achieved my aim for this season. I've moved quickly to secure some larger release fees for our key players. Bella-Kotchap wanted £65k a week and only would increase his release fee to £14 million, so we've walked away from that deal, but Garner and Mara will now require more than to get them (Benfica are interested in both). Garner's release fee is up from £18 million. Mara's was £10 million.

Thank you! We're well above even my expectations now. I've had success before with taking teams from low down and then doing really well, but I usually have some really good wonderkids that I've still spent £5-£10 million on each and they're worth £30 million + and rapidly improving when I do (Jersey Bulls save for example). Here, our best player, Mella, is rated as 'La Liga star player' but he's by far and away our best player. The rest of the squad is mid-table really. How we're top I'm not sure! I really hope Fondevila is the real deal as he's playing so well. Only time will tell!

February 2028 We started the month with a great chance to get into the semis of the Copa del Rey. Deportivo 3-0 Espanyol Yaakobishvili scored from open play, but only because he scored a rebound from his penalty miss. We created quite a lot of chances here, but failed to hit the target other than the 3 goals (and missed penalty which was saved). Mella scored a lovely goal, cutting in from a through ball from Padilla and there was time for Fondevila to make an impact with an assist; he put the ball on a plate for Cheddira. Just before the game we got news of the semi final draw, and it couldn't have been kinder for us. We miss all the La Liga sides and end up against Andorra, who sit 19th in La Liga 2... We should be making the final here! This draw meant that Almeria game was moved, meaning we faced Andorra next. I went with the second string as I felt we'd at least get a draw and finish them off in the return leg. Andorra 0-3 Deportivo We've gone quite a while without penalties, and now we've had 3 in 2 games. We've missed them all, but again Vallejo managed to score the rebound from his first before completely missing the target for his second. We then made the game much harder work, so I brought on the subs and Mara made the difference to probably seal our place in the final. The second leg is on the 1st March, so it's the 4 La Liga games up first. Deportivo 1-0 Valencia 4 penalties in 3 games, all missed by my goalkeepers... Luckily here, Rubio, on his second start since his return from injury scored a wonderful goal, twisting and turning and slotting in at the near post. Valencia then helped us by getting one sent off, but really even before then this was complete domination. No shots from Valencia whatsoever. Almeria 0-3 Deportivo With this game coming just 3 days later, we rotated in the second string again and they were superb. Arsenijevic scored from Cheddira's lovely through ball and that set us on our way. Cirjan came on in the second half and was involved in both goals, scoring and then getting an 'assist' for the own goal. We're playing really nice football! Deportivo 1-0 Celta Vigo We win the derby again. We struggled to finish in this game, but Rubio was again our man, scoring a Messi-esque goal with a beautiful dribble and drilled finish. He's performing well, well above what I would have expected of him, indeed our assistant manager prefers him to Foden! Rubio may be performing superbly, but then again so is the whole team. That's 6 games in all competitions without conceding. Frustratingly, Padilla was injured in the Celta Vigo game, but this will be a chance for another young player to step up, probably Pablo or Oca again. Deportivo 2-0 Athletic Club Wow. I don't really have words at the moment. We look like a team who can beat anyone at the moment. Both goals were beautifully worked team goals and we could, and should, have scored many more. It's 5 straight in the league, but we're actually 12 matches unbeaten in the league since December 1st, and unbeaten in 6 cup games since then too. This is therefore, no surprise! There were quite a few games on 1st March, so I screenshot the table on that day. Unbelievably, we're top of the league. I have no idea how we're so consistent when in reality our squad is a mid-table to top-half team at best. We have 12 games to go and really we HAVE to be looking to finish in the top four now. March 2028 We should easily make the final, and then it's Real Madrid where our unbeaten run will probably come to an end. If we can just win the home game this month it'll keep us ticking over towards the top 4.

I wonder if this could be the year for promotion or a play off finish. Obviously so tough with only 1 automatic promotion place!

January transfers I've tried really hard prior to January to get my scouting assignments right based on our December analysis (which I actually did a lot earlier than December). We have a very low amount of wages and transfer budget spare, so any January signing would have to be shrewd. We did find two centre backs who I thought could make a huge difference. Valenti would have been the ideal signing as a left footed centre back to upgrade on Panzo, but you can see we're still some way from being able to convince these sorts of players to come and play for us. Champions League football could definitely change that... We did however, sign a centre with good potential. Rotena joins from Famalicao and to be honest, I can't remember how much we paid and I've not got the game loaded. I don't think it was much; another release fee. He's got room to develop I know, but some decent attributes and huge potential. If we can get his pace and jumping up slightly (1-2 for each) and some of his technicals to improve as well, we'll have a really good left footed centre back on our hands. He's gone into the U19s for now, although I may phase him in to replace Nicolaisen towards the end of the season. His attribute analysis puts him 8 point behind our best CB, so he does have work to do in training. I may also put him in the B Team, as annoyingly one of our better centre backs had a low minimum fee release clause I missed. Teboas was never going to make the team, but was a half-decent player for Fabril. Wages Our wages are still really low, but we're limited to £550K a week this year, although our board give us the exact wage budget the league sets which doesn't actually compute because that includes U19 wages as well. We need to boost turnover over time to compete in the long term.

January 2028 What a month! We've been nothing short of sensational, even if we appeared to run out of steam with two 120 minute ties either side of the 0-0 draw with Sevilla. Deportivo 3-1 Barcelona Cirjan and Rubio just can't stop scoring. When Cirjan opened the scoring after a superb through-ball from Mella (yet another assist) I didn't really think we'd win, and Raphinha quickly equalised. However, we quickly went back in front with Cirjan again clinical after some bouncing around in the box, before Rubio fired in from an acute angle to seal the victory. We're in absolute dream-land with this sort of victory. 5 straight victories in the league as we not only look potential European-spot worthy, but potential Champions League qualification worthy! UE Olot 1-4 Deportivo Pretty routine for the second string. It was nice to see Arsenijevic grab two goals and an assist as he's suffered from Cirjan's superb form meaning he hasn't got the game time I thought he might this season and has generally struggled when he has played. Villarreal 0-3 Deportivo A few days before this game, Rubio was ruled out for most of the month which meant I put Capone back in the first team and promoted Fondevila to the second string. He looks a potential star and is already worth more than his release clause. He's certainly getting a new contract soon because... He came on for his debut and smashed in a 25 yard screamer from the corner of the area. He was a menace on the left when I brought him on with the game seemingly sealed at 2-0 and Villarreal showing little sign of coming back. I love him already! Let's not forget another goal for Cirjan from another Mella assist. This team is wonderful to watch at the moment. Eibar 2-2 Deportivo (Deportivo win 4-2 on penalties) Okay, we nearly threw this game away. I don't care about that (especially as we won). What I care about is Fondevila. Two wonderful, beautiful through-balls got him 2 assists in 3 minutes and he also hit the bar. I think this kid is going places. We did get complacent, and perhaps a little tired, but that's bound to happen when you've won 8 in a row. I'm happy as we're through to the next round. It's another winnable tie for the second string, and more minutes for some of our backup/ young players. Deportivo 0-0 Sevilla We did create more, and we played really well at the back, but it wasn't to be as we lacked the clinical edge we've shown recently. Mara hasn't scored in quite a while and while Cirjan has been keeping up his end of the bargain, Rubio is our joint top scorer on just 8 goals with Cirjan so we are struggling for striker goals and in this game it was mostly Mara who had the decent chances. Still, a point and a clean sheet. Elche 1-3 Deportivo (after extra time) The second string struggled here against fellow La Liga opposition. However, our substitutes took matters into their own hands with Mella's two assists and Capone's helping us to the 3 goals needed in the end to overcome Elche. The quarter final draw throws up an interesting tie. And late in January we found out that Espanyol beat Real Madrid, meaning a very favourable quarter final draw for us. I am tempted to play the first team for that one and use the second team for the La Liga match nearest to it, as suddenly we're not a million miles from an attempt at silverware. Deportivo 4-0 Tenerife A few games of draws in real time, but we ended the month with a comprehensive win over bottom placed side Tenerife. Mara is back on the score sheet, ending a long drought, while there's another assist for Mella and a goal on his return for Rubio. My favourite goal was Garner sliding the ball across the box with defenders stranded for Padilla to slot home, but the best goal was probably a superb long range low-drilled effort from Garner after just 20 seconds which is our quickest ever goal. We're 8 unbeaten now! At 48 points from 22 games, we're far far ahead of where I wanted us to be this season (so far at least). We've got 16 games to play, so it could all fall apart, but we really need to be aiming for Champions League now I feel. February 5 games, 4 in the league. I think I'll prioritise the Espanyol game as Almeria have been awful, although I remember them giving us a very good game last time. 3 home games to end the month is really positive, although none of them are particularly easy ties. It's the first time in a long time I've had a B for the supporters, whereas the board have been delighted since our third season when we almost got promoted to La Liga.