dothestrand

2024-25 Season Review: Consolidation La Liga: 3rd (same) - 83 points (+1) Copa Del Rey: QF (lost to Real Madrid) Champions League: Round of 16 (lost to Napoli) Not much difference to last season then, but what it shows it that the squad coped well with the addition of European competition. Real Madrid won the league by 9 points, but we were just 3 points off Barcelona. We finished 14 points ahead of Atletico Madrid, so we've quickly become the 'best of the rest' team in La Liga. Mid-season, it was actually much closer - we weren't far off Real at all, but injuries, fatigue and sloppy defeats put paid to any title ambitions. In another season, we might have done better in the CDR but it's bad luck to get Real that early, I guess. The CL was a real mixed bag. In the eight group stage matches, we won 4 and lost 4 (usually heavily against strong teams), which got us to the knockout stages. Wolfsburg was probably as good a draw as we could've got, and we beat them on penalties. In the last 16 game against Napoli, we won the first leg at home 2-0. For the second leg, I went uber-defensive, and they got back on terms within 10 minutes. It was then a case of 'how much will they win by'? Answer: 5-0. Squad Performance This was our first choice/best performing XI, but we also made significant use of the rest of the first team squad, rotating regularly to keep legs fresh (particularly in the home games against lesser opposition!) Players you don't see in this starting XI who did a great job are Agirrezabala (who played around 20 games due to Simon being injured a few times, and really stepped up/developed), Unai Nunez (solid at CB and RB), Dani Rodriguez (who averaged 7.0 and has also pushed on massively), Julen Jon Guerrero (who deputised well for Sancet) and Inigo Vicente covered the AML position well too when needed (I'll explain in the transfers post!) This is the usual formation I've deployed for aeons now, whatever the save, and it seems to work well with Athletic Club. The wing backs like to get forward (though we may be more circumspect when using Nunez or Yeray at RB, say) and Vivian tends to be the ball-playing CB with the other being more defensively solid. Like a Ferdinand/Vidic combination. Our defensive midfielder is usually a ball-winning midfielder, trying to stop the opposition attackers getting to our defence. Vesga, Vencedor or Aldasoro can do that job, but I prefer the latter to be slightly further forward due to his physical prowess. The two centre midfielders tend to be an attacking playmaker (Sancet or Guerrero), with the second being more box-to-box, which Aldasoro or Vencedor can do well. If both play, generally Vencedor is the DM and Aldasoro the BBM. Vesga would always be a BWM. Generally, the wide players are inside-forwards who cut in, and fortunately the options here can play both flanks, so you have different options. Inaki is the main striker, but I'll try Nico, or Serrano at a push. Luckily, Inaki has great physical stats so can play most of the time (as in real life!) What I've experimented with, when I'm leading by a couple of goals and know that Inaki needs a rest, is to drop the ST back to an AMC and play a 4-3-3-0, similar to when Man Utd demolished Roma 7-1 back in 2006-07 and with the Spanish national team at times during their peak. Sancet is usually in that role and does really well in it. We still score goals, even though it's predominantly a formation switch to protect a lead. Transfers In terms of first team squad players, we signed Gorosabel (11.75m), Inigo Martinez (250k - for 20k per week!) and Inigo Vicente returned to the club for 5.25m, having torn up the second division (though he's more a rotation option in the AML position). We sold Berenguer for 10m and Villalibre for 2.5m. Loads of young players from across the Basque region joined the junior sides - usually speculative punts based on personality, attributes or gut feel. Only a few will succeed, but throw enough mud at a wall.... Youth Development Our two youth intakes have been steady, not spectacular, and we have a few guys who may develop well over the next few years. We found a superb French kid at Osasuna, who has serious potential and was a bargain at 500k. Generally, any player with serious potential gets loaned out to the Spanish and French second divisions, with an insistence on them starting regularly (sometimes that doesn't happen). Some players perform really well; for others less so. I suppose it partly depends on how well the side they join are doing. Of the guys who start at Athletic Club, Aimar Vicandi, Peio Canales, Peio Huestamendia, Daniel Belategi, and Gaizka Alboniga-Menor are doing well/OK. Junior Bita and Hugo Rincon aren't seeing loan moves turn into a massive uptick in attributes or development. We signed Mauro Echegoyen from Osasuna in the previous season because they weren't renewing his contract for some reason (he has serious potential, so sign him!) and he has done really well on loan and I see him as a first teamer in a few seasons. The guys above will probably be on loan again next season as they're not first team squad level yet. Looking Ahead The minimum expectations should be third but as we ran Barcelona much closer this season, there is a chance we could finish in the top two if we really perform. Muniain will leave for Saudi for 12.5m with no good wishes whatsoever - he is a terrible captain in this game and a really disruptive influence in the dressing room. Vesga is 32 now and may move on. Inigo Martinez returned for next to nothing but with the catch that he was retiring and I couldn't get him to reconsider. Chelsea have been sniffing around Simon and I am curious whether that will turn into a tempting bid because Agirrezabala has done so well when needed (and Alvaro Fernandez is out on loan), so we could cover the GK position - albeit to a slightly lesser extent. But that money could bring some quality reinforcements in, and I would rather lose Simon than Nico. Aimar and Guillamon would be great but out of the budget range unless we sell someone. Otherwise, I'm not sure anyone else is out there we're interested in, besides some regens who won't currently move (there is a Mexican-Basque player I found in the Mexican leagues but he can't move until next Summer anyway). Hopefully, a fairly stable Summer and a strong next season!

@bowieinspace I would consider getting Artiz Aldasoro from Santander as a backup DM - would cost a couple of million and has a great personality, and mental/physical attributes. He won't let you down. The Saudi money can help weaken rivals but can harm you later on if you try to sign anyone from a Saudi club. Robin Le Normand has gone to Al-Hilal but he's on 875k per week! I will never be able to bring him back to Spain.

I'm playing with Athletic Club as always. Girona night be a good save. They're doing really well so far this season and are part of the Man City stable of clubs.

2023-24 Season Review: The Champions League Awaits Originally, I thought I'd just run a season through a test save to see how the game plays. However, we did so well this season that it will now become my full save! We finished a comfortable 3rd in La Liga (14 and 12 pts behind Barcelona - undefeated all season - and Real Madrid respectively but 8 pts ahead of Atletico Madrid) and reached the Spanish Cup semis (a missed opportunity as neither Barcelona or Real Madrid got this far). We're lining up with the usual 4-1-2-2-1 - a solid ball-winning midfielder sitting behind a BBM and an AP (Sancet), with two inverted forwards supporting the AF. Berenguer is actually a decent AF option in this game. Villalibre is disappointing once again. An interesting season for transfers. Nothing really happened in Summer 2023 - Iker Munoz came in from Osasuna, whilst we moved some fringe players on like Nolaskoian, Guruzeta, Prados and Dani Garcia. In January 2024, we picked up a transfer-listed Aihen Munoz, and a couple of low value signings - Artiz Aldasoro from Santander and Unai Bilbao returned from Mexico for CB depth. Yuri, Oscar De Marcos, Aitor Paredes, Ander Herrera, Raul Garcia, and Inigo Ruiz de la Galareta moved on, most of them to the Saudi league. These two windows allowed us to do a lot of our squad transitioning early, with overpaid veterans being phased out and some of the younger players (Aimar Vicandi, Marvin de Lima, Hugo Rincon, Peio Canales, and Gaizka Alboniga-Menor) got minutes under their belt. Julen Jon Guerreo and a series of promising youngsters from other Basque clubs will join in the close season to improve the B, C and u19 squads. Second season budgets aren't too promising, so we might only be able to pick up one of our main targets - Guillamon or Djalo - unless anyone moves on (Man City are sniffing around Inaki Williams and I wouldn't reject an outlandish bid). EDIT: Gorosabel was probably the bigger priority as I'm weaker at RB than CB/CM/AML/AMR so he took up the majority of my transfer budget. I'm way under the wage limit, so that gives some room for manoeuvre. My other fight this Summer is to remove Muniain as captain. Every year he is terrible at addressing player unhappiness and is rather whiny himself. The club staff will be overhauled too. Next season will hopefully be one of consolidation, with a top four place the plan.

I wonder whether the Saudi clubs will be throwing money around like confetti ten years into the game? Is anyone convinced that this league will be running that way past the next few years?

He definitely does. He's available for around the 15m mark, so it's a bit of a squeeze first season if you prioritise other players/positions.

If you fire up the French leagues, there is a winger with Portuguese and Basque second nationality named Marvin de Lima. Starts with 1.5* ability but with 4* potential. Only likely to cost in the region of 1m. Bordeaux also have a RB from Bayonne, Johaneko Louis-Jean in the process of moving to Lugo. He's 19, can play RB and LB, and may have potential.

Also, definitely lock in Nico's release clause for way higher than the 92m I did, because Chelsea activated it (and you can't really replace him because Aimar, who does have a bump, would cost around the same by the end of the first season). Good job this is just a test save

Thanks for creating the thread @bowieinspace and looking forward to some good discussions this year! With the potential signings, a few other players I'd flag: David Garcia (DC), the Osasuna CB has been recently capped by Spain, but at 29 and a valuation of around £20m, you'll probably find that Guillamon represents better value if you're in the market for that position. Rodrigo Esteban (DC), a young CB in the Logrones B team who would do a good job for your own B team, and could act as an emergency backup in the first team too. Will be cheap and wages are manageable. Driven personality too, so that would help your young players. Jon Pacheco (DC), the Spanish under-21 defender will become surplus to requirements at Real Sociedad by the end of the first season, so would be an inexpensive fourth CB who can also play LB. Iker Munoz (DM/CM), the Osasuna midfield has been capped at under-21 level, and would be cheaper (and younger) than Moncayola. Pablo Ibanez (DC/DM/MC), the Osasuna midfielder is just as comfortable in the back four, and would offer inexpensive depth for the first team squad. Jon Guridi (DM/MC/AMC), the former Real Sociedad midfielder is now at Alaves, but at 29, he might only be a short-term option if you have gaps in central midfield after the first season. Aritz Aldasoro (DM/MC/AMC), a young midfielder at Real Racing Club (Santander) in the Segunda Division, who might be a technically average footballer but his mental and physical stats are good. Resolute personality too. Maybe an option for your B team? Unai Lopez (DM/MC/AMC) and Inigo Vicente (ML, AMLC, ST) might be two former Athletic Club players that you consider re-signing for squad depth. Dani Rodriguez (MC/AMRLC), the Barcelona youngster who was born in San Sebastian is again a player with huge potential and versatility. Should be available for a couple of million, and is likely to generate interest from big European clubs, so go early.

I assume Pafundi at Udinese is a world class player in the making.

I'm just using the early access period to try a few things out and will start my real save after the official release date to take advantage of any editing. First signs are that Paredes has improved a bit but nothing to suggest he will be around beyond the first season as you'll probably find a better option. Otherwise, the players are kind of at the same level as they were in FM 23.

Fwiw Gift and Djalo are Basque in FM24 but Mutilva isn't despite being born in Pamplona.

FM24 is here!

@southside_hitmen It will be interesting to see whether these players are given Basque second nationality in Fm24 but if not, I may let you work your magic before starting my save proper. I see that Alvaro Djaro is actually the cousin of Malcolm, in the Athletic Club squad.

I've had a few instances of regens being born in the Basque region but not having Basque nationality. In one case the guy was at Sporting Gijon and came through their academy. Would the game have decided that he moved out of the region at a young age and therefore didn't have Basque nationality? Hugo Guillamon left the Basque region aged two and he (eventually) had it in this game. He was a world class striker, that's why it annoyed me so.

I thought Elijah Gift signed for Athletic Club in the Summer.

That's a great career @MattyC78. I'm looking forward to the beta dropping so I can just mess around before the full release. I played around ten seasons last season, and it's always my main save. There is no game like it.

I generally don't but just use the beta to mess around.

Once the B team is in the second division you have a salary cap which makes having a competitive squad difficult if you've got guys on 20k per week who've never played in the first team. I've got no issue with a youngster who plays a few games in the first team wanting a new contract though.

With FM 24 I'd also like to see some common sense with young players' contracts. The lower quality players in an intake will accept a basic £55pw but anyone 3* or above immediately asks for crazy wages for a 16yo. And even guys in the youth squads at 18-19yo ask for even more stupid amounts to renew contracts. In some cases more than what half the first team requests. Athletic Club have some big earners and some first teamers are on more modest wages. But no B team player or below is going to be on anywhere near the kind of salaries those players ask for in FM.

I think we'll be in for another transition year. It seems the first season of the last few games have been reasonably tricky. I really hope the players you've mentioned do get a bump - Paredes, in particular. But also Imanol, Malcolm and Prados. All are in the first team squad and should have ability to reflect that. Artola should be better too. You may be right with Vencedor but Sancet should still be high class. I think Serrano will probably be less of a sure thing than he's been over the last few games. I'd like to see some promising young players from the start in the youth squads. Vicandi was good last year but that was it. Given the club's youth policy and their integration of those players into the first team I am amazed the youth squads start so poorly. I wouldn't expect too many options in the market. Odriozola has returned to Real Sociedad so that makes signing a RB harder. And I think some of the useful squad options like Robert Torres have moved. JJ Guerrero is on loan at Roma so it will be interesting what that deal is like. To be honest I want to avoid signing Real Sociedad and Osasuna players unless they move to another club first. So it's similar to before but harder!

Espanol are probably the biggest team in the Segunda division.

What's Paredes like at CB? He has played first team games irl. In FM he often has good defensive attributes but lacks physicals. Morcillo has just gone on loan to Amorebieta. Unai Gomez Etxebarria has played some first team games this season, so would be a good player to develop. Likewise Prados, who has never kicked on for me in past games. Vicandi did well for me in my main FM game so has (variable) potential. Generally I don't think the game gives you many options with the starting young players given the clubs preference and reputation for developing youth.

I think that's what I'll really do in FM24 which is only a few months away I guess. Or at least be more realistic with transfers, signing only from feeder clubs or where Sociedad/Osasuna/Alaves players have moved to another club first.

I've set a Lezama only save (relying on youth intakes, no signings) but I forgot how depressing the first couple of seasons are as you try to clear the dead wood out.