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2027/2028 Season Review - Treble Spectacular La Liga - Winners, 94 points, 2 points clear of Real Madrid Copa Del Rey - Winners, beat Real Madrid in final Supercopa - Winners, beat Barcelona in final Champions League - Lost in QF to Man Utd on penalties A really fantastic domestic season winning everything we could! It was a touch scrappy though, especially coming through the latter half of the season after the update to the match engine, as while our tactics are still very good, our primary 4-3-3 I found from the match engine changes we were being caught on the counter more often than I'd like. I played with a few adjustments and will continue to do that over the summer - likely just tweaking the left back from wing back to full back role. The mezzala on that side pushes a lot higher off the ball than in previous games so combined with an attacking IF, that side of the pitch is at risk. Transfers/Squad Building Robin Le Normand was a really good addition for us and allowed us to have 3 centre backs of similar quality to rotate. Aside from that, the two young left backs I promoted last season have both continued to develop consistently which is great. This summer I don't have any major additions planned, just one signing so far which is a second/third choice goalkeeper (Ayeza out, Iker Alvarez in). I have loaned out Peio Arregi for a season of consistent first team football, as well as a couple other young prospects who could have contributed. I am promoting a couple of youngers who I have featured below. EDIT - We have sold Andoni Etxabe and I've promoted Alain Rubio to take his spot as back up to Nico Williams. Etxabe will be a loss as he's a physical unit and scores quite a few headers, but I feel like he's hit his peak. Rubio has a lot of room to grow so I'm going to give him a go. If it doesn't work, Etxabe has gone to Man Utd so will be transfer listed in 12 months anyway. GK - Simon, Padilla, Iker Alvarez RB - Barrenetxea, Gorosabel LB - Lacruz, Villar CB - Vivian, Guillamon, Le Normand, Goni DM - Vencedor, Iker Castro/Javier Prieto (mostly Castro as he's no longer eligible for the B team). I will use Guillamon here too. CM - Sancet, Gallego, Moncayola, Julen Jon Guerrero RW - Nico Williams, Rubio LW - Aimar, Pascual CF - Garai, Karrikaburu or Javi I am giving Javi pre season with the squad to see if I want to use him instead of Karrikaburu...make or break.

Not sure if Aritz Aduriz is in game, could be a good one. I use a made up person myself and make them have some bits resembling me, but with the requisite experience etc within professional football to warrant being given the Athletic job

I've just watched Jon Moncayola do a panenka, and the keeper just stood there and caught it LOL I had the uncontrollable lol's for a good minute or so

January Update and Player Spotlight We finally won our first Supercopa! Not a big deal but we've been consistently unlucky in that cup so nice to finally get one. Transfers wise it's super quiet for us really, we signed a couiple of youth players but I think our days signign experienced players are waning. On the competitions front we're still ticking along in the early stages of the Copa del Rey, and we look set to qualify in the top 8 of the Champions League league phase. I thought I'd tie in January updates with a bit of a spotlight on elite players who have come through with us from a young age. This time around it's Mikel Gallego - we signed him at 18 from Sociedad so he's not a pure academy product, but he's our top talent for sure and still plenty of room to grow. Before After

The major update today seems really good. I think it’s a bit easier to sign under 18s now thankfully

I definitely considered Griezmann around that time as well but didn’t go for it, still will have a couple years in him given how much slower players decline this year

Thanks! Carlo Ancelotti leaving had a bit of an impact in my save. Klopp came in and they are still good but have dropped off a bit seemingly. They also sold Vinicius Jr to Man City which has helped too

Update! Mikel Merino is still way too expensive but something may become possible there which would allow me to loan out Arregi. I was however able to snag 30 year old Robin Le Normand! Paid a reasonable fee of 25million but he’s high natural fitness and professionalism so he will be an elite player for a good few years. He gives me a top tier defensive option so Etxebarria has been loaned out for the season. This move also allows me to utilise Guillamon in a dm role with Le Normand and and Vivian at CB if for example Vencedor was injured for a cup final or something

2026/2027 Season Review - Centurions! La Liga - 1st, 100 points Copa Del Rey - Lost in Semi Final to Real Madrid Supercopa - Lost in Semi Final Atletico Champions League - Lost in Quarter Final to Man United Huge domestic league success hitting 100 points and only losing 1 game. We lost away to Real Madrid with about 5 games to go in a tight game to lose our invincible opportunity, but no complaints there - overall just an excellent league season. In the Champions League we played Man United 3 times and they absolutely battered us twice at Old Trafford. We went into the second leg of the knock out match against them 2-0 down and could definitely have turned it around, but we weren't clinical enough at home where we finally played well. In both the away games it felt like we couldn't string two passes together! Cups were a somewhat regular result with tight losses to Real and Atletico. Transfers/Squad Building Ander Barrenetxea was a fantastic signing for us and has actually improved a lot too. We've elected to move him to right back generally speaking as I play a wing back attack on that side and he's brilliant in that role - this gives youngster Ander Pascual more opportunities at LW. Mikel Merino was a really successful loan and I'm keen to bring him in permanently, unfortunately he's 31, within the final 12 months of his deal and transfer listed, but Man City still want 35million for him! I'm just playing the waiting game really and hopefully that one happens as it will mean I can loan 1 of my younger players out for a full season of games. I could sign Zubimendi for 40million but it's not that interesting to me - Merino as an older option is probably a better fit for us as it dovetails better with our up and comers. Mikel Gallego is flying with his development and looks set to be a top, top player. Pascual is moving a touch slower in terms of attributes but his potential has remained high throughout, so excited to see what he can do. Etxabe and Garai are both very solid and look set to be good players for us until an elite talent appears in their positions. Chevalier I am not convinced by - he's that type of newgen you see who isn't big enough to be a CB, isn't technical enough to be a DM and isn't explosive enough to be a full back. He's just one of those utility guys who would maybe find a niche in a back 3 or something. Either way, I'm starting to wonder if other right back prospects may be the way to go, so looking for a loan opportunity for him. Julen Jon Guerrero had a fantastic loan spell in Portugal and returns much improved, so I've incorporated him into the squad this season. Arregi also had a good loan spell but may benefit from another, so his position may depend on our ability to sign Mikel Merino. Squad - GK - SImon, Padilla, Ayeza (Agirrezabala is still around but likely being sold) RB - Barrenetxea, Gorosabel, Chevalier (trying to loan out Chevalier!) LB - Lacruiz, Villar.... Javi Lopez has been sold and AIhen Munoz released on a free so these two could come in from the academy CB - Vivian, Guillamon, Goni, Etxebarria DM - Vencedor, Arregi CM - Sancet, Moncayola, Gallego, Julen Jon Guerrero RW - Nico Williams, Etxabe LW - Aimar, Pascual CF - Karrikaburu, Garai The New Promotions from the Academy If I get Mikel Merino in, either this guy or Arregi will leave on loan This guy was going to get 7-8 games in the first team at the tail end of last season only to pick up a 8 week injury. He's back now, slightly hampered his progress, but he will share LB duties with Villar this season... Lacruz's bad fortunate with his injury allowed this guy to get the first team opportunity at the end of last season. He did ok and I rate Lacruz more highly, so he will likely get more opportunities but Villar looks solid too.

Damnit @MattyC78 you just beat me to getting a league title on the thread hahaha. Either way you did it a season or two earlier than me Awesome work bud, it’s been harder this year with Real being very strong/consistent so great to see someone smash them

I think you’ll find it does more of what you want for sure! The complete wing back position is one of those that often gets misused as people miss the fine print haha. Good luck!

@jippo45 what are your intents for the wing backs in this system? I always ask when i see complete wing backs cause it’s such a niche role. The roam from position PI it comes with can mean they drift inside to find creative opportunities, and they need some impressive creative attributes to really make use of the role. Looking at David Arbeloa he may be better suited to a straight wing back role! Especially with your system lacking width it makes sense to use a role that holds them wider all the time

January 2027 Update Will try to keep this brief! In La Liga we have played 21, won 20, drawn 1. Naturally we are top, and have a 12 point cushion so things are looking promising for potentially our first domestic league title! In the Champions league we went through the league phase in 2nd with 19 points from 8 games. We're still in the Copa Del Rey (quarters) and lost to Atletico (again lol) in the Supercopa...penalties this time. Transfer wise we let Yeray go on loan to Lille for the last 6 months of his contract - he wasn't being played following the Guillamon signing and I had newgen Mikel Goni as first choice back up to get him developing quicker. Aihen Munoz is going to play out the remainder of the season until the end of his contract and I'll be promoting a newgen to take his LB spot next season (probably as first choice as well). Mikel Merino was transfer listed at Man City, they wanted obscene money for him so I opted for a loan for the rest of the season. I do have an optional buy clause but I won't pay it, I'll just wait and see if he becomes cheaper in the summer as he will only have 12 months left on his deal. This has allowed me to loan out Peio Arregi to get more game time as he's not quite good enough for me to fully trust him if Vencedor can't play.

It's on the first page in the intro posts - I've not had any need to change it and when I've tweaked it I've generally not been happy with something, I have quite a opposition instructions on which aren't shown but that's about it. The opposition instructions are basically in a nut shell: Central midfield, defensive mid and central defenders - close down, mark tigher, tackle harder Wingers and full backs - Show on to weaker foot

I can’t say for sure that I’ve seen someone with a nationality other than Spanish/basque, but I have definitely seen good basque players come through at other clubs on occasion. I remember one at Man City and one at Bayern specifically from last games - I’m sure there were more. I assume they had an additional nationality but I don’t remember

Yeah quite similar, I’ve made a few tweaks to suit players but no substantial difference. I explored taking work ball into box off but found it made my defence worse… seems an odd conclusion but I found we were losing the ball more regularly and in a less organised circumstance, getting caught more often in situations where our rest defence wasn’t well organised. I have a lot of opposition instructions which aren’t mentioned in the post (mainly focused around trapping inside and winning the ball in central midfield), and I will adjust my step up/drop off instructions regularly depending on the opposition.

Well I've been making my way through my new season very slowly thanks to work deciding to get in the way. 13 games in, 12 wins, 1 draw, +37 goal difference. My squad changes have worked quite well.

Yeah that’s quite surprising! He wasn’t available in my save certainly

I play an Athletic Club save every year so am limited to developing academy players or signing the few basque options out there, so I’m very familiar with development in fm including fm23. I’ve had no issues personally seeing development from my young players, and this includes both existing players and newgens. in my save I’ve seen substantial current ability improvements from a few existing players such as Nico Williams and Dani Vivian, and then of course I’ve had a few who never really kicked on much as well. Unai Vencedor is perhaps my most interesting as he saw little improvement at 21-23 then suddenly kicked on a fair bit at 24 and 25 years old, which was cool to see. Vencedor has a fixed peak potential ability roughly around his starting CA which he has now definitely exceeded. When the full game released I looked up his PA in the pre game editor as I’d had such little development from him I was intrigued if he’d had a significant PA reduction for fm23, and it just appeared he had failed to achieve his potential in my save, but then he suddenly started seeing those attributes improve in my save at a slightly older age. He may never reach his PA but he had certainly improved noticeably in those later years. I can echo others on this thread referencing that peak PA is as far as I am aware a historical value that doesn’t impact the game.

I think you've made the right call - Inaki is on a huge wage but ultimately there aren't gettable options who really improve on him or are even on par with him. I've found Karrikaburu to be excellent though, but I've had them both in my team and Inaki was key for a few years. It's only now I'm a good few seasons in and I have newgens coming through that I felt comfortable letting Inaki go

My ruthless squad turnover this summer has stepped up a notch! Inaki Williams, gone. Nico Serrano, gone. Ander Barrenetxea - in! I elected to go hard - I've been considering Barrenetxea for a while, but decided to let Inaki go and bring him in instead for a few reasons: 1) Barrenetxea has a perfectionist personality and I need mentors 2) He's 24 and his wage is a fair bit lower 3) He can play right back! My young right back Chevalier is pretty weak for the top level, so if Gorosabel gets a bad injury I can utilise Barrenetxea as an attacking wing back. Nico Serrano may surprise a few - unfortunately he's not developed that well for me (as a rough guide he looks set to max out at 2.5 or 3*). I have a good young player coming through in Andoni Etxabe, and Serrano has been pretty 'meh' when he's played, so I elected to take an offer of 21million for Serrano. Aihen Munoz is hanging on in there, I think I'll keep him and reassess the left back scenario in January or next summer.

I'd say it's been tougher this year for sure - unsure if that's changes to the game or simply Real being in a good place on the game, or maybe both? Historically within the first 4-5 seasons the big teams would all have a bad year and you'd win a title with points in the late 80s, at least in my save that's not been possible.

Thanks! Yeah here’s a video about the faces https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pmdIkhfmY6w

2025/26 Season Review - We Beat Real Madrid! We finally beat Real Madrid in a final, and we followed it up with some other success: La Liga - 4th, 83 points (Barcelona champions on 93) Copa Del Rey - Winners, beat Real Madrid in final 2-1 Champions League - Winners, beat Liverpool 4-1(!!!) in the final Supercopa - Lost in SF to Real Madrid Oh my goodness we only went and won 2 trophies! We firstly defeated Real Madrid 2-1 to win the Copa Del Rey with two goals from Karrikaburu - we then had the league and Champions League still to go. Following the Copa Del Rey we absolutely collapsed in the league, winning only 2 of our last 7 games against pretty mediocre opposition...it was a horrible run where we were comfortably winning the xG battle only to keep conceding goals from nowhere. It was a tough watch - a cup winning hangover perhaps? We did however manage to get ourselves up for the Champions League, where our run to the final saw us beat Juve, PSG, Arsenal, Sporting CP and then a fantastic final win over Liverpool! Transfers With just the additional of Mikel Gallego last season, we had our biggest budget by far coming in to the summer of 2026 (current time). We've decided to draw a line under this current squad somewhat with the Champions league win, so a bit of squad turnover is coming. Although we won trophies this season we were incredibly inconsistent at times so I am a touch frustrated with the group. We've started off with a 50million signing of Hugo Guillamon - he will play alongside Vivian at CB mostly. We have elected to let Muniain go (new challenge), Nolaskoain, Unai Nunez and Ander Capa. We're also letting Agirrezabala go (Julen, GK) as he was keen on a move to be a more important player. Replacing these guys will be young players. I'm tempted to now phase out Inaki Williams also, as well as Aihen Munoz. Youth Intake More wingers, although one of them can be a good RB! Squad Planning GK - Simon, Padilla, Ayeza RB - Gorosabel, Chevalier LB - Javi Lopez, Munoz (two youth prospects waiting in the wings if we sell Munoz) CB - Vivian, Guillamon, Yeray, Mikel Goni DM - Vencedor, Arregi CM - Sancet, Aimar, Gallego, Moncayola RW - Nico Williams, Serrano LW - Inaki Williams, Ander Pascual CF - Karrikaburu, Alain Garai Welcome to the new first team promotions!