Jimbokav1971

Yep, he really is. We have some terrific young players at the club now. Things are developing really nicely.

NxGn 2055. (51a) Marinho (POR) * is developing well and this has been his 1st full season in the 1st Team. (53a) Khwinana (ENG) (RSA) * is still playing for the B Tean, but he's only 17 so has 1 more goes at this trophy and looks fantastic. (54a) Fati (GNB) (POR) 6'1" * is from last seasons intake, (so he also has 2 more goes at this trophy), but he is also developing well in the B Team. If I list the players at the club by CA rather than PA, then there are some players who might feel unlucky to have been missed off the list, but perhaps it was their PA that was their problem rather than their CA. While they might be good youngsters, they will never become Worldclass. (52b) Martins (POR) has been fast-tracked in to fill our problem left back position. (51d) Almeida (CAN) (POR) will play a full season for the B Team next season, and it should speed his development. (52i) Simões (POR) hasn't really found his form for the B Team, but he will be given another opportunity next season.

Youth Intake day. Mar 2055. What are we looking for? I really want a left back. Please please please a left back. A Generational talent! Let's have a look 1st before we get too carried away. This looks promising actually. 1x 5.0 PA player, 1x 4.5 PA player, 1x 4.0 PA player & 1x 3.5 PA player. Considering the quality of some of the players we have, this could be decent. The 4 players shown are DL, DM, MC & AMR. Only 1x DL. Let's hope he's decent. Squad by PA. The Nationalities aren't great and the personalities really aren't great, but there seems to be a fair amount of PA and a little CA too. Squad by Actual PA. Wow! 197 PA & 153 PA in the same intake. (55a) Mavioso (POR) * is an absolute beast. What a newgen! He's bloomin 15 and although his coach report says that he's a I would happily play him in the 1st Team now. This is the best PA player I have ever had. (55b) Cunha (BRA) * is a player who I thought was a winger initially, and although his only natural position is as striker, I see him more as a wide player. He will play in both positions as he develops, but his PPM's will be chosen with MR in mind. (55c) Sousa (POR) looks decent. A real grafter to play alongside a more cultured playmaker. (55d) Trindade (POR) is a much needed left back, but I'm gutted to see that he has the dreaded duo of (Unamb) & (L.Det). The only saving grace is that he (Pro) of 14. I'm still not sure I'm going to be able to develop him to reach his PA, but he has a good enough starting CA that we've at least got a chance. (55h) Filipe (POR) is a much needed right back. He looks a little weak physically, (in fact he looks weak all over), and in addition to that I don't like his PPM for a full back and he also has (L.Det) and his (Amb) 9 and (Pro) 10 are not exactly great. Ah well. we will just do our best and see how it goes. Whole squad by Actual PA. We're developing considerable depth in terms of PA, and 3 of this intake make the 1st page. I'm actually a little surprised by how much depth we have. We had a 187 PA player in 2053 and a 197 PA player in 2055. I can't wait for 2057 when we get a 207 PA player!

Feb 2055. Liga Bwin. I can't begin to tell you how angry I am about the Nacional result. I mean apoplectic. xG watch. We won all the xG battles, (just), the the Nacional game was still an absolute shambles! Nacional 0.88 - 0.89 Belenenses. Belenenses 3.34 - 0.62 Famalicao. Belenenses 4.21 - 0.24 Estoril. UEFA Champions League. This was rubbish too, but I was so angry about the Nacional game that this hardly registered. Goal-scoring GK's. Finances.

Jan 2055. Liga Bwin. What a rubbish month. We drop points in not 1 but 2 league games, and also lose a Cup Final. We have particularly suffered with players being away on AFCON duty and in particular my 2nd choice midfield pairing, (who are both away representing Cape Verde). xG watch. We won the xG battles in all 4 league games this month and how we didn't beat Varzim is one of life's great mysteries. We should have also beaten Benfica, but at least it was a close game. Belenenses 3.36 - 0.76 Varzim. Benfica 1.48 - 2.35 Belenenses. Belenenses 2.68 - 0.44 Boavista. Guimaraes 0.45 2.50- Belenenses. Taça de Portugal Placard. It was tight, but we squeezed through. Allianz League Cup. Playing the Final just days after the Semi will always seem strange to me. Goal-scoring GK's. It's interesting how poor (50f) Loris (LUX) (FRA) 6'0" is from the spot. His penalty taking attribute is 3, but I have seen GK's with a penalty talking attribute of 1 score more regularly than this. I wonder how his % will change as he takes more pens? Finances.

Dec 2054. Liga Bwin. It was a tough old month, not just with 6 league games, (+2 more), 5 of which were away games including the 4 on the bounce, We're still top of the table by 3 pts, but Braga are now just 3 pts back, Benfica are 4 pts back and Porto are 6 pts back, (with a game in hand). xG watch. We've done well in the 1st 5 league games this month, but Porto were too strong for us and made it count. Moreirense 1.56 - 1.85 Belenenses. Belenenses 3.49 - 0.33 Portimonense. Adademica Coimbra 0.14 - 2.84 Belenenses. Gil Vicente 2.75 - 3.59 Belenenses. PdF 0.74 - 4.12 Belenenses. Porto 1.19 - 0.73 Belenenses. UEFA Champions League. We secured top spot in our Group. Taça de Portugal Placard. A weakened team romped into the next round. Youth Intake preview. 4x A's is interesting, especially as they mention 2x DM's and 2x SC's. Goal-scoring GK's. Just 2 goals this month. Finances.

Nov 2054. Liga Bwin. We've finally lost our 1st league game of the season when I started to wonder if we had a slight chance of going unbeaten. We've dropped to 2nd, but have a game in hand on Braga. xG watch. The lass against Braga came as a result of a 1st half sending off, but we still bossed the game. Belenenses 2.97 - 1.68 Sporting. Belenenses 1.40 - 0.14 Braga. UEFA Champions League. We have qualified from the Group. Now it just remains to be seen if we will finish 1st or 2nd. Taça de Portugal Placard. Goal-scoring GK's. 2 more GK goals this month. Finances.

2000 up. Nov 2054.

Oct 2054. Liga Bwin. 3 more wins make it a maximum 30 pts out of 30 to start the league season. We're 2 pts clear of Porto and we have 1 game in hand. We're 6 pts ahead of Benfica with a game in hand and 7 pts ahead of Sporting. xG win. We're dominant in the 1st 2 games, but we destroy Nacional. Belenenses 2.18 - 0.79 EdA. Leixoes 0.92 - 2.08 Belenenses. Belenenses 4.79 - 0.90 Nacional. UEFA Champions League. A comfortable win and we are just about assured of our position in the Knockout stages. Taça de Portugal Placard. Another comfortable win. Allianz League Cup. The Reserves have eased us into the Knockout stages. Records. Usually when you take a picture like this you lose the next game, however we have won 2 more games since this so the record is now up to 16. Goal-scoring GK's. Just the 1 GK goal this month. Finances.

Sep 2054. Liga Bwin. 3 wins and 2 clean sheets is great, but even better is 2x 1-0 wins when your GK scores the goals. We're level on pts at the top with Braga, but they have played a game extra and I don't expect them to keep this up. Nacional are the only other unbeaten side, (but they have dropped 6 points through 3 draws), and Benfica have already lost 3 games. xG watch. A little surprising that we didn't score more goals this month, but can't really complain as long as we're keeping things tight at the back. Belenenses 2.38 - 0.38 Guimaraes. Famalicao 0.66 - 2.17Belenenses. Estoril 0.38 - 2.73 Belenenses. UEFA Champions League. 2 good wins see us in a decent place at this early stage. Allianz League Cup. A weakened XI had enough to see off Porto. Goal-scoring GK's. A good month for our GK's with (50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 6'0" scoring in 3 successive games and (50f) Loris (LUX) (FRA) 6'0" scoring his 1st career goal. Finances.

Atletico won the Champions League in 38/39 nad current Leeds Manager irl Jesse Marsch was manager. He actually won 3 Cups in 2 seasons after the previous manager Fernando Torres won 3 Cups in 8.5 seasons. Marsch won the Europa Conference League, then the Champions League and then the UEFA Super Cup. Torres won the Europa Conference League, then the Europa League and then the UEFA Super Cup.

Aug 2054. Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. We were very much 2nd best and 5-0 would have been a fairer reflection of their dominance. We did have players absent though. Liga Bwin. It's a good start to the league campaign. Nobody scored more than 1 goal against up and we kept a clean sheet against Benfica, (who have already lost 2 of 5 games). xG watch. We lost the xG battle against Benfica, (despite being at home), but other than that we were pretty dominant. Belenenses 3.57 - 0.54 PdF. Varzim 0.91 - 2.93 Belenenses. Belenenses 1.33 - 1.66 Benfica. Boavista 0.69 - 3.33 Belenenses. Goal-scoring GK's. Finances.

Be sure to expand the quoted but above because I have responded in there too for ease. Liga Bwin now ranked 3rd highest Rep competition. Champions League Winnners in recent years. Something to watch out for here are the CA/PA values of grey GK's in some of these squads. Liverpool Squad by Actual PA. This actually seems high to me, so maybe you're right and I;m wrong. I suspect that things are still being skewed by so few active leagues though. R.Madrid squad by Actual PA. PSG squad by actual PA. Bayern squad by Actual PA. How many Brazilians? Dortmund squad by Actual PA. Very interesting that the 3x highest PA players at Dortmund are actually grey players, (because they don't have enough players in their senior squad). I wonder what determines the level of grey player that you are given if you don't have enough real players available in the correct positions? Man City squad by Actual PA. Just for the hell of it now I;m going to look at clubs who have Worldclass players in real life, but who haven't appeared on this list so far and who I think are generally not playing in the Champions League. I actually came here to tell you that the Big 6 in England is now the Big 4 because Spurs and Man Utd have fallen away, but actually both have experienced some sort of recent resurgence. Spurs. Despite their recent resurgence and winning the Premier League last season, this is exactly what I was hoping to find. There are loads of grey players here. The buying/drawing power of the regular Champions League teams has meant that in an inactive structure, the bigger sides just hoover up the quality and there are fewer 2nd level players available in the Nation so they go without. Some of these grey players are ridiculous! The question isn't "how have Spurs won the Premier League?", but how have Spurs won the Premier League with grey players? The truth is that we know the answer to that already. They do not get tired, fatigued or injured. The truth is that Spurs are so bad that they have become good. Man Utd.

Squad depth. Aug 2054. When I usually do this, my thinking is with regards to the here and now so it's more CA than PA, (although PA obviously plays a part). This time though I;m thinking longer term and it's going to be based on PA rather than CA, (but obviously CA still plays a part because a player with really low CA will find it hard to reach his PA). GK's. (50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 6'0" is far and away 1st choice and like Simões before him will play in every game for which he's fit and available. (46i) Silva (POR) 6'0" will be 2nd choice but obviously he's out on loan. DL's. This is probably the weakest area of the squad. (52b) Martins (POR) is actually a lefty and was always the long term DL. (50g) Martins (POR) (FRA) DL is a DC/DM but I'm going to retrain him as a DL immediately. (52c) Pinto (POR) is both footed, but the 2nd best long-term option as DL we've got. (49h) Ndlovu (POR) (RSA) 6'0" is more a centre-half than a DL, but needs must. (48c) Bronze (POR) 6'0" was going to be 1st choice, but he has become very unhappy that I wouldn't sell him to such an extent that he now considers me and adversary. Last season I couldn't get him to perform at all and I may be forced to sell him. (41a) Gil (POR) * finished last season playing left back. He's a "righty" and has been playing MR for most of his career to this point. DR's. (48c) Bronze (POR) 6'0" was always the long term option at DR (once we got someone through who could play at DL). The only issue is that he was so unhappy last season that he was next to useless. (50d) Fitas (POR) has the personality to allow him to reach his PA. (50a) Amarante (POR)(CPV) 5'10" is too short to play centre-half (imo), so might just be a wildcard option for DR. (36c) Mussagi (POR) (MOZ) * has been our 1st choice DR for about 14 years. (45f) Basto (POR) has been a decent back-up, but is currently out with strained knee ligaments which might take it's toll. DC's. While the full-back areas are a real weakness, centre-half is very much a strength. (54a) Fati (GNB) (POR) 6'1" * has not just an excellent PA, but also a very good starting CA and a decent personality. He will spend this season playing for the B Team. (50a) Amarante (POR)(CPV) 5'10" is too short to play centre-half (imo), so might just be a wildcard option for DR. (48b) Teixeira (POR) 6'3" * shows that an (Unamb) personality, (Amb of 5) is not a barrier towards developing a decent PA player to his potential. (45e) The Gimp (ENG) 6'3" seems to be one of those players who outperforms his ability. (41d) Hussein (TAN) 6'5" * is 29 but has been one of our top performers. He came through the Academy 3 years after (54a) Fati (GNB) (POR) 6'1" * was born. MC's. While we are are weak in the wide areas of both defense and midfield, we are strong all the way through the middle. (44c) Ogbu (ENG) (NGA) * is maxed out at 170 PA and although he only has 2 years left on his contract, I have just signed him to a new 5+1 deal on £500k a month. (51j) Vicente (POR) is a player I really like as a DLP on the left. (47k) Tavares (CPV) already has 52 Caps at age 22. His Cap count is going to be ENORMOUS! (49f) Santos (POR) is more a grafter than a playmaker. (49a) Odhiambo (POR) (KEN) (44l) Teixeira (CPV) (POR) has 64 Caps aged 26. ML's & MR's. ML's. (47a) Soares (POR) (49e) Madruga (POR) (53b) Espínola (POR) (46d) Osório (POR) MR's. (51a) Marinho (POR) * (54b) Soares (CPV) (POR) (52i) Simões (POR) (52e) Oliveira (CPV) SC's. (44a) Simões (POR) * (53a) Khwinana (ENG) (RSA) * (50l) Bartlett (ENG) (51b) Oliveira (POR) (45c) Rosa (POR) *

Yeah, we've done really well in terms of PA in recent intakes, but actually I think the CA is still lower than I would expect. The GK is dead. Long live the GK! We're playing 442. Have done for about 3-4 issues of FM now. I don't like using overpowered formations and there is a balance with 442 that suits a Youth Only save. I don't think the feeders have helped in the slightest. The active leagues are Portugal, Spain & Brazil, but we haven't had a great Newgen from either of them. I have been desperate to get a South American Feeder but it just hasn't been an option, (but I will keep trying). I think we started with feeder clubs from Spain, Angola, Sweden, Cape Verde, Holland, Japan, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa & France. The Nations in bold have a link that sees players of that Nationality coming through our Youth Team ranks. Brazil is the one I really want for obvious reasons. Having a player come through the ranks from a foreign Nation sounds great, (and I love it personally), but from a purely number-crunching point of view I'm not sure that it makes sense to remove a player produced in Portugal and replace him with a player originating from a Nation with a lower Youth rating, but I suppose the player we lose is the lowest rated so maybe that evens it up a little. Benfica are producing some great players, but even more importantly they are playing the transfer market REALLY well. I've just checked and they have more than a full page of players with a PA of 150>. 1. João Carlos was bought from Brazil for £12M and is currently worth £43M-£55M. 2. Samuel was bought from Brazil for £13.5M and is currently worth £246M-£268M. 3. Olexandr Lytvyn came through the Benfica Academy via an affiliate link and is worth £77M-£122M. 4. Javier was produced in Spain and signed as an experienced player for £19.25M. 5. Gonçalo Saramago came through the Benfica Academy. 6. Márcio Aires came though the Benfica Academy. 7. Kostyantyn Dontsov came through the Benfica Academy via an affiliate link. 8. Braian Lareu was signed from Argentina for £9.75M and is currently worth £41M-£64M. 9. Betinho was signed from Brazil for £9.25M and is currently worth £81M-£100M. 10. Javi Pérez was produced in Spain and signed as an experienced player for ££27.5M. 11. Fernando Gabriel is a Brazilian who came through a Belgian Academy & was signed on a free. He has made 650+ appearances for Benfica. 12. Luis Correia came through the Benfica Academy. 13. David Espinoza was signed on a free from Peru and is worth £20M-£31M. 14. Xavier Rodríguez was signed from Colombia for £700,000 and is currently worth £3.2M 15. Chinedu Tanko is a Nigerian who came through the Porto Academy but was signed as an experienced player from Liverpool for £17M. 16. Ruslan Kotov came through the Benfica Academy via an affiliate link. 17. Tobías Domínguez was signed from Spain for £775,000 and is worth £6M-£9.6M. 18. Steven McAuley is a Scot who came through the Liverpool Academy. He was signed from Chelsea for £30M as an experienced player. 19. Cristian Avero was signed from Uruguay on a free and is currently worth £35M-£47M 20. Antoni Sowiński came through the Benfica Academy via an Affiliate link. 21. Stepan Kolomiets came through the Benfica Academy via an Affiliate link. 22. Eduardo López was signed from PSG for £26.5M and is currently worth £49M-£61M 23. Nikita Nikitin was signed from Liverpool for £10.25M and is currently worth £44M-£66M. 24. Kevin Infante was signed from Liverpool for £27M and is currently worth £56M-£85M. 25. Eugene Bogdanov came through the Benfica Academy via an Affiliate link. So to summarise.... 4 of top 25 PA players are products of Benfica Academy. 5 of top 25 PA players are products of Benfica Academy via Affiliate links. 4 have been signed as experienced players and are likely to be sold for a loss. 12 have been signed and will be sold for significant profit. So actually, if you take away the 5 foreigners, (4x Ukrainians and 1x Pole), who have come through the Benfica Academy, the Academy has only produced 4 of 25 players, but with them it's a much more significant 9 of 25. 12 players have been signed for big profits and just 4 have been signed at their peak and will not generate a profit when sold. That's quite astonishing business from Benfica over a prolonged period and not something you usually see with the AI at all. Is it possibly skewed because we only have 3 active leagues? Yes, but they are still making the correct decisions. This certainly didn't used to happen with the AI. Benfica actually have quite similar affiliates to us. It';s interesting that they don't have one in Brazil. (I would have bet money that they would). I know that the foreign players came through the Academy via an affiliate link because it tells me. I've never actually checked any of mine so let's check them now. I've just gone back and checked the intakes for the last 10 years and checked every single player who has a Nationality or 2nd Nationality the same as our feeders and not a single one of them was produced as a result of the affiliate links. (Not even the Cape Verde players). I wonder what the difference is?????

Yes, he is more than ready. In truth he has probably been held back a little and part of the reason he has missed 4 penalties in his career is recent frustration with regards to him playing in Liga 2 for the B Team. On the plus side he has already scored 28 career goals at the age of 19. By the same stage of his career, (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" had only scored 5 career goals. I wondered how I would feel about (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" retiring, and continuing the save, but actually I'm fine to carry on. (50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 6'0" has a real opportunity at 200 career goals I think.

Yep, didn't see that until afterwards, but haven't looked for a while. Would obviously have preferred him to keep going for another season and see out his contract, but I can't complain about 167 career goals. Interesting that his biography says that he has only made 488 league appearances when he has made 518 appearances, (although 28 of them were made while out on loan and 2 more were for the B Team), and it's these appearances that haven't been counted. I will have to go and report that. It's only a tiny thing but it's not right. He didn't surpass the Lucio record of 176 career goals, but if anything his achievements are even more spectacular because he was playing for a less dominant team than that FM14 San Marino side.

(31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" retires.

Disaster. May 2054. Stranded on 167 career goals, (and chasing a target of 176 career goals), (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" has decided to retire. I've asked him to reconsider. But couldn't change his mind. Absolutely gutted. But at least he went out while still performing at the top level.

May 2054. Liga Bwin. Taça de Portugal Placard. Goal-scoring GK's. Finances.

Devastation. May 2054. (31g) Simões (POR) 6'1" is on 167 career goals but this could be a huge stumbling block because it might take him a while to get over this. He's devastated that he has missed out on the (POR) World Cup squad. I wonder how unhappiness related to International selection will compare with domestic happiness and how that transfers to his ability to convert from the spot. #

Mar & Apr 2054. I keep forgetting to do the March updates because I do the Youth Intake update on the 20th March and then think I've already done an update recently so there can't be another one due. Liga Bwin. The 1st 4 games in this period were great, and as we were taking 3 points again and again, Benfica were drawing again and again, with 4 consecutive draws at the start of this period meaning that we were somehow level with them on points, (but still behind them on our head to head record). Just when I thought we might pull of the comeback of all comebacks, we coughed up 4 pts with away draws at Guimaraes & Porto to fall 4 pts behind them again as they returned to winning ways. xG watch. We won all the xG battles in this 2 month period, and although we dropped points in 2 games at the end, the games were away, against tough opposition and we were fatigued. Belenenses 3.89 - 0.21 Dezembro. Moreirense 1.73 - 3.57 Belenenses. Belenenses 2.59 - 0.67 Famalicao. Belenenses 2.75 - 0.73 Sporting. Guimaraes 0.5 - 0.91 Belenenses. Porto 0.91 - 1.66 Belenenses. UEFA Champions League. We led Liverpool 1-0 from the 1st leg and managed to also beat them in the 2nd leg, (much to my surprise). We did really well against PSG and drawing 2-2 in the dying minutes we conceded the winner after our GK was stranded upfield after taking a short free-kick and losing possession rather than delivering the ball from out wide. In the 2nd leg we we won 2-1 after 90 mins, forcing extra time. Unfortunately PSG scored and we didn't so they went through. Taça de Portugal Placard. We smashed them in the 1st leg and it allowed me to pick team for the 2nd leg based on PA rather than CA. Goal-scoring GK's. Finances.

Absolutely. I know we did the treble last season, but it's still really competitive.

NxGn 2054. Mar 2054. (53a) Khwinana (ENG) (RSA) is ranked #9 on this list at 16 years old, meaning that he has 3 more attempts at winning this. He's having a good 1st season for the B Team. (50a) Amarante (POR)(CPV) 5'10" has just been capped for the 1st time by (POR) as a teenager. His height/jumping is an issue though. (50l) Bartlett (ENG) is having a storming season for the B Team and I expect him to finish on 40+ goals by the end of the season. (50c) Ako (FRA) (GPE) 5'11" has been capped 5 times already by (FRA), but needs to play at a higher level to develop further I think. I'm expecting the following players to appear in next years list. (53a) Khwinana (ENG) (RSA) will be 17 next season. (51a) Marinho (POR) * will be 19 next season. (51b) Oliveira (POR) will be 19 next season. (52b) Martins (POR) will be 19 next season. We have other players who have the potential to feature on this list in the future, but next season is likely to be too soon for most of them.

No offsides? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61808907