El Payaso

Remove: The horrible looking faces that the game generates for newgens and staff members created by the game. These should be replaced with some kind of AI that creates real-looking human faces. Player and staff search. These two tools are too powerful with all the filters available. Interface: Bring back the light version if the skin. Tactics/ME: Passing lane blocking. In real life the coaches are usually looking to cut the supply for certain opposition players instead of placing specific instructions to take them out of the game. Formations. As asymmetrical formations often turn out to be quite powerful, the human players should only have access to the same formations as the AI has. Closing down starting before the ball is received by the attacking player. This, was most evident problem with FM 2017 match engine where the defensive sides shifted to close down the ball carrier too late which usually opened a huge space for someone else in the middle which was unmanned. This would create the chaos factory that the game is missing. Interface of the 2D match engine. It's quite ugly at the moment with no stadiums. Lot of us still and probably always will use only the 2D match engine, so it should still be improved back to the level where it once was. Transfers The AI needs to be more competitive in the transfer market in general. The whole transfer system needs an overhaul where long transfer sagas like MBappe & Real Madrid could happen. Currently it is too easy to just pick the players that you want and get the deals done with just a couple of clicks and in days of time.

Good point. Come to think about, decided to make a couple of changes: dropped the Trequartista to the number 10 positions, changed the wingbacks to IWBs and kept the Mezzalas. This should make it way more balanced, increase positional play and also force lot of the play happen in the central areas. Thank you for noticing!

These are the three tactics that I have in my mind and which I used during the pre-season. As my aim is to build around the Trequartista, I would say that the two striker formation will be my number one. I would have also built one around 4-3-4-3 as it is a fairly Italian formation but as that is something that I have used so much in the past, I opted to try something totally new. Playing attacking football is also something that I have basically never done and as you can probably notice in the formations and team instructions, we are fairly attacking side. The match against Genoa was encouragin as we were clearly the better team and also defensively fairly solid despite conceding two. Next up will be the Serie B season preview.

Pre-season 2024 When starting with a new club that is fairly unfamiliar to you, the first days of pre-season are vital for me. What I usually do first is I will check the squad hierarchy page where I can learn more about the team leaders, the general hierarchy of the club as well as different social groups. These work as the source of a good general picture as well as a platform for setting up the mentoring groups that I am a big fan of. I like to build my mentoring groups always in the same way. I have usually one suitable mentor for one group and 2-3 young players who work as understudies. Who do I consider a suitable mentor? A senior player that is high in the hierarchy and his personality is at least 'fairly professional'. Plays in the same position as the understudies or at least has some traits that I would like to pass on to the younger players. There are exceptions though: for example, with the goalkeepers I don't have one of the desired personalities at the moment which means that the two younger goalkeepers have one of our defenders working as their mentor. Here is an example of one of my mentoring groups. Pre-season friendlies Didn't see any reason to touch them as they were setup by our staff. Even though these matches really don't tell you much, I was really encouraged with our performances, especially going forward. It was also encouraging to see that we beat two other Serie B teams here. Lecco was our first friendly of the summer and Venezia who are considered one of the favorites to go up and who have possibly the best goalscorer, Finnish international Joel Pohjanpalo, in their team. Other things to mention are the fact that we continued to rebuild our coaching staff throughout the summer and it currently looks like this. As you can see, our new assistant manager is from France and he is quite famous one as David Bettoni is the former right hand of Zinedine Zidane. We also had quite a few injuries during the pre-season which will make our start of the season a challenge. The managerial debut The Coppa Italia first round was a great test for us as we visited Genoa at Luigi Ferraris Stadium. No one had given us any chances, especially when we were missing a long list of important players which meant that we were only able to name a limited amount of substitutes. We took an early lead through good link-up play between our striking duo Mancuso and Brunoni but conceded from the following kick-off as one of the opposition players just decided to pick the ball up from the restart before running through the entire length of the pitch and setting up Ékuban for a free chance inside our six-yard box. A big worry about our defensive quality! The first half was even but we had bad luck in the end when Thorsby's long-range shot took a deflection and beat Pigliacelli in his goal. I saw nothing wrong with the performance in the first half: we had 8 shots against their 7 and 1.63 xG against their 0.76. We had been the better side! It took us a long to get level but we did it deservedly in the 78th minute when substitute Soleri was released again by Brunoni who was selected as the player of the match thanks to his two assists. We had saved our substitutions until the last 15 minutes of the game and this showed in the overtime where we were the better team. We also had plenty of luck inside the penalty area as two of our three goals came through lucky deflections giving us open goals for the finishes. It was a great start for our managerial career. The next challenge is also going to be big as we will visit Sassuolo in the second round. *** Thank you so much for the comments @SteinkelssonFM, @Muttley84 & @_Ben_. Very much appreciated!

Fully understand. Even with just a wife and recently arrived rescue dog, time is worth gold. Especially now as the ice hockey playoffs start. My content comes out of my head and is written during my lunch breaks, where I multitask by eating and writing at the same time. For playing the game itself, I usually have 1-2 hours maximum per day and a bit more during the weekends. This is also probably why my content isn't anywhere near as comprehensive as yours and some other writers'. I salute you!

Delegating the set-pieces to the dedicated coach has balanced the things up for me for now. I'm scoring quite a few from corners but as long as they are not some huge marking errors after an initial clearance, I'm quite fine with it. The throw-ins on the other hand are a thing that you are not simply able to balance, especially as you don't have control of the AI teams. This on the other hand would be probably impossible to fix because, at least as far as I know, the match engine still doesn't include the physical side of defending such as using strength attribute to simply push the attacking player to the side. If this is not in the game, then how are you supposed to win the ball back from the throw-ins? I'm still not saying that there are too many goals from them (don't even know if the game is counting 'goals from throw-ins' stats. Probably not.) but it is pure blindness to claim that throw-ins and set-pieces in general don't start majority of the build-ups in the match engine. Also, when it comes to stats, the game probably doesn't count goals coming from set-pieces if they are not scored directly from the initial delivery. So, basically goals that come after an initial clearance or inside the penalty area pinball game, probably don't count as goals from set pieces. I would claim that there are big issues with set pieces in general but most of these wouldn't have been possible to fix with the limitations of the current system. If goal kicks and kick-offs can be considered as decent chances to score goals, then there is definitely something wrong with the balance. I have big hopes for FM 2025 and especially that the issue with throw-ins won't continue to this version. Also would be nice to see more highlights starting from open play instead of set pieces.

How long does it usually take for you to write one of these posts? I'm in awe for the people who have the skill and patience to write such in-depth updates. It's also a skill to be able to pick up those things that interest people and keep them reading the longer posts.

Some of our key players Mirko Pigliacelli - an excellent sweeper keeper for this level who has plenty of experience in this level. Has one cap in the Italian under-21 national team. I find him also very suitable for our style of play as he likes to get the crowd going and looks to start quick counter-attacks with long throws. Sadly he is only a balanced personality which means that he isn’t really useful as a mentor. Pietro Ceccaroni - a rough wide center-back who has been playing at this level since 2015. Last season he also got his first go in the Serie A when he was loaned for Lecce where he appeared in six top-flight games. Someone who we are looking to lead the defensive line and be a mentor for our younger players for years to come. Matteo Brunori - The 28-year-old striker starts his third season with us. In his previous two, Brunori scored 25 in Serie C and 17 last season in Serie B. One of our main goals for this season is that Matteo can continue this scoring form, and hopefully even take it to Serie A if we ever make it there. Jacopo Segre - Jacopo Segre moved to Palermo a year ago from Torino where was unable to find a place in the first team. The versatile midfielder had loan spells to five different Serie B or C clubs before he looked for a permanent option away. At the age of 26, he is already a great player for this level and might even make it to the Serie A level if things go well. Segre will be our first choice for Regista this season. Roberto Insigne - The younger brother of Lorenzo Insigne starts his first season in Sicily. Before that, the trickery and intelligent player had plenty of experience from this level, mainly with Benevento where he spent five of the best years of his career so far. As Insigne lacks work rate but is no short of vision and passing ability as well as the ability to score goals, he will be our main player for the trequartista role. As you might have already noticed, the main DNA of the players consists of six different attributes: work rate, decisions, vision, passing, determination, and technique. Work rate: Reflects a player's level of effort and intensity on the field. High work-rate players tirelessly cover ground, press opponents, and contribute defensively and offensively throughout the match. Decisions: Indicates a player's ability to make effective choices in various situations during a game. Players with high decision-making attributes are adept at selecting the right passes, executing intelligent movements, and reacting swiftly to changing circumstances. Decisions: Indicates a player's ability to make effective choices in various situations during a game. Players with high decision-making attributes are adept at selecting the right passes, executing intelligent movements, and reacting swiftly to changing circumstances. Vision: Represents a player's awareness of their surroundings and their ability to anticipate and execute creative passes and movements. Players with exceptional vision can spot openings, exploit gaps in the opposition's defense, and deliver incisive through balls to create goal-scoring opportunities. Passing: Measures a player's accuracy and precision in distributing the ball to teammates. Strong passing attributes enable players to deliver accurate short and long-range passes, crosses, and set-piece deliveries, facilitating effective build-up play and attacking maneuvers. Determination: Reflects a player's mental resilience, perseverance, and willingness to overcome obstacles. Highly determined players exhibit unwavering commitment, fight for every ball, and refuse to give up even in challenging situations, often inspiring their teammates with their relentless attitude. Technique: Indicates a player's proficiency in controlling and manipulating the ball with precision and finesse. Players with exceptional technique demonstrate superior ball control, dribbling skills, and striking ability, allowing them to execute complex maneuvers, beat opponents, and contribute creatively to their team's attacking play. In general, I always want my team to be intelligent, technical, and systematic but also work hard for victory. My vision in terms of squad building Prefer Argentinian and Italian players. The backbone of the team should always consist of players from these two countries. Obviously, there are going to be some players that don’t fit into this mold but the aim is to keep this number as low as possible Development instead of signing. The long-term aim is to improve our training and youth facilities to an excellent level which would mean that we’d be able to create our talent as well as possible. Also, if we were to be promoted to the Serie A after season one or later on, the idea is not to rebuild the team completely but instead make well-thought and intelligent signings for the club. Money-ball. Related to the previous sentence, we are looking to make the maximum amount of profit for the signings that are not forever players for us. As a result-driven marketer and data analyst in real life, I am also a bit obsessed with team finances in general and it is one of the main aspects that I consider when playing the game and when I make decisions. The right types of personalities. I am a keen fan of players’ personalities and this is also going to be one of my main priorities in terms of squad building. Players who are over 20 years old, should always have at least a ‘fairly professional’ personality, otherwise, it’s a no-go. I am also a big fan of the new mentoring system which for me is way better and more realistic than the one we had for years. One of the first things I always do in my saves is check the squad hierarchies and set up mentoring groups. Not using player or staff search. Like always on my save games, I am not going to use these two tools that I find a bit too powerful. I am going to purely rely on recommendations, application processes, and our scouting team. The selection of roles. As I already mentioned in the previous post, I aim to always use 3-4 traditional Italian roles in my tactics. That is also why I immediately set our scouts to find us players who can play as registas, liberos and trequartistas. Otherwise the scouting will be delegated to my chief scout.

Yep! I was actually impressed with the movement of Kieran Trippier of the AI controlled Newcastle side that I faced with Betis. Caused a lot of trouble.

Pablo Aimar has been my favorite footballer ever since I started to follow the sport actively at the beginning of the 2000s. With him moving into management after his illustrious playing career finished in the middle of the 2010s, the former midfield mastermind has progressively continued his career in coaching with the Argentinian national team. I am not sure if he is aiming to move into club managerial roles anywhere soon or whether he would be interested in returning to Europe to do this but I see a Serie B club as a logical step in his career. The two other managerial profiles that I was interested in would have been Fernando Torres and Palermo icon Fabricio Miccoli. My playing career consists of semi-professional and amateur football in Finland but ever since my childhood when I was often playing with kids who were even 10 years older than me, I always tried to imitate players like Zinedine Zidane, Pablo Aimar, and David Beckham who were all considered as highly creative players with good passing ability. Zidane and Aimar were also great and trickery dribblers and pure number 10s that I still adore in modern football. Quite funnily, the last game of my career was in 2018 when I was living in Argentina and was invited to play one game in a local league consisting of former active players. We won that game 3-2 and I was allowed to play in an attacking role down the left flank. I also scored the winning goal after a precise through-ball from one of our center-backs. Even though Aimar in real life has completed all his coaching licences, I once again wanted to start with only the National A license. One of the reasons here was the fact that I didn't want to create a profile too powerful in the beginning and secondly, I somehow like sending the manager to coaching courses and slowly becoming a good manager in terms of attributes. Coaching Staff With Betis, I brought my staff mainly from the Argentinian national team but this time I opted to do things differently and build the backroom staff myself. I am not going to use the powerful staff search tool to do it but instead, I am going always to hire staff through recommendations and job adverts. This is what we have done so far: *** Tactical Approach Don't mind about the player selection but formations instead. I have practically never used a three-man backline in my FM days so this was something that I wanted to base my style of play on. As we are in Italy the three-man backline is going to be something quite common and also familiar as well as some of the roles that I prefer to use. Libero The libero, also known as the sweeper, is a defensive player positioned behind the main defensive line. This player typically operates in a free role, providing support to the defense by sweeping up loose balls, covering gaps, and initiating counter-attacks. The libero requires excellent tactical awareness, anticipation, and distribution skills to effectively command the defensive line while also contributing to the team's build-up play. Regista The regista, often referred to as the deep-lying playmaker, is a midfield role focused on dictating the tempo of the game and orchestrating attacking moves from a deep position. Positioned between the defensive and midfield lines, the regista acts as the team's metronome, distributing passes with precision, initiating transitions, and providing defensive cover when necessary. This player needs exceptional vision, passing ability, and positional intelligence to control the flow of the game and create opportunities for teammates. Trequartista The trequartista, also known as the playmaker or "number 10," operates as an advanced midfielder positioned behind the striker(s) in the attacking third of the pitch. This player is tasked with linking midfield and attack, unlocking defenses with creative passes, dribbles, and through balls, as well as scoring goals themselves. The trequartista requires technical proficiency, spatial awareness, and intelligence to exploit spaces, create chances, and be a focal point of the team's attacking play. They often have the freedom to roam and create opportunities for themselves and their teammates in the final third. Mezzala The mezzala is a midfield role that originated in Italian football tactics. Positioned slightly to one side in midfield, the mezzala combines elements of a central midfielder and a wide midfielder. This player is tasked with supporting both attacking and defensive phases of play, providing passing options, maintaining possession, and contributing to build-up play. The mezzala often drifts into wide areas to provide width in attack or to support the full-back, while also being able to make late runs into the box to contribute to goal-scoring opportunities. This role requires a versatile skill set, including excellent passing, dribbling, and defensive capabilities, as well as tactical awareness to effectively link midfield and attack. Main team instructions Shorter passing Higher tempo Counter-press Counter Distribute quickly Mid Block Standard defensive line Press more often Get stuck in Step Up More I haven't yet added any player instructions as those will be the ones based on how the games start rolling. I'm not going to put too much importance on friendly games as those don't tell you the whole story so the tinkering will start when we kick off the season in Coppa Italia where we will face Genoa away from home in the first round. My tactical approach in general is to play positive football and also be hard to predict for the opponent. We are predicted to finish 3rd in Serie B this season which means that combined with club vision, scoring goals and controlling games are going to be some of the main characteristics of the team. I will edit information about my club DNA in this post. Thank you all for your comments so far! Much appreciated and good to see that this save could be more interesting for the readers. @Muttley84 Miccoli was actually the first name on my list but as I wrote both of these posts during my short lunch break, I managed to make a mistake of leaving him out.

C'è sempre il sole in Sicilia *** U.S. Città di Palermo, commonly referred to as Palermo, is an Italian football club based in Palermo, Sicily. The club was founded in 1900 and has a rich history in Italian football. Palermo experienced its golden era in the early 2000s when it earned promotion to Serie A, Italy's top football division, after spending several years in the lower leagues. Under the ownership of Maurizio Zamparini, the club saw significant investment, which led to on-field success. Palermo regularly competed in Serie A and even participated in European competitions, showcasing their talents on an international stage. During this period, Palermo boasted a roster of talented players and achieved notable victories, capturing the hearts of football fans in Italy and beyond. However, the club also had its fair share of managerial changes, which sometimes led to instability both on and off the pitch. In recent years, Palermo has faced financial troubles that have threatened its stability. The club has encountered issues with debt and ownership disputes, leading to administrative turmoil. These financial challenges have resulted in Palermo facing relegation to Serie C due to points deductions and other penalties imposed by Italian football authorities. Despite efforts to secure new ownership and stabilize the club's finances, Palermo has struggled to regain its footing. The team's performance on the pitch has also suffered, reflecting the turbulent circumstances surrounding the club. As of the recent updates, Palermo continues to navigate its financial difficulties and strives to rebuild its reputation both domestically and internationally. The club's loyal fan base remains hopeful for a resurgence, but the road ahead remains uncertain amidst the ongoing challenges. Former players of Palermo The Sicilian club currently finds itself competing in Serie B, a far cry from their past glory days. Reflecting on the past, it's evident that Palermo once possessed a formidable squad that, if kept intact, could have propelled them to greater heights, perhaps even contending for a Serie A title. In goal, Salvatore Sirigu stands out as one of Palermo's notable former players. Sirigu, who now plies his trade in Turkey, showcased his talents during his two-season stint with Palermo in Serie A before earning a €3.9 million move to PSG. Joining him in defense was Andrea Barzagli, who spent four seasons with Palermo between 2004 and 2008 before moving on to Wolfsburg for €14 million. Another defensive stalwart was Kamil Glik, who briefly graced Palermo's backline in 2010 before moving to Torino. Similarly, Simon Kjaer, now at AC Milan, had a spell with Palermo from 2008 to 2010 before venturing to the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg. Matteo Darmian, currently a Internazionale player, only represented Palermo in 11 Serie A games in season 2010/11. The full-back arrived from AC Milan for a €800,000 co-ownership deal. The right-back left Palermo for Torino first on a loan deal and then permanently just two years after his arrival in Sicily. In midfield, Josip Ilicic, once a key player for Atalanta, starred for Palermo for three seasons following his arrival from Maribor in a €2.3 million deal before moving to Fiorentina for €9 million in 2013. Javier Pastore, who currently plays at Qatar SC, was snapped up by Palermo for €7 million before his lucrative move to Paris in 2011. Franco Vazquez, currently at Cremonese, was another shrewd acquisition by Palermo, arriving from Belgrano in 2012 for €4.5 million before being sold to Sevilla in 2016 for €14.2 million. In attack, Palermo boasted talents like Paulo Dybala, who arrived for €11.9 million and later fetched a staggering €40 million when sold to Juventus in 2015. Edinson Cavani, now a PSG and Napoli legend, began his European journey with Palermo, joining from Danubio for €5 million before moving to Napoli for €17 million and eventually landing at PSG. Andrea Belotti, currently a Roma player, spent time with Palermo from 2013 to 2015, partnering Dybala in attack before his move to Torino for €8.4 million, where he found his scoring prowess. The experienced international has been struggling with his form for the last couple of seasons and is currently trying to find it with a loan spell at Fiorentina. Fabricio Miccoli is also a name you cannot leave unmentioned here when discussing modern-era greatness. The striker's time at Palermo was marked by brilliance, as he showcased his extraordinary talent on the pitch, captivating fans with his dazzling displays. His partnership with Amauri formed the backbone of Palermo's attacking prowess, propelling the team to new heights in Serie A and leaving an indelible mark on the club's history. Miccoli's loyalty and commitment endeared him to the Rosanero faithful, cementing his status as a beloved icon in the annals of Palermo's footballing legacy. The legendary forward spent 6 years with Palermo before moving to Lecce in 2013. The career I will be taking over at the club in July and start the save in normal mode so that the transfers of 2023/24 have already taken place when the save game starts. I will be posting an update about the progress every 3-4 months and also when something significant happens. The database consists of +100 k players and multiple active leagues across Europe and South America, which might make my progress a bit slow. In the next post, I will be talking a bit about the squad, desired club DNA, and my tactical approach. ***

Already did. Was actually thinking between three different options: Cercle Brugge, Sparta Rotterdam and Palermo. Would have probably gone with Cercle but thanks to the owner being a Russian oligark, opted to Palermo. Already have my save game set up and will start a new thread either today or tomorrow.

Fully understandable. By starting a new game and comparing the values of the players, I came to the conclusion that this is provably the problem. Already started a new save with your latest version, so no worries. Let's look forward.

I'm sad to say this but I need to let this career update go. The transfer values simply broke after the winter update conflicting with the brilliant realism update by @Daveincid. Was really enjoying this one and that is why I will also be writing about my next career.

I am seeing very weird player transfer values after the winter update. As I started my save with the previous version of your update, could it be that the conflict between the update and this editor data could be doing this? I mean, some players seem to have about normal transfer values but for example many 'good La Liga players' have very low transfer values and could be purchased even for sole hundreds of thousands euros. Also many players in my own team are suddenly only valued multiple times less than before the update.

Pick of players *** As predicted, our first youth intake is looking promising. Obviously, with an attributeless skin and with just a few months with these players, it is still difficult to say how good they are at the moment and how good they can be. After last season, our youth team has been almost empty of players as most of them grew too old and were shifted either to our B or C team. The B team had a brilliant season in the fourth level of Spanish football and they were thereby promoted to the Primera Federacion as champions. The aim is to take Betis Deportivo as high as possible so that the B team can work as a good platform for our younger players to make their way to the first team. First team Our season turned out to be a bit of a disappointment in the end, even though we conquered Copa del Rey in the end. I do not see big problems with the team when I look at the players on paper. Right-back would probably be the first single position to mention here. At the beginning of last season, we had Sergiño Dest here as an option but as things went sour with him, the players that played in this position were Youssouf Sabaly, Óscar Mingueza, and our January signing Leandro Morgalla. The thing with Sabaly is that he is 31 years old now and still considered a 'good La Liga' player who is valued at about one million. Last summer we received multiple 8+ million bids for him but he did not want to move elsewhere. Now, on the other hand, it makes no sense to sell him basically for free. With Pepe retiring, Mingueza is going to shift to become our leading center-back and hopefully, he can also wake Igor Zubeldia back to life. Morgalla didn't put a foot wrong last season, so he is going to get a chance as our first-choice right-back now. When talking about center-backs, we also need to think about whether can we still trust Zubeldia and Pezzella. German Pezzella was once again our best central defender last season but his legs are already gone and his distribution isn't great either. Zubledia on the other hand was supposed to be our new defensive leader but he failed miserably. So, do we look for the Mingueza and Zubeldia partnership to flourish or will we bring a more experienced center-back in his prime to the team and let him take the lead? The second talking point would be midfield. Do we continue with William Carvalho - or is it time to move on and sign someone younger? With Sergi Altimira returning from Watford, we have quite a young and intelligent base for midfield but what it is lacking is a player like Guido Rodriguez who can win the ball back and distribute it securely mainly to Lo Celso, Rodri, etc. In his prime, Carvalho could easily have been this player for us but now his ball-winning ability has deteriorated. Does he still have any use for us? The third and most obvious one would be the center forward position. Kai Havertz was our best goalscorer last season with 16 in all competitions. This tells you a story that we were not good enough in this area. Not even close. Young Assane Diao has been developing rapidly and is already considered a La Liga-level player but he also showed last season that he isn't yet ready to perform regularly. Nabil Fekir on the other hand spent most of the season in the shadows but at the end of the season, the experienced Frenchman performed magnificently well. The biggest question here is: do we still want to trust Fekir not falling back into 20 game goal drought and kicking off or do we want to bring in someone who is considered both consistent and aerially capable? What do you think? Which should be our main priority or priorities?

Thank you so much! Always interesting to see goals in gifs and game plans working out like you want. Those are nice goals and show the fluidity that for example my Betis team is often lacking!

If nothing crazy happens, I'm going to continue with this as I really enjoy the save and the slow progress. As the club board's aim for next season is to qualify to the Champions League, it might well be the end of the road for me.

This thread is pure diamond. Would it be possible to see some of the goals that your team has scored and are closely related to the style of play that you are aiming for? Preferably in 2D and as gifs.

Mason Greenwood has been decent for Getafe.

I think this was a decent dribbling goal.

MAY 2025 I know I promised to take the fall if we would drop points against Villarreal but on the other hand: can I? We started the game poorly when Álex Collado's mistake led to a through-on-goal chance for Angel Correa which he buried. We found our rhythm and level of performance in the second half and deservedly scored three good goals to take a comfortable lead. Then something strange happened: This was in the 85th minute and Villarreal also equalized from yet another throw-in build-up that led to a far post cross. I mean, what can you do with these things? Nothing. This team never fails to surprise me with their ability to throw these leads away. What Musso does first, Arnau Tenas seems to follow and this was his way to give Getafe the lead against us in the 12th minute of the game. This time we fought back but were close to throwing the lead away again against 9-men Getafe as Mason Greenwood had two decent chances to make it 2-2 in the last ten minutes of the game. We went back to the basics in our final home game of the season. As Pepe had informed us that he is going to retire at the end of the season, we decided to throw him into the starting lineup once more to give him his farewells. A big mistake led to a Mallorca goal and Pepe's final game lasted for 17 minutes. The game was rather one-sided and we should have won it but this time had to rely on a penalty to get a draw. The season finale was for some reason played the day before the rest of the league. We looked comfortable against Las Palmas and were deservedly 2-0 up for a long time. There were nervy moments in the end though as Sory Kaba scored his first goal for the club from another cross coming from a throw-in buildup. As we had delegated the set pieces to our dedicated coach for the last two months of the season, I think it is time to see him go and try to find someone who can fix these throw-ins for us. Final league table Main statistics Real Betis' team of the season Our goal of the season This goal was scored in a 3-2 victory against Real Sociedad. *** In the next update I will be going through our first youth intake as well as taking a look for the squad analysis for the next season.

APRIL 2025 Conference League Newcastle are third in the Premier League and a really good team so we weren't expecting much in this draw against them. At Benito Villamarín we were slightly the better team and edged the first leg with Havertz's late goal from close range. In the returning fixture, we were quite a bit run over in the midfield and that is where we ultimately lost the tie. The decisive goal once again came from a throw-in as Miguel Almiron escaped to score. We were able to turn the tide in the second half of the game and my opinion, were good value for something but Assane Diao missed 3 decent chances in the last 15 minutes, it was just not meant to be. I was hoping for us to be eliminated earlier but I think the European campaign turned out to be better than we were expecting/hoping. The only real mistake we made was with 'automatic registration' which left both Pablo Barrios and Pablo Torre out of the squad. These two-legged ties would have been a fantastic experience for the young duo who are in our long-term plans. Copa del Rey The strategy was to select all our players who enjoy big matches for the starting lineup. Luckily we have a long list of these players, including the more advanced duo Nabil Fekir and Kai Havertz who ultimately won us the final. For long periods, it looked like we would succumb to errors once again but for once we came lucky in the end. The first Real Madrid goal showed glimpses of how costly it can be to play William Carvalho in these kinds of games. Valverde left the experienced Portuguese standing before breaking into the penalty area and beating Arnau Tenas from a tight angle. The second one was a big error from Juan Miranda who left Rodrygo unmarked and not closed down and the winger was able to play a free through ball for Gnabry to score. We got our first one from a lucky deflection after some nice buildup. The latter two were brilliant through-balls from Nabil Fekir who played his best game of the season. I have criticized the club captain and Kai Havertz on many occasions this season but here the duo was faultless and Havertz was once again showing why he is considered a player who enjoys big occasions. Nacho's early dismissal was a lucky break for us but actually, Real Madrid played better in terms of attacking after the sending-off. La Liga Against Girona, we had a small glimpse of luck as Álex Collado scored a late winner when the visitors had started to edge the game for the last 30 minutes of the game. Xavi's Real Sociedad on the other hand were one or one and half steps ahead of us all the time and the game was decided by Albert Grønbaek who scored a brace against us. This was once again a good example of Carvalho's frailty when the opposition can run towards you. In terms of statistics the game was totally evenly matched but once again we lacked that killer instinct that the opposition showed inside our penalty area. The match against Sporting Gijón on the other hand was a real classic of how things can go wrong: A real sign of mental weakness that the team has been showing in the last couple of months. There isn't a way to explain this. We probably scored the amount of goals that could be expected and were not throwing away any big chances. Then the opposition just attacks you twice and scores on both occasions. When Barrios scored the second one with his first one for the club, there was no way we were expecting that the visitors could still make it even but then there was that odd throw-in which led to German Pezzela's foul inside the penalty area. To look at the brighter side. This was the moment when Nabil Fekir started to wake up again. And the goal that he scored, was one of the best team moves that we have seen from us in the whole season. The idea against Barcelona was to try and use overlaps against their 4-2-2-2 box. I think we did alright for the first 45 minutes. The opener from Lewandowski was yet another throw-in punishment when Diogo Dalot found the experienced Polish striker at the far post with a perfect cross. Pedri's goal on the other hand was a real gift from Arnau Tenas who passed the ball straight to his old team-mate instead of finding Mingueza. Fekir's late goal gave us some hope but the second half was filled with big errors and tactical stupidity when we were thinking that we might just try and attack. Especially Gavi's goal was a shocking one for us as the midfielder ran 40 meters through the middle unchallenged before an easy finish. When going forward, we looked good at times and could have scored 1-2 goals more. League table Player stats May schedule The match against Villarreal is going to be huge for us. Anything else than three points is going to be unacceptable. And if this happens, I will have to take it fully to my own account. This is going to be a match where the manager needs to show up and win his own 1 against 1 battle. I see this also fully so that the first game of the month is going to define the whole month. A victory will create a fantastic platform to build on but anything else is going to make things extremely difficult. What happened to us? Top-4 was looking very likely just some time ago but that is already gone for us. I would like to raise some individuals into play here. These are the players whose recent form has simply been unacceptable. If you remember how for example Rodri performed for us in January: he was one of the best performers in the league and now after a couple of weeks of injury, the midfield dynamo has been a total goner and worst performer of the team. The same applies to midfield duo Lo Celso and Carvalho who haven't been able to carry the team at all. And the list goes on. This whole list is filled with players who are important to us and have not been able to reach the needed level lately. Is this down to me or individuals? Damn hard to say but probably a mix of both. And are any of these players going to start against Villarreal? Probably not. Basically, all of them have been reminded of their recent form and all of them took it well. Now it is time to react to the feedback with the right mentality.

Always find it funny when people take winning in a computer game so seriously. How about growing up and stop being man-children? And this is not directed to the op in specific but a general statement.

Interesting stuff. Actually makes in interested in managing in Italy which I have only done twice since FM 2007, I think. Nicely written up and the amount of informational screenshots really lighten up the content. Any particular reason for not using logo and face packs?