keeper#1
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Posts posted by keeper#1
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Just gotta hope that the scouting department finds the right players and the development team develops who we already have in the club.
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1 hour ago, Shrewnaldo said:
Ouch, going out to St-Malo must hurt. They must be down the pyramid quite a bit, no?
The downward trend on the finances looks ominous. Any trouble if you don't get promoted this season?
Your questions about finances leads nicely into my post about the winter transfer window.
January 2026 Transfer Window
The winter transfer window which saw two starters leave the club.
The first starter to leave was our leading goal scorer Seydouba Cisse. Cisse had made it known to me, during the summer transfer window, that he wanted to leave for a bigger club. He wasn't sure that Caen was a serious Ligue 2 title contender. In July and August, no one was able to meet Olivier's valuation for Cisse. Midway through January, Cagliari, in Serie A, came in with a offer close to his asking price. Olivier negotiated with the club and was able to secure an 11 million euro transfer for the player. Nine million euros in the initial fee and fee installments with other two million euros due when he makes his first appearance for the club. The club has a few internal options at the position so they will get the first crack at filling his shoes. If they do not, then the club will go out in the summer and try to find a replacement. Later in the window, La Liga club, Granada, made an inquiry about the services of Enzo Lombardo. Lombardo was interested in making the move. While, the fee was not as high as Cisse's fee, Olivier was able to negotiate a fee of four million euros in a combination of initial and future payments with another million euros coming when he plays his first match for Granada. This fee has already been paid out to Caen. The club has a couple of 17-year olds who could fill his shoes but they are not quite ready to fill those shoes. Olivier went to his scouting department who told him about Viktor Dukanovic at Strasbourg who was looking for a situation where he could get some playing time. Olivier was able to negotiate a fee, while high, was still low enough for the club to make a profit on the Lombardo sale. How did this transfer activity impact the club's bottom line?
It puts the club well into the black and should keep the club there until the annual sponsorship and season ticket revenue comes in to boost finances even more.
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2 hours ago, SixPointer said:
NYC my friend
Not too far from me then. I'm up in Albany.
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29 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:
So it looks like this is a wider FM24 bug. I thought our terrible defending was because our players were terrible... turns out the match engine is churning out quite ridiculous numbers of goals just now. People might think I'm being over-dramatic about this but the more I look at this the more game-breaking it feels. The immersion has just completely broken. It's like the glass-smashing moment in How I Met Your Mother. Going to sleep on it and see how I feel tomorrow but might just put this on hold until it's patched.
Think of it this way: FIFA introduced a new ball design to "enhance scoring." But in practice, the enhancements went too far and they need to rein in it but it's going to take a few seasons. That's what is happening and could be a "story line" to use for the save.
Just my thoughts.
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2025-26 Midseason Update
November and December Fixtures
Defender of the First Half - CB Momo Mbaye
Midfielder of the First Half - CM Seydouba Cisse
Forward of the First Half - CF Norman Bassette
The Story
Olivier came into the season with some fresh tactical ideas to use with his Caen squad. He wanted to have a side that controlled the ball and used that possession to make progressive passes and attack the opposition. He did not want to sit back and counter like he did, last season, at Nancy. Like many of Olivier's ideas, what looks good on paper did not quite work out in practice. His defense was easily pulled apart on the counter when the offense lost the ball and could not immediately win it back. Far too many goals were being let in. The offense was forced to play from behind and battle against teams which would put in a low block once they got the lead. The early part of the season was a struggle for Olivier and Caen. Then, Olivier did what he really did not want to do. We want back to the Nancy Trap tactic. It took a couple of matches for the Caen squad to get used to the setup and they needed a few players to return from injury. But once all of those things happened, things started to click for Caen. They had a 10-match unbeaten run come to an end on the last match of 2025 when Auxerre beat them 1-0. The squad is playing well. Players like Seybouda Cisse and Norman Bassette are getting scouted by other clubs and could be sold, hopefully in the offseason, for a good profit which can be used to further invest in the squad and club infrastructure. The club, at the moment, are in a good place and are ready to kick on once again after the Christmas holiday. They got knocked out of the Coupe de France early so, like last season, it just concentrating on league matches for the rest of the season.
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4 hours ago, SixPointer said:
Sorry for the silence. Been on holiday in New York. Back to reality today and back to the game. Get this put to bed.
Got a lot of catching up to do on everyone else’s threads and saves. But I can’t wait to see how everyone is doing in FM24
New York City or New York State?
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A friendly in between two league fixtures? Is to the raise cash? Surely, your squad could use the extra rest.
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Congrats on promotion!
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On 10/11/2023 at 20:46, Shrewnaldo said:
Any plans to go back to Nancy for players or staff? Have you checked when you're playing them? Any chance you could relegate them?
I brought over a pair of my first team coaches and that was it.
Nancy have not had the best start. At the end of October, they are in 17th place with only one win in 12 matches. Only team preventing them from being in the basement is SO Cholet, who was promoted with Nancy.
And they just sacked their manager.
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2 minutes ago, srca90 said:
Hi Ben, thank's for the reply - much appreciated! Do you mean my actual laptop zoom outside of the game - I'm on a Mac, could that be the issue? In game, I'm on 85% as below.
Thanks again mate.
Cheers!
Try the zoom on the laptop. I had the same problem with Statman23 and going to 100% zoom on the laptop fixed the issue.
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Meet the 2025-26 Les Vikings de Caen
The summer transfer window has slammed shut and it was a busy one for Olivier as he reshaped the Caen squad.
Four players joined the squad as Olivier attempts to inject some quality players in the 18-21 age bracket. The club has loads of U18 talent that is a year or two away from seriously pushing for a place in the senior side.
CM/DM Mathis Picouleau (released by Nimes): A defensive-minded midfielder who can link the defense to the attacking players in the midfield and on the forward line. Formerly of Nimes in the Championnat National but he was one of the few talents on their roster and left due to not agreeing to a new contract. He became too big for Nimes but is the right size for Caen.
CB Momo Mbaye (signed from Bordeaux for 1.2M): We are thin along the center of the defensive line. Combination of older players who are not Ligue 2 quality and younger players who have yet to develop into Ligue 2 quality players. Mbaye attempts to bridge that gap. In his prime at age 27, he can't crack the first team at Bordeaux so he needed to take a step down to get that first team football which he is looking to play.
CM/DM Eggart Aron Gudmundsson (on loan from Lille - option to buy for 3M): A "swing" midfielder. A midfielder who can play as a defensive midfielder in attacking formations and as a central midfielder in counter attacking formations. Olivier did not want to tie up almost half of the transfer budget in one player early in the window. So, he worked out a loan deal. He can play for us for a year and then we can decide if we want to keep him around or not.
DM Nolan Ferro (signed from Strasbourg for 3M): Ferro was signed on deadline day to help shore up the defensive midfield position. A true ball-winning midfielder who thinks defense first and offense is secondary. The club lacked a young defensive midfielder and Ferro filled that void.
Defense and Goalkeepers: Likely starters: GK Anthony Mandrea (28) RB Hugo Vandermersch (26) LB Ali Abdi (31) CB Momo Mbaye (27) CB Ibrahim Traore (21)
Midfielders: Likely Starters: DM Nolan Ferro (19)/Eggart Aron Gudmundsson (22) CM Sergio Ortuno (26) CM Seydouba Cisse (24) RW Moussa Sylla (25) LW Enzo Lombardo (28)
Forwards: Likely Starter: Norman Bassette (20)
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Reminder of Stage Two Objectives
The only change is Olivier needs to obtain his UEFA A and UEFA Pro licenses.
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Love that pitch graphic. I assume that was made in Excel.
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On To Stage 2 - Stade Malherbe Caen
The board at Nancy were waiting to hear about the status of their manager...Eugene Olivier. They knew he had gone out on interviews but had not heard back. Olivier was still running the day to day operations of the club - signing players to contracts, putting together a friendly schedule, etc. But that day finally came, Olivier was offered a contract by Stade Malherbe Caen which he accepted.
Why did Olivier make this switch? One look at the balance sheet will tell you why.
Caen has a lot more resources at their disposal. Olivier is given a wage budget that is 3x the size of his wage budget at Nancy and the transfer budget is almost 4x that of Nancy's. Now, of course, more resources comes more responsibility and more pressure to get things done. Caen is expected to be in the mix for promotion back into Ligue 1. Is Olivier the manager to lead them back into the French top flight.
Caen finished in 6th place, last season, in Ligue 2 and the board only want a return to a top-half finish this season. The supporters are asking for the same. The league is packed with so quality teams so it will be a difficult job to get the club promoted up into Ligue 1.
Full update on the squad at the end of the summer transfer window.
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Sometimes to win the league, you need to lose early in the cup. Prevents the fixture congestion later in the season. It was the best thing that happened to me at Nancy last season. One and done - all the focus on the league.
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Stage 2 Job Search
After the 2024-25 season ended, Olivier took a look at the available job market landscape and narrowed his search for a new club down to three options (two in France and one in Italy)
He sent off his CV and some clips of Nancy in action. Nantes had some interest but it cooled quickly. Frosinone continued their interest and followed up with a job interview. Only one club seemed to have the same level of interest in Olivier that Olivier had in them.
Caen also brought Olivier in for a job interview. How would Olivier handle these interviews now that he had a track record in Europe? Could he, potentially, handle a jump to a bigger club with top flight aspirations? Those questions will be answered later today.....
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2024-25 Season Review
The Story
What was the theme for the second half of the season....not losing. Nancy did not lose a match until the last match day of the season. Based on other outcomes from the final match day, Nancy were the ones who lifted the Championnant National trophy on goal difference (+27 to +24) over SO Cholet. On paper, Nancy was not the best squad in the league. But the matches are not played on paper. What did they have? They had a system which Olivier was able to get them to buy into. They had a belief that they were not out of any match. Down by two heading into the second half? No problem. We will just shut the other side out and score two of our own to earn a draw. They peppered the opposition with shots on goal with a league-leading 445 shots on goal. Those shots led to a league-high 135 quality chances. The club needed to shoot a high volume because they ranked near bottom of shots on target and conversion rate. The defense side: Nancy allowed the fewest goals in the league and ranked near the top of shots allowed. How did the defense do this? They simply were not asked to play defense that much. The offense got the ball and kept it. We were a case of "the best defense being a good offense." Olivier was able to get the locker room rally around his concepts that he implemented in the second half of the season. And those concepts have earned Nancy a place back in Ligue 2 for the 2025-26 season. The question is will Olivier be there to lead them?
The Builder
Olivier has ticked off all five of the objectives to complete Stage 1 of this career
Win a Cup or a League Table - O
Sell a Player to a Club in a Higher Division - O Shaquil Delos
Give an Academy Player a Start - O Gregory Gardin 24B
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2025 Youth Intake
While not as good as last year's intake, it is still a quality intake filled with players that will help us going forward.
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10 hours ago, 13th Man said:
Great improvement from year 1 to 2 so far! That new tactic looks a lot like the Coiled Spring I made at Austin FC (see below), and it did exactly what you were saying - draws the opposition in by giving up ground, but the shape is solid and the midfield roles proactive enough to win the ball back, and then the front three are breaking in space...then the CMa comes in as a dangerous runner from deep.
It does. I had to dig through my FM23 notes of "what tactics worked well" and which didn't. My first attempt at 4-3-3 "trap" did not work at all. It was the 2-1 loss to GOAL FC match. I went back and simplified things A LOT before rolling out the Nancy Trap which is what we have been using from that GOAL FC match onwards. I needed to give them a solid shape to play as. My hopes of 11 players playing a fluid interchangeable unit were just hopes. The players got lost. Defenders pushed forward but attackers never filled the vacant space in defense. We are still shaky at the back. If we give up the first goal, we are in trouble because teams will start to sit back and make us do the attacking work while putting 10 or 11 players behind the ball.
Promotion is a possibility this season but I don't think we are strong enough defensively to win the league.
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The Builder - Stage 1
Olivier has ticked off four of the five objectives to complete Stage 1 of this career
Win a Cup or a League Table - X
Sell a Player to a Club in a Higher Division - O Shaquil Delos
Give an Academy Player a Start - O Gregory Gardin 24B
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2024-25 Midseason Report
The Story
Olivier spent the summer bouncing around Europe in search of a new tactical scheme to improve his squad's standing. He made a journey up into Belgium and Holland and watched some field hockey matches (for those who have read my other stories - I'm a field hockey umpire moving up to the U23 level for next collegiate season) and was impressed by the tactical fluidity and passing that the players showed on the pitch. The club went through the friendly season and the first few matches with a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation. No one had a real set position and it had it's pluses and minuses. The offense flourished under the new system. However, the defense was lost. Goals were being scored by opposition at an alarming rate. The club was averaging around two goals per match in both goals scored and goals allowed. Wins were turning into draws. The club was starting to slide down the table. Olivier went back to the drawing board. He went back to his mother's thoughts of setting traps for the opposition. Making them think they entering a position of strength but was actually exposing their weakness. Four of the first five matches with the new trap formation were clean sheets. The multi-goal allowed games were becoming fewer and fewer. The club was moving up the table. They headed into the Christmas break sitting in 3rd place and in the fight for promotion. They suffered a difficult cup draw against Ligue Two side Auxerre and got knocked out in the 7th round. The club can solely focus on the league. 16 matches stand between themselves and potential promotion/league title.
Tactical Thoughts
While in Belgium and Holland watching field hockey, this was the attacking shape that Olivier was shooting for with the Nancy squad.
It is very aggressive. It plays with just one center back when in the attacking phase. The number five is a Libero/free player that pushes up into the defensive midfield when in attack. It requires a smart center back that can move the ball quickly and make the correct decisions. If the four or six get stuck, they have a pair of passing options in the defensive midfield or back to the number 3 who transfers the ball quickly to the opposite side. Then, the ball can move up the field either with a pass or by dribbling into the attacking midfield or forward line. The problem became when the opposition tightly marked the number 3 and cut off the passing lane to the defensive midfield. Turnovers and 2 v 1 or 3 v 1 turned into goals allowed. That tactical reaction by the opposition is what caused Olivier to switch into what he is calling the Nancy Trap.
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1 hour ago, Shrewnaldo said:
Oh my good lord, that intake. How did you end up with a South Korean player? Do you have a South Korean staff member or does the club have ownership links?
No idea. No South Korea staff or ownership links. So, no clue how he ended up in France because he's not a dual national either.
Edited with more details - he just got called up for the South Korea Olympic Team....he's 16.
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The Builder - Stage 1
Olivier has ticked off two of the five objectives to complete Stage 1 of this stage
- Win a Cup or a League Table - X
- Sell a Player to a Club in a Higher Division - O Shaquil Delos
- Give an Academy Player a Start - X
- Player Named to League Team of the Year - O
- Obtain Continental C and B Licenses - 1/2 X 1/2 O
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2023-24 Season Review
Projected Finances
Analytics : General Performance Attacking Efficiency
The Story
Eugene Olivier had a great first half of the season but the second half of the season was one to forget. Nothing he did worked. His tactic was found out and teams that he beat in the first half were now beating him in the second half of the season. Squad morale started to fall. There were some whispers in the locker room about "la stupide canadienne." As morale drops, the form dropped even more. Things were starting to spiral out of control. The club only won one of their last seven matches. The club is in an obvious need of a reset during the summer offseason. A complete tactical rethink, a roster overhaul and maybe a staff overhaul are all in the cards for the summer. The club needs to improve if it wants to move back into Ligue 2. Olivier faces pressure from the board as his contract expires at the end of the 2024-25 season. Will he do enough to keep his job at Nancy or will he fail and have to move clubs at the end of next season? A big summer awaits!
Interesting Stat Within the Stat
Olivier went through and broke down every club's xG per shot to see if there was any correlation between xG per shot and promotion/relegation.
Nancy finished 9th in this category right where they finished in the league table. The two promoted clubs (Sochaux and Red Star) each finished in the top six. Red Start finished second in both the category and the table. League winners Sochaux finished sixth in the category. The bottom four teams, in this category, all got relegated. Le Mans is a statistical anomaly. They finished third in xG per shot but got relegated. Their problem was not generating enough shots per match.
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(FM24) Sir Alex Ferguson (SAF) Challenge - Crystal Palace
in FM Career Updates
Posted
48 points. Time to start planning for next season and gear up for the FA Cup.