FM11: The Official Athletic Club Bilbao Thread- the "Basque National Team"

[ArranoBeltza]

GENERAL INFO

Athletic Club, commonly known as Athletic Bilbao, is a football club from Bilbao in Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. The club has played in the Primera División of La Liga since its start in 1928. They have won La Liga on eight occasions. In the historical classification of La Liga Athletic Bilbao are in 4th place and one of only three clubs which have never been relegated from La Liga (the others being Real Madrid and Barcelona). The club also has a women's team, which has won four championships in the Spanish Superliga.

They are known as the Los Leones (the lions) because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés (Saint Mammes). Mammes was an early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans. The lions refused to eat Mammes and he was later made a saint. The San Mamés Stadium is hence nicknamed "the football cathedral".

The club is known for its cantera policy of bringing young Basque players through the ranks, as well as recruiting top Basque players from other clubs (like Joseba Etxeberria or Javi Martínez). Athletic official policy is signing professional players native to the greater Basque Country, including Biscay, Guipúzcoa, Álava and Navarre (in Spain); and Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre (in France). Still, in recent times, this policy has been somewhat relaxed and players with direct Basque ancestry or with no Basque ancestry but formed in Basque clubs have played for the team. This has gained Athletic both admirers and critics. The club has been praised for promoting home grown players and club loyalty. Athletic is one of only four professional clubs in Spain (the others being Real Madrid, Barcelona and Osasuna) that is not a sports corporation; the club is owned and operated by its associates (socios).

THE TEAM (*=key player, #=strong young player):

GK- Gorka Iraizoz

GK- Raul Fernandez

GK- Urtzi Iturrioz

DC- Aitor Ocio

DC- Fernando Amorebieta

DC- Mikel San Jose*

DR- Andoni Iraola*

DRL- Eneko Boveda

DL- Xabier Castillo

DL- Koikili

DM, MC- Carlos Gurpegi

DM, MC- Pablo Orbaiz

MR- Francisco Javier Soberon

MR- David Lopez

MC- Javi Martinez*#

MC- Ander Iturraspe

MR- Markel Susaeta*

ML- Oscar de Marcos#

ML- Igor Gabilondo

AMC- Igor Martinez#

ST- Iker Muniain#

ST- Fernando Llorente*

ST- Gaizka Toquero

ST- Ion Velez

Be sure to check Bilbao Athletic as well, there are some decent players there such as Balenziaga and Inigo Perez.

Suggested Tactic: 4-4-2

GK- Iraizoz/Fernandez

DR- Iraola/Boveda (Fullback/Auto)

DC-San Jose/Ocio(Central Defender/Defend

DC- Amorebieta/Ustaritz(Central Defender/Defend)

DL- Castillo/Koikili (Fullback/auto)

MR- Susaeta/David Lopez (winger/attack)

MC- Gurpegi/Orbaiz (Ball-winning MF/Defend)

MC- J.Martinez/Itturaspe (Box-to-box MF/support)

ML- De Marcos/Ibai Gomez (winger/attack)

ST- Fernando Llorente (target man/support)

ST- Iker Muniain (poacher/attack)/Gaizka Toquero (advanced forward/attack)

I play a direct-passing, counter-attacking game with my attack focused down the wings trying to deliver balls into the box that can be headed by Llorente, Toquero, or a midfielder (Athletic are the tallest and strongest team in the league, so these strategies play to their strengths).

I like to rotate Muniain and Toquero frequently- Muniain is inexperienced and not the most productive, and it helps that this year's Toquero is much better than last year's and may be worth keeping around. I did not put a second-stringer for Llorente, as I think Ion Velez is worthless- I have sold him and use Inigo Velez as my backup target-man. Another tricky thing is, with this tactic, youngster Igor Martinez doesn't really fit with the tactic. I have used him a little bit at RM, but he may also be useful retrained at CM.

Top Youth Team Prospects:

DC- Jon Aurtenetxe

MC- Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta

DR- Jonas Ramalho

TRANSFER TIPS:

When playing as Athletic Club, it is important to remember that you may only sign Basque players, or Spanish players aged 16 or younger. Personally, I focus on signing young regens so I hardly buy any Basque players who already exist in the game. This is impeded by the fact that the only Basque player really worth buying is Ander, who you really won't need with the two Martinez kids at AMC, and he doesn't really fit into a flat 4-4-2. It may be best to wait a season (or a couple of seasons) to see if you can land Xabi Alonso, Mikel Arteta, Stephane Ruffier, or Cesar Azpilicueta.

One move I would suggest outright is getting rid of the aging Aitor Ocio and bringing up Aurtenetxe as a backup. Ramalho may also be ready for some minutes as a back-up. There are also some decent players on the reserve team (Bilbao Athletic) who can fill in for injuries or sold players if needed. Another suggestion may be to get rid of Orbaiz (also aging) and try to find a younger DMC, or re-train Iturraspe at that position. Galarreta may also be useful in some minutes here and there, especially if you run into weak cup opposition.

As I said- my strategy with Athletic has been to disregard spending much on transfers, to hold on to star players as long as possible, and to focus on signing Spanish U-16 regens. This strategy means that it may be a while before you are successful, but it can be extremely rewarding. Still, here are the moves I have made so far. I've sold off Ion Velez for around $3.5 million, and replaced him with Inigo Velez from Numancia, who I use as my backup target-man. I also picked up Carlos Merino off of free agency to provide some backup in the CM position.

CONCLUSION:

This year's Athletic team is vastly improved from last year's (probably due to the fact that they nearly finished in a Europa League spot, and that Javi Martinez and Llorente made the World Cup with Spain). Therefore, you can finish in at least the media-predicted 10th place in the first season, but there is no reason why you shouldn't finish below that, and it isn't difficult to surpass it. Athletic has a good core team and (for the first time since I started playing the game in 2009) some genuinely great players. It also helps that the team also has top training facilities and excellent youth facilities, meaning that it is not hard to improve your players, and that older players may decline less quickly than at other clubs. Further, for those who love new stadiums, the club is scheduled to move into a 53,000 seater in 2012

With the right moves and the right tactics, this team has the potential to become a force, it is just waiting for its potential to be tapped. Still, the key with this team will be patience.

Player Threads:

Iker Muniain

Javi Martinez

Fernando Llorente

Need Tactical Help?:

TG 4-2-4 (by TacticalGenius)

Shameless Plug: I am also the blogger over at the Athletic Club Offside, so check it out if you're interested in news and opinion related to the real Athletic Club Bilbao.

[ArranoBeltza]

11.2 Update: Enric Saborit and Jon Aurtenetxe both to be improved. I always overlooked Saborit before, but now he appears a very useful player. Muniain also appears to have increased attributes.

[Falahk]

good start Arrano, I will ofcorse have a stab at athletic again on fm11, but I think I will wait for the full game to arrive befor doing so

[PaleThinBoy]

Yeh, lots of good youngsters coming through on this game which is great. Makes it more fun to go Athletic. I'm playing a balanced 4-4-2 with wingers and two defensive central midfielders. Wingers adapt to how the game is going and can also drop the two central mids into DM postitions should i need to defend a lead.

[ArranoBeltza]

Yeh, lots of good youngsters coming through on this game which is great. Makes it more fun to go Athletic. I'm playing a balanced 4-4-2 with wingers and two defensive central midfielders. Wingers adapt to how the game is going and can also drop the two central mids into DM postitions should i need to defend a lead.

I have had less than stellar results with my 4-4-2 Diamond. After finishing my 6 months I'm going to re-try with a flat 4-4-2. I may even change the suggested formation in the OP based on the results.

[ArranoBeltza]

Well, I finished my six months of the demo and my team was, well- okay.

Would have done better if I got more production from my strikers- Llorente only had two goals and two assists in 16 appearances, Muniain only scored one goal in 9 appearances, and Gaizka Toquero scored two goals in ten matches. My league goals leader was Oscar de Marcos with four, while Markel Susaeta scored three, and Andoni Iraola managed 2 goals (I think both were from penalties.

Again, I think my team would have been alright, with some more production up front. I am going to re-try the team using a flat 4-4-2 and we'll see what happens.

[Bale]

can someone put up a screenshot of lorente, muniaz an javi martinez

[ArranoBeltza]

can someone put up a screenshot of lorente, muniaz an javi martinez

[Bale]

ty arrano blah(to make it 10 letters)

[PaleThinBoy]

I'm currently 5th after seven games and am also having difficulty getting my strikers to score. Both Llorente and Muniain have two goals. Midfielders are chipping in with most goals which I don't mind, will keep you updated. Let me know how your 4-4-2 comes along.

[ArranoBeltza]

I'm currently 5th after seven games and am also having difficulty getting my strikers to score. Both Llorente and Muniain have two goals. Midfielders are chipping in with most goals which I don't mind, will keep you updated. Let me know how your 4-4-2 comes along.

Well, so far the 4-4-2 is working much better (don't know the exact results, as I don't have the game opened- I think I'm in either 4th or 3rd place after 10 or so matches), but my strikers are still not scoring. Muniain scored 2 in the first match, and Llorente just scored his first goal. I think Toquero has scored one for me. I wonder if strikers not scoring is a tactical issue, a team-specific issue, or something across the board with this game.

[el sid]

Will play a game with Athletic Bilbao in the full game, nice thread

[Pinder2807]

Will play a game with Athletic Bilbao in the full game, nice thread

Same, I enjoyed playing as them on fm 10, found it difficult tho

[ArranoBeltza]

Same, I enjoyed playing as them on fm 10, found it difficult tho

The key for this team, as I said, is focusing on youth and being patient- in FM10 I won the Spanish Cup in 2011, and didn't win La Liga until 2019. In that save I still haven't won any European trophies, but something like 7 players on the Spanish national team are from my team, and another 4 or 5 played for my team at some point or another (that save is in 2023).

[ArranoBeltza]

UPDATE:

I do not get this, in my last match (a 1-0 win over Sevilla) Carlos Gurpegi scored his second long-range goal of the season. Gurpegi's long shots attribute is 11, finishing 11. Llorente still has zero headed goals- even though he is 6'5" with a heading attribute of 18, 14 finishing, 18 strength, and 19 jumping.

[ArranoBeltza]

Going into the second leg of the 4th round of the Spanish Cup against Zaragoza, I held a 1-0 lead. I started most of my regular XI to be safe even though I didn't expect Zaragoza to beat me. Then, my team just played like ****:

The match info doesn't show it, but I also had a disallowed goal. That was pathetic.

In other news, my team is still doing well in the league (better than with the previous formation I tried), and Llorente scored his first headed goal!

[ArranoBeltza]

UPDATE: Edited the suggested tactic in the OP to 4-4-2, added second-stringers, and put in a brief description of my strategies. Added some description to the suggested transfers area based on what I've done so far in the demo. Brought up Bilbao Athletic in the squad screen, as there are decent players there who can be used.

[ArranoBeltza]

So, after my second save trying out the 4-4-2, I am much more pleased. I finished 3rd with a record of 10-1-5. That may only be one more win and one less loss than my previous save, but my team was much more consistent, and my goals for:against ratio was much better.

Additionally, Llorente was fantastic- he finished the six months with 9 goals and 7 assists in 16 league appearances, with an average rating of 7.50, while Toquero scored five goals in 12 league appearances. Not much else important outside of that, but I'll definitely be going with the 4-4-2 once the full version is out.

No more posts for me in here till the full version (though I'll still be checking to see if any questions are asked I can answer). I am considering updating the OP with screens of each player- we'll see if I get bored enough to actually do that.

[Viquitor]

My team:

Bought Ander for 21.5M, a bit much, i know, but there aren't many good players like him to buy. The good basque players (like García, Monreal) don't want to come

Flaño for 600m as backup.

As you can see, the pre-season has been good. Llorente ftw

[ArranoBeltza]

My team:

Bought Ander for 21.5M, a bit much, i know, but there aren't many good players like him to buy. The good basque players (like García, Monreal) don't want to come

Flaño for 600m as backup.

As you can see, the pre-season has been good. Llorente ftw

Let me know how you do with that formation- I thought about switching to it, but decided against it, mainly so I could develop Muniain who I didn't think would fit in well as a poacher in that setup (then again, I guess he could be an inside forward).

What roles do you play each of your players in??

Also, I noticed that your screen is in Spanish- are you Basque?

[Viquitor]

First match of the league: Hercules 0-3 Bilbao, playing well

I think i'll use Muniain as Inside Forward - Support, because upfront i have 2 TM: the untouchable Llorente and Toquero, who is a good backup.

[ArranoBeltza]

First match of the league: Hercules 0-3 Bilbao, playing well

I think i'll use Muniain as Inside Forward - Support, because upfront i have 2 TM: the untouchable Llorente and Toquero, who is a good backup.

Toquero is much better this season! I always sold him immediately, this year, he's worth keeping around.

[Viquitor]

Yeah, Toquero on FM10 was absolutely rubbish, he's MUCH better in this version.

In the previous versions, i used to buy Aduriz, that was on Mallorca, to replace him. Would be hard to buy him from Valencia this year.

[Falahk]

David Zurutuza looks really good this year, while Xabi Prieto and Ion Ansotegi still look like good options, maybe it will be a tad harder to buy from Real Sociedad with them back in the highest division, but its surly worth a look

[PaleThinBoy]

Wow Arrano! Someone has been busy. I will continue to develop my 4-4-2 today as got a whole day playing the demo ahead! Will keep you updated on how I get on! My main concern at the moment is finding a solid away tactic. I finished 5th at the end of the demo.

[grimness]

New game, new thread. I think I'll wait for full game before participating but might try some ideas in Demo. Ofc. I'll report here. Anyone tried to bring back Yeste?

[TacticalGenius]

I'll be playing as athletic once the full version is out, I don't want to spoil a long term save by being them in a short demo... I'll also be back with new formation ideas too

[Wasma]

i had a go and at the end of the demo i was 5th with 28 points using a 4-2-4 formation. i also didnt have llorente for the last month due to injury. he was the only striker that would consistently score goals with 11 in 13 league games. muniain had 2 in 10 and toquero with a respectable 4 in 9 with 5 assists. i also bought ander for £15.25mil but didnt perform well

[ArranoBeltza]

i had a go and at the end of the demo i was 5th with 28 points using a 4-2-4 formation. i also didnt have llorente for the last month due to injury. he was the only striker that would consistently score goals with 11 in 13 league games. muniain had 2 in 10 and toquero with a respectable 4 in 9 with 5 assists. i also bought ander for £15.25mil but didnt perform well

Seems you did pretty well- especially with Llorente being injured.

I must also stress this to ALL people who choose to play as Athletic this year- Toquero is not the same player he was last year, his stats have improved, as has his in-game performance. This time around, he is a player worth keeping around (at least for the first season).

Further, given his real-life performance last season, his in-game improvements are definitely deserved.

[fighting irish]

Checking in after 9 league games in the demo. Athletic are in 7th but have yet to lose a game: 4W 5D 0L with 20 goals and 11 allowed. Draws to Barcelona, Atletico, Valencia, Sevilla and Hercules. Wins over Sporting, Mallorca, Getafe and Zaragoza. I have scored in every game and conceded in every game except one clean sheet in the Cup 4th round game.

I am still playing with the asymmetric tactic that I enjoyed on FM10 with the following starting line-up (substitutes in parentheses):

GK Iraizoz (Fernandez)

DR Iraola (Ramalho) - FB support

DC San Jose / Inaki Astiz (signed for 1.4M from Legia Warsaw) - DC defend

DC Amorebieta - DC defend

DL Kokili (Balenziaga), Castillo was injured - FB support

DMC Gurpegi (Orbaiz) - anchor man defend

MC Martinez (Iturraspe) - MC support

ML Gabilondo (Inigo Perez...training Castillo to play ML) - wide midfielder support

AMR Susaeta (Lopez) - winger attacking

AMC De Marcos (Igor Martinez, also play Munian here) - trequartista attack

ST Llorente (Munian, Torquero was seriously injured) - complete forward attack

I noticed Inaki Astiz in my last game in FM10 when Ustaritz was poor and San Jose suffered from playing so much at a young age. He is a solid DC with good mental stats and at 26 years old is nice to have around. I rotate him with San Jose.

The only other signing I had was a 16 year old free transfer Gerard Deulofeu who gets dropped from Barcelona at the start of the game. I loaned Ion Velez out to Zaragoza.

Everybody is playing well but Oscar De Marcos has been incredible as the trequartista: 4 goals, 4 assists, 2 MoM in 8 games and a 7.45 rating.

I am still taking corners to the far post with Llorente attacking the far post and Amorebieta at near post flick (2 goals and 2 assists). I lead the league with 6 goals from corners. Susaeta stands at the far post and Martinez marks the keeper with Gabilondo taking the kicks...all the others are back.

Llorente started slowly but after a hat trick against Zaragoza now has 6 goals and 2 assists and 2 MoM. Munian has 2 goals, 2 assists and 1 MoM (and has been great on the dribble- 9th in the league with 4.03 per game). Susaeta has 1 goals and 3 assists. Javi Martinez has 3 goals. Gabilondo leads the league in distance covered at 7.6 miles per game.

On November 3rd, the board raised my transfer budget to $7M and on the same day Zaragoza offered me Ander for $6M. He is asking for 40k per week and other very high demands. I suppose I will buy Ander, but De Marcos is playing so well and Ander demands to be a Key Player at the same position. It took Ander almost 18 months to settle in for me (and his expectations from the high transfer fee) on FM10.

In other news, Xabi Prieto was sold to Napoli for $11M. Azpilicueta was sold to Marseille for $10M. Neither would consider Athletic.

[el sid]

Azpilicueta was sold to Marseille for $10M.

This happened IRL

[Charlton Ath]

In all honesty... this is the funnest game i have ever played.. I love the transfer restrictions, and this really forces the youth upon you

Anyway.. My story so far goes...

Transfers

Ins

Mikel Alonso 2mil

And a host of 16 y/o players costing around 1.6 mil

Outs

None... But i reckon i will be selling around 4mil in January

The League

Wow, Bilbao have amazed me so far... Sitting pretty in 4th, i have

P W D L

12 7 2 3 ( v Barca, Real and Athletico... and the were 3-1, 2-1, 3-1 all away )

The players

So far...

Amazing

De Marcos

Muniain

Llorente (5 in 8 then dislocates shoulder!)

Toquero

Susaeta

Javi Martinex

Average

All my defenders.... ( conceeded 25 in 14 inc. Cups)

Players worth selling

This list is of player on

1) High Wages

2) Decent value

3) Not in 1st team

Orbaiz

Kolkili (got injured, yet to play and my LB atm (Castillo) is mint

Ustaritz

Inigo Perez

Gurpegi

Balenziaga

My advice

Give the youngsters in U18, and there are a few decent players in your 'b' team. Remember it will take time, and Basque players is a pain... But, spend wisely.. i found you will want 1 CM and 1 GK (back up) so, you start with around 2 mil... Spend any extra money you may get in october (hint hint) on youngsters

You will find that focus is low, we often conceed early and late, read the backroom advice carefully

Enjoy,

Sam

[ArranoBeltza]

In all honesty... this is the funnest game i have ever played.. I love the transfer restrictions, and this really forces the youth upon you

Anyway.. My story so far goes...

Transfers

Ins

Mikel Alonso 2mil

And a host of 16 y/o players costing around 1.6 mil

Outs

None... But i reckon i will be selling around 4mil in January

The League

Wow, Bilbao have amazed me so far... Sitting pretty in 4th, i have

P W D L

12 7 2 3 ( v Barca, Real and Athletico... and the were 3-1, 2-1, 3-1 all away )

The players

So far...

Amazing

De Marcos

Muniain

Llorente (5 in 8 then dislocates shoulder!)

Toquero

Susaeta

Javi Martinex

Average

All my defenders.... ( conceeded 25 in 14 inc. Cups)

Players worth selling

This list is of player on

1) High Wages

2) Decent value

3) Not in 1st team

Orbaiz

Kolkili (got injured, yet to play and my LB atm (Castillo) is mint

Ustaritz

Inigo Perez

Gurpegi

Balenziaga

My advice

Give the youngsters in U18, and there are a few decent players in your 'b' team. Remember it will take time, and Basque players is a pain... But, spend wisely.. i found you will want 1 CM and 1 GK (back up) so, you start with around 2 mil... Spend any extra money you may get in october (hint hint) on youngsters

You will find that focus is low, we often conceed early and late, read the backroom advice carefully

Enjoy,

Sam

It all looks good!

I personally wouldn't sell both Orbaiz and Gurpegi, as they're both holding midfielders and losing both could be bad unless suitable replacements could be found- same with Koikili and Balenziaga at LB, maybe I'd sell one, but not both so I could keep one as a backup. I personally get rid of Ion Velez almost all the time- worthless.

[Charlton Ath]

Funny you should say that! Velez has just start knocking them in for me 6 in the last 3! And those players have yet to play for me, and are on high wages... i always like my backup to be youngsters... there is no place for 30+ player that are not in my starting 11 always....

Youth FTW!

[ArranoBeltza]

Funny you should say that! Velez has just start knocking them in for me 6 in the last 3! And those players have yet to play for me, and are on high wages... i always like my backup to be youngsters... there is no place for 30+ player that are not in my starting 11 always....

Youth FTW!

Damn, Velez has always been totally useless for me except for the fact that I've been able to get a decent amount of money for him.

I agree- especially as Athletic, youth are the key to success. I signed almost exclusively youth players (still do) and kept them around- because their wages used to be so low and I spent so little of my transfer budget, I have moved Athletic to the 3rd richest team in the world on my FM10 save, and many of the newgens I signed/brought through my system turned into stars (and/or were sold off for nice profits).

Personally, I'll probably keep both Orbaiz and Gurpegi around (though I may sell one if I get a good enough , will probably sell Balenziaga, and may sell Ustaritz or Ocio. Of course, none of these players will likely be on my FM11 Athletic squad for very long before my poached newgens start coming in!!

Athletic is probably the best team in the game for youth development- given their good youngsters at the beginning, their restrictive transfer policy, and their training/youth facilities.

[ArranoBeltza]

Well, I have begun playing the full version! Here are my transfers for the first season:

While it's still early, things have gotten off to a rocky start with my team- Amorebieta tore his hamstring in the pre-season and will be out for three months. My first match against Hercules ended in a 2-1 loss: in the first half, Susaeta was injured and had to be taken off (luckily, he is available for the next match), Gorka Iraizoz scored an own goal, and Mikel San Jose was sent off. Llorente scored in the 54th, but Hercules managed a winning goal later in the game. Hopefully things will get better!!!

[ArranoBeltza]

Well, I am restarting my save: I noticed an issue where the yellow card rules suspend a player after two cards, which is incorrect. So, I'm playing around with the Advanced Editor and will post up a file for download soon.

[Spikester]

ArranoBeltza

I noticed that the 11.1.0 update is meant to add the Athletic Kits, but on my game they are still just default ones. Have you noticed this?

Steve

[ArranoBeltza]

ArranoBeltza

I noticed that the 11.1.0 update is meant to add the Athletic Kits, but on my game they are still just default ones. Have you noticed this?

Steve

Yes- it's the same in my game and I did notice that the patch says the kits were added.

I have also decided to continue my Athletic save even though the Yellow Card rule is messed up- I re-started from July 31 when the game auto-saved, which gave me a replay of the Hercules match which I won 1-0.

[ArranoBeltza]

Argh...this hotfix cannot come out soon enough.

I'm playing as Tottenham until this godforsaken yellow card issue is fixed, or until someone comes out with a DB update to fix it...

[ArranoBeltza]

I just figured out I can play on 11.0. Looks like I'll be doing that- **** it.

EDIT: Nevermind. Switching to 11.0 doesn't fix the problem, either. Sort it out, SI.

[fighting irish]

Toquero still doesn't cut it for me with a single striker setup.

I played through the demo a second time and ended up losing Gabilondo against my will. Valencia offered. I said no. Gabilondo got mad. Valencia offered again. I said yes and offered a new contract. Gabilondo signed with me. Valencia offered a 3rd time. This time I say yes but don't offer a new contract because he just signed the week before. I was shocked when he accepted their offer. Without him, my ability to score from corners vanished. I went from 6 goals from corners and leading the league on the first demo save with Gabilondo taking the kicks, to scoring a single goal on the second demo save without him. But I did train Castillo to take over my left midfielder spot, and he scores more than my advanced midfielders from that position.

On my second save, Llorente got two call-ups for Spain and bagged 4 goals.

[borth]

I'm struggling to find a decent strategy for them this year. I'd like to go with a flat 4-4-2 but after a promising pre season have lost 3 and drawn 2... any posted tactics would be appreciated.

I recommend that you recall Iñigo Díaz de Cerio from his loan spell- he is superb, and with an out of form Llorente he's the only one scoring for me at the moment. Great backup to Llorente and a possible replacement for Toquero.

Other than him, Yeste might be worth re-signing (that is if he'll come)

[ArranoBeltza]

I'm struggling to find a decent strategy for them this year. I'd like to go with a flat 4-4-2 but after a promising pre season have lost 3 and drawn 2... any posted tactics would be appreciated.

I recommend that you recall Iñigo Díaz de Cerio from his loan spell- he is superb, and with an out of form Llorente he's the only one scoring for me at the moment. Great backup to Llorente and a possible replacement for Toquero.

Other than him, Yeste might be worth re-signing (that is if he'll come)

When the fix is out, I will probably be posting a new version of my 4-4-2 from last year (assuming it is effective).

You can easily create a similar tactic, just remember to use direct passing, aggressive tackling, and in-game play with a high defensive line.

[ArranoBeltza]

I have found a fix for the yellow cards bug for anyone interested: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/236093-Spain-No-Yellow-Cards-Bug?p=6099166#post6099166

I'm starting a new Athletic save now, though we'll see if I stick with it or use the official hotfix for my long-term game.

[TacticalGenius]

Yellow card bug?

Anyway, gonna start with Athletic now

[ArranoBeltza]

Yellow card bug?

Anyway, gonna start with Athletic now

In Spain, players receive a one-match ban for two yellows instead of five (the correct number)

[TacticalGenius]

And it's not fixed in 11.1?

[ArranoBeltza]

And it's not fixed in 11.1?

Nope- the bug exists in both 11.1 and 11.0. Apparently SI is working on a hotfix, though I did find a custom DB that fixes the issue. However, I'm waiting until the official fix to start my Athletic save.

[TacticalGenius]

Ugh, I've just looked it up. They should hopefully know later today if it is savegame compatible. It f**king better be, I've raped all-comers in preseason, and have my backroom staff sorted...