FM12: Málaga Club de Fútbol - Barça & Real? Who?

[rune_star]

How are you playing them? What formation, tactic and settings?

[NorthernGooner]

Well, due to the fact that I love Malaga and I have been there, I'm going to start up a Malaga save, and especially due to how active the thread is Anyway, I was just wondering about the chairman? has it been changed in the patch or do I need to change the chairman type?

[Blue_magic]

About to fire up my save for about a hour then switch on the ps3 and play some ESV:skyrim (what a game by the way)

Just perfected my away formation which is very solid and is more counter attacking than anything else also custom made a few shouts.

[Andyp]

ESV:skyrim (what a game by the way)

How does it compare to Oblivion? I enjoyed that game, but got bored of it fairly quick as the repetitive internal locations started to get on my nerves. Plus, I never fully got to grips with enchanting stuff.

Anyway, back on topic: My flatmate is away for the weekend and I have no money to go out, so tonight I have the perfect opportunity of a full evening of uninterrupted FM! Bring it on!

[Andyp]

Well, due to the fact that I love Malaga and I have been there, I'm going to start up a Malaga save, and especially due to how active the thread is Anyway, I was just wondering about the chairman? has it been changed in the patch or do I need to change the chairman type?

Welcome aboard! I must admit until I started this game I knew nothing of Malaga. I knew there were a top-tier Spanish team but that was literally it. All my knowledge of the RL club is due to this thread, and the thread recommends changing the chairman to foreground. Don't know if a recent patch has updated it for you, though.

EDIT: SORRY sorry sorry for the double post

[Katone0]

How are you playing them? What formation, tactic and settings?

It's knap FM12.0.3, 442 tactic(he used it in his Manchester City save). I'm very happy with it, scoring 4.1 goals per game and loosing 1.5.

[i3rooker]

You concede 1.5 goals a game?

[Andyp]

25 games in and we're now a massive 9 points clear of 3rd placed Real Madrid! They really are having a shocker of a season.

Still only 4 points behind Barca... Just need them to actually drop some points!

[Katone0]

You concede 1.5 goals a game?

Yes, that's what I meant.

[i3rooker]

That's a lot ...

Got Rafael joining on a free transfer in the summer.

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Well, due to the fact that I love Malaga and I have been there, I'm going to start up a Malaga save, and especially due to how active the thread is Anyway, I was just wondering about the chairman? has it been changed in the patch or do I need to change the chairman type?

Welcome NG Glad to see you've hopped onto the Málaga bandwagon as have I, and many others.

Well, I have uploaded a 'fix' that will change Málaga's sugardaddy from a 'Background' to a 'Foreground' sugardaddy; you can find that HERE

Good Luck and keep us up-to-date with your save.

[john1]

Pretty happy with the tour to Australia That will be the only pre season I'm doing due we're in Champions League best placed play off.

Transfers

I know I could have sold them for more money. But I was desperate to get rid of them due to the wages budget.

EDIT:

Brought this guy in on free transfer. I know his physical attributes doesn't look good. I'm sure he'll improve.

[john1]

Another free transfer

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Some nice signings there, John Darron Gibson could be a very nice signing; good ball retention skills which could prove to be vital in Liga BBVA.

[john1]

Some nice signings there, John Darron Gibson could be a very nice signing; good ball retention skills which could prove to be vital in Liga BBVA.

Thanks Could be selling Van Nistelrooy to Porto for 275K and Toulalan to Fulham for 3.8M

EDIT: he rejected Fulham. Got Zenit in CL best placed play off. Home first leg.

[RabEss.Safc1879]

Ouch

Sevilla 5-2 Malaga

Malaga 0-2 Granada

Mallorca 0-2 Malaga

I ended up quitting by mistake after the loss against Granada, so i took charge again with 0 budget altho theres about 18m there for next window.

[Andyp]

My epic FM-athon is throwing up some interesting experiences. Barca finally lost! And guess who beat them:

And it gets better than that. We gave them a right royal spanking in the Champions League:

1st leg

And the triumphant home leg

Maybe - just maybe - this could be the sequence that confirms us as the new force in Spanish (maybe even European) football. Hell, if we can beat Barca like that, we can beat anyone!

[john1]

Van Nistelrooy leaves the club to join Porto, Paying him 10K per week until his contract expires next season. Accepted Lazio (3.7M all up front), Wolfsburg and Bordeaux (both over 48 months) for Toulalan. I haven't got news when you get batch of regens to youth U's19 Or was that Malaga youth candidates?

Getting so annoying when my scouts find good players but can't afford them

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Andyp - If I was wearing a hat right now, I would be removing it quite regularly for you Fantastic!

Getting so annoying when my scouts find good players but can't afford them

Ofcourse, you could always filter your scouts' search priorities to players who have values that may suit your budget.

Monthly Update coming up

[john1]

Andyp - If I was wearing a hat right now, I would be removing it quite regularly for you Fantastic!

Ofcourse, you could always filter your scouts' search priorities to players who have values that may suit your budget.

Monthly Update coming up

I know but I only got 800K to spend.

EDIT: Decided not to sell Toulalan in the end. Decided to keep him to tutor the youngsters.

[Andyp]

Andyp - If I was wearing a hat right now, I would be removing it quite regularly for you Fantastic!

Haha thanks mate. Gets even better than that though - just won 2-1 at the Bernabeu to take us 6 points clear of them again. Now we know we can beat them, hopefully we will get something out of them in the Champions League semi finals (yes, Barca in the quarters followed by Real in the semis).

Also haven't lost in 30 games

Look forward to the update, Llew!

[Llew_Arshavin23]

October;

Welcome to my second monthly update; the month of October was quite a tough journey. We had some tough fixtures, especially Mourinho's Madrid who made the travel to the South of Spain and to La Rosaleda, which has been something of a fortress this term. I hope you enjoy it! [Also, I hope you like my new 'Intro Screenshot' title thing - readers of WorldSoccer magazine will realise where I got the inspiration from.]

Fixtures and results;

Liga BBVA;

Málaga - 4 (Rondón '3, Joaquín '27, Botía '39, Isco '47)

Getafe - 1 (Güiza '46)

A very complete, good performance. Showed off soem good passing movements aswell as, what has been, an ever-present ability to keep the ball incredibly well. Another Rondón goal to add to his increasing tally and, all-in-all, a good start to what seemed to be a tough month.

Liga BBVA;

Levante - 2 (Barkero '6, Farinós '22)

Málaga - 1 (Eliseu '43, Rondón Red Card '25)

Very disappointed. Rondón went from the sublime in recent weeks, scoring many a impressive goal but, then he goes and gets himself dismissed early on after a double-footed challenge from behind! Our midfield didn't control the game well, gave away possession on what seemed to be a regular basis. Next up - Real Madrid; much improvement needed.

Liga BBVA;

Málaga - 1 (Maresca pen '43)

Real Madrid - 2 (Ozil '6, Ronaldo pen '72)

We, to say the least, were very, very unlucky. I decided to play the 4-2-1-3 formation, which worked well against Athletic Bilbao's 3-4-3 and, to an extent, it worked once again on this occasion. Ozil bundled the ball over the line early on and, I will admit, I was fearing the worst but, as the game progressed we improved to a level that could've beat Mourinho's men. Maresca slotted home a penalty past the Iker Casillas and every thing looked fine and dandy until, the in-form Eliseu tangled legs with a Madrid player in our own box, gave away the penalty and rewards we had deserved. Great Effort.

Copa del Rey - 4th Round ~ 1st Leg;

Málaga - 2 (Fernández '43, Cazorla '52)

Sporting Gijón - 0

Another good performance and a good confidence 'refill' after the disappointment from the weekend; Many players managed to achieve their first starts for the club and many impressed. Seb Fernández impressed with his goal, despite the amount of chances he missed too, Diego Buonanotte didn't have much time to accomplish much before being substituted for Cazorla in the 15th minute due to injury and Juanmi, a player who's vastly improved over recent weeks, made a good cameo appearance off the bench. We should travel up to Sporting now and clinch this 2-legged tie quite comprehensively.

Liga BBVA;

Málaga - 1 (Botía '80)

Espanyol - 0

The other half of Barcelona made it hard for us; Botía is making somewhat of an impression in the opposition penalty area and La Rosaleda proved to be a happy hunting ground once again. Happy with this win, even though the manner in which it came in. Didn't keep the ball tremendously well and our passing movements were missing but, good teams win with bad performances and we did that.

General review of October;

All in all, I was happy; Wasn't best pleased with that 'shoddy' result to Levante but, they're a good side and I guess we can't win them all. Performance wise I was pleased with the Madrid game, despite the scorline, we gave a good account of ourselves and have proven that we can provide a very good, competitive challenge on home soil. Would've liked to have a few more goals flying about but, when júlio Baptista is out and your top goalscorer is missing due to suspension, what more can you expect? Onwards and upwards for November!

Liga BBVA table as of November 4th

Málaga's Player of the Month;

◘◘◘ Jesús Gámez - Mr.Málaga himself has been magnificent; a true Spanish right-back. Someone who loves hard-work, a determined game plan and a good go in the tackle. My inspirational captain has proved to be a important figure in my squad. Marauds up and down the right flank very well, at times too well if there ever was such a thing. Aswell as being a stalwart in my Málaga side, he's also been a regular in the Spanish Senior Squad but, surprisingly, he's yet to feature in a game as of yet. I'm hoping he can carry this form through for the rest of the season now - I'm glad I fought off potential suitors, Valencia, in the Summer. Letting him go was never in my mind.

A few final words...

New introductions to the coaching staff - I have increased the amount of coaches and, to be fair, the standard of coaching at the club to coincide with the club's ambition and where I and it wants to be in three years time. When i first joined Málaga, the coaching standard was quite low, aswell as Scouts etc. but, as I do want to emulate what Arsene Wenger has done at Arsenal, these areas needed cast improvements. While I have already improved the scouting network, the club's coaching staff had been untouched until relatively recently. Chico Fraga, Francisco Ayesteran and a host of Youth Coaches have all been drafted in in recent weeks.

Youth Development - Juanmi - We have seen a good, consistent increase in the attributes of young Málaga academy graduate, Juanmi, in recent weeks;

At the moment, he is being tutored by the great Ruud van Nistelrooy and, to be fair, it looks like RVN has worked his magic on Juanmi. He's made some good improvements while traing with my very own schedule and hopefully he will progress into a potential starter and Spanish international; Well Done Juanmi.

Zakaria Labyad and Luuk de Jong: possible Bosmans? While scouring Europe for some good player who have yet to sign a new contract, I came across these two youngsters who are feeling their way into the Eredivisie with PSV and FC Twente respectively. What would be your opinion on potentially seeing one of them packing their bags to Málaga for the summer? By no means I am no stranger to them, I've had Labayad before on previous FM'ers and he is good but, is this the type of player I should be looking for. I certainly think it would be a good move to bring in at least one; possibly both.

VAMOS MÁLAGA!

[Suggy33]

Labyad is brilliant. Scores a surprising amount of goals from midfield. De Jong has the ability, but never did it for me.

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Labyad is brilliant. Scores a surprising amount of goals from midfield. De Jong has the ability, but never did it for me.

I feel Labyad would also fit into Liga BBVA well, too. Small, good in possession of the ball and, as you've found out, can score from deep. Where do you play him, Suggy?

I've always been interested in Luuk de Jong since his emergence in Dutch football; would be a good signing on a free, to be honest.

[RabEss.Safc1879]

any decent free signings during the 1st season?

[Suggy33]

Labyad was doing well in MC/AMC as and Advanced Playmaker (A) for me at PSV. De Jong has been a nifty player for a couple of years, finally getting some recognition, but didn't play well as a Target Man or Treq for me at Twente.

[23drd23]

Dont know anything about de Jong, but I think Labyad would be a good free signing for a few years (as a squad player at the very least)

[Andyp]

Through to the Champions League final after an epic semi against Real Madrid. 2-1 winners from the first leg, we tied on 3-3 after Ronaldo got a last-minute winner. Extra time was nothing short of an end-to-end slugfest.

Got AC Milan in the final

EDIT: One game to go, and somehow we've managed to catch up with Barca.

All I need is a home win against Grenada and for Betis to do me a favour at the Nou Camp and the league is Malaga's!

[john1]

I bet that was a crazy match with amount of shots! Well done getting to the Champions League final Andy Going to fire up my Malaga save.

Oh joy. Threw away 2 goals lead at home and drew 2-2 Gibson intercepted their cross in our box and they scored right after :confused: I think he was meant to head it to our keeper but their striker scored.

[john1]

Love free agents. Fans went nuts when I signed him.

Bayern, Inter and Marseille have bid 2.5M for Joaquin, I gladly accepted it.

He accepted Inter and will pay him 30K p/w until 2014.

[Kingbogo]

champ league quarter final, some game, sanchez and messi a great combo, got very lucky was 4-3 down whane alves got sent off and Barca really struggled and i rattled them with 3 quick goals Next up Real Madrid in the Semi, gonna need a lot of luck for them

[Kingbogo]

And Real Madrid beat me in the semi-finals, But in the league I am in 1st place 1 point ahead of Barca, and my last 3 games are all at home.

[Andyp]

Andyp's End Of Season Review - 2012/13

So season 2 is out of the way, and what a season it turned out to be! A tremendous unbeaten run that began at the start of December 2012 and lasted right until the end of the season led us to that most holy grail of achievements: The Treble.

La Liga

Final table

We were breathing down Barca's neck all season, but they were just that little bit too good and despite reducing the gap to 4 points in February it didn't seem like they were going to lose, so I was preparing for a happy 2nd place. That is, until we met in the league in mid-April. We ran out 2-0 winners and that defeat seemed to leave a huge dent in their confidence, dropping 9 points from the next available 18. It all came down to the last day. We were tied, both on 92 points. They had Betis at the Nou Camp, we had Grenada at La Rosaleda. We went 1-0 up thanks to a bit of Cazorla magic, then they went 1-0 down. Tremendous scenes. Messi did pull one back for them but it meant nothing as Rondon (who else?) came off the bench to finish a wonderful team move and guaranteed us the title. It was no less than we deserved as we were undoubtedly the form team in the second half of the season - beating both Barca and Real, and dropping just 8 points since the turn of the calendar year.

Copa Del Rey

Superb performances from my 'cup team' confirmed us as Spanish domestic double winners with a hard-fought victory over Valencia at the Bernabeu. Another two goals from the competition's top scorer Rondon further added to our joy.

Champions League

Despite playing (and beating) the two bookies' favourites Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Quarters and Semis respectively, this was fittingly the toughest game of the lot. Tevez was a silly boy, diving in recklessly at the end of the first half after Kameni saved a Taiwo penalty. However it was a scrappy finish from Afellay and a deflected Cazorla free kick that gave us a 2-0 lead until Pato got AC a consolation with a neat finish in injury time. Again, a deserved win. Despite being so good defensively in the league, we were purveyors of exciting, free-flowing and open games in Europe - conceding 22 in the competition overall. This didn't matter however, as we plain outscored the rest of our opponents and ended up unbeaten.

Squad Roundup

Goalkeepers: Carlos Kameni, Rui Patricio, Ruben (First choice: Kameni - for now)

Started the season with Kameni, who was as always a superb reaction stopper however I wasn't convinced by his aerial ability and high eccentricity rating. As a result I bought Rui Patricio in January for £11.5m. Patricio slotted straight into the team and did very well, however as he had already played in the Champions League with Sporting he was ineligible to play in the competition with us. Kameni took full advantage of this and put in a string of world class performances in Europe, and established himself again as first choice in the league. Patricio became my cup keeper, and did a sterling job. I'm satisfied to now have two world-class goalkeepers in the squad. Ruben has been solid when he has been called upon. Provided he doesn't get frustrated by lack of action, I'm happy with him as my 3rd choice.

End of season ratings:

Kameni: 7.22 from 41 apps

Patricio: 7.15 from 17 apps

Ruben: 6.90 from 2 apps

Full-backs: Ivan Bandalovski, Martin Montoya, Jose Angel, Naxto Monreal (First choice RB: Bandalovski, first choice LB: Angel)

Started off the season with Gamez and Sanchez rotation as RB. I was never fully convinced by either of them, as Gamez seemed to switch off too often and be left wanting in defensive positions, and Sanchez had a bad habit of collecting needless yellows, which turned into reds all too regularly. I let Gamez go in July as he frustrated me too much in the first season and I brought in Kyle Walker on loan to rotate with Sanchez. Unfortunately, the bad discipline which was a feature of Sanchez's season last time again reared its ugly head this season, and eventually I lost patience with him and loaned him out in January. As means of replacement, I went in for the deeply unhappy Montoya from Barcelona (FOR FREE), and stumbled across Bandalovski. I was quoted £3.8m for Bandalovski, which I couldn't say no to. Walker was sent back to Spurs, and after a few games Bandalovski had firmly established himsef as a superb RB.

For left back I knew I needed someone in July to challenge with Monreal. I noticed Angel, who was at Roma at the time. He has all the base stats to make a very solid LB, and 23 to boot. When I was quoted £7.5m I snapped him up without a second thought. Some brilliant defensive performances quickly made him my first choice. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be the fittest of players, so Monreal was still at hand for when he got tired (normally after 4 or 5 consecutive starts).

End of season ratings:

Bandalovski: 7.25 from 22 apps (2 assists)

Montoya: 6.8 from 10 apps (1 assist)

Angel: 7.17 from 36(1) apps (3 assists)

Monreal: 7.24 from 24(1) apps (2 assists)

Centre backs: Sebastien Bassong, Nicolas Otamendi, Joris Mathijsen, Danny Wilson (First choice: Bassong, Otamendi)

A solid defence that was the base of our wonderful league performance. Bassong and Otamendi were my first choice centre back partnership from the off, both putting in commanding performances in all competitions as well as chipping in with a combined total of 23 goals to boot. As further testament to their performances, they were not only named as the two CB's in the league best XI, but also the Champions League best XI. Mathijsen hasn't been affected by his fall from first-team regular to backup, and has been brilliant whenever he has been called upon. Unfortunately, Otamendi didn't take this fall from grace quite so well, and demanded a move - which I was more than happy to facilitate. As means of replacement, I bought in Danny Wilson on loan until the end of next season. Wilson has performed admirably when played as well, and forged a good partnership with Mathijsen in domestic cup games. I'm hoping to eventually land Wilson permanently.

End of season ratings:

Bassong: 7.55 from 42(2) apps (10 goals, 4 assists, 5 MoM's)

Otamendi: 7.49 from 51(1) apps (13 goals, 3 assists, 2 MoM's)

Mathijsen: 7.13 from 19(2) apps (2 goals, 1 MoM)

Wilson: 7.52 from 6 apps (1 goals, 1 MoM)

Central Midfield: Jeremy Toulalan, Adam Vass, Emmanuel Badu, Ignacio Camacho, Axel Witsel (First choice: Toulalan, Witsel)

The unsung heroes of my system: one surges forward and breaks up the opposition midfield, the other sits back and sweeps up any misplaced balls. Toulalan has been wonderful as the more defensive member of this duo, despite not getting much of a chance behind Vass last season. Witsel was brought in in January; a player with great mental attributes and an eye for a pass, his positional sense and willingness to run has been much appreciated. He's also a very confident penalty taker, and has stepped up a few times for us. Badu and Camacho are continuing their development as good break-up players, even if Camacho does get on my nerves sometimes with his demands of regular first team action; Vass is always reliable to step up and do a good job when Toulalan is out.

End of season ratings:

Toulalan: 7.08 from 42(2) apps (2 goals, 2 assists)

Witsel: 7.04 from 16(2) apps (4 goals, 4 assists, 1 MoM)

Badu: 6.89 from 15(10) apps (4 goals, 1 assist)

Camacho: 6.88 from 16(1) apps (1 goal, 2 assists)

Vass: 7.00 from 15(3) apps (3 assist)

Attacking Midfield: Santi Cazorla, Mateo Kovacic, Ibrahim Afellay, Carlos Tevez, Julio Baptista, Gio dos Santos, Adam Johnson, Sidney Sam (First choice: Cazorla - Tevez - Afellay)

The headline-grabbers of the team. With my central midfielders acting so defensive, these 3 creative players are allowed the run of the pitch and aren't required to use up too much energy by bothering with stuff like defending. Cazorla has been in the form of his life - pulling the strings from the left wing, scoring wonderful goals, and taking pinpoint free kicks. His fairly pedestrian form last season has been well and truly forgotten about now, and he has also been named Champions League best player as well as in the best XI both domestically and Champions League. Tevez was my big buy of the season (£25m), but his industry and crafty touches have been instrumental in our build up play, and he's also provided some very important goals for us in the big games and joined Cazorla in the Champions League best XI. My right wing is reserved for the more penetrative attacking players, and is why Adam Johnson and Sidney Sam were bought in January; their job is to get the ball, cut inside and use their trickery to unsettle defences. Afellay is first choice here, but if we are in need of a goal 70+ minutes into a game then Sam/Johnson/dos Santos are more than capable of coming on and causing chaos.

Cazorla picked up an injury near the end of the season, allowing Kovacic a run in the first team. He was phenomenal, dictating play every bit as well as the little Spanish wizard. Baptista was out for a few months about 1/3 of the way into the season, which unfortunately dropped him down the pecking order, but has always given his all when he has played. As much as I love him, I can't see him appreciating having so few chances .

End of season ratings:

Cazorla: 7.77 from 40(1) apps (13 goals, 26 assists, 10 MoM's)

Kovacic: 7.53 from 19(12) apps (4 goals, 13 assists, 2 MoM's)

Tevez: 7.34 from 44(3) apps (19 goals, 14 assists, 4 MoM's)

Johnson: 7.33 from 14(2) apps (5 goals, 7 assists, 1 MoM)

Afellay: 7.30 from 35(12) apps (7 goals, 20 assists, 2 MoM's)

Sam: 7.18 from 5(12) apps (4 goals, 3 assists)

dos Santos: 7.03 from 15(13) apps (6 goals, 5 assists, 2 MoM's)

Baptista: 6.99 from 18(12) apps (6 goals, 6 assists, 1 MoM)

Forwards: Moussa Sow, Salomon Rondon, Wilfried (First choice: Rondon)

Unstoppable. That's the only way I can describe Rondon's performances, and another Malaga player named in the Champions League best XI. If I need a goal in an important game, I can always rely on the deadly Venezuelan. His pace, strength and balance means he effectively just walks through the opposition defensive line. I got Moussa Sow at the start of the season, and he started impressively, but injury and international duty gave Rondon the chance to reaffirm himself as the best striker at the club. Sow is capable of scoring very big goals against very good defences, and I can't think of a better second-choice. Wilfried has been the one to unfortunately make way for Rondon and Sow. Always a threat thanks to his imposing physicality, he is too good to not be first choice and I'm sure he'll realise that sooner rather than later. Juanmi is getting frustrated at not playing in the first team, so I may consider letting Wilfried go and giving him some chances to improve and impress.

End of season ratings:

Rondon: 7.35 from 28(11) apps (24 goals, 5 assists, 5 MoM's)

Sow: 7.03 from 26(13) apps (10 goals, 4 assists, 3 MoM's)

Wilfried: 7.27 from 5(7) apps (6 goals, 2 MoM's)

Next Season

Not sure what to do next season. I'm very happy with the squad I have, but would like to give more chances to my Spaniards. I'm considering letting go of Baptista (with a heavy heart), Badu and either Wilfried or Sow; which will allow me to give the likes of Recio, Isco and Juanmi a chance in the first team.

Wow, that was a long update.

[arron52]

how much are people paying for the german keeper stegen (is that his name ?)

[NorthernGooner]

Great update there Andyp and some nice results and trophies to go with it! Rondon seemed to be a beast, how has Juanmi progressing for you? I've heard big things from him but sometimes can't get the training correct.

Anyway, about to fire up my save now for the night, didn't get chance to playing it tonight, would love to bring in Paco Alcácer from Valencia, and also Iñigo Martínez, who is a 20 year old CB from Real Sociedad. Will let you know how I progress.

[Llew_Arshavin23]

Andyp: What a great update mate; another good read. What a great season, by the way - The treble... Once again, If I was wearing a hat, I would be donning it quite regularly after some of your performances

Cazorla and Adam Johnson looked to have tremendous seasons; considering you acquired the services' of Adam Johnson for tuppence, that was a inspired signing. I just hope the likes of Isco, Recio and Juanmi can step up to the mark, especially with Júlio Bap-'beast'-a leaving La Rosaleda. Good Luck mate

Finally, I've gotten home and now looking forward to a night of Football Manager. Expect a update up sooner rather than later.

[Kingbogo]

I ended up paying 9m for stegen, and Gladbach's board had to step in to sell him to me. He is really good well worth the money

[kave2]

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Great result at Camp Nou.

[Kingbogo]

Season 3 Malaga are Champions by the narrowest of margins

Cup - quarter final

Champ League - semi final

Good season, squad played well, i rotate in most positions apart from GK and DC so squad is fit and happy and has worked well.

Isco is leaving for 7.5m, got pissed when a transfer listed Ozul joined Malaga. Real Madrid had an awful start to season, Mourinho got sacked, Mancini came in and they have become a lot tougher to beat.

Got Albiol coming in for 3.5m. And Blaise Matuidi and a couple of youth coming in on free's. ANd Baptista leaving on a free to Palmeiras.

Wilfried, Rondon and Sanogo have been my strikers, and have done well. I play a slightly different way to most folks in that i play a 451 but with a midfield 3 and 2 wingers, with a home and away version. This may need to change to get the most out of Ozul. If i get an offer in for a striker i may buy big, Rooney is wanting a change at Man U so if i get a good budget may have a shot at him.

[NorthernGooner]

Albiol would be a great deal, especially for that price, I have always been an admirier of him. Also, would you pay £7.5million for Paco Alcacer, I have had it accepted, and he is a great prospect, but also Barca and Real Madrid had offers accepted so do I go for it or regret it in the future?

[Llew_Arshavin23]

I would also recommend Raúl Albiol and, for that price, that may be one of your best ever signings Well, I'm currently still in mid-November and am embracing the 'interlull' that is a international break [Just been on MW3 for a bit, so my progress was hampered somewhat] and have just received these two messages;

Pretty pleased about that; at least he will have a prolonged domestic career. Although, I doubt that he will end his career at Málaga as much as I would him to. Not the brand of player I need or want at Málaga, sadly. After that pleasing message, I then received a annoying and, what could prove to be, vital blow for my season;

I am bitterly disappointed; he's been fabulous in recent weeks and we will miss him - sadly, our back-up strikers, bar Iaquinta, don't seem to harbour much goals within them - therefore, we may have a problem especially in this key period of time before the Winter Break.

Monthly Update will be on tonight!

[john1]

Beat Zenit 2-0 away With baptista and Raul scoring Selling Toulalan to Sunderland for 3.6M over 48 months and will pay him 11.75K until 2015.

[john1]

Dead happy with my group 2nd place is doable!

[23drd23]

Well done Andyp on winning the treble so quickly!

arron52, I paid £7.75m for ter Stegen after Gladbach were relegated in the 2nd season

NorthernGooner, I know it wasnt directed at me, but Juanmi has been pretty good for me in the last couple of seasons (2015/16 and 2016/17) including leading the club goal scoring last season (beating out Carlos Fierro and Tevez). He is now the starting ST for Spain in my 4-2-3-1 formation and just scored a hat trick against the Netherlands in a friendly too!

[arron52]

I ended up paying 9m for stegen, and Gladbach's board had to step in to sell him to me. He is really good well worth the money

thanks kingbobo ! just starting my malaga adventure after following this thread (great op by the way Llew , best ive ever read ),will post when i have more news .

[Llew_Arshavin23]

January looks set to be a busy month for me; my team have recently lost 3 games in November so far [more on that to come in my update] and the Spanish press are calling for my head - Personally, I feel like I'm doing okay. Of course I am disappointed with our recent run of form but, seeing that Sevilla, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Valencia are all having very, very good seasons, I'm not surprised that I am sat in 9th.

I'm hoping to bring in some seasoned professionals in January; a Striker seems to be a 'must buy' position, at the moment. Rondón is susceptible to picking up suspensions ans the odd injury and, with the lack of goals from my back-up strikers, It's an area that is in need of improvement. I will also step up my pursuit for Marvin Martin too - I feel that Apono, despite his good form, hasn't got the creative mentality for the role that he has been playing.

[john1]

Had a decent start to the league until I got destroyed 5-2 away at Valencia Defence went AWOL, Valencia scored 3 goals in 13 minutes period

[i3rooker]

I sold Kameni in January for 10M because he wasn't going to get in the team ahead of Stegen. Also sold Baptista for 5M to Liverpool because he put in a transfer request. Only signed a couple of regens and got Charlie Adam on loan to cover CM/AM. Tevez is available for 8M according to my scout but I dont want to pay his wages, does he usually let his contract run out at Man City or does he eventually sign a new one? No clubs have bid for him so far.

[Andyp]

I must admit, now I've won the treble I really am considering doing my Bela Guttmann thing now and moving on after 2 seasons. Bayern have approached me, so I could join there and have a realistic chance of starting my ambition of winning major trophies in every major footballing country.

Problem is, I really have started to love Malaga, and this thread is so good I don't want to leave!

[AcidBurn]

I sold Kameni in January for 10M because he wasn't going to get in the team ahead of Stegen. Also sold Baptista for 5M to Liverpool because he put in a transfer request. Only signed a couple of regens and got Charlie Adam on loan to cover CM/AM. Tevez is available for 8M according to my scout but I dont want to pay his wages, does he usually let his contract run out at Man City or does he eventually sign a new one? No clubs have bid for him so far.

I have seen people sign him in the third season on under 100k a week at least that's what they said in the GD thread about him. I got him on 125k a week but he would not drop the yearly wage rise clause.