[FM13] Granada Club de Fútbol - From Humble Beginnings

[heathxxx]

Be interested to know what philosophy you're employing Heath, are you taking the game to people with the control strategy with high closing down and shorter passing?

Much more straightforward

Always "Balanced" style and I also tend to start with "Standard" strategy. It depends then on how a match pans out, as to any change in strategy. Against the bigger and more powerful teams, I most often switch to "Counter" or "Defend" - plus shouts such as get the ball forward, pass into space. I might also drop the MC's back to the DMC positions, if the opposing midfield is playing well.

The tactical approach I start with is just that - a starting point. As per previous versions of FM, I pay little attention to opposition reputation or match odds. I observe what is happening in matches, then try to adapt accordingly if I feel changes are needed. Some matches, I've changed very little or made no tactical changes at all.

[lewis999]

To be honest on this years version it seems to make more sense to keep it fairly straight forward and not over complicate things and then react to what's going on, on the pitch. Great start though Heath, good to see Granada doing well.

[batty1]

Just thought I'd share a picture of who should hopefully be Diakhate's replacement. Looks like he'll be a world class CB in a few years time.

[Jelboo]

I'm doing a Barca save but I'm keeping my eyes on Granada. They're in sixth place, high up in every statistics, and really doing well out there. Didn't even manage a win against them, as one of the only clubs in Spain!

[heathxxx]

Have finally managed to complete my first season. Full details coming up today

[heathxxx]

Season 1 - End of Season Update

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League

Champions!

Great form and continually high morale, gave the team an edge in the close encounters... of which there were many. Attention to detail was key, as in some games making timely substitutions or tactical changes, made all the difference. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid dropping points, was also a big help.

With a first league title in the bag, Champions League football next season... Europe here we come!

Overall League Player Statistics

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League Fixtures

Particular highlights:

1-0 away win at Barcelona. A proper backs to the wall game, where we nicked a goal from a set-piece

4-1 away win against Atlético Madrid. A good thrashing dealt out and actually should have scored more.

3-0 at home against Valencia. Great overall performance, but Siqueira stole the show with a super solo effort. Dribbled from left-back position, cut inside then through the defence and smashed the ball home inside the box.

2-1 at home against Barcelona. As even a game as you could get. Early Barcelona goal, but central defender Muñoz clawed one back before half-time. End to end 2nd half, then 3 minutes from time, Ighalo scored the winner.

Heading into the final 10 games of the season, two very poor performances ended somewhat fortunately in draws against Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Betis. Concerned, I called a team meeting and rallied the troops. They responded magnificently to win all of the last eight games.

The title was clinched in the penultimate match of the season, away at Valencia and a goal from Ighalo in injury time. Barcelona could only manage a draw on the same day.

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Spanish Cup

Comfortable wins against Girona and Levante, took us through to the Q.Finals, where we would face our new nemesis... Real Madrid. Demolished away in the first leg, Siqueira scored a late goal to give a little hope for the second leg. At home, the team performed much better and with an early goal, just needed a second to lead on away goals. It never came though and Real Madrid won 3-2 on aggregate.

Interestingly, the eventual winners were Liga Adelante side Villarreal, who won 1-0 against Barcelona in the final. Barcelona fielded a much weakened side, with several youngsters and paid for that with defeat.

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Squad

Can't fault the squad one bit! Great consistency from all the players.

The January transfer window signings, Adryan and Ezequiel Muñoz slotted straight into the squad with ease and performed really well.

As mentioned in the previous update, a bug with loan to permanent signings, means the true stats for Odion Ighalo and Jaime Romero aren't seen. Ighalo scored 23 league goals, whilst Romero made 13 assists and scored 10.

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General

No further infrastructure improvements, other than those already agreed by the January update.

I was granted further scouts and now have 11. I also signed a new contract, tying me to the club for 5 more seasons.

Board also allowed me an overseas feeder club, returning with clubs in Germany. The best on offer was 3rd Division Hansa Rostock, who were the bigger club with the best facilities, of those offered.

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Transfers

So with the season over, the transfer planning begins once again.

Following similar deals with Odion Ighalo and Jaime Romero before the January deadline, I've now agreed to sign Gabriel Torje permanently from Udinese in the summer. Also currently negotiating to make Allan Nyom a permanent signing too. None of the other loan players will be retained, as I either currently have, or will have, better options.

Never one to miss "investment" opportunities, there's a number of free transfer players who will arrive during the summer. One or two will join the first-team squad, whilst others will be sent out to feeder clubs on loan.

Nacer Chandli, Juanfran, Sinan Bolat and Emiliano Viviano I'm fairly certain I'll retain in my first-team squad. With Marco Motta, it will depend whether or not I manage to sign Allan Nyom permanently, as I also have young Brazilian right-back Romario, who is making good progress.

The other key free-transfer signings, I'll take a look at first, then decide where to send them, between Watford and Eibar.

Have also agreed deals for a good number of young players and several newgens, who were spotted as being 4 star rated by my scouts. They also found a number of 5 star rated newgens, but all were at big clubs and no chance of signing them. I'll likely keep the majority of these young players in my u19 team, unless I feel they'll progress better at either Eibar or Hansa Rostock.

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Affiliate Clubs

Udinese - Finished a poor 13th in Serie A. Knocked out of the Italian Cup in the 1st round. Knocked out of the Champions League in the qualifying rounds. Progressed from group in Europa League, but lost 1st knock-out round afterwards.

Watford - Finished 4th in the Championship and won the play-offs and promotion to the Premier League. League Cup 3rd round. FA Cup 4th round.

Eibar - Finished 1st in 2ªB2. Won play-off, so now promoted to Liga Adelante. Won overall play-off final for Segunda B title.

Hansa Rostock - Newest feeder club in Germany, deal agreed after January transfer window. Finished 10th in the German 3rd Division. Will ship some players to them next season.

Wish I could loan players to Udinese, but unlike real-life, it's not a two-way deal in FM. Watford winning promotion to the Premier League and Eibar winning promotion to Liga Adelante offers me some good options for loaning out players. All the veteran players I signed for free, then loaned to Eibar, are all out of contract now. I'll send them some of my more promising young players and perhaps look for a couple of good free veterans to help them survive in Liga Adelante. Hansa Rostock I'll try to help get promoted too, with a batch of players.

[batty1]

Very nice season there Heath, congrats on winning the league. I actually missed out on Juanfran at the end of my first season.This reminds me I need to get my end of 2 season update done.

[heathxxx]

Just had a message from the board, for 3,000 new seats added to the stadium. That will take capacity to around 26,000 once the work is done. There's a catch though...

The money spend on the stadium upgrade, means the planned youth facilities upgrade is now scrapped

[Gooner88]

Heath I have to say this is an amazing thread. And to top it off what a season! Well done mate

[john03]

heathxxx you are without doubt the most interesting contributor on this forum and I always look to your threads for advice and sheer entertainment. Winning the league with Granada 1st season is possibly the greatest FM achievement I have ever seen particularly on this years with no super tactics out there. (Not your style I know)!

I guess what I and probably a lot of others would like to know is how do you do it! I fancy playing the game the proper way like you do. I'm fairly competent on man management and signings the thing I struggle on is tactics! What tactics to play against who. What you look for in the game and how do you tinker to get the wins? Be great if you could give us an approach to a game start to finish. It would be the icing on an already terrific thread!

[batty1]

john03 I've found this thread by wwfan very helpful, hopefully you will too. Well worth the read. http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/332584-A-Twelve-Step-Guide-towards-Playing-FM13-amp-Understanding-the-ME

[john03]

john03 I've found this thread by wwfan very helpful, hopefully you will too. Well worth the read. http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/332584-A-Twelve-Step-Guide-towards-Playing-FM13-amp-Understanding-the-ME

Thanks mate. Will give that a read!

[Rikulec]

Started a Granada save and prepared myself for a tough relegation battle. Players' quality surprised me though and I think we could push for Europa League spot in the first season. My only signing was Ruben Yttergard Jenssen for £1.6M. Two games into the season, comfortably beaten Rayo 3:0 and Sevilla 1:0 (could have easily been 2 or 3). Looking forward to the Real Madrid game.

[Rikulec]

1:1 at Bernabeu. \o/

[alex1919]

Heath what team talks are you using?as no matter what i say players just seem to ignore me ot get angry!

[Rikulec]

I'm shocked with the quality of my midfielders. I've only brought Ruben Yttergard Jenssen in (who's currently injured for 3 months ) and it seems to be my strongest formation. Lots of my actions begin with either a DM or one of two MC's cutting out a pass or tacking an opponent near the halfway line and then comes a counter with Jaime/Orellana wings. Shame Ighalo is injured, I love his dribbling ability, if only he was a better finisher, he'd tear the league apart. I'm currently sitting 4th after 16 games and hoping for Champions League next season.

[heathxxx]

heathxxx you are without doubt the most interesting contributor on this forum and I always look to your threads for advice and sheer entertainment. Winning the league with Granada 1st season is possibly the greatest FM achievement I have ever seen particularly on this years with no super tactics out there. (Not your style I know)!

I guess what I and probably a lot of others would like to know is how do you do it! I fancy playing the game the proper way like you do. I'm fairly competent on man management and signings the thing I struggle on is tactics! What tactics to play against who. What you look for in the game and how do you tinker to get the wins? Be great if you could give us an approach to a game start to finish. It would be the icing on an already terrific thread!

Managing teams like Man Utd, Barcelona, Real Madrid, etc... I'm flamboyant with tactics, because the players are there to do pull off all the fancy movement and tricks.

With a team like Granada CF, I keep things more basic and simple. Post #8 shows the basic shapes I recommend, with the players available at Granada CF. In each of the formation images, you'll also see the player roles assigned.

As for team instructions, as per the following:

Balanced/Standard with now specific tweaks to any of the other settings. That's something that I'll do during matches, based on what's happening during matches. It's also the hardest thing to explain, other than to say that observation is important.

I tend to have a variety of the match statistics widgits open during matches, so I can see how players are performing and observe how both teams are performing. If my team is under pressure, then I may get them to sit back a little and counter-attack, "get the ball forward" and "pass into space" - because if the opponents are pushing forward heavily, then there's a chance of catching them on the break. Just one example.

I'll also keep an eye on opposition player ratings and morale, because if there's a player or two not performing well, I'll utilise opposition instructions to close down or tackle harder, putting them under more pressure.

In this particular save and in the first season, I've mainly alternated between the 4-2-3-1 with 2x MC's and the 4-2-3-1 with 2x DMC's. The former I tend to deploy against teams who don't utilise AMC's, the latter against teams who do.

Late in games if I'm losing or drawing, I'm not afraid to go for broke and throw everything forward. All out attack, taking more risks and getting the ball to forwards as quickly as possible. More than a few times during the season, this gained points with a late equaliser or winner in the dying moments of games.

Sometimes though, it was a case of grinding out results. Sitting back, soaking up pressure, frustrating better quality opponents and looking to exploit them on the counter. I often see many people on the forums complain at losing to teams where they've dominated possession, had countless chances, yet lost to a team that's had one or two chances. Well, it works both ways and we can do it too!

Finally, attention to detail. One advantage I have with this squad of players, is I know what the best roles are for them very well indeed. I did do the research for them, after all. Utilise the information available to you though, as with the different screens, you are able to see highlighted attributes for each position and role. Use a "hand in glove" approach, fitting the right player attributes with the right roles. For example, whilst I keep it simple in the centre of midfield to keep the shape of the team compact, if I introduce a more creative player like Fran Rico in the middle, I'll use him in a role that suits his attributes best - MC or DMC "Deep-lying playmaker" Support.

Making sure you use the most suitable roles for each player, generally gets the best performances out of them.

One more thing... it took me about three weeks on and off, to play through that season. Not as much time to play FM as I used to, but when I play a run of matches, I pay a lot of attention to detail. If I rushed through seasons, I can guarantee 100% that I wouldn't do as well as I have so far in this save.

Heath what team talks are you using?as no matter what i say players just seem to ignore me ot get angry!

Team-talks can be one of the more frustrating parts of the game. My best advice, is to hire an assistant manager with 18+ motivating, then ask their advice or let them do it.

What I quite like in FM13 though, is getting an assistant to give the "main" team-talk, but then still have the option to do use defence, midfield, attack talks, or individual player talks. For these, irrespective of what the assistant has chosen for the "main" team-talk, I often add a calm or passionate talk with the defence, midfield, attack.

If the assistant manager talk has done well for morale, then I'll simply look at two or three individual players I can give a pep-talk. Most often, I'll choose a calm/passionate "I have faith" type approach.

At half-time or full-time, I'm not frightened of a few harsh words, if the team are doing badly. Then I'll use an assertive/angry "where's your pride" type approach.

I don't vary from these methods and they seem to serve me well. I might get the odd player reacting badly, but if that happens, I'll sometimes look at a private chat. Silly as it sounds, when I do that, I look at what some might consider lesser options, such as asking their opinion on potential signings and suchlike. Not contentious and sometimes results in a little boost in morale for the player.

[heathxxx]

I'm shocked with the quality of my midfielders. I've only brought Ruben Yttergard Jenssen in (who's currently injured for 3 months ) and it seems to be my strongest formation. Lots of my actions begin with either a DM or one of two MC's cutting out a pass or tacking an opponent near the halfway line and then comes a counter with Jaime/Orellana wings. Shame Ighalo is injured, I love his dribbling ability, if only he was a better finisher, he'd tear the league apart. I'm currently sitting 4th after 16 games and hoping for Champions League next season.

Players like Mikel Rico and Iriney, kept on simple roles like MC "support" and MC "defend" will do that. Both are good workers, good ball winners and if you're using a slightly more direct (insofar as recycling position) approach, they're as solid as you could wish for. That said though, I ended up replacing Iriney with Andile Jali. He too has good strong defensive attributes, but better creative abilities too. Iriney will remain though, as a good backup.

As I often mention, using roles that suit the players, without asking too much from them, can achieve great results from players who might otherwise be considered "average".

It might seem strange, but when I manage a more "modest" club in FM, I struggle most when looking to improve the squad. I never seem able to get the best out of more renown flair players, in the same way I can at one of the big clubs. Therefore, I'd rather have a squad of solid workers that graft for the results.

[Rikulec]

What worries me is that most of my key players are near 30 which means I'll need to rebuild the squad sooner than later. CL money should come in handy.

[craigcwwe]

Just started a save with Granada. I had a save with them on last years game and enjoyed it aswell.

Managed to sign the Brazillian Adriano on a free transfer during the first transfer window. Pleased with that, narrowly missed out on Ruben Yttergard Jenssen who chose to go to Hoffenheim instead, he was one of my main transfer targets aswell.

[heathxxx]

Looking forward to the January transfer update... featuring Carlos Aranda, Nolito & Diego Buonanotte

Will likely start a new save & see if I can emulate new manager Lucas Alcaraz, with his solid 4-4-2 formation

[lewis999]

Long time no posting Heath, glad to see you back, will start my annual Granada save with the new patch no doubt.

P.s I thought you had signed C.Ronaldo with that goal he scored for you

[heathxxx]

Haha, I bet Cristiano Ronaldo's hair gel sponsors were absolutely delighted.

Have been away from the forums for a while, simply because I've been so busy IRL with Granada CF and with Inside Spanish Football.

I try to pop in whenever I can, but it's getting harder all the time with my other commitments. Hopefully I'll have chance to pop in and update the thread with the January transfer window additions.

[joshAFC]

love the thread! started a Granada save myself and took a keen interest in real life as well

thoroughly enjoyed the read

[Paulista]

I wanted to start a new save in La Liga after I lost the interest in my Celta Vigo save. I had to decide between Deportivo, Zaragoza, Rayo and Granada and initially Zaragoza was my favorite, but this thread persuaded me to go with Granada. I have also to say that Granada is the richest of these teams

[craigcwwe]

Finished 7th in my first season and in my second season i finished 5th and got into Europe.

[cozzi65]

Granada has been the most fun save I have had on fm13. Just started my 2nd season and managed to finish 5th in year 1 qualifying for Europe. With little money to spend and low expectations, I was limited in the market. Here are my first season transfers.

Loans:

Kozak - scored 15 goals

Eduardo - disaster, terminated his loan

Cossu - need a true playmaker for my 4-2-3-1

Transfers

Femenia - I needed a versatile player who could play anywhere

January:

Lodi - Great DLP, got him for cheap

Torpak - Strengthened my cb pairing, cheap

I spent a total of 7.75m euros, it helped that my board gave me a better budget as I had some success in the league.

I completely rebuilt the squad for Europe and my goal of pushing to qualify for the Champions League. I was given nearly 30m to spend. Here are my transfer for season 2.

In:

Ospina - free

Igahlo - free

boudebouz - free

Andrada - free

Muniesa - free

Torje - 8.75m

Kweuke - 6.75m

Strandberg - 4m

Maxi Moralez - 2m

Capuano - 4.3m

Bellusci - 4.6m

Palombo - 3m

Melo - loan

De Sciglio - loan

Elia - loan

Few other young prospects

Total - 34m

Out:

Fran Rico

Yebda

Diakhate

Angulo

Allan

Ortiz

Naldo

Jona

Iireny

Kitoko

Total - 13.25m

I have really pushed to bring in lots of oyung prospects to build this club for the future. Things are looking good as I started the season 3/3 in my first few games.

[to_madeira]

Just arrived January of 1st season and I'm sitting 2nd in La Liga between R. Madrid (1 pt behind them) and Barcelona (1 pt up). Beat Barcelona at Nou Camp (1-2, Ighalo x2) and Atl. Madrid at Vicente Calderon (0-2, Ighalo x2).

Ighalo have been amazing, 18 played, 17 goals, 6 assists, 7.99

Players in (5.5M €):

Ewerthon - ST - free

Hargreaves - DM - free

Alberto Bueno - ST - loan 9k

Cirigliano - DM - loan

Strandberg - CB - 700k + 500k after 20 league app + 500k after 10 int app + 500k after 20 league goals

Maupay - ST - 1.5M

Ighalo - ST - 1.7M (just after renew his contract) +

André Gomes - MC - 160k

Tiago Ilori - CB - free*

Mika - GK - free*

André Almeida - DR/L, DM - free* +

* released during the save

+ January transfer window

Players out (6.85M €)

Diakhaté 2.6M

Diego Mainz 800k

Aranda loan 2k

Yebda 2.3M +

Lucena 250k +

Juanma 750k +

Toño 100k +

+ January transfer window

[cozzi65]

Nice to_madeira!

Keep it going I started to lose consistency late in the season, if you could get Champions League first season that would be amazing!

[to_madeira]

What an amazing win vs Real Madrid!

Real more quantity of shoots, Granada more quality:

[to_madeira]

Granada, 1st season

La Liga

Calendar 1 | Calendar 2

[ronaldo_1978]

Great season mate. I've got a Granada save going myself. I'm about halfway into my first season

[ronaldo_1978]

Finished my first season. I'm really happy with how it went, only problem I've got now is that half my first team was from on loan at Udinese. Looks like a major rebuilding job is in order :-)

[ronaldo_1978]

managed to scrape by Napoli in the champions league qualifier, somehow I don't think I'll be qualifying from my group though.

[cozzi65]

Great Season!!!

I managed to finish 4th my 2nd season to qualify for champs league, I also won the Euro Cup. I'm looking to polish my team this summer and add one of 2 key players. I specifically need an inside forward LW. Does anyone have any suggestions? Got about 15m to spend, maybe a little more.

[ronaldo_1978]

Great season mate finishing 4th. Have a look for a player called Bernard, he plays in Brazil, looks like a quality attacking LM

[ronaldo_1978]

Just finished second season. I've not improved to be honest but just happy to finish in Europe. It's going to be a rebuilding job I think :-)

[cozzi65]

Exactly who I signed. Thanks

[Gee_Simpson]

@ to_madeira - What skin are you using?