[FM16] If I had a Nicol for every goal, I'd have just over six dollars

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



Apologies, ballsed up the screenshot so it's only after two games have already been played. A couple of heavyweight encounters too as Holland and Brazil head home at the expense of hosts England and Spain respectively.

There's still the outside chance of a Scotland vs Italy semi final, but they'll have to get past Portugal and Spain to set that up. England, France, Argentina, Germany and Belgium all wait on the other side of the draw.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



No more Scotland, and we could finish this career without ever playing them again if we go on to win it. We'll have to get past Portugal though (and Mexico, and Chile or the Czechs), with France a possible opponent in the final.



Cross Chile off that list - it'll be Czech Republic in the quarter finals for the winners of Mexico vs Italy. Germany strolled through at Turkey's expense to set up a quarter final against either DR Congo or Belgium.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



It's a shame we didn't have a longer career together, because I think I'm in love with Ermanno Prandelli. Yet another hat-trick, and he put Mexico to the sword in brutal fashion. Czech Republic are up next, and I'll tentatively say that is winnable.

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



The hosts are out, and business was pretty much done after an hour. England got a glimmer of hope on the stroke of half-time, but that was extinguished when Muggleton scored an own goal.

But it was eclipsed by the earlier classic between Spain and Portugal. Portugal led for the large part of the game, 2-0 going into half-time. It took until the 73rd minute for Spain to get back into it, but five minutes later they were level. Portugal thought they'd won it, but Spain drew level again with a last gasp goal. Nothing could separate them through extra time, but Portugal triumphed on penalties to head into the semi finals against the winners of Czech Republic vs Italy. France await the battle of the black, red and yellow between Belgium and Germany.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



A huge blow for us with Stefano Battilana missing the rest of the tournament. This wouldn't usually be an issue, but after leaving Cioffi at home, we're down to just one right-sided winger in Pio Delzio, and he'll probably be absolutely puggled by the time a potential final comes round. God forbid something happens to him, because we have absolutely no-one else that can play there. Like no-one.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



When Prandelli doesn't produce, Nicola Fusco will. It took a long, long time for him to make his mark, but make it he did with an 86th minute winner. But that doesn't tell the whole story, or really anything close to it. The Czech's charged into a 2-0 lead after 16 minutes, and it looked as though we were crashing out. Then Andrea Cirillo fired in a very dangerous cross that Tomas Blazek couldn't help but turn into his own net. Then the match completely changed, and the rest is history.

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



As is often the way in the World Cup, the semi finals have a very heavyweight look to them. France vs Germany and Portugal vs Italy. Four huge teams, and one of them is going to go home with the trophy. I know who I want in the final should we get there, and I'll give you a clue. It's not France.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



Bollocks.

France got the lead early on, and to be honest Germany were disappointing. France completely nullified them from the 3rd minute onwards. They'll take their place in the final, but can we join them?

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



When neither Fusco nor Prandelli produce, you better hope the players behind them do. Luckily, they did. Just like France the previous day, Portugal scored very early through black and white magician Panda. But in a wonderful four minute period we wrestled the initiative back, and then held onto it for the remainder of the game.

Could this be the last game of Bobby Nicol's career?

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

And you know what that means guys...we're going to be "live-streaming" the World Cup Final. A bit of preamble, then at 9pm (or around then, don't hold me to it) I'll start posting.

[Rikulec]

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



It's back to Wembley for Bobby Nicol, and to be honest I've lost count of the number of times we've been here. Whether it was in the bear-pit atmosphere that is Scotland vs England, or visiting with another side, it's been a stadium full of memories. There's definitely going to be one more memory here, but will it be a good or a bad one?



More terrible news as Thomas Vallarsa picks up an injury that puts him out of the Final. Unlike Battilana, we do have several replacements for him, so it might not be the worst thing. Still, he's a player who has performed very well so far, so he'll be missed.



For a second tournament running, we're favourites for a final. I could understand it against Ukraine, but I can't here. France are the favourites, no question. Just like Wembley, we've had some huge battles with them in the past. If I was that sad, I'd go back over them all and see what the running total is. I'll just say that it's more to France.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home





Our paths to the final haven't been totally different. France are unbeaten, but I'd argue that they've had less occasions where they've won easily. They drew with Portugal, needed two late goals to move into the distance with Nigeria, and a late goal to beat South Korea. After needing penalties to beat Argentina, they won their other two matches without too much incident.

We on the other hand haven't had too much trouble since that terrible match against DR Congo. The Czech's were tough nuts to crack, but apart from a terrible first half hour, we dominated.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

Head to Heads

Patryk Broz (SC) vs Jacopo Belotti (DC)

Larbi Lebbihi (DMC) vs Nicolo Bugiantella (AMC)

Ronald Landre (DC) vs Ermanno Prandelli (SC)

Remy Vuillemin (GK) vs Ivan Bacchin (GK)

Joshua Perrier (Manager) vs Bobby Nicol (Manager)

Career Stats vs Career Stats

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



Squad Rundown



As already covered, we're missing two players through injury. Battilana...he may have started. Pio Delzio is our first choice, but his fitness is absolutely shot right now. I have a choice to make between Ermanno Prandelli and Nicola Fusco. Other than that it's just a matter of whether I stick with the system we've played through the tournament or whether I adjust to try and match up to France.



Only one injury for France, and it's to a fringe player. They do play 4-4-2 though, so if one of those players doesn't perform, there isn't really anyone to come in and fill the gap. Babin and Broz absolutely terrify me.

[forameuss]

Post removed due to blue screen shenanigans, continued later on

[forameuss]

Post removed due to blue screen shenanigans, continued later on

[forameuss]

Post removed due to blue screen shenanigans, continued later on

[forameuss]

Post removed due to blue screen shenanigans, continued later on

[forameuss]

Post removed due to blue screen shenanigans, continued later on

[forameuss]

Post removed due to blue screen shenanigans, continued later on

[forameuss]

Well it appears that neither the FM nor computer gods want me to win this, as I've just had a blue screen. Match had just ticked past the hour mark, as I was furiously typing, and then a blue screen, losing all of my progress and obviously all of the match. Yet to see when my last autosave was, although I believe there was one between the semi final and final luckily. Looking to see if I can use something like fraps to put up video of the match, rather than typing, because it's a bit annoying to have to start all over again. May just defer this until tomorrow.

[numbas2]

That's a shame... a video would be awesome though!

Also, God knows how the France manager landed that job. He's attributes are useless... I'm guessing he is a former player given it is his first job...

Good luck in the final today.

[forameuss]

Edited out the references to the previous game. Hoping to run the final tonight, and plan to put out roughly the same team to make it fair. Second time lucky.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



First-half

[video=youtube;dN0ATE35bgY]

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



First-half

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



Second-half

[video=youtube_share;hCTdV84d2dc]

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home





Just not good enough in the end. The match was fairly even, but in the end they took the chances they got, and we didn't. Simple as that.

You know what that means...

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home



Echos the thoughts of a nation.



Of course we must build on it. We completely collapsed when it really mattered, and we really should have had enough to win it. Now we have another four years to wait. I intend to stick around, but I'm worrying about how old some of our players are getting. Speaking of which...



The great man managed to get the man of the match award in his final game for his country. And yet he was on the losing side. Gutted for him, but he's given us good memories, both with Juventus and Italy. And Man City I guess. Remember him choking in the Champions League Final? Beautiful.



I asked him to reconsider, but he stuck to his decision. Fair enough, given that he's only got one more year before he retires for good.



The board were delighted with our performance. Can't say I am.

So now we have to get through two more Nations League campaigns, a European Championship (although winning a third in a row would be nice) and then another two qualifying campaigns before we get another shot at the World Cup itself. What if we fail then? Doesn't bear thinking about...

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

Squad of the Future



Yeah...not that exciting. Basically, the squad hasn't changed much at all. Fabio Amico is gone, but then we knew that. Our key players are still the same old faces - Ermanno Prandelli, Paolo Ronzani, Nicola Fusco - but they're now older. Prandelli is 33, and should just about make the Euros if his stats don't take a huge dive. A World Cup though? Probably very little chance of that. Fusco stands an outside chance of being around for the World Cup, but it's still unlikely. Even Ronzani will be 31 - probably on the way back down the hill from his peak.

11 out of 23 players in this squad are over 30. Just one player under 23. I'll probably keep things the way they are in the Nations League, ride the momentum from the summer, but when the qualifiers come around I need to start playing new players, start planning for our future.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home











Two good performances early on, especially the 4-1 win over Holland. We let things slide with a 0-0 against Serbia where we had 30 shots on goal without scoring. I then tried out a flat 4-4-2 to see about getting more than one striker on the field, and was rewarded with a pretty meh performance. Still, enough to get into another Nations League Finals Series. Three in a row?

[Nobby_McDonald]

Losing to France. The Italians will hate that.

Great to see Barbados qualify.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

European Championships Qualifying Draw



(Croatia are final team to be drawn)





I hate when the media say I got an easy draw. We should be pretty comfortable in this one, but there's always room to completely ruin everyone's dreams.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

Opening Squad



My first squad that really matters since the World Cup, and it's time to bring a few new faces in.

Gioacchino Ruffo is probably the least remarkable, as he's a goalkeeper. Ivan Bacchin remains our number one, and he's got at least one more tournament in him. We then have a 33 year old with only 3 caps to his name. Young Gio will probably have to wait a while for an opportunity.

Stefano De Angelis is a little more exciting. Wing play is something we're not entirely brilliant in. We have a few good first choice picks, but there isn't much depth. I'd really like a full-on left winger, but we've only really produced wide playmakers. Stefano is a bit more of a chalk-on-the-boots player, and should feature on the right for some time to come.

Pasquale Zanetti is one that very, very nearly made it into the World Cup squad the previous summer. In the end I just couldn't justify taking an unproven player when we had at least four very good strikers ahead of him. Now though, Ermanno Prandelli is getting on a bit, Nicola Fusco isn't getting any younger, so it's his time.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 1



So far, so good. Easy wins for both ourselves and Russia and we're on the board.

Pasquale Zanetti is also on the board with two goals, and Stefano De Angelis got an assist for one of those. A promising start for the new boys.



Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

 

Andrea Desideri and Maurizio Manfredi join up with the squad after injuries.  Two more players potentially making their debut.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 2

*record scratch*

Take a look at the match ratings and you'll see exactly what happened.  Basically, we were all over Latvia.  Quite a few shots off target, but still 8 on target.  And every single one of them was saved by a goalkeeper who was completely on fire.

Full credit to Latvia, as they took one of their few chances to go ahead, then defended so well to keep us at bay.  We deserved to lose, and that's probably the most damning thing I could say.

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Nations League

We can forget about our horrendous result in Latvia for a little while as we demolish the Czech Republic in the Nations League semi final.  Going for three Nations League wins in a row, which is good going from a guy who took almost 100 years to win it once.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 3
 

 

 

Maybe I was a little harsh on Latvia when the draw was made.  They actually look like they might be a contender.  Top two go through (probably), and it's seeming like everyone's going to take points off each other.  

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Nations League

This tournament's pure easy.

 

 

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 4
 

 

It's turn your partners round and round time as the fixtures reverse from matchday three.  Latvia win 1-0 again to top the group, while Russia get some measure of revenge over Hungary.  Still conceded four though.  We should be destroying this group.

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 5

 

Better, but still not great.  We controlled for most of the game, but at 2-0 we conceded a silly goal and started to wobble a little.  We were never really in too much trouble, but enough to cause a bit of worry.

Elsewhere, Latvia got beaten by Hungary, which is a good result for us.  We're now three points behind with two games in hand.  Top spot is still very much achievable, and mandatory to be honest.

 

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 6

Oh for fu...

Just when we look like we might turn a corner, we put in an insipid performance like that.  A horrible, lazy performance, and if we don't get much better, we're going to struggle to finish top.

We're now two points off with a game in hand.  Definitely salvageable but we've looked really poor so far.

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 7

A better performance, but that's like saying a punch in the face is better than a kick in the balls.  We need to be better.

The Latvia train appears to have stopped rolling too as Russia steamrollered over them.

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 8

Maybe we really are turning a corner.  Latvia get a second 5-0 defeat in as many games, but Russia also get three points, keeping their noses in front.

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 9

We've gone top, but that's another very poor result for us.  We should be beating an Israel side who are last in the table.  And do you know who we play in the final game?  Russia.  A draw will be enough, but at this rate we're going to struggle to get that.

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report

[forameuss]

Chapter 3 - If I had a Nicol for every time I've scored, I'd have about six dollars

The Octadecagon Experiment





Chapter 3 Part 19

Bobby's Coming Home

UEFA European Championships Qualifying Group D

Match Day 10

There was only one way this campaign could end, and it was like that.  

We finish 2nd, and face a wait to see whether we're going to qualify from the 2nd placed table.  Speaking of which...

Line-ups

Match Ratings

Match Stats

Match Report