Regensburgese, Solo Gioventù. (Roughly translated as Regensburg Italian Chapter, Youth Only).

[Nobby_McDonald]

Youthful exurberance then.

[Jimbokav1971]

He's at it again.

[video=youtube;UbOSwAmZxVc]

Why can he score these goals, but outfield players with a FAR better free-kick attribute never get close. The only direct free-kicks I have score in this whole save have been with a GK, and the opposition don't even score them. Something's not quite right, (although granted the GK has let himself down here).

[dllu]

Still got the 'tude to match his skills too, I see...

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day 2023.

There are a few things of note in this years intake.

First of all it's great, (for the NT at least), that 5 of the top rated players of this intake, (rated by PA remember), are (SMR) eligible.

Something that absolutely screamed at me from the screen immediately, was that not only did the best player have a good personality, (Professional), but we also had an Iron Willed player come through the ranks, (which is something I don't think I have ever seen before on any FM). I know that some of you might think "who cares", but this is actually vital for me, (or at least will be as we progress).

What was vital was that we got a decent central midfielder come through, and more than that, he had to be less of a ball player and have at least some "stopping" ability. Although Leone is still more attacking than defending, his best role is said to be BWM, (I'm not convinced), but at the age of 16 I at least have significant time to mould him.

The last thing that strikes me, (and surprises me), is that Fabio has quite a high CA of 3.5 right from the outset. His best position is said to be AML and I thought we were relatively strong in that area. If I filter my ML's and AML's by CA, (rather than PA), then Fabio actually tops the list. Looking at his competition on the left now in isolation, I definitely prefer Ciacci to Fabio right now, and I think I probably also prefer Ricci too.

(23a) Fabio (SMR) (Pro) (2023).



Whole Squad by PA.

GK's.

DL's.

DR's.

DC's.

DM's & MC's.

ML's & AML's.

MR's & AMR's.

AMC's.

SC's.

[Jimbokav1971]

San Marino club side. End of Season 2022/23 update. Lega Pro B, (Serie C/B).

2022/23 Season Review.

I am still not managing the NT side yet, (I have enough on my plate).

League Table.

Although we only finished 1 position outside the relegation playoff zone, we were actually 7 points clear and things were not as tight as they might seem. We actually started the season quite brightly and at the half-way stage of the season we sat 10th and if I'm honest I was eyeing a push fore the Playoffs. As usual however we really crumbled as a result of injury and fatigue, (and my concentration being taken away again by the new Youth Intake. I really8 must focus right through to the end of the season.

League Graph.

League Fixtures 1.

League Fixtures 2.

Cup Fixtures.

Just as we were getting to the stage where I thought we might progress through the Group stage of the Group C Cup, the game scuppered my plans by entering us into the full Italian Cup for the 1st time. I think how this works is that although the Regional Cup competitions are not visible in the game, they do exist and the game allocates winners accordingly. These "winners" qualify for the Italian Cup proper and receive a bye through the Group stages of the Serie C Cup.

As it is, two 2-1 losses to any hopes we had of further progress.

League History.

Facilities.

Board Confidence.

60% satisfaction when you only avoid relegation by 1 spot and don't win a cup game can't be bad.

Finances.

Goal-scoring GK watch.

While MMG finished last season, (and started this season), as 1st choice, injury meant that Gio was given his opportunity, (spanking in a free-kick on debut). They managed 7 goals between them and although Gio bagged 2 free-kicks, he also missed a pen.

End of Season Awards.

Fans Player of Season.

Goal of the season.

[video=youtube;0aY5ckQGksY]

Young Player of the Season.

Top Goalscorer.

Most Assists.

Highest Average Rating.

Transfers.

As usual, there are no transfers in and we received no money for any players leaving.

2020 Youth Day.





(23a) Fabio (SMR) (Pro) (2023).

[Nobby_McDonald]

Fabio looks like he'll be a standout player.

[Jimbokav1971]

Fabio looks like he'll be a standout player.

Well it's strange really. He is according to the reports, but certainly in terms of his CA it actually doesnt ring true when you look at his attribute values. Maybe it's just that the weighting.of attribute values is.different in the game than however it appears to me at a glance. He really isn't the best on the left flank and in fact I have a couple of players that I would prefer to him at this stage.

Certainly a decent prospect though, but less than I initially hoped because of what seems to B an unreasonably high CA.

[Jimbokav1971]

The best player from last years Youth Intake has just been sold.

He wouldn't sign a Pro contract so was still on his Youth contract. I declined loads and loads of bids for him, and then I got a message saying that he had been sold. (I don't really understand it). I was under the impression that because he was on a Youth contract, then anyone could just offer him a contract, (and pay compensation set by a tribunal, at least that's the system in the UK), so I don't understand the bids I received.

I received bids from Udinese, Palermo, Napoli, Sampdoria, Verona, Sassuolo, (and more), before he signed for Serie A Genoa.

It says the deal is for £65,000 compensation, (that's a pee in the ocean to us at the moment).

It is said above that he made 2 appearances over 4 years, but he has only been with us the bit end of last season, (after the Youth Intake), and then the start of this season, (we haven't played the 1st league game of the season yet).

We do have some additional clauses, (much poorer than some of the deals I turned down).

Ah well. I never really liked him anyway.

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day 2024.

Like last year, we got 1 particular player who seems head and shoulders above the rest. Unlike last year however, I think that (24a) Rossini looks amazing and I hope to God I can get him signed to a full-time contract. That 5 of our best 6 players were of (SMR) Nationality, seems a little weird to me. It certainly hasn't been that way in previous versions of the game. The one thing that surprises me most however is the quality of some of our Newgens coming through. You have to remember that I haven't upgraded a single thing yet. (Not facilities, not coaching, not anything), so it obviously surprises me that we are producing better and better players. Again, this hasn't been my experience in previous versions of the game/challenge.

Once again though, we seem to have an abundance of wingers coming through. 2 of the best 5 players, (rated by PA) are wingers, and even with the loss of Fabio (2023) last season, (for a paltry amount of money), we are still strong in the wide decisions.



(24a) Rossini (SMR) (F.Sport) (2024).

GK's (rated by PA).

As a result of injury to MMG, I have given both Gio and Mirko a chance. Gio will be my 1st choice for a while simply because he has already spanked in 3 direct free-kicks, and while both have very decent PA, new arrival Selva is immediately the best GK at the club, (and importantly has the best attribute balance), but he will only play if both of the 2 GK's with higher PA are unavailable or rested.

DL's (rated by PA).

(24g) Ranieri looks well down the pecking order, but when you consider that the player directly below him, (Neri), is my 2nd choice left-back, then it seems obvious that with room for improvement, Ranieri will improve the squad.

DR's (rated by PA).

Marino and Borelli will be 1st and 2nd choice, and to be honest, as (24c) Graziano is actually a centre-half, none of the new arrivals are ever likely to feature at right back.

DC's (rated by PA).

(24c) Graziano may well be the best centre-half from this years intake, but I'm hoping that he never features for the senior team. We should hopefully always have better players available.

DM's & MC's (rated by PA).

Nothing of real significance here, which is a shame because if you asked me what 2 positions I was keen to get a good player through in, I would have said MD and SC. Nothing of any note in either position.

ML's & AM's (rated by PA).

We have a little bit of strength in this area so I wasn't too worried, but (24c) Rossini is a "righty", (21b) Maggi is better in the middle and Ciacci is also being played in the middle this season where we are short of numbers.

MR's & AMR's (rated by PA).

(24a) Rossini looks excellent and there is no doubt that he will make an immediate appearance, but the key thing will be tying him down to a full-time contract so that he can't be poached for a pittance.

AMC's (rated by PA).

k

Although we don't currently play with an AMC, the only player likely to feature from this group even if we did, is likely to be (22a) Steni.

SC's (rated by PA).

This is an area that I was desperate for us to strengthen, While we got a player through in (24b) Stefano, (and added that he is a defensive forward rather than the plethora of poachers and advanced forwards I have so far been given), he really isn't great.

[abulezz]

Wow - Rossini definitely looks better than Fabio. You need to make sure he is tied down to the club quick!

[Jimbokav1971]

Wow - Rossini definitely looks better than Fabio. You need to make sure he is tied down to the club quick!

He has agreed to sign a pro contract.

[Jimbokav1971]

San Marino club side. End of Season 2023/24 update. Lega Pro B, (Serie C/B).

It's a bit frustrating if I'm honest. A decent 1st half of the season followed by a complete and utter capitulation in the 2nd half, after which we only avoided the Playout with 1 game remaining.

I am still not managing the NT side yet, (I have enough on my plate).

League Table.

League Graph.

League Fixtures 1. The 1st half of the season was quite decent consisting of a run of 7 games unbeaten and 4 successive win towards the end.

League Fixtures 2. The 2nd half of the season a complete contrast as we gained only 2 points from 24 in the opening 8 games and it took 3 wins on the bounce near the end of the season to ease us out of the Playout zone.

Cup Fixtures. It was the 1st time that we had qualified out of the Group stages of the Serie C Cup and we have shown gradual progression in the Cup at least.

League History.

Facilities. Unless there is something actually upgraded, I will keep this hidden.

Board Confidence. 61% and "very secure" will do me. It looks like I am going to have to something spectacular to get offered more than a 1 year contract though.

Finances. £1.4M overdrawn at the bank, a consolidation loan of £400k outstanding and £400k invested by the board this season alone just to limit our losses.

Goal-scoring GK watch.





All time Goal-scoring GK watch.



End of Season Awards.

Fans Player of Season. (20b) Tosi (SMR) (Bal) PPM.

Goal of the season.

[video=youtube;gyJkmEQW710]

Signing of the Season. The only signings I made were youth players re-signing onto Pro contracts when I didn't offer them deals quickly enough.

Young Player of the Season. (20b) Tosi (SMR) (Bal) PPM.

Top Goalscorer.

Most Assists.

Highest Avg Rating.

Best Pass Completion %.

Most Man of Match Awards.

Most Yellow Cards.

Most Red Cards.

Transfers.

2020 Youth Day.



(24a) Rossini (F.Sport) (2024).

[Jimbokav1971]

I'm not happy.

I get that this bloke is decent, but he can't possibly be worth this sort of money. He played a bit at the end of his 1st season, (and did ok), but our facilities haven't been upgraded since we started so how likely is this exactly?

The suggestion is that the bloke from last season who (23a) Fabio, could have gone for a similar amount too had I just managed to get him to sign a Pro contract.

I shouldn't be able to produce players like this at this stage, and certainly not 2 players in 2 consecutive years!

I should be producing complete and utter garbage!

[Jimbokav1971]

I've had enough fannying about in Serie C.

Up until now I have just been IR'ing games with the exception of when we were deep in the poo, (and when I was specifically trying to look at something tactically), but enough is enough.

I have started the 2024/25 season managing EVERY game, (novel idea I know), and we've got to see improvement because we have some decent players. Rather than actually managing the games, specifically what I want to do is control substitutions so that I can introduce some of our higher PA youngsters who are not quite ready to start. I also want to manage fitness levels better than the Ass Man does and of course I want to see if I am better tactically than my rubbish Ass Man. (I would hope sp but you never know).

Pre-season was great as we went through undefeated against whoever it was that we played, (but of course I don't manage friendlies so the Ass Man can take that credit), and of course who actually cares how well we do in these games. Right?

Then we actually progressed out of our Serie C Group, (that's twice in succession now and probably hints at our overall improvement), although it must be said that we still haven't managed to win both games, (which is obviously frustrating).

We have started the League Season well, (yes I know we always implode in the 2nd half), but this time it seems different, (because I am actually managing) and it appears at least that we have some element of control in games, (where as previously I would seriously not be able to even hazard a guess whether we were going to win/lose/draw matches). I wonder how much of this is just down to really basic team-talk instructions? (of which I am far from an expert).

The one area where I would say we are not quite up to speed is the defending of indirect free-kicks. It's something that I noticed last season and this season it already again seems to be an issue. I will have to have a look at this as it could really be the difference in success and failure in this season.

We need to get out of this league and into Serie B so that we can start earning some money and just as importantly so that our better players will agree to stay here rather than wanting to move. Over the course of the save we have already lost 3 of our brightest prospects and unless things change, it looks like we will lose another, (who will be almost impossible to replace), at the end of this season.

Playoffs might be enough to act as a show of intent for future seasons. With only 1 auto-promotion slot and opposition such as Serie B regulars Modena, Regiana, Ascoli, Siena and Virtus Entella.

This could, (and hopefully should), be a real watershed season for the save.

[Jimbokav1971]

I've just noticed that the person responsible for my Youth Intakes is actually my Ass Man.

That wasn't the plan.

Ass Man

.

HoYD.

Now I just have to decide who I actually want to do the job, because quite frankly, the Ass Man has produced a couple of belters in the past couple of seasosn.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Whata mistakea to makea

[deltablue]

Whata mistakea to makea

Now that's a reference I didn't expect to see on here

[dllu]

Whata mistakea to makea

[Jimbokav1971]

The best player from the 2024 Youth Intake is attracting interest from Serie B.

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day 2025.

Well close but no cigar springs to mind here. We are desperate for a good striker to come through and although (25a) Valli can play as a striker, he's actually far more of an AMC, (and I'm just not playing one at the moment). It's soooo frustrating. He's so good that I may have to change that though, (but more on that later).

Something that really surprised me was the astonishing number of (SMR) eligible players in this years intake. 14 of 16 is absolutely mental and I'm pretty sure that's the highest I have seen before in any save.

I should comment on the fact that we have had 2 fully Professional players come through too. They are not the stars of the intake, but lets not be too negative. Professional is professional.





(25a) Valli (SMR) (Det) (2025).

I was so excited when I saw that he could play SC, but alas he's just accomplished there, (but let's not rule it out completely). We are currently playing a 442 but we are not exactly setting the World alight. Maybe if I played this bloke through the middle on his own in some sort of more withdrawn role, and give the wide players more attacking freedom, then it might really open up attacking options for us. At the same time it would allow me to introduce another player somewhere further back. My initial reaction was a Regista in the DM line, but I have been there seen it and done that so no, that;s definitely not going to be it. Maybe an AMC of some sort, but of course if I am going to play an AMC, then this is the bloke who should be slotting in so no, nothing in the AMC line centrally. That leaves me with another MC, a DM, (as long as it isn't a Regitsa and I can't stand Half-Backs so that's them out too). What about at 3rd centre-half though? or even a Libero on attack duty is something I have wanted to do for a while. (We are in Italy after all).



What seems to initially suit his attribute balance right now, (at least to my eye), is a Treq(a). I've only dabbled with that role before, (thought it was poncey), but it does seem to suit him. Do you play a Treq on his own through the middle with wide support or do you play with a striking partner? (That's rhetorical by the way!)

Decisions decisions decisions.

[MADA]

Youth Day 2025.

Well close but no cigar springs to mind here. We are desperate for a good striker to come through and although (25a) Valli can play as a striker, he's actually far more of an AMC, (and I'm just not playing one at the moment). It's soooo frustrating. He's so good that I may have to change that though, (but more on that later).

Something that really surprised me was the astonishing number of (SMR) eligible players in this years intake. 14 of 16 is absolutely mental and I'm pretty sure that's the highest I have seen before in any save.

I should comment on the fact that we have had 2 fully Professional players come through too. They are not the stars of the intake, but lets not be too negative. Professional is professional.





(25a) Valli (SMR) (Det) (2025).

I was so excited when I saw that he could play SC, but alas he's just accomplished there, (but let's not rule it out completely). We are currently playing a 442 but we are not exactly setting the World alight. Maybe if I played this bloke through the middle on his own in some sort of more withdrawn role, and give the wide players more attacking freedom, then it might really open up attacking options for us. At the same time it would allow me to introduce another player somewhere further back. My initial reaction was a Regista in the DM line, but I have been there seen it and done that so no, that;s definitely not going to be it. Maybe an AMC of some sort, but of course if I am going to play an AMC, then this is the bloke who should be slotting in so no, nothing in the AMC line centrally. That leaves me with another MC, a DM, (as long as it isn't a Regitsa and I can't stand Half-Backs so that's them out too). What about at 3rd centre-half though? or even a Libero on attack duty is something I have wanted to do for a while. (We are in Italy after all).



What seems to initially suit his attribute balance right now, (at least to my eye), is a Treq(a). I've only dabbled with that role before, (thought it was poncey), but it does seem to suit him. Do you play a Treq on his own through the middle with wide support or do you play with a striking partner? (That's rhetorical by the way!)

Decisions decisions decisions.

woah, he's great. hope you can keep him! really enjoying reading this

[deltablue]

Good to see a proper talent in Valli.

[Jimbokav1971]

I know I'm no tactical guru, but something happened that I just had to share.

We played a league game in the aftermath of the Youth Intake and I resisted temptation to involve new youngster (25a) Valli (SMR) (Det) (2025). I'm really keen to push on in the league and I need to stop getting side-tracked about "blooding youth" and instead just keep picking the best players irrespective of age. Often in this save, our form has nose-dived after the Youth Intake as I am enticed by the potential of future possibilities and I am determined not to make the same mistake again.

The Cup is different though and we find ourselves with a Cup game immediately afterwards.

It's actually the Serie C Cup Final 1st Leg, (at home), but there used to be a saying in a place that no longer exists, that Cups suck something. While they certainly do not suck at all if you win them, this particular Cup most certainly will suck if it causes me to lose focus and costs us some modicum of league success as a result. On the other hand, if I win it, will it really matter much in the grand scheme of things? No, probably not.

So what got me prattling on you wonder?

Well I decided to pick a completely rotated starting XI, (except for (22c) Gio (SMR) (F.Det) in goal. All the outfield players who would have started if we had a league game are rested, and most don't even feature on the bench. (If you are going to do something, then do it properly!).

So recently we have been playing with a weird formation that involves 2x FB(a)'s, 2x DW(s)'s in front of them and very strangely 2x AF(a)'s up front. I really did it on a whim after reading a funny comment from Cleon about people just copying what others had done, so I changed the areas of the pitch that I wasn't happy with, (both full-backs, both winger and both strikers is quite a lot of unhappiness for cheery me!) It's working better than what I was doing before, (see, I told you I was no tactical guru), so I have stuck with it in the main, (although I have been tweaking 1 position at a time since then).

This Cup game was different though. Because I was resting everyone, (apart from the keeper), well it was a perfect opportunity to play young Valli and experiment a bit.

When I made my last post, I had sort of decided that Valli looked like a Treq(a) and the only question was whether I play him in his preferred AMC slot, or whether I threw caution to the wind and played him up front alongside someone else. What sort of of decided it for me though was the diminutive stature of young Valli. He's 5'1" and weight 7st 12 lbs, (which I might add is less than half what I weigh). With that in mind I had to think where he would most likely be able to find space, and even though he wouldn't be pushed up against a centre-half exactly if played up front, I just thought that he would be more suited playing in the hole.

The next question I had, (I didn't want to change too much), was whether both wide midfielders playing in the ML line rather than the AML line was the way to go? I had to think about the change in dropping 1 of the AF(a)'s and replacing them with Valli at Treq(a), and how that might impact on the wide players.

Now before we move on, I will completely admit that I absolutely ignored the fact that this shows that he is not particularly suited to playing as a Treq(a) or as an EG(a). I had simply decided that he was a Treq(a). I don't remember using a Treq(a) before and I decided that I liked the idea of it. Put plainly, Treq(a) it was. As a result of me dropping a striker and replacing them with an AMC, I decided that the wide players should be given more freedom. By now I was eager to get to the game so I will freely admit that rather than thinking about this role and that role and whatever, I simply moved each DF(s) forward 1 slot and they miraculously transformed into W(s)'s. That'll do me I thought!

Let's press play.

The average positions pic for Valli suggests that it didn't make much difference whether he had the ball or not. That's not really a surprise when you think about it actually because he's going to be looking for space between the lines wherever possible and isn't really going to be interested in tracking back.

What I did wonder though, is if he will track back and "lurk" in areas just outside the defensive zone,, (still forward of the ball) so that we can sort of spring counters on them and he can act as an outlet? I'm hoping that would happen, (but wasn't too confidant). If you look at his heat map on the graphic above, the very varied/spread map suggests that he is getting the ball in quite varied positions and does this suggest what I was hoping for? I should mention that he also has the ppm, "comes deep to get ball", so with that in mind I should be seeing him dropping deep just to "show" for the ball even if not to actually defend.

Well let's have a look where he received passes from first of all.

This initially looks like he is getting the ball pretty much all over the pitch, but actually what it shows me is that he seems particularly adept at getting free and receiving the ball at throw-ins. We had 15 throw-ins and Valli received possession from 6 of them. That seems decent to me. Maybe not Earth-shattering, but decent nevertheless. I also notice that he has dropped deep centrally on 2 occasions and that he received 2 longish balls on the edge of the penalty area.

His completed and key passes is a little underwhelming if I'm honest. I was expecting more, (maybe naively), and if we add in unsuccessful passes then it's even less attractive. The 2 key passes are not exactly what I would call particularly key either, (sort it out please SI).

That's not the end of the story though. He picked up the ball in lots of wide areas, (more often than I was expecting), so let's have a look at crosses.

This looks more promising and not what I was expecting pre-match. He's completed 4/8 crosses and that's hugely improved on my usual wide delivery %. Something that does surprise me though, is that as a righty, he was far more successful crossing from the left than he was the right, but interestingly, the 1 cross he delivered successfully from the right, resulted in this.

[video=youtube;5BvQnrnWNgg]

That doesn't tell the whole story though as this is a slightly longer clip. Slightly more impressive I think you will agree.

[video=youtube;JiicwQKWEeI]

Now firstly I particularly like the fact that he has come deep to get the ball. Would he have done it without the PPM? Well I'm not so sure, but either way it's good. Right? I will freely admit that in that long run, (he doesn't actually go past a single player so it doesn't count as a dribble), there are at least 2 absolutely appalling touches that show all the deftness and control of a rabid water-buffalo on heat. The other way of looking at it of course is that he was soooooo in control that he chose, (that's right chose), to kick the ball so far ahead of him during that run that technically he was no longer in possession, (actually some would question whether he was even near to the ball but I think that's very harsh on a young player making his debut).

Now believe it or not, that's not the full story. Yes he was pretty impressive crossing from out wide, and yes the build up to the assist was even more impressive, but I thought a Treq(a) was meant to be...... what was the wording?..... oh yeah, "but use him as the main outlet when attacking".

So let's look at his shots.

2 shots, 2 clear cut chances, 2 goals.

Let's have more of a look.

This is the opener. It's not that special. The ball is attacked down the right hand side and the deep cross is not cleared properly. Valli has found himself a bit of space and is in just the right position to slot home. More opportunistic than anything else though so let's not get carried away.

[video=youtube;5XoBxuDsJWM]

But here he is again with the 2nd goal. This time it's an attacking run through the middle. Granted the defending is pretty poor, (any chance of even thinking about closing him down or just getting close to him?) but that's a hell of a cool finish for a 16 year old, on debut, in a Cup Final!

[video=youtube;VYm_1X8GbTA]

So 2 goals and a a pretty good assist obviously earned him the MOM award, but did we win?

Damn right we did.

More than that though, we were very creative and I think that was largely down to the Treq(s), (and more attacking wide players I might add).

[Jimbokav1971]

San Marino club side. End of Season 2019/20 update. Lega Pro B, (Serie C/B).

I am still not managing the NT side yet, (I have enough on my plate).

League Table.

Brilliant. We are in the Playoffs and my decision to dispense with IR and start managing myself has been vindicated.

Serie C Playoff Table.

Eh? So we aren't in the Playoffs after all???? That is complete and utter Michael Ballacks!

League Graph.

We didn't start great, then recovered before a bit of an inconsistent mid-season, before we rallied late on and secured a Playoff position(ish).

League Fixtures 1.

League Fixtures 2.

Serie C Cup Fixtures.

Yeah yeah it's our 1st trophy, but making the Playoffs and then missing out on the Playoffs at the same time has left a pretty nasty taste in my mouth.

League History.

Facilities.

Board Confidence.

77% is not too shabby at all, but it's still not enough to encourage them to offer me more than a 1 year contract.

Finances.

Income - Investments.

Loans.

Goal-scoring GK watch.



All-Time Goal-scoring GK watch.



End of Season Awards.

Fans Player of Season.

I think that's the 3rd season in a row that (20b) Tosi has collected both the Senior and Young Player of the Year awards.

Goal of the season.

[video=youtube;bThGtYN-Hz0]

There is no way that that's the best goal of the season.

Signing of the Season.

It was a player that I released and then re-signed but I'm pretty sure he didn't make even a single appearance so you are missing nothing here.

Young Player of the Season.

Top Goalscorer.

Most Assists.

Highest AVG Rating.

Best Pass %.

Most Yellow cards.

Most Red cards.

[Jimbokav1971]

Transfers.

.

Nobody of any note left, (nor came in), and we received no cash for any players.



We still have a number of ex-players that I am keeping an eye on and would be keen to sign any of these.



There is also a DM/MC from Africa who is also HG at club and who isn't on the list, but while we are still in Serie C there probably isn't much of a chance of signing any of them anyway, (even though some of them are at other Serie C clubs).

I am considering re-signing Di Rosa, but he won't be a big player for us in any case.

2020 Youth Day.

.



(25a) Valli (SMR) (Det) (2025).

.

[Jimbokav1971]

Well the facilities weren't great to start with, (Adequate), but now they have been downgraded to.... Adequate.

How does that work?

Maybe this is the reason, (from the Ajax thread).

Training Facilities

1-3 poor

4-5 Basic

6-7 below average

8-9 adequate

10-11 average

12-13 good

14-15 great

16-17 superb

18-19 excellent

20 Top

So I'm guessing that we were at level 9 and are now at level 8. That's obviously not great, but it's not awful either.

[Jimbokav1971]

At the end of this season we are losing one of our best players.

He is joining Padova in Serie C/C on a free. When I first started losing by better players on free transfers I was properly distraught, (no really, I was), but I've got my head around it now over the seasons and I am just accepting that they will leave on a free while we are in Serie C, rather than selling them for a pittance with 18 months left on a contract. If and when we get to Serie B, I think things will change, but for the moment, it is what it is.

It's not quite as bad as it looks though because although he is very highly rated, he is actually a natural centre-half who isn't capable of playing there, and who is FAR more suited ti playing at full back, but even though I have been training him to play at right back, (and playing him there for the last 6 seasons), I just can't get him past Accomplished.

That in itself wouldn't be a problem because who cares just so long as he performs, but the thing is, although he is certainly decent, if I compare the match ratings between him and his back-up, then the back-up seems superior.

I know that match ratings are flawed, but this would at least seem to suggest that (19j) Borelli (ITA) (Bal) is a better than adequate stand-in. With that in mind, Marino who? (It's also interesting that they both came through the same Youth Intake).

The flip side of the coin of course is that Marino will probably get better training and facilities at Padova and is of course going to improve for the (SMR) NT where he already has 41 Caps at the age of 21.

I would love to have him back one day, but maybe I need to be more ambitious in that why can't I get promoted next season, improve our facilities and ten produce a better right back than Marino in Marino's playing time?

[Edit]

After looking at him now, yeah I know he's not a full back, and especially not a FB(a), but he's just too short for centre-half and we couldn't afford to play him at centre-half and have him get dominated in the air. It was DR or nothing really.

[Jimbokav1971]

I have recently been watching a YouTuber called @SecondYellowCrd and while there is lots to enjoy about both his game-play and the delivery of his video's, I was recently hugely impressed by a close-season stat-based analysis and in particular, the analysis he did of his defenders. It all seemed pretty basic and pretty straightforward and it had me asking myself the question..... "why aren't I doing that?"

So now I am.

The following graphic is split into 4 different areas and then some individual areas.

Games & Minutes. This isn't an important stat in itself, but what it does is allow us to quantify the significance of the other stats. For example, if a player has played lots of games and lots of minutes, then you would expect him to make more interceptions, tackles, headers and even mistakes than a player who has played few games/minutes. Looking at the other stats in themselves is no good unless you can quantify them based on how much football the player has played.

Pass %. We are going to ignore that for the time being. It might become more important in future as the roles change, but while they are just playing as bog-standard centre-backs, well as long as there isn't a huge variance in the pass completion %, then who cares?

Tackles. When I first started playing CM/FM, it was all about tackling and less about marking. While tackling is still important, in my opinion it's significantly less important than back in the day. That still doesn't make it unimportant though so we have a few different sub-columns.

Tackles per game.

Tackles completed.

Key tackles

Tackles won %.

What I want to look for is a high % more than anything else. My expectation is that the likes of Cris and Sandro will have better tackle completion rates than Demurtas and Colomba, (who are bigger and who's relative strength is in the air). I try to pair 1 player with a player of opposing strengths but it's not vital.

The Tackles won % column shows me that Cris is the top performer, and that is probably to be expected as the players are sorted according to CA and he is a "small" rather than "big" centre-back.

It also tells me that the 2nd best % is Sandro, (as I would expect), but I am surprised that the difference between the 2 players is 5%. That's pretty big for 2 similar players playing the same role in the same position in the same team and it means that Sandro is falling short of Cris in this area. You might say that's not much of a problem, but actually it is because up until now, my preference was for playing Sandro over Cris. Sandro was my #1 centre-back last season and that's why he played 2,365 mins compared to 1627 played by Cris. That's a difference of 738 minutes which equates to over 8 full games. That's quite a lot.

If we then look at tackles won, Cris makes a tackle every 23.9 minutes. Sandro wins a tackle every 22.1 minutes, (so he's better,but not by much). Demurtas is less often at 31.6 mins per tackle and Colomba does surprisingly well at 23 minutes per successful tackle.

So if we look at tackle % we know that Sandro is poor compared to Cris. (That has been a surprise).

If we look at successful tackles then we know that Demurtas is poor compared to the other 3. (That's not a surprise).

The last area within tackling that we want to look at is key tackles. Now SI are famously poor at defining what a key anything is, (and it might not be what we expect), but we have to work with what we have got.

Cris 1627 mins/9 kt = a kt every 181 mins.

Demurtas 1643 mins/13 kt = a kt every 126 mins.

Sandro 2365 mins/ 22 kt = a kt every 107 mins.

Colomba 1562 mins / 14 kt = a kt every 111 mins.

Now this info throws a spanner into my workings as it suggests that Sandro is the key performer here and Cris is weak. The only thing that I'm thinking is that really good defenders really don't need to make key tackles, (last ditch late tackles in the penalty area), that often because they deal with the situation before it becomes a key tackle situation. If everything else points to Cris being good and Sandro being weak then I'm going to give Cris the benefit of the doubt here.

Headers. Now we analyse headers in exactly the same way and I can see at a glance that the stats confirm my thinking now that Sandro is a weak link. His Headers won per 90 mins is 6.2 compared to 6.68, 7.19 & 8.38. The big comparison here is 6.2 compared to the 7.19 of Cris. Again, Sandro is poor in comparison.

Interceptions. This is a far more key area than it was in historic versions of CM/FM. It used to be tackle, tackle, tackle and now it's all about the interception.

Cris 1627/231 = an itc every 7.04 mins.

Demurtas 1643/227 = an itc every 7.24 mins.

Sandro 2365/283 = an itc every 8.36 mins.

Colomba 1562/174 = an itc every 8.97 mins.

Once again, this highlights Sandro, (my previous 1st choice), as a weak link.

We move on an look at mistakes and mistakes leading to goals and surprise surprise Sandro is again the weak link.

After I have made up my mind about tackling/headers/interceptions and mistakes, (and I think that we can all agree that I have reversed my initial position and Sandro is no longer my 1st choice centre-back), it's good to have a way just to confirm that the conclusions I have come to are the correct one's. This is where Team conceded per 90 minutes and points per game come in. They are a FAR more efficient gauge than avg rating for example, (which is basically pants).

[Jimbokav1971]

I'm more than a little surprised that my centre-back selection has proved to be so poor and I'm trying to find out what I saw in Sandro that made me come to that decision in the first place, (so I don't do it again).

Centre-back squad depth.

Well for a start, if you look at the above graphic, (which ranks players by CA), then Sandro isn't at the top. Cris is at the top, (by a considerable 1.5 CA stars). That's quite a big margin at this level, (it's a big margin at any level actually), and it surprises me even more that I had somehow become fixated on a preference for Sandro. It's not as if he has high PA and I am investing him for the future, (he is close to his PA already), and it's not even as if he is of (SMR) Nationality and I am giving him preferential treatment for that reason. Looking at the above graphic in isolation and ignoring all the stats that we have looked at recently, it suggests that Cris is the leading centre-half and then the other 3 are much of a muchness. As Demurtas has considerable room for improvement, it would suggest that he should play with Cris as the dominant in the air defender.

Cris.

Cris isn't great, but you have to remember who we are and that we are unable to sign anyone. He's simply the best we've got and that's that. I'm still trying to work out why I had a preference for Sandro though. Cris is reasonable physically, the 3 technical areas I look for in a centre-half are all in double figures and the mentals of concentration, decisions, determination and positioning are also in double figures. He's even got reasonable anticipation. Remember my comment in a previous post about key tackles? Well if his anticipation is better than that of Sandro, then maybe he doesn't have to make quite so many key tackles because his reading of the game is better and he makes either an interception or an early challenge before it gets into a key area.

Demurtas.

Demurtas doesn't have double figures for tackling, but the difference between his 9 and the 11 of Cris is marginal and it's more psychological that it's single figures compared to double figures I think. He is weaker physically though, (albeit stronger and better at jumping), but you have to remember that he's still only 19 and hopefully some of these attributes should balance out a little as he matures.

Sandro.

Sandro is better physically, (certainly than Demurtas), but probably a little behind Cris. His technical attributes are ok, but he is obviously weak when heading, but all in all his attribute balance looks ok, (with the exception of his heading).

Colomba.

Colomba again looks unbalanced, but he is just 21 and there is still room for improvement, (especially in his technical areas). If we are saying that he is our 4th or 5th choice centre-half, (we have an 18yo with very decent PA but who is lacking in CA at the moment but I will probably look to blood him next season), then perhaps the limitations of Colomba don't seem to bad.

With all this evidence staring me in the face, yes it's obvious that my preferred pair should be Cris and Demurtas, but I am still no closer to working out why I had a preference for Sandro in the first place. The only thing I can think of, (I am desperately looking for a reason), is that Sandro and Cris are both 22 years old and as such were playing before the younger players arrived and I have just never replaced him as a starting player despite other players catching and then surpassing his CA.

A lesson learned for me I think.

[dllu]

That playoff structure seems really weird - or rather, it makes perfect sense but the way it is displayed in the game is weird. Damn you, FM, getting people's hopes up like that.

You'll make it next season!

[Jimbokav1971]

There is something that has been bothering me from the last end of season update, but I sort of got carried away with the close-season analysis and have forgotten to highlight it,

That's a little surprising. We are still rated Untouchable at 76%, but I don't get where the above criticism is coming from.

We have just won the Serie C Cup for the 1st time in our history, (our most prestigious trophy ever won), and we have just finished 4th in Serie C/B, (our highest ever league position).

My previous ever highest finish was 9th, (3 seasons ago), because we keep tailing off at the end of the season.

Before my tenure, the previous highest finish by the club was.... 10th back in 2012/13 as the club has regularly yo-yo's between Serie D and the now defunct Serie C/2 level.

This just seems wrong.

[Jimbokav1971]

That playoff structure seems really weird - or rather, it makes perfect sense but the way it is displayed in the game is weird. Damn you, FM, getting people's hopes up like that.

You'll make it next season!

I suppose it has to work out like that with 3 leagues and 8 playoff positions. It's just that I honestly didn't know and it was a proper kick in the nads.

Although our late season form was good, (we won 7 of our last 9), we lost our 3rd last game 1-0 to bottom of the table Poggibonsi. Had we just managed a draw in that game, (we hammered them), we would have qualified.

[deltablue]

That was a bit of a bummer.

[Jimbokav1971]

With regards to the recent reputation issues....

That seems at odds with the other messages we are getting from the board.

This seems to back up my thinking that far from this area being an area of concern for the board, they should actually be delighted. Of course I appreciate that we are still ranked amongst clubs from Serie D who have a similar reputation, but the reality is that that's where we are and where we have always been. I can't really understand where the board are coming from in this respect.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done in not qualifying for the playoffs Jimbo.

[Jimbokav1971]

Yep, I may be very good at dodging the Playoffs, but my teenage GK is doing his best to cheer me up.

[video=youtube;edJhwnZQveM]

That's free-kick #4 and goal #11 in total for the 19 year old.

[dllu]

Gotta love a goalscoring goalie!

[Jimbokav1971]

Just about the worst Youth Intake I have had on any save in any issue of the game in a long long long time.

Best 3 players are from (ITA) rather than (SMR).

Only 5 players have better than 1.5 PA.

A load of below average personalities.

Only 3 players in double figures for determination.

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Intake 2026.

.

It's a really rubbish Intake. I'd go so far as to say that it's the worst Youth Intake I have had since I started playing Youth focussed saves. All my (GIB) Intakes on FM14 were good. (I think that was largely to do with my starting level rather than the actual quality itself. It was very hard NOT to improve on what we had). IN FM16 my Intakes have so far been.... I was going to say good, but I would probably say they were good-excellent. I have been lucky up till now. Not just with the PA of players coming through, but also the personalities and especially the determination has been quite pleasing.

What comes to mind immediately is that you will remember that I had somehow, (in error), set my Ass Man to control Youth Intake, and this is the 1st full season that my HoYD has been in charge. What i will immediately be doing is swapping back and going with the Ass Man again for the next year. If we replace either the Ass Man or the HoYD then I will of course look at the situation again, but there is just no comparison to what we saw come through with the Ass Man in charge and what we have seen the HoYD produce this season.

With that in mind, (and this is something I have thought of for a long time), I wonder if the HoYD, (or whoever is responsible for new intakes), is only responsible for that 1 single intake, or whether, (as in real life), there might be a period of yers over which young players are recruited, moulded and improved, and of which the end result is the Youth Intake Day, but which has in fact been 5-6 years in the making. In an ideal World, let's say if my HoYD was in charge of Youth Intake, and I sacked him today, then I would expect his influence to be seen on players coming through the system for a number of seasons because he wouldn't have only been recruiting players only at age 15/16, but there would be a whole system and aged group platform behind that. I would like to think that FM takes that into account, but I'm not so sure.

That being said, if I have the HoYD in charge of Youth Intake and keep him in charge for the whole season, and then replace him 1 day before the intake with someone else, (my Ass Man for example), then who would have most influence over the Youth Intake that season? The HoYD who worked for 364 days at the club bringing the young players through? or the Ass Man who was in charge for just 1 day and compiled the report for me? I would like to think it's the HoYD, but again, I think it's probably the Ass Man, (which is a shame).

In any case, the HoYD is having his duties reduced and the Ass Man will again be in charge of Youth Intakes.

[Jimbokav1971]

[video=youtube;IpGGwzUtaYM]

[Jimbokav1971]

We were 17 games unbeaten, but struggling with our best couple of strikers out injured and the squad seriously fatigued. We have been hanging on for grim life in recent weeks, but the 18th game proved too much for us and the run is now over.

[Jimbokav1971]

Gio makes it 7 for the season, (he's our joint top scorer), with the 6th free-kick of his career and his 16th goal in total. (He's still only 19).

[video=youtube;n701uBjQUqs]

[Dexter_Morgan]

Was an excellent run you had there considering the problems you mentioned.

[Jimbokav1971]

Was an excellent run you had there considering the problems you mentioned.

Apologies for the confusion, but I actually meant towards the end of the run, (where we were drawing), rather than all the way through. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Apologies for the confusion, but I actually meant towards the end of the run, (where we were drawing), rather than all the way through. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Ah right, still was good to get those points on the board.

[Jimbokav1971]

I've just played the last game of the 2025/25 league season.

We were 2nd and 2 points behind Lanciano going into the last game. They had a better goal difference and were on good form and we have been stumbling recently. I guess I'm feeling a little negative after making and then losing the playoffs last season so I decided that as I had a couple of injuries and a few fitness issues I would just rotate almost the whole team, (I rotated 1x centre half, both full backs, 1x central midfielder, both wingers, my AP and the SC. The only players that kept their place were 1x DC, 1x MC and of course my GK.

I didn't even play the match and instead just pressed "IR".

The plan was that we would just save our powder for the Playoffs. I've got form for resting players with the idea of big games coming up and it has served me well over the years. Additionally, well it just gives me an opportunity to give some of the other players a game.

Imagine my astonishment when I was met with this page.

Not only had we smashed 5 goals past someone, a striker had scored 4 goals in 1 match, (we had 4 players including our GK tied on 7 goals each for top goal-scorer this season before the match), but top of the table Lanciano were 3-1 up at HT and ended up losing 4-3 to gift us the title.

It gets even more astonishing though when I went to look at the goals.

First of all we went behind to a good cross to the far post that gave the GK no chance.

Then we drew level as our AF(a) just out-paced the defensive line to cut back across the GK.

Then this happened to put us 2-1 up. (Yes, that's our GK taking that indirect free-kick for his 3rd assist of the season).

[video=youtube;dUj0GwxvwGU]

Then this happened to make it 3-1 and secure a hat-trick for our striker. (Yes, that's our GK taking that indirect free-kick for his 4th assist of the season).

[video=youtube;4p8AR0Grld0]

When the next highlight started again with a GK taking free-kick highlight I couldn't believe my eyes, but they actually cleared the ball before we recycled possession and stuck it away for number 4.

I will do a full season summary as usual over the next couple of days, but can forget winning the league like this if you can. Imagine winning the league like this and our GK playing such a pivotal outfield role? Absolutely mental!

[Jimbokav1971]

In other news, the 1st product of our Academy has been called up for a Nation other than San Marino.

It's more than a little galling that we got so little cash for him considering his obvious potential.

And this is all we have coming our way.

[Jimbokav1971]

There have been 5 players which we have produced and then lost who I am eager to re-sign.

Diawara came through before my time at the club and for some reason is not classed as HG at club. I'm not sure where we got an African player from, (yes, Africa, I know), but he is still classed as a produvt of the academy for my purposes.

It's highly unlikely that he will join us in Serie B, but that mean I won't try as he gets older.

Ignoring his value, (and I haven't even looked at his wage yet), as we are now playing in the same league as this guy, (and we are his favourite club to play for), then there is every chance that we might re-sign him in the near future.

Longo is playing at a club who are mid-table in Serie C and has 1 year remaining on his contract. While he's not brilliant, he would still be a big player for us and I will be looking to secure his services for our Serie B campaign.

Marino has the potential to be a special player for us, but I'm just not sure in what position. With jumping of only 6 and standing only 5'10", I was always too scared to play him at centre-half, and I instead opted to play him at right back where we had an opening. This exposure to senior football obviously aided his development and at the age of 22 he is already on 50 Caps for (SMR). The problem is that he is even less of a right back than he is a centre-half. That being said, an average rating of 7.13 playing in Serie A at centre-half, (and finishing 6th with Padova), suggests I haven't a clue what I am talking about and I should have just played him at centre-half from the off. Oh hang on.... He's not playing in Serie A at all. He's playing in Serie C/A. Excellent! That means there is every chance of re-signing him and working out how best to play him and where!

[Orikoru]

Please tell me Marino's first name is Sam?

[Jimbokav1971]

Please tell me Marino's first name is Sam?

Sam Marino or even Dan Marino would have been cool, but unfortunately not. He's actually Marino Bianchi. There are a few Bianchi's knocking about so I named him Marino.