[FM 17] If You’re Not First, You’re Last Redux – Redemption For The “Nearly Men” Of Europe

[ManUtd1]

[ManUtd1]

The worst thing about losing to the FSW?  Having to listen to his recitation of fahcts after the 2nd leg.

We were generally able to play our game for the first 50-odd minutes.  Gleisnes' straight red card changed the match, especially once we hit the 3rd on a counter.  Milan started hitting us with waves of attacks, and it was simply a matter of time.  All told, it was one heck of a run.

And we're home to GIF Sundsvall on Sunday.

[BoxToBox]

Incredible run, to be fair.

[ManUtd1]

Thanks, man.  A favorable draw goes a long ways!  I figure this run may have accelerated my timeframe a bit -- the bump in reputation and extra cash perhaps accelerating my planning by a year.  My plan had been to build towards having the squad I need on hand by the end of 2022, allowing got some development as we push into the CL knockout stages after that point. If I can land a few players sooner, though (e.g., attract and afford them)...we'll see.

Edited December 7, 2016 by ManUtd1
Autocorrect

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

You're conceding a lot of last minute goals. Maybe time for some last-ten-minutes anti-football?

Great European run though.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Fer Fuchs Ake

[ManUtd1]

Couldn't agree more about needing some more spine in those dying minutes.  For the moment, I think it is a function of relying so much on youth more than tactics, since we can hold a lead domestically against less-capable opponents. But, I'd be lying if it wasn't concerning and something I'm tinkering with.

[ManUtd1]

Malmö FF
June 2020 -- Champions League Mini-Update

Well, well, well...full credit to Arsene Wenger.  Not only has he won 4 straight PL titles (see below), he just brought home the biggest trophy of them all, ol' Big Ears.  All the more important, he did it by beating Mourinho's United 1-0.  

The man who once threatened to break Le Profeseur's face must be seething inside.  A "specialist in failure," no more.  And, to think, some of those morons on YouTube will still probably wake up tomorrow to post #WengerOut videos and calling for his head on social media...

And, with that, Arsenal are no longer on the list of eligible clubs.  I have to say, Wenger has emphatically banished the ghosts of Arsenal's past, and done so over his most bitter rival.  Kudos.  Who's next?

 

Milan won the Europa League, beating Klinsmann's Valencia 3-0 in the final.

Other interesting results...Arsenal won their 4th straight PL title under Wenger, Leverkusen ended Bayern's reign of terror in Germany, and Milan won Serie A by the skin of their teeth (on head-to-head results).

Domestically, we're in solid shape.  Top of the table, with 2 matches in hand (despite my 2nd XI having lost 2 matches while rotating around...grrr...)

Time to gird my loins for the transfer window.    Britta?  

Good thing I planted a few false leads using fake Twitter #ITK accounts...Lukas Steegman from Sparta Rotterdam is all but signed!

Britta...dear...?  Now, where did she go...

Edited December 8, 2016 by ManUtd1

[ManUtd1]

Tsk, Tsk, Arsene...if you can't beat, 'em, join em, eh?

[ManUtd1]

Biggest news of the summer...

I suspect City will either be added to the list of eligible clubs or win at the first asking, before too long.  Giggs is managing Crystal Palace.

Edited December 8, 2016 by ManUtd1

[ManUtd1]

Perhaps I spoke too soon...the fruits of my European run.  Massive improvement, and one place off a 2nd Champions League slot for Sweden.  Definitely accelerated progress by a year (if not more).

[King Costly]

On 07/12/2016 at 01:18, ManUtd1 said:

First 45 minutes were breathtaking.  Clinical.  

The spent the 2nd 45 lumping the ball forward, while we maintained possession and soaked up the pressure.  

Genuinely unreal. 

Hakan: 1, Brendan: 0

Brendan's son Anton didn't look particularly pleased when some of his Weston-super-Mare team-mates left a swede in his dressing room locker...

 

[ManUtd1]

Anton, never one to take a bit of banter without giving some back, awoke to find himself locked inside an industrial-sized dryer the next morning.  "Maybe we took things too far, this time," mused the ambitious yet dull-witted young man. "No, no. That couldn't be. We need to take things up a notch. Yes, that's it, Anto, lad."

Edited December 8, 2016 by ManUtd1

[ManUtd1]

[ManUtd1]

FADE IN

[Exterior: A desolate, isolated farmstead in rural Ireland.  There are a handful of lights lit in the farmhouse, with a shadowed figure seeming to pace back and forth.  The sound of silence is deafening.]

[Star-Wipe to Interior: Anton Rodgers paces nervously, clutching a ragged stuffed animal.  It appears to be a well-loved, soiled Shetland Pony.  Anton mutters to himself incoherently, shaking his head from side to side.  It doesn’t look like he’s slept in days.  Cries of despair softly echo from somewhere deep in the house.  Anton is wearing an ill-fitting pink, silk nightgown.]

ANTON: [suddenly stopping to admire himself in a full-length mirror] Would you play me as a central midfielder?  I’d play me.  I’d play me so hard.  [slowly slathers bright red lipstick across his face]

[If anything, the cries of despair become louder.  More urgent.  Anton glances to a dark hallway and sighs audibly.  Angrily.  A tracking shot follows him down the dark hallway for what seems an eternity, the only indication of movement being the increasingly audible cries for help.  He emerges in a cluttered back room – a hoarder’s dream.  Stacks of old newspapers, refuse and electronics tower over the room.  Paths through the filth track across the room to an odd object, that appears to be an old hot-tub cover.  Anton removes the cover in a white-hot rage.]

ANTON: [yelling incoherently]

[The camera pans to the terrified faces of four young footballers in Dundee United training gear at the bottom of a deep pit, instantly recognizable as their faces had been splashed across the pages of the red-tops and BBC for the past week.]

JUSTIN: Seriously, you ****ing midget ******.  Enough.  This isn’t funny.

ANTON: [beginning to sing Barney the Dinosaur’s “I Love You” maniacally]

JESSE: Anton, listen, son.  We’re sorry.  It was only banter.  We didn’t mean –

[Jesse stops talking as a bucket is slowly lowered into the pit.  The camera slowly tracks its descent.]

ANTON: [from above] It rubs the lotion on its skin.  It does this whenever it is told.

JESSE: Not funny, Anton.  NOT ****ING FUNNY!

ANTON: [getting angry] It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.

ANTON: [softly, to his stuffed Shetland Pony] Yes, it will, Precious.  Won’t it?  It will get the hose!

JUSTIN: Okay…okay…okay…Anton, if you let us go, we won’t – we won’t press charges.  We promise.  See, your dad is a real important man…I guess you already know that.

ANTON: Now it places the lotion in the basket.

KRYSTIAN: Please!  Please, I just wanna go home.  I wanna go home, please!

ANTON: [Insistently] It places the lotion in the basket.

JUSTIN: I wanna see my manager!  Please I wanna see me –

ANTON: [screaming] Put the ****ing lotion in the basket!

[Jesse quietly complies, an awestruck look on his face as if he cannot believe what is happening.  The camera tracks the basket as it rises slowly from the depths of the pit.]

FADE OUT

[ManUtd1]

[ManUtd1]

Malmö FF
August 2020 -- Mini-Update

Let's just keep things rolling, shall we?

No major surprises in the summer tournaments.  France won the European Championships, with Argentina taking home the Olympics title.

  

Domestically, we aren't running quite as rampant as we did last year -- the 2nd XI has blown a couple of matches.  We're nevertheless at the top of the heap heading into stretch run.

Lundqvist took a little bit to get going, but he's off and running now.  Zajicek is undoubtedly my top player of the season -- he's scoring at will and creating chances right and left, all from the hole behind Lundqvist.

I've spent the summer rejecting bids for players and holding frequent team meetings to quell mini-rebellions before they start.  The best news is that my players have been annoyed, but the big ones have each demanded and, more importantly, signed new contracts this summer.  Khanye, Lundqvist and Zajicek are all signed for multiple years, each with a 3-year extension clause.  It's beautiful, and gives me some hope of keeping them long enough to develop a bit more...if I can keep them, the framework of the side I want to build is coming into place.  If they move on, I'll have the cash to make the acquisitions I want.  Win win.

 

Ok, progress in Europe.  RNGeebus loves me.  My draw for the qualifying rounds was perfect, with straightforward trips to Ireland, Poland and Albania.

So, it came time for the Group Stage...could I get a kind draw, for the second year in a row?  This is how it shaped up, with Groups C, D and G looking particularly appealing...and Groups B and E, on the "must avoid" list, with Group B looking particularly painful.  The goal, of course, being to finish 3rd and qualify for the EL knockout stages again.

Massimiliano Allegri's PSG, the club who's buying talent like tic-tacs?  Sevilla, a team I personally like and has been solid domestically?  Chelski?  Come on, you all know where this is going...

That's going to leave a mark.

[Chantu9Y]

 this may be the best read I've had all year! Can't stop laughing! Definitely keeping this one under close watch.

[ManUtd1]

9 hours ago, Chantu9Y said:

 this may be the best read I've had all year! Can't stop laughing! Definitely keeping this one under close watch.

Thanks, man. Hope I can keep it up 

[ManUtd1]

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

13 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

.

 

 

 

Ok, progress in Europe.  RNGeebus loves me.  My draw for the qualifying rounds was perfect, with straightforward trips to Ireland, Poland and Albania.

So, it came time for the Group Stage...could I get a kind draw, for the second year in a row?  This is how it shaped up, with Groups C, D and G looking particularly appealing...and Groups B and E, on the "must avoid" list, with Group B looking particularly painful.  The goal, of course, being to finish 3rd and qualify for the EL knockout stages again.

Massimiliano Allegri's PSG, the club who's buying talent like tic-tacs?  Sevilla, a team I personally like and has been solid domestically?  Chelski?  Come on, you all know where this is going...

That's going to leave a mark.

On the bright side, if you do get through, you'll have eliminated two very dangerous teams.

[ManUtd1]

In Which RNGeebus Has A Laugh At My Expense

Malmö FF
2020 Review

My dear Nana used to tell me that humility was next to Godliness.  I'll admit that was a little confusing, no matter how good her intentions were.  Now that Nana is senile as ****, she won't shut the **** up about how delicious it is to put ketchup on bananas.  It's ketchup, this.  Banana, that.  Honestly.  Give it a rest.

2020 was a year where the Fates chose to knock us back a peg or two.  

Ok, ok, ok... Was I wrong to commission a life-sized, solid-gold statue of myself, to adorn the entryway to my house?  To call up various media outlets, pretending to be the club press officer, to talk up my managerial acumen?  To ask Britta if she had any curious, "outgoing" friends?  In a word...of-course-it-was-you-idiot-who-do-you-think-you-are-His-Holiness-Pep-The-Bald-First-of-His-Name?

We were whipsawed between the glorious heights of a real European campaign and losses to the likes of Osters.  One would think I'd have taken those minor setbacks for what they were -- warnings from the Football Gods to not tempt fate, and perhaps re-think the @HakanMuchLavish Instagram account.  One would be wrong.

I reveled my way across Europe all summer, from Ireland to Poland and even Albania.  By then the Gods had seen enough, and saw fit to lay me low with a 4th seed in the Group of Death.  The early scorelines flattered us, as we clung to 1-goal losses away to Sevilla and at home against PSG.  Chelsea laid us low.  Twice.  Again, the scorelines were kind.

I abased myself.  I saw the errors of my ways.  I foreswore the drink.  The women.  The glamour.  The ombre highlights in my glorious mane of hair.  I gave it all up for you.  The people of this glorious city.  

(Well, not the highlights.  I kept those.  I'm a Swedish Jared Leto, I am.)

And it worked.

At home to the Spaniards, staring at a 5th straight loss prior to kickoff, our fortunes changed.  We took a lead, and held it.  Then, in the dying minutes, Salah scored a 4th to put us ahead by 2.  Level on points, but ahead on the head-to-head tiebreaker for 3rd.  A respectable loss in Paris followed, but Chelsea managed to win at the Pizjuan.  We were through to the Europa League knockout round.  By virtue of a 90th minute winner 2 weeks earlier, on a cold night at the Swedbank.

The moment when our fortunes were, once again, reversed.

In less than an hour, the knockout stage will be drawn.  We cannot be consumed by these petty delights. 

We will be united in our pursuit of glory.

We will not go quietly into the night.

We will not vanish without a fight.

We will fight on.  We will survive.

Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!

Wait...what?  Nevermind.  Got caught up in a moment.  Great flick, that.

Goals for 2021: Maintain domestic dominance.  Run amok in the 2020-21 Europa League knockout rounds.  Qualify for the 2021-22 Champions League knockout rounds.  Visit Nana more often.

Squad|League Overview|Finances Overview|Income Detail|Expenditures Detail|Transfers

Allsvenskan Fixtures|Svenska Cupen Fixtures|Champions League Fixtures

Challenge Overview:

Edited December 9, 2016 by ManUtd1
Typo

[ManUtd1]

1 hour ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

On the bright side, if you do get through, you'll have eliminated two very dangerous teams.

I appreciate the positive thinking!  I managed not to completely embarrass myself which, is a Rodgers-esque moral victory of sorts.

[ManUtd1]

Oops.  Forgot to include these screenshots in the midst of my coffee-fueled exuberance.

Money well spent!  And about time...quite the stingy board I've got.

 

[ManUtd1]

Oof.  That's a kick in the teeth.  Maybe I do need to re-think the "ombre" highlights.

[ManUtd1]

Saw that Arsenal had crashed out of the CL at the Group Stages...had to go look.  Arsene moved on after capturing the 2020 CL trophy, to take over the French national team.  Ancelotti has taken over at Arsenal.

[BoxToBox]

Porto are a tough team, but I'd imagine it could have been worse?

[ManUtd1]

2 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

Porto are a tough team, but I'd imagine it could have been worse?

Yep.  Could have drawn: (1) defending CL and 4-time defending PL champions Arsenal; (2) Simeone's Man City, who currently sit atop the PL; (3) Juventus, who have been very strong in Italy; (4) or the likes of Klinsmann's Villarreal, Eddie Howe's Liverpool or Inter.

[ManUtd1]

And, I had two wild matches with Porto in the 2019 CL Group Stage -- 3-3 at home, 1-1 away.  It'll be interesting to see how the 16-18 month gap has changed things...Mark Hughes is their manager now, so it'd be nice to give Sparky a kicking.  On principle.

 

[BoxToBox]

Hmmm, they can't be that 'ard with Sparky calling the shots.

[ManUtd1]

Exactly.

This just happened, and made me chuckle:

 

[ManUtd1]

Nicely done, lads.  Nicely done.  Eat it, Sparky.

Followed by a fantastic draw -- a weak Wolfsburg, who has finished 12th, 10th and 6th over the last 3  years, and currently sits 9th in the Bundesliga.

[BoxToBox]

Lovely stuff!

[ManUtd1]

Thanks, man.

I feel like the side is coming together very quickly, much more so than expected as some of my early signings are developing beyond my expectations. I'll post a full-blown squad review in a little bit -- both for those of you following along, and so I can get my head straight about the path forward in Sweden.

[ManUtd1]

Malmö FF
March 2021 Squad Assessment

General, Incoherent Rambling From The Broad Perspective

After the Porto matches, I had some downtime and starting thinking about the state of the squad, where it's going and what the plan is for the path forward.  Instead of just doodling and jotting down notes, I thought it was long past time to post some screenshots of the squad and think aloud (for you faithful 3 readers) about this stuff.  Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

I like adhering to a "club DNA" approach, where your signings and player development are tailored towards a particular set of goals or stylistic ideals.  A like attacking football, with technically-proficient players who seek to control the tempo of the match both when in and out of possession.  I'm not a "tiki-taka" guy, in that possession for the sake of possession makes me want to strangle a puppy.  You don't want to know the depths to which "anti-football" pushes me.

On FM, that means that I don't enjoy saves where I buy the finished product.  Instead, I prefer to develop young, unfinished players -- either from my youth academy, or purchased at a young age.  I don't have necessarily hard-and-fast rules on this, but I don't like signing players over the age of 18.  The younger, the better.  Which means that, when playing with a "smaller" side or a side in a less-reputable league, I've got to upgrade facilities and scour the globe for potential players who have a solid foundation of: (1) technical abilities, so they can play the way I want them to, when fully developed; (2) the "right" kind of personality -- e.g., high professionalism/ambition, high determination, without being too dirty or injury prone (there is little more frustrating for me than a brilliantly talented player who never develops due to injury); and (3) the potential for real growth.  

When building a squad to conquer the league and/or continent, I'll tend to work in 3-5 year plans.  At a mid-table, top-league club like Sevilla, I think it is perfectly reasonable to approach a save from scratch and expect to be challenging on both fronts within 3 years.  Not winning either trophy, necessarily, but be in the mix so that, with a little luck, you're conquering your foes.  That requires planning for the three-year window -- not for immediate success.

At a club like Malmo, on the other hand, the expectation has to be different because of the challenge in attracting, developing and keeping players of a calibre to compete in Europe (while having the squad depth to battle on the homefront when needed).  That being said, Malmo has great facilities and the domestic challenge isn't particularly...well, challenging.  So, the primary focus is on building up the 1st XI for Europe.  In my experience, that tends to happen in 2 broader waves -- the first team you build gets you into Europe and can push into the knockout rounds.  The second team begins to take shape once the European foundation is laid and you can afford the transfers/salaries/etc of the additional players that will take you over the hump.

Don't get me wrong -- as many people will note, you do not need 180 PA players to win the Champions League.  I won it with IFK Malmo using a youth-academy only approach in FM 15, and I'd be shocked if any of those players was over 150/160.  Rather, they were solid technically/mentally, and worked well within my system.   And, we got lucky.  The same thing happened with Malmo FF when I won it with them in the first version of this save in FM 16 -- we went on an amazing run to the final, and won it several years before I'd anticipated doing so.

Get To The Fookin' Point, Will Ya?!

When I started this save, I noted that it would probably take a 6-8 year plan to win the CL with Malmo.  I still believe that, as I think that the two-step approach outlined above is realistic -- build a team that establishes itself in Europe, and then build upon those foundations (keeping many of the players) to win it all, with a handful of key signings.  The delay comes with identifying the right talent and then developing it.  After all, I can't really afford to buy up established young talent from England, Spain, etc.  It's too expensive, and not a "sure thing" by any stretch.

This is a really long way of saying I think I got really lucky this time around.  The "first wave" of players I scouted and signed (or that my predecessor signed!) have proven more than capable of challenging in Europe.  They also aren't begging to leave, or demanding low release clauses in their contracts.  Yet.  (Knock on wood.)

We need to improve, no doubt.  We definitely need more depth.  But I'm closer to that 2nd side than I expected to be at this stage of the save.  

Without further ado, let's dive into my first team.

Brief Tactical Overview

As noted early in the thread, this is my base tactical setup.

 

 

You'll note the absence of 4 former senior members of the squad -- Lewicki, Rakip, Glesnes, Moberg-Karlsson and Jansson.  They're time had simply come.  They were no longer 1st teamers and I couldn't justify their salaries to sit them on the bench.

 Goalkeepers

 My two first-team keepers are Moussa Depode and Niklas Sjoberg.  Depode is a beast.  He took over in the 1st XI in 2020, and hasn't looked back.  His shot-stopping is sublime, and he just keeps improving.   Sjoberg is an academy product.  He seems to have the potential to be a decent backup, but that's all.  He was at a stage of his development where he needed match time, so off Jansson went...

Defenders

Albert Augustsson is the star of our back line.  He is formidable even at this young age, and came out of our Academy under my predecessor.  He's a critical player to hold on to.

I just signed Ghislain Ngono was signed from Kadji Sport Academy in the Cameroon, and has massive potential.  He probably isn't the 2nd best CB right now, but he's my only natural left-footer and his potential puts everyone else to shame.  Sink or swim time for him.

Hicham El Amrani and Umar Okoye are my wingbacks, and are charged with careening up and down the pitch, providing width in the attack.  Both have far exceeded my expectations at the time of signing.  

Franz Brorsson started off as a player at the club I thought I could build around -- at least, the 2nd XI.  He's proven reliable, so I've kept him around.  Nothing exciting, but he gets the job done.  He is among the subs when the 1st XI play.  In the 2nd XI, I pair him with Alexander Engstrom, a kid I poached from IF Brommapojkarna's famed youth academy.  Engstrom was part of an effort to sign and develop Swedish youth, to meet the homegrown player requirements and because it makes sense given that Sweden is an eligible side for this save.  But, he's proven very disappointing.  He just isn't improving on the key technical abilities (e.g., passing, first touch, technique, composure).  I'll move him on, eventually.

Andreas Holgersson is my backup left back.  He's capable, but not amazing.  My coaching staff rate him much higher than I do.  Mathias Melin is a very capable right back, especially for Sweden.  Another youth product that I'm proud of having developed thus far.  Melin typically is among the subs when the 1st XI play.

Finally, the youth defender mixing in with the first team -- Josef Bergman.  A new signing from GIF Sundsvall, and one that I'm not excited about now that he's actually in the door.  I seem to have let my standards slip.  Prove me wrong, Josef.  Prove me wrong!

Midfielders

Sabelo Khanye.  As talented as his namesake, but not completely f'in nuts.  The kid can play, and he is one of my two "can openers" who can regularly be counted on to open sides up.  He's amazing for this level.  Re-signing him was a massive win for me.  Mimis Rokos is his backup, but honestly he's too good for that.  I really like this kid.  He's on the subs bench when the 1st XI play.

My central midfield pairing is Samir Salah (another poached youngster from Bromma) and Croatian wonderkid Matija Antolic.  Antolic is a rock.  Salah is exceptionally creative.  Both have nasty free kicks.  It's a great midfield pairing.  Their deputies are Danish free transfer Thor Bagger, Johan Engstrom (signed from Enskede), and youth academy graduate Andreas Hammarstedt.  With the departures of Lewicki and Rakip, these three are being asked to carry a much heavier load this year.  They need to improve.  Our midfield needs far more than they currently offer, even for a 2nd XI pairing.

On the right wing, Djordjije Vujovic is Mr. Dependable.  Steady, reliable, but not too flashy.  This is the weakest spot in my current 1st XI, in my personal opinion.  He was signed by my predecessor and has been great thus far, but the reality is that he isn't good enough for where we're going.  [ed: insert "Where we're going, we don't need roads" banter here]  That being said, his spot in the XI is safe for now because I can't pronounce his name to tell him to sit down.

Compounding the linguistic problem, I don't really have a backup for Vujovic. Youth academy graduate Nils Johansen currently fills this slot in the 2nd XI, but he's more of a central midfielder.  

Attacking Midfielders

Tomas Zajicek is the second "can opener" and, with all due respect to Khanye, the most exciting player on the pitch.  He creates.  He scores.  The fans gave him his own song within weeks, with good reason.

Tomas is f***ing magic...he wears a magic hat...and when he saw the Swedbank, he said I fancy that...

He didn't sign for Barca or Juve cause they're *****, he signed for di blae 'cause we're f***ing dynamite!

If I can keep him, Zajicek will be the centerpiece of my CL-winning side.  Guaranteed.  He's that good.  Renewing his contract this past year was a big, big deal.

His backup is a Masia product, Alfredo Perez.  I really want to like this kid, but FFS he needs to start to develop.  He's in the 2nd XI, but I'm beginning to think that Barcelona released him for a reason...

Forwards

Taking over for Berisha was a big ask.  No doubt.  But, I wouldn't have let that Albanian beauty go if it wasn't for the wealth of striking talent on offer.  Jan Lundqvist is another Bromma product, poached away during my first summer.  Along with Khanye and Zajicek, he's one reason why I think we're closer to challenging for the PL than we otherwise should be.  He's supported by Seydou Djiribori (another African youth product) and Jens Lindstrom, out of our own academy.     Both are very capable, but raw.  At some point, I'm going to either need to start loaning them out (which I'm loathe to do) or simply move them on.   They're being pushed by Lukas Niklasson who is currently in the U19s; frankly, he's very talented for this level...but not with these 3 in front of him.  

My academy is producing strikers like hotcakes -- also in the mix are Martin Andersson and Daniel Lindqvist, both of whom are on loan.  They're good for this level but, again, they aren't good enough to get near the first team. So, off they've gone for now.  They will almost certainly be sold in the not too distant future.  

Sadly, my U21s and U19s are otherwise quite bare at the moment.  I'm considering a strong recruitment push, but...everyone I'm scouting right now either isn't good enough, too expensive or simply won't come.

Final Thoughts

I sincerely doubt if anyone is still reading, but hey, indulge me.  We don't have the depth just yet, and the right midfield (in particular) needs work.  But, the side is coming together far faster than I'd anticipated.  And, more critically, the key players are not going too crazy when I reject wave after wave of transfer bids.  If I can keep the side together and develop it further...3-4 years, tops.  That's my prediction.  Knock on wood.

[BoxToBox]

I found a somewhat similar thing happened me too, I picked up a handy core of players, and expected them to push the club up a notch, then move on for decent money. Very few kicked up a fuss, though, and those that did were easily talked around. I actually found it a little more realistic to see a squad build and shape over the years around a regular group, rather than the FM standard of 15 players out and 20 in every summer.

[ManUtd1]

Agreed re the turnover. It's just rare (in my experience) for that to happen so quickly with a side from a lower-reputation country. No complaints.

[ManUtd1]

We were at the top of our game in the first leg, absolutely putting Ze Germans to the sword.  The second was a much tighter affair, but a solid display nevertheless.

Well, it was a solid run while it lasted...oof.

Simeone's City currently sit atop the PL, 5 points clear of Chelsea in 2nd.  They're so stacked, $69M signing Dybala can't get a match.

[BoxToBox]

Jesus, Dybala can't get a game, Lucas not even registered.... Mad.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Isco (one of the best playmakers in the game) and Dybala (a top class striker) both on the bench.

Crazy, mindless spending by City just like in real life. FM17 showing its realism.

Edited December 10, 2016 by Fer Fuchs Ake
Paraphrasing

[ManUtd1]

Well, aren't you guys just a ray of sunshine. I hadn't even noticed Isco yet...this will be interesting, once I get back home.

  

[ManUtd1]

First leg went relatively well, although I was on edge after Depode turned up with a potential injury...ugh.  The stats crack me up -- typical Simeone side, just let me dink around with the ball in midfield, unable to break them down.

All told, this confirms how close I think we are to genuinely competing in Europe.

[ManUtd1]

Waiting until July for more CL matches is going to kill me.  Solid display against a 10-man City.  We weren't particularly clinical, but we're getting there.  If we haven't won the CL by the summer of 2024...

 

[ManUtd1]

[BoxToBox]

Strong signs of progress, definitely.

[ManUtd1]

 

[ManUtd1]

Have to say that I'm loving this...

The CL semifinals are being contested by 2 eligible teams (Leverkusen v. Monaco), and 2 potentially-eligible teams (Napoli v. PSG)!  

Leverkusen got there with a stunning comeback over Barcelona, in the QF 2nd leg in Germany -- 4 second half goals to overturn a 3-goal deficit.

[ManUtd1]

Just brought in this kid to shore up the right wing...I have no idea why El Nacional didn't sign him up.  Other mid-sized European clubs were sniffing around.

[ManUtd1]

Malmö FF
June 2021 -- Champions League Mini-Update

So much for that interesting final...well, to be fair, it was a good final.  But, Napoli won the CL at the first chance, beating Leverkusen 2-1 with an extra-time own goal.  It doesn't get much more painful than that, especially when Ze Germans scored late in 2nd half injury time to force those 30 extra minutes. 

I genuinely cannot wait for the CL to get going again...  Oh, Simeone's City won the EL with 10 men, 1-0 over RB Leipzig.

Elswhere in Europe, much of the usual nonsense happened.  The only surprising things I noticed (on a quick glance) were Juventus dropping all the way down to 7th, Bremen facing the relegation playoffs, and Leverkusen coming in a disappointing 6th.

  

 

Domestically, we're dominant. Yawn.  It isn't even about the Allsvenskan.  It's all about Europe now.

[ManUtd1]

Bremen are relegated.  Ouch.

[BoxToBox]

43 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Just brought in this kid to shore up the right wing...I have no idea why El Nacional didn't sign him up.  Other mid-sized European clubs were sniffing around.

Reckon El Nacional didn't have a say in the matter.