"The kids are alright. At least, they better be." - What happens when a top club decides they don't need anyone from the outside world?

[hasdgfas]

2018 Youth Intake Check-In

Luke Rees(18A) - 2018 Current - A very solid improvement from Rees this season. I think I'm going to keep him around next season and try to train him up as a DR, since I'll likely be needing one of those shortly.

Samuel Richardson(18B) - 2018 Current - A bit of improvement. I think I need to get him tutored next season, try to get that determination up and see if I can get him to have an explosive improvement next season.

Bas Douglas(18C) - 2018 Current - Kept him around this season, and even gave him a couple games. I'm trying to get him retrained as a striker, because I really don't think he's a winger, at least the way I like my wingers to play. He's shown some improvement I'm pretty happy with.

Adam Miles(18D) - 2018 Current - Not really a whole lot going on here. Looks like his Casual personality is leading to him not improving.

Jonathan Gill(18E) - 2018 Current - A very good season, including a good tutoring session that got him to "Professional" means I'm far more optimistic about his future than I was initially. He needs to keep up the improvement though.

Bradley Perry(18F) - 2018 Current - Not a whole lot of improvement, but some. There's potential if he can overcome his personality(or get tutored successfully?)

Onyekachi Eze(18G) - 2018 Current - A season I'm very happy with. A big determination improvement, as well as some nice changes overall, and he's in with a shout if he continues to improve.

Graham Armstrong(18H) - 2018 Current - I honestly have no idea how to evaluate the changes here. The coaches still don't seem to think too much of him.

Alfredo Ortiz(18I) - 2018 Current - Just not a whole lot going on with him.

Ibrahima Fall(18J) - 2018 Current - Similarly, just not much going on.

Karl Collier(18K) - 2018 Current - A bit of a change, but still not enough for me.

Hassan Onovo(18L) - 2018 Current - His hair is still great

Neil Merritt(18M) - 2018 Current - Nothing to see here, move along

Paul Taylor(18N) - 2018 Current - Same

Barney Keane(18O) - 2018 Current - His physicals are looking pretty good. I think he's been running around in a dinosaur costume somewhere, which would explain that.

Ian Yates(18P) - 2018 Current - Not a whole lot of a change here, but he has jumped above quite a few people above him in coaches' judged potential.

-----

Overall, the class still doesn't look great overall, but Rees and Douglas look promising.

[hasdgfas]

Full Youth Screenshots

Hector Bellerin - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Rob Holding - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Alex Iwobi - 2016 2017 2018 2019
-----
Jeff Reine-Adelaide - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Vlad Dragomir - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Takuma Asano - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Donyell Malen - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Jordi Osei-Tutu - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Chris Willock - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Jon Toral - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Krystian Bielik - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Ismael Bennacer - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Gedion Zelalem - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Eddie Nketiah - 2016 2017 2018  Free Transferred
Marcus McGuane - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Marc Bola - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Glen Kamara - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Chuba Akpom - 2016 2017 2018 Sold to Cardiff City for 2.4M
Kelechi Nwakali - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Matt Macey - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred 
Yassin Fortune - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Ben Sheaf - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Kaylen Hinds - 2016 2017 2018 Sold to Dundee for 175k
Stefan O'Connor - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Tafari Moore - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Dan Crowley - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Deyan Iliev - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Aaron Eyoma - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Ryan Huddart - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
------
Reiss Nelson - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Joe Willock - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Alex Crean - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Daniel Ballard - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Robbie Burton - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Josh Benson - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Emile Smith-Rowe - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Joao Virginia - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Tolaji Bola - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Hugo Keto - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Jay Beckford - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Dominic Thompson - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Nathan Tormey - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Joseph Olowu - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Josh Dasilva - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Nathan Tella - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Charlie Gilmour - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Savvas Mourgos - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Kristopher Da Graca - 2016 2017 2018 2019
Tobi Omole - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred
Kostas Pileas - 2016 2017 2018 Free Transferred

-----

Tom Laskowski(17A) - 2017 2018 2019 

Seidu Mumuni(17B) - 2017 2018 2019 

Jordan Sutton(17C) - 2017 2018 2019 

Danny Adams(17D) - 2017 2018 2019 

Ho Tuan Anh(17E) - 2017 2018 2019 

Kobe McDonald(17F) - 2017 2018 2019 

Joe Page(17G) - 2017 2018 2019 

Jon Holland(17H) - 2017 2018 2019 

Louis Jupp(17I) - 2017 2018 2019

Declan Clarke(17J) - 2017 2018 2019 

Joshua Smith(17K) - 2017 2018 2019 

Scott Anderson(17L) - 2017 2018 2019 

Drake G. Johnson(17M) - 2017 2018 2019

Ian Richardson II(17N) - 2017 2018 2019

Joaquim(17O) - 2017 2018 2019

Aidan Telleus(17P) - 2017 2018 2019

----

2018 Youth Intake screenshots above

----

Sulaimon Kayode(19A) - 2019

Mark Dixon(19B) - 2019

Joseph Emmanuel(19C) - 2019

John-Paul Andrews-Harris(19D) - 2019 (one of my all-time favorite regen names)

Brian Doyle(19E) - 2019

Mert Dinc(19F) - 2019

Ryan Jackson(19G) - 2019

Joe Hallett(19H) - 2019

Danny Mcean(19I) - 2019

Mitchell Murray(19J) - 2019

Gary McGlynn(19K) - 2019

Duncan Lobjoit(19L) - 2019

Ryan Medlock(19M) - 2019

Ricky Rice(19N) - 2019

Nathan Joyce(19O) - 2019

John York(19P) - 2019

 

[hasdgfas]

While I was getting some International updates during the summer, this happened:

A ludicrous performance, even though it's only against the Andorran U21s.

EDIT: So I looked closer at this result:

A good day for the Arsenal youth. All but one goal scored by an Arsenal player, including an own goal!

[noikeee]

Euurrrgggghhhh, that end of season couldn't have been any more brutal.. 5-0 to Utd and losing the title to Spurs on the last day, being beaten on the pitch by Spurs themselves.  Feel for you, bro.

[hasdgfas]

5 hours ago, noikeee said:

Euurrrgggghhhh, that end of season couldn't have been any more brutal.. 5-0 to Utd and losing the title to Spurs on the last day, being beaten on the pitch by Spurs themselves. Feel for you, bro.

It could have been more brutal, if we lost at home to Spurs instead of away. But yeah, I wasn't too excited for the run-in, and it was as brutal as advertised.

 

In other news:

dawwwwwwwww, how sweet.

 

[hasdgfas]

Decided I wanted to make the squad a bit younger this season and got rid of some players who haven't been performing well, and also Koscielny, who has been complaining about being homesick.

[Deisler26]

On 20/01/2017 at 19:16, hasdgfas said:

This never really felt close. They shredded the defense. I thought when we pulled it back to 3-2 that if we made it to halftime we could be ok with a little bit of a tactics reshuffle, then Thiago just scores direct from a free kick and the squad visibly deflates and started playing with less urgency.

So close 3 seasons in a row, but not quite getting there due to some inconsistency. I'll be making a few changes this summer to make the team a bit younger, try to freshen up the attitude a bit.

GET. OUT. 

[ManUtd1]

Brutal end to the season, man. I feel for you 

[hasdgfas]

15 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

Brutal end to the season, man. I feel for you

it's one of the most brutal sets of games to finish off the season I've ever seen in FM. I had some hope, but wasn't too optimistic.

 

[hasdgfas]

In other news, we've got some new first-teamers breaking in, and one of them is already off to the races.

The 2017 Youth Intake is likely going to be the backbone of the side for years to come, with 3 of them in the first team squad this season, and at least 3 more of them looking to make it in the next season or two depending on departures. 

[hasdgfas]

This is, frankly, an absurd offer for my backup RB.

If I could sign players, I would take this offer immediately. However, RB is my weakest position as far as youth prospects go, and I'd really like to keep Chambers around until someone else can be a serviceable backup. That may happen as soon as next season depending on development of some players I'm keeping an eye on, but right now? I don't think so.

[BoxToBox]

"Winning the FA Cup"!?! Pull the other one, West 'am.

Oh, I scrolled up before clicking reply, the Europa too...

[hasdgfas]

5 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

"Winning the FA Cup"!?! Pull the other one, West 'am.

Oh, I scrolled up before clicking reply, the Europa too...

I mean, they have been 5th the past two seasons, finishing ahead of Manchester City and Liverpool both times. It's not that outrageous.

(although, I'm just looking at their transfers, and they sold Andrea Belotti for 29M this season after 2 35-goal seasons, so they may have some issues this season.)

[PaulHartman71]

ArsenalFanTV would be absolutely hammering you IRL what with Spurs winning the league twice, crashing out of the CL to United 5-0 etc

Seems to be a decent start so far. Think you could do with doing the Jimbo thing where you let yourself buy any players who have come through the academy. Won't help you much right now, but could help later on if you let some lads go who aren't getting games, then they turn out to be great elsewhere or you run out of that position etc. 

[BoxToBox]

10 minutes ago, PaulHartman71 said:

ArsenalFanTV would be absolutely hammering you IRL what with Spurs winning the league twice, crashing out of the CL to United 5-0 etc

Seems to be a decent start so far. Think you could do with doing the Jimbo thing where you let yourself buy any players who have come through the academy. Won't help you much right now, but could help later on if you let some lads go who aren't getting games, then they turn out to be great elsewhere or you run out of that position etc. 

Given that Clichy and Fabregas are probably declining by 2019, who'd be the best ex-ArseAcademy grads in the game? Maybe Afobe and Ozyakup? The latter should be a quality enough AM, if more of a backup/rotation option for Arsenal.

Then again, depending on how he's used a declining Fabregas should still be a cracking playmaker, and Clichy has great fitness.

[PaulHartman71]

Gnabry probably worth a punt if running low on attacking players, possibly Woj if running low on decent keepers. Isaac Hayden as a back-up CB option if he got desperate when the older guys retire. 

I think it would come in more handy in 5-10 years though once some of the original Academy players have long left and maybe forged a decent career elsewhere. Sort of like how Barca let kids go who aren't gonna play but then rock up doing well elsewhere. 

[hasdgfas]

 

1 hour ago, PaulHartman71 said:

ArsenalFanTV would be absolutely hammering you IRL what with Spurs winning the league twice, crashing out of the CL to United 5-0 etc

Seems to be a decent start so far. Think you could do with doing the Jimbo thing where you let yourself buy any players who have come through the academy. Won't help you much right now, but could help later on if you let some lads go who aren't getting games, then they turn out to be great elsewhere or you run out of that position etc.

That's definitely something I'm considering for the future if I get to a point where I'm having a crisis. However, it's looking pretty good right now. I have a good young base of players for most positions. And it also helps that the board expectations are slowly slipping  

[PaulHartman71]

1 minute ago, hasdgfas said:

 

That's definitely something I'm considering for the future if I get to a point where I'm having a crisis. However, it's looking pretty good right now. I have a good young base of players for most positions. And it also helps that the board expectations are slowly slipping  

 

They're probably over the moon. Doing just as well as Wenger and not spending anywhere near the sort of money he was towards the end of his reign

[Deisler26]

Don't forget Kyle Bartley at CB

[hasdgfas]

Fade in: Arsenal Boardroom

STAN KROENKE: Hello, Greg? Stan Kroenke speaking, Arsenal owner.

GREG CLARKE(English FA Chairman): Ah Stan, good to hear from you. How can I help you?

SK: Yes. I have a complaint about Bournemouth. I think you should look into their behavior for illegalities.

GC: Oh my! That is quite an accusation, Stan. What gives you that idea?

SK: I'm concerned that they're, uh, their, eh, their finances are, um, questionable at best, er, their investors, um, questionable activities, eh. What I'm saying is, they definitely need to go into administration. The strictest you have. Trust me. I have the best investigators. 

GC: Stan, I need an actual reason or this is just a frivolous accusation. Do you have any actual information for me?

SK: Of course, just, ehm, give me a minute here.

GC: Stan, I'm not going to launch a full-scale investigation into Bournemouth's activities just because you said so and because your manager threw away two two-goal leads yesterday.

SK(sputtering): I don't know what you...

GC: That's it, isn't it! Your manager can't solve Bournemouth away matches. He has 2 points total from his 4 away matches there, counting the two times they ruined your title aspirations.

SK(still sputtering): Of course not! I..

GC: Stan, just stop. I don't want to hear any of it. They're in the Premier League, they deserve to be in the Premier League, and your lack of being able to solve them doesn't change that. Talk to your manager instead and get him to capitulate to you. I won't. <hangs up>

Fade Out

This was incredibly frustrating. After going up 2-0 I thought I was about to exorcise some demons, but instead the second half went bananas and my defense decided they just didn't care about Afobe or Wilson.

[hasdgfas]

Heck of a time for your first Arsenal goal, Laskowski. 82nd minute of a derby, at Stamford Bridge.

[hasdgfas]

We have an international debut for an academy player!

[ManUtd1]

Shame you can't just buy all of their players...

Maybe you just talk them up in the media, make some offers, etc, to unsettle them?  

[hasdgfas]

Scouts, I didn't need you showing me this player and then making me upset that I can't buy him

[BoxToBox]

Oh, that's just mean.

[Deisler26]

Hot damn!

[hasdgfas]

Another international debut for one of the 2017 intake

[hasdgfas]

January 2020 Mini-Update

League Table:

A fairly reasonable start to the season. Two home draws and 3 away losses I'm unhappy with, but overall we're playing pretty well. We're still just inconsistent.

Champions League Group:

I wasn't happy to see Barcelona, but we played very well against them. A 2-0 win at home, followed by a 1-0 loss away where we still played well, particularly defensively. The 2 goal win compared to their 1-goal win caused us to win the group. Do we get rewarded for it?

Champions League First Knockout Round Draw:

Yep. Barely. The draws went in order shown there, so it got to the final two matches and I saw Bayern + PSV. I was sure we'd get Bayern after getting them in the group last year, but I was happy to see them have to play a different London team, and we got PSV instead.

Match Results:

As mentioned above, two home draws and three bad away losses are the problem here.

Transfers:

A bit of a minor clearout this summer, a few players I was sick of, and then Koscielny was homesick so I decided to let him go home.

-----

Youth Stuff

General Loan Report - Some solid performances, but nothing truly outstanding from anyone 

It's good to see Bennacer, Reine-Adelaide, Willock, and Holding at the top too, because I expect them to break into the first team soon.

Now, let's look at the new members of the first team. Let's go in order of performance quality.

Krystian Bielik - I had been expecting him to break into the first team for a while now, and he has been a fantastic performer. Overperforming his attributes a bit, but I'm not complaining.

Tom Laskowski(17A) - Two senior caps top off a fantastic year from the top predicted player of the 2017 youth intake. He's our most proficient goal-scoring defender of any season I've been manager, and he's a great defender. He and Shkodran Mustafi are my first-choice tandem at this point. Yes, Laskowski over Bielik.

Jordan Sutton(17C) - An inconsistent performer. He'll have a league hat-trick and then go completely missing for two games in a row. Currently just a backup, but I can see him becoming a first-teamer if he finds some consistency. He did get an international cap, which is great, but needs to be more consistent before he gets the games to get more.

Ho Tuan Anh(17E) - A bit of a shock name on the list. I wasn't expecting to see him make the first team squad for a couple seasons. However, with Woj's broken arm leaving him out of action, and Cech's announced retirement at the end of the season, I've been starting the star GK of the 2017 intake and he's been excellent. 5 shutouts in 6 appearances, with the goal being given up in a 6-1 win.

Seidu Mumuni(17B) - A very inconsistent performer. He'll score a goal in 3 straight matches, then be the worst performer in the next 3. Once he finds the consistency, he'll be leading the line for me for a while. The coaches think he still has plenty of room to grow, which is amazing. He's already great.

-----

Let's find more consistency, particularly from the young players, and this can finally be the season we break through in something.

[hasdgfas]

After a few seasons of cup disasters, we finally are going to make it to a cup final, to try to get some silverware!

We almost threw it away, but a great home performance and a first-half goal away give us enough. 

 

Who do we meet in the final?

Oh, it is on!

[hasdgfas]

You know, I was hoping to have a quiet deadline day, after not really having much happen during all of January...

[jim owen]

Wow City are after destroying you

[dirkgently1066]

What an awesome thread. I don't quite have the confidence to do this just yet but a great idea and something I'd definitely be keen on emulating.

[BoxToBox]

15 minutes ago, hasdgfas said:

You know, I was hoping to have a quiet deadline day, after not really having much happen during all of January...

Pricks! Kind of realistic, mind.

[hasdgfas]

29 minutes ago, jim owen said:

Wow City are after destroying you

After missing out on the Champions League for every season, they're getting a bit desperate, it seems.

24 minutes ago, dirkgently1066 said:

What an awesome thread. I don't quite have the confidence to do this just yet but a great idea and something I'd definitely be keen on emulating.

Thanks! Good to know people are enjoying it. It's very different from my usual save style, and I was curious how a youth save would work with an already-established team.

17 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

Pricks! Kind of realistic, mind.

Unfortunately, yeah. Fortunately, only Sutton got upset about it, but he seems to be calming down already. He took out some frustrations against League 2 Notts County in the FA Cup, with a hat-trick and an assist.

[hasdgfas]

FM is weird sometimes. I never thought I'd see something like this

[Deisler26]

?????? WTF?????

[hasdgfas]

2020 Youth Intake

I guess that 2017 Intake was unrealistic to expect moving forward, but man, I wish I could have another one of those. Or even a player close to the top 5 of that intake.

Sam Brownhill(20A) - has some potential in a position that I do need a backup in(and, let's be honest, I bet Barcelona is coming in for Bellerin soon), so I'm hoping he develops well.

He's really the only one that I'm excited about at this point. We'll see what happens when I check in on these players in a year or two.

[hasdgfas]

EFL Cup Final - March 1, 2020

All right, here we go. A chance for some measure of revenge against Spurs after the disastrous last day of the Premier League season last year.

Arsenal comes out with a fairly young team in our normal attacking formation. Tottenham come out with a more defensive formation than anticipated after their previous successes against us.

And here we go!

A quiet first half. No clear chances from anyone.

Back out for the second half.

Another quiet half. Only a couple half-chances, but nothing that felt like it should have been a goal.

Onto extra time!

First half of extra time, not too much happening until:

110th minute: Walcott has it wide, sends it to the center. It bounces off Upamecano right to Elneny...

WHO SCORES A THUNDERBOLT OF A GOAL!

Arsenal lead it, so late! 

10 minutes remain. Tottenham forego their defensive shape trying to find a goal, but they can't get a hold of the ball!

5 minutes remain. Arsenal turn to their defensive structure to try to ensure the victory. They're getting corner after corner and Tottenham still can't get the ball.

1 minute left, Arsenal continue to hold the ball. Fans of both sides are screaming!

It's too late for Tottenham, it's over!

Arsenal's defensive prowess and a thunderous goal from Mohamed Elneny give them the win today!

[hasdgfas]

It may just be the EFL cup, but that's a huge win for this team. With so little success in either of the cups in prior seasons, as well as a young team, we needed some success. And for it to come against Tottenham, it's even sweeter. Now we need to keep up this momentum for the rest of the season.

[hasdgfas]

Clinical performances home and away against the Dutch side move us into the quarterfinals, and there are no pushovers here. Who do we get?

Fair enough. This'll definitely be tough, but we've been playing very well in Europe this season.

[Deisler26]

Yessss! Good win against the scum!

[hasdgfas]

Well, someone had a good England debut:

[hasdgfas]

Not a good first leg in Spain

Really upset about the final score here. We played very well defensively, and then they scored two goals off of absurd deflections from shots that were nowhere near on target. We'll have to do something special back in London.

[BillHoudini24]

Really interesting view of the Youth Challenge. Having to build your way up the leagues and get the facilities going is a challenge indeed, but retaining a top club's level while playing kids... It's also challenging!

I've read the thread in one afternoon, will be following for sure!

[hasdgfas]

28 minutes ago, BillHoudini24 said:

Really interesting view of the Youth Challenge. Having to build your way up the leagues and get the facilities going is a challenge indeed, but retaining a top club's level while playing kids... It's also challenging!

I've read the thread in one afternoon, will be following for sure!

Thanks! I wanted a bit of a twist on a very common thread/save. I feel I got very lucky with the first Youth Intake being as strong as it was, it's helped that the first set of young players has been able to jump into the first team fairly quickly. I'm a bit worried about the next few seasons, but it's still a fun struggle.

[hasdgfas]

Well, this was an odd game. An early red card to Wilshere made me worry we were going to see a repeat of last season, where I got stomped by United after a red card when I had to start to get risky.

However, unlike last season, we decided to go into halftime with a shocking 3-0 lead! We needed one more goal for the lead, at which point I was going to park the bus and try to get out of there with a shocking win.

Unfortunately, Ronaldo scored early in the first half so we needed two goals. It's at this point where we missed 3 complete sitters in a row and I almost fell out of my chair in anguish. We kept pushing forward, and they kept punishing us.

Still, it was a valiant effort after the poor result in Spain, and we brought it back to parity with 45 minutes to go, which is better than I expected.

Now, to focus on the League and the FA Cup:

League Table:

Our Remaining Fixtures:

Much kinder than last season's, and much kinder than many I've had in this save. The big one is clearly United away. The rest should be fairly straightforward. Even Liverpool, since it's at home.

United's Remaining Fixtures:

A little bit less kind than ours, since they have 3 away matches. I don't really expect them to stumble much, so we'll need to be on top of our game, and get a solid result at Old Trafford.

-----

Random other news:

Ho Tuan Anh(17E) has taken over the starting GK position. I have some concerns still, but I want to get him a bunch of game time. He's already almost as good as Cech and Sczcesny, and he's only 19. He could start for us for years.

Jordan Sutton(17C) has gotten over me not letting him go to Man City. We may not be out of the woods as far as teams coming in for him(as you can see by the screenshot), but he's found a lot more consistency lately, and has claimed a starting spot as well. He's a monster down the right wing.

-----

It'll be an interesting last month of the season. Let's hope we can pull it off this time, with by far our youngest team yet. 

[ManUtd1]

Oooh...primed for a title run.  That penultimate match against United could be huge.  Good luck!

[hasdgfas]

The first set of matches goes as expected, with 4-0 wins for the home teams:

The second set of matches sees my fingernails shorten considerably, as we gift James Wilson 2 goals, but we hold on.

Meanwhile...

These results put us 3 points behind United. We have a match in hand, but are behind on GD. We need another stumble from them.

[ManUtd1]

Nice -- those dropped points, with your match at Old Trafford, set it up perfectly.

[hasdgfas]

4 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Nice -- those dropped points, with your match at Old Trafford, set it up perfectly.

I feel like I've played in this movie before  

Let's hope we get a different ending this time. We keep getting this close.