[FM18] A Hive of Activity. Busy little Bees.

[Jimbokav1971]

I'm not sure of this is going to be a long-term save at the moment, but I thought I would keep a record of it regardless. There seem to be lots of new features and it might help others dipping their toe into FM18 for the first time. 

Barnet are my club and other than a 1 season holiday career in FM16, I don't think I have managed them for about...... well I can't remember actually. (So that's a long time). I don't think I have EVER played a proper save with them since CM turned into FM. Originally they weren't in the game because they were in the Conference and CM only went down as far as League 2, and then by the time the Conference was included, I think Barnet were back in League 2 then and in any case I wanted to manage as low as possible and that was no longer Barnet.

I'm going to document different things in this thread and at first glance, here are a few things that I will be covering. 

Dynamics - Social Groups. My initial thoughts are that this is actually a brilliant introduction, just so long as it works as expected and isn't significantly flawed. 

Scouting. This seems to have had a much needed overhaul, with "packages" of different type and cost being available at different levels/Nations. 

Medical Centre - Risk Assessment. Again, this seems like improvement, just so long as it actually works and isn't superficial. 

Data Analysts. This was introduced last year, but in name only. It will be interesting to see how they have been fleshed out. The potential in this area is immense. 

New player roles. I know that there are 3 new midfield player roles, (don't know what they are called), and I don't know if there are any new defending/attacking options, but I will be having a look at this at some point. 

Player Style. This is a new addition that seem to try to group players together by style of play in a similar way to the way personality works, but it relates to all of their attributes rather than just their mental one's, (or so it would seem at first glance). 

Let's see how this goes. 

 

[Deisler26]

Following.

I remember about 15 years ago, screaming  obscenities at Nicky Bailey at Broadhall Way.

What fun.

[Scoham]

Only had a quick look around the game - where is "player style"?

[nie jem frytek]

Looking forward.

[DavidBeckham]

Keep this going as a long term save! Would be great seeing you progress through the leagues and winning the Premier League/Champions League eventually 

[Rikulec]

Following.

[Toffle]

Looking forward to it too!

[Jimbokav1971]

10 hours ago, Deisler26 said:

Following.

I remember about 15 years ago, screaming  obscenities at Nicky Bailey at Broadhall Way.

What fun.

These are Charlton fans, but we sung it to him long before YouTube was a thing. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

Keep this going as a long term save! Would be great seeing you progress through the leagues and winning the Premier League/Champions League eventually 

My new laptop doesn't arrive until tomorrow and this one is not capable of running lots of different structures so I will have to see. I'm out tonight so might not get too much playing time in. It really depends what time the new laptop arrives tomorrow. 

I think what I will probably do is start the save again tomorrow but with a much bigger database but start Managing Barnet, but with the ability to move elsewhere as a Manager who prioritises Youth Development throughout his career and try and turn it into a Youth based Journeyman, (because I'm bound to get sacked). 

Another reason to start again is because I set my reputation and badges at automatic and I don't want to do that. I want to start with Semi Pro and nothing. 

[Jimbokav1971]

8 hours ago, Scoham said:

Only had a quick look around the game - where is "player style"?

I'm glad someone picked up on that actually. Thank you. 

Player Style.

This is the current Barnet squad sorted by PA and you will see a couple of decent youngsters making an early appearance. 

The 4th column along is "Style". We can only see 4 different styles on view on this page, and one of these is for a GK, (which may or may not have their own styles). 

Physical x10
Intelligent x2
Technical x1
Shot Stopper x1.

If we ignore the shot stopper for a moment, I am guessing that what the "style" will mean will be the dominant area of the player attribute make-up. 

Shaq is classed as a "physical" style of player so I expect that when we look at him, (i will post his hexagon to emphasise this either way), I would expect his dominant area to be his physical attributes. 

Yes, physical seems just ahead of speed and vision, but are "speedy" and "visionary" other styles that I haven't seen yet? I honestly don't know, and Shaq wasn't a clear example so let's list all the styles I have here at the club. 

Let's get the GK's out of the way 1st. I expect that they will have their own styles, but at this stage I am not sure that they are limited to GK-only styles and that there might also be some cross-over into "outfield" styles. 

Just as a little aside by the way, yes KML and RML are brothers, (more nicknames obviously required when I crank up the new laptop), but KML is actually a Senior International, (2 Caps for Guyana), and I swear to God I had absolutely nothing to do with it, but he has 2 Caps and 1 goal for his Country, (but more about that later). 

So getting back to the "styles" we have 2 shot stoppers, 2 distributors and an aggressive. I would suggest at this stage that shot stopper is 100% a GK only style, distributor is probably a GK only style, but aggressive is probably shared between GK's and outfield players. 

Here is the full list, (at least of players at the club so may not be exhaustive). 

Aggressive. (KML is the only one at the club so I'm not 100% sure that it can be shared with outfield players at this stage, but I think  so). Interestingly, his aggression attribute is only 6. More research needed here I think. 

It could be that "aerial" is the dominant area here so that the player comes for the ball aggressively. I'm not overly convinced about this one though at this stage. 

Creative. Ah, this is likely to be a name that covers "visionary" as I mentioned above. (At least I hope it does). 

Yes, that seems pretty straightforward.  It could even be for example that in order to be classed as "creative", vision and technical have to both be relatively high. It could work as a relation between multiple aspects of a player make-up rather than simply just the highest. 

Distributor. This would seem to suggest that the distribution portion of his make-up will be higher, but it doesn't seem to be the case here.

Oh hang on a minute........ Hovering is a might impressive thing if you can be bothered to do it.  Let's try this again, but with some SI/FM info rather than me making it up as I go along. 

Aggressive.

Creative. 

Distributor.

Intelligent. 

Leader. 

Physical.

Shot-stopper. 

Technical.

That's all I've got at the moment but I think it's pretty self-explanatory. They do not of course have miraculous powers in this area and a rubbish technical player s still likely to have pretty poor technique, however it is an indication of where the players relative strength lies. 

I will add in any more styles as and when I see them. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Potential Ability? Or Perceived Potential Ability as it should be known.

The thing about the PA stars is that they are only as good as the person who is providing you with the report.

Oh look, Rio and Joe Payne are going to be brilliant! No, I'm afraid that's not how it works. 

My Ass Man is a bloke called Alex Armstrong, (thought he was a comedian), and this is part of his profile. 

While he certainly has some decent attributes, judging the potential ability of a player is not one of them with an attribute value of 6. To put it another way, each player has a PA, (a score up to 200, the higher the better), and this is the best rating that they can achieve within the game if everything goes to plan. It could be 50. It could be 100. It could be 150 or higher. That's their Potential Ability or PA for short. That's not what we see with the star system however. You would only see that of you are using the Editor or a Scouting Tool of some sort. No, what you see in the star system is a staff members opinion of what the PA of a player might be, and this is not the same thing entirely). How good they are at JPP Judging Player Potential, (amongst other things), has a big impact on how accurate the report is. That's not to say that a staff member with 20 JPP will always give you a spot on report. Of course they won't, (just like real life), but they will on average provide a more accurate report than a staff member with 1 JPP for example, and that's just as it should be. 

One little thing I will highlight again here is that there are other factors at play here too. On Youth Day for example, (my favourite day of any FM year), we are effectively asking our Ass Man, (who may or may not be very good at JPP), to make an instant snap decision with regards to the potential ability of a young player, who he has only just met for the 1st time. Let's think about that for a minute shall we and put it in a different way. 

Hi Joe. I know you are rubbish at judging the potential of young players, but here is 16 players that you haven't seen before and I want you to tell me right now how good they are all going to be and then I am going to decide who to keep and who to discard based on your report. Hello! McFly! 

It doesn't make sense does it? Of course you wouldn't do that. Yes you would take their opinion on board, and hopefully give them more time to make a more informed decision, but at this stage it is really a shot in the dark even with a JPP20 Ass Man. 

Anyway, let's see what we have at Barnet....

I haven't seen Rio Connell play yet in real life, (but can't wait). 

Joe Payne left-back/centre-back who scored this goal last season for the youngsters. (You've got to have nads just to try it don't you?) He's currently on loan at Solihull Moors in real life. 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2016/nov/23/barnets-joe-barnet-score-spectacular-goal-from-halfway-line-video

Benjy Aghadiuno, (gotta give him a nickname to get rid of that surname!) made his debut this season in the B-Team Cup at the tender age of 17. 

Jack Taylor is the best young player I have seen at this level since Josh Wright. You will hear more from Jack in real life. He is going to have a career. (He has become a regular in the 1st Team already this season, and brother Harry, older by 1 year, is also a regular starter). 

EMC, (I haven't nicknamed him yet but I'm sure you can work out who I mean), is only 17 in game right now, but has already made 4 league appearances, (albeit from the bench), and  Cup appearances this season in real life, and is very highly thought of at the club. 

Nana is down here as a MC and a "Carrilero", (whatever that is, but more about that later), but I actually don't agree. I think he will develop into a player that plays higher up the pitch, (and possibly wider), but time will tell. (It's hard to comment too much about his role at the moment because quite simply I haven't the foggiest what a carrilero does or is. What I would say is that just as I picture everyone who plays the Enganche role to have a big bush moustache, and also be short and rotund actually, a carrilero must play the full 90 minutes while wearing a sombrero!). I will admit to being more of a fan of his than many other supporters at the club, (where he divides opinion).

That's 6 teenagers who appear on the 1st page of the squad sheet when I sort it by PA. It's interesting that the player at the bottom of the page is a certain Mr John Akinde, who has been absolutely filling his boots and scoring for fun since he joined us in real life, (something close to 80 league goals in 136 appearances which is quite frankly ridiculous). If these 6 teenagers reach that sort of level then I will be a happy happy chappy.  

[john1]

Loving the depth of analysis of the squad  

[Jimbokav1971]

New Player Roles. 

I was going to really have a look at new player roles, but when you see Cleon has absolutely nailed it better than I could ever hope to, well better to just read and learn. 

https://teaandbusquets.com/football-manager-2018-new-roles-explained

[withnail316]

I work as a commentator, and my understanding is a carrilero is a transition midfielder who links between the lines, rather than an AM or DM, and unlike a b2b CM, his lateral movement is more important than getting up and down the pitch.

I'm torn as to whether I like these terms finding their way into our football lexicon, or if I find them a bit pretentious...

 

[Jimbokav1971]

46 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Nana is down here as a MC and a "Carrilero", (whatever that is, but more about that later), but I actually don't agree. I think he will develop into a player that plays higher up the pitch, (and possibly wider), but time will tell. (It's hard to comment too much about his role at the moment because quite simply I haven't the foggiest what a carrilero does or is. What I would say is that just as I picture everyone who plays the Enganche role to have a big bush moustache, and also be short and rotund actually, a carrilero must play the full 90 minutes while wearing a sombrero!). I will admit to being more of a fan of his than many other supporters at the club, (where he divides opinion).

Well isn't that interesting in terms of what exactly a "Carrilero" is? I mention width, (but he's not exactly a natural wide player), and that fits in pretty nicely with the new role. That's really got me thinking now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 minutes ago, withnail316 said:

I work as a commentator, and my understanding is a carrilero is a transition midfielder who links between the lines, rather than an AM or DM, and unlike a b2b CM, his lateral movement is more important than getting up and down the pitch.

I'm torn as to whether I like these terms finding their way into our football lexicon, or if I find them a bit pretentious...

 

Thanks very much for that insight. 

I don't mind them just so long as something can click with me so that I can get a picture in my mind of what the role demands. The Enganche for example has completely passed me by to such an extent that I just think of a fat South American with a big tache, and as a result never use them. I suppose I should use them so that I can work out what's what. 

The flip side of that is that I do now understand Ramdeuter, (had never heard of it previously), Libero was always just a sweeper to me, and Regista I managed to get a handle on quite quickly. I think it's a language thing for me because even though I know there is an N in there, in my mind it is pronounced Eganche rather than Enganche. As for inverted thingammywhatsits, meh!

[Jimbokav1971]

20 minutes ago, john1 said:

Loving the depth of analysis of the squad  

Thanks @john1

I will try to flesh things out with regards to other players as and when they make an impact. If the Barnet researcher is any good, then we might just be in for some fun times. 

[Slipky]

Good to see you back, Jimbo! Looking forward to this Barnet save.

[DavidBeckham]

Top class squad analysis mate Looking forward to see how the players do for you 

[withnail316]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Thanks very much for that insight. 

I don't mind them just so long as something can click with me so that I can get a picture in my mind of what the role demands. The Enganche for example has completely passed me by to such an extent that I just think of a fat South American with a big tache, and as a result never use them. I suppose I should use them so that I can work out what's what. 

The flip side of that is that I do now understand Ramdeuter, (had never heard of it previously), Libero was always just a sweeper to me, and Regista I managed to get a handle on quite quickly. I think it's a language thing for me because even though I know there is an N in there, in my mind it is pronounced Eganche rather than Enganche. As for inverted thingammywhatsits, meh!

Enganche was one of those terms that unnecessarily muddied the waters, IMO. We'd already got the trequartista (literally the three-quarter) and the two roles are essentially identical, so I don't see the need for the term. 

Anyway, best of luck mate.

[Jimbokav1971]

15 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Potential Ability? Or Perceived Potential Ability as it should be known.

The thing about the PA stars is that they are only as good as the person who is providing you with the report.

Oh look, Rio and Joe Payne are going to be brilliant! No, I'm afraid that's not how it works. 

 

Perceived Potential Ability. A bit more on the 1st P in PPA.

Within the quote above, you will see that Shaq, Rio and Joe are the 3 players at the club with what I call a 5.0 PA rating, Of course it's true that Rio and Joe might only have a 4.0 PA rating, (because the last star is greyed out), but I'm a glass half-full type of guy, so I prefer to consider the upper level until such time as it is no longer greyed out and I have a clearer idea of what's what. 

I have re-started, (more about that in the next post), and the report of the squad has changed somewhat. 

There are going to be a few different reasons for that. 

The first is that for players of a very low reputation, of which little is known, (Rio Connell is an example of this being a player who has not yet made his senior debut in a League 2 club), he is a bit of an unknown quantity and forget the Barnet Researcher, the Barnet Manager doesn't really know how good he will become at this stage. As a result there is often a certain amount of randomness involved in the players make-up, and it's "possible", that the Rio in the 1st save was simply far better than the Rio in the 2nd save.

While the above is possible, what's FAR more likely is just that the Ass Man has a differing view of the Rio's PA. One could be right and the other wrong, but in truth, the reality is that they are both probably wrong. He could be better than both reports, (unlikely), he could be worse than both reports, or he could be somewhere in between. 

John Akinde is highlighted and he is far far far away from being a young unknown quantity. He's a 27yo who has played as high as the Championship and because of the number of goals he has scored in recent seasons, it's probably likely that he has been scouted again and again and again by just about everyone. Despite that, and the fact that it is generally believed that he has reached his peak and isn't going to get significantly better, the 1st report shows that both his CA and PA, (or PPA as we know it really is), are both set at 4.0, but the 2nd report from the bigger save has both his CA and PA down as 4.5. Now it could be that his attributes are actually lower, (I don't think that's the case), or it could be that the best player in terms of CA, (Shaq & Brindley in the 2nd case), are rated lower than they were in the 1st save, (but I don't think that's the case either). No, what we have here is simply evidence showing the lack of accuracy in these reports. These reports remember, that some of you use as the sole arbiter in deciding who to offer a Youth Contract to at Youth Day.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

16 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Potential Ability? Or Perceived Potential Ability as it should be known.

My Ass Man is a bloke called Alex Armstrong, (thought he was a comedian), and this is part of his profile. 

While he certainly has some decent attributes, judging the potential ability of a player is not one of them with an attribute value of 6.

There is of course another reason why the reports might have changed. I have mentioned that there is a certain amount of randomness in the make-up of young players of low reputation, and the same obviously goes for staff. Alex Armstrong is my Ass Man and while at 52 years he is no young whipper-snapper, there is still a certain amount of randomness about his make-up. If you look at his "Knowledge" attributes above, and then compare them to what I have in this save, you will see that while his JPP and Tactical Knowledge remained at a rating of 6, his JPA attribute has dropped from 9 to 6. This is obviously going to have an impact on the CA rating he gives any players at the club. 

If CA ratings of the best players at the club are used as the comparison benchmark against which other players are judged, then this will obviously have an impact on the PA ratings of other players. What they are being judged against has changed.

[Jimbokav1971]

Dynamics.

Right, this is completely new to me obviously so let's have a look. First impression is that the Team Leasers are just about right, at least in the respect of Curtis and Nelson, but I'm a little surprised that EJ is deemed such a "Leader". I would have put Akinde, and JCR ahead of EJ in the pecking order, (and possibly even Mauro too). Both have played at a higher level and would deem to be more experienced, and the 1 thing that seems to benefit EJ is that at the age of only 22, he has actually played a lot of League games, 175 at this time), and all for Barnet, (after coming through the Academy). He seems to be classed as more influential simply because he has been here for longer, (and significantly played games). 

Looking at influential players, Brindley and Tarpey are new signings with Brindley coming from a higher division and Tarpey coming from non-League, (where he was obviously prolific). While I would expect them to be more influential than Academny products, I wouldn't expect them to be more influential than the likes of Clough and Santos (who have both captained the side this season in real life).

EJ seems to be classed too high. 

Clough and Santos classed too low, (in my opinion), with the limited understanding of how it works at this stage. 

Managerial Support.

If I click on my name, then the picture changes somewhat, (and it isn't pretty). 6 of the 8 most influential players at the club, as well as the starting GK, (Stephens), and Santos, (who I think should be classed as more influential), all actively oppose my management of the club. I think this is probably realistic as I am an absolute nobody. I will have to turn these players around with good results on the pitch and hopefully good decisions off it. The quickest way to get these players onside is to obviously play them, but this could be a problem with Akinde, (who will be injured for a while), and JCR who looks under-cooked physically in the game. 

There are absolutely no players who support me, but I am hoping to turn that around by starting the likes of Shaq, Clough, and Jack, with both Amaluzor and EMC featuring from the bench. 

Social Groups.

This doesn't seem right to me and I wonder if I have stumbled on the limitations of this system at first glance. (I hope not). Alex Nicholls and Ryan Watson are very much on the periphery of the squad. Nicholls was sent out on loan to Dundee Utd last season, (where I think he won the League Cup), and Ryan Watson was banished to train with the kids after a succession of poor performances, In real life there is a suggestion that Watson has struggled to deal mentally with the recovery and the aftermath of a broken leg, and while he has the technical and physical ability to be a player, there is no something missing in his make-up, (character), that leaves his managers frustrated and wanting more that he is unable to deliver. These players are unable to form bonds with the younger players, but are very much NOT part of the senior squad either. They don't seem keen to go and play non-League on loan, (which is really poor in my opinion), and they aren;t good enough to attract offers from other League clubs..

The Core Group is a little strange in that it is largely populated by products of the Academy. Mauro, EJ, Jack, Amaluzor and EMC,, with Curtis, (who has been at the club for 6 seasons now, also fitting in well there. I've already mentioned that Nicholls and Watson are strange members of this group, and I would have expected both Nelson and Akinde to be included instead, 

It will be interesting to see if Jack's older brother Harry, (currently in the U21 squad), will join the Core Group or another group when I promote him to the Senior squad, (as I am about to do right now).

Harry has joined the "Other Players" section of the hierarchy, but despite me progressing on a few days, he still has not appeared on the Social Groups page. I will keep an eye on this and update you as and when he appears. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Language. 

Well I didn't think too much about this. Usually I think I set my 2nd Nationality as Irish I think, but must have forgotten this time. I'm Sammarinese, (obviously). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Philosophy agreed. July 2017.

[Peter G]

On 10/27/2017 at 04:20, Deisler26 said:

Following.

I remember about 15 years ago, screaming  obscenities at Nicky Bailey at Broadhall Way.

What fun.

We had fun doing the same at Southend. He burnt his bridges here

[MarcxD]

Love the way you go in-depth with your thinking processes regarding dynamics etc. It will be interesting to see how the feature actually works.

Good luck with Barnet! (On a side note, whenever I hear the name of that club I can't help but think of Edgar Davids..)

 

[Jimbokav1971]

47 minutes ago, MarcxD said:

Love the way you go in-depth with your thinking processes regarding dynamics etc. It will be interesting to see how the feature actually works.

Good luck with Barnet! (On a side note, whenever I hear the name of that club I can't help but think of Edgar Davids..)

 

I think it's easy to read something on here, (especially when written by someone with a lot of posts), and just assume that it must be true because they have made a lot of posts, and sound like they know what they are talking about. The reality is that there is an awful lot of this game that is unknown and even where we do know how it works, we usually only know roughly how it works rather than exactly how it works. 

I don't pretend to know everything, I just like to share what I think. I find it easier to explain how I think and how I came to whatever conclusion, because it also helps me when I look back and try to learn from things that have gone before. Let me be honest, as much as I like people reading and responding to this thread, this thread is for my benefit rather than that of the reader. 

Edgar Davids was brilliant for Barnet at the start. Things soured in the end, but I remember it being great that we had more Champions League winners than Arsenal at the club at the time. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Ass Man suggests new position for striker.

My Ass Man has suggested re-training prolific non-league striker Dave Tarpey as a Left winger. 

1. He's scored all of our 4 goals in the opening 2 pre-season matches. 
2. He's not left-footed. 
3. Big John (Akinde), is injured for another couple of months. 
4. Shut up you mug or you are out the door! 

This is our depth in the striker position. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Gibraltar National Team you say? 

Thus might be of interest to anyone who has enjoyed a save in Gibraltar. 

He's not great, and is probably unlikely to break into the Senior team here if the Ass Man report is anything to go on, but I obviously love him because of his (GIB) links so will be giving him extra-special treatment. 

 

 

[Whoarethey?]

love this thread, superb the way you do it, completely agree on not relying on the star ratings even more so in lower leagues

 

good luck

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Dynamics.

Right, this is completely new to me obviously so let's have a look. First impression is that the Team Leasers are just about right, at least in the respect of Curtis and Nelson, but I'm a little surprised that EJ is deemed such a "Leader". I would have put Akinde, and JCR ahead of EJ in the pecking order, (and possibly even Mauro too). Both have played at a higher level and would deem to be more experienced, and the 1 thing that seems to benefit EJ is that at the age of only 22, he has actually played a lot of League games, 175 at this time), and all for Barnet, (after coming through the Academy). He seems to be classed as more influential simply because he has been here for longer, (and significantly played games). 

Looking at influential players, Brindley and Tarpey are new signings with Brindley coming from a higher division and Tarpey coming from non-League, (where he was obviously prolific). While I would expect them to be more influential than Academny products, I wouldn't expect them to be more influential than the likes of Clough and Santos (who have both captained the side this season in real life).

EJ seems to be classed too high. 

Clough and Santos classed too low, (in my opinion), with the limited understanding of how it works at this stage. 

Managerial Support.

If I click on my name, then the picture changes somewhat, (and it isn't pretty). 6 of the 8 most influential players at the club, as well as the starting GK, (Stephens), and Santos, (who I think should be classed as more influential), all actively oppose my management of the club. I think this is probably realistic as I am an absolute nobody. I will have to turn these players around with good results on the pitch and hopefully good decisions off it. The quickest way to get these players onside is to obviously play them, but this could be a problem with Akinde, (who will be injured for a while), and JCR who looks under-cooked physically in the game. 

There are absolutely no players who support me, but I am hoping to turn that around by starting the likes of Shaq, Clough, and Jack, with both Amaluzor and EMC featuring from the bench. 

Social Groups.

This doesn't seem right to me and I wonder if I have stumbled on the limitations of this system at first glance. (I hope not). Alex Nicholls and Ryan Watson are very much on the periphery of the squad. Nicholls was sent out on loan to Dundee Utd last season, (where I think he won the League Cup), and Ryan Watson was banished to train with the kids after a succession of poor performances, In real life there is a suggestion that Watson has struggled to deal mentally with the recovery and the aftermath of a broken leg, and while he has the technical and physical ability to be a player, there is no something missing in his make-up, (character), that leaves his managers frustrated and wanting more that he is unable to deliver. These players are unable to form bonds with the younger players, but are very much NOT part of the senior squad either. They don't seem keen to go and play non-League on loan, (which is really poor in my opinion), and they aren;t good enough to attract offers from other League clubs..

The Core Group is a little strange in that it is largely populated by products of the Academy. Mauro, EJ, Jack, Amaluzor and EMC,, with Curtis, (who has been at the club for 6 seasons now, also fitting in well there. I've already mentioned that Nicholls and Watson are strange members of this group, and I would have expected both Nelson and Akinde to be included instead, 

It will be interesting to see if Jack's older brother Harry, (currently in the U21 squad), will join the Core Group or another group when I promote him to the Senior squad, (as I am about to do right now).

Harry has joined the "Other Players" section of the hierarchy, but despite me progressing on a few days, he still has not appeared on the Social Groups page. I will keep an eye on this and update you as and when he appears. 

 

Social Groups. Jul 2017.

Harry has been in the Senior Squad for a couple of weeks now and has now been allocated a place in a Social Group. 

As expected he has joined his brother and the other batch of home-produced youngsters in the Core Social Group. 

I would guess that it's quite unusual for the Core Social Group to be dominated by homegrown products of the Academy, but it obviously fits in really well with how I plan on running this save. (No, that's not an accident at all). 

While I know will obviously be able to promote youngsters easily enough and see them join the Core Social Group, I am worried that the likes of Nelson and Big John (Akinde), will never join that group and in effect what I will be doing is creating a division between the youngsters and the senior players in the short term. 

The Secondary Social Group A is not something I am particularly worried about. I think the players in there are just there because they are new arrivals. Ross has signed permanently this season, (although he was previously here on loan so I don't think that's been taken into account), and Brindley, Tarpey and Shaq are all new arrivals in the close-season. 

Of more concern is the Secondary Social Group B. Nelson is obviously a leader, (and skipper), and Big John (Akinde) is highly influential, so at the very least I want to get these two player integrated into the Core Social Group full of our youngsters. 

Clough is a strange one down at the bottom classed as "others". Does he lack the professionalism to join the Secondary Social Group B boys? They have all had Football League careers at a higher level where as he was signed from non-league FGR. 

Nelson - (Res) 
Big John - (F.Sport)
JCR - (F.Det)
JLAA - (F.Pro)

Clough - (F.Loyal)

Interesting........ 

 

[withnail316]

"Nicholls was sent out on loan to Dundee Utd last season, (where I think he won the League Cup)"

Celtic won the treble in Scotland last year, so Dundee United won the equivalent of the horrendous Checkatrade Trophy. 

[kingjericho]

I'm interested in what development you see regarding dynamics. All that info is very neat but I want to see what does it really change in the game.

[Jimbokav1971]

3 minutes ago, kingjericho said:

I'm interested in what development you see regarding dynamics. All that info is very neat but I want to see what does it really change in the game.

It's a good question, and one that although I am unable to answer immediately, could be made quite clear in the not too distant future. Although there might potentially be some playing time for Watson, (unlikely), Nicholls will absolutely not play for me and I will shortly be telling him that, putting him on the Transfer List and if that is not successful then the loan list. Lastly, if I can't get his wage off the books I will attempt to cut my losses and offer him a deal to leave. 

Partly I am doing this because I think he isn't very good and I have better options available, but also because I think he and it will make a pretty good test subject for this sort of thing. 

[Jimbokav1971]

9 minutes ago, withnail316 said:

"Nicholls was sent out on loan to Dundee Utd last season, (where I think he won the League Cup)"

Celtic won the treble in Scotland last year, so Dundee United won the equivalent of the horrendous Checkatrade Trophy. 

Apologies, yeah. I knew Dundee Utd won something and I knew Celtic won the treble. Just didn't know who won what. 

[Jimbokav1971]

The Folly of trusting stars. Jul 2017.

My scouting bloke, (I think it's bloke singular rather than blokes plural at this stage but not entirely sure), suggested some young players to me so I offered them each a 1 week trial. 

Wow!  

They are all going to be brilliant! Who would have thunk it!

No no no no no. No!  NO they aren't all going to be brilliant. In fact I would go so far as to say that absolutely none of them are going to be brilliant. Someone is getting fired, I'm just not sure who. 

Even if I wanted to sign one or all of them, the fans know what I should do. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

The Fab 5 shown the door. Jul 2017.

Apologies. 

I was running a Nightclub in Chester in 1999 and this was the biggest song about then and it was played multiple times per night every night for what seemed like an eternity. No matter how I try I just can't get it out of my mind, even after all these years. I can be working away and next think I am humming or singing this. I thought of it immediately I started to post about the FIVE and as the kind and caring man I am I decided to gift you all this lovely little Earworm. Enjoy.  

I've got lots of guys on trial at the club, but only 5 of them have what I would call 5.0 PA ratings, (although granted, as much as 3.0 points are greyed out). I have nicknamed then all with numbers 1 through 5 and added them all to my shortlist permanently. I will keep an eye on them and update you on their marvellous careers, (or not as the case may be). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Five become Seven. Jul 2017.

Partly because there have now been 7 trialists arrive at the club with 5,0 PA ratings, and partly because I feel sorry for the last Earworm I posted, here is a much much much better one that I'm sure you will enjoy more, (even if you are a youngster). 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

2017 Pre-Season. 

Pre-season is all about the fitness for me, but all the same it was nice that the nly defeat we suffered was at the hands of our U23's. It was also quite pleasing to hammer Dulwich Hamlet @Jupjamie

[Reggiana]

On 10/27/2017 at 16:59, Jimbokav1971 said:

Benjy Aghadiuno, (gotta give him a nickname to get rid of that surname!) made his debut this season in the B-Team Cup at the tender age of 17.

Why you've gone for Benjy rather than some sort of play on Agadoo is beyond me

Really enjoyed your save in Iceland so will be following this with interest.

[Jimbokav1971]

12 minutes ago, Reggiana said:

Why you've gone for Benjy rather than some sort of play on Agadoo is beyond me

Really enjoyed your save in Iceland so will be following this with interest.

 You've got to remember that this is the team I support, so I have some sort of knowledge of even the youngsters. I know of Benjy as..... Benjy, but now you mention it, Agadoo would have been very good.

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2017.

"What do you mean I have to actually play games?" 

"Stop messing about and tell me where the IR button is!"

"Wait for a new skin? Do I look like I want to sit around waiting for a new skin?"

"Teamtalks, substitutions, tactics, actual bloomin decisions! This is getting ridiculous now!". 

"Look, I just pick the team and press a button. They didn't treat me like this in Iceland!"

We gifted FGR fannying about at the back.

It was 1-0 at Millwall until late in the game. 

Luton are a decent team and were just better than us but that was probably our best performance. 

We were 2-0 down at Crewe when I decided I had to change things. 

Stevenage are rubbish. They ares still better than us though. 

No idea what happened against the Spurs kids. I assume they were really rubbish and we were just rubbish. It's not been a fun month. In other news I am unable to access any save that I save to the Cloud from my other laptop. I thought that the way it worked I could access the cloud from any pc anywhere? Meh! 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2017 (behind the scenes).

Although things weren't going well on the pitch, sometimes the actual results can be a little misleading. Unfortunately, this is not one of those cases. 

While the bottom of the League 2 table made for some pretty grim viewing after the 1st month of games, a single win would see us rocket up the table.  

Trialists. 

Of the 5 trialists who "moved on up", who then turned into the Magnificent 7 and then I never told you this but they actually became 9, only 1 of them has been signed by a club. 

1 has been signed by Hapoel Rishon Lezion in Israel, (he is Israeli by the way), where he is getting paid £275 per week and is valued at £4k.

Social Groups.

As expected, the players are migrating to either Core Social Group or Secondary Social Group A. I would expect Secondary Social Groups A and B to merge at some point, but maybe not for a while. We've just got Blackman ostracised from all Groups at the moment. 

The players hate me, (but no more so than they hated me a month ago).

The same 9 senior players are still opposed to me. Until I can get us winning in the league, this is unlikely to change. 
 

[Jimbokav1971]

You are unemployed. 

I have been unable to transfer my game between my old laptop and my new one and, added to the fact that I want to start with no badges and a Sunday League history, with more leagues loaded, I have decided to jump ship before I was pushed. I had completely lost the dressing room, we were playing awful football, (or not playing at all would be a more accurate description), and in hindsight, (a lesson that I should have learned from the debacle that was Regensburg), it's hard to play Youth Only with a team that is going to struggle even if you could buy players. 

So.... I have re-created the game with England, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and.... I'm not sure where else, loaded to the lowest leagues possible and I have gone on holiday. I will be applying for all bottom level clubs in all Countries loaded. 

I will take the 1st one I get offered, (assuming I get offered a job), however when I am interviewed I am obviously going to tell them in great detail how I plan on not buying many players and simply utilising their rubbish academy. 

In the 1st job, (wherever it is), I will sign absolutely no players for the 1st year and then we will see how it goes after that. If I am doing well enough, (the definition of which is not being sacked), then that's great, but if I keep getting the sack, (FM18 seems a step up from FM17), then I will have to review things. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Osnabruck are in the German 3rd Division and are looking for a Manager. (I think they actually start without a Manager). I have kindly offered my services, (yes, yes I do remember vividly what happened the last time I managed in Germany), however after not even shortlisting me, (how rude but so so cool!), they think that Mr Stefan Boger will do a better job than me and didn't even bother to interview me. They seem to have made a decent decision though as Herr Boger has started off quite well, going unbeaten in his first 5 games in charge before losing 2-0 to German giants Bayern in the Cup. He earned 4 Caps for Germany during his playing career, so it's no real surprise that he was just slightly ahead of me. Oh, and he also speaks German, (obviously).

Robbie Fowler has mixed media duties and betting on horses with a role as Liverpool U18's Coach, however he has been tempted to step up to the main job by Gillingham Chariman Paul Scally. They also seem to have started without a Manager which is right actually as Peter Taylor was sacked a couple of weeks ago. Robbie will I'm sure be backing himself and hos team to be successful in League 1.

PS.Tavalla, (never heard of them), have sacked 36yo David Luiz as Manager. It seems pretty heartless to me as he played for them for 10 seasons before making the step up to management. Tavalla play in the Spanish 2nd Division B2, (which I actually know about because 2 ex Barnet players, (Luisma and Dani Lopez), play for Arenas in the same league. (Full name is Arenas club de Getxo or something like that). Let's hope that this surprising bit of local knowledge, (I don't have anything else), impresses them at the interview. Yes, they have given me an interview and yes of course they are struggling in the league. (A.Getxo is Arenas club de Getxo where Luisma and Lopez currently ply their trade by the way). 

Their vision? I thought this was all about me? Who cares what they want for the club. It's me that will be paying with the sack if it doesn't work out.

Let's just see what the facilities are like before we head in for the interview.

The commute to/from San Francisco might be problematic, and the facilities aren't great, but as 1 point from 7 games in charge of Barnet showed me, neither am I. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Tafalla interview. 

They mention the fact that I don't speak Spanish, and that I have never managed before, (oops and oops), but they tell me that they sacked the last Manager because of a poor atmosphere in the dressing room. Well that's no problem for me. My Ass Man does all the talking to players, (I can't speak Spanish remember), so any problems will obviously be of his making and nothing to do with me. This interview is going great! 

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. They mention that they have limited resources and this is my chance to show them the money that I could save and even generate by playing their useless kids instead of their useless expensive Pro's. I can just see their eyes lighting up as I talk....

Meh! Or maybe not. 

Oh hang on. I have another chance to redeem myself here. Their expectation is that I battle bravely against relegation, (which in effect means that they are resigned to going down). But if we go down the club goes into a non-playable league and I am sacked anyway, so I immediately promise them that if appointed I will have absolutely no problem in avoiding automatic relegation.

The job is surely in the bag. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Wigan are 23rd in League 1 and have sacked Paul Cook. 

Reading are 23rd in the Championship and have sacked Jaap Stam.

Tafalla obviously weren't impressed with my interview at all, (idiots), and have instead replaced a Luiz with a Ruiz. The new man joins from FC Andorra which doesn't free up a job for me because they are not playable. 

I would just like to point out that I was unbeaten during September 2017. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2017. 

Sarfend are 23rd in League 1 and have sacked Phil Brown.

Dunkerque are 14th in the French National and have sacked Didier Santini, (no, I've never heard of him either). More importantly, at what level is the French National league and do I have a chance of the job? I think the French National League is the 3rd Tier and we actually have the 4th Tier loaded, but what the hell. I've never managed in France. Let's give it a bash.

Hang on, I don't speak French do I? Well no, not properly, but I think I can blag it. 

"bonjour je suis Jimb. J'aime jouer avec les petits garçons au lieu des hommes".

If I can get an interview, this job is in the bag. 

Luchesse are 15th in Serie C/A and have sacked Giovanni Lopez. I'm not sure I really want to manage in Italy after all those years spent managing San Marino, and I don't even know why I loaded it. I think I may have "forgotten" to apply for this job. We will call it an administrative error that might be repeated again if other Italian jobs come up. 

(Actually, it appears I applied for this job by accident but didn't get an interview). 

Phil Parkinson took the job at Reading. (I would happily be the Reserve Team Manager at Reading. Now there's an advance for you SI. In fact forget the Reserves, give me a Youth Team somewhere and let me earn my chance properly!)

Dunkerque didn't even shortlist me which is just as well because I have serious issues with the way they spell their name. Everyone knows that it's spelt Dunkirk and just because they speak French they went to go all poncey and spell it differently. I didn't want that job anyway. They gave the job to someone called Colbert Marlot. I mean seriously, what sort of name is that!

Munster are 18th in the German 3rd Division and where as initially I thought it was an application for the Irish Provincial Rugby Union team, it was in fact the football team made famous on the boards by @BoxToBox They have sacked Benno Mohlmann, (now that's a name so rubbish that it's actually good).

Modena are in Italy so who cares who they sacked. 

Chris Powell got the job at Wigan. 

Welshman Anthony Wright, (never heard of him), got the job at Sarfend. The 38yo had a less than impressive playing career at such clubs as Oxford, Llanelli, Cwmbran, Port Talbot, Carmarthen, Ammanford and West End. That makes him a pretty rubbish footballer but also quite hard, so don't tell him I said anything. He was the Swansea U18's Ass Man. (See SI, this is the proper route to getting a job!).

Dusseldorf are 18th in the German 2nd Division and have sacked Friedhelm Funkel. For the love of God that's a real name!  

Derby are 13th in the Championship and have sacked Gary Rowett! Idiots. You would have thought they would have learned from the Brummies doing that!

Stevenage are 22nd in League 2 and have sacked Darren Sarll. What I like here is that Darren Sarll has a particularly poor opinion of me simply because He was the Chanvenage manager and I support Barnet. I'm tempted to take the Stevenage job just to ensure relegation but no, let's not be flippant about this career.  

Port vale are 24th in League 2 and have sacked Neil Aspin.

I would just like to point out that I was unbeaten during October 2017. 

 

 

 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Nov 2017. 

Lyon-Duchere said no.

Hallescher said no. 

Lleida said no. 

Reggiana said no and I didn't even want the job. 

Guijelo, (never heard of them either), said no. 

Linense said no. 

Alto Adige said no and I didn't want the job anyway.

Piacenza said no and I didn't want the job anyway. 

Sanse said no.

Lealtad said no. 

Virtuc Francavilla said no and are Italian so.....

I would like to point out that I was unbeaten in November 2017.