FM18: Athletic Club (Bilbao) - Los Leones

[Jean0987654321]

Its time for

Season 3

This season was much better than the last. We got an auto CL spot and I was able to refresh the squad once again.

 

Here is my tactic for that season. It is based on Fabio Capello's Roma

And heres the results

Got myself a Wonderkid in that year's intake. Looking like the next Gigi Donnarumma. Could easily replace Kepa when he starts to decline.

And some players

Top goalscorer again. I called him "Bautigol" like Batigol

I'm trying to ease VIllalibre into the team as he had a couple of bad loan stints but he did well off the bench.

Made a successful partnership with Mikel last year and now he has made a successful partnership with Interaspe

Got hurt a bit but did okay.

Didn't do as well as he did last year. Might consider loaning him out to get a bit of his old self back

Did well as a BPD while being paired with Laporte and Nunez/Yeray.

Still the man

Did well in the Trequartista role. He has the attributes tbf

The man had a bad year. Rejected an offer from Liverpool and he wants to leave. Also he's been hurt all year.

Did well stepping in from Kepa.

Still going strong

He had a great year this year.

Rock solid as a DW

 

[bowieinspace]

Hey @Jean0987654321, good effort, sounds like things are on the up there. I’d recommend taking a look at your DM roles. The volante is quite forward thinking and the BWM will close down everything, so that could leave your middle exposed if they start getting drawn out of position. Also if you’re playing The LB as a CWB you’d be best to have your more defensively orientated midfielder on that side, as the CWB won’t defend much. Especially with an IFa on that side too. Right now you’ve got 3 defensive players orientated on the right and none on the left.

I’d at least consider witching the midfielders around, to balance the defence, role wise it’s really down to preference and how you want those DM’s to defend

[Jean0987654321]

9 minutes ago, bowieinspace said:

Hey @Jean0987654321, good effort, sounds like things are on the up there. I’d recommend taking a look at your DM roles. The volante is quite forward thinking and the BWM will close down everything, so that could leave your middle exposed if they start getting drawn out of position. Also if you’re playing The LB as a CWB you’d be best to have your more defensively orientated midfielder on that side, as the CWB won’t defend much. Especially with an IFa on that side too. Right now you’ve got 3 defensive players orientated on the right and none on the left.

I’d at least consider witching the midfielders around, to balance the defence, role wise it’s really down to preference and how you want those DM’s to defend

I use a BWM (s), yes, but I add the PI "Hold Position" so that he doesn't venture forward often. Also, Ander has the PPM "Mark Opponents Tightly" and also helps out the BWM. My FB on the right (Nunez or Yeray) usually asked to sit in and stay back giving Capa the right side to himself. 

 

You're somewhat right on the left but Isma is a great defender who tends to get back quick and WIlliams has a High Work Rate and Teamwork and I set him to Close Down Much More. Overall, the left side isn't as exposed as it should because I put in guys that put in a lot of work defensively on that side.

[OlivierL]

i'm before the pre season start / 6th season and Man utd made an offer for laporte .. 156milj (euro) and that is his release clause..

The first important player that i'm going to lose.. i have Martinez San José Nunez and Yeray but it hurts..

[Jean0987654321]

3 hours ago, Olivierlandman said:

i'm before the pre season start / 6th season and Man utd made an offer for laporte .. 156milj (euro) and that is his release clause..

The first important player that i'm going to lose.. i have Martinez San José Nunez and Yeray but it hurts..

Time to raid your crosstown rivals of their regens. Or buy Javi Martinez or Inigo

[OlivierL]

17 hours ago, Jean0987654321 said:

Time to raid your crosstown rivals of their regens. Or buy Javi Martinez or Inigo

hmm.. i already had +- 200milj on my balance and bought all the good basque regens . Now i have 354 milj on the balance and for what...

[Jean0987654321]

5 hours ago, Olivierlandman said:

hmm.. i already had +- 200milj on my balance and bought all the good basque regens . Now i have 354 milj on the balance and for what...

Is their still any good real players out there you could buy? Maybe Oyazabal?

[OlivierL]

18 hours ago, Jean0987654321 said:

Is their still any good real players out there you could buy? Maybe Oyazabal?

Griezmann for 131milj (he is +- 30 now) and Oyazabal plays for arsenal, they won't sell.

No problem, i promoted a few regens / wonderkids .. lets pray !

[ltdamn]

Challenging club to take on, have just accepted the job in 2025 on my current save. Has anyone ever seen the C team promoted to the Segunda Division B? I don't have a database that has the Third division as a playable league but would prefer to make use of the C team rather than farming out youngsters who I don't have room for to affiliates.

[bowieinspace]

2 hours ago, ltdamn said:

Challenging club to take on, have just accepted the job in 2025 on my current save. Has anyone ever seen the C team promoted to the Segunda Division B? I don't have a database that has the Third division as a playable league but would prefer to make use of the C team rather than farming out youngsters who I don't have room for to affiliates.

I've never seen them promoted personally, but I understand that it can happen

[Jean0987654321]

1 hour ago, bowieinspace said:

I've never seen them promoted personally, but I understand that it can happen

It can happen as long as the B team is in La Liga2. If not, then they can't promote much less be of any use

[moroccan_fan]

On 11/02/2018 at 18:43, bowieinspace said:

Surprised you let Villalibre go, but maybe he’s not developed on your save. He’s one of my best players!

He doesn't develop in my save either, I'm using Jon Bautista quite good upfront scored 26 goals this season not bad

[bowieinspace]

3 hours ago, moroccan_fan said:

He doesn't develop in my save either, I'm using Jon Bautista quite good upfront scored 26 goals this season not bad

Did you start your save after the January database update? I believe Villalibre was downgraded in the update which is fair as he's not doing much in real life

[moroccan_fan]

53 minutes ago, bowieinspace said:

Did you start your save after the January database update? I believe Villalibre was downgraded in the update which is fair as he's not doing much in real life

No before the january update

Season 3 bad news lost Munian to PSG ...

[zlatanera]

@bowieinspace @moroccan_fan I believe he had a variable PA before the January update?

[moroccan_fan]

1 minute ago, zlatanera said:

@bowieinspace @moroccan_fan I believe he had a variable PA before the January update?

Yes

[bowieinspace]

10 minutes ago, moroccan_fan said:

Yes

Yep that's correct, but within that he had the potential to be pretty damn good (as he ended up being on my save - I think I got pretty much the best Villalibre out there). He still has a variable PA on the post Jan update, just downgraded slightly

[Jean0987654321]

Villalibre has done okay for me in my save but Bautigol is just too damn good to be dropped and I also have a wonderkid of a regen waiting in the wings :o

[jackthehack]

I haven't posted on the forum in a while. I'm currently in 2022 with Athletic Club and thought I'd share some of the player progress with you guys. Sadly I've yet to win anything which is rather disappointing after staying this long at the club. A mix of injuries to key players at bad times and poor morale as a result of several players wanting to leave has held us back. With that said we've managed to establish ourselves as a part of the top four. Going into the next season I think we could potentially challenge for the title as some of our exciting youth prospects are taking the step up to first team football.

How last season ended:

We've been disappointing in Europe. Although we've been in the CL the previous two seasons we've failed to go past the group stage. As a result of low coefficent rating we've been drawn against teams that simply have been too good for us to compete against. 

Notable signings i've made are Moreno from Newcastle (£20m), Ander Herrera for free, Odriozola (£25m release clause).

 

Asier Villalibre

After Aduriz retired Villalibre has been key to our team. He's had patches with no goals, but overall he's been one of our most consistent goalscorers along Williams. Delivers the goods despite pretty average attributes.

Javi Martinez

Bought at 18 from Osasouna. Not been able to break through in the first team although he's played a lot in the cups. Doubt he'll stay on next year.

Unai Nunez

Already a great talent at the start of my save. Has developed into a world class centre back, and as a result he' got 9 caps for Spain already.

Inigo Cordoba

He's been surprisingly good for me. He's saved me many times during injury crisis whenever I'm out of options up top.

Sancet 

He's developed into a solid backup player, and should get some game time the coming season.

Alvaro Odriozola

His stats are fantastic overall, but unfortunatly he has too many games where he fails to dominate his half. He went from 17 to 13 pace over night after a 6 week injury some years ago, and has slowly rebuilt his fitness. One of my best players overall though.

Mikel Merino

Hasn't developed much since I signed him, but he was already a top class player when he arrived. Crucial in controlling the midfield.

 

Regens: I've bought some off Osasuna and Real Sociedad. Quite a few are developed by us though.

Carlos Merino

He's already a very good La Liga player and is currently being played on the left a lot as we have few good options there.

Jon Ander Santana

A centre back converted left fullback. Struggled a bit with the tempo last season, but continues to develop and will be a great player in the future.

Alejandro Jimenez

He's gone from back up to rotation now, and will take over for Ander Herrera once his physicals starts dropping.

Eneko Romo

He's already an established first team player. 

Fernandez

I've loaned him out to Villarreal hoping he'll get to play there this season. He's done decent in the second divison for Athletic B team the last two seasons.

Jon Calvo

He was loaned out to Girona last season and had an amazing season bagging 15 goals in La liga. Hoping he will perform for us in the first team this season as well. Great potential.

Jon Royo

He took over for Villalibre as the main man up top at the end of last season. His work rate and bravery aren't ideal, but he's overall game is very good for his age.

[OlivierL]

Season 6 : life after Laporte...

I lost the europa supercup (1-0 against Bayern) and won the 4th super copa in a row against Atletico.

Azpi (leftback) is doing a good job.

Only played a few games this month so i hope to post a full update at the end of this month.

[Dirty_ACE]

What is generally considered to be the best setup for an Athletic save? Which leagues should be loaded for sure? I imagine the Spanish and French leagues in their entirety for certain?

[Jean0987654321]

27 minutes ago, Dirty_ACE said:

What is generally considered to be the best setup for an Athletic save? Which leagues should be loaded for sure? I imagine the Spanish and French leagues in their entirety for certain?

Yep, but I usually opt to load the top european leagues along with their second divisions at least. Everything else is dependent on you and/or the speed of your computer

[Dirty_ACE]

2 minutes ago, Jean0987654321 said:

Yep, but I usually opt to load the top european leagues along with their second divisions at least. Everything else is dependent on you and/or the speed of your computer

Thank you!

[bowieinspace]

20 hours ago, Dirty_ACE said:

Thank you!

Yeah just as much as your PC can handle. I think it helps to have as much loaded in Europe as possible, from memory I think it helps transfer activity and competitiveness of teams long term. Database size needs to be appropriate to the number of leagues/clubs loaded. If you have a large database with very few active leagues, you end up with a quiet transfer market.

I do think it helps to have the main South American nations loaded as well for the other Spanish clubs to make the most of transfers

[Dirty_ACE]

21 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

Yeah just as much as your PC can handle. I think it helps to have as much loaded in Europe as possible, from memory I think it helps transfer activity and competitiveness of teams long term. Database size needs to be appropriate to the number of leagues/clubs loaded. If you have a large database with very few active leagues, you end up with a quiet transfer market.

I do think it helps to have the main South American nations loaded as well for the other Spanish clubs to make the most of transfers

I agree and this is how I typically set up all my games. Usually have every European league (top divisions) and every South American league (top divisions) loaded and then I will select every division for the league that I'm managing in. However, an Athletic save is a bit different wherein it's good to have every division in France loaded as well due to Basque clubs being there. One question though, after loading my game, I noticed that the French National A division is greyed out like I wouldn't be able to select any clubs in there if I were ever wanting to play with them? Is it like this for anyone else?

[OlivierL]

After winning many trophies last season, i'm stuck in my 6th season.. only played one league game in one month.

I'm trying to pick it up where i left it.. but not happening.

 

[moroccan_fan]

Season 3 :

After I lost Muniain to PSG that activated his release clause for 28.5M€, I managed to get him back 6 months later for 30M€

[moroccan_fan]

And I lost another time my best wonderkid striker 4* to Barcelona for 5M€ hope to get him back soon like Muniain ...

Yuri is great as a LB even is his salary is huge 6M€/y and he deserves it, he made a huge difference in my tactic compared to Balenziaga who I sold for 2,5M€

[Jean0987654321]

10 minutes ago, moroccan_fan said:

And I lost another time my best wonderkid striker 4* to Barcelona for 5M€ hope to get him back soon like Muniain ...

Yuri is great as a LB even is his salary is huge 6M€/y and he deserves it, he made a huge difference in my tactic compared to Balenziaga who I sold for 2,5M€

Weirdly enough for me, it was Isma Lopez who performed well and not these two.

[Dirty_ACE]

Hi all,

So in my very early days in managing Athletic and am trying to renew contracts for all my best players in order to give them higher release clauses but whenever I offer a new contract, the player's agent will usually lock the release clause to some stupidly low amount like 28 million when I really want that player to have at least 100 million. How do I change this?

[bowieinspace]

7 minutes ago, Dirty_ACE said:

Hi all,

So in my very early days in managing Athletic and am trying to renew contracts for all my best players in order to give them higher release clauses but whenever I offer a new contract, the player's agent will usually lock the release clause to some stupidly low amount like 28 million when I really want that player to have at least 100 million. How do I change this?

You need to lock the release clause you want in the initial offer you make to them. They'll come back with higher salary demands as a result, but otherwise the agent will just come back with a low release clause they're not willing to negotiate on.

[Dirty_ACE]

4 minutes ago, bowieinspace said:

You need to lock the release clause you want in the initial offer you make to them. They'll come back with higher salary demands as a result, but otherwise the agent will just come back with a low release clause they're not willing to negotiate on.

Do you typically try to lower all the demands from the agent but keep the agent's own fee the same or higher? I'm just trying to figure out how not to overpay and maintain a healthy financial state for the club.

[bowieinspace]

3 hours ago, Dirty_ACE said:

Do you typically try to lower all the demands from the agent but keep the agent's own fee the same or higher? I'm just trying to figure out how not to overpay and maintain a healthy financial state for the club.

Not necessarily, as if you smash a really high, locked release clause in there you can't be too demanding in other areas. I'll generally lock the high release clause (remember the higher you go the more demanding they will be in other areas), put the wage to what I deem to be realistic for the player (may be dropping it a bit or not at all potentially), then I'll leave the other demands as is. They'll usually bump up a load of the extras (signing fee, appearance fees etc), but if you push too hard you may lose the ability to negotiate quite quickly. 

I will sometimes put the agent fee up, but only if the agent is noted to look to get the best deal for themselves...a lot of agents are noted as putting their clients above their own gain, in which case you wouldn't see much benefit from raising the agent fee

Also worth noting that if you qualify for the Champions League, finances are not much of an issue for Athletic...so depends how confident you are 

[Dirty_ACE]

7 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

Not necessarily, as if you smash a really high, locked release clause in there you can't be too demanding in other areas. I'll generally lock the high release clause (remember the higher you go the more demanding they will be in other areas), put the wage to what I deem to be realistic for the player (may be dropping it a bit or not at all potentially), then I'll leave the other demands as is. They'll usually bump up a load of the extras (signing fee, appearance fees etc), but if you push too hard you may lose the ability to negotiate quite quickly. 

I will sometimes put the agent fee up, but only if the agent is noted to look to get the best deal for themselves...a lot of agents are noted as putting their clients above their own gain, in which case you wouldn't see much benefit from raising the agent fee

Also worth noting that if you qualify for the Champions League, finances are not much of an issue for Athletic...so depends how confident you are 

Thank you for the thorough explanation @bowieinspace! Also, my apologies if I'm taking the thread a bit off track with these questions. I'm getting back into FM after not having played since FM12 in which I also had a great Athletic save so I'm just trying to shake off the rust. I remember in FM12 you could lower contracts by simply giving the agent a higher fee but it seems SI have changed this in their later FM games.

Again, thank you for your help!

[bowieinspace]

On 5/8/2018 at 23:39, Dirty_ACE said:

Thank you for the thorough explanation @bowieinspace! Also, my apologies if I'm taking the thread a bit off track with these questions. I'm getting back into FM after not having played since FM12 in which I also had a great Athletic save so I'm just trying to shake off the rust. I remember in FM12 you could lower contracts by simply giving the agent a higher fee but it seems SI have changed this in their later FM games.

Again, thank you for your help!

No worries, important questions!

The agent system is just a bit more detailed now, so it depends on the agent personality. If you get a greedy agent you definitely can lower contracts if you boost their fee.

[OlivierL]

I'm about to stop in the 6th season.. It was a great save with an amazing newgen Santamaria and a lot of important wins / games !

I enjoyed it very much but i want to start something new . I wish u all the best !

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I am thinking of starting a save with Athletic Bilbao as I have never managed them due to their limitations in hiring players but I fancy the challenge, this thread is very popular so can the people who have managed them please give me advice on what players to try bringing in, players to sell etc please.

[Terrixfull]

On 10. 05. 2018. at 01:26, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I am thinking of starting a save with Athletic Bilbao as I have never managed them due to their limitations in hiring players but I fancy the challenge, this thread is very popular so can the people who have managed them please give me advice on what players to try bringing in, players to sell etc please.

My best bet would be to try and bring a quality striker. Kenan Kodro has been banging for me. Keep Inaki Williams and try to develop Iker Munian. In my 2nd season he was Spanish Player of the year with 9 POM's, 20 goals and 13 assists. 

I sold Mikel San Jose and Oscar de Marcos and brought some decent players. One of them being Herrera. Focus on your academy is a must and do your best to put high release clauses on your amazing wonderkids.

[Jean0987654321]

Yeah, you really need a striker in order to replace the soon-retiring Aduriz. I had chosen plenty but the best strikers were me were Villalibre and Jon Bautista. Now, I have a regen that I want to shoehorn into the lineup

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Cheers for the advice guys, just started a save with Southampton but I will give Bilbao a shot soon enough.

[Branst23]

Who do you guys have as your Head Of Youth Development for Bilbao? 

Also who do you think the best HOYD is on the game?

[Ricotero_uy]

I try always to hire the best, but I read that it should have the same preferred tactics as you use, so when the new youth income happens, the players fit your tactic.

[Purple Frog]

On 15/06/2018 at 03:49, Branst23 said:

Who do you guys have as your Head Of Youth Development for Bilbao? 

Also who do you think the best HOYD is on the game?

Eduardo Macia is pretty good, because his preferred formation fits in the traditional 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 used by bilbao, he is a good scout, and he has a good personality.

[Jean0987654321]

14 hours ago, Purple Frog said:

Eduardo Macia is pretty good, because his preferred formation fits in the traditional 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 used by bilbao, he is a good scout, and he has a good personality.

Funny enough. I have him as an assistant now after I let Aispiru go

[Purple Frog]

1 hour ago, Jean0987654321 said:

Funny enough. I have him as an assistant now after I let Aispiru go

I'm currently having a break because random b team players turn out as ineligible.

Does anyone have the same bug?

[bowieinspace]

On 18/06/2018 at 16:17, Purple Frog said:

I'm currently having a break because random b team players turn out as ineligible.

Does anyone have the same bug?

Not a bug that I've seen personally. Can you explain the situation in more detail?

[Purple Frog]

8 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

Not a bug that I've seen personally. Can you explain the situation in more detail?

So since like a couple of weeks ago, any game that I started has random B team players marked as 'ineligible for selection as selected for first team'

This problem isn't limited to my team, but other B teams as well (like Real Sociedad or Barcelona). The B team players in question aren't selected for the first team either, so basically many hot prospects never get game time.

It occurs to me whatever I do. Ive tried loading the original database, deleting skins and so on and so forth.

You never experienced it? I've filed a complaint, but Im worried if this is something limited to my computer, they won't have the means to answer it.

[bowieinspace]

18 hours ago, Purple Frog said:

So since like a couple of weeks ago, any game that I started has random B team players marked as 'ineligible for selection as selected for first team'

This problem isn't limited to my team, but other B teams as well (like Real Sociedad or Barcelona). The B team players in question aren't selected for the first team either, so basically many hot prospects never get game time.

It occurs to me whatever I do. Ive tried loading the original database, deleting skins and so on and so forth.

You never experienced it? I've filed a complaint, but Im worried if this is something limited to my computer, they won't have the means to answer it.

Ok so for the player above, the reason he can't be eligible for the B team is because he has been registered in the 25 man squad list for the first team. To fix, as long as you're within the transfer window, click on the registration tab in the top bar on your first team screen, remove the player in question from the squad registration and you should be all good to go (you may just need to hit continue once for it to take effect).

If you can't see him on the first team registration screen, be sure to check the filters and select show all B team players, as if you've already sent him to the B team you may need to do that.

[Purple Frog]

37 minutes ago, bowieinspace said:

Ok so for the player above, the reason he can't be eligible for the B team is because he has been registered in the 25 man squad list for the first team. To fix, as long as you're within the transfer window, click on the registration tab in the top bar on your first team screen, remove the player in question from the squad registration and you should be all good to go (you may just need to hit continue once for it to take effect).

If you can't see him on the first team registration screen, be sure to check the filters and select show all B team players, as if you've already sent him to the B team you may need to do that.

That's not my team though. . .

I play athletic club,that's real sociedad. The AI seem to have the same problems. Unlike me, they can't solve them.:)

[bowieinspace]

Next year's Athletic save is looking more interesting by the day at the moment, with Yuri about to be announced in real life, Dani Garcia already signed as well. I would imagine there will be a few exits before the season starts too as the squad is a little bloated. Still an outside chance Mikel Merino will come in but seems doubtful at the moment.

Hopefully someone like Gorka Guruzeta will get a bit of a boost to be more of a realistic replacement for Aduriz, as each year the lack of a decent CF option looks worse!