[FM18] Uncle Jimbo's Icelandic Sound Explosion, (featuring other Countries, hopefully, if I get lucky, maybe). (You know, if there is an award for the longest thread title I have a sneaking suspicion that I might just be in with a chance of a nomination).

[Jimbokav1971]

Loyalty. Chelsea. Dec 2036.

Sign on the dotted line. Chelsea. Dec 2036.

The new board, (not sure if I have mentioned that), are an Icelandic led board, (Icelandic Chairman with English Managing Directors and Directors 

I'm positive that the previous board was a fan-based consortium, but I can't remember how I saw that because it's not clear now. 

Chelsea obviously have a rich and deep history of winning trophies, but have recently gone through a really tough time since Abramovich left. I have completely restructured the Chelsea club and started the rebuilding them from the ground up so that they are a profitable self-funding entity. 

Half way through the 2036/37 season we are in the European places and still challenging for a Champions League spot. We are not yet a team capable of winning things, but we have certainly turned a corner and are on the up. Spurs have won the last 3 Premier leagues and 4 of the last 5, but are struggling at the moment as a result of dropping 13 points in league games after playing mid-week European matches. 

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

The Good, The Bad and the Beautiful. Chelsea. Mar 2037.

Well is should really be, The Bad, The Good and the Beautiful, but I'm hoping you will grant me a tad of poetic license after you hear of my trials and tribulations. 

Bad Day. 

It seems like an absolute age ago, (hello, by name is Jimbo and I have a problem), but it was only 13th May when I was last able to save my game. Try as I might, I was unable to play the game and save on 14th May, 15th May or 16th May.,(I am having withdrawal symptoms), due to some sort of conflict between a Windows update and my recently installed Driver for my Nvidia graphic card. Despite help from the boffins at SI Towers, I was unable to fix the problem, (but bloomin hell did I try hard!), and I was just about ready to give up hope of playing my FM18 save again.

Until that is, @Yudiscitraand @barnesy76got chatting and I realised that there was a workaround to my problem that involved using the integrated graphics card rather than the Nvidia graphic card.

Good Times. 

So the save is alive, I'm back, and.... (despite the weather), there is nothing like not being able to play FM when when you want to play FM, to REALLY give you a thirst for playing FM. RIght now I am absolutely chomping at the bit. 

The Beautiful. 

I have just had my 2037 Youth Intake and this bloke is the star of the show. 

I have looked at a lot of intakes and a lot of rubbish intakes and a lot of average intakes and even a few pretty good intakes, but I have NEVER, (I repeat N.E.V.E.R.), seen anything like this. 

Now stop. Yes. Just stop. Go back and look at him again. 

Yes. Forget that he is a 5.0 PA player or even that he is a 2.5 CA player at 15 years old. Just forget all that. Just LOOK at him. Now look at his position. Now look at his age. Now look at his attributes again. Now look at his age again. No. No you can't have him. No, no I didn't use the editor. 

Now stop looking at him . He's mine. He's not yours. I have just made 3 different saves so that even if I lose 2 to corrupt issues then I have a 3rd save, No, you still can't have him. 

Yes. Yes he is only 15. 

See, no editor. 

and finally......

To @Yudiscitraand @barnesy76 for breathing life back into my save again. Thank You. 

Spoiler

 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mad About the Boy. Youth Intake. Chelsea. Mar 2037. 

What's a little interesting here is that the HoYD has claimed notable influence over the 2 best players to come through the intake. (More about them in a minute). They are (F.Pro) and (Res) and the HoYD is (Driven). He is of course Jack Hobbs, current Forest centre-half. 

"Kriss" (37a) WKS (F.Pro) (2037) *.

What a player. WHAT a player. I have just never seen anything like it and I can't stop grinning. I am like that cat that got the cream, a dog with 2 thingies, a.... a.... I don't know what I am other than very very very very happy. 

(37b) Sargent (Res) *.

As if getting a player like that, (above), the 2nd best player would be a stand-out in any other year. Middle of the pitch was an area in which we were struggling too, so to be able to drop these 2 in without a seconds thought is just amazing. Yes this bloke is a little short currently, but with 5,0 PA we won't worry too much about CA. I wonder how I will manage to get them both game-time in the same game though. (I don't really want to start them both but how else can I do it?)

(37c) Parish (Driven).

This guy is even worth a mention and again he plays in the middle. Nowhere near the quality of the other two, but he still has enough potential to make it onto the 1st page when the players are ranked by PA. 

Squad sorted by PA. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Injected. Chelsea. May 2037.

To many of you, the injection of cash won't seem too strange, even if £22.5M is a lot of cash to inject. In the case of Abramovich's Chelsea it seems like small fries, but this is no longer Abramovich's Chelsea. In fact we are a fan-owned club and don't really have a pot to pee in. 

The finances suggest that we are loaded with £73M in the bank, but that's after £117M  came in this month.

We need to get to the stage where we can start making money by selling players from our Academy for a profit, but our 1st Youth Intake are still only 19 years old. We need to get forward a few years so that we can sort out our finances.

[Jimbokav1971]

Progress. Chelsea. May 2037.

We were only tasked with a mid-table finish, so to finish in the European places is a result. In fact, we only missed out the Champions League on goal difference. That will do nicely. 

I took over in Jan 2034, (the highlighted season). The last time we won the league was 2025/26.

Cups were very much a secondary consideration this season.

 

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Love this Golden Generation. Chelsea. Mar 2038. Youth Intake Day.

We've been desperate for defenders, and centre-backs in particular, so to get such a strong group dominated by defenders is great result.

3 centre-backs, a right back and a right wing-back is just what the Dr needed, and if I was being picky I would ask for one of the full-backs to be left-sided, but that's just being greedy. I'm happy. I'm really happy.

"Kriss" (38a) Harvey (Unamb) (2038) *.

He's only 5'9" which is a bit pf a problem for a centre-half,  but while he's never going to be a giant, I hope to get him 6'0"and that won't be a disaster. 

(38b) Lake (Unamb) *.

He's a little taller at 5'10", and again I'm hoping that he will at least get to 6'0".

(38c) Bradley WS (Bal) *.

He's even smaller that the 1st 2 5.0 defenders, but as he's a full-back rather than a centre-half, that's less of an issue. What does concern me however is a whole team full of short players. I don't like that at all. This is the player of the 3 that I actually like most. I like the fact that he is more physical and I also like his attribute balance, (not the same at all as his balance attribute). I wish that his workrate was higher, but such is life.

Now let's have a look back at some of the players who have come through the intake so far in the save. 

(37a) WKS (F.Pro) (2037) *.

He was the best player to come through the intake in 2037 and is developing really nicely. When you consider that he is classed as 3.5 CA with a 4.5 PA rating, the fact that we have 3 players with a 5.0 PA rating in this latest intake is a good sign. I know he's FAR from the finished article as yet, but at the age of just 16 he has already made his Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, England U19 and England U20 debut.

(37b) Sargent (Res) *.

He was initially over--shadowed by (37a), but he soon made an impact in his own right. He creates quite a partnership with (37a) in that he is more attacking.

(36a) James May (F.Pro)(2036)*.

"Captain Slow" as I like to think of him, has been developing reasonably enough even if he doesn't have the raw ability of the 2 previous players. Although he hasn't scored for the Senior Team this season, he scored twice last season and has scored 85 non-competitive goals in is short career so far. 

(35a) Lowe (BER) (Res) *.

I really like this player and he has already become an influential member of the side even if he hasn't quite given me the return of goals I was hoping for. That being said, I have been playing him in his suited role as a DF(s) so I can't really be expecting him to be scoring for fun. Again, while not being exactly prolific, he has already scored 32 Premier League goals and 38 competitive goals in total. A regular starter now despite his lack of CA, he has represented England at U19, U20 and U21 level, despite still only being 18 years old. he may not turn into the World-beater that I was hoping for, but he is doing allright. 

(34a) Matty (F.Amb) (2034) *.

The real star of the show as far as youth products go. He's become a regular in the England U21 side and has already been called up twice for the Senior National side without coming off the bench. He's already made 112 Premier League appearances and 134 appearances in total.

[Deisler26]

 

[hasdgfas]

This is a fantastic read! I always love your threads because of the approach you take every time. It's what I want to end up doing, but I get distracted by buying players(although often they're young players I then develop further).

 

One question: I thought I noticed something on a previous page about you have your Assistant take off a player at halftime with IR. I'm starting to dabble in IR because it gets me through a season so much faster than playing every match, but my assistant will not make substitutions unless someone gets injured. It's pretty frustrating, because often I'd like to get some young players time, but only if we're up by a lot late, and am not sure how to do that. Is that possible?

[Jimbokav1971]

16 hours ago, hasdgfas said:

This is a fantastic read! I always love your threads because of the approach you take every time. It's what I want to end up doing, but I get distracted by buying players(although often they're young players I then develop further).

 

One question: I thought I noticed something on a previous page about you have your Assistant take off a player at halftime with IR. I'm starting to dabble in IR because it gets me through a season so much faster than playing every match, but my assistant will not make substitutions unless someone gets injured. It's pretty frustrating, because often I'd like to get some young players time, but only if we're up by a lot late, and am not sure how to do that. Is that possible?

Thanks for your kind words. 

With regards to use of the IR button, you are right in that it works a little differently. Where as you would normally put a young player on the bench and introduce him in the latter stages of the game, your Ass Man will not do that because the kids on the bench aren't ready and he would prefer to play an tiring but experienced player than a fit but raw youngster. The reality is that you have to completely alter your thinking and instead of starting with the kids on the bench, they need to be in the starting line-up. (I'll just let that think in for a minute....... Yes, of course it's a risk.....).

By starting the young players, instead of bringing them on, (or not bringing them on), the only decision your Ass Man has to make is if he will take the young player off, (which is a relatively simple decision). At the outset is that the players will play the 1st half and then be withdrawn at half-time.

The problem here is that you can't start too many really raw kids at a time because it reduces the quality of the line-up too much and of course your Ass Man can only make 3 subs anyway. What I mean is that I would be unlikely to blood 2 centre-backs at the same time, (if I could help it), or 2 central midfielders, or 2 strikers. By doing so I would reduce the effectiveness of the team too much and we wouldn't be effective. What I might do however is play completely weakened teams when we are playing an away game against a strong opposition in order to be at full strength for the next game where I think we are more likely to gain points. This is easier with more conservative board expectations, but as the club progresses, so the board expectations rise and the number of games that you can "throw" reduces.

We qualified for the Europa League last season and I am hoping to do so again, so with that in mind it reduces the games that you can throw while still achieving the goals.

Edited May 31, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Little by Little. Chelsea. May 2038.

Premier league. 

I know we snuck into the European positions last season, but with us playing in Europe this season and my continued trimming of players who were not HG at club, we fell away a little. I still think that progress has been made. (Long-term progress that is).

FA Cup.

The less said about this the better I think. (No, no I didn't "throw" the Cup). 

Carabao Cup.

This was a little more like it even if we fell at the final hurdle. I want to win things at Chelsea and competitions like this will probably be my 1st chance of a trophy.

Europa League.

We did ok in this seeing as the club is still short of top end quality in depth if not numbers. We eased through the Group stages before sneaking past Nice and all we had to do was win at home against Feyenoord and we would be through but alas no. Our defensive frailties raised their ugly head again.

U23's Premier Division 1.

This was a step in the right direction as we develop the depth of the squad. Remember, we are still sending our better players out on loan if they are not going to play Senior Football here so we are severely limiting our performances at this level. 

Checkatrade Trophy. 

It's a joke of a competition, but I still want to win it. 

U23's International Cup.

I was gutted to lose the Man Utd game if I'm honest. (35b) Jarvis (F.Pro) is only 19 years old and he really excelled given an opportunity at this level. 9 goals in 7 games in the Checkatrade Trophy and 7 goals in 4 games here, (as well as 9 goals in 15 games at U23 league level), suggest that there is reason for optimism. Despite that, he was unable to score at senior level in 6(15) appearances. It's undecided whether he will have another go at U23 level next season or be loaned out, but I am leaning more towards loaning him out and giving someone else a starring role. 

U23's Premier Division Cup.

I'm not 100% sure why we struggled so much in this competition despite doing well at others in the same aged group. It could be a lack of depth taking it's toll as our younger players just ran out of steam. 

U18's Premier Division South.

I've got to admit this was good to see, and makes it 3 league titles on the bounce for us at this level. I really want 0 losses next season though, (not sure how realistic that is), and would love a 100% record at some point.

FA Youth Cup. 

This was largely the (36a) James May (F.Pro)(2036)* show as he scored 11 goals in 8 games to give us our 2nd win in 3 years in this competition.

U18 Premier Division Cup.

It was more of the same for (36a) James May (F.Pro)(2036)*, (except even more so), as he scored 8 goals in 6 games

UEFA Youth League.

This would have made it a clean sweep of 4 U18 Trophies but Barca turned us over. 10 goals in 8 games for (36a) James May (F.Pro)(2036)* showed some sort of serious pedigree, and I will be hoping that he can take his aged-group scoring into the senior squad as the save progresses. The 17 year old has featured for the Senior Team this season and has scored 2 goals in 10(4) appearances making Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup debut. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Took Out a Loan. Chelsea. Jun 2038. 

We currently have 44 players out on loan. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Back Together Again. Chelsea. Jul 2038.

(30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) * was the best player to come through the Stade Rennais academy during my time there. I have cultivated the relationship since leaving and he has just joined me at Chelsea, (ON A FREE). 

Although I gave him some early career game-time, he hasn't had the best of times since I left, although he did score 20 league goals in the 35/36 season.

He did leave Stade Rennais on a high though as they did something I was unable to do and beat PSG to the Ligue 1 title, (and made it a double with the League Cup for good measure). 

He's been a Runner Up on more times than he would like I think, and I'm hoping I can help him with that at club level.

He started brightly at a young age, but now is the time to fill his boots. He's going to score a LOT of goals I think. 

Although I signed him on a free, (), he is immediately worth £71M. I've promised him that I will win silverware this season.  (I was desperate to land him). I've signed him on a 5+3 year contract so..... even if we get relegated, he's going nowhere while I'm at the club. 

[Edit]

If I am paying him £325,000 per week then it means that I am paying him £16.9M per season. 

If I am paying him £16.9M and he stays for 8 seasons then I will have paid him £135.2M........ [gulp]

He has a minimum release fee of £100M that I didn't think much about at the time, but then again I didn't expect him to be worth £71M immediately after signing on a free. 

If he's 22 now, maybe the best course of action is to keep him for 6 or so years and then flog him for £100M? 

Edited June 3, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Reggiana]

17 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I've promised him that I will win silverware this season.

And how does he feel about starting in the Checkatrade Trophy?

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, Reggiana said:

And how does he feel about starting in the Checkatrade Trophy?

The Checkatrade trophy is an abomination, but it's an abomination that I haven't won yet as Chelsea Manager. I won it in 2033/34 while managing Sunderland, but of course they were in League 1 back then so I won it with their Senior Team rather than an U23 Team. 

What I have noticed by the way is that if you play for an U23 side in the Checkatrade Trophy then appearances and goals don't count as competitive games, but if you play for a lower league side;s Senior Squad in the Checkatrade Trophy then they do. That seems wrong to me, 

In any case, you might very well see me target one of the Cups this season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Three Years Later. Chelsea. Dec 2038.

I've been offered a 3 year contract and am happy to accept. 

At the half-way stage of the league season we sit 3rd in the league, and to be honest I am still just going with the flow. We are scoring for fun, (44 goals in 19 games at a rate of 2.3 goals per game), but also conceding a fair few goals, (with 32 goals conceded in the same period at a rate of 1.7 goals per game).

My ambition to win a Cup this season looks unlikely. We have already crashed out of the Carabao Cup and our away form means that unless we keep getting drawn at home or against weaker opposition, we are unlikely to challenge in the FA Cup. We are still in the Checkapants Cup and I have so far resisted then desire to play (30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) * or other Senior players in the Pants Cup. 

Rather than going all out for a Cup, or concentrating on the League, I am going to just continue to go with the flow and see what happens. This whole way of playing means that I shouldn't be reliant on individual results in the short-term, (at least I try not to be), and it is far more about gradual improvement by making good choices and developing individual players and hoping that over time, performances will improve in line with player development to such an extent that we start winning Senior trophies rather than just aged group one's.

[Jimbokav1971]

Disaster. Chelsea. December 2038. 

I have just looked at my finances, (which are looking decent), but there is 1 significant area of concern. 

We are expected to fail Premier League FFP player wage rise regulations for the season 2038/39. 

I'm not really 100% sure how this works and have not seen it before. We are currently spending £2.3M of a £3.8M budget.

We did sign players for £50M, but we sold players to bring in £56M.

Right, these are the FFP rules so let's have a look and work out what I have breached and if there is still time to resolve it. 

• Teams must avoid making a loss of more than £15M in a 3-season period. We have been running at a profit since shortly after I arrived and anyway this would involve me failing the right side of the FPP which is still showing green.
• Teams must also ensure that player wage expenditure does not increase by more than £7M on the previous season unless it is funded by an uplift in revenue. Teams with a player wage expenditure of less than £81M are exempt from this. I'm surprised that a monetary value has been used here rather than a % of our wage spend or wage budget. Ok, so 1st of all how much did we spend on player wages last season. Ok, so we are spending more than £81M per season on wages, (it was £101M last season and as mentioned we are approx at the half-way stage so the £63M wage spend now is likely to be approx £126M by the end of the season. That's not good. 

So the good news is that I know why we are failing, but the bad news is that I'm not sure how to fix it. I don't know the exact figure I need to get under, and also I'm not sure how I can off-set these wages by selling players for a profit. 

Ahhh. 

I've just found a marvelous FFP page on the Finances tab that I have never seen before. 

So we have to avoid making a loss of more than £15 in a 36 month period and we are currently showing a profit of £240M in a 36 month period.

The board expect us to fail FFP wage expenditure regulations because we are projected to spend £1.24M more than we are allowed. 

Ok, this next bit is what I am looking for. 

So it would seem that we are allowed to spend £143M/£2.75M per week on player wages this season, but we are slightly over at £144M/£2.78M per week.

I don't understand the threshold bit on the right, but I think maybe that's what I have left to spend possibly? (Because we are only half way through the league season, we have actually been paying the players for longer). 

What doesn't seem to be taken into account is the fact that I am making huge profits, (projected at £240M for 36 month period at season end). 

Mmmmm. Uplift in revenue doesn't mean profit though, or even an uplift in profit. It means an uplift in income, and as we were in the Europa League last season I would expect our actual revenue to be down. That does make sense even if the rules should be a % of wages rather than a fixed amount and even if it should be profit rather than income that you can use to off-set against it. I'm going to have to look at who I can sell in January to try and get us back under this. 

 

 

[Reggiana]

The wage increase one isn't the end of the world, I've had it before and you just get fined a percentage of the overspend. So provided your overall finances are in decent shape it shouldn't be a problem.

[Jimbokav1971]

Walk idiot walk. Chelsea. Jan 2039. 

So I was looking at the above FFP screen and when I sold a player or loaned them out nothing seemed to have an impact. I was panicking and as a result it took me a few days to realise that this particular page isn't one that is auto-updated as things change fluidly, but I think is just updated once per month. 

I was spending £2.78M per week and when I bought players back from loan that jumped up to £2.95M per week. (The reason I bought players back from loan was to try to sell them and get them off the books rather than only having 50% or whatever of their wages paid while they were away). I was desperate to avoid failing FFM so I was literally doing everything I could to get us under that budget of £2.75M per week.

Players were sold that had been out on loan. 
Players were sold that hadn't been out on loan that I didn't need. 
Players were sold that hadn't been out on loan that I did need. 
At more than 1 point I even considered loaning out one of my best players just to ensure that I passed the FFP. 

When the penny dropped that the figure wasn't changing, (after the jump on the last day of December 2039), I wondered if the info was available on the standard Finances screen. 

It wasn't on the Finances Summary.
It's not going to be on Income.
It wasn't on the Expenditure page.
I wonder if it would be on the "Wages" page? Of course it was. 

What's the problem? I've already fixed it and I'm still panicking and selling players. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

28 minutes ago, Reggiana said:

The wage increase one isn't the end of the world, I've had it before and you just get fined a percentage of the overspend. So provided your overall finances are in decent shape it shouldn't be a problem.

Oh ok. 

I thought any breach was an auto expulsion from Continental competition. That's why it was a big deal. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Lost Generation. Chelsea. Mar 2039.

You see the words, "best players of his generation" and you get all excited, only to be left with a hollow, empty feeling once you actually see the player. 

I've said before that any intake with at least 1x 5.0 PA player is a decent intake, so I shouldn't really moan when I get 2. (39a) Fisher (F.Pro) (2039) * actually looks decent and because we play 3 up front, it should be easy enough to give him game-time. (39b) Sang (Amb) * is more of an issue because we don't play with wingers and I don't see him capable of being re-trained. 

(39a) Fisher (F.Pro) (2039) *.

(39b) Sang (Amb) *.

(38a) Harvey (Unamb) (2038) *.

(37a) WKS (F.Pro) (2037) *.

(36a) James May (F.Pro)(2036)*.

(35a) Lowe (BER) (Res) *.

(34a) Matty (F.Amb) (2034) *.

(33a) Bello (Res) (2033) *.

(32a) Sylvère (F.Pro) (3032).

(31a) Berger (Bal) (2031) *.

(30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) *.

(29a) Le Mau (F.Pro) (2029) *.

(28a) Raph (F.Pro) (2028).

(27a) Lemoine (Res) (2027) *.

(25a) Bergþór (Unamb) (2025) *.

(24a) Grétar (FSport)(2024) *.

(23a) Frans (Res) (2023) *.

(22a) Ísak Ör (L.H)  (2022) *.

(21a) Breiðdal (Hon) (2021) *.

(20a) Óttarr (F.Pro) (2020) *.

(18a) Kriss Sævar (Bal) (2018).

 

Edited June 7, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

What's all the fuss about? Chelsea. Jun 2039.

I was really quite worried about the consequences of our wage bill increasing by more than £7M, and it wasn't until @Reggianaresponded above that I felt comfortable at all about the situation. I didn't mind paying a fine and I was even prepared to take a points deduction, bit what I didn't want was to be banned from Europe for next season. 

We spent £107,654,751 on player wages last season. So this season I have to make sure that we spend less than £114,654,751 on player wages. 

I personally think this rule is ridiculous and it should be calculated as a % of income, (£7M is approx 7% of £107M so make it a % rather than a monetary value. Am I wrong?

Anyway, we are allowed to spend £3.05M per week (£158M pa) on player wages and so far we are budgeted to spend £2,75M per week (£143M pa). Just so I can work it out easily when the time comes, that means I have approx £15M wage budget still to spend and I think all bonus payments such as goal bonus etc etc are already budgeted for. 

The finance page is telling me that we paid £0.00 in fines last season, (and £0.00 this season too), so either I sneaked back under budget or the over-spend was so small as to make the fine negligible. 

So to recap, it would seem that I was worrying about absolutely nothing. 

Edited June 10, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Walk idiot, walk. Chelsea. Nov 2039.

(30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) * came through the intake at Stade Rennais, but I managed to sign him on a free at Chelsea and continue our burgeoning relationship. He scored 33 Premier League goals in 33(1) Premier League games last season and seems to be doing well for the French National Team with 13 goals in 23 appearances at senior level. 

This season for Chelsea, he has so far scored 12 goals in 11 appearances so it strange in the extreme that Idiot Kaboul continues to leave him out of the French squad. FRA play with 3 strikers and have 5 in the squad, so it seems astonishing that they can't find room for him. 

That being said, Kaboul seems to be doing ok at the moment so perhaps I am being a little harsh. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Lies. Chelsea. Mar 2040.

I'm start to get sick of all these Golden Generations that are actually nothing of the sort. 

Don't get me wrong, as I seem to say every year, any intake with a 5.0 PA player is a good intake. That being said, this is FAR from a golden generation.

"Kriss" (40a) Dom (F.Pro) (2040) *.

A short centre-half is not ideal, but it's better than no centre-half. 

"Kriss" (39a) Fisher (F.Pro) (2039) *.

"Kriss" (38a) Harvey (Unamb) (2038) *.

"Kriss" (37a) WKS (Bal) (2037) *.

"Kriss" (36a) James May (Pro)(2036) *.

"Kriss" (35a) Lowe (BER) (F.Det) *.

"Kriss" (34a) Matty (F.Det) (2034) *.

"Kriss" (33a) Bello (Res) (2033) *.

"Kriss" (32a) Sylvère (F.Pro) (3032).

"Kriss" (31a) Berger (Bal) (2031) *.

"Kriss" (30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) *.

"Kriss" (29a) Le Mau (F.Pro) (2029) *.

"Kriss" (28a) Raph (F.Pro) (2028).

"Kriss" (27a) Lemoine (Res) (2027) *.

"Kriss" (25a) Bergþór (Unamb) (2025) *.

"Kriss" (24a) Grétar (FSport)(2024) *.

"Kriss" (23a) Frans (Res) (2023) *.

"Kriss" (22a) Ísak Ör (L.H)  (2022) *.

"Kriss" (21a) Breiðdal (Hon) (2021) *.

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 minutes ago, Deisler26 said:

 

Well played.  I missed that opportunity. 

Here's a belated effort. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Pay Attention. Chelsea. Apr 2040.

I may have mentioned a while back that some of the squad are getting restless because they want to be winning things, but I am still building and while we are sort of getting to the stage that we should be close to competing for a trophy, we also seem to lack consistency at key moments. I'm putting this down to the large number of youngsters in the squad. 

When I signed (30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) * on a free from my old club Stade Rennais, part of the deal was that he expected to be winning silverware this season. Someone, can't remember who and too lazy to go back and look, (apologies), commented at the time something along the lines of "I hope he enjoys playing in the Checkatrade Trophy!" Actually it wasn't even a thought initially, but that comment stuck in my head, (obviously not stuck enough mind), and I came to the decision that if the youngsters/back-ups could get us to the Final, (realistic expectation), then I would play some big boys in there just to make sure we didn't fall at the final hurdle. 

Well things started off going to plan in that we got to the final, (beating just 1 U23 side along the way), but then I forgot to select the match day squad and as of no "big boys" starting wasn't bad enough, my Ass Man, (or whoever is in charge of the U23's), put out a team of really young kids. 

(40f) Andre (Bal) is 15 and has just come through the recent intake. 

(38d) Andy SG (F.Det) is 17, but he's actually decent so no real complaints there. 

Liam Guy (F.Det) is a back-up who is just used to flesh out the U23 side for just this sort of game. He got injured and that probably cost us the game if I'm honest. 

(38b) Lake (Driven) * is a 17yo 5'10" centre-half who I am re-training to play WBL. In hindsight I should have given instructions that he isn't allowed to play centre-half, but what's done is done. (Do those instructions work for the aged-group teams too????)

(34n) Ayling. (IRL) (Unamb) is 21 years old and just isn't good enough. Even for U23 level. He needs to go. HUGE mistake him playing in this game. 

Uzo (NIG) (Res) HG was at the club when I arrived and is 28 now. He is really used as a Tutor and to flesh out the U23 squad. I don't mind that he played in this game. He is good enough.

(37c) Parish (Driven) is 18 and has a few Premier League appearances to his name this season so no complaints at all with him playing here. 

(37g) Pearson (ISL) (Honest) is a 19 year Icelandic player who is not good enough for anything really and has only been kept because he is Icelandic. It was a mistake allowing him to play in this game. 

(35b) Jarvis (Res) is 21 years old and should be perfect for this sort of game. Although he is 2.0 CA with 3.0 PA, he has played and scored in the Premier League for me, but at the same time is never going to really make it.

Maguire (SCO) (Bal) was bought to add depth to the squad when I joined 

Nicholls (Res) SELL HG was at the club when I arrived and is 27 now. Another Tutor who has previously played for the 1st Team but who is more suited to U23 level now. Valued at £5.75M, he is plenty good enough for this level. 

 

Gotta pay more attention next season. 

 

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

 

Nine! Chelsea. Feb 2041. 

We have just absolutely destroyed Arsenal in the FA Cup 5th Round. We have been struggling a little with consistency in recent weeks so this was a big surprise to me, even though we are the 2nd best team in England behind Man City. 

Despite that, we are largely being carried by a single player.

4 goals and 3 assists against Arsenal deserves special mention, buy I feel I should also mention that while (30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) * came through my Academy, It was actually at Stade Rennais.

I would love to get a Chelsea player to this level, but especially up front, it's just not happening at the moment. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Whispers. Youth Intake Day. Chelsea. Mar 22041.

"Whisper" is quietly, but this could be a so-called "golden-generation".

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. It's another "golden-generation". 

I love a foreigner, (or at least a 2nd Nationality for those Brexiteers in the thread). 

We have an Irishman, a Ukranian, Kosovan/Albanian, (I'm not sure that it's possible to be Kosovan only, Greek and a lad from Guinea-Bissau. 

There are 2 5.0 PA players in this intake, and one is a central midfielder and the other is a 6'2" centre half. Without looking at either of them yet, that will do me nicely thank you. The 3rd ranked player is a winger, and then we have a GK, a small centre-half and a WBL. These all have at least 3.0 PA stars and a 3.0 CA player would impact on our senior squad in all positions, (other than GK), so these players would improve our squad now if they were at their peak. 

(41a) Brand (Bal) (2041) *.

I hoped he might be related to my Ass Man, (same surname), but no such luck I'm afraid. He might be more "playmaker" than I would like, but let's not cloud things. He looks excellent. He looks so good in fact that I could theoretically see myself starting him in a league game at home against poorer Premier League opposition, (on the basis that he would be hauled off by the Ass Man at HT if course). Normally what would happen is thatwe would introduce him as a late sub once games were already won, but when you are not actually playing games then you have to create a workaround to get a youngster game-time. Starting from the get-go is the only way. Off the ball and positioning need improving, but physicals are decent to start with and should soar.  

(41b) Watkis (F.Loyal) *.

While he looks significantly poorer than the (41a) player, he's a 6'2" centre-half at 16 and he has 14 for jumping. I like his attribute balance and he is likely yo be a big player for us. 

(40a) Dom (F.Pro) (2040) *.

(40b) Garner (F.Det).

(39a) Fisher (F.Pro) (2039) *.

(39b) Sang (Amb) *.

(38a) Harvey (F.Pro) (2038) *.

(38b) Lake (Driven) *.

(38c) Bradley WS (Bal) *.

(38e) Fletcher (F.Det).

(37a) WKS (Bal) (2037) *.

(37b) Sargent (Res) *.

(36a) James May (Pro)(2036) *.

(35a) Lowe (BER) (F.Det) *.

(35b) Jarvis (Res).

(34a) Matty (F.Det) (2034) *.

(33a) Bello (Res) (2033) *.

(32a) Sylvère (F.Pro) (3032).

(31a) Berger (Bal) (2031) *.

(30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) *.

(29a) Le Mau (F.Pro) (2029) *.

(29b) Mo Farhi (ALG)(Driven) *.

(28a) Raph (F.Pro) (2028).

(27a) Lemoine (Res) (2027) *.

(27b) Mercier  (FRA) (Pro) *.

(25a) Bergþór (Unamb) (2025) *.

(24a) Grétar (FSport)(2024) *.

(23a) Frans (Res) (2023) *.

(22a) Ísak Ör (L.H)  (2022) *.

(21a) Breiðdal (Hon) (2021) *.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Loser. Chelsea. Mar 2041. 

Champions League. 

I play what was a slightly weakened team against R.Madrid in the 1st leg. My plan was to keep it tight with a conservative, workmanlike performance, and it back-fired in spectacular fashion as they stuck 5 past us. We beat them in the 2nd leg, but not by nearly enough to put the overall result in question.

Checkatrade Trophy.

We crashed out of this trophy last season when we didn't manage our resources correctly and played too weak a team in what was a significant(ish) game. I still haven't won a trophy at Chelsea and this would seem to be the easiest option. Despite that, we will have to wait still longer. This team there were no excuses of an accidentally weakened team. We were just not good enough on the day with e team that should have been plenty good enough to have seen us into the next round. 

Carabao Cup.

You might notice that the Quarter Final loss in the Checkatrade Trophy was on the 29th January, and the following day we had the Semi-Final of the Carabao Cup on 30th Jan  where we were level at 2-2 after the away 1st leg, but somehow lost 1-0 at home to Watford in a bug shock result. 

FA Youth Cup.

We have won this trophy in 3 out of the last 5 years, but Man Utd were too good for us on this occasion. 

U18's Premier Division Cup Final.

That makes it Runners-Up twice in a row.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Finally. 1st silverware at Chelsea. May 2041.

It isn't the Premier League, but it's the next best domestic trophy. I was seriously targeting the Checkatrade Trophy and the Carabao Cup and I failed to win either of them, so have got to be happy with the FA Cup. 

Premier League.

Man City are on a different level to the other English teams at the moment. They were unbeaten in the opening 45 games of the season which included them winning the Charity Shield, European Super-Cup, Club World Cup and winning the Semi of the Carabao Cup. It was clear from early on that we were going to be a long a LONG way 2nd at best so I chose to play a few more youngsters than might otherwise be the case in a tight title-challenge. All in all I'm happy with the progress. Man City went on to win the Carabao Cup Final, still have the Champions League Final to play, (against Real Madrid). (They obviously won the Champions League too to make it a.... what is a 5-trophy haul called? Quintuple? 

U23 Premier Division. 

The U23 league title suggested that our strength in depth might be improving somewhat, but there is still a gulf in class between a good player at this level and a good player in the Premier League. 

U23 Premier Division Cup. 

We added the U23 Cup to the U23 league.

U23 International Cup.

I would like to say we made a clean-sweep of the U23 trophies, but of course while we won 3, we missed out on the  Checkatrade Trophy thingy, (ie. the one that I actually wanted to win). 

U18 Division 1 South.

That makes it 6 wins in a row in this competition. The biggest danger to us not winning is me promoting too many players to the U23 and Senior squads so that a weakened U18 squad doesn't win it's own league title. (The less said about the previously mentioned U18 Cups the better). 

Edited August 18, 2018 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

It was a very good year. Chelsea. May 2041.

2040/41 English Footballer of the Year. 

2040/41 English Players' Player of the Year. 

2040/41 English Young Players' Young Player of the Year. 

The ultimate aim in this save is for a Home produced player to win the Ballon d'Or, but it remains to be seen how realistic that is with Man City so dominant domestically. 

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Roll with it. Chelsea. Nov 2041.

I think this obviously means that we lose the next game now that I have posted this. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Part of the Furniture. Chelsea. Dec 2041.

The only problem is that I haven't been here for 10 years at all.

I joined Chelsea on 15.01.2034 

The in-game date is 12th Dec 2041.

That;s not 10 hears at all is it. 

 

[Deisler26]

(I've just been listening a lot to One and wanted to fit it in )

[Jimbokav1971]

The Greatest. Chelsea. Dec 2041. 

Anyone who has been following my threads over the years will know that it's been a goal of mine to have a home-grown player develop to the stage that he wins serious accolades. Obviously it's going to be better if he was still playing for my club when he won them, but the goal was simply to produce and develop a player and who he played for was less of an issue. 

In this case, (30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) * came through the academy at Stade Rennes when I was there, (and I developed him there), before I left to join Chelsea and he later joined me on a free. 

Ballon d'Or winner. 

World Footballer of the Year.

World Player of the Year.

French Player of the Year.

(30a) Ray (Pro) (FRA) (2030) *.

[Deisler26]

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Bad Kids. Chelsea. Mar 2042.

What a shocking intake. This is the worst one I've had in ages.  

The best player, (rated by PA remember), is a winger, and in fact 4 of the top 6 players are wingers, (we don't use wingers by the way), and if that wasn't bad enough, they are also pretty rubbish wingers. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Dominating the Young Player of the Month Award. Chelsea. Mar 2042.

(40a) Dom (F.Pro) (2040) * is a 17yo centre-half who has made 14 senior appearances this season and is up to 17 appearances in total now. 

Farges (BEL) (F.Pro) * is a 21yo who was not a product of our Academy but has been a regular starter since we signed him 2.5 seasons ago. 

(38c) Bradley WS (F.Amb) * is a 19 year old RWB wonderkid who has already been called up to the Senior ENG squad although is yet to make an appearance. He has already made 101 senior appearances for the club, (73 in the Premier League). 

[Jimbokav1971]

Buffalo Cup. Chelsea. Mar 2042.

A Carabao is a type of water-buffalo for those of you who didn't know. 

Southampton must have thought they had won it after making it 1-0 after 89 minutes and 39 seconds, but we scored 2 goals so quickly that we didn't even take the game to extra-time. 

 

[erik45]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Buffalo Cup. Chelsea. Mar 2042.

A Carabao is a type of water-buffalo for those of you who didn't know. 

Southampton must have thought they had won it after making it 1-0 after 89 minutes and 39 seconds, but we scored 2 goals so quickly that we didn't even take the game to extra-time. 

 

"With reports of a maximum bonus pot of around £3.5K per player for winning the competition, Chelsea's players have certainly got much to celebrate."

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, erik45 said:

"With reports of a maximum bonus pot of around £3.5K per player for winning the competition, Chelsea's players have certainly got much to celebrate."

You have to remember that we are a fan-owned club now and the days of Abramovich are long gone. 

We only have £11.5M in the bank AND this is only the Carabao Cup. 

Good spot though, 

[Jimbokav1971]

Not so bad. Chelsea. Mar 2042.

Despite describing the best of our last Youth Intake as "rubbish", it would seem that they are "not so bad" after all.

Only 2 of the starting XI in this game were from the 2042 batch, but they both started up front and one of them, 15yo Kosovan (42n) Gezim Zenli (KSV) (Unamb) scored 2 goals ina MOM performance. Every batch doesn't have to be superstars, or even to have even a single superstar. They just need to be able to contribute along the way. 

I'm a firm believer that the reports we get on Youth Intake Day need to be taken with more than a pinch of salt and they are often pretty wide of the mark, (wide of the mark both ways I would add). An example of this is (38e) Fletcher (F.Det) who was the 5th best (by PA remember), to come through the 2038 intake, but the 20yo WBR already has 5 Senior England caps to his name, (and 1 goal). He was meant to be the 5th best player in that intake but is now ranked 2nd (of that intake by PA), and ranked 1st by CA, (again, of that intake). Both are currently classed as wonderkids and both are in the senior England squad.

I know that some of you just pick and choose which players you take from each intake and in this case I think a lot of people wouldn't have kept him because there was a better looking WBR ahead of him. (ranked 3rd). Both are in the England squad now (at 19 and 20 years old), and both have played a LOT of games, (which has obviously allowed them to develop ahead of others previously rated higher. 

Sometimes what you see on day 1 can be misleading. 

(38e) Fletcher (Res).

(38c) Bradley WS (F.Amb) *.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Regulations. Chelsea. May 2042.

I have never failed FFP regulations in terms of making a loss, but last season, (or possibly the season before), I failed Premier League regulations by my wage bill increasing by more than we were allowed.

This spells things out clearly. We were allowed to increase our wage budget to £204M, but we actually rocketed to £209M, This is actually a very small difference and the penalty for this is a fine of a percentage of the amount overspent. Well if we are only overspending by £5M, then even if they fine us at 100% then it's still only a £5M fine so who cares. Don't get me wrong, I would much rather not have to pay a fine and be within our budgets, but......