[FM18] The Dynamics of telling you to shove your transfer request up y- a journeyman career

[noikeee]

7 minutes ago, Vaulks4 said:

That intake! 

Speaking of which... this is my lineup against Bournemouth, the penultimate league match (I'd have wanted to do this in the final day, but it's away and I don't wanna ruin morale for the cup final). My homage to the amazing talent for the future at Derby that I will leave behind me.

I'm kinda bummed that we don't have a good leftback and Lewis Lewis is ruining this otherwise stellar lineup. **** name, **** skills. 

[VillaSmith]

Stomping to the title beats squeaking it any day, another brilliant win 

How has Messi done so far? And I think the difference between caretaker and interim is that a caretaker is in charge for a couple games whilst they search for a new manager, whilst an interim is in charge when they wait until the end of the season.

[noikeee]

The kids do alright, just avoiding defeat with a 2-2 draw, Kevin scores on his debut (lots of people make their debuts), Jay becomes the youngest ever PL player...

 

As for Messi @VillaSmith, he was appointed on the 9th of March as caretaker, presumably after this defeat to PSG. Since... it's not been great. But they just beat Man Utd which means they overtake Man Utd for 4th, coming into the last day of the season:

[noikeee]

20 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Leo!  I'm really hoping that his managerial career in your save progresses the way it did in my FM 17 nearly men save...

I don't think he's a real manager, he's an assman. He just wants to mumble unintelligible things behind the manager's ear and then go back to his room to play Playstation and watch Youtube vids of his glory days.

He's a FANTASTIC assman, though! 

[noikeee]

EVERYONE goes to the Euros!

Not exactly surprising for a top club like us, sometimes there's dozens of players called up for internationals, but not sure I've ever seen this many, for so many different nations, called up for a single tournament at once before.

[ManUtd1]

5 minutes ago, noikeee said:

I don't think he's a real manager, he's an assman. He just wants to mumble unintelligible things behind the manager's ear and then go back to his room to play Playstation and watch Youtube vids of his glory days.

He's a FANTASTIC assman, though! 

Wow.  He's insane.  Granted, I don't recall his stats being awful, but he just was terrible...going from the heights of managing Argentina to relegation in Turkey at elsewhere, before bottoming out at Cruz Azul.

[noikeee]

You know what's also on the day of the FA Cup Final? The UEFA Youth League Final, against Bordeaux. The kids beat Schalke 1-0 in the semi-final.... and that was without all the best kids, who were in the senior squad!

[noikeee]

FA Cup final

 

I should've gone to bed tonight but there's time for just one more match. My final match for Derby County. The FA Cup final, the only English trophy I'm missing. We've been here in 2028 and lost to Chelsea. We were here in 2029 and lost to Tottenham. That's not exactly very reassuring when I'm up against another London team: West Ham.
 

 

Nikola Zikic is still suspended after his red card against Man Utd (a 4 match suspension!!!), so in comes Ömer Özdemir; and Óscar Navarro is only just barely fit, so stays on the bench with Simon Hopkins starting this time. Other than that, it's the good old strongest 11.





 

Minute 2: It's a cross from the left by Warre Maes....

 

... tapped in a by a lightning-quick Simon Hopkins! GOAL FOR DERBY! 1-0!!! We've barely had time to breathe after the initial kickoff!!

 

 

Minute 7: Özdemir plays a through ball....

... Hopkins clear again! Shoots again!! GOAL!!! But oh no it's offside. He was well clear, good decision.

Minute 24: It's a cross from deep by Vander! Meets the head of Hopkins in the keeper's area!! 

Saved!!!

But it's a penalty! Ogden had pushed Hopkins!!!!
 

 

It's gonna be Jakob Christensen to shoot...

GOAL FOR DERBY!! 2-0!! Straight into the top corner!!!

Minute 45: It's a cross from Maes....

.... meets the head of Christensen at the far post!! Hits the woodwork and goes out!!!!

Half-time: We've been winning since the very beginning, and it's been a fun open game with lots of chances, more for us, but West Ham has also had some danger. We look much superior, but in the past we've dropped big advantages like this before (I still have nightmares about that FIFA Club World Cup final a few years back). Can we hold on for 45 more minutes?

 

Minute 46: Victor Hugo releases Christensen... 

it's a low cross for Hopkins...

Straight at the keeper! What a miss from the Welsh striker!!!

Minute 48: Maes releases Hopkins....

Hopkins crosses low for Christensen....

GOAL FOR DERBY!! 3-0!! It's the exact same move as 2 minutes earlier, only this time down the left instead of the right, and it's a goal this time! We're cruising towards our 4th trophy this season!!

Minute 86: It's a side freekick by Victor Hugo....

.... finds Jorge Carril at the far post! Wide! Could've been the 4th for Derby!




































 

Full time: DERBY FINALLY WIN THE FA CUP!!!

 

 

 

I'm happy - this is a great way to finish my 9 years with the club, by picking up the remaining English trophy we hadn't won! I only regret not winning a 2nd Champions League, or the FIFA Club World Cup, but I think it's a great time to move. And I seem to have reached "club legend" at last, too:

[noikeee]

Oh and just to finish tonight on a downer, the Class of 32 are a bunch of ****ing chokers.

Ffs.  Would've been an even more perfect final day at the club. Oh well.

 

(edit: perhaps this was my fault. all the top Class of 32 players were still in the senior squad, I only made them "available for the U18 squad". However it seems this wasn't enough and the U18 manager didn't pick them)

[ManUtd1]

What a result! Nicely done!

And hints as to the next step?

[noikeee]

2 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

What a result! Nicely done!

And hints as to the next step?

I'll see about that tomorrow... wasn't super thrilled about the few jobs available, although the 3 of them (Arsenal, Nantes and Espanyol) could all be pretty interesting on their own right... there was a 4th that was very enticing (Real Sociedad) but they hurried up too quickly hiring a manager!

I dunno if I'll take one of those 3 jobs or wait a little more. In a couple weeks there's the managerial merry-go-round post the Euros. Maybe something nice will open up as dominos fall, but I'm afraid it might only affect the very top jobs that I'm not fully interested in.

Mind you, one of those 3 does stand out for me... I'll sleep on the idea.

[VillaSmith]

Great way to end your tenure, congrats!

And what did you expect with an English side getting into a penalty shoot-out? It's part of our national identity to crash out on penalties

[kidthekid]

Wow, Messi's stats are unreal.

[Rikulec]

Fantastic way to wrap it up, grabbing the missing trophy and finally becoming a legend.

[noikeee]

22 hours ago, VillaSmith said:

Great way to end your tenure, congrats!

And what did you expect with an English side getting into a penalty shoot-out? It's part of our national identity to crash out on penalties

Good point. 

17 hours ago, kidthekid said:

Wow, Messi's stats are unreal.

Said no one ever.  

14 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Fantastic way to wrap it up, grabbing the missing trophy and finally becoming a legend.

Cheers!

[noikeee]

May 2032

3 dead rubbers and a FA Cup win. We finish the PL season with 93 points which is the highest I've achieved, and I leave the club on another pretty tasty sequence of 15 matches undefeated.

 

[withnail316]

Outstanding work. Still couldn't leave those youth players behind, but looking forward to seeing where you end up.

[noikeee]

Derby - 2031/2032 - Season review

It's a vintage season for me to leave Derby as we clean out all 4 English trophies, including the FA Cup which escaped me. However, we get knocked out of the Champions League early on by Benfica, which was the season's only but considerable disappointment.

Statistics, best 11, and top 5 players of the season

 
Giving the kids that match against Bournemouth greatly inflated these screenshots! With them, we fielded a completely bonkers total of 37 players this season!

5. Jakob Christensen (ST) - A good but not great first season for the club. The Danish striker bagged in 19 goals and 9 assists but I was expecting more consistency as he seemed to be a serial misser of chances at times.

4. Simon Hopkins (ST, AML) - With the promotion of Christensen to the first 11 for the hardest matches, it was Hopkins that got relegated to the 2nd 11 (originally it was meant to be Navarro but Navarro started the season on epic form), but quite frankly he outperformed Christensen with a superb 24 goals and 12 assists. Often played against easier opposition though...

3. Warre Maes (ML) - Losing a inch of pace already as he ages (and gets injured from time to time), and at some stage I was using Andrew Crerand ahead of him - and Crerand would get better goal/assists numbers (12/15) than Maes (7/14) overall. However Maes was just sensational at times, getting the team's highest average rating from all regular players.

2. Victor Hugo (MR, MC, ST) - The ultimate big game player? Playing usually on a deep role such as IW/S certainly doesn't help his goal/assist numbers: a total of 12 goals and 13 assists. However he has an incredible tendency to show up big when needed with goals in finals and decisive matches. Utterly amazing individual talent, too.

1. Óscar Navarro (ST) - As the season went on he lost a little steam, but the Colombian star was back to his best - after a lesser season last year - with wonderful performances in both Premiership and Champions League, to finish as our top scorer with 26 goals and 9 assists, plus a pretty damn solid 7.62 ratings.

Major youth prospects

It's getting harder and harder to only pick 3 players.

Liam Lyttle YP28A (20, ENG) (AMR, MR, ML, AML) - I'm really sorry that I just couldn't give him games with the likes of Victor Hugo, Fratucello and now Glen ahead of him, I tried to loan him out but nobody would get him. Great prospect out on the wing, the strongest under 21 youth player at the moment.

Ryan Garner YP29A (19, ENG) (MC, AMC, ST) - Coming quite good and looked strong on loan to Hull. I dunno what would I've done with him as I use midfielders more defensive minded, and I think he wouldn't have fit neither position on the wing nor upfront in my system.

Alan Gardner YP31A (17, ENG) (DM, MC) - The "god of DMs" was the greatest prospect before the Class of 32 and still looks very likely to become an England international in the future, as I've started giving him games, and he's developing well on schedule.
 

Career progress table

[noikeee]

Derby, England - 23rd of May, 2032

I'm gone.

And here's a quick balance of my 9 seasons at Derby County.

Achievements:

• 1 Champions League
• 1 Europa League
• 2 UEFA Supercups
• 3 Premier Leagues
• 1 FA Cup
• 3 League Cups (all consecutive)
• 1 Community Shield
• 1 promotion to the Premiership

Close calls - things not won by small margins:

• Lost 2 Premier Leagues on goal difference/goals scored (notably, that one with a last day 92nd minute Man City goal giving Man Utd the title on goals scored)
• Lost 1 FIFA Club World Cup final on extra-time
• Knocked out once in the Champions League semi-finals
• Lost 2 FA Cup finals
• Lost 1 League Cup final
• Lost 1 Community Shield
• Lost the Championship title by 4 points in my first season (but still got promoted)
• No Ballon d'Or for any of my players but Simon Hopkins came 3rd once
• Derby County finishes as the 6th biggest club in the world in reputation - just short of the top. Also 3rd in UEFA rankings.
   

Top players

Mason Bennett

 

Now retired, this Derby youth product was the superstar of my first two years at the club. He'd just been out on loan when I arrived, but I made him a first team player and he'd score an absurd amount of goals both in the year we got promoted to the Premiership, and then our 1st year in the Premiership. The arrival of Erwin Spruit then made him immediately obsolete and I sold him, to the fans' shock.
 

Erwin Spruit

 

The Dutch striker was perhaps our first true superstar, and his first two seasons at the club were sensational, as we moved from Premiership midtable to a club that could fight for the title. This season I sold him to West Ham as he entered his 30s.
 

Diego Fratucello

 

The only player in this list that could not play as a striker, Diego proved a super signing that has lasted us for many years, and peaked at the amazing 2027/2028 season in which we won the Champions League - he would score both goals in the final against Juventus.
 

Óscar Navarro

 

A ridiculously cheap signing that would mark the last 4 years at the club, being routinely our top scorer.
 

Simon Hopkins

 

We paid huge money for him, but the Welsh striker proved particularly impressive last season, and was the only Derby player that came close to winning the Ballon d'Or under my command (came 3rd once).
 

Victor Hugo

 

The Brazilian was quite possibly the most talented player I ever worked with, and proved to be pretty much the ultimate big game player, always scoring in the big finals despite usually playing on a deeper role on the wing.

Warren Jenas

 

And finally I had to name the guy that has been the best Derby youth product of the last few years (got generated just before I arrived at the club hence no YP tag). Even if he was never a true genuine starter, there's goals in him.

What next?

Well, this is what I'm looking at:

 

... and I'm not thrilled about any of this. I briefly toyed with the idea of taking Nantes, as I find them a likeable club, minor fallen giant as they've won a few French titles, they've got a great youth setup, but I feel it's just too big a step back, they're way off the top in France.

I've decided I'm just going to wait it out for a while and see what happens. I expect some manager movement in the next few weeks as the Euros get played, the Champions League finishes, contracts run out, etc. If nothing that interests me opens up, then I'll just wait a little longer and take a club later mid-season.

[noikeee]

And just 4 days later Derby do stupid ****.

You absolute morons, he was crap at Utd. Sigh.

[noikeee]

European football - 2031/2032

UEFA Champions League

What the ****!!!

We lost to the eventual champions, but I certainly wouldn't have wanted Benfica to become the first club since Mourinho's Porto, 28 years ago, from outside the top 5 leagues to win the CL. Absolutely mental stuff as they knock out my Derby, Liverpool (with 94th, 95th, 96th minute goals), Real Madrid and then Spurs in the final on penalties. A giant shock.
 

England

 

My Derby County completely ***** on the rest of the league as we win it by 10 points. Guardiola-then-Messi's Man City loses a CL spot on the last day with a defeat to Villa. Arsenal are midtable yet again, having absolutely completed their transformation into midtable club. Leicester beats a surprisingly weak Liverpool to 6th place.

Germany

 

The Bundesliga returns to being the 2nd top league, but Schalke are "doing a Bayern" by winning the league by 18 points, as it's their 3rd consecutive title. They're just on a completely different level to anyone else.

France

 

PSG retake the league after being surprised by Monaco last year - Marseille overtakes the Monegasque club to get 2nd this time. Not much of interest going on here to be honest, other than PSG poaching world superstars for fun to build a stupid side.

Italy

 

Italy return to a lesser reputation, but we have a surprise winner as Milan finishes the recent Juve domination by beating them to the title! Atalanta shock with another strong season to 4th place, whilst Roma are a disappointing 9th.

Spain

 

I was keeping an eye from far as midseason it looked like Sevilla was gonna shock everyone to get a title out of nowhere, but at the end Real Madrid and Barcelona just overtook them. Real Sociedad can't quite keep up with the recent strong form and drop to 5th. Málaga reach the Champions League.

Portugal

 

Benfica might've become European champions, but had to sweat to beat Sporting by just 1 point to regain the league.

[noikeee]

Barcelona opened up. I so nearly applied for them - they're that one and only superclub I'd take, as I like them a lot for their playing style, philosophy, etc. At the end decided not to take it for 2 reasons:

- I'm playing a style very removed from their own. It'd feel "off" to manage them that way, and I've spent so many seasons refining this, I don't want to start from scratch again to do tiki-taka.

- Their squad is INSANELY old. Totally unbalanced.

I've waited a few more weeks to see if a "very insecure" job opened up... but it seems like it's going back to just "insecure" again.... perhaps something else will show up after the Euros.

[noikeee]

UEFA Euro 2032 - Scotland and Wales

The Scottish-and-Welsh Euros is a fun one! Albania in the round of 16! Austria in the quarter-finals! Sweden in the semi-finals! And finally, a bonkers final in which the Netherlands went 4 goals up by minute 20, then had to defend a resurgent Spain at the end, but still held on to win their 2nd title, 44 years after the first.

 

Schalke's wonderful French midfielder had a great hand in leading them to a semi-final presence. Great player, great performances.

 

 

A low scoring top scorer. The not-very-Portuguese sounding Kyllian Andre (2nd nationality: French) got 5. He's Leverkusen's star.

----

Obviously, lots and lots of national team jobs opened up at the end of this. Let's see if this means some club managers move on...

[noikeee]

I could take England. I've got the knowledge on the players. I could call up Derby guys.

Do I want the pressure? No. Would I think it'd be boring? Yes. Rejected.

[noikeee]

Milan's manager went off to the German national team. It's a club I've always wanted to manage. It's in the right league, I want to move to Italy or Spain ideally now. They offer me the job.

But they've just won the Serie A. I'd rather build up something. Rejected.

I'm starting to think I'm gonna need to wait for midseason sackings. It's okay, I've got time. I'd rather pick and choose the right club.

[noikeee]

FFS

One of the clubs I most wanted - Betis - suddenly opened up a vacancy. I had been holidaying. I applied... "sorry, the interview process is over".

[noikeee]

Well if nothing better comes up, there's always this.

[oriole01]

2 hours ago, noikeee said:

And just 4 days later Derby do stupid ****.

You absolute morons, he was crap at Utd. Sigh.

The Hannover goalkeeper? What the....

Quote

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Benfica winning must've been pretty annoying but at least you lost to the eventual champions. No shame in that.

[withnail316]

Any chance of Torino? After one "classic" job restoring a former champion, they'd seem a good fit.

[noikeee]

16 hours ago, oriole01 said:

The Hannover goalkeeper? What the....

It's more than a little odd. He got a bit of break thanks to being our U23 manager a few years back, I only noticed this now when checking his career because I didn't remember!

 

8 hours ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

Benfica winning must've been pretty annoying but at least you lost to the eventual champions. No shame in that.

Yeah as I hinted at, usually I'd be relatively happy with losing to the champions. But not them, of all teams in Europe.

8 hours ago, withnail316 said:

Any chance of Torino? After one "classic" job restoring a former champion, they'd seem a good fit.

I managed Torino once, but for some reason didn't particularly bond with the club much. Not ruling it out completely.

But you're close. We're now in December and I had just applied to this...

... but I'm having 2nd thoughts and I think I'm gonna give it a pass. I've waited for so long, might as well wait a little longer for the right club. Udinese still aren't it - they're just a little below the profile of club I want, and most importantly, this is their current situation. I want to build up a club, but going straight into a relegation battle is surely a bit much of a step down for a guy that just won 2 Premierships in a row:

By now you guys must be thinking, just what on earth does this guy want and why is he being so absurdly picky. It's true I'm very picky, and I'm particularly looking for a club I like (a completely arbitrary category, but still). And well, the issue I'm having is all the clubs I want, in the leagues I want, are doing fine, so aren't in a rush to hire a manager.

I'm prioritizing Italy and Spain - I've completed (won the league) France in FM15 (Lyon) and FM17 (Monaco), and Germany in FM17 (HSV) so would rather go back one of the other 2 top leagues. But here's the situation. Let's start by Italy and look at that league table.

I've always wanted to manage one of the Milanese clubs but Milan and Inter are 1st and 2nd in the table. Not gonna happen. Juve and Lazio I hate. Roma and Napoli are clubs I'd love to manage, Roma I had a great career with them a few years back, Napoli JUST looked like they were gonna open up earlier on but for whatever reason are stubbornly sticking to their manager. If they remain 6th for much longer it might happen.

The clubs that look most likely to open up with the size I want, aren't teams I fancy much. Fiorentina, don't sympathise with them. Sampdoria, meh, I did FM16 with them and hated it. Genoa, meh. There's Torino but they're doing well. Bologna I like but might be too small of a club. Then there's the likes of Parma or Bari which I fancy but are on the lower leagues at the moment.

Now, over to Spain.

Barcelona as I've mentioned earlier, I quite fancy them but am ruling it out on the basis of my tactical system being an awkward fit, and for their squad being an utter pain to manage as it is at the moment. Real Madrid, Atlético, Sevilla, absolutely not, quite dislike all of them. Valencia are probably my dream destination, they're my favourite Spanish club, but they're not gonna sack their manager whilst fighting for the CL. I'm pissed that I just managed to miss both the Real Sociedad and Betis jobs in the Summer as both would've been a great move, but now they're doing fine. Málaga I also fancy, also doing fine. Athletic could be interesting but after a hard Brexit I think I'd prefer more relaxed transfer rules. Villarreal, Celta, Espanyol, don't fancy them much. And the likes of Zaragoza, and islanders Mallorca and Tenerife, all teams that would excite me, are off the top league.

 

I guess I'm just gonna keep pushing continue. I can take a full year off managing, why not? But I reckon one of the clubs I've underlined, and is neither winning nor stuck in the lower leagues, will still open up midway through this season - I'll take the first one that does. My bet at the moment is I'll end up in Naples...

And there's also an outside chance I might end up in another country. I've said I don't want Germany but there's a particular job there right now, that looks very appealing due to the circumstances. I might still catch that train sooner than the one to Naples...

[noikeee]

Quite a tempting job too opens up. But I think I'm saving the move to build up a big club in a lesser league for later in my career.

[noikeee]

Ballon d'Or 2032

 

This feels like a bit of an odd timing for Dieck to win this, as he's had better seasons and neither Bayern won anything, neither the German team did particularly well at the Euros, but oh well he's a top player no doubt. All 3 strikers in here had been in this podium before.

[Dexter_Morgan]

I'd be tempted by Ajax now tbh, granted the league is poor but it's still a massive club

[noikeee]

2 minutes ago, Dexter_Morgan said:

I'd be tempted by Ajax now tbh, granted the league is poor but it's still a massive club

Nope, I let it go.

Gladbach offers me an interview... nope. Atlético offers me one... nope.

Doesn't get any pickier than what I'm doing here.  Even @ManUtd1's characters with their very short shortlist of Nearly Men whored themselves out to clubs more.

[withnail316]

Gladbach? I'd have been all over that. 

[noikeee]

4 minutes ago, withnail316 said:

Gladbach? I'd have been all over that. 

I considered it, but they had just gotten promoted from the division below, and were in deep **** in a relegation battle.

Málaga nearly opened up as their manager nearly moved somewhere else.... nope... now another of the interesting Spanish clubs is insecure, could it be....?

[ManUtd1]

 

1 hour ago, noikeee said:

Nope, I let it go.

Gladbach offers me an interview... nope. Atlético offers me one... nope.

Doesn't get any pickier than what I'm doing here.  Even @ManUtd1's characters with their very short shortlist of Nearly Men whored themselves out to clubs more.

I love that Hakan and Gunner are the proverbial "ladies of the night" in this thought process... Although in fairness Hakan was much sluttier than his son. Genuinely loving it 

[noikeee]

European football - 2032/2033
 

Yes, this is the review of the season already - it ended without me getting a job, as I travel the world and sip cocktails on beaches for the whole year. Thankfully, it looks like something's lined up for 2033/2034 now...
 

UEFA Champions League

It's a return to a familiar but now long gone status quo, with Real Madrid finally winning the Champions League again, 15 years after Zidane had won his second. Spurs lose a final for the 2nd year on a row. Porto make the quarter-finals, **** yeah!
 

England

 

Chelsea are back! After an absence at the top of a few years, they return to beat Man City to the title. Derby under Micheal Esser are absolute **** and had to fight after a terrible start to bounce back to a still disappointing 6th place. Arsenal continue midtable-ness by finishing 10th.

Germany

 

Schalke are only getting ever more dominant - league champions by 21 points!!! With 30 wins from 34 matches. Mental stuff going on here.

Italy

  

Milan retain the title as they now emerge as the strongest team in Italy, beating Juve by 9 points. Napoli miss out on the top 6, beat by Genoa. Fiorentina are a mere 10th, and Sampdoria only 16th. Udinese, after nearly hiring me mid-season, ended up 19th and relegated. Ouch. Sorry for not intervening and saving you, Udinese.

France

 

A continuation of the ever boring status quo, PSG winning the league with a 10 points gap. After an exciting couple of years in midtable, poor Auxerre drop to the Ligue 2 as they finish dead last.

Spain

 

Real Madrid 1st, Barça 2nd. Meh. It's Real Madrid's 4th title in a row, an unusual spell of domination. Real Sociedad return to their recent history of being strong and make it to the Champions League, together with Villarreal. Valencia and Atlético miss out on European slots.
 

Portugal

 

Despite their failure to anything like hold on to their European title, Benfica win the league comfortably by 8 points. The absolute sensation here is Cova da Piedade finishing 6th! They're a tiny, tiny club who's never been on the top level!

[noikeee]

The contract is signed!!!

[ManUtd1]

[noikeee]

Valencia, Spain - 8th of June, 2033

 

I was bored of sipping cocktails all day long. After a couple of weeks travelling from resort to resort, all resorts look the same. The same drunken couple in their 40s, who would misteriously disappear the following day as if they could no longer cope with hangovers. The jaded-yet-attempting-to-sound-friendly hotel staff, who you could easily see past their fake smiles. The creepy guy sitting all day long at the bar, staring at the bikinis at the pool with an intense glare. No, I had to get back at football. Enough pool time and caipirinhas. One year of that was enough. I shall have more time for it after retirement.

So when Valencia called me... no, it would be disengenious to say they called me. In truth, I was so bored of sitting on the outside I called them first, when Fernando Morientes wasn't even gone yet, just vaguely rumoured by the press that his job could be in danger after finishing 7th in the league. They sacked him the next day. I felt bad for poor Fernando. At least Sampdoria hired him right away. For me, it felt as if it was the just reward for waiting on the sidelines for a whole year - it was the exact dream job I had been waiting for. A chance to move closer to the sun, in the Spanish coastal south, just not stuck in the confines of a resort anymore. And the club in Spain I always sympathised the most with. They need me, to bring back the glory years. I need them, it's the kind of challenge that makes me feel a tickle in my tummy. It feels like a marriage made in heaven. Will it prove to be one?
 

 

Valencia is like I like my clubs - glorious in the past but not quite there anymore as it stands, ready to be catapulted back into the very top. Winners of 6 Spanish leagues, the later of which in 2004, and runner-ups in the UEFA Champions League of 2000 and 2001, lately they have been bouncing around the Spanish midtable and barely qualifying for the Champions League, with recent highs of 4th place in 2020, 2029 and 2031. They did, however, win the Copa del Rey in 2021 and 2024, but that's almost 10 years ago, too.

 

Financially, I have been told we are relatively fin..... what the ****, 36 millions in the negative?

The kits aren't news to anyone. Pretty similar to Derby in fact, so I'm familiar with this, and I like the orange highlights/alternate:

Next post, whenever I find the time, will show off the squad. From what I've seen it's surprisingly rather decent! Not sure it's worth much more than 7th place, but there's definitely some potential in here.

[Fer Fuchs Ake]

Interesting choice. Hopefully you fare better than Gary Neville!

[noikeee]

1 minute ago, Fer Fuchs Ake said:

Interesting choice. Hopefully you fare better than Gary Neville!

Holy ****, I completely forgot about Gary Neville.

And I only just noticed, for the first time ever, that the club's badge has got a ****ing bat on it.  How? Why? How the hell have I missed this?

 

[Mike7077]

I think I'm right in saying that the bat is a traditional symbol of the Valencian community (and possibly Catalonia too). Levante have a bat on their badge as well.

[ManUtd1]

Bozidar will be glad to help out, if you find it necessary...

[noikeee]

Squad overview

I'm having a good feeling about this.

Goalkeepers

 

Not our best area. José Luis doesn't fully convince me for a starter, and his backup Llorente has got a transfer lined up.

Fullbacks/wingbacks

 

My old Derby player Saúl Lara is still a beast at the age of 31 (if not recognised as one by my staff), but I think we might need reinforcements in here too.

Centrebacks / sweepers

 

Alright but not super convincing neither.

Midfielders / defensive midfielders / attacking midfielders

 

I remember scouting Coufal a few years back for Derby when he was a promising kid. I think between him, Pinto and Cuesta we should have the midfield pretty sorted. Calvillo is a good player just not a great fit for my system, Felix likewise and overpaid... I'm glad both are about to leave as Calvillo's loan runs out as well as Felix's contract.

Wingers / wide forwards / wide midfielders

 

By FAR the strongest area on this side. This is where almost all the stars are. Nílson Cardoso is the club's most talented player, I'm including in here as winger as I feel he is a very similar kind of player to Victor Hugo who I had for Derby - bit too offensive to play as midfielder in my system, lacks a little finishing to be a striker, so could fit best as IW/S on the right. But there's lots of other talents from Sales gunning for the same position as another of the team's stars, to the impressive Rodrigo Durán on the other wing, to the promising 19 year old Dário.

Strikers

 

A Brazilian-Argentinian Raúl Gonzalez, that's not confusing at all. He's another of our stars, but beyond him this is looking a little thin on depth here. Marcelo is very quick but a bit too one-dimensional. I could well move forward Nílson Cardoso and use his talent upfront instead of the wing.

Conclusions

• Absolutely packed with talented wingers
• A good forward in Raúl González
• We look sorted in midfield as well, might need one more backup but that's it
• I'm not very convinced about defenders and goalkeepers, that might be the priority area at first
• We could do with one more striker if just for backup. I think I saw one strong guy we had out on loan and I could recall, so might not be necessary.

Goals

Surely we need to qualify into a Champions League position this season, I think the talent is there. Challenging the current all-conquering Real Madrid side, who has momentum after a surprise European title, might be a bit too much for this year, we do have a noticeable gap to top teams (the drop in talent compared to Derby is obvious), but on the long term challenging Real will be the goal, yes.

[noikeee]

10 minutes ago, Mike7077 said:

I think I'm right in saying that the bat is a traditional symbol of the Valencian community (and possibly Catalonia too). Levante have a bat on their badge as well.

Interesting! I need to look that up!

2 minutes ago, ManUtd1 said:

Bozidar will be glad to help out, if you find it necessary...

Ha... tbh I don't remember much about your time at Valencia, need to have a re-read one of these days... maybe there could be some good tips to use here. Or... well.. Bozidar tips on life in general.

[deltablue]

That's a potentially great move

[Rikulec]

Interesting, good luck.