FM19 Olympique de Marseille- No Europa League but 3 World Cup winners !!

[nico_france]

Welcome back to the thread of the only French team who almost won Europa League !!

 

 

 

 

History and glory days...

Olympique de Marseille was founded by René Dufaure de Montmirail, a French sports official, in 1892 as an omnisport club. Known as Sporting Club, US Phocéenne and Football Club de Marseille in the first five years after their foundation, the club adopted the name Olympique de Marseille in 1899 in honour of the anniversary of Marseille's founding by Greeks from Phocaea some 25 centuries earlier, with the name Olympique, coming from ancient Olympic Games.

The first period of Olympique de Marseille's domination of the French League started in the early 1970s under Marcel Leclerc's presidency (1965–1972). His ambition allowed Marseille to return to the First division in 1965–66. They went on to win the Coupe de France in 1969 as well as the First division in 1971 with a record of 44 goals by Josip Skoblar, helped by Roger Magnusson. The arrival of Georges Carnus and Bernard Bosquier from Saint-Étienne helped them to win the Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France in 1972. Marseille played in the European Cup in 1971–72 and 1972–73, but were knocked-out by Ajax of Johan Cruyff and Juventus, respectively. However, success was not to last. Marcel Leclerc was forced to leave the club on 19 July 1972. The President was a stubborn man, and he threatened the whole league by threatening to withdraw his professional team from Ligue 1 because the federation refused to accept three foreign players in one team (Leclerc wanted to acquire the Hungarian star Zoltán Varga but he had already the maximum number of two foreigners in his team). But Marseille decided, instead of following Leclerc against the league, to fire him.[4] Then followed an era of crisis, with Marseille only winning a Coupe de France in 1976 and being relegated to the second division, where they played with a bunch of young local players: the Minots who allowed the team to return to First division in 1984. Éric Di Meco was one of them.

On 12 April 1986, Bernard Tapie became president, thanks to Marseille mayor Gaston Defferre, and promptly built the greatest team ever seen in France. His first signings were Karl-Heinz Forster and Alain Giresse, who were bought after the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Tapie signed a large number of highly regarded players over the next few years in his pursuit of the European Cup, such as Jean-Pierre Papin, Chris Waddle, Klaus Allofs, Enzo Francescoli, Abedi Pelé, Didier Deschamps, Basile Boli, Marcel Desailly, Rudi Völler and Eric Cantona as well as appointing high-profile coaches like Franz Beckenbauer, Gérard Gili and Raymond Goethals. Between 1989 and 1992, Olympique de Marseille won four league titles in a row and the French Cup. The highlight of the club's history is winning the new format Champions League in 1993. Basile Boli scored the only goal against Italy's Milan in the final held in Munich's Olympic Stadium. That triumph was the first time ever for a French club and it made Didier Deschamps and Fabien Barthez the youngest captain and goalkeeper, respectively, to capture the title.

This triumph, however, was followed by a decade of decline. In 1994, due to financial irregularities and a match fixing scandal involving then president Bernard Tapie, they suffered enforced relegation to the second division, where Marseille stayed two years before returning to the First division. Moreover, they lost their 1992–93 Division 1 title and the right to play in the UEFA Champions League 1993-94, the 1993 European Super Cup and the 1993 Intercontinental Cup.

Marseille returned to the top flight in 1996 with backing from Adidas's owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus. He chose Rolland Courbis as coach, signed Fabrizio Ravanelli, Laurent Blanc, and Andreas Köpke, and Marseille finished 11th for his return. For the 1998–99 season, the team celebrated their centenary and built a team of stars: Robert Pirès, Florian Maurice, and Christophe Dugarry, culminating in a second-place finish in the French championship, behind Bordeaux and an appearance in the UEFA Cup Final in 1999, losing to Parma. Courbis left the team in November 1999 after a poor start to the season.

The closest Marseille got to another trophy was when they reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2004, impressively beating Dnipro, Internazionale, Liverpool, and Newcastle United along the way. But they were beaten in the final by newly crowned Spanish champions Valencia and once again fans were forced to continue waiting for the next trophy to come along. In 2005, Marseille succeeded in winning the Intertoto Cup, beating the likes of Lazio and Deportivo de La Coruña in doing so, and earning another shot at the UEFA Cup.

The club struggled in the 2011–12 season, going to the bottom of the Ligue 1 table after six matches. Nevertheless, Marseille rebounded, winning 3–0 against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, as well as a 3–0 success over rivals PSG in November of that year. Marseille ended 2011 with a good sequence, also qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the second season running.

In February 2012, Marseille embarked on 13 games without victory, but rallied to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since winning the competition in 1993. Despite an indifferent club form, OM lost to eventual finalists Bayern Munich, and slumped to an overall tenth-place finish in Ligue 1. However, the club retained the Coupe de la Ligue for the third year running, beating Lyon 1–0 in the Final.

In the summer of 2012, Deschamps resigned, and later taking on the France job. Elie Baup took over, leading the club to a surprising second-place finish in the 2012–13 season despite selling multiple key players, including Loïc Rémy, César Azpilicueta and Stéphane Mbia. Marseille returned to the Champions League, spending close to €40 million on the likes of Dimitri Payet, Florian Thauvin and Giannelli Imbula. The club were top of the table at the end of August 2013, but OM proceeded to lose all six games in Europe, suffering the ignominy of becoming the first French team, and the biggest European team to date, to have picked up zero points in a Champions League group stage.

Baup was sacked on 7 December 2013, following the 1–0 defeat to Nantes at Stade Velodrome. He was replaced on an interim basis by Jose Anigo. In Anigo's brief tenure, OM went out of the two cups, and struggled, leading to continued protests and jeers by fans. The club finished sixth in the 2014 season, missing out on an important European competition place for the first time in ten years. Anigo left the club soon after, taking on an ambassadorial/scouting role in North Africa, his first post outside of the city for more than four decades.

 

Modern days...

We had a tough time with Margarita Louis Dreyfus last days at the club...

No money to spend, selling our top players every year, no trophies on our shelves

A new era has come with american new owner Frank Mccourt, who definitely wants to give Marseille a boost in order to be successful again which is the club D.N.A !!

 

 

Stadium

If you take in charge Marseille you will discover the wonderful Stade Velodrome, fully renovated in 2014, you now have a breath taking place of 67.000 fans which are going to help you to win !

It's obviously the biggest stadium available for a French Ligue 1 team so far, but you will have to be good enough to fill all the empty seats that the stadium used to have in the last years...and Marseille fans are really tough to convince so be smart !

Your facilities are also excellent, and will need few improvements

 

 

OM CHAMPIONS PROJECT

 

Marseille just got a new boss Mr Franck McCourt, american bilionnaire, which already came with his ideas and a project "OM CHAMPIONS PROJECT"

The aim for him is to be on the top 3 in the league, which means in France,  Champions League football,

In order to achieve these goals Marseille's boss pumped some significant money last winter bringing back home Payet and some young bolld like Sanson for more than 40M€, which was a huge improvment for the squad

The backroom staff had been improved as well with the likes of Zubizareta joining the club as D.O.F

 

 

 

New boss and new President all together

 

 

 

SEASON 2017/2018

 

Unexpected and cruel, Marseille reached an European Final after an incredible run with some epic games and atmosphere

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1CeuEqvVZA

 

Rivals

As you are a playing a successful club, you'll obviously have plenty of rivals, in the south of France you'll have derbies against AS Monaco and OGCN, but the main thing is Paris Saint Germain !! That's the game you MUST not lose ! You can also add Olympique Lyonnais, rivalry on and off the pitch had been brutal as hell last year, it's may be even more important to beat Lyon than PSG now !

Would you stop our 17 18 games streak without a single victory against PSG in any competitions ??

Would you be able to bring back Champions League football in Marseille instead of watching Lyon on Tv ?

 

 

Kit

Why Marseille ?

Because you will be lucky enough to manage 3 World Cup Winners  !!

Because this team requires a skilled manager to take the club to another level !!

Because your last victory against PSG was in 2011 !!

Because you have to stop PSG dominance and Lyon provocations  !!

Because your stadium is the most beautiful and noisy in Ligue 1 !!

Because the challenge is huge in France as you have top teams around and you're a sleeping giant !!

Because your DNA is to bring back another European Trophy on our shelves !!

 

ALLEZ L'OM

 

[nico_france]

Squad analysis

Last year, Rudi Garcia did the best he could with the lads under hsi management

Marseille board had identified some weaknesses, but unfortunately was not able to fill all the positions needed

In any case, you won't be in charge of a plug and play team, improvements will be more than required in a near future if you want to compete at another level

The good point, most of the players already know each other, and you inherit a good core of players

 

Goalkeepers

 

 MANDANDA

Back from Russia with the most exciting trophy for a professional player !!

The club icon will be your #1 for the upcoming year, he's already 33 y/o so you will need to invest shortly on a replacement

 

 PELE

Spent one of the most important season of his career last year

Perfectly replaced Mandanda while he was injured last season and even made great games during the Europa League campaign

Solid #2 for the spot, runs out of contract in 2020, already 35 y/o

Recommandations: Alban Lafont (Fiorentina) is always a good idea, might be tricky to move him easily

 

 

Defenders

 

Centre Backs

 

RAMI

Back from Russia without playing a single minute but with the gold medal

Still reliable, solid marking attributes and efficient in one on ones, your starter, already 32 y/o which is to consider

DUJE CALETA CAR

Also back from Russia, but with the silver medal

The former RB Salzburg defender is a great addition to the squad, already full international, young and with good passing skills

 

KAMARA

Hottest prospect of the club by far, and one of the hottest prospect in the world for this position

18 y/o CB or DM, be smart enough and patient to guide this lad to the very top !

You will be able to play him a lot from day one, a must keep !!

 

ROLANDO

Injured till November, had been more than useful last year and Marseille's board awarded him a one year contract

32 y/o, a back up at most, you have far better options in the team

 

HUBOCAN

Back from his loan spell in Turkey last year, the 32 y/o Czech is another ageing CB available

Running out of contract in 2019, you know what you will have to do

ABDENNOUR on loan from Valencia for 1 season, no buy out clause

You have to deal with the panic signing that Marseille made last summer

Could not play his best football under Garcia management, he's now a back up option on high wages, it's possible to terminate his loan IG while Marseille's board tried everything possible to get rid of him IRL this summer

 

 

 

Fullbacks

Right side

 SAKAI

The japanese samurai is a superb player, will bomb forward for 90 minutes and provide you consistancy in his performances

He has my preference for the #1 spot

 SARR

Rudi Garcia is a genius !!

This lad was nowhere near a football player anymore when he was playing AMR, now he's becoming a real option for this RB spot

More attacking minded than Sakai, could be more than useful against defending team

Recommandations: You're covered for the first season here, Sakai is non EU, to consider as he's already 28

 

Left side

 AMAVI

#1 for the spot by far

His lack of defensive skills could be an issue, use his qualities like good crossing abilities and pace in order to bomb forward

ROCCHIA

Professional player since last year, he will be your only natural cover for the spot

If you start with transfers disable, using him will be mandatory

Reccomandations: One of the weakest area of the team, exactly like last year, easy to know where you have to spend your money...

 

 

 

Midfielders

 

Defensive

STROOTMAN

What a signing here !

One of the most important buying of the club

Dutch international joining you from As Roma in order to replace Zambo Anguissa off to Fulham

He's a great addition to the squad and his pairing with LG should be lethal !

 

LUIZ GUSTAVO

One of the best player last season !

Always reliable and hardworker, the kind of player every team needs

Your natural vice captain

 

SERTIC

From the moment he joined Marseille, he has been unable to play his best football

Often injured, very limitated, even if he can cover 2 positions, he's on high wages and doesn't deserve a single penny from your board

I can't see anything useful for this lad and Marseille

 

Central

SANSON

Could develop in a brilliant all around midfielder, has everything to shine in your team !!

 

LOPEZ

Born and raised in Marseille, Lopez (21 y/o) is a good offensive option in your midfield and could play with ease higher on the pitch, develop him !!

 

Attacking midfielders

Right side

THAUVIN

Your last World Cup winner !

The best player in the team, will be more than capable to hit double figures from his beloved right wing

His left foot is lethal, use it

Watch out, Florian is your ONLY natural player for this position

 

Left side

 O'CAMPOS

Really surprising last year, he will still offer a lot whenever he plays, but his lack of intelligence on the pitch could be an issue

Helpful with a FB like Amavi in order to track back

Could fill the right flank if needed

Will not be consiedred as a NON EU player in a few months, keep it in mind

RADONJIC

Summer signing from Red Star Belgrade, the full serbian international is a really nice cover on the left flank

Room to improve and versatile, nice addition to the team

 

Central

PAYET

Club captain here

Can be a fantastic #10 for your team

Great set pieces takers

Can win you a game on his own

 

Strikers

MITROGLOU

Arrived on deadline day from Benfica last summer the big greek spent a difficult season in Marseille between injuries and lack of confidence

However he's one of the few striker available in the team

Use his heading abilities to free up some space for his mates

 

GERMAIN

Had a weird season as well, the type of striker that can't grab a goal for months

Different profile than Mitroglou, able to harass opponents but he's not the clinical finisher you might aim for

You will need to rely on his qualities in any case as you don't have anything better

 

 N'JIE

Can cover all the positions upfront, but his lack of intelligence on the pitch is a deadly at this level

The paciest option available for the ST role in the team

Reccomandation: You need to succeed where Marseille board failed IRL this summer, a proper striker able to bang them in is an absolute priority

 

Backroom Staff

You will need to change almost everything here unfortunately

 

Board expectations

 

If you decide to start with the transfer window open

You will get 25M€ available and few for wages

According me the short term priorities are:

- A capable striker !!!!

- A leftback to provide competition to Amavi

-Then it will be opportunities i guess

Bear in mind that you already have the full quota of NON EU players in the team (4) (might be an issue here during the Beta)

I would not recommend to modify these expecations, especially in Ligue 1 as they are already pretty high

To reach Champions League football in France you need to be at least 3rd, PSG is not reachable during the 1st season imo, so you'll have to struggle with Lyon and Monaco for the last 2 available spots, and oce again they both have really strong teams, choose carefully then

 

 

 

[nico_france]

TACTICS

 

These are according me the best tactics that will fit the squad abilities this year

 

I spent more time experiencing the 4-2-3-1 in order to try to replicate Marseille's irl play style now, results are interesting so far but it needs to be tweaked again and i would like Payet to be really great at this #10 role

This tactic is the most suitable to the team imo

 

4-2-4 was my favorite formation last year, but i would like to use it only less than i did, the pairing Mitroglou/Germain will still be efficient

4-3-3 will allow you to use most of your good midfielders, but you will have to play Payet on the wing

[nico_france]

reserved 3

[Jean-Luc]

Excellent. Looking forward to this.

France Football just published a report this week, why the Clasico against PSG has dropped in interest among OM fans.

Ah, there are so many great French teams I'd love to manage this year...

[nico_france]

Thanks @Jean-Luc!!

French football is evolving and that's for sure a good thing !

That will be once again a great game this sunday, but i'm quite realistic on the income

Hope the thread will have the love it needs !

At least some managers will know a little bit more about the last loser of the Europa League campaign

[dothestrand]

Sorry to hijack it and turn the thread into anything France-related but Lyon and a French only squad was always my preferred option. Which teams have good youth setups this year? Rennes and FCSM tended to look best.

[nico_france]

il y a 3 minutes, dothestrand a dit :

Sorry to hijack it and turn the thread into anything France-related but Lyon and a French only squad was always my preferred option. Which teams have good youth setups this year? Rennes and FCSM tended to look best.

Hi,

As usual Lyon, Monaco and have really good youth set up

I guess Rennes might be a good shout, in Ligue 2 Sochaux and Lens should be ok as well

[Jean-Luc]

OGC Nice has an extremely young team this year as well. There were matches the last weeks where only two players in their starting eleven were older than 25.

In general, most French teams should have far above average youth facilities. There's simply almost no French club that does not draw heavily from their Youth academy. In fact, Marseille for a long time was even the odd one out, because compared relatively to all their power and glory, they have alwas struggled a bit on the Youth academy side.

[Jessica Jung]

Such accomplishment for first season

[Jean-Luc]

vor 9 Stunden schrieb Jessica Jung:

Such accomplishment for first season

Very nice.

And even with the full original OM squad.

[nico_france]

Il y a 14 heures, Jessica Jung a dit :

Such accomplishment for first season

Wow, i only managed a draw 0-0

Impressive stuff

[Bigpole]

The priority for the 1st season should be defence, because offence should be enough for 1st season (maybe you need cover on left back, right wing and central midfield).

 

[Jean-Luc]

Well, let's say the "real" OM just shows us FM19 managers how to set up a good and competitive match against PSG. Cracking game so far...

[nico_france]

il y a 51 minutes, Jean-Luc a dit :

Well, let's say the "real" OM just shows us FM19 managers how to set up a good and competitive match against PSG. Cracking game so far...

I might modify my opening post, and talk about 18 games without a single victory 

[nico_france]

il y a une heure, Bigpole a dit :

The priority for the 1st season should be defence, because offence should be enough for 1st season (maybe you need cover on left back, right wing and central midfield).

 

According me, only the Lb position for the defence needs to be covered

Once you'll have a proper #9 this will completely change the face of the squad imo

[Jean-Luc]

Yeah, sorry, the post was written when the score stood still at 0-0. Still, I it was a good fight.

[tacoboy]

I had a great game with Marseille on fm18, was playing it up until last week but just couldn't reach PSG at the top, felt like I had taken them as far as I could. So perfect timing to try again with FM19 now!

The first couple of seasons I played Payet as a false 9 a lot, which I'll try out on my new save too I'm sure, although Mitroglou seems to be more suited to a DLF role on this one so he's gonna be my starting CF in a 4-5-1 for now,

Allez L'OM!

[nico_france]

Le 01/11/2018 à 10:13, tacoboy a dit :

I had a great game with Marseille on fm18, was playing it up until last week but just couldn't reach PSG at the top, felt like I had taken them as far as I could. So perfect timing to try again with FM19 now!

The first couple of seasons I played Payet as a false 9 a lot, which I'll try out on my new save too I'm sure, although Mitroglou seems to be more suited to a DLF role on this one so he's gonna be my starting CF in a 4-5-1 for now,

Allez L'OM!

I just started a proper save today, currently in October, i now play Payet as a 9.5 just behind my lone striker Mitroglou

They're both superbs so far

[ParanoidBuddha]

I won't play a career with the OM but chapeau for this thread  I am thinking to do something similar for Juventus

[nico_france]

Il y a 14 heures, ParanoidBuddha a dit :

I won't play a career with the OM but chapeau for this thread  I am thinking to do something similar for Juventus

Thanks mate !

I used to play with Juventus when you guys were in B back in the days, it was far too easy to reach the top with you, looking forward to see your thread in any case

[nico_france]

Hi guys

For those which are tempted to start over with Marseille one day, let me please introduce you my team for this new season

SEASON 2018/2019

For this save i'm not using any editors stuff and transfer budget is disabled

Active leagues (at least division 3 and above) : FRANCE, ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, NORWAY, HOLLAND, PORTUGAL, BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, LARGE DB, main AFRICAN and NORTH AMERICANS players loaded

 

TACTIC

First of all let's talk about tactics

Wanted to replicate Garcia's 4-2-3-1 with better success than irl  hopefully

As a result here is my main tactic and starting eleven

 

Payet was my SS at the beginning of the save and did a superb job, but January transfer market kicked and you'll see what happened afterwards

This SS role is far more decisive than the Advanced playmaker one, that i experienced during beta

Back to the tactic part, as i don't have a suitable striker for my taste, i needed to make shine the "capable ones"

Like IRL, i wanted to rely on my If's and especially THAUVIN, and that's the reason why i used MITROGLOU uptop to free up space for my pacey guys and it worked as intended, i can't wait to get a decent striker in season 2 to see how we can perform with a reliable #9

LOPEZ as a SS had been great after PAYET departure, really he's developing pretty well

 

TRANSFERS

 

OUTS

Even if you start with no transfer budget available like i did, the board will give something around 8M€ during in Autumn, and then will add funds in January, you'll get more than 20M€ in total

The only main move is the PAYET one, club captain, but on really high wages for Marseille and almost 32, this chinese fee was hard to turn down, so i made the tough decision to sell him even if he was a great performer, anyway LOPEZ did brilliant afterwards

I've been lucky enough to get rid of a lot of deadwood on high wages (Rolando,Njie, Sertic, Hubocan) to be more efficient on my futures moves

Really satisfied by this moves tbh

 

INS

The first 3 names in are obviously already there when you start the save, this "new feature" is a bit surprising at first

Anyway, Marseille is not a sugar daddy's club, so i can highly recommend to hire a whole new scouting department (the one you inherit is awful) and to go for scouting hot prospects and freebies

As a result brought a bunch of really promising youngsters (all sent on loan) and a capable player ready to play like FISCHER, who is an absolute steal for this kind of money tbh

The two loanies DALOT and most of all GUENDOUZI (huge improvements under my management) were important for the rest of my campaign

You can't see him on the screenshot, but DE LIGT is joining us for the upcoming season, despite being followed by all the top teams when i checked his profile in late February, nobody had the brilliant idea to trigger is "ridiculous" realease fee of 27.5M€, this is what i did with my money left, i'm now covered for a decade at the back

We also have 3 capable freebies joining us this summer (Perreira from ManU, Origi and Moreno from Liverpool), they will add the depth i was lacking this year

I now have 44.5M€ to spend for my second season, and my absolute priority is a Striker, if you have any ideas don't hesitate

 

 

COMPETITIONS

 

LIgue 1

My main concern is to get Champions League football next season, so the Ligue 1 was my priority and well...

I can't even say that i really struggle tbh

Can't explain how PSG was so so so lame this season, i drew home (2-2) and away (1-1), Mbappe won't even score 10 goals in Ligue 1 playing 33 games, weird stuff and they made like 13 draws, incredible really

On a side note, Lyon beated me twice, the former Celtic striker Dembélé is ridiculously banging them in the whole season

Can't say much, really surprised to make it the very first year, almost "disappointed" tbh, i guess and hope PSG will be come back in a really different shape next year

 

French Cups

Coupe de la Ligue won't be for us this season, lost in semi

We reached the final of Coupe de France, but lost against PSG after an epic game

Despite being outnumbered, we came back 2-2 and played the whole prolongation in a really sad shape, these 2 lates goals from PSG were really frustrated as i thought we would have make it till the penalties

Anyway, an objective for next year

 

EUROPA LEAGUE

Well, straight forward group, heavily rotate the team and get through easily, 6 wins was a bit surprising tbh

 

Won't even talk about Burnley game, just a formality

But afterwards inheriting Shaktar where my 3-0 win home saved me, and most of all, the 2 Milan's teams was absolutely not a gift, but we made it to the final anyway

Absolutely suprising as the teams there were more Champions League team tbh

And this final against Arsenal was the first one...

that i lost this season...if my team was not this thight i think i would have made it

Like last year IRL Marseille won't have another trophy on its shelves

3 days after this penalty shoot out final and 120 minutes played, i had to face PSG in the Coupe de France, and you already know what happened

So definitely not a good season to play finals

 

TOP PERFORMERS

 

Like IRL, just my #1 player

 

Awarded best Europa League player

 

Won't screen everybody, but ive been lucky enough to get very good performers in all the positions (SANSON, KAMARA...) and even the less expected like Mitroglou

 

Next year i'll be in touch with all the big boys in Champions League, so will be a different challenge but i can't imagine PSG not fighting to get his title back

In Europe, another big surprise coming from Italy, Napoli won the league (90pts) while Juventus is second (89pts) ; Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona are all top of the league

 

 

 

 

[nick1408]

@nico_france care to share the tactic? I’ve been trying to get the pieces right but can’t find a tactic that suits

[nico_france]

Il y a 1 heure, nick1408 a dit :

@nico_france care to share the tactic? I’ve been trying to get the pieces right but can’t find a tactic that suits

Here you go

http://www.mediafire.com/file/sb389pcs1nqzdry/4-2-3-1_OM_FULL.fmf/file

[FlairRA]

Thinking of a Marseille save, how have the youth products been shaping up for you all?

[nico_france]

You don't have a lot of young top prospects like Lyon unfortunately

But two of them (Kamara and Lopez) are developing really nicely,  i'm only one season in btw

[gipsy]

Hi,

I started a game with OM and so far it's quite an enjoyable journey :)

Transfers are disabled and I play 433 or 451

Here are the standings half way through

Won against Monaco 3-1,drew against Lyon and then this :D

 

In UEFA league, the journey was rocky and OM only qualified on the last day still managing to end up 1st in gate group.

Players are actually quite good and Rocchia and Sarr are doing a monstrous job at the back but in front it is not that good and I need to find a decent striker... any recommendations with the 8 M  budget in mind?

[dokera]

34 minutes ago, gipsy said:

Hi,

I started a game with OM and so far it's quite an enjoyable journey :)

Transfers are disabled and I play 433 or 451

Here are the standings half way through

Won against Monaco 3-1,drew against Lyon and then this :D

 

In UEFA league, the journey was rocky and OM only qualified on the last day still managing to end up 1st in gate group.

Players are actually quite good and Rocchia and Sarr are doing a monstrous job at the back but in front it is not that good and I need to find a decent striker... any recommendations with the 8 M  budget in mind?

Splendid result! Please post your tactic.

[Ninza]

Do you leave training to your assistant manager?

[nico_france]

Nice stuff @gipsy!!

Could not manage a single win in S1 against PSG (2 draws in the League), by the way they seem to play far more efficiently in your save than mine where they were nowhere near a top level, hope you will make it till the end of the season

 

@Ninza I leave the main training to my assistant (Bergkamp now) even if sometimes i'm tweaking some schedule, most of all in pre season and after a disappointing result to focus on my weaknesses of the last game

I set personal training myself and tutoring as well, and i'm quite happy with it for the moment, players are improving nicely

Bear in mind that most of your backroom/scout staff is awful, need to change a lot of things to be efficient

[gipsy]

@dokera I am using stock tactics for the moment: I am mainly using 4-3-3 (what the game calls 4-1-4-1), vertical tiki taka with an attacking mentality or 4-2-3-1, tiki taka with a positive mentality. The only tweaks I have done so far is to personalise roles for some of the players.

@nico_france I know, OM impresses me a lot on this game or I am extremely lucky  (I was expecting to be trashed by QSG as always...)Still looking for a good striker for 8M € (why the hell didn't they buy Dembélé IRL....) and about to start the January transfers period; who did you guys buy as a striker?

[PT-KK]

Haland or Arp.

[nico_france]

@gipsy Did not buy a striker myself during the winter window as i did not find an interesting deal, only brought in Lincoln the young brazilian for the future

Otherwise as @PT-KK  suggested Arp seems to be a really good shout, Haland seems immense but as he only joined his new club in January, you won't be able to do anything here

[PT-KK]

@nico_france If you want to spend (a lot) less, check Joveljic. It's enough until you get one of the other two and you can spend the rest of the money in other positions.

There are a few guys that I'd reccomend for other positions as well, such as Markovic for centre back, Trincão, Marin for IF's and Almada for AP.

[nico_france]

Back on track after our first unexpected League title !

SEASON 2019/2020

Well, last year was an incredible one, we did more than expected, really fear PSG for the upcoming season

TACTIC

I'm still using my 4-2-3-1, minor tweaks on the striker role

 

TRANSFERS

 

OUTS

Good piece of business here considering the age of these players

Even if he was voted best GK of the season, this kind of money was difficult to refuse for a team like Marseille at the moment for a 34 y/o MANDANDA on high wages

Surprisingly i could not get the best of LUIZ GUSTAVO, even if i rate him a lot IRL, high wages here as well, already 32, it was a good opportunity

Happy to get these 10M€ from RAMI as well, 33y/o, i have some good and young players here

For all the rest, my "strikers" are all gone hopefully !

Did not intend to sell SAKAI, thought the bid was interesting, SARR was no longer an option

 

INS

You all know the 3 freebies joining us, absolutely surprised by PERREIRA (used him as an IF on the right wing, assisting for fun)

DE LIGT deal was already settled in February, great deal here, performing and developing as expected

KRISTENSEN is the reason why i sold SARR without any problems, young and cheap, reliable lad, i recommend

I had all the difficulties in the world to get a decent GK, RAJKOVIC was always a good shout before but seemed downgraded now, as a result i bring ONANA in, but i'm not really convinced, Lafont won't join me unless i overspend

VARGAS is a superb find from my scout in south america, solid IF on the left wing and relatively cheap , my new starter for the spot

CARDINALE is just a back up HG keeper as Pelé retired

KEAN is the striker i was looking for, still needs to be developed, but according me this price is ridiculous for this talent, you'll see below

Former Monaco right back TOURE weirdly joined that asian club in S1, he's now back to France to be my #1 right back, solid

Another great find from my scouts in Greece, CAMARA has all the attributes to command your midfield, the price is also really interesting for this quality

When i bought MARIN in S1 from Dinamo, i already noticed OLMO and tried to get him, they were asking silly fees, he ended renewing hi contract with that tiny release clause, here is my new SS, absolut quality for this bargain, must sign for any team

AMPADU was brought in to get a 4th central defender, fantastic player, Chelsea won't sell him unfortunately,

SY is another HG keeper on loan, never get a game

MARKOVIC is a young talented  CB, seems to have a huge potential

Tried to sign Fiete ARP all transfer window long, he was finally unsettled during autumn, i agreed a move for next summer and 20M€, i now can say that i have strikers

 

 

COMPETITIONS

 

LIgue 1

The objective for me was to get a back to back title and launch my legacy in Marseille, well

It doesn't work as expected

Lost too many points in extra time

On a side note, beated for the first time PSG  !!(1-0 Home) but lost (3-1 away) Monaco and Lyon were beated home and away, lose important points againt newly promoted Auxerre....

PSG is now back on the top with Wenger as head coach , they're spending BIG (Zyech, Under, Hernandez and so many more for 269M€), Neymar is on fire, another good news, Dybala is joining them for 162M€ in S3 , will be fun

Next year will be really really difficult, PSG has so much money incoming all the time, tough

I've been given a little bit less than 40M€ to spend for the new season, hopefully i have some deadwood ti shift to get more cash in

 

French Cups

Coupe de la Ligue won't be for us this season once again, lost in quarter against Lille, Monaco won it

Once again we reached the final of Coupe de France against the terrible Stade Brestois a Ligue 2 side

And now let me introduce you Moise KEAN

May be the first time since i played FM that i see one of my player banging 7 goals in an official game, beast !!

At least a trophy this year, not the most important but it's better than nothing !

 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Did not expect Roma to be 4th tbh, my only loss was against a solid Ajax

Lucky enough to get this group !

And it's another European spring incoming !

 

Lucky to get Sporting at first, trashed them

When i saw Liverpool coming home, i thought my journey would have ended here, we got the first game home, was leading 4-0 at half time , that's what qualified me

Unlucky for the City game, that i lost 2- 1 home, we missed a penalty away indeed

Satisfied by this run anyway, we were not expected at this level, and this money in the bank is really appreciated !

Sadly, PSG made the doublé, Marseille is no longer the only french team with a CL on its shelves

Wenger had to drop Arsenal in order to get trophies , on a side note he left the club to manage the French National team (i refused the job btw), Niko Kovac is now the new PSG coach

 

In Europe ManCity, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus are all top of the League and Italy won the European Championship

 

This save is becoming even more challenging now, PSG will be a difficult rival on every competition but we keep going !

 

 

[nick1408]

On 04/11/2018 at 18:35, nico_france said:

Here you go

http://www.mediafire.com/file/sb389pcs1nqzdry/4-2-3-1_OM_FULL.fmf/file

You sir are a gem. It suits the side really well. I’ve had a few long term injuries (Sanson for 8 months, Sakai for 2 months) and Mitroglou out of form. Otherwise it is brilliant. 

 

OM is a really good save. Lots of good players although most are on the wrong side of 30 so you can be competitive but you need to replace them soon so it makes a nice challenging save in that respect

[nico_france]

Il y a 2 heures, nick1408 a dit :

You sir are a gem. It suits the side really well. I’ve had a few long term injuries (Sanson for 8 months, Sakai for 2 months) and Mitroglou out of form. Otherwise it is brilliant. 

 

OM is a really good save. Lots of good players although most are on the wrong side of 30 so you can be competitive but you need to replace them soon so it makes a nice challenging save in that respect

You're welcome, glad it's working well for you with this set up as well !

Mitroglou hit double figures in goals and assist in Ligue 1 averaging above 7 all season long, and he qualified me on his own while playing against Inter in Europa League, but he could lack regularity i admit

I've been lucky enough to avoid injury crisis in S1, but i forgot to mention it in my reporting in S2 but Strootman picked up a 6-8 months injury, for knee ligament

[tacoboy]

Nico your Champions League run is very similar to the one I had in S2 when I was playing on fm18! I also beat Liverpool (in the group stage) and ended up playing Man City in the quarters.

The first leg went pretty good.

 

Unfortunately in the 2nd leg it all went a bit wrong and they overturned the 4-1 deficit, winning 4-0 and going through on away goals. Was pretty heartbreaking considering that I would have played Inter in the semis, who I had already beat once in the group stage!

Anyway, onto FM19. Two games in, two easy wins and two clean sheets. Playing with transfers disabled so nothing of note yet, Thuavin injured for a few weeks but Ocompos is stepping up so far.

 

[nico_france]

Definitely big EPL teams are complicated to deal with in this version @tacoboy

[nico_france]

The jouney continues, 3st season done

SEASON 2020/2021

Even if we could not manage another league title last year, another win in Coupe de France almost saved our season, but we need to improve this significantly

This year must be more accomplished

TACTIC

I'm still using my 4-2-3-1, this year i tweaked a liitle bit more my CB's area

 

TRANSFERS

 

OUTS

Good money incoming for second choices

I could never get the best of ORIGI last year, and i nver considered him as a first choice, considering i got him on a free that's  the reason why this money was too good to refuse, i have to pay a good part of his wages indeed

MORENO spent a very solid season with me, unfortunately he's been injured quite a lot in the first part of the season and most of all i had 3 Left backs in the first team at the the beginning of this season, so i could easily sell him to my dear chinese friends for so little money, was a freebie as well

FISCHER had been sent out on loan to Lazio last season where he played average, i'm already covered with a far better option (DANI OLMO) so i'm glad Bournemouth splashes the cash for this player paid less than 5M€

On a side note SANSON had been sent out on a loan to Newcastle with a 29M€ mandatory option to buy

Can't be seen on the screen but STROOTMAN will join Juventus in July for 30M€, the move was already agreed in January, did not play a game after his knee injury, and get another hip injury afterwards, spent the rest of the season in the B team after being sold

 

INS

Surprisingly RAJKOVIC was running out of contract, but i don't rate him much this year, just took it to make business because he was on really low wages, will be loaned and sell, did not have a single game with me

ARP moves was already agreed from last season, i now have two real finishers upfront, has a great potential to be developed !

TORREIRA was not even transfer listed, but barely played for Arsenal, happy to spend so "few" for this quality according me

RAHMAN on a free from Chelsea had been a superb coup, he was not intended to be 1st choice for the spot, but put everybody on the bench, low wages as well, solid signing

BAKAYOKO brought on loan from Chelsea for 30% of his original wages and a buyout clause of less than 18M€, was transfer listed, good HG option for my midfield

GUENDOUZI was brought in just to add depth, barely get a game

MBABU is another really good surprise, Barcelona spent big to get him previously, but was unable to sell him, bargain price here for my new #1 choice at RB, big wages here indeed, but worth it

STERLING (newgen) is a colombian wonderkid, hopefully, midfielder

POLITANO from Sassuolo is also joining me on a free next summer, quality IF, and my only freebie this year

 

COMPETITIONS

 

LIgue 1

The objective this year is to get the trophy back in Marseille

Challenging run ! But we made it !!

A 3 horses race from the start of the season, could not manage a single win against Monaco (loss away and draw home) while i trash them in Coupe de France, beated PSG home and away (in cup)

Really impressed by my defensive records, 18 goals is really few while getting the best attacking records depsite an incredible PSG attacking army (Dybala, Mbappé, Cavani, Neymar, Zivkovic, Under, Pavon...)

On my side VARGAS and DANI OLMO were brilliant, the whole team averaging above 7

As always, got this "FM" loss against Nimes away, who were #20 at the time...

In and out was a pretty exciting season and i'm quite happy that i have serious contenders to compete with

PSG buying madness is still there, just bought Arthur from Barca for the upcoming season

French Cups

Coupe de la Ligue is definitely not our competition, no final in 3 seasons, my journey stopped  against Reims in semi's, which had a spanish tycoon takeover and now can spend more than expected on the transfer market

On the other hand Coupe de France is definitely our favorite competition, after beating PSG away 1-0 with an injury time goal, and trashed 3-0 Monaco home, we now can face Strasbourg to make our first doublé !

Well

It was really really close from a huge disappointment

Despite TONALI madness being sent off at the 19th minute we managed to grab this title at the very last minute of the extra time, would have lost on pens otherwsie like usual this year

First doublé on our shelves !

 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

What a shi**y run !!

Absolutely disappointing,

2 awfuls draws against SLB and Brugge (the most incredible one)

Being trashed 8-1 (!!!!) at City with 2 players sent off

We'll see an european spring, but with the kids this time...

Hope we'll get someting good in the end

But it's unacceptable to fail in the group stage, my objective next season for sure

 

Europa League

I m'quite happy to discover that i'm not alone in Europa League, ManU, Tottenham, Real Madrid, Milan and Barcelona are aslo there

Well

The french side Toulouse was just a warm up for my B team
Then, we obviously had to face the Spanish champion Madrid, as usual in big games, we missed our classical pen away

End of the story in Europe

What an horrendous run

I know where i have to improve next season

 

In Europe ManCity, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus are again all top of the League for a back to back title, total dominance for EPL teams in Europe as Liverpool won the Champions League as well

Hopefully next season we will be able to get our first back to back league title, and we really need to do something in Europe !!

 

 

[lblanc]

How was Rajkovic still at Maccabi?

Bayern snapped him up in my save within a day

[nico_france]

@lblanc Will post a screen when possible, but in my save, he's nowhere near the keeper i used to know in FM18 if i remember well, may be has random potential now

[jckstevens]

Hello chaps,

Having a pop with Marseille this year. They've got a great starting squad

albeit a bit light on young talent. Here are my transfers, I've tried to keep it semi-realistic; thinning the squad and investing in some french prospects. Trying to avoid the temptation to stack my squad with Wonderkids as it's both unrealistic and could make the save short-lived.

Tactic wise this has been in good in preseason. Allows Payet to be the fulcrum and makes some nice movements with Sanson drifting wide as a Mezzala ect.

 

Will update in December (in game of course), Cheers.

 

 

 

[nico_france]

Weird that you don't want to rely on Kamara as a back up during the first season at CB, he's really capable already (Ligue 1 level...)

Tactic wise it's obvious to start with this set up

Pretty interesting signings here, curious to see as Youan will develop for you, used to be a beast back in the days

Hope you'll have some great success in Marseille in any case @jckstevens !

[nick1408]

Took a while but just finished my first season. @nico_france post above will be my template for my season summary.

SEASON 2018/2019

Second in the league. Had too many draws to seriously challenge, although I was only five points behind PSG for most of the season. Thauvin ended up on 19 goals from 33 matches to come in equal second on the golden boot. Mandanda had 17 clean sheets to win that award.

TACTIC

@nico_france tactic posted above. No tweaks but I think the defence needs a look at as I noticed they got hit over the top quite often.

 

TRANSFERS

OUTS

I used the season to start my move for the future. Lots of spending and a few sales of players I thought could be better replaced.

HUBOCAN - too old and wasn't used.  Moved on.

PELE - An able backup but I thought this spot could be better used on someont to take over from Mandanda.

SARR - Not good enough to ever hold down the #1 right back spot. Moved on for a healthy fee.

SERTIC - Another that was surplus to requirements.

GUSTAVO - This one caused some issues in the dressing room. I thought a 32+ year old getting sold for £16.5m was too good to turn down. He was first team when he left but I needed to look forward, not backward.

GERMAIN - Didn't play enough for my liking and doesn't really fit the tactic in my eyes.

MITOGLOU - Was out of form and another 30+ year old.

N'JIE - His loan includes a clause I hope is taken up. I don't see a spot for him anymore unfortunately.

AMAVI - I didn't really want to sell him but I had faith in Rocchia being able to fill the void. The fee was enough to sway me.

 

INS

MORRIS - I don't think he will stay long with me but he was free. I will loan him out next season with a possibility to sell him.

BROUGHTON - Looks the goods but only rated as a 3.5* potential player. A project player that if he works will be great but if he doesn't I will ship him off to England.

TONALI - Really happy with this purchase. Will put pressure on Sanson for a CM role and will hopefully take over one day.

MUMBA - Highly rated but I'm not sure if he will kick on.

SOLANKE - After selling two strikers I needed a new targetman. My purchase options were limited so I went the loan route. Worked out well with 9 goals and 3 assists from 21 matches.

DALOT - On a two year loan. Needed backup for Sakai while he was on Asian Cup duties. Sakai also came back injured so he got a fair few games. Did well enough.

RAJKOVIC - not my first choice to come in as a backup but a good one nonetheless. He should develop into a #1 for me in the future.

GRONLI - I see him as taking over from Payet in the next season or two. Might send him out on loan next season to develop.

MARTINEZ - Thought £4.2m was cheap. Stats looked good so picked him up. He gives me options on the left wing and allows some flexibility if someone comes in with a big bid for a current left winger. Either him or Radonjic will get loaned out next season. Radonjic did end up taking Ocampos's  place in the team at the end of the season. It will be a tightly fought race for the left wing role.

ZAGADOU - Dortmund transfer-listed him. His heading is poor for a CB but he is young and French. The price was right.

GAGLIARDINI - was transfer-listed and I hoped Inter would drop their price. They didn't but I wanted him as a rotation option with Strootman. I stumped up the money and am happy I did. He will be a star for me.

OLSSEN - A Director of Football purchase. I approved it because I think I can profit from him. Will go on loan next season.

PELLEGRINI - With only one left back I needed backup. PELLEGRINI surprised me and I may look to purchase him.

 

COMPETITIONS

LIgue 1

The objective this year was Champions League and I achieved that.

I stayed the course with PSG most of the year but had a run of five matches with no wins that hurt. PSG were clearly the best side. Next season IO hope to knock them off the perch.

French Cups

Coupe de la Ligue I lost in the fourth round to Nimes. Was a bad loss but I was rotating a lot of players at this stage.

Coupe de France I won in the final to St Etienne. Was a really good run but a lot of my best players were well overdue for a rest. Final score was 1-0 with Solanke scoring.

 

EUROPA LEAGUE

I was disappointed to get knocked out in the second knockout round but it was to Chelsea. I did top the group that included Arsenal though so not all bad.

 

I have already made some purchases for next season. Hopefully I get a soft Champions League draw so I can advance without too much trouble.

[dokera]

On 14/11/2018 at 20:38, nico_france said:

Weird that you don't want to rely on Kamara as a back up during the first season at CB, he's really capable already (Ligue 1 level...)

Tactic wise it's obvious to start with this set up

Pretty interesting signings here, curious to see as Youan will develop for you, used to be a beast back in the days

Hope you'll have some great success in Marseille in any case @jckstevens !

Could you please upload your save?

[nick1408]

SEASON 2019/20

Second in the league. Had too many draws and losses. PSG were all over me again. Hope a few transfers can make the difference in 20/21. I have managed to sign Marital from United as a future transfer so look forward to his goals from AMR

 

TACTIC

Adjusted @nico_france tactic. Changed a few roles to sure up defence. The BBM changed to a DLP as I thought the BBM was getting too far forward. The change immediately produced recults and made for a far better balanced attack.

TRANSFERS

OUTS

I got rid o a lot of dead wood this season:

SAKAI - Replaced him with Toure

PEREIRA -  Couldn't find a spot for him after getting him for free.

LOPEZ, KAMARA, RADONJIC, GRONLI, ROCCHIA, TONALI - All loaned out for first team experience

 

INS

PEREIRA - I thought I may find a spot for him. The price was right but ultimately it didn't work out. £11m profit

COMAN - A cheap transfer but I think he will go the same way as Pereira

BOGLE - I see him as my future right back. Cost a little bit but played 21 matches for me in his first season

MARKOVIC - One the DoF found. He was my first choice CB all year

PELLEGRI - After the first season I decided I needed a real targetman. I went hard for a few loanees and Pellegri was the pick. I was really happy with him. 24 goals from 23(5) league matches. Won the golden boot. I'll try and sign him permanently but I don't think  I'll be able to.

OYARZABAL - A player I really like. I stuffed up the loan deal and only had him until January rather than end of season

KEAN - Signed in my lust for a targetman. Didn't play a lot

PETANGA - Was going to be my first choice. I was happy with the price and his output (8 goals from 14(5) league matches). I couldn't choose between him and Pellegri for a while then Pellegri's form got him to hold onto the starting spot. I'm going to keep him but there is interest in him already

TOURE - A player I regard as the one of the best RB's in the game. Really happy to get him and went to be first choice RB immediately

DIMARCO - backup for LB

BERNAT - a player who came onto the market and I needed a LB. Was really happy with him and he has some top clubs chasing him now

CORNET - Signed as backup to Thauvin and that's exactly what he did

RICHARD - Another DoF find. He looks really good and will eventually be the AMR I feel

 

COMPETITIONS

LIgue 1

The objective this year was Champions League and I achieved that.

PSG jumped out to an early lead and I could never catch up.

French Cups

Coupe de la Ligue: Beat PSG to win the cup. A good result in a big match against a club I am struggling to play against

Coupe de France: Knocked out in the semi final to Guingamp.

 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Knocked out in the quarters by Man City. I did manage to beat Real Madrid in the first knockout round so happy with that. Hopefully a semi final next season.

[gipsy]

Finally finished 1st season... what a cool one with a double hehe

OM won Ligue 1 6 points ahead of OL...PSG was second for most of the season but had a poor end and lost their last game against Reims which allowed OL to pass them on the last day 

I did not buy any player during summer but brought in Kelvin Amian for 5.1 M€ in January to cover for Sakai who had broken a leg and was out for 4 months. The team in general performed well but both Mitroglou (13 goals in 32 games) and Germain (10 goals in 28 games) were below par well covered by Gustavo, Thauvin, Payet and Lopez.

After a pushy start in the group phase where OM qualified on the last day, the second phase was unexpectedly great.. Victories against Real Hispalis, Bayer Leverkusen, Lazio and Lepzig, OM faced Eintracht Francfort in the final and won 3-1  

The team played really well during the second phase and 6 players made it to UEFA CUP's team of the year; I don't remember when this happened to me on FM at European level 

OM lost to PSG 2-0 away in French cup's 1/4 final and 2-1 away in league's cup 1/4 final.

All in all a great 1st season with original team and only Damian as a purchase.

For season two, OM was a bit more active on the transfer market, strengthening the attacking sector being a priority.

IN

Divock Origi for free

Vincent Koziello for 10 M€ let's see how he performs on FM 19

Juan Pablo Cobelli -Argentinian CD for 9 M€ to replace Rolando who left at expiry of his contract 

Michy Batshuayi 20 M €+ 20 M € over 12 months, I might have overpaid but I had to replace Mitroglou and Germain who simply didn't score much. Let's see...

Also got Theo Hernandez from Real, Claudio Gomez from City and Andre Moreira from Atletico Madrid on loan.

OUT

Mitroglou to Spartak Moscow - 13 M€

Germain to Crystal Palace - 8 M€

N'jie to Angers - 7.5M€ 

Radonjic on loan to Auxerre with an option set at 8 M€

other players left for free

Season 2 started with a 4-1 win against OL in the trophee des champions and a 1-0 win against Dortmund in the UEFA Super Cup.

Let's see if the team can retain L1 this season and what can it do in the champions league 

[Carlf788]

One word to solve the striker probelm. Adebayor.

5m and still an absolute beast banging then in. Marseille at the start don't have a striker fit for that club at all. I sold them all and got adebayor in and origi in loan. 

[CapaJr]

Hello marseille players;

i’ve got a quick question for you, how easy would it be to dominate the league & europe with lyon?