[FM19] Kafra FC - 2019 Edition (Youth Only in England)

[abulezz]

40 minutes ago, Josep Mourinho said:

Was wondering if he might've changed something

Nope, not yet.  Still the same 4-2-2-2 formation, although I do tinker sometimes with the defined roles.  

[abulezz]

So my computer broke, which is why there hasn't been an update in a while.

I have a backup to this save at home which would erase the last two seasons (better than nothing), but the current problem is that home is a few thousand KMs away and I wont be getting back to late may!

[numbas2]

Nooooooooo! Unlucky.

Will you be able to start up a "mini-save" in the meantime?

[abulezz]

5 hours ago, numbas2 said:

Nooooooooo! Unlucky.

Will you be able to start up a "mini-save" in the meantime?

Lol I actually did - I have to get my FM fix.

I did the same concept - Create-a-Club but I replaced Bury so I can start in the League 2.  Then I did a crazy Create-a-Player (15 year old Striker) to start me off, lol.  

I'm not abandoning the save - I was thoroughly enjoying it.  I do have to wait to get back home to fire it up again.  My travel computer just stopped working, wouldn't turn on.  I got a new one, but no way of getting back the save because the backup is at home. 

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by abulezz

[l4nd3r]

You weren't using steam cloud?

[abulezz]

1 hour ago, l4nd3r said:

You weren't using steam cloud?

No

[rngkmpf]

Long time lurker of this career, love long term saves so KUTGW.

As long as your hard drive isn't the faulty component it would be pretty easy to get your up-to-date save back. Taking the hard-drive out is usually a pretty simple task, and enclosures (so you can use it like a regular external hard drive) are pretty cheap from Amazon and the likes. Just a thought as it is something I have had to do in the past, wiring or battery problems always seem to kill my laptops before the hard drives fail.

[Marbah]

oh man this suckssssssssss

i've started myself a save in the lower leagues and i've started to have the utmost respect for what you are doing.

my save is going horribly since i reached the first league. only defeats, my players are **** and holy **** i'm annoyed

 

[abulezz]

On 17/04/2019 at 16:44, rngkmpf said:

Long time lurker of this career, love long term saves so KUTGW.

As long as your hard drive isn't the faulty component it would be pretty easy to get your up-to-date save back. Taking the hard-drive out is usually a pretty simple task, and enclosures (so you can use it like a regular external hard drive) are pretty cheap from Amazon and the likes. Just a thought as it is something I have had to do in the past, wiring or battery problems always seem to kill my laptops before the hard drives fail.

I'll have my IT guys look at it when I'm back home.  They have saved a hard drive for me before, so I should be able to do that.  Thanks for the suggestion!

 

On 18/04/2019 at 05:07, Marbah said:

oh man this suckssssssssss

i've started myself a save in the lower leagues and i've started to have the utmost respect for what you are doing.

my save is going horribly since i reached the first league. only defeats, my players are **** and holy **** i'm annoyed

 

It is difficult - literally 2-3 players came be the entire difference between struggling and succeeding.  The most frustrating thing for me is thinking I have a good/great Intake, and then the players just don't develop.  Hate that!

[abulezz]

For anyone interested, this is the Create-a-Player that I did for this temporary save I'm playing till I get home:

[abulezz]

Alright, got the save back - I have to go back a season but the save is officially rebooted!

[Mr Highbury]

Fantastic news!

Shame about losing the season, but at least you get to carry on without losing the whole lot.

This thread is pretty much the only reason I visit the forums these days btw, so please KUTGW ;)

[abulezz]

SEASON REVIEW 2043/2044

 

 

TEAM REVIEW

After two years of finishing in 5^th and 7^th, we dropped down to 9^th Place in what I would consider a disappointing season.  Our defense was the 18^th worst in the Premier League, and again we had to rely on our offense to carry us.  At this point, I have to draw the conclusion that our peak with the current team is a Europa League spot, at least until some of these youngsters develop, if they ever do.  We started the season relatively strong, but really started to falter at the end when Marques got hit with a couple of injuries that ruled him out of a few games.  I was so disappointed with our defense that I just decided to give some of the younger players extended runs, replacing Howell with Halsey from the U18 team and Smith with Diallo (who actually played well).  Overall, I felt we underachieved this season, and will be looking to bounce back.

 

In the Premier League, Chelsea won its 6^th straight title, which is really a nod to the absolute beast of a player Mario Sano is.  The Portuguese midfielder earns a mind-boggling £625K per week, but this is a player who has won 7 Premier League and 2 Champions League titles in his 13 years with the club.  Manchester United (2^nd) had their highest finish since winning the PL in 2034/35, led by Brazilian winger Assuerio and Mexican striker Bryan Valencia.  Last year’s runners-up Manchester City finished in 3^rd Place, with Wolves shockingly capturing the last CL spot.  Behind them was Watford (5^th), Tottenham (6^th), and Arsenal (7^th).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEY PLAYERS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ricardo Marques (2030), 30 Years Old, Left Winger (104 Caps/47 Goals) – Career:  He might not be the best goalscorer in the history of the club, but he is now undisputedly the best player overall I the history of the club.  He had some injury issues at the end of the season, but still ended up playing in 33 Games, registering 15 Goals, 11 Assists, 5 PoMs, 1.15 TpG, 1.89 DpG, and 7.30 AR.  He is now 8 Games away from 500 League Games with the club, and at this point I don’t think there is any fear of him not being a one club player for his career.  He should be in the middle of his prime, so I expect some really good seasons from him coming up.  Rating: 8/10

 

 

DEFENSE

Giorgos Panagiotou (2035), 24 Years Old, Central Defender: For the 3^rd time in his career, Panagiotou played in all 38 Games, registering 1.82 TpG, 80 Key Headers (5^th in PL), 165 Interceptions (2^nd in PL), 79% Headers Won, 54 Shots Blocked (2^nd in PL), and 6.85 AR (down from 6.90 AR last year).  The numbers seem a bit hollow given that we were so bad defensively, but at least I can take solace that we do have some decent performers in our back-line that can be relied on.  He is only 24 years old despite having been our starter since 2035, so it is not out of the question that he shows a little bit more improvement in his attributes as he ages.  Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

MIDFIELD

Mick Muller (2037), 23 Years Old, Central Midfielder: Still trying to reach the form of his 2041/42 season (8 Goals, 7.16 AR), Muller did better this year than last.  In 36 Games, he registered 4 Goals, 7 Assists, 3.27 TpG, 81% Pass Ratio, 1.01 DpG, and 6.99 AR (up from 6.87 AR).  He might not be a big guy, but he is strong and tough (reminiscent of Roy Keane), and he is becoming more of a leader as every season passes.  He has great character, and he is the type of player we would love to have for his entire career – I can definitely see him becoming a captain or vice-captain somewhere down the line.  Rating: 7/10

 

Tom Craig (2038), 22 Years Old, Central Midfielder (2 Caps): I am really happy with the way Craig’s season turned out, as well has how he has developed as a player overall.  He played in all 38 Games, registering 13 Goals, 7 Assists, 4 PoMs, 76% Pass Ratio, 1.28 DpG, 48 Key Passes (1^st in PL), 15 Chances Created (1^st in PL), and 7.06 AR.  He was an offensive powerhouse, and given the stats, it would not be a stretch to say he was one of the most dangerous players going forward from the central midfield position.  As such, he earned his first Caps for England, a testament to his form this season.  I am looking forward to see his cap in terms of his potential and form in the next few seasons.  Rating: 7.5/10

 

 

ATTACK

Daniel Jackson (2035), 25 Years Old, Striker (6 Caps/1 Goal): He has now played exactly 300 League Games, scoring 132 Goals in that stretch.  This season, he played in all 38 Games, registering 13 Goals, 8 Assists, and 6.98 AR, which was down from 7.07 AR last season.  Like Muller, he has developed into a good leader, and although talent-wise he won’t ever be amongst the best in the league, he has been consistent, reliable, and durable throughout his career.  He is decent at everything, great at nothing, but as long as he keeps giving us the goals he does every season, that is all that is asked of him at this point.  Rating: 7/10

 

 

HOT PROSPECTS

Josh Peacock (2039), 21 Years Old, Right Winger: Lee Harrison might be the better player two/three years down the line, but it was Peacock who was the better (much better, actually) performer this year.  In 31 Games, he registered 8 Goals, 2 Assists, 2 PoMs, 1.46 TpG, 1.15 DpG, and 6.94 AR.  When he came through the Kafra Youth Academy a few years ago, he had the look of a world-beater at right wing, but obviously, he never developed the way I hoped.  That is not to say he isn’t a useful player, however, and he proved as much this season.  As long as Harrison cannot give consistent performances game in and game out, Peacock will continue to see significant playing time. 

 

Nathan Johnson (2039), 21 Years Old, Goalkeeper: Johnson completed his 3^rd year as a starter, but he is still considered only Championship standard by my coaching staff.  That being said, they have noted that he could still see significant improvement in his attributes in the next few years, so I am hopeful.  He played in 38 Games for the second straight season, registering 1.92 Con/90 and 6.93 AR.  The U21 international falls in line with much of the other players at the club – decent at everything, great at nothing. Still, he has been solid for us, and if the back-line can play at an acceptable level, I have no doubt he will register 7.00+ AR.

 

Gary Barrett (2040), 20 Years Old, Right Defender: His form hasn’t suggested otherwise, but he is now considered a good Premier League right back by the accounts of my staff.  He did not have a good season, however – in 38 Games, he registered 2.12 TpG and 6.67 AR, which was down from 6.75 AR last season.  He really should be doing better at this point – he is still considered a “Wonderkid” by the media, and he has the attributes in all the right places.  We just need the form and consistency to come through now.   

 

Isaac Diallo (2041), 18 Years Old, Central Defender: His first year as a starter, Diallo impressed in a big way.  In 37 Appearances, he registered 3 Goals, 2 PoMs, 1.86 TpG, 14 Key Tackles (1^st in PL), 73 Key Headers (8^th in PL), 157 Interceptions (3^rd in PL), 58 Shots Blocked (1^st in PL), and 6.85 AR.  He is now labeled “Wonderkid”, and his development thus far has been fantastic.  He looks to be a better version of Panagiotou if he continues this pace of development, and he would certainly be amongst the most talented CDs in the PL in a few years. 

 

Danny Halsey (2041), 18 Years Old, Central Defender/Left Defender: Although he is naturally a CD, with Howell showing big signs of regression this year, I desperately attempted to fit him at left-back, and he did not do so bad.  He was the most talented player on the squad who had an idea of how to play the position, and so he made his debut in the middle of the season and never looked back.  In 24 Appearances, he registered 2.27 TpG and 6.75 AR, good enough for me to have some hope he will be able to do a decent job for us next season.  My staff have him ranked at 4/5 PA, and if he can live up to that, it would be a big boost for the team as we are woefully thin at the position. 

 

Junior Boumsong  (2042), 18 Years Old, Striker:  Living up to Demby is going to be a tall task for anyone, but Boumsong seems to have the talent and potential to do so.  He replaced the Kafra legend in the starting lineup this year, and although he struggled a lot of the games, he was still a pretty decent part of the offense that was the 2^nd best in the Premier League.  He played in 24 Games (all Starts), registering 6 Goals, 5 Assists, and 6.75 AR – not terribly impressive numbers, but not horrible for someone who was a 17 year old for most of the season.  What was most impressive, however, was his incredible improvement ability wise – his attributes shot up this season, and if the same pace keeps up over the course of the next three years, we could have someone real special on our hands.

 

Tommy Brotherton (2042), 18 Years Old, Central Defender: I might have judged Brotherton too quick – I didn’t see much improvement in his ability last season, so I thought he would stagnant development-wise, but he surprised me.  He really came on this season despite limited playing time and has managed to work his way back into my sights.  I will look for additional playing time for him next year.

 

Samuel Opoku (2043), 17 Years Old, Left Winger: The talent is there, but he possibly has the biggest shoes to fill on the entire team as Marques’ understudy.  He actually managed to get some playing time because of Marques’ injury this season, playing in 9 Games and registering 1 Goal and 6.85 AR.  He showed good improvement in his attributes, but it is clear he will be a different type of player – while Marques is more of a striker/winger hybrid, Opoku is more of a traditional winger.  In any case, so far so good for this youngster. 

 

Lee Harrison (2043), 17 Years Old, Right Winger: The talent is there, and the playing time was definitely there, but the consistency was not – it is not something I am going to judge a 17 year old winger on obviously, especially as he is playing a position that has not been too much of a focal point in our offense the past couple of years.  Still, the potential here is immense – he has incredible pace and his other skills are coming together.  He is definitely one to watch.

 

 

IMPORTANT PLAYERS LEAVING/RETIRING

Terry Howell (71 Caps) – Career: One of the most accomplished and greatest Kafra players of all-time (at least in this save), Howell was also England’s first choice left-back for most of the 2030s, winning the World Cup with his home nation in 2034.  He broke into the first team in 2027, making an immediate impact which in turn made him an immediate starter despite his young age.  In 2030/31, the season Kafra got promoted to the Premier League, Howell was hugely instrumental in that successful campaign, so much so that he ended up winning the Championship Young Player of the Year award.  His durability led him to never play less than 32 Games in a season during his time in the PL with Kafra, and – with this season being an exception – in 9 of his 13 seasons in the PL, he did not miss more than one game.  Overall, he appeared in 629 League Games for the club, registering 6.87 AR and 69 Assists, cementing his status as a legend for us. 

 

Dennis Duncan – Career: Duncan left the club in the middle of the season after being sold to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad for £7.25M, ending a tenure of 13 years with the club.  A starter at right wing from the beginning (he joined the first team in 2031), our first season in the Premier League was also Duncan’s first full season with the club.  From the mid to late 2030s, Duncan was actually one of the better right wingers in the PL, registering double digits in Assists in every season during the stretch except for one.  With the emergence of new prospects at his position, however, he saw his playing time decrease over the past two seasons, and a decision was made mutually between the club and the player to allow him to go and get guaranteed first team football elsewhere.  Overall, in 404 League Appearances, he registered 47 Goals, 105 Assists, and 6.94 AR for Kafra during his years here. 

 

 

YOUTH INTAKE

                                                                                        

 

 

Jay Turner - Bradley O’Hare – Solomon Okafor

 

I am actually quite excited about this Intake – we might not have had any 4.5 or 5/5 prospects, but I think the three players listed above have potential to be real contributors to the team.  I am especially excited about O’Hare – I am still conflicted if I leave him in his natural position of CM, or switch him over to become a Right Winger. 

 

 

 

 

 

YOUTH CLASS REVIEW

2042/43: Wingers Lee Harrison and Samuel Opoku are already making noise, and have already made their debuts and earning significant playing time.  They are looking like the only two prospects worth keeping an eye on, however, in this relatively shallow Intake.

 

2041/2042: Junior Boumsong looks like he could develop into a real special talent at the Striker position, and Tommy Brotherton remains an intriguing prospect at DC.  There are a few other prospects worth keeping an eye on (right-winger Andy Lovett and defender Eddie Pearson), as well.  TOP PLAYERS: Junior Boumsong, Tommy Brotherton

 

2040/2041: Isaac Diallo has clearly been the best player from the ’41 Youth Class, as he has already earned himself a starting spot on the squad. Danny Halsey is also looking like a good prospect at the DL/DC positions.  TOP PLAYERS: Isaac Diallo, Danny Halsey

 

2039/2040: Gary Barrett is the only prospect worth nothing so far, although he does look like could end up being a special player. TOP PLAYERS: Gary Barrett

 

2038/2039: Highlighted by our new starter at right-wing Josh Peacock and our No.2 GK Nathan Johnson, this Intake looks like it could give us a couple of good players. TOP PLAYERS: Josh Peacock, Nathan Johnson

 

2037/2038: For now the only stand-out prospect from this Intake is Tom Craig, who has become an England international.  The only other prospect of note is Sean Morrison, who gets a little bit of playing time as one of our back-up strikers.  TOP PLAYERS: Tom Craig

 

2036/2037: Mick Muller has been the shining prospect from the ’37 Youth Class, and the only real contributor.  TOP PLAYERS: Mick Muller

 

2035/2036: A deep Intake that unfortunately did not net us any real contributors.  The best of the bunch have been Keith Bamford, who was our starter at right-back from the late 2030s and early 2040s, and Tomas Rodrigues – the former has been deemed surplus to requirements and the latter has left the club. TOP PLAYERS: Keith Bamford, Tomas Rodrigues

 

2034/2035: Daniel Jackson has become the clear star of the ’35 Youth Class, which also delivered us our current starter at CD, Giorgos Panagiotou TOP PLAYERS: Giorgos Panagiotou, Daniel Jackson

 

2033/2034: A weak Intake which netted us no real contributors to the first team.  Dylan O’Keefe saw a bit of action, but he left the club.  TOP PLAYERS: Dylan O’Keefe

 

2032/2033: Taylor was our starting GK from the mid-2030s to the early 2040s before he was sold to Wolves in 2043 for £2.9M.  There are TOP PLAYERS: Aaron Taylor

 

2031/2032: A weak Intake, with the best prospect being Callum Foley, who served as our starter at CM for a couple of years but is no longer part of the team.  TOP PLAYERS: Callum Foley

 

2030/2031: Dennis Duncan is the only notable prospect in a relatively weak Intake, although did do well for us for a number of years.  Our starter at the right-wing position 2030s and early 2040s, he ended up leaving for more playing time in 2044 for £7.25M to Saudi club Al-Ittihad.  TOP PLAYERS: Dennis Duncan

 

2029/2030: The greatest player in Kafra’s history, Ricardo Marques, was produced by the ’30 Youth Class.  The World Cup 2034 Best  Young Player and the 2034 World U21 Footballer of the Year, Marques has been named the World Team of the Year 6 times (twice as starter), as well as the Kafra Player of the Year numerous times.  Josh Vincent also was an important member of the club from the early 2030s to the mid-2040s, spending most of those years as one of our starters at CM.  TOP PLAYERS: Ricardo Marques, Josh Vincent

 

2028/2029: The top two prospects from this Intake were Kwame Nartey and Ben Foyston, neither of which have a significant part to play with the team.  TOP PLAYERS: Kwame Nartey, Ben Foyston

 

2027/2028: The best player from the ’28 Youth Class is Curtis Slone, who is a three time Kafra Player of the Year, 2031 U21 World Footballer of the Year, and 2032 PL Top Goalscorer.  Steven Smith was a long time starter for the club in the 2030s and early 2040s at the CD position, while Dan Ellis career only really took off after he left the club in 2037, playing with Swansea and Fulham in the Premier League.  TOP PLAYERS: Curtis Slone, Steven Smith, Dan Ellis

 

2026/2027: The ’27 Youth Class produced a couple of club legends in Terry Howell and Dan Demby – the former was Kafra and England’s first choice left-back during the 2030s and early 2040s, winning the World Cup with his nation in 2034, while the latter was the Premier League Top Goalscorer twice as well as the European Golden Shoe winner.  Ryan Jones is the other notable player to come out of this class, having been the club’s starting left back in the late 2020s and early 2030s before being replaced by Howell. TOP PLAYERS: Terry Howell, Dan Demby, Ryan Jones

 

2025/2026: Jim Yuill was the first real talent the Kafra Youth Academy produced, and he has had a great career.  With Arsenal, he won the Europa League in 2035, before joining Malaga for £129M (!) in 2036, where he won the Spanish Primera Liga title 8 years in a row between 2037 and 2044 – he also made the Champions League Finals twice in 2040 and 2042, but Malaga lost both times, but his biggest prize has to be his World 2034 title with England.  The other two notables from this draft class are Louie Weir, who played right-back for the club from the late 2020s to mid-2030s, and John Cooper, who made 240 League Appearances and scored 41 Goals in his 10 years with the club from 2026 to 2035.  TOP PLAYERS: Jim Yuill – Yuill Career – Yuill Biography, John Cooper, Louie Weir

 

2024/2025:  The most notable player of note is Marcus Clarke, who was with PL club Southampton but retired at the age of 25 after being let go.  Clarke was a wasted talent – he was amongst the leading goalscorers at the tournament for England in the 2029 U20 World Cup.  Other notables are Adam Laing and Nelson Peres, who both had runs in the Kafra first team from the late 2020s to the mid 2030s.  TOP PLAYERS: Marcus Clarke, Adam Laing, Nelson Peres

 

2023/2024:  What initially was by far our strongest Intake has slowly eroded into an underachieving one – only Joseph Oliseh remains in the game, looking for a job as an Assistant Manager.  TOP PLAYERS: Jonathan Sheckleford, Joseph Oliseh, Gary Bowen, Mike Beverley, Roberto Santos

 

2022/2023: With Mike Rigby now having left the club, there is no one from this Intake that remains part of the first team.  While not the weakest Intake, the ’23 Youth Class has been perhaps the most disappointing and underachieving. TOP PLAYERS: Mike Rigby

 

2021/2022:  The ’22 Youth Class has a clear best player in GK Rhys Lalite, who was our starter throughout the 2020s and early 2030s. The other two noteworthy players are Kyle Connolly, who bounced around League 2 and League 1 before playing several seasons with Swindon,  and Anthony Garrard, who left the club in 2031 and is now the only player still in the game as a Director of Football at Rochdale.  TOP PLAYERS: Kyle Connolly, Rhys Lalite, Anthony Garrard

 

2020/2021: Widely considered our weakest Intake, no one from this Intake is still in the game.  Adam Burgon was the best player from the ’21 Youth Class, playing a few games for the club.  TOP PLAYERS: Adam Burgon

 

2019/2020: Sam Rodon is the only player of note from the ’20 Youth Class. He was one of the club’s most valuable players in the 2020s, playing at CM and appearing in 475 Games with a 6.86 AR. Niall Jackson was a back-up at the winger and striker positions from the early 2020s to the late 2020s, before joining Dorchester and retiring in 2030.  TOP PLAYERS: Sam Rodon

 

2018/19: Emmanuel Adu is the best player from our first youth class, playing his whole career in the lower professional leagues.  Olisema is the only other player of note from our first Youth Class, as he was a rotational defender for us in the early to mid 2020s.  TOP PLAYERS: Emmanuel Adu, Benjamin Olisema

 

 

[abulezz]

On ‎21‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 09:53, Mr Highbury said:

Fantastic news!

Shame about losing the season, but at least you get to carry on without losing the whole lot.

This thread is pretty much the only reason I visit the forums these days btw, so please KUTGW

Thank you for the very high praise!

It took a little bit longer than expected (jet-lag, catching up with work, etc), but the new season review is up. 

[abulezz]

I love Muller, but £53M is hard to turn down, especially as our finances has stagnated a bit now.  Ill stay following his career. 

[numbas2]

Pleasant surprised to find this update after so long. Shocked about Muller though!

[abulezz]

23 hours ago, numbas2 said:

Pleasant surprised to find this update after so long. Shocked about Muller though!

Hey, thanks for reading! Yea, I was away from home for a couple of months and the computer I had on me died (along with the save, I thought).  My head of IT managed to salvage the HD from the computer, though, so I actually didn't end up missing any seasons.  I had a backup saved at home which I didn't have access too, but that was also one season back, so I just wanted to pull the file from the hard drive.

I was on the fence about selling Muller, but I figured I have Josh Vincent who could give me similar results, and my finances were pretty stagnant, so I figured why not! 

[abulezz]

 

SEASON REVIEW 2044/2045

 

 

TEAM REVIEW

This was our best season in the past few years, and Marques was an absolute beast – he was easily the best player in the PL this year and won every meaningful individual award that was available.  He set a PL record with 23 Assists, leading the way for our PL-best offense and going down in history as one the PL’s best players over the past 10-15 years.  Another just as important point was our much improved defense – we finished as the 14^th best defense in the PL.  This is, obviously, not a great accomplishment, but given how bad we have been defensively, this felt like a real victory for me.  We just missed out on a Europa League spot, coming in 7^th (3 points behind Tottenham), but I would definitely classify this season as a success and a good stepping stone to build on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEY PLAYERS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ricardo Marques (2030), 31 Years Old, Left Winger (113 Caps/50 Goals) – Career:  Although he has scored more goals in a season than this one, this was his best season in his career, without a doubt.  He set a Premier League record with 23 Assists (the 2^nd most was 12 Assists by Assuerio of Man United), and led the league with 7.57 AR, Most Shots (183), Most Shots On Target (93), Key Passes (61), Chances Created (31 – 2^nd highest was 17), 9 PoMs – in addition to his 18 Goals.  He swept all the awards, becoming the first player in Kafra history to be named the PL Footballer of the Year, PL Players’ Player of the Year, and also named to his 2^nd PL Team of the Year.  Simply put, there was no stopping him.  GOAT.  Rating: 9.5/10

 

 

DEFENSE

Giorgos Panagiotou (2035), 25 Years Old, Central Defender:  Already with 360 League Games under his belt despite his young age, Panagiotou had potentially his finest season this year.  In 36 Games, he registered 2 Goals, 1 PoM, 1.43 TpG, 69 Key Headers (7^th in PL), 143 Interceptions (1^st in PL), 56 Shots Blocked (2^nd in PL), and a career-high 6.95 AR.  He was a big part of our much-improved defense and can generally be considered our leader in the back after the departure of Terry Howell.  Since breaking into the first team from the Youth Academy in 2035, Panagiotou has never known anything but a place in the starting eleven.  At this point, even though he is only 25, I would consider him a club legend.  Rating: 7/10

 

Nathan Johnson (2039), 22 Years Old, Goalkeeper: I would be lying if I said he has developed the way I had hoped – he went from a potential 5/5 player to 3/5 PA one who is playing close to his potential.  In other words, his development stagnated and what we have now is a decently talented but otherwise unimpressive GK as our No.1.  Aaron Taylor, whom we sold in order to promote Johnson and aid his development, at this point remains a superior GK talent-wise, so its safe to say that trade didn’t work out how I wanted.  That being said, Johnson had a good season – in 35 Appearances, he registered career-bests of 1.69 Con/90 and 7.05 AR, easily his best numbers since becoming our starter 4 years ago.  Rating: 7/10

 

 

MIDFIELD

Tom Craig (2038), 23 Years Old, Central Midfielder (2 Caps): This was definitely step back for Craig after his great year last season, perhaps being affected by the same of his long-time partner at CM in Muller.  In 38 Appearances, he registered 4 Goals (down from 13), 6 Assists, and 6.84 AR (down from 7.06) – although it was not a bad season, he definitely has the potential to do so much better.  Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

ATTACK

Daniel Jackson (2035), 26 Years Old, Striker (7 Caps/1 Goal): Easily his finest season since his epic 2038/39 season, Jackson was at the forefront of our league-leading offense.  In 38 Appearances (3^rd straight year he plays every game), he registered 22 Goals (3^rd in PL), 8 Assists, 3 PoMs, 55% Shot Target, and 7.21 AR, which was his highest AR since 38/39.  He is now valued at just below £50M, and has actually developed into a pretty decent PL-level striker.  Overall, I would probably rank him as our 3^rd most influential/Greatest striker in our history, after the legendary Lewis Hodges and Dan Demby.  Rating: 7.5/10

 

 

HOT PROSPECTS

Gary Barrett (2040), 21 Years Old, Right Defender: Although he is still nowhere near the level of form I would like him to be, he did show significant improvement this year.  In 38 Appearances, he registered 3 Assists, 1.92 TpG, and 6.79 AR, which was the highest mark he has registered in his career.  Talent-wise, he is unquestionably one of the best in the PL, but we need his form to also reach those high levels.  He continues to have bouts of inconsistent form, and his mistakes are still on the high side. Hopefully, he will be able to rectify these issues as he gets older and more mature. 

 

Isaac Diallo (2041), 19 Years Old, Central Defender: I am really liking what I am seeing from this youngster – in 37 Appearances, he registered 1.21 TpG, 70 Key Headers (6^th in PL), 129 Interceptions (4^th in PL), 58 Shots Blocked (1^st in PL), and 6.90 AR, which was a career-high.  With a 3.5/5 CA and 5/5 PA, he is one of the highest rated players on the team by my staff, and I agree with their assessment.  He is classified as a “Wonderkid”, which is not surprising, and I don’t think he is far off from either an English or Ghanaian Cap.  He does not have any evident weaknesses – the only big thing my staff put as a weakness is poor technique, which doesn’t really matter as a “Stay back at all times” CD.  I hope his development continues as it has been – if that happens, we have a top-class CD on our hands. 

 

Danny Halsey (2041), 19 Years Old, Central Defender/Left Defender: Halsey is more suited to be our long term rotational CD as opposed to our starting LB, but we still don’t have any real prospects at the position, and this year’s Intake did not deliver us any, either.  In 37 Appearances, he registered 3.09 TpG and 6.75 AR, which was exactly what he gave us last season.  His strength is literally his strength and power, and he does have good pace and is strong in the air – his technical ability, however, is probably the worst of any starting player in the PL!

 

Junior Boumsong  (2042), 19 Years Old, Striker:  So there are two worrying things that happened this season – 1) he lost his “Wonderkid” title, and 2) his PA went down from 5/5 to 4.5/5.  For some reason, staff just aren’t quite as high on him as they were a year ago, despite Boumsong giving us a strong season.  In 30 Appearances, he registered 16 Goals, 3 Assists, 3 PoMs, 45% Shot Target, and 7.05 AR playing as a starting striker alongside Jackson.  His natural attacking ability is great, and he is getting stronger – the only thing I would want now is for him to develop a little more speed. 

 

Eddie Pearson (2042), 19 Years Old, Central Midfielder: After spending a year on loan at Derby in the Championship last season, he made his debut for us this year and did relatively well.  In 25 Appearances, he registered 4.30 TpG, 80% Pass Ratio, and 6.85 AR – he also showed good signs of improvement in his attributes which were encouraging.  Overall, Pearson’s potential is probably limited to being a useful rotational player, but we need players like that if we are to compete for the PL title. 

 

Tommy Brotherton (2042), 19 Years Old, Central Defender: Brotherton can play anywhere on the defensive line, which is probably the most important thing about his talents.  He made 21 Appearances this season, registering 2.34 TpG and 6.71 AR.  Encouragingly, his PA stayed 4.5/5, and given his improvement this year, he has become quite a talent.  With Diallo and Panagiotou infront of them, he isn’t going to be a starter (at least in the short term), but he is definitely the first choice off the bench anywhere down the backline. 

 

Samuel Opoku (2043), 18 Years Old, Left Winger: Very impressive stuff from the young left winger this season – 13 (5 Starts) Appearances, 2 Goals, 4 Assists, 2 PoMs, 1.00 TpG, 1.00 DpG, and 7.35 AR.  He filled in marvelously for Marques when needed and was an extremely hard worker in training, resulting in significant attribute improvements.  His pace is great and his technical abilities have shown good improvement – I have only optimistic hopes for this young player.

 

Lee Harrison (2043), 18 Years Old, Right Winger: Harrison ended the season as our official starting right-winger, replacing Josh Peacock and registering 6 Goals, 3 Assists, 1.19 TpG, 1.19 DpG, and 6.92 AR (huge improvement from 6.63 AR last season) in 28 Games.  Harrison was playing much better this season and the difference between him and Peacock was negligible, so I decided to speed up his development by giving him as much playing time as he could handle – thankfully, he responded positively and improved considerably in both attributes and form.

 

Solomon Okafor (2044), 17 Years Old, Central Defender: Potentially the best player in what is looking like a relatively weak Intake, even Okafor’s PA went down to 4/5 this season.  He has yet to make his debut, and he does have the look of a strong CD, but only time will tell how he develops. 

 

 

IMPORTANT PLAYERS LEAVING/RETIRING

Dan Demby ( Caps) – Career: Although his contributions to the team have been minimal over the past two years, the 15 years prior to that have proven Demby to be one of the greatest players in Kafra history.  This is a player who has amassed 272 Goals, 118 Assists, and 7.15 AR in just under 600 League Games for the club – a player who has won the PL Top Goalscorer award twice in his career (2037 and 2042), twice been named to the PL Team of the Year, and the 2042 European Golden Shoe recipient.  Despite having a rough first few years (including his 2029/30 campaign, where he scored only 5 Goals in 38 Games), Demby rose and became our offense’s focal point throughout the 2030s and early 2040s.  A legend in every sense of the word. 

 

 

YOUTH INTAKE

                                                                                        

 

 

Mathias Koenig - Darren Gallacher

 

I must admit I am very excited about Koenig – he is a pure Frenchman (no English nationality), so you know he must be special! I have Opoku already in line to be Marques replacement at the left wing position, so I have a decision to make – I can either have them both develop and see who turns out better, or I can experiment with Koenig at the Striker position.  He is the only real prospect I see – Gallacher could end up being useful if he develops really well, but he could also just as likely turn out to be a nothing more than a fringe player at best.

 

 

[abulezz]

Took a while, but we finally did it:

 

[abulezz]

 

SEASON REVIEW 2045/2046

 

 

TEAM REVIEW

We started the season off in the worst way imaginable, but by the time November rolled around, we were in Champions League contention and never looked back.  We finished in 3^rd Place (even challenging eventual champions Man City at one point for the top) behind the two Manchester clubs, and I could not be prouder of the boys.  What really makes me happy is that fact the Marques (who recovered from his injury in time to feature in England’s World Cup squad) will finally get to experience Champions League football, even if he might be just past his prime.  We were led by our awesome offense, with Daniel Jackson becoming the PL’s Top Goalscorer and Tom Craig leading the league in assists, and despite our struggles defensively, we were just competent enough to comfortably qualify for our first Champions League campaign. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEY PLAYERS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ricardo Marques (2030), 32 Years Old, Left Winger (124 Caps/59 Goals) – Career: Not only is he Kafra’s GOAT (this version, at least), but he has also become one of England’s all-time greatest, as well.  Unfortunately for him, his season was cut short with a major hip injury that could have implications on the rest of his career as he enters the final stages of what has been a glorious one.  Despite missing the final few weeks of the season, he was still named Kafra’s Player of the Year for the 10^th time, tying Lewis Hodges record for the most times won, and for the 4^th consecutive year.  He had 28 Appearances, registering 13 Goals, 12 Assists, 8 PoMs, and 7.56 AR, tied for the second highest mark of his career, and his 14 Chances Created led the Premier League.  He will be ready for next season which will be his first participating in Champions League football, and I hope he will be able to maintain this level of football for a couple more years.  Rating: 9/10

 

 

DEFENSE

Giorgos Panagiotou (2035), 26 Years Old, Central Defender: This was the first season since Panagiotou became a starter that we had some sort of rotation system going at CD, and he responded with the best season of his career thus far.  In 35 Appearances, he registered 1.09 TpG, 95 Key Headers (2^nd in PL), 153 Interceptions (3^rd in PL), 83% Headers Won (10^th in PL), 46 Shots Blocked (2^nd in PL), and a career-high 7.03 AR – the first time he has crossed the 7.00 mark.  I couldn’t have asked for more, really – he was as consistent and solid as they came, rarely making mistakes and always in the right place at the right time.  Very proud of how he has turned out. Rating: 7.5/10

 

Nathan Johnson (2039), 23 Years Old, Goalkeeper: He is no longer developing in terms of ability and attributes, and my staff believe he is more suited for the Championship than the PL, but he has been relatively solid for us the past few years.  This season was no exception – in 38 Appearances, he registered 1.71 Con/90, 7 Clean Sheets, and 6.98 AR (actually down from 7.05).  Considering we took 3^rd Place in the PL with him between the sticks, I would safely say he is not a liability for us, even though we could definitely use a better talent between the posts.  The team has none, however, and we don’t have any prospects that look like they could potentially unseat him, so it looks to be Johnson at least for the next few years, if not longer.  Rating: 7/10

 

Gary Barrett (2040), 22 Years Old, Right Defender (7 Caps): Barrett might just be our most talented defender when it comes to pure ability, but the right-back has yet to figure out how to consistently turn that into good form.  He did show some slight improvement this season again (38 Appearances, 1.83 TpG, 6.81 AR – up from 6.79), and his durability is without question top-notch (3 straight seasons of playing every game), but I just wish he can start performing up to his obvious abilities!  He has all the right tools, so I am hoping he figures it out and starts utilizing them properly.  I am obviously not the only one who thinks highly of his abilities, as he has now earned a few Caps for England, as well.  Rating: 6/10

 

 

MIDFIELD

Tom Craig (2038), 24 Years Old, Central Midfielder (2 Caps): Despite our best season ever, Craig was our only representative in the PL Team of the Year, but they are could have been no arguing with that.  In 36 Appearances, he registered 7 Goals, 16 Assists (1^st in PL), 3 PoMs, 58 Key Passes (1^st in PL), 10 Chances Created (12^th in PL), and a career-high 7.16 AR.  Funnily enough, he was also the PL leader with 464.50 Kms Distance Covered! It was a generally outstanding season from him, and here’s my secret – I switched him into playing Advanced Playmaker this season, and it turned out great.  Really excited to see what he can do now that we’ve figured out how to bring out the best of him.  Rating: 7.5/10

 

Michael Boateng (2040), 23 Years Old, Central Midfielder (Ghana: 3 Caps): Every once in a while, you decide to give a player a chance that you previously didn’t consider and he ends up rocking it.  This was absolutely the case with Boateng – having sold Muller in the summer and with Vincent’s abilities starting to regress fast, I figured I’d start the season with Boateng alongside Craig and see how it went.  This was the result: 31 Games, 13 Goals, 3 PoMs, 4.94 TpG (1^st in PL), 83% Pass Ratio, 1.24 DpG, 13.76 Kms/90 (1^st in PL), 20 Shots Blocked (14^th in PL), and 7.35 AR. Having spent last season in the Serie A with Palermo apparently helped him a lot, because he went from being an afterthought to becoming one of the most indispensable players on our team.  His abilities are unconventional for a CM – they are probably more suited for winger than the center of the pitch – but he has made it work, so much so that the Ghanaian national team came knocking and he is now a full-fledged international player.  Rating: 7.5/10

 

 

ATTACK

Daniel Jackson (2035), 26 Years Old, Striker (7 Caps/1 Goal): For the second time in his career, Jackson led the PL in scoring – the PL Top Goalscorer in 2039 and now in 2046, he netted 27 Goals in 34 Appearances to go along with his 4 PoMs and 7.38 AR (second only to his 38/39 season where he did 7.53 AR).  This was the 4^th time in his career (and 2^nd straight year) he has scored 20+ Goals, and after a run in the early 2040s where he was more frustrating than efficient, Jackson has now turned into a lethal force for us, one in which I expected him to be after his phenomenal 2038/39 season.  He has become Demby 2.0, which is a very good thing for us.  Rating: 7.5/10

 

 

HOT PROSPECTS

Isaac Diallo (2041), 20 Years Old, Central Defender: Despite a slight regression in form this season, my staff now have him rated at 5/5 PA, so they expect even bigger things from him in the future.  In 37 Games (his 3^rd straight season playing that amount), he registered 1.71 TpG, 50 Shots Blocked (1^st in PL), and 6.83 AR (down from 6.90).  It is not quite clear what led to his drop in form, but I am not looking too much into it – I believe he has a big bounce-back season in his for next year, and I have full faith in his abilities. 

 

Danny Halsey (2041), 20 Years Old, Central Defender/Left Defender: It is very obvious at this point that Halsey is not a left-back, nor should he be playing one.  However, he is the most talented player who can actually play the position on a team that is completely be-rift of talent at left-back.  In 36 Appearances, he registered 2 Assists, 2.80 TpG, and 6.83 AR (up from 6.75), so he didn’t do too bad.  Still, I am hoping the Youth Academy can deliver us a prospect at that position – I have been hoping for one for the past several years but nothing has come through yet. 

 

Junior Boumsong  (2042), 20 Years Old, Striker: It is still unclear to me how good Boumsong is going to actually be, but he has been our starter at striker alongside Jackson for the past two years, and he has done a decent job at it.  In 37 Appearances, he registered 15 Goals, 6 Assists, 80% Pass Ratio, 62% Shot Target (7^th in PL), and 7.04 AR, which was his second straight season of 7.00+ AR.  He has shown great progress in his Technical and Attacking abilities, but his Physical and Speed abilities have stagnated, so he might’ve reached the peak in the latter two.  The encouraging part is that he has picked up the ‘Wonderkid’ description back up, as he had lost it last season, so perhaps the expectation is that he still has a good amount of progress in him. 

 

Tommy Brotherton (2042), 20 Years Old, Central Defender: He featured in 13 Games (10 Starts) this season, but he does deserve more than that based on his abilities.  He has great defensive instincts and doesn’t really have any flaws in his game.  His versality is also a great plus, although the few games where I played him as left-back, he struggled mightily.  Still, I need to figure some additional playing time for him. 

 

Samuel Opoku (2043), 19 Years Old, Left Winger: Our current left-winger of the future wasn’t in the form he was in last season, but he still delivered a pretty decent one.  In 20 Appearances (17 Starts), he registered 2 Goals, 10 Assists, 1.44 TpG, 1.13 DpG, and 6.95 AR (down significantly from 7.35).  Still, my staff are extremely high on him (5/5 PA), and he has earned himself a couple of U21 Caps thus far – in addition to all that, he continues to progress nicely in his abilities.  I’d like to see better Attacking skills, but he is still young and there is a lot of improvement to be had, hopefully. 

 

Lee Harrison (2043), 19 Years Old, Right Winger: Harrison is our youngest starter, and he just might be our best prospect under 21, as well.  He had a great season for such a young player – in 34 Appearances, he registered 10 Goals, 8 Assists, 3 PoMs, 1.85 TpG, 1.62 DpG, 13 Chances Created (2^nd in PL), 32 Key Passes, and 7.22 AR (4^th on the team).  His progress over the past three seasons has been fantastic – from 6.63 to 6.92 to 7.22.  I honestly don’t know why he isn’t regarded as a Wonderkid – his talent is obvious, and my staff have had him at 5/5 PA since he came out of the Youth Academy.  Unless something major happens, there is a very high likelihood that Harrison could become a great right-winger of international standards. 

 

Solomon Okafor (2044), 18 Years Old, Central Defender: He made his debut this year, playing 5 Games, and he did very well, registering 1.60 TpG and 7.18 AR.  The most impressive part of his season, however, is the progress he has shown in improving his abilities – he has really dedicated himself to improving and it is starting to show.  We are deep at the CD position, but if he keeps it up, Okafor could force himself into the reckoning. 

 

Michael Koenig (2044), 17 Years Old, Left Winger/Striker: It was discouraging when my staff reduced his PA from 5/5 to 4.5/5 as I really love this youngsters talent set.  He is my prototypical winger, and I can even see him contributing at the striker position.  He did not show the kind of progress in his attributes as I would have hoped, but he’s still extremely young.  He did not play bad when he was called upon, either – 12 Appearances (11 Starts), 3 Goals, 4 Assists, 82% Pass Ratio, and 6.75 AR.  Obviously, his AR shows he needs to be a lot more consistent in his form, but that is expected for a player his age.   

 

 

 

IMPORTANT PLAYERS LEAVING/RETIRING

Josh Vincent – Career: One of the club’s legends, Vincent decided to bow out of the game at the relatively young of 32, beginning and finishing his career with the only club he has ever known.  He was an important member of the team all the way through – even in his last season, while he was no longer a starter, he still played in 30 Games.  He was solid in ever aspect of the game, although specialized in none, and was our starter at the CM position from the early 2030s until the mid-2040s.  He dealt with a major injury in 2037, but bounced back – in fact, from 2031/32 until the season he retired, he played in under 30 Games only twice.  Part of the generation that propped the team up from the Championship to respectable Premier League status, he finished his career with 519 League Games under his belt. 

[abulezz]

I will do the Youth Intake update in a few hours or tomorrow morning.  

[abulezz]

 

 

 

[abulezz]

Ouch - Welcome to the Champions League!

Edited July 4, 2019 by abulezz

[Anderwalius]

At last! Congratulations

[abulezz]

On 04/07/2019 at 12:58, Anderwalius said:

At last! Congratulations

Thanks! Currently fighting for a place in the Second Round - we got 2 more games to go (just split my battle with Roma, they beat me in Italy and I beat them in London). 

[abulezz]

[abulezz]

SEASON REVIEW 2046/2047

 

 

TEAM REVIEW

Our priority was qualifying for the Champions League for the second straight time, and he we managed to accomplish that goal despite dropping one spot from 3^rd to 4^th.  I am happy with how the season played out, however, and the primary reason for that is that our defense is no longer such a big liability for us.  If we can continue to show improvement in that aspect of the game – a possibility considering we have a couple of young starters who could still show some significant development – then I have no doubt we can reach a point where we can compete for the Premier League title.  Man United ended up winning the title for the first time since 2035, ended up a stretch that was dominated by Man City and Chelsea – the former were the defending champions but finished in 6^th Place, their worst finish since 2033, and the latter finished in 3^rd Place.  The surprise of the season were Watford, who finished 2^nd to Man United, while Everton finished between us and Man City.

 

In the Champions League, we had a tough group featuring Porto, Roma, and PSV, but we managed to make it out only to be met by juggernaut Real Madrid.  Amazingly, we took a 4-1 victory at home and despite losing 2-0 in Spain, we managed to advance to the Quarter-Finals, where we faced 2042 winners Bordeaux.  We were defeated twice 2-1 as we crashed out in the Quarter-Finals, but overall, it was a hugely successful first campaign in the CL for us.  The title was ended up being won by Man City, who defeated German club Leipzig – this was Man City’s 2^nd title in 6 Finals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEY PLAYERS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Michael Boateng (2040), 23 Years Old, Central Midfielder (Ghana: 13 Caps/3 Goals): Two summers ago, if you had told me Boateng was going to be my most important player, I would’ve said you were crazy.  Yet here we are, as Boateng captured his first Kafra Player of the Year on the backs of an outstanding season.  He played in all 38 Games, registering 13 Goals, 10 Assists, 8 PoMs, 3.61 TpG, 79% Pass Ratio, 1.49 DpG, and 7.31 AR – our do-it-all maestro in the middle of the pitch.  The Ghanaian’s strength and speed are fantastic and amongst the best at his position, but his real talent is how comfortable he is defending as well as having the ball at his feet.  He has really good attacking instincts, which are highlighted by the high amount of goals he scores, but this season he added another facet to his offensive game with his Key Passes and Assists.  Overall, I am really happy with the way Boateng has turned out.  Rating: 8/10

 

 

DEFENSE

Giorgos Panagiotou (2035), 27 Years Old, Central Defender:  Panagiotou solidified himself as one of the PL’s top CDs this season, leading the league with 16 Key Tackles and 156 Interceptions to go along with his 7.02 AR in 37 Appearances.  It was his 2^nd straight 7.00+ AR season, and at this point, he is probably one of the most reliable, consistent, and durable players in the league.  It seems he has been around forever, but he is just entering his prime now.  He remains one of the focal points of our defensive line. Rating: 7/10

 

Nathan Johnson (2039), 24 Years Old, Goalkeeper: Equaling his career-high of 7.05 AR and anchoring a defense that has become quite decent (11^th in PL) means that Johnson had a successful season.  This is a player that has missed a total of 6 Games in the past 6 seasons, when he became our No.1 after the sale of Andrew Taylor.  I have mentioned before that I would like a No.1 with more talent, but he is a decent PL GK and he has enough of it to ensure we continue to compete for a CL spot year after year. Rating: 7/10

 

Isaac Diallo (2041), 21 Years Old, Central Defender: This was Diallo’s best season yet, as he registered a career-high 6.96 AR while playing in all 38 Games.  He really has begun to remind me of Giorgos Panagiotou – he has the same skill-set and almost the same consistency and durability.  He could potentially develop to be more talented than his teammate, however, which is something I am hoping will happen.  My staff have his PA at 5/5, so that is encouraging in its own right.  Rating: 7/10

 

 

MIDFIELD

Tom Craig (2038), 25 Years Old, Central Midfielder (7 Caps): I think Craig has just become my most frustrating player outside of my backline – after delivering a career year last season (7 Goals, 16 Assists, 7.16 AR), his form dropped considerably and he finished the season with 5 Goals, 5 Assists, and 6.89 AR in 35 Games.  There were some games where I decided enough was enough and started the youngster Whiteman over him.  He continues to earn Caps for England here and there, but he has not managed to become a regular for his national team.  My thing is that he is clearly capable of giving us fantastic seasons, but he has yet to figure out how to do that for us two seasons in a row.  Rating: 6/10

 

Ricardo Marques (2030), 33 Years Old, Left Winger (132 Caps/61 Goals) – Career: Two injury filled seasons have robbed our GOAT of much of his athleticism, and it was obvious he is no longer the player he once was.  His 7.12 AR was his lowest mark since the 2035/36 season, and his 10 Goals his lowest since 2031/32.  Still, it’s not like he had a bad year (30 Appearances, 10 Goals, 11 Assists, 2 PoMs, 7.12 AR), it just was not of the standard he had set for himself for so many years.  His injuries have contributed to him reaching the twilight of his career perhaps a year or so too early, but nothing can be taken away from the career he has had.  Plus, he got to play in the Champions League, which was my one big wish for him!  Rating: 7/10

 

 

ATTACK

Daniel Jackson (2035), 28 Years Old, Striker (9 Caps/1 Goal): For the 3^rd straight year, Jackson scored atleast 20 Goals as he remained our No.1 weapon upfront.  The two-time PL Top Goalscorer has had a great career with us so far, with a heavy comparison being made to his predecessor at the position, Dan Demby.  He had a stretch earlier in his career after his amazing 33 Goal season where he seemed he would not be anything but mediocre, but he has snapped out of it and has become one of the most dangerous strikers in the PL today.  Entering the prime of his career, we can hopefully get 3-4 great seasons of out of him yet. Rating: 7.5/10

 

Junior Boumsong  (2042), 21 Years Old, Striker: Three years after becoming a permanent fixture in the first team, Boumsong registered his first 20 Goal season, accomplishing that in 35 Appearances and registering also 6 Assists, 5 PoMs, 80% Pass Ratio, 57% Shot Target, and 7.24 AR, which was a career-high.  Similar in attacking skill to Jackson, while he doesn’t have his Vision, he is stronger in the air.  The hope here is that he will continue to develop – a little more in his Attacking skills and he would be World-Class in those attributes.  Rating: 7.5/10

 

 

HOT PROSPECTS

Samuel Opoku (2043), 19 Years Old, Left Winger: His PA dropped from 5/5 to a 4.5/5 this season for the first time, and with the emergence of Barnett from the Youth Academy, I have a preference to assign Koenig as our left winger of our future instead of Opoku.  That being said, he has yet to disappoint – in 31 Appearances (8 Starts), he registered 7 Goals, 2 Assists, 2 PoMs, and a career-high 7.03 AR.  He is strong and fast, but he doesn’t really excel at anything, which leads me to believe he could be a solid contributor to the first team but not a future star. 

 

Lee Harrison (2043), 20 Years Old, Right Winger: Despite regressing in form this season (7.22 AR to 7.04 AR), Harrison remains one of our brightest prospects, and my staff still have him at 5/5 PA (3/5 CA).  This season in 33 Appearances, he registered 4 Goals (down from 10), 8 Assists, 1.29 TpG, 1.04 DpG, and 7.04 AR.  He ended the season on a low note, having to deal with a couple of injuries in April that ruled him out of 3 weeks of action.  He already has great pace, but what I would love to see is for his offensive and technical skills to show some considerable improvement – if that happens, he would become one of the finest right-wingers in the world.   

 

Solomon Okafor (2044), 19 Years Old, Central Defender: Sent out on loan to Birmingham in the Championship, Okafor showed good progress and looks like he could be ready to contribute significantly next year.  He is a strong CD – yes, he could do well to develop more literal strength, but his Defensive skills are good and he has good ability in the air.  I will look to give him more playing time next year, if I don’t send him out on loan again. 

 

Mathias Koenig (2045), 18 Years Old, Left Winger/Striker: With Marques incapable of starting and playing a full campaign going forward, Koenig will assume the responsibility of living up to Kafra 2019’s greatest player of all-time.  This season, the youngster registered 3 Goals, 3 Assists, and 7.00 AR in 15 Appearances, but more importantly, he showed significant growth in his attributes.  Ever since he came up from the Youth Academy I have been excited about seeing the French winger develop, and it looks like it is time to help him take the next step up.

 

Seb Whiteman (2046), 17 Years Old, Central Midfielder: This kid is going to be the heart of our midfield at some point in the near future.  He already has developed decent Physical attributes, but his growth in the other aspects of his game was the most encouraging part.  He played in 21 Games as a rookie, registering 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 2.91 TpG, and 6.90 AR.  My staff love him (5/5 PA), and they believe he could develop to be a great PL midfielder – here is hoping they are right. 

 

 

IMPORTANT PLAYERS LEAVING/RETIRING

None.

 

 

YOUTH INTAKE

                                                                                        

 

 

Barry Barnett - Gian Maguire

 

Barnett has the look of a player that could potentially be one of the top in the world.  I love his skill-set, and I really love how fast he is.  He is one that I will look to give immediate playing time to, and hopefully that will aid his development.  Other than Barnett, however, there is no real prospects – although we have one great prospect, this has to rank as one of my shallowest Intakes in recent times. 

 

 

[abulezz]

Probably our biggest win the history of the club (this save):

[abulezz]

 

SEASON REVIEW 2047/2048

 

 

TEAM REVIEW

We were the 2^nd best offensive team in the Premier League and the 14^th worst this season, which means we were the status quo for us, again.  I know we are never going to be able to challenge properly for the Premier League title if our defense doesn’t improve, which is why I begun trying to develop a new GK prospect and was super-excited to see a potentially great CD prospect in the Intake.  We did qualify to the Champions League for the third year in a row, which was good, especially as we crashed out in the Group Stages this time around, losing out to Bayern Munich and Malaga, who are both heavyweights in the Champions League.  Not much to report, otherwise – it has been painful watching Marques go from the star of the team to almost a liability when he plays, but we won’t forget that he was probably the biggest reason we reached the levels we have reached today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEY PLAYERS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Daniel Jackson (2035), 29 Years Old, Striker (9 Caps/1 Goal): This was the first time in 4 seasons that Jackson did not score atleast 20 Goals – instead, he netted 16 Goals while playing in all 38 Games and registering 7 Assists, 3 PoMs, and 7.15 AR (also his lowest in 4 years).  This is the second time Jackson wins the Kafra Player of the Year (first time was in 2038/39), although this was probably his least impressive season of the past few.  He now has a total of 217 League Goals in 446 Appearances, with a career average of 7.13 AR.  Rating: 7.5/10

 

 

DEFENSE

Nathan Johnson (2039), 25 Years Old, Goalkeeper: I began giving youngster Hazelwood playing time this season in hopes of getting him to develop better, because outside of Johnson, we currently have no real talent at the position.  He ended up playing in 27 Games, and he tied his career-high with 7 Clean Sheets and registered career-highs of 1.41 Con/90 and 7.13 AR.  Most likely, I will continue the same rotation over the next year or two to get a clear idea of how well Hazelwood will develop before making a final decision to give the youngster the No.1 shirt – as for now, it is still Johnson’s shirt to lose.  Rating: 7/10

 

Isaac Diallo (2041), 22 Years Old, Central Defender (6 Caps): This was his second straight season of playing in all 38 Games, although he did take a minor step back in terms of form.  He again led the league with 53 Shots Blocked and was 10th with 124 Interceptions to go along with his 1.45 TpG and 6.87 AR (down from 6.96).  He became an England international, earning 6 Caps this season, although I wouldn’t rank him amongst the best CDs in the Premier League quite yet.  Still, he is consistent, durable, and a leader in the back for us, despite his relatively young age.  Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

MIDFIELD

Michael Boateng (2040), 23 Years Old, Central Midfielder (Ghana: 26 Caps/5 Goals): One of our most important players, like much of the team, Boateng took a step back in terms of form this season.  In 36 Appearances, he registered 5 Goals (down from 13), 9 Assists, 4 PoMs, 2.13 TpG (down from 3.61), 78% Pass Ratio, 1.44 DpG, and 7.08 AR (significantly down from 7.31).  Overall, his numbers are still impressive, but he wasn’t the same player that he was over the course of the last two seasons – he seemed more held back and not as aggressive.  In any case, Boateng remains our main player in the middle of the pitch, and I hope he can bounce back to his form from last season.  Rating: 7/10

 

Lee Harrison (2043), 21 Years Old, Right Winger: My staff are really big fans of this guy – he maintains a 5/5 PA despite barely getting better in terms of his attributes this season.  In 37 Appearances, he registered 8 Goals, 7 Assists, 12 Chances Created, 1.30 TpG, 76% Pass Ratio, 1.33 DpG, and 7.01 AR – this was his 3^rd straight season registering over 7.00 AR.  He is quite a decent winger at this level, but up till now I don’t see him developing into a World-Class right winger, so I hope my staff are right on this one.  Rating: 7/10

 

 

ATTACK

Junior Boumsong  (2042), 22 Years Old, Striker: A combination of nagging injuries and Barnett earning playing time cut into Boumsong’s time on the pitch this season, and he ended up playing in only 25 Games, registering 11 Goals, 5 Assists, 82% Pass Ratio, and 7.10 AR (down from 7.24 AR).  Currently, with Jackson about to turn 30, Boumsong and Barnett (potentially) are the only players with enough talent to contribute and star at a PL level up front, and I am hoping Boumsong is not quite done developing.  Rating: 7/10

 

 

HOT PROSPECTS

Solomon Okafor (2044), 20 Years Old, Central Defender (1 Cap): I sent out the CD on loan for the second straight season, this time with Sheffield United (also in the Championship).  He did well for them (39 Apps, 7.09 AR), and his development continued at an encouraging pace.  At this point, he has enough talent to compete for some playing time in the first team against the like of Diallo and Panagiotou, so we’ll see how it plays it next season.  Incredibly, he earned a Cap for England this year, which probably speaks more about the lack of depth at the CD position for England than anything else. 

 

Mathias Koenig (2045), 19 Years Old, Left Winger/Striker:  The question here is will he end up developing to be the player I hoped he would be when he first came out of the Youth Academy.  So far, I am on the fence – he is showing progress, but it seems like he hasn’t been fast enough.  He became our full-time starter at left-wing this season, replacing the legendary Marques, and he did decent – 27 Apps, 7 Goals, 6 Assists, 1.53 TpG, 1.11 DpG, and 6.96 AR.  My staff have been changing his PA between 4.5/5 and 5/5 for the past couple of seasons, but his Determination got better this year, so I hope that aids him in his development.

 

Darren Gallacher (2045), 19 Years Old, Left Winger: The ’45 Youth Class netted us two good left winger prospects, and so far Gallacher has been the odd man out.  That being said, I don’t know how much longer I can deny him playing time – he continues to develop well despite the lack of playing time, and his speed is the kind of weapon that can give us a huge advantage down the left wing.  With Marques set to play even less next season, it will be Gallacher who takes the minutes that are going to free up.  I have to see what this kid can do. 

 

Seb Whiteman (2046), 18 Years Old, Central Midfielder: Whiteman has effectively replaced Tom Craig in the starting lineup, despite a heavy drop in his Determination.  In 29 Apps, he registered 8 Goals, 5 Assists, 2 PoMs, 2.48 TpG, 80% Pass Ratio, and 7.12 AR – not a bad effort for his sophomore season.  Unlike Koenig, I have zero issues with his development progress – he has been constantly improving since he came up from the Youth Academy.  His Physical attributes are impressive considering his young age, and that has surely helped him be able to deal with PL midfielders who are older and more physically developed. 

 

Barry Barnett (2047), 17 Years Old, Striker: This was a great rookie season from Barnett – he played in 27 Games, registering 9 Goals, 3 Assists, 2 PoMs 79% Pass Ratio, 62% Shot Target, and 6.99 AR.  He showed tremendous improvement in his Technical attributes, and developed impressively physically, as well.  I will not scale back his playing time, even if it has to come at the expense of Boumsong, as I believe that Barnett could be potentially a World-Class striker at some point. 

 

Phil Hazelwood (2047), 17 Years Old, Goalkeeper: Hazelwood is my new experiment – he came out of the Youth Academy with a 4/5 PA, and I decided to see if I can better that.  He ended this season with a 4.5/5 PA, so that was good – he played in 11 Games, registering 2.09 Con/90 and 6.84 AR, so he got a decent amount of playing time.  I am so shallow at the GK position that its an experiment of need trying to get this guy up to PL standards – hopefully, it will work out the way I want. 

 

 

IMPORTANT PLAYERS LEAVING/RETIRING

Josh Peacock (2039), Right Winger – Career: Our starting right winger in the late 2030s and early 2040s, he eventually got replaced in the starting eleven by Lee Harrison, and then saw his playing time dwindle over the course of the last two seasons.  Still only 25 years old, he played a total of 255 League Games for us, with career-highs of 8 Goals and 11 Assists (not in the same season).  He will be a great addition for any team he ends up joining.  Peacock was part of the English team that lifted the French Youth Invitational in 2042. 

 

 

YOUTH INTAKE

                                                                                        

 

 

Ricardo Atkinson - George Southam – Alex Herbert

 

It has been a long, long time since we’ve gotten a “golden generation” Intake in this save, so I am especially excited about this one.  Both Atkinson and Southam look like the real deal – Atkinson would do great in a future CM partnership with Whiteman and Boateng, while Southam looks like he could already unseat Diallo or Panagiotou for a starting CD spot.  Great Intake, I think.

 

[noikeee]

Holy **** Kafra's gone a long way! Champions League football and all! Your patience with these careers is remarkable man. So close to paying off big time now, looks like you just need a couple of truly elite intakes to get you to challenge for some really big titles. 

[abulezz]

12 hours ago, noikeee said:

Holy **** Kafra's gone a long way! Champions League football and all! Your patience with these careers is remarkable man. So close to paying off big time now, looks like you just need a couple of truly elite intakes to get you to challenge for some really big titles. 

Thanks! We're losing Marques to old age, and he was our only World-Class star.  That being said, I have some hopes on a few of our up and comers - namely Barnett, Whiteman, Atkinson, Koenig, and Southam.  Lets see how they end up!

[abulezz]

The situation right now:

[abulezz]

 

SEASON REVIEW 2048/2049

 

 

TEAM REVIEW

With a few games to go, we were on top of the Premier League dreaming of our first title.  When it was all said and done, however, we were lucky to have finished in 4^th Place and retained a Champions League spot.  I don’t know how I feel about this season – realistically, 4^th and a CL spot is a great accomplishment for such a young squad, but it just feels like we fell short.  The team did not gel together the right way for much of the season, and a lot of our players either showed a regression in form and/or lack of expected development.  A new starting GK meant we had some bumps defensively, and our defense dropped to being the 16^th worst in the PL.  Despite no one on the team scoring even 15 Goals and our top goalscorer being a CM, we still finished top of the league offensively, which probably speaks more about the state of other team’s offense as oppose to ours.  Liverpool ended up taking the title for the first time since 2029 in what was the closest finish at the top of the PL in recent times. 

 

In the Champions League, we managed to move past a tough group (we exited at the Group Stage last year), only to fall victim to Shalke 04 – the German team are perfect 4 from 4 in their Finals appearances, having lifted the CL title in 2035, ’38, ’40, and ’43. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEY PLAYERS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Seb Whiteman (2046), 19 Years Old, Central Midfielder: The 19 year old Whiteman effectively replaced Boateng as the heart of our team this season, taking impressive steps forward in terms of both his development and form.  In 35 Appearances, he registered 13 Goals, 6 PoMs, 2.94 TpG, 78% Pass Ratio, 1.10 DpG, and 7.23 AR – additionally, he was the team leader in Passes Completed and had a decent 27 Key Passes.  Is the beginning of a legendary career?  I sure hope so – we need a talisman very badly now that Marques is pretty much done.  Whiteman wouldn’t have been my first guess, but if he is the one to lead us, I would have no complaints because I have really fallen in love with this youngster.  Rating: 8/10

 

 

DEFENSE

Gary Barrett (2040), 25 Years Old, Central Defender (21 Caps/1 Goal): I am featuring Barrett not because of his form, but because of highly he is rated along with how talented his is.  Still, his form has been lacking – 35 Appearances, 4 Goals, 2.04 TpG, 6.75 AR (down from 6.81) is not a good return for a star player who is England’s starting right-back at this point.  If he can get to a point where he is giving us 7.00 AR a season constantly going forward, I would classify this player as a great success.  Until then, he remains an underachiever in my eyes, and a core reason why our defense just won’t get better. Rating: 6/10

 

Solomon Okafor (2044), 21 Years Old, Central Defender (1 Cap): After featuring for Sheffield United last year and impressing, I put Okafor in the rotation this season and was not disappointed.  In 24 Appearances, he registered 2 Goals, 1.28 TpG, and 6.94 AR, which were decent numbers for his first real season with the first team.  He also continued to show decent improvement in his attributes, so going forward, I am considering him one of my starters at the CD position, at least to start next season.  Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

MIDFIELD

Michael Boateng (2040), 24 Years Old, Central Midfielder (Ghana: 32 Caps/7 Goals): Very disappointed in his season – from 7.31 AR two seasons ago to 6.93 AR this year, his drop in form has been bad.  The only thing I can think of that coincides with his drop in form has been the development of Whiteman and Atkinson, but I don’t see why that should affect him since he has been our primary starter.  His 2 Goals (down from 13 two seasons ago) were a career-low and was a good reflection on his season in general.  I hope he picks it back up next season.  Rating: 6/10

 

Lee Harrison (2043), 22 Years Old, Right Winger: This is why I am always apprehensive of my staff’s reports – Harrison has been 5/5 PA since he came up from the Youth Academy, and all of sudden this season he dropped to 3.5/5 PA and now is playing at his full potential.  He is an OK player, but he for years I was being told he might be the next big thing at ring wing, which he is obviously is not.  In 36 Appearances, he registered 8 Goals, 8 Assists, 3 PoMs, 1.52 TpG, 1.98 DpG, and 6.95 AR, which was down from 7.01 last season.  I don’t think its likely he ever becomes a true international star – he might win a Cap or two, but I don’t see him developing into a world-beater.  In other words, he is a decent short term solution for us, but given we have a few young prospects coming up at the position, he might start seeing himself pushed in terms of playing time.  Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

ATTACK

Daniel Jackson (2035), 30 Years Old, Striker (9 Caps/1 Goal): Like a lot of our veterans this season, Jackson’s form took a hit.  In 29 Appearances, he registered only 10 Goals, 8 Assists, 2 PoMs, 55% Shot Target, and 6.97 AR (down from 7.15 AR), and it is starting to seem like his best days are now behind him.  The comparison has always been to Dan Demby, but Demby will have had a more accomplished career by the time Jackson is done – still, Jackson remains one of all-time players, and is approaching 500 League Games with us to go with 227 Goals. Rating: 6.5/10

 

 

HOT PROSPECTS

Mathias Koenig (2045), 20 Years Old, Left Winger/Striker:  My only gripe with Koenig is that his growth seems to be stagnating, and if his development stops, he will merely be a decent option at left wing for us instead of a good one.  This was his first year as a full-time starter replacing Marques, and in 32 Appearances, he registered 8 Goals, 5 Assists, 1.65 TpG, 79% Pass Ratio, 1.16 DpG, 55% Shot Target, and 6.96 AR.  What we can deduct from his numbers is that he certainly does a good job overall, but his AR points to the fact he is not consistent and is prone to some really bad games that bring the average down.  Judgement will come in a couple of seasons for the French winger, and I really hope he develops as I hope because I do love his skill-set.

 

Barry Barnett (2047), 18 Years Old, Striker: So far, so good from Barnett, whose sophomore season was relatively good.  In 29 Appearances, he registered 10 Goals, 2 Assists, 4 PoMs, 82% Pass Ratio, 57% Shot Target, and 7.00 AR – similar but slightly better numbers than his rookie season.  Despite his major drop in Determination, he has shown great progress across the board – if he keeps this up, there is no reason for Barnett not to be a quality striker for us. 

 

Phil Hazelwood (2047), 18 Years Old, Goalkeeper: Given the potential to develop a GK whose talents far exceed that of Johnson’s, I decided to go all in on Hazelwood this season and named him our permanent starter between the posts.  He did not disappoint, and although our defense did take a step back instead of forward, overall, I believe I made the right choice.  Hazelwood’s form was quite decent, but more importantly, his development ramped up several notches when he started playing regularly.  Overall, he played in 28 Games, registering 1.43 Con/90, 9 Clean Sheets, and 6.94 AR.  Hazelwood’s promotion to No.1 effectively ends Johnson’s tenure, who became our starter in 2041 and played in 259 League Games, registering 7.00 AR. 

 

Ricardo Atkinson (2048), 17 Years Old, Central Midfielder: This kid has a talent for passing ball – for a large part of the season, he was the league’s leader in Assists despite limited playing time.  He finished the season with 10 Assists (2^nd in PL) having played in only 19 Games, registering 1.35 TpG, 77% Pass Ratio, and 7.07 AR to complete what was one of the most impressive rookie campaigns for any prospect we have had recently. 

 

George Southam (2048), 17 Years Old, Central Defender: Is he the future of our defensive line? Only thing holding him back from that is a lack of development, which we didn’t see much of in his rookie season.  In 29 Appearances, he registered 1.97 TpG and 6.98 AR, which were good numbers considering it was his first season, but I really want to see some solid improvement in his attributes next season. 

 

Alex Herbert (2048), 17 Years Old, Winger/Striker: He made his debut in his rookie year, playing 14 Games in an otherwise crowded front-line.  He is one to keep an eye on going forward, and he also has the ability to play down the right wing, which could be useful since both Peacock and Harrison promised so much coming out of the Youth Academy only to fall short of expectations. 

 

 

IMPORTANT PLAYERS LEAVING/RETIRING

None.

 

 

YOUTH INTAKE

                                                                                        

 

 

Alfie Dayton - Charles Addo – Ricardo Noel – Nicholas Forbes

This looks like a real deep Intake, and it is the second straight one which has been classified as a “Golden Generation”, so I am excited about this.  We have a couple of right wing prospects, which is good because Harrison doesn’t look like he will pan out the way I hoped.  My favorite from the bunch is probably Addo at this point, but we will see how they all pan out. 

 

[Tajerio]

That is a very low PL-winning points total.  Shame you couldn't hang on to top spot, but it's a valiant effort without a striker really doing the business for you.

[abulezz]

2 hours ago, Tajerio said:

That is a very low PL-winning points total.  Shame you couldn't hang on to top spot, but it's a valiant effort without a striker really doing the business for you.

Yes, it really was.  I guess it just wasn't a good season for anyone - the funny thing, despite spending by far the most on players, I think the Premier League is ranked either 3rd or 4th in Europe for best league currently. 

[abulezz]

So I am going to keep playing this save until FM20 comes out, but I won't be doing anymore updates.

That being said, I will share achievements whenever they pop up, such as this big one below!

Edited August 11, 2019 by abulezz

[Sysiphus]

Congratulations! Great achievement.

[noikeee]

Awesome! Must be so rewarding reaching something big like that after that many seasons! Congratulations. 

[abulezz]

On ‎12‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 07:37, Sysiphus said:

Congratulations! Great achievement.

Thanks! Unfortunately, it does not look like we are going to defend our title successfully - Man United have a 7 point lead and its mid-March, while we're sitting in 3rd. 

 

On ‎15‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 16:03, noikeee said:

Awesome! Must be so rewarding reaching something big like that after that many seasons! Congratulations. 

Thanks - it really was. We also won the Europa League, so atleast I can say I managed to get that Premier League title and an important European title under my belt in this save.  The Champions League is still the elusive one - I have not won one since I started these Kafra saves in 2016!

[abulezz]

So I just completed the 2053/54 season, finishing in 3rd Place.  It's still just that one Premier League title and Europa League title for us (both in 2052), but here's a quick update on the history of my finishes in this save.  I also wanted to share with you shots of Barry Barnett and Charles Addo - it took almost 40 years, but the Youth Academy is finally churning out quality, led by these two:

 

 

[abulezz]

Premier League title No.2!

[abulezz]

This beast of a NewGen has been incredible:

 

[abulezz]

Its been a whiiiile since I've experienced this, although admittedly it doesn't count because I ended up buying a couple of players this season, so it wasn't a pure Youth Only.