[FM19] French Lingerie - Acre State, Brazil

[Jimbokav1971]

Aug 2047. 

We finished July with 2 losses and then started August with another. From then on we have hit a bit of a purple patch, winning 5 games on the bounce and scoring 16 goals in the process. 

We're back up to 3rd, but it's really tight everywhere except for at the very top where Ceara have edged out a 4 point gap. 

Goal-scoring GK Terra has contributed 3 goals this month, bringing him to 16 for the season, (tied with last season's total), which I don't think I have ever beaten in any FM. 

With a dominant team, I think that 25-30 goals per season for a GK might be possible in a save like this. There are loads of Continental games at the top level and you don't miss out on any of the smaller Cups. I honestly think it would be a Turkey shoot once the team starts to dominate. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day. Sept 2047.

Usually, if you what I want for Youth Intake Day, I will tell you that I want a 5.0 player in a particular position. We all dream of having a home produced starlet striker come through the ranks like (39b) Xabier (Res) *, be sometimes we also might want a specific position to cover for a weakness in the squad or to fill the gap created by a retiring player or one sold for some reason. After last years Intake however, (the one when I had no Ass Man to help me with initially and which subsequently turned out to absolutely "bobbins"), all I want is just a single player with good PA. He doesn't even have to be a 5.0 PA player. I think I would be happy with a 4.0 player and definitely happy with a 4.5 players. And as for CA, well that would just be a big Brucey bonus. 

If I had to pick a position though...... I would choose a GK.

Ok, well this is a bit better. 

That's an improvement on last season, but let;s be honest, it's for it not to be an improvement on last season. 

We've got a 5.0 PA player and that will do me fine. I'm happy as Larry now. I don't care what position he is. 1x 5.0 player is great after last years shambles. 

(47a) Witinei (Merc) (2047) *.

He's a centre-back, he's big, he's determined, he's aggressive. Physicals look good for a 15yo in Brazil I think, (where some players are promoted as 17 year olds). I like his mentals. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Youth Day continued. Sept 2047.

I'm an advocate of signing all 16 players from the Youth Intake where possible, even if they are subsequently released at a later date without ever playing for the Senior Team.

I have said many times before that I don't think we are given enough information on Day 1, (and correctly so in my opinion), in order to make an accurate and informed decision based on the potential of these players. It's not always possible though, (for any number of different reasons), and the fact that we can only have 5 players on youth contracts in a match squad in Brazil would seem to be one of these, (although lessened by the fact that there are 12 sub spots available). 

With that in mind I have had a look at the Intake and tried to cut it down from 16 to a more manageable level. 

When you think about it for a minute, these kids are going to be playing at U20 level when they play, and I think you would agree that there is a significant difference between a 20 year old and a 15 year old wet behind the years just out of the Academy. Then you have to think about the numbers involved. 

In the U20 State Championship, we can play players who are under the age of 20 on Jan 1st on the opening day of the season. Now I know that the intake doesn't happen until September so effectively players may age between September and the following January, but just to make it easier on me, let's just ignore that for a minute. 

If you add up all the player ages in that recent intake and then divide by 16 players it gives me an average age of 16.25, (assuming I haven't missed anyone or counted anyone twice). Again, just to make the maths really easy, lets round down from 16.25 to 16.00. We are saying that all 16 players from the intake are still going to be 16 on 1st January next season. That means that they will be 17 on 1st January on season 2, 18 on 1st Jan season 3, 19 on 1st Jan Season 4 and 20, (and ineligible for the competition), on 1st Jan Season 5. 

So that means that players will have 4 seasons where they are eligible to play in the U20 State Championship, (on average remember), and then they will either have to step up to Senior level or should really be released, 

So if we sign all 16 players each season, (as is  my normal style), and we don't release anyone or sell anyone between then and Season 5, w(hen they become ineligible to play in the U20 State Championship), then we have 16 players x 4 seasons = 64 players. These players are mostly going to be in the same U20 squad, (except for any startlets who make the leap to Senior football earlier than expected. What this does is dilute the effectiveness of the training provided by the, (in many cases), small number of coaches working with the U20 squad. When the whole aim of playing this way is to develop the players as much as is possible in their formative years, this sort of strategy would seem to be counter-productive. The elite level players that come through the Intake are going to be fine because they are probably going to be fast-tracked to Senior football anyway, but what about the level just below this? Surely their development is likely to be stunted because when they are 16 for example, they are going to be competing against players who are 3 years older at 19 and who have had 3 years worth of development under their belts. Even if they have significantly more potential than the older player, the player is going to get selected to play the U20 matches ahead of them because their CA is better. (If of course you leave the U20's Manager or Ass Man or HoYD or whoever to select the U20 squad, (as I'm sure most of us do).

So if we agree that 64 players is too many to have in the squad if we don't want to stunt the development of the youngest players, but at the same time we want to sign as many of the 16 as possible at the outset, (because we don't want to miss out on anyone with decent potential then we have to try and find a way to cull the numbers. This doesn't have to be done immediately, but needs to be a constant and on-going process. 

I've been trying to change things in this save and as a result I have forced myself NOT to sign all the players from the intake, but I have also been thinking about why I'm not going to keep them. 

Here I kept the best 5 players, (rated by PA), and then I also kept 2 more players. 

One I look for in making these decisions is stuff like "attribute balance" as I call it. That's not the same thing at all as the balance attribute, but can best be described as how well the players' attributes mesh together to suit the position/role that I want the player to develop in and the player that I ultimately want him to become. Do I have a centre-half who is REALLY weak physically? Do I have a wide player who is REALLY slow? Do I have a midfielder who can neither pass the ball, nor has the physicality to get about the pitch? (I play with a 2 in the middle and use 2 very complimentary and contrasting roles). Do I have a striker who can't finish, doesn't work hard and has a poor work ethic? How am I going to be able to shoe-horn a player like that into my starting line-up at any time in the future. 

I also look at (Det). It used to be (Pro), but the way the game is now tutoring or mentoring as it has become is far harder than it was before and the benefits often don't balance up against the work required to achieve the meagre gains, (although elite sport is all about the marginal gains so that's one for the individual). What I do like to do is "game the hidden attributes" in terms of using the squad overall personality to influence the next generation. If I was to only sign players in double figured (Det) for 4 seasons, then the average would obviously would be very good when the 5th intake came through and anyone with a poor (Det) level would be influenced by the squad and their (Det) would ride over time to a more appropriate level. The same can be done with (Pro), but it's obviously FAR harder to manage. 

The other thing in this respect is that it means not signing players from previous Intakes with low (Det), although a possible workaround is immediately moving them to the Senior or Reserve squad, but then making them available for the U20 matches. The thing is that they are then influenced, (positively or negatively), by the overall personality of that squad, so it's a bit of a viscous circle really. 

In the next picture you will show the players that I have signed and you will see that only 7 of the 16 players survived the cull. Players A-E were kept because although they have poor (Det) levels, (really poor in 2 cases), the suggestion is that they have some level of footballing ability when compared to some of the real cloggers that have been released. 

Rather than showing you the players that I have kept, I should probably have gone through the players I have released, but as they have been released that's easier said than done. 

(47p) Bogéa Júnior. (Unamb) was REALLY week physically and his technical/mental attributes suggested that he would be more suited to a defensive workmanlike midfield role than a creative one. He was never going to make up from the poor physical start he had in life. He also had really poor (Det) and was deemed to have the lowest PA. So it was 1 strike for attribute balance, a 2nd striker for lack of physical ability, a 3rd striker for personality/(Det) and a 4th strike for poor PA. I'm not saying it's 3 strikes and you are out, (or 4 strikes in this case), but I am saying I am looking for reasons NOT to sign him and he had many. 

You will notice I am working backwards from P upwards because the easiest players to dismiss are often ranked at the bottom by PA.

(47o) Edízio. (Temp) is a left back with 5 pace, rubbish personality, poor PA and generally looks rubbish. There were lots of reasons NOT to sign him and no reason to sign him. Easy decision. 

You get the gist. 

There is no right and wrong way to do this, but many people have asked me privately how I am able to get such relatively poor clubs producing such relatively good players. It's not 1 single thing but a mix of many things. This is just a little insight into my thinking. Apologies for boring you again. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New GK? Sept 2047.

My DoF keeps making offers for experienced GK's. 

My current GK has scored 32 goals in the last 2 seasons and there are still at least 10 games of the season left. Why would I want to get another one in? 

I'm in the market for a young Gl who will take over after Terra either retires, is sold or starts to wane, but i don't want another experienced guy.

I wish you could say to the the DoF, "You re right we do need a new GK, but I want one that is between the ages of 15 and 21, who is suited to playing as a SK(d), who is at least 6'2", who's jumping attribute is at least 12, who's positioning is at least 12, who's aerial reach is at least 12, who's handling is at least 12, who's concentration is at least 12, and who wants less than £1,000 per week. Now go and find me someone. 

Instead it's no, no, no, no not him either, no, no, I've already said no to this bloke, no, no way, this bloke again, etc etc etc

[Jimbokav1971]

New Records. Oct 2047.

The only negative was that Jonatan Dallazen nicked a GK goal off Terra as he took a penalty to complete his hat-trick. (That's the 3rd time this has happened this season).

[Jimbokav1971]

Sept & Oct.

Apologies. I forgot to post the September update. 

We have now won 10 of our last 11 games and are in an excellent position. I'm not looking up at Ceara and all I care about is securing promotion. If we happen to sneak the title then so be it. Ceara have dropped 7 points in the last 4 games and we are properly on a roll with 5 games left. They are 3 points ahead and we have a better goal difference. It's just a shame we don't have to play them. 

There were no GK goals in either of the last 2 months, (which is obviously frustrating), and he is currently on 16, level with last season's tally. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Promotion. Nov 2047.

We tried hard to bottle it, and barely crawled over the line in the end. 

There is no title to celebrate, but there is at least promotion to the top tier for the 1st time in our history. 

[kidthekid]

congrats on promotion to the top flight.

[Jimbokav1971]

55 minutes ago, kidthekid said:

congrats on promotion to the top flight.

Cheers. I thought we would struggle this season but we have been great and had we not imploded in the last month we could and should have finished Runners Up. Still delighted to be promoted though. 

We played 68 games this season and I estimate that it will be another 68 games next season. If we qualify for Continental football then it will go up enormously and I am already gearing up for that with regards to squad building. 

We have 62 players at the club right now and 6 are loaned in and 1 is loaned out, (so 58 on permanent deals). 
19 players are on Youth contracts, (meaning 39 are on full-time contracts)
I will be trying to keep the ageing players on at the club in the hope of converting them to staff contracts, (demand is still ridiculously high). 

I've just signed (47a) Witinei (Merc) (2047) * to a pre-contract deal that lasts for 2 years and then there is an option for 3 more after that, but I know that options don't work in some Countries if they are signed when the player is under a certain age, so this will be a test case. He's 15 now but the reason I am signing him to a pre-contract now is because Vitoria of First Division are already sniffing around and I don'y want to lose him before he has even played for us.

(47b) Hizi (L.Det) is 16 so I'm going to do the same with him just so I know for the future what works.

Now I need a 17 year old to offer a contract to with a +year option and that will be......(47c) Iorlando (Temp). Again, really just working out what works in terms of contracts and what doesn't. I've been bit before on this and don't want to be bitten again. 

If I was looking for an 18 year old then that would be........  Victor Hugo, (but he has just refused my 1st offer so I will offer it instead to...... Arraial. That should tell me exactly what works and what doesn't work over the next few years. 

[Jimbokav1971]

2047 Season Summary. 

Acre State Championship.

We won this for the 1st time under my tenure, (but I don't think the last). We scored 9, 8 and 7 goals twice in this competition and I'm hoping to hit double figures next season. Rio Branco (AC) are still a threat, but it's certainly a 2-horse race. 

Copa Verde.

We've won this trophy in both of my seasons in charge now and I have no intention of letting Rio Branco (AC) steal our crown anytime soon. 

Brazilian Cup. 

Not only have we never won this competition, but we have never won a game in this competition under my tenure. We get about £0.5M just for entering, (and then crashing out), at this stage, and certainly that money has been gratefully received so far, (although I suspect it will become less important once we start playing in South American competition).

Second Division.

I thought we might struggle this season, and the fact that we didn't is probably down to the fact that I changed my mind and accepted 6 loan deals that my DoF arranged. The time for me imprinting my style of management on the team is after we have got to the First Division and have a squad capable of surviving relegation. We only lost 1 of the final 16 games and at one point won 10 out of 11 games in a row. 

Best XI Season. 

Best XI Overall.

Awards. 

]

Goal of the Season. 

I'm so glad this goal won, (even ahead of some amazing GK freekicks). It's probably the best goal I have ever scored in FM. 

Stats. 

Season Review. 

Squad Dynamics. 

Confidence Review. 

Player of the Year.

Jonatan Dallazen.

Top Goalscorer.

Young Player of the Year.

Manager of the Year. 

Team of the Year.

Finances.

Facilities. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Stadium Expansion cancelled. Dec 2047.

If there was a message about this I must have missed it. 

I have a sneaking suspicion though that we don't own the stadium though so it's not us who will be developing it. 

Our expenses page seems to suggest otherwise though. 

There is no line for stadium rental. 

I think we do own it. 

I've just noticed this on the Facilities page. 

And if we wonder why we have jusy spent £579,600 on ground maintenance, then I think this is it. 

[cplpeters1900]

Amazing work, I know i'm probably just being lazy, but is there any chance you can repost your tactic please?

[Jimbokav1971]

Here you go @cplpeters1900

I swap the individual roles for my wide players a fair bit depending on what suits the individual player. IW(s), W(s) and even WM(s). Have used WTM further forward with 1 player and am thinking about using 1 and possibly 2 RMA(a) roles as this save progresses. 

Sometimes I use 2x AF(a)'s but at the moment I have a poacher in there just for individual players. 

I've also considered tweaking the tactic to give us more penalty and free-kick opportunities, even if it makes us less effective, but so far I've managed to hold off that. 

[cplpeters1900]

1 hour ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Here you go @cplpeters1900

I swap the individual roles for my wide players a fair bit depending on what suits the individual player. IW(s), W(s) and even WM(s). Have used WTM further forward with 1 player and am thinking about using 1 and possibly 2 RMA(a) roles as this save progresses. 

Sometimes I use 2x AF(a)'s but at the moment I have a poacher in there just for individual players. 

I've also considered tweaking the tactic to give us more penalty and free-kick opportunities, even if it makes us less effective, but so far I've managed to hold off that. 

Thanks for that, seems a strong tactic!

[Jimbokav1971]

New Records. Jan 2048.

[Jimbokav1971]

Jan 2048.

We got stuffed in the friendlies but started the Acre State campaign with a big win and kept on winning. The only negatives were that we conceded a goal against Indepencia and we had a penalty "stolen" by a player on a hat-trick.

Goal-scoring GK Terra scored his 1st goal of the season against Vasco (AC). He scored 16 in season 1 and 17 in season 2, but I will be happy with 10 goals because of the challenge of playing in the First Division.

[Jimbokav1971]

New Record. Feb 2048.

[Jimbokav1971]

Feb 2048.

An unbeaten month is great and we had another 8-0 win, but we conceded another goal which is frustrating. 

Goal-scoring GK Terra converted 2/2 penalties bringing his tally to the season to 3, and he also has 2 assists. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New Records.

[paduardo]

Congrats on your promotion to the top flight.

I love the Brazilian leagues but the one improvement I'd love them to implement is to play the state championship in the midweek during the actual Serie A/B/C season over a 10 months span so I can rotate my side more rather than cramming 38 intense matches into 6 months

 

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 27/06/2019 at 11:29, Jimbokav1971 said:

Cristiano Ronaldo has just scored against me and now my DoF thinks I should buy Diego Maradona. 

And you now have Garrincha in your youth team.

[Jimbokav1971]

New Record. Mar 2048.

 

[Jimbokav1971]

9 hours ago, paduardo said:

Congrats on your promotion to the top flight.

I love the Brazilian leagues but the one improvement I'd love them to implement is to play the state championship in the midweek during the actual Serie A/B/C season over a 10 months span so I can rotate my side more rather than cramming 38 intense matches into 6 months

 

Yeah, but if they did that then when would they play the Continental matches? 

I love the fact that the season lasts for 11 months. 

[Jimbokav1971]

6 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

And you now have Garrincha in your youth team.

Yeah, forgot about him. I have however signed the Brazilian version of cricketer Jason Trott in the form of Josino Trott. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New Record. Mar 2047.

[Jimbokav1971]

New record. Mar 2047.

[Jimbokav1971]

New record. Mar 2047.

[ToMexico!!]

5 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Yeah, forgot about him. I have however signed the Brazilian version of cricketer Jason Trott in the form of Josino Trott. 

Jonathon Trott, no? 

[Jimbokav1971]

5 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

Jonathon Trott, no? 

Absolutely. Who the hell is Jason Trott? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar 2048.

I don't think I have ever scored 10+ goals in a competitive match, but thinking about it, I must have done so in Iceland and just forgotten. 

Although we have won 13 of 13 games, I'm starting to look at the goals against column and am frustrated that we have conceded 5 goals. 

This is more like it. Clean sheets everywhere. 

Dallazen became the 1st player to score 5 goals for us in a match. 

Terra scored 5 goals this month, (4 penalties and the following free-kick), to bring his total for the season to  8 goals, but interestingly didn't score in 11-0 thrashing of Vasco (AC). He also had not 1 but 2 penalties "stolen" off him as both Ryder and Eduardo completed hat-tricks via a penalty. 

[Jimbokav1971]

The Perils of GK's taking free-kicks. Apr 2048.

Despite this, I will still be persisting in letting my GK take free-kicks and penalties. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

New record. Apr 2048.

[Jimbokav1971]

Facility Improvement. Apr 2048.

We are getting there in terms of facilities from what was a very low starting point. 

Junior Coaching. (Good. Level 14-16).

Youth Recruitment. (Established Level 15-16).

[Jimbokav1971]

New Record. Apr 2048.

[Jimbokav1971]

New Records. Apr 2048.

Edited July 2, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

New Record. Apr 2048.

[Jimbokav1971]

Apr 2048.

We just have the 2nd leg of the Final to play.

Frustratingly we didn't win the 1st leg and it's the only game we have not won in the tournament this season. 

We are at least ahead from the away 1st leg for this Final.

2 goals for goal-scoring GK Terra this month, (bringing his total for the season to 10). He scored 1 penalty and this free-kick to bring his career total to 43, (in 2.5 seasons). 

[Jimbokav1971]

New record. May 2048.

[Jimbokav1971]

Awards. May 2048.

[Jimbokav1971]

No Ass Man again. May 2048.

[Jimbokav1971]

New Records. May 2048.

We play 8 games in this competition so still room for improvement here. 

This is rubbish. You shouldn't get a record for equalling a record. You should have to beat the record. 

Edited July 2, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

New Record. May 2048.

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2048.

We made it a 2 successive wins in this competition. 

We made it 3 successive wins in this competition. 

Our 1st win in this competition, and we progress to the Quarter-Finals. 

I wasn't really sure how we would go in the First Division, so I was astonished when we beat Internacional on the opening day of the league season. They finished 3rd last season so for us to compete with them never mind beat them is simply remarkable. 

When we followed that up with our 1st victory in the Brazilian Cup, (beating Palmeiras who finished Runners Up in the First Division last season), I was really sure that we would at least not be in a relegation battle this season. 

São Paulo were the First Division champions last season, so it will be interesting to see how we get on in our games against them. I would love to do well enough to qualify for Continental football next season. 

Goal-scoring GK Terra scored twice this month, (both from the spot) to bring his total for the season to 12. he hasn't scored yet in the First Division and it will be a big moment when he does.

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2048.

Edited July 2, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

El Presidente #3. Jul 2048.

I got on well with old Director Fabricio in the end. I hope I get on as well with Zico. (Surely not THAT Zico?)

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2048.

We're not winning every game in the First Division, but thank God for that. I would be bored out of my mind if I won the First Division too.

We're sitting 8th in the league, and that will be comfortably good enough for Continental football come the end of season, but we have played 4 more games than the likes of Vasco, but it's others yet. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Jun 2048 continued. 

I forgot to mention that goal-scoring GK Terra is off the mark in the First Division with not 1 but 2 penalties this month to b ring his tally for the season to 14 and making it 47 in 3 seasons with 5 months still to play this season. We are not as free-scoring in the First Division, (as is to be expected), and this is having an impact on our GK goals.  

Terra.

As you can see, he really isn't very good and certainly isn't good enough to be playing in Brazil's top league. I will be buying a new GK, (or promoting a Youth GK), as soon as our DoF finds one that's below 25 or I find one in the Academy. He keeps suggesting old 30+ GK's who are not a not a lot better than what we have,

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul 2048.

When you are used to seeing loads of green with a little splash of yellow, this looks like we have hit poor form. In actual fact we have won half our games and drawn another this month and I am delighted with our performances and our form. 

We're currently 7th in the league, (which would qualify us for the Copa Libertadores), but to be honest I'm still aiming for top 13 to qualify for the Copa Sudamerica). 

When you consider that Corinthians are top, and we lost 2-1 away to  them earlier in the season, and Internacional are 2nd and we have just lost 6-4 away to them, then it shows that we are already competitive at the top end of the table and we just need to be more consistent and to keep on improving. To my mind our squad should be rock bottom of the table based on ability. I haven't even got going yet. 

There were no goals this month for goal-scoring GK Terra, but he did have a penalty stolen from him again by a player on a hat-trick in the Parana game. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New Philosophies. Jul 2048.

So we are back on track as far as philosophies go. 

[Jimbokav1971]

New Record. Aug 2048.