[FM19] French Lingerie - Acre State, Brazil

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Mar 2039.

(34b) Mikel Ochoa (Bal) *. 2 appearances for (FRA) U20's. 3 appearances for (FRA) U19's

(35a) Iker (Bal) (2035) *. 8 appearances for (FRA) U20's including 1 assist. 11 appearances for (FRA) U19's including 5 assists and 1 goal.
(35b) Renault (Temp) *. 2 appearance for (FRA) U20's. 2 appearances for (FRA) U19's including 1 assist. 

(36b) Borja (F.Amb) *. 1 appearance for (FRA) U20's. 1 appearance for (FRA) U19's.
(36c) Schmidt (F.Loyal) *. 1 appearance for (FRA) U19's. 
(36e) Koldo (Det) *. 2 appearances for (FRA) U20's. 8 appearances for (FRA) U19's, including 2 assists.

(37a) Théo (F.Amb) (2037) *. 1 appearance for (FRA) U19's.

[Jimbokav1971]

Mar & Apr 2039.

I forgot to post the March update. Apologies. 

I was all set to post a double undefeated month, (that would have made it 13 games undefeated over 3 months), but we got turned over away to Clermont.

There are 3 goals from goal-scoring GK #3 (36c) Schmidt (F.Loyal) * in these 2 months, bringing his total to 9 for the season, and all our GK's seem to be in decent goal-scoring form at the moment. 

Goal-scoring GK #3 (23e) Bouchez. (F.Det) * has been playing for the Reserves in National 2-B and he has also scored 9 goals this season. I hadn't worked out that I could set penalty and set-piece takers for the other squads until this season. 31 year old (23e) Bouchez. (F.Det) * is now up to 54 career goals. He is now only rated at 2.0 CA but is still our 2nd choice GK. It's quite possible that if he continues scoring at this rate then he will pass goal-scoring GK #1 Lesec (the bloke who has the stadium currently being built named after him), who I think finished his career of 78 career goals. 

16 year old (38a) Teo Guerin (Bal) (2038)* has the potential to become goal-scoring GK #4, but at the moment he hasn't made his senior debut but has scored 2 goals for the U18's. 

You would think that our decent form would have fired us into a promotion place, but too many losses earlier in the season and too many recent draws mean that with 2 games left we are not yet assured of a playoff position, although the fact that we have 3 points in hand on Saint-Etienne suggests that we should be able to do it. 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2039.

Goal-scoring GK #3 (36c) Schmidt (F.Loyal) * became the 1st GK to hit double-figure goals in 1 season in this save, (I think). 

The following day, goal-scoring GK #2 (23e) Bouchez. (F.Det) * scored his 10th of the season with his 4th goal in 5 games. 

Our decent late-season form, (1 loss in the last 15 games), is enough to secure us a Playoff position, and while it wasn't enough to get us the coveted 3rd position spot, we did at least seure 4th. Can we overcome the odds and battle our way back to Ligue 1? 

[Jimbokav1971]

Have never seen this before. May 2039.

In other news....... 

The loan repayments are starting to become a dead-weight around our neck as the ability of our players increase and so do their wages. 

At this rate we are in serious danger of the board accepting any half-decent cash offers for our players and I'm worried that we will lose a few of our highly rated youngsters even though I have tied them down to pre-contracts. If we go up this season via the Playoffs then that might be enough to keep the wolf from the door, but otherwise I fear that our best young players will leave when the sharks start to circle. 

The board have just invested £634,100, (the 1st injection of cash), to keep things manageable, but it's a drop in the ocean really. 

Is the new stadium going to make that much difference? No, probably not. The reality is that I probably need to start selling young players for decent cash up front plus considerable add-ons, and hope that one of them goes for a big re-sale fee. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Ligue 2 Playoffs. 1st Round. May 2039.

We are playing against US Créteil-Lusitanos who finished 5th in the league and obviously because we finished 4th, we are at home. 

We finished 5 points ahead of them, but the real story here is that we haven't lost against them at home since 2025, (so 14 years ago). 

The overall head to head record against them though is very close, so I am very glad we are playing at home. 

Something that I have to keep in mind though is that the Playoff Final, (which will see the winner of this game play FC Lorient who finished 3rd), will take place just 3 days later I think. With that in mind is it worth resting some players for the Lusitanos game on the basis that unless we win the next game too then it doesn't really matter if we win the 1st Round. I've rested players before in situations like this to good effect before. It's risky, and I prefer to do it when I'm resting tired players, (so in the Final), rather than in anticipation of the Final. 

Decisions, decisions, decisions. 

Disaster! 

3 days before the Playoff and my reserves have just spanked someone 5-1 away. I go to have a look at the goals, (just to see if my #2 GK has scored). only to find that my 1st choice striker played the full 90 minutes scoring 2 goals in the process. He was suspended for the last league game of the season so I made him available for the Reserves to keep his eye in and then forgot to make him unavailable again.... 

Well that's that then. 

The mistake I made in making (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * available for the Reserves 3 days before the Playoff did indeed come back to haunt us as his replacements couldn't convert multiple chances. 

We will be in Ligue 2 again next season. 

[Edit]

I've got to find a way to get 2 strikers on the pitch at the same time so that (A) we are not so reliant on just 1 player, and (B) if I can get 2 strikers scoring then I won't mind selling 1 of them and getting some cash rolling in while I promote the next striker on the production line. With just 1 spot in the squad it's hard to give them game-time. 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Cash. May 2039. 

Well that's not going to go very far. 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

End of Season Summary. May 2039. 

Ligue 2. (We scored the most goals in the league, but it still wasn't enough to see us promoted). 

National 2-B (Reserves League). (I'm not really sure how we didn't win this league. Every time I looked at a game we were smashing the opposition and ended up with a +47 goal difference). 

Overall Best XI.

Seasonal Best XI.

End of Season Awards. 

(34a) Merino (LHeart) (2034) *.

Stats. 

(36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *.

Season Review.

Squad Dynamics.

Confidence. 

Finances. 

Facilities. 

General.

[Jimbokav1971]

Playoff Update 1. May 2029.

Monaco Reserves have joined PSG Reserves in Ligue 2 via the Playoffs. I think this is a bug, but as long as we can do the same eventually then that's fine by me. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Goal-scoring GK Watch. May 2039.

(36c) Schmidt (F.Loyal) * might be goal-scoring GK #3, but he is 1st choice. He scored 8 league goal plus 2 in the league, so 10 for the season), and had scored 2 previously bringing his career total to 12 goals. 

(23e) Bouchez. (F.Det) * is very much 2nd choice now despite being goal-scoring GK #2. he scored 11 goals this season, (for the reserves in a competitive league so they still count), bringing him to 56 career goals. 

Goal-scoring GK #1 Lesec scored 78 career goals, but with the Reserves scoring so many goals in their league, I think it's likely that this will get obliterated sooner or later because the 2nd choice GK is going to score a lot of goals in the Reserves. 

[numbas2]

I'm playing FM15 and the reserve game options do bug me, opting them in or out, did they play last time, what games coming up, relatively minor things but can have consequences if not thought through. For me its bothersome. Should have 1 game options rather than until fit or ongoing.

Nice catching up with the weekends posts. Shame about promotion.

[Jimbokav1971]

19 minutes ago, numbas2 said:

I'm playing FM15 and the reserve game options do bug me, opting them in or out, did they play last time, what games coming up, relatively minor things but can have consequences if not thought through. For me its bothersome. Should have 1 game options rather than until fit or ongoing.

Nice catching up with the weekends posts. Shame about promotion.

I can't complain really. If I am smart enough to make him available for the Reserves because I know he is suspended for the League game then I should be smart enough to also make him unavailable after. It's just one of these things and the beauty of this save is that it really doesn't matter because it's all about the general upwards trend rather than any particular result, (even  one like his). 

The only thing that bothers me at all about not getting promoted is the Finances. My goal was to make the Playoffs and I achieved that. The target from the board was much lower than that and my targets to the squad were also lower. Next year I have already told the squad I want to finish in the Playoffs, but my goal will be to go up as Champions. My deal with the board will likely be more conservative than that again though. "I always aim to under-promise and over-deliver". 

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Jun 2039.

(34b) Mikel Ochoa (Bal) *. 2 appearances for (FRA) U20's. 3 appearances for (FRA) U19's.

(35a) Iker (Bal) (2035) *. 8 appearances for (FRA) U20's including 1 assist. 11 appearances for (FRA) U19's including 5 assists and 1 goal.
(35b) Renault (Temp) *. 3 appearance for (FRA) U20's. 2 appearances for (FRA) U19's including 1 assist. 

(36b) Borja (F.Amb) *. 1 appearance for (FRA) U20's. 1 appearance for (FRA) U19's.
(36c) Schmidt (F.Loyal) *. 3 appearances for (FRA) U19's. 
(36e) Koldo (Det) *. 2 appearances for (FRA) U20's. 11 appearances for (FRA) U19's, including 2 assists.

(37a) Théo (F.Amb) (2037) *. 1 appearance for (FRA) U19's.

[AFH]

I've not played FM nor posted on the forums for a couple of years, but when my interest in FM returns I always come back to viewing your threads. I read all of this one last night, very enjoyable as ever. It makes me want to buy FM again but I'll have to try and wait until my exams are over... Hopefully you can secure promotion again this time around

[Jimbokav1971]

Thanks very much @AFH

I'm really enjoying the save at the moment despite the relegation, Playoff woes and financial issues. I can see lights the end of the tunnel, even if there is a couple more years worth of slog between now and then. 

1. Get promoted back to Ligue 1.

2. Become stable in Ligue 1.

3. Become financially secure via player sales. 

4. Europe.

5. The World. 😁

[Nobby_McDonald]

Aim high Jimbo.

[Reggiana]

Are you thinking you can hold off the player sales until after promotion, or might you need to raise a bit in the meantime?

[Jimbokav1971]

59 minutes ago, Reggiana said:

Are you thinking you can hold off the player sales until after promotion, or might you need to raise a bit in the meantime?

If I'm honest, I haven't a clue. There is a takeover going through at the moment and he is looking to invest approx £8M, (which will tidy things up a little), but I will just have to see how it goes I think. If player have to go then so be it. There will be another 16 along next March. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Well that didn't take long. Jun 2039.

I was hoping I might be able to keep him under the radar for a little longer than this. 

[Edit]

I obviously rejected the trial offer. 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

The very same Day. Jun 2039.

Obviously rejected.

I've set an asking price of £10M and set instructions to reject below that value. If they want to bid £10M for absolutely anyone at the moment then I would bite their hand off. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Have some cash. Jun 2039.

We had a transfer budget of approx £3M last season and it has just sort of banished. I think we all know here it has gone. 

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Jun 2039.

(34b) Mikel Ochoa (Bal) *. 2 appearances for (FRA) U20's. 3 appearances for (FRA) U19's.

(35a) Iker (Bal) (2035) *. 8 appearances for (FRA) U20's including 1 assist. 11 appearances for (FRA) U19's including 5 assists and 1 goal.
(35b) Renault (Temp) *. 3 appearance for (FRA) U20's. 2 appearances for (FRA) U19's including 1 assist. 

(36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *. No appearances. 
(36b) Borja (F.Amb) *. 1 appearance for (FRA) U20's. 3 appearances for (FRA) U19's.
(36c) Schmidt (F.Loyal) *. 3 appearances for (FRA) U19's. 
(36e) Koldo (Det) *. 2 appearances for (FRA) U20's. 13 appearances for (FRA) U19's, including 2 assists.

(37a) Théo (F.Amb) (2037) *. 1 appearance for (FRA) U19's.

(39b) Xabier (Res) *. No appearances. 

[numbas2]

Argh, I'm desperate to see Xabier have an AB career!

[Jimbokav1971]

2 hours ago, numbas2 said:

Argh, I'm desperate to see Xabier have an AB career!

Although he is not 16 until April of 2040, He has already signed a pre-contact with us so he can't be stolen away.

We are only approx. £1.5M overdrawn at the bank so there shouldn't be a clamour from the board to sell if a reasonable bid comes in. (So far I have seen off bids of up to £3M all-in including bonus payments).

What I am also trying to do is sell fringe players for little bits and pieces to keep the money coming in. I'm at work now so can't give info, but there have already been a couple of moderate sales, and each of them has both a friendly and a 50% clause included, (that's 50% resale -value rather than 50% profit by the way).

I am still working on a 2 up top tactic over the pre-season. and if I can get 2 strikers firing then it could really give us the spring-board we need. The only problem with that though is that when and if we are back in Ligue 1, I'm almost certain that we will have to resort to a 1 up top system, and that probably suits with the imminent introduction of (39a) Jesus (Fickle) (2039) * who is an Inside Forward who looks like he could be pretty good.

Edited April 2, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[WillHoward42]

4 hours ago, numbas2 said:

Argh, I'm desperate to see Xabier have an AB career!

Yeah... very excited to see this kid play. Hopefully a club legend in the making!

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, numbas2 said:

Argh, I'm desperate to see Xabier have an AB career!

 

45 minutes ago, WillHoward42 said:

Yeah... very excited to see this kid play. Hopefully a club legend in the making!

Because the Reserves are in a competitive league, he will start playing "competitive" games as soon as he turns 16. Unfortunately, I think that's not until after the league fixtures finish this coming season.

What I might do is give you an update on how he has performed for the U19's though. The fact that he's getting in the (FRA) U19's squad at the age of 15 is pretty impressive, but I've seen far too many false dawns in FM to get excited about a player until he actually starts doing it. Knowing my luck he will catch some sort of virus and never be the same again.

[Jimbokav1971]

Making the most of clauses in sale contracts. Jun 2039. 

While there is loads of stuff that I delegate to my Ass Man and to staff, (probably too much if I'm honest but this is meant to be fun so I get rid of everything I don't enjoy and then I can choose to dip my toe in as and when required), there is also stuff that it seems doesn't work properly when delegated. 

When I sell a player, I always try and stick a friendly in as part of a deal. The way I see it, it's win-win for everyone. The buying club gets the player for a fee that is probably below what they were willing to pay, because this doesn't actually cost them anything, (well not at the outset anyway as you will see in Bastia's case in a minute), and we get the income of a friendly at a later date. Depending on the size of your stadium, (you have to think how many tickets you are going to sell but even a few hundred adds up at a very low level), and the reputation of the opposition, there is a few quid to be made in this area. 

I have just arranged 3 friendlies with teams who I have sold players to last season. 

Some of you might look at this, add the fees together and think, "Why is he bothering to post over 3 friendlies that only generate £105,000. I wouldn't get out of bed for double that!. 

Well there are a few different reasons. First of all the players that were sold were pretty average and the fees involved pretty minimal, so I think it acts as quite a good example. 

The 1st thing I would say is that despite the fact that I have delegated the creation of friendlies to my Ass Man, and these friendlies were available and the opposition had to accept, he made absolutely no effort to create the friendly and had I not intervened then the friendlies wouldn't have been made and this revenue would have been lost. This would seem to be a failure on the part of the AI Ass Man and I'm almost positive that this worked properly in previous issues of the game. I have just started to get to the stage where we are selling players so I thought I would double-check and I;m glad I did. 

Let's look at the Montpellier example first. The friendly relates to a deal to sell (37k) Jon Alonso. (Resil) to them. He is a 17 yo striker who looks pretty ok, but unless my coaching reports are WAY off, he's never going to play for the Senior team and to be honest his appearances for the Reserves are even going to be limited. I would have sold him for free with a 50% re-sale clause if I could, but I somehow got Montpellier to give me £50,000 up front plus at least a friendly. I won't bother posting a pic of the player, (because there is little to see), but he is valued at £150,000, (so you could say I sold him on the cheap), but he is only valued that highly because he is now at a Ligue 1 club. He certainly wasn't valued that highly with us. I can't remember where to find the "future clauses" for players we have sold, but give me a minute and if I can find it I will see what else I included as part of this deal....... Yes, found it. It's in Transfers rather than Finances. 

So I wouldn't say this was typical at all, but I would say that it's a decent deal for a player who I doubt is ever likely to play for their Senior side. To start off with I got £50,000 cash, (some of which was made up by instalments but that's fine). There is a 50% profit clause in the deal which isn't the norm for me at all because I'm not interested in profit. I want 50% of the deal rather than 50% of the profit for a future transfer. The league goals and league appearances are really by the by because I don't think we are ever going to get them, (but great if we do), but the addition of the friendly clause is interesting because it has effectively bumped the value of the initial deal up from £50,000 to £90,000. Now I think you would agree that's a significant increase. When and if I start selling players to PSG and Monaco, then how much is a full stadium for a friendly going to be worth? (Well it's £334,000 at £15 a ticket and with 22,265 tickets sold, although I'm not sure those numbers are realistic). That being said, for the moment I have bumped a £50,000 fee up to £90,000 and almost lost it because I assumed the Ass Man was on the job and he wasn't. 

The next deal saw us sell 28 yo centre-half Kike (ESP) (BAS) (Bal) to Bastia for an initial £150,000 He was a player we paid £30,000 for 6 years ago and he has been a regular in the team until last season, but I thought the time was right to cash in on him. He wasn't 1st choice anymore and It seemed like a good deal then and seems like an even better deal now. 

So there is the initial £150,000 and then there is £20,000 for the friendly and then there is a potential £50,000 to be paid after 50 league games. The reason that I mention that clause is that I think there is a reasonable chance of them paying out. He only made 11 appearances for them last season, but Bastia are a small club in Ligue 2, will not be going up and he performed well after breaking into the team last season and is now 1 of 3 starting centre-backs. Sell him to a bigger team where he won't play, (or one who plays with just 2 centre-backs and where the competition for places is tougher, and this clause might be worthless. You might remember that I mentioned at the start of the post that while "arrange friendly" seems like a clause with little cost to either side, be careful that you don't get caught out on this yourself. The Bastia Chairman is not going to be happy at having to foot the travelling fees for this deal, and the Manager is likely to be even less happy. 14 hours for a poxy friendly that you have to accept? Who signed that deal!!!! 

The 3rd friendly is against Lens of Ligue 1 and is as a result of Mathias Moulin (Bal) * being sold to them for an initial £300,000. You might remember his name because he is a 17 yo centre-half who my DoF signed and who I confirmed before realising that he wasn't Basque. As a result he is unable to play for us and as we signed him on a free, £300,000 plus clauses looks like a decent deal to me. We get £45,000 for the friendly but there was also 1 more important clause in the deal. 

That;s right. A nice little 50% re-sale fee. None of this profit malarkey! We want 50% of the whole deal! This could be a tidy little fee by the way as the player looks decent and had he been basque I would have kept him. 

The other thing I would say while I am here, is keep an eye on your clauses. (Something I'm rubbish at). Here is why. 

The £ sign next to 3 players indicate that there is at least 1 deal that we can sell instantly for cash. That 2 of these deals are also with what I would call BIG French clubs gives me reason to look further. 

(37a) Théo (F.Amb) (2037) * is the young centre-half that went to Lyon in 2038 for an initial £3M after making only a single appearance for us. I missed out on a friendly that I'm sure would have been part of the deal, (but you have to arrange the friendly within 12 months so I have missed out). 

I'm not sure how many of these deals will be any good to us. I'm not convinced he will ever play for Lyon, (although he would walk into our starting line-up at the moment at the age of 17), but Lyon are a different beast. (Maybe I should have tried to loan him back for 1 season. Damn! forgot about that!)  Even if he doesn't play for Lyon or France, then  we still get 40% of the profit on the next deal. He was sold for £3M and is currently valued at £3.4M so 40% of £400,000 is £160,000, but our board have done a deal to sell this clause to Lyon for £488,000. This is a bit of a risk because he was nabbed by them pretty early and if I sell now I could be losing out later down the line, but what the hell. We are going to be better off later on in the save. We need the cash now so I'm selling this deal. This could be the difference between keeping hold of our brightest prospects and losing them. 

Oooh. This is interesting. The board are going to give us all the £488,000 on our transfer budget, but currently we are only getting 25% of any fees generated. 

Ah no. Didn't work, (but that's still fine). 

(37b) Jon Jiménez (F.Det) * is a young GK that was sold to Rennes last year for £550,000. We have 2 good young decent prospect GK's and an old GK who plays in the Reserves. There just wasn't room for this guy. 

i don't think I am going to see any more money from him because he's just not that good, but 15% of profit doesn't sound like much for a player who I expect to be released on a free so let's accept the £161,000 here too. 

The 3rd and last deal that I could choose to sell is for a player that I have already mentioned. I think there is a good chance of Kike (ESP) (BAS) (Bal) making a lot of appearances this season so I think we might see the full £50,000. In this instance I am NOT selling the deal. 

Not much work at all in looking at this stuff, (if we ignore the post), and a nice few quid earned out of it at the same time. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Striking options. 

Here is a list of all players capable of playing as a striker currently on the books across all 3 squads. The list has been ranked by CA. 

15 year old (39b) Xabier (Res) * isn't 16 until April of next year. I have had a look and he will be eligible for the last 5 league games of the season, and any Playoffs thereafter. The only problem is that we can't register a player at that time, (so I have planned ahead and registered him already). He has missed pre-season because he is away at the European U19 Championship Finals which is being held in Germany. France are the holders and have lost 3 games in about 6 years. He has just made his (FRA) U19 debut, where he came on as a substitute for (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *, but interestingly, where as (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * was played as an AF, (39b) Xabier (Res) * was played as a CF.

(36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * is our 1st choice striker and I like him. He's only 18 yo and finished least season with 13 league goals where the top scorer in the league managed only 14. When you consider that our GK scored 8 league goals last season, that's not too shabby at all. He might only be 18, but I have no issues with going into the season with him as 1st choice. Coruna in Spain are after him, but he is going nowhere. He's 2nd favourite to be top scorer in Ligue 2 this season. 

Hervé Menard (Spirit) is an 18 yo French player who isn't Basque. I have signed him purely as an investment. He is loaned out to another Ligue 2 club and I will look to sell him for a profit at some point without him playing for us. 

(34e) David Saizar (Bal) is our 1st choice right winger. 

Reta (ESP) (BAS) (F.Det) is the player I initially had in on loan and whom I then signed on a free. He looks decent, but he often played on the right hand side last season, (where we are weak). This season I'm trying to play him centrally more often, especially when the likes of (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * has been away on International duty. He looks like he should perform better than he does, but for whatever reason the ball just does not end up in the back of the net often enough with him up front. I will have to play with his role I think. I'm also not oblivious to the drops deep PPM as a possible explanation. 

Miguel González (BAS) (Bal) was the player I spent £0.5M on when we got promoted to Ligue 1, but he has flattered to deceive and at the moment I am attempting to off-load him for close to £700,000 because he has a relegation release clause for that amount. I'm paying him £15k per week and the main thing is to get him off the books even if I have to contribute some of his wages to his new club. 

(31f) Calderón (F.Sport) is our 1st choice left winger. 

(29d) Tristan Albert (Unamb) * is a player that I really like, but I just can't find room for us so he often sits on the bench without getting much of a look-in. A situation that is only going to get worse as our youngsters start making an impact. He's not at all suited to playing as a P(a), and I really think he would flourish if I could get a 2 up front tactic working. He has scored 17, 14 and 18 goals at this level as a teenager, and in a weaker team than we have now. I would love to get him firing. 

I don't think you have even seen (37e) Asier García (Merc) before, such are the riches of young talent in this position. I would happily play him ahead of one of the more experienced fringe players and as a result am trying to lose a couple off the wage budget. He is yet to make his debut, (even for the Reserves). 

(36d) Pasquier (L.Det) spent last season on loan in the National league, (1 league above where our Reserves play). He wasn't great in front of goal, but I'm sure the exposure to 1st team football served him well and he will be in contention for a Reserve spot this season. 

(34d) Joseba Mayo (Bal) * scored 16 goals in a season for our Reserves a 2 seasons ago, (at the same level). He doesn't look great, but unlike the others, the ball ends up in the back of the net. He has made his senior debut, (and scored in 2 different seasons). He's really not great, but he would score goals in a decent team. 

Iker Moreno (BAS) (Bal) was bought as a specialist PF a few seasons ago, but while he is far from rubbish, he's not really what I'm looking for now. He is also not a product of our Academy and has been loaned out. He's scored a LOT of goals for Alaves B Team so there is definitely a player in there somewhere though. 

[Jimbokav1971]

I can't wait to show you some evidence of this. Jul 2039.

[zlatanera]

Xabier actually looks like he'll be better than Moussa Dembele by the time he's 17...I hope you can keep him, on this upwards trend you're on I could see him hitting 200 goals for you!

[numbas2]

Nice work raking the monies in. I have zero hope of you keeping hold of him, sucks bad!!

[Jimbokav1971]

New Board. Jul 2039.

We have new owners and the 1st order of business is to reintroduce the "develop players using the club's youth system" philosophy. 

['Edit]

While I'm here I might as well see what else I can get. 

I think I like this new Chairman. 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[zlatanera]

Odd that they favour defensive football but not utilising set pieces

[Jimbokav1971]

11 minutes ago, zlatanera said:

Odd that they favour defensive football but not utilising set pieces

Not really. Isn't counter-attacking defensive football that doesn't rely on set-pieces? 

[zlatanera]

Just now, Jimbokav1971 said:

Not really. Isn't counter-attacking defensive football that doesn't rely on set-pieces? 

Maybe? Although I've often played with counter-attacks and successfully satisfied the board requirement for attacking football. It is pretty subjective though

[Jimbokav1971]

11 hours ago, zlatanera said:

Xabier actually looks like he'll be better than Moussa Dembele by the time he's 17...I hope you can keep him, on this upwards trend you're on I could see him hitting 200 goals for you!

I'm not if he's going to be better than Dembele or anyone else. You have to remember that he could just be an "early bloomer" who will reach a decent level of PA but then never go on to reach the heights that other slower developers reach. 

9 hours ago, numbas2 said:

Nice work raking the monies in. I have zero hope of you keeping hold of him, sucks bad!!

Oh come on. Have a little faith. 

[zlatanera]

9 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I'm not if he's going to be better than Dembele or anyone else. You have to remember that he could just be an "early bloomer" who will reach a decent level of PA but then never go on to reach the heights that other slower developers reach. 

Oh come on. Have a little faith. 

Right now he has = Dribbling, -1 Finishing, +3 First Touch, -4 Heading, -4 Long Shots, +2 Technique, -2 Anticipation, +2 Composure, -1 Decisions, -2 Off The Ball compared to Dembele...even if he's an "early bloomer" he's not far off. Have hope  

[Jimbokav1971]

Euro U19 Championship Final. Jul 2039.

So our young guns, (4 of them), got all the way to the Euro U19 Champs Final before succumbing to a far more experienced Spain side. Where as (36c) Schmidt (Bal) * is 18, (36e) Koldo (Det) * is 18, (39b) Xabier (Res) * is 15 and (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * is 18, Spain have a much more experienced group and most players are 18 or 19. 

Spain might have won this one, but France look well placed for the next competition. 

Interestingly there are 2 Basque players in the Spanish side and these are obviously on my radar even if they are not realistic transfer targets yet. * Jon Merino (BAS) is at Barca and they are not even interested in loaning him out at the moment, but it's Tomás "Iñaki" (BAS) * who caught my eye and not because of his own ability. He's one of the few younger players in the Spanish squad at 17, but this is what I want to show you. 

Now I have no idea who Iñaki (BAS) (Res) is and he could have been a real player for all I know, but it turns out he is a Newgen, (still playing), who has had such a successful career that the game have used him as a template for future media comparisons. This is a feature I absolutely love. 

An average rating of almost 8 in recent seasons, for a GK, that doesn't score goals. That's ridiculous! 

120 Caps for Spain. 

I would love for one of my players to be used as a template like this later in the save. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 hours ago, zlatanera said:

Right now he has = Dribbling, -1 Finishing, +3 First Touch, -4 Heading, -4 Long Shots, +2 Technique, -2 Anticipation, +2 Composure, -1 Decisions, -2 Off The Ball compared to Dembele...even if he's an "early bloomer" he's not far off. Have hope  

I honestly don't know much about real players other than those that play in either England, and even then I probably know more about the Conference than I do the Premier League. There are about 275 footballing Dembele's, (now there's an idea for a save!), but I do of course know which one you mean at least. 

Look, I know (39b) Xabier (Res) * is better than decent, but at the moment it's all really largely irrelevant because he can't play for us. Until he starts tearing up the opposition centre-backs and smashing in the goals, he's really just a a fictitious set of attributes and means little or nothing to me.

(36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * on the other hand is my main man right now. 

[Jimbokav1971]

And so it starts. Aug 2039.

(39b) Xabier (Res) * hasn't even played a friendly for us this season yet. 

This is an awful offer. 

I'm obviously pressing the  button here, but the problem is that the Chairman and the board are new and I haven't built a relationship with them yet. 

I don't think I have much chance of this working......

Ok, for a start, he isn't a full International, (so I won't be using that). 

I chose this option. 

We've somehow escaped the clutches of PSG with (39b) Xabier (Res) * still here. I know he is going to go, but as we don't need the money right now I was sure we were going to get close to £10M up front for him and with much better add-ons than PSG are offering. 

PSG have seemingly cooled their interest for the time-being, but I'm sure they will be back. 

I think it's now about delaying the inevitable to see if we can get through to the end of the season and get him to play at least 1 game for us, (can he play in Cup games?) I'm also going to see what I can do to change things with the settings. 

It won't let me change him to key player, (I'm guessing because he is not eligible for Senior games yet). 

If they paid us £10M plus add-ons I would be gutted bit it would be a decent trade-off. What they offered, (and we accepted), was derisory though. Let's see if this will work. I don;t usually put asking prices for players such as this because I worry that it tells the Chairman that I don't mind if he goes just so long as we get a decent price for him. 

If we ask for £20M then we might get £10 is my thinking. 

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

I would if I could. Aug 2039.

The only game he has played for us this season was for our U19's against Strasbourg Reserves. I've changed the lone striking role from a P(a) to an AF(a) and so far I'm liking the results. He finished the game with 1 goal and 1 assist. 

[Jimbokav1971]

This is what I was afraid of. Aug 2039.

(36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * is my 1st choice striker and I already feel invested in him. He's 18 years old and he has already made 85 league appearances mixed between First Team and Reserves. In a lot of these games I've played him when he wasn't the best player available. If he leaves it is going to have a catastrophic impact on our season. I know a lot of you reading the thread are getting excited about (39b) Xabier (Res) *, but (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * is really the one I need to keep at the moment. With him the aim is promotion as Champions. Without him...... 

The conundrum is that I don't want to waste protests. I didn't think that the last one was going to be accepted but it was and that's great, but the question here is do I even bother wasting a protest because I am convinced that they are not going to agree. 

At the same time I don't want him to go, but this deal is better than the last one too. 

I've got to press the protest button. This player can't leave. If it's a straight choice between (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) * and (39b) Xabier (Res) * then right here right now I choose (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *, because he can at least play for us this season. 

Ok. This was a surprise. I'm liking this Director.

Where as I talked up the potential of (39b) Xabier (Res) *, in this instance I spoke about the team being weakened by the loss of (36a) Dulce (Bal) (2036) *. Had I used the same reason for both protests then I think I would have lost a player now. (Saying that, I'm really surprised that this 2nd protest has worked too). 

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Aug 2039.

[Jimbokav1971]

Home. Aug 2039. 

I'm well chuffed that the capacity can be extended to 44,530. In the past I have had stadiums built too early where they didn't have the capacity to grow and where we had out-grown the stadium only a short time after moving in. This should be a good home for a long time. 

[Edit]

It looks like quite a basic 2-tier 4 stand stadium with no corners, but it's obviously a huge improvement on what went before. 

Ooh. This is quite nice actually.  

That's interesting. Our Youth Facilities are "Basic". Haven't we upgraded them at least a couple of times? 

So there is 1 upgrade already in the pipeline for the Youth Facilities and this is due to be completed in October of next year. (The Training Facilities are also being upgraded at the same time). 

This following picture is from the end of last season and it shows that there is nothing going on other than I am again falling into the trap of thinking that our Youth Facilities are better than they are. Junior Coaching and Youth recruitment yes. Youth Facilities no. Training Facilities, somewhere in the middle. 

Edited April 4, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Success at last. Aug 2039.

I've been trialling a 442 system in our Cup games and so far it's going ok. The reason for this is that although it weakens us significantly, it obviously allows me to play 2 strikers. Other than the obvious, the reason for this is that I wanted to give Miguel González (BAS) (Bal) game-time in the hope of getting him out on loan or even selling him completely. It has worked a treat. 

He's scored 3 goals in his 2 Cup Appearances and that was enough to entice FC Lorient in for him. Although it's initially only a loan, there is a future fee set of £600,000 (he has a min fee release clause of £700,000 set so I'm fine with that. The biggest thing is that not only are they playing 100% of his wages whether he plays or not, but they are also giving me another £15,000 on top by way of a fee. It basically means that we are £30,000 better off each week with this deal.

[Jimbokav1971]

Transfer deadline Day. Aug 2039.

08:45. (39b) Xabier (Res) * scored 2 goals for (FRA) U19's last night in a MotM performance as they beat Portugal 3-1.

09:00. Marseille are in with a bid totalling £1.6M for young Inside Forward (39a) Jesús (Fickle) (2039) *. Rejected. 

09:45. Lens are in with a £1.3M bid for (39a) Jesús (Fickle) (2039) *. Rejected.

09:46. FC Lorient in with a loan deal for Miguel González (BAS) (Bal). Countered. 

09:48. Stade Lavallois in with a bid of £325,000 for 1st choice left winger (31f) Calderón (F.Sport). Rejected

10:27. FC Lorient back in with an improved loan deal for Miguel González (BAS) (Bal). Accepted.

12:12. Miguel González (BAS) (Bal) loan deal to FC Lorient. Confirmed. 

12:45. RC Lens in with a bid of £1.9M for (39a) Jesús (Fickle) (2039) *. Rejected. 

13:12. My DoF has an offer accepted for a 22 yo right winger who isn't Basque. Withdrawn.

14:53. Marseille back in for (39a) Jesús (Fickle) (2039) * with £2.2M bid. Rejected.

16:55. Marseille in again for (39a) Jesús (Fickle) (2039) * and the bid is up to £3.2M. Rejected.

17:10. DoF has an offer accepted for a good SC, but he isn't Basque. Withdrawn.

18:50. Marseille in again for (39a) Jesús (Fickle) (2039) *. They are up to £4.6M and I'm surprised the board didn't intervene. Rejected.

19:09. DoF gets a loan deal agreed for a good young German left winger, but of course he's not Basque. Withdrawn. 

21:43. DoF gets a loan deal for a young English striker agreed, but of course he's not Basque. Withdrawn. 

21:45. DoF gets a loan deal agreed for a young German DM, but he's not Basque. Withdrawn. 

22:15. DoF gets a loan deal agreed for a young Austrian right winger, but he's not Basque. Withdrawn.

23:15. Lyon in with a cheeky £2.6M straight cash offer for (39b) Xabier (Res) *. Rejected.

23:15. DoF gets an offer accepted for a 30 yo DM, but he's not Basque. Withdrawn.

 

[Edit]

Oh for God's sake!!! 

So it's basically PSG, Marseille and Lyon I have to worry about. 

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by Jimbokav1971

[Saintmat]

I'm surprised you have a DoF with permission to bid for players, considering your self-imposed transfer restrictions!

Would be cool if in future versions of the game you can set club transfer restrictions in the pre-game editor. Seems that players quite like these challenges so maybe SI will one day try and facilitate it

What's the league target this year?

[Jimbokav1971]

Jul & Aug 2039.

Pre-season went as pre-season goes, but we then started the season a little sluggishly and I put that down ton our young players who had been away on International duty not being with us through pre-season.Despite that, we remained unbeaten until I rested far too many players in 1 go against Saint Etienne and we paid the price, (although we should still have won). What makes it worse is that the Saint Etienne game was our 1st at our new stadium. #Idiot 

(39b) Xabier (Res) * has finally got down to business back at the club. 

(39a) Jesús (Fickle) (2039) * is also playing for the U19's. I don't think they are going to lose many games this season if these 2 stay here. n

 

[Jimbokav1971]

2 minutes ago, Saintmat said:

I'm surprised you have a DoF with permission to bid for players, considering your self-imposed transfer restrictions!

Would be cool if in future versions of the game you can set club transfer restrictions in the pre-game editor. Seems that players quite like these challenges so maybe SI will one day try and facilitate it

What's the league target this year?

Yeah, I can understand why you would think that. He has found a couple though so I'm fine with that. I;m also considering buying non-Basques for investment purposes where I just sign them, loan them out and then sell them. Anything to make money. 

The board have asked for a top half finish. 

I have told the players I want Playoffs. 

I want to go up as Champions, (with a little bit to spare). 

[Jimbokav1971]

International call-ups. Sep 2039. 

[numbas2]

Great update and YES, I love the board! Things are looking very good right now