[FM20][FM21][FM22][FM23] Calcio

[quee]

On 13/05/2020 at 00:19, Matt_1979 said:

United really piled on the pressure and Maguire forced a stunning save from Guerierri.

Can imagine him fist-pumping and looking around for validation here, especially from his manager 

On 13/05/2020 at 00:19, Matt_1979 said:

The 7 days of hell!!:

Loving the part Jovetic played in this period, never forgotten! Good effort in a trying week!

On 13/05/2020 at 03:20, Matt_1979 said:

Enzo Perez announced he was planning to retire at the end of the season so he’s damn well starting at Half Back! Let’s send him out in style boys!

Tears reading this.. Can relate 

On 13/05/2020 at 03:20, Matt_1979 said:

Congrats! What's with the weird European qualifying places? An Italian team won Europa League (Napoli?) and Torino won the Coppa Italia?

On 13/05/2020 at 06:22, Matt_1979 said:

I’m unsure how I should progress into season 4 off the back of the Serie A win. 
 

Should I stick with the 4-1-3-2 (although I think I’m getting a bit bored of it) or switch it up to a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1??

Any thoughts?

If it were me, I would set who I would want to bring in first. From there, if there's a need to change the formations, then go for it. I believe getting the players you want will bring more joy in this instance.

[quee]

On 13/05/2020 at 03:15, FMbeginner said:

I have finally completed my season with Sassuolo. I finished just below my target of 10th place. A little concerned with the goals for and against, but I was testing a few tactics so I can understand. 

 

That's a good base for the first season. Your transfers seemed to be working towards improving the defensive side of your team, so that's a good sign and planning.

On 13/05/2020 at 03:15, FMbeginner said:

Any comments, tips or observations? Are there any lower league gems worth picking up?

I actually think your squad have a good composition of players, enough covers everywhere. As a young squad and still developing, I think a more experience head might be useful in midfield or attack? Not a squad player, but someone who will be key for you. Just a thought.

For lower league players, I have Laurenzi and Tolemello from Trapani. Laurenzi seems good enough for Serie A sides (potentially can develop even more with more first team experience) and as a left-footed BPD as well.

Apart from that, I'm planning to get Zanellato from Crotone in my 4th summer when I resume playing my save. He never drops below 70 from my scouts recommendation, and I had him in my shortlist since the first season.

[quee]

On 13/05/2020 at 07:43, turgi said:

Also, we are building a new 40,000 seats stadium.

Was it named already?

[quee]

On 13/05/2020 at 21:53, Micks112 said:

Season two is coming to an end and it's been a good and solid season for the Azzuri.

 

An update I very much looking forward to 

On 13/05/2020 at 21:53, Micks112 said:

Leo Stulac yet again finished with the highest average rating, although he was plagued with injuries.

 

Great to hear, his injuries problems existed as well for me.

 

On 13/05/2020 at 21:53, Micks112 said:

While the aim was to essentially limit the amount of loan players, it was tough with the 6m euro budget provided. 

It was important to upgrade the full back positions, and Muldur and Costa provided adequate options for us for not too much money.

I was not openly looking to sell Brignoli but with Sportiello becoming available for peanuts I started to look for suitors for Brignoli and with Marseille offering a value of 5 times what I paid for Sportiello it was a no-brainer.

Oh, and Sportiello won goalkeeper of the year 

 

Considering the budget, that's a good wheeling and dealing. Muldur is an interesting player, I'm also planning to buy him. Loved me a both-footed player. I'm seeing him as a long term Darmian's replacement, though, as backup to Tomiyasu.

Sportiello seems to be doing well in a few saves now, good to see.

On 13/05/2020 at 21:53, Micks112 said:

Expectations for upcoming 3rd season.

With a budget of nearly 12 million euros, I'll be able to add extra firepower to an already great team. With a few additions I'm sure I'll be able to finish top 10 yet again.

- Another season of adjusting to the best Italian league. 

- Limit loan signings at the club to 5 max.

- Survive a consortium take over.

Reasonable and achievable expectations there, interesting to see who you will bring in to add to the squad.

Looking forward to your next update!

[quee]

19 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

Just starting season 1 after having fiddled around with the team in pre-season. Had the transfer window disabled as I always do -- I find it better to get to know the team before making sweeping changes. However, before I joined a lot was done, with 16 new players joining the club.

The best way 

19 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

The squad seems to be playing itself together, with no current team leaders and only one highly influential player.

I didn't know this was possible. Thought someone will fill in automatically, especially the captain and vice-captain. Have you seen any movement at all in the hierarchy?

20 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

My key players going into the season (in my opinion):

I would tend to agree, especially Gravillon who could be a permanent fixture for you long-term as well. Is Petrucci the former Man Utd player?

Good start to your save, you know what you want and cannot wait to see how it unfolded in the next update! 

And I believe that's it, I'm up to date 

[Sysiphus]

Just now, quee said:

The best way 

I didn't know this was possible. Thought someone will fill in automatically, especially the captain and vice-captain. Have you seen any movement at all in the hierarchy?

I would tend to agree, especially Gravillon who could be a permanent fixture for you long-term as well. Is Petrucci the former Man Utd player?

Good start to your save, you know what you want and cannot wait to see how it unfolded in the next update! 

And I believe that's it, I'm up to date 

Well done keeping up to date on all the saves! 

I have only played a few more games (still mid-table, think the record is 3-3-2), so I have only seen one change to the hierarchy -- I now have two highly influential players. Have never seen it this empty either, it was actually quite hard to pick a captain, as I tend to want to pick players who have been at the club for at least 2 years (preferably more), but almost all of the squad joined a year ago, only a few of them 2-3 years ago and they weren't really the leader types.

Gravillon is a great player, and one I'm hoping to get back on loan next season as I want to keep quite a tight core of the team for the first few years at least.

Yes, Petrucci is the former Man Utd player. He was an absolute beast for me in an Ipswich save in FM12, so it's nice to see him again, even though he's not the same player he grew to be back then!

[quee]

2 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

Well done keeping up to date on all the saves! 

A few I didn't comment on, since I have nothing to contribute to them, but I did read everything 

2 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

I have only played a few more games (still mid-table, think the record is 3-3-2), so I have only seen one change to the hierarchy -- I now have two highly influential players. Have never seen it this empty either, it was actually quite hard to pick a captain, as I tend to want to pick players who have been at the club for at least 2 years (preferably more), but almost all of the squad joined a year ago, only a few of them 2-3 years ago and they weren't really the leader types.

You learned something new everyday! Definitely never seen or heard of this. Though, would be interesting if you can elevate someone you want as Team Leader from the void available. Just imagine a young prospect as Team Leader in his first few seasons already, I would build my side around him given the chance 

4 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

Gravillon is a great player, and one I'm hoping to get back on loan next season as I want to keep quite a tight core of the team for the first few years at least.

I may be mistaking him for another defender of a similar name, but I think his contract will expire in the 2nd summer, right? I remembered being tempted to sign him on a Bosman before deciding against it as I wouldn't have any space in my squad. He joined Genoa in the end.

7 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

Yes, Petrucci is the former Man Utd player. He was an absolute beast for me in an Ipswich save in FM12, so it's nice to see him again, even though he's not the same player he grew to be back then!

Yeah, I remembered him as well from back then. United had a few Italians who never amount to anything, potential wise. I think only Gollini as one of the better player currently playing at a good-high level football with Atlanta. Rossi previously as well, but for his injuries destroying his career.

[Muttley84]

2 hours ago, quee said:

Very bold and brave! 

Interesting to see how you will handle it and rebuild the squad after a treble like that.

The OCD in me can't help but noticed you never used all of your subs 

It is a game after all, and rather than pilling on the CL money or bringing it proven players to dominate the league, I like to keep things fresh. And it is a really interesting challenge, can we be competitive while only using italians? Are the prices going to be inflated for us? How many of the Squadra Azzura can we bring? I don't mind being sacked again, it's not all about winning for me but for enjoying myself.

P.S. Gollini started the season as first choice but he was rather poor and Radu took over in style. I kinda hate selling him this summer being a Romanian like me. But the rules are rules. Oh, and there's a certain Gigio across town with his contract running out this summer and no interest to resign with his current team. Maybe I shoul make a move if we free our wage budget. Actually finances been solid constantly increasing and now the board gave us 120 M to spend.

[Matt_1979]

3 hours ago, quee said:

If it were me, I would set who I would want to bring in first. From there, if there's a need to change the formations, then go for it. I believe getting the players you want will bring more joy in this instance.

Well.... theres good news and bad news....

the good news is that I decided to switch to  a 4-3-3 and signed Trincao!! WOW!! He’s been absolutely RIPPING Serie A apart!! £73m well spent!!

4-3-3 is so dominant. No wonder people are winning back to back promotions or winning the league and cup so easily!!!!

Bad news, its kind of ruined the save for me. I beat Roma 6-0!! Luckily I’ve got a very busy week coming up so hopefully not being able to play as much will get me back into it. 

[quee]

9 minutes ago, Matt_1979 said:

No wonder people are winning back to back promotions or winning the league and cup so easily!!!!

I see what you did there  

[Matt_1979]

59 minutes ago, quee said:

I see what you did there  

Don’t know what you mean 

[AceCream]

Verona Andata 19/20 

Transfer activity: 

Spoiler

With a starting budget of about € 3,500,000 I decided not to buy any players. I however sold Andrea Danzi, a 20 year old defensive midfielder, for 375k which I later regretted as Pazzini got pretty pissed off. Danzi is also home grown but I did not see him in my future plans. In august both my WBRs, Adjapong and Faraoni, got injured so I bought 20 year old Alessandro Fiordaliso from Venezia. Little did I know that in the agreement it stated that he would not join us until July 2020 . I clearly need to read the fine print better. No more business was done.

 

 

Fixtures and results: 

Spoiler

We started off amazingly. An away win at the San Siro followed by a 1-0 win at Juventus and a draw at Napoli! An unbeaten run until mid October saw us competing for Europe however our form soon declined with 4 losses in October and November leaving us in 11th place. Luckily the Christmas spirit was within the team in December where we won all our matches getting us up to 6th place at the winter break . Parma are looking like genuine title contenders this season in 4th place, 5 points off Juve at the top. Parma also managed a 4-0 win at Milan who are having an awful season. 

 

Star players and future plans: 

Spoiler

Stepinski has been our main goalscorer this season the 7 in the league. Kumbulla, Zaccagni, Faraoni, Dimarco and Amrabat have also been playing really well. In january we are looking to offload Carmine, Checchin and possibly more players. I want to buy a colombian striker named Rafael Santos Borré to improve our attack. He might be lacking technically but has great mental and physical attributes. Hopefully we have the funds to acquire him. If anybody here has any experience with him I would be glad to hear it.   

 

Thoughts: 

Spoiler

It has been a good start to the season. IRL Verona were in 8th place before the league was suspended so we seem to be living up their expectation and them some. Anything more than a top half finish is sublime in my view even though continental qualification is very exciting. I was inspired by a lot of saves that I read through here on the thread. Quee's Parma philosophy has intrigued me and I want to sign a Danish attacker as an homage to Preben Elkjær, a legend at the club who starred in Verona's Scudetto win in the eighties. Any ideas on young Danish attackers with potential are very welcome  

Serie A Table: 

Spoiler

 

Stepinski:

Spoiler

Tactics: 

Spoiler

 

We have been playing a very Italian system, a cautious Catenaccio 5-3-2 , with a libero and attacking wing backs. The wing backs seem to be working very well.  However we are far too aggressive and have received way too many yellow and red cards.

 

Serie A player stats:

Spoiler

If anybody is wondering whats with the letters and numbers behind the players names its because I give them a nickname with their last name, role I want them to play and their priority in the starting line up. It helps me when I manage new squads that I do not know particularly well. 

Edited May 14, 2020 by AceCream

[quee]

43 minutes ago, AceCream said:

I clearly need to read the fine print better.

Lesson learnt and a story to tell down the line, I think. 

"Once upon a time, starting as a new manager, I messed up the transfers.. Now, look where I am!" 

45 minutes ago, AceCream said:

Parma are looking like genuine title contenders this season in 4th place, 5 points off Juve at the top. Parma also managed a 4-0 win at Milan who are having an awful season. 

45 minutes ago, AceCream said:

If anybody here has any experience with him I would be glad to hear it.   

He's always on my shortlist in FM19 and was recommended as well in FM20, but never bought him. I think he can be a good striker for Serie A, along the same level of Sanabria I think.

48 minutes ago, AceCream said:

Quee's Parma philosophy has intrigued me and I want to sign a Danish attacker as an homage to Preben Elkjær, a legend at the club who starred in Verona's Scudetto win in the eighties. Any ideas on young Danish attackers with potential are very welcome  

 I think Jonas Wind might be a name you could consider? He was recommended to me by my scouts but since I don't use DLF, didn't develop my interest further. Not sure if he develops well enough or if he's good enough for Serie A long-term, though. His starting attributes seems to indicate he could do a good job.

50 minutes ago, AceCream said:

Stepinski has been our main goalscorer this season the 7 in the league.

When you asked about the striker situation in the beginning, I was going to say Stepinski can do a good job for Verona, but in my save, he was mostly used off the bench to good effect. Glad that you managed to turn him into a performing starter as well.

52 minutes ago, AceCream said:

If anybody is wondering whats with the letters and numbers behind the players names its because I give them a nickname with their last name, role I want them to play and their priority in the starting line up. It helps me when I manage new squads that I do not know particularly well. 

This was my first question in my mind!  Interesting system you're using. Will you keep using it after getting familiar with the squad or it is for short-term initial purpose only? Never seen it like this before, only for regens.

53 minutes ago, AceCream said:

It has been a good start to the season. IRL Verona were in 8th place before the league was suspended so we seem to be living up their expectation and them some. Anything more than a top half finish is sublime in my view even though continental qualification is very exciting

Told ya Verona is too good for relegation  Looking forward to your next update!

[AceCream]

16 minutes ago, quee said:

"Once upon a time, starting as a new manager, I messed up the transfers.. Now, look where I am!" 

Hahah!

17 minutes ago, quee said:

Jonas Wind

I will look into him. I have sent a scout to Denmark as well as scouted the whole national team, u21/20/18 included.

18 minutes ago, quee said:

 Interesting system you're using

Its usually the first thing I do when I start a new career. I go through all the squad including the reserves and u18s and label them to get to know the team quicker. After the first season or two I remove them nicknames because its kind of ugly 

20 minutes ago, quee said:

Told ya Verona is too good for relegation 

Clearly! I haven't been following Serie A this season and it surprised me how well they had been doing. I honestly thought the were still in Serie B.

[Stackalee]

1 hour ago, AceCream said:

Any ideas on young Danish attackers with potential are very welcome

Carlo Holse or Anders Dreyer could be okay Jonas Wind is decent. Mohamed Daramy I've seen get very good. There are the "sure thing" safe bets Dolberg/Skov Olsen but those are more expensive and harder to get.

[quee]

4 minutes ago, AceCream said:

Its usually the first thing I do when I start a new career. I go through all the squad including the reserves and u18s and label them to get to know the team quicker. After the first season or two I remove them nicknames because its kind of ugly 

 

Was going to say, the OCD in me went like this earlier when I first clicked on your transfer image 

Then when I saw the squad screen, I went like this 

 Kidding aside, I always find this kind of system players used to keep track of their long-term saves as very interesting. I'm getting lots of ideas just by reading the FMCU thread and this sort of system is very common.

6 minutes ago, AceCream said:

Clearly! I haven't been following Serie A this season and it surprised me how well they had been doing. I honestly thought the were still in Serie B.

They actually played decent football as well. I would say outside the traditional big teams, only Atlanta and Sassuolo played better than Verona, at least from the few games I had watched of their games. Atlanta's style is my favourite irl and I liked the focus on combination of Lazio's big players for their style of play as well.

[Weston]

Another disappointing youth intake despite upgrading my HOYD and facilities and recruitment. I guess this is just how it is. Curiously, more Africans without EU nationality, but at least they speak Italian this time. The Czech recruit makes sense, I guess, because I've been signing a lot of Czech players? Still weird.

On the bright side, I did finally manage to sign a player I've been eyeing for a while in the January window - and look at the name! He and my striker both come from the same Corinthians class. Could really be world class, I think.

[quee]

1 hour ago, Weston said:

Curiously, more Africans without EU nationality, but at least they speak Italian this time. The Czech recruit makes sense, I guess, because I've been signing a lot of Czech players? Still weird.

It is not as weird as you're making it out to be.

Italy does have a lot African immigrants, especially due to the close proximity to North Africa coast and access through the Mediterranean Sea.

FM tried to replicate this in their catchment of nationalities by respective countries I think, just like it's common to see Moroccan-Dutch, French-African, etc. Though, I don't think Italian-African are that common compared to them in FM anyway.

I don't think this should be a particular issue at all, since this kind of randomness and more does tend to happen in the world.

In fact, there's a good topic somewhere about regens not getting enough second nationalities when generated abroad. USA was one of the topic discussion if I remembered correctly, where foreign players might be born in USA, but they never take American citizenship.

So, try to enjoy the game more @Weston  We haven't even seen an update from you for a while, apart from editor-related problems. Tevez does look like a good prospect.

[Weston]

3 minutes ago, quee said:

It is not as weird as you're making it out to be.

Italy does have a lot African immigrants, especially due to the close proximity to North Africa coast and access through the Mediterranean Sea.

FM tried to replicate this in their catchment of nationalities by respective countries I think, just like it's common to see Moroccan-Dutch, French-African, etc. Though, I don't think Italian-African are that common compared to them in FM anyway.

I don't think this should be a particular issue at all, since this kind of randomness and more does tend to happen in the world.

In fact, there's a good topic somewhere about regens not getting enough second nationalities when generated abroad. USA was one of the topic discussion if I remembered correctly, where foreign players might be born in USA, but they never take American citizenship.

So, try to enjoy the game more @Weston  We haven't even seen an update from you for a while, apart from editor-related problems. Tevez does look like a good prospect.

It's not that I think it's weird I have foreign players in the youth intake so much as I find it odd that it only just started happening last year and none of them have even basic understanding of Italian despite having been in the country for a little while prior. I actually quite like the realism injected in this way, more just pointing out the inconsistencies in its application.

In any case I had to take a few days off from playing, so haven't had much to report yet!

[quee]

1 minute ago, Weston said:

I find it odd that it only just started happening last year and none of them have even basic understanding of Italian despite having been in the country for a little while prior.

It happens, sometimes all the Youth Intakes are Italian, sometimes a few foreign-born are included. Don't think there should be a schedule for when a player with X nationality should appear - unless they are mentioned specifically in the preview in December.

As for not understanding basic Italian, I'm sure there are real life cases like this when arriving in a foreign country after a few years, sometimes life are by necessity instead of normality. Especially for immigrants with poor background. Though, I do agree if they are part of a football academy in Italy for a few years already, they should know some Italian.

But as they say - football is a universal language! 

9 minutes ago, Weston said:

In any case I had to take a few days off from playing, so haven't had much to report yet!

Same, haven't open FM in more than a week now! 

[AceCream]

8 hours ago, Stackalee said:

Carlo Holse or Anders Dreyer could be okay Jonas Wind is decent. Mohamed Daramy I've seen get very good. There are the "sure thing" safe bets Dolberg/Skov Olsen but those are more expensive and harder to get.

Thank you  They all look really good especially Skov Olsen since he already plays in the Serie A. Having thought about it the danish player does not need to be a striker/attacker. Since I don't play with traditional wingers he can also be a wing back or a midfielder, even a libero. The players who have caught an eye are: Victor Nelsson (Looks like he could be a great Libero and future captain) , Magnus Kofod (Deep lying playmaker). Andreas Poulsen (Attacking Wing Back), Jacob Haahr(DC on trial at Torino), Victor Kristiansen (17 year old WBL with great mentals), Jens Odgaard (Pressing Forward at Heerenveen) and Maurits Kjærgaard(Promising AMC).

[Adzke]

1 hour ago, AceCream said:

Thank you  They all look really good especially Skov Olsen since he already plays in the Serie A. Having thought about it the danish player does not need to be a striker/attacker. Since I don't play with traditional wingers he can also be a wing back or a midfielder, even a libero. The players who have caught an eye are: Victor Nelsson (Looks like he could be a great Libero and future captain) , Magnus Kofod (Deep lying playmaker). Andreas Poulsen (Attacking Wing Back), Jacob Haahr(DC on trial at Torino), Victor Kristiansen (17 year old WBL with great mentals), Jens Odgaard (Pressing Forward at Heerenveen) and Maurits Kjærgaard(Promising AMC).

Jonas Wind has been signed by Milan on my game, though he has been loaned out twice without great succes. Skov Olsen looks really promosing here, and without spoiling too much, he has been sold off to quite a big club in another country.

[Sysiphus]

17 hours ago, quee said:

You learned something new everyday! Definitely never seen or heard of this. Though, would be interesting if you can elevate someone you want as Team Leader from the void available. Just imagine a young prospect as Team Leader in his first few seasons already, I would build my side around him given the chance 

I may be mistaking him for another defender of a similar name, but I think his contract will expire in the 2nd summer, right? I remembered being tempted to sign him on a Bosman before deciding against it as I wouldn't have any space in my squad. He joined Genoa in the end.

Yeah, I remembered him as well from back then. United had a few Italians who never amount to anything, potential wise. I think only Gollini as one of the better player currently playing at a good-high level football with Atlanta. Rossi previously as well, but for his injuries destroying his career.

Yeah, I guess you could influence it a bit by manipulating playing time and giving out big contracts with important squad status to players you want at the top? Haven't tried it out though.

Gravillon's contract ends in the summer 2021, so that's after the 2nd season. I'm aiming to loan him again the next season, and if he develops well I'll try to get him on a free then (hopefully with the lure of Serie A football -- we'll see).

United's Italians was a fun experiment. The most disappointing development of them for me is definitely Kiko Macheda, thought he'd turn out very good.

[Stackalee]

26 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

United's Italians was a fun experiment. The most disappointing development of them for me is definitely Kiko Macheda, thought he'd turn out very good.

He's at least getting regular game time at Panathinaikos now, for a while it looked worryingly like he might not even make a living playing. So much early promise though, it is sad.

1 hour ago, AceCream said:

Having thought about it the danish player does not need to be a striker/attacker.

Nikolas Dyhr is also pretty good then, although same side as Dimarco so maybe no point, another more expensive/obvious one would be Rasmus Nissen Kristensen for the opposite flank. Frederik Winther also looks promising and can develop well as a centre back option, quite good on the ball.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Stackalee

[Adzke]

So far 12 games in, I am building on my last season, and I am currently in second place behind a Roma team which stunningly had 33 points after 11 matches, but has since then drawn with Inter and lost against Juventus. After only 12 games we are headed for an eight week winter-break as the World Cup will get underway in Qatar. That puts the season in sort of a strange light, as it just doesn't feel right. But none the less, I hope my players will come back rested and ready for an intense spring.

I am especially proud of my league position considering I had a five game streak, where I faced Atalanta, Lazio, Napoli, and Juventus where I came away with eight points. 

Table

Spoiler

Fausto Vera has so far been worth every penny (well, cent...) I paid for him, as he has six assists and three PoM's from 11 Serie A matches with an average rating of 7.57 Dany Mota is doing his thing, and is currently one goal behind Romelu Lukaku an Patrick Schick as topscorer, and Vera has the most assists and key passes in the entire Serie A, while my Polish goalkeeper has the most clean sheets. 

Tactically, I am growing a bit weary of my 3-5-2. It obviously works really well, but I would like to add some wrinkles, and I am looking for a player (propably Vera) to form into a Pirlo-esque role for next season. André Anderson isn't playing that well in the AMC slot, and Bruno Varano is just too young (and perhaps unfit for the role of advanced playmaker) to fit into that strada.

Vera and Varano

Spoiler

As a curiosity, I have found a young Norwegian player who has never had a club (while snooping around their national youth team), and he looks like a great prospect (according to my assistant, he can turn out to be a Serie A right back in the future). I had him in for a trial and have since signed him.

Lars Eirik Bjørnebye

Spoiler

Do coaches have any bearing on a players determination? A lot of my youngsters are dropping in determination, and I can't figure out why.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Adzke

[FMbeginner]

18 hours ago, quee said:

That's a good base for the first season. Your transfers seemed to be working towards improving the defensive side of your team, so that's a good sign and planning.

I actually think your squad have a good composition of players, enough covers everywhere. As a young squad and still developing, I think a more experience head might be useful in midfield or attack? Not a squad player, but someone who will be key for you. Just a thought.

For lower league players, I have Laurenzi and Tolemello from Trapani. Laurenzi seems good enough for Serie A sides (potentially can develop even more with more first team experience) and as a left-footed BPD as well.

Apart from that, I'm planning to get Zanellato from Crotone in my 4th summer when I resume playing my save. He never drops below 70 from my scouts recommendation, and I had him in my shortlist since the first season.

Since then, I've finished the transfer window and made a last few minute moves.... Brescianini came in on a 2 year loan deal from Milan and Petagna joined from Napoli. Caputo went out on loan (I'm paying all his wages), Ricci went out on loan and Bourabia moved permanently to Trabzonspor.

I had a look for some more experienced players and there weren't too many experienced players who I wanted to bring in without breaking my wage budget - which is higher than I really want without European football. Marco Parolo wanted to join me from Lazio, but wanted 50k wages... ouch. I do have Lucas Martinez Quarta joining from River Plate for the start of the third season though.

I will have a look at Laurenzi and Tolemello. Thanks! 

[quee]

2 hours ago, Adzke said:

Do coaches have any bearing on a players determination? A lot of my youngsters are dropping in determination, and I can't figure out why.

A lot of combination of factors. Did you get any messages about them getting positive or negative traits? Usually a hint can be found what caused the changes.

For new players, whoever welcomed them to the club actually play a factor. This is why Team Leaders ideally should have good personalities. I'm a bit mixed on this myself, as I prefer players who have been around longer in the team to be the Team Leaders.

Then there's squad general personality. This is dynamics, so some players will adjust to it more than others.

Hierarchy also plays a part, as the significant influence of each group will effect the others in his group.

This can be offset by having good mentoring groups to maintain and improve certain personalities. Remember, even youth players can have their own mentoring groups.

Then as you said, coaches' personalities. There's at least 2 threads experimenting with personalities in their career updates at FMCU. They noticed great personality trait will help produce and develop young players better, even if their coaching attributes are not great. This is of course different for senior players.

Will catch up on the rest of the other posts later.

[quee]

2 hours ago, Adzke said:

Lars Eirik Bjørnebye

I got excited there for a bit, thinking Stig Inge Bjornebye have a son in the game! A quick google doesn't seem to find anything related to him. Does seem like an excellent prospect for a free! Great find!

[quee]

2 hours ago, FMbeginner said:

Petagna joined from Napoli

Good signing, I actually wanted him as well, but he moved to Lille in the 2nd summer, without playing a single game for Napoli.

2 hours ago, FMbeginner said:

Marco Parolo wanted to join me from Lazio, but wanted 50k wages... ouch. I do have Lucas Martinez Quarta joining from River Plate for the start of the third season though.

Nice! Quarta should be a good addition as well!

2 hours ago, FMbeginner said:

I will have a look at Laurenzi and Tolemello. Thanks! 

Let me know what you think.

[Weston]

4 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

United's Italians was a fun experiment. The most disappointing development of them for me is definitely Kiko Macheda, thought he'd turn out very good.

 

4 hours ago, Stackalee said:

He's at least getting regular game time at Panathinaikos now, for a while it looked worryingly like he might not even make a living playing. So much early promise though, it is sad.

I have good memories of Macheda from like 10 years ago along with Paloschi, Forestieri, and Lanzafame. All great young players in the game who disappointed in real life.

[AceCream]

Just now, Weston said:

I have good memories of Macheda from like 10 years ago along with Paloschi, Forestieri, and Lanzafame. All great young players in the game who disappointed in real life.

Ohh yes Forestieri, Arturo Lupoli, Okaka, Tomasso Vailatti, Alessandro Rosina, Cacia and so on.  I get very nostalgic looking up players from FM05 to FM08. 

[Stackalee]

39 minutes ago, Weston said:

 

I have good memories of Macheda from like 10 years ago along with Paloschi, Forestieri, and Lanzafame. All great young players in the game who disappointed in real life.

Think Crisetig was the standout for me from that kinda time, didn't quite become the monster FM predicted. 

[Weston]

2 hours ago, AceCream said:

Ohh yes Forestieri, Arturo Lupoli, Okaka, Tomasso Vailatti, Alessandro Rosina, Cacia and so on.  I get very nostalgic looking up players from FM05 to FM08. 

I didn't start playing until FM09 so I missed some of that. The big one right when I was starting was Balotelli, but of course he did end up making a name for himself IRL, whatever your opinion of him is. I think Macheda / Paloschi led the line for me when I took over Atlanta the year they were in Serie B. Paloschi broke Inzaghi's single season scoring record by 1 goal, if I recall.

[RVP32]

Someone tell this lad these goalkeepers got a family!

In fact, tell it to all three of them!

[Jumping Jack Flash]

On 14/05/2020 at 14:29, quee said:

How was season 1 and 2 for you? Is Europe a chance for you with a game left and in 8th place?

Season 1 was about selling the older players, promoting from the academy and being patient. As the season developed I found some form with a 3-5-2 formation, but it was a very defensive tactic due to lack of talent. I pipped Monza I think to the title on the last day but it took me until January to find any form and work out my best 11.

Serie B I changed tactic early on and went for a 4-4-2 with Armini playing RB to fill a hole, but finished second in the end to Empoli who romped it with Montella in charge!

I ended up finishing 11th in my first season, but considering I was tipped to finish last and 2000-1 to win the league, I'm happy with that. Season 4 (2 in Serie A) again is about maintaining status as next year we move into the new stadium and we need the finances. £14m stadium and I think we have a £7m loan which is probably why the board won't give me more than £7m to spend! Seems a bit pessimistic but as it's a young group, I want to develop them further and hopefully attack Europe next season. It's also tough because I can't attract any talent whatsoever.

Attached are some of the guys who got me here. A few Palermo rejects but they've done the job for me.

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Jumping Jack Flash

[Jumping Jack Flash]

First game of the season (season 4) at home vs Juve, 0-1 down thanks to a Rabiot 25 yarder which was annoying.

Team was looking confident, a couple of changes on the 60 minute mark along with attacking philosophy, and managed to secure a 1-1 draw thanks to this goal from my homegrown lad Carmelo Muzio with about 5 minutes to go.

RETE, RETE! UNO UNO! CHE GOLAZO!

Not sure why so slow...

[AceCream]

25 minutes ago, Jumping Jack Flash said:

RETE, RETE! UNO UNO! CHE GOLAZO!

Beauty! Was that at the new stadium or at the old Gorganzola Park?

[Adzke]

8 hours ago, quee said:

I got excited there for a bit, thinking Stig Inge Bjornebye have a son in the game! A quick google doesn't seem to find anything related to him. Does seem like an excellent prospect for a free! Great find!

Ha, yes. I thought of that as well. He's good at free kicks, so he might have a bit of John Arne Riise in him as well. I've never seen a newgen who's never been at a club before though.

[Adzke]

9 hours ago, quee said:

A lot of combination of factors. Did you get any messages about them getting positive or negative traits? Usually a hint can be found what caused the changes.

For new players, whoever welcomed them to the club actually play a factor. This is why Team Leaders ideally should have good personalities. I'm a bit mixed on this myself, as I prefer players who have been around longer in the team to be the Team Leaders.

Then there's squad general personality. This is dynamics, so some players will adjust to it more than others.

Hierarchy also plays a part, as the significant influence of each group will effect the others in his group.

This can be offset by having good mentoring groups to maintain and improve certain personalities. Remember, even youth players can have their own mentoring groups.

Then as you said, coaches' personalities. There's at least 2 threads experimenting with personalities in their career updates at FMCU. They noticed great personality trait will help produce and develop young players better, even if their coaching attributes are not great. This is of course different for senior players.

Will catch up on the rest of the other posts later.

I have Eric Garcia, who I use every time I sign a player, if I can. That seems to work well, but they still drop over time. My squad personality is professional, so I'm not sure if that has anything to say.

[sedge11]

So its been a few days, after finishing season 3 winning the league and champs league, I took a couple days off fm due to work and the misses birthday.

But we are now back and ready for season 4, can we defend our titles?

Here was our transfer business.

Bit of a quiet one really, Alberto left and so did Anderson. Gabriel came in to replace Alberto, and the other 2 are regens.

It was an odd summer as we haven't really improved our 1st 11 after such a good 3rd season it was difficult to see where I would want to improve, plus top quality players I did look at suddenly wanted massive wages  and our wage budget still isn't the highest, but we have a couple of younger players in Armini, Gouiri, Minardi and Almada who hopefully can step up their involvement and push on.

One player I am excited about is Zanre the summer signing, he's back on loan at Bologna until January, so I already can't wait to use him.

Not sure how I hadn't spotted him before, he already looks quality and had scored 14 goals for Bologna last season. Didn't realise their youth facilities were that good to produce someone like him.

We have had a patchy start to the season, with an obvious hangover from the success of season 3, squad hit a slight brick wall but I'm hoping the more experienced players will help the younger ones through and we can hit some form.

We lost the European super cup to Chelsea, and wee have also lost 2 of our 1st 6 league games, which is equal to what we lost in the league for the whole of last season.

[Muttley84]

To be honest I am not overly satisfied with the way our transfer window went. And that is especially from a financial point of view, as I feel like we got robbed from some players (like Lautaro and Lukako only leaving for 66M each, or Skriniar for 33). In the end I think this what happens when you put your players out on the market and are desperate to get rid of them, the AI senses that and bids low. Like we had in the first season bids of 90M for Lautaro and we rejected them, and now after winning the Champions League and winning 2 Serie A titles we sold him for less. Well, guess its all water under the bridge as we managed to sell all of our non-italian players (at least from the first squad, they are some lingering in the reserves but I want to cash in on those when they grow a bit). In the same time, the prices we had to pay for Italian players were a bit above their actual value, but I don't really think with much. We made some steals (like bringing Donnarumma on a free albeit with sky rocket wages, Zaniolo or Chiesa on decent prices), but also got to fill in the squad with backups and prospects. The only miss I made was another good centre-back (I actually bought Rugani but I wasn't carefull enough to see that since being loaned and transfered to Marseille I selected next available date and somehow that is next summer).

This is how the squad looks at the beginning of the season (we actually started playing some games in the new format of the Club World Championship). Pretty confident that we can still challenge at the top of Serie A, although it will be real hard to defend our Champions League trophy. Currently the best 11 I have in mind for the next season is (age in brackets):

Donnarumma (22)
Bastoni (22) - Mancini (25) - Romagna (24)
Dimarco (23) - De Sciglio (28)
Sensi (26) - Barella (24) - Zaniolo (22)
Chiesa (23) - Esposito (19)

Pretty decent squad I would say to challenge for trophies in the coming years.

[quee]

1 hour ago, Muttley84 said:

Pretty decent squad I would say to challenge for trophies in the coming years.

Paolo Russo is a regen? How good is he?

[Muttley84]

21 minutes ago, quee said:

Paolo Russo is a regen? How good is he?

Regen indeed, he should be one of the best of his generation...

[Rober82]

1 hour ago, quee said:

Paolo Russo is a regen? How good is he?

I read Paulo Rossi there a second

[cmason84]

Latest blog piece on my AC Milan save has landed
https://afmoldtimer.home.blog/2020/05/16/ac-milan-2021-22-summer-transfer-window-update/

[Rober82]

So finally back at Foggia, and the first ever youth intake is rather funny.

Golden generation wow! But then you read further....

[Adzke]

3 minutes ago, Rober82 said:

So finally back at Foggia, and the first ever youth intake is rather funny.

Golden generation wow! But then you read further....

Ha! I never trust those descriptions, though I have been getting really good youth intakes at Reggina.

[cmason84]

1 hour ago, Rober82 said:

So finally back at Foggia, and the first ever youth intake is rather funny.

Golden generation wow! But then you read further....

I had players come through at Reggina who were good enough for the Italian side in FM18. It's what made me play it even when FM19 came out. I had about 5-6 youth team players that were in the first team. You can take a look at some of them here (https://afmoldtimer.home.blog/category/football-manager/football-manager-18/)

The players to look out for are Bagnoli, Pantane, Barca, Bongiorno and Speri. I also had a goalkeeper Ulliano too but I never analysed goalkeeping metrics as they're 'lacking' in game.

[FMbeginner]

It looks like my save at Sassuolo is at an end... a consortium came in and sacked me in January 2021 when I was sitting in 7th and on a good run of form.... they brought in Fernando Santos, the Portugal manager. Gutted that save is over... unsure whether to reload my save as Pescara (discovered I tucked away a save from the beginning of the second season after promotion to Serie A) or if to go for a bigger side such as Roma or one of the Milan clubs.

I do have an older save from November 2020 as Sassuolo but unsure what to do... 

[Matt_1979]

 

What would happen if Gallardo left River Plate in Argentina for the floating city?

Well, we’re going to find out. I’ve created a couple of his tactics into the game and will try to pick players to replicate his favoured personnel. Hard pressing, high work rate, fast paced.