[FM 20] Olympique de Marseille: No money but AVB

[nico_france]

Welcome to the thread of the most exciting sleeping giant in France  !!

 

 

 

Club captain Didier Deschamps celebrating with the Ayews father

 

History and glory days...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Modern days...

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

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

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

But bad choices were made, in 2019, you have to start all over again with little cash

 

 

Stadium

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

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

Your facilities are also excellent, and will need few improvements

New attendance record this year against Lyon with 65369 fans

 

 

OM CHAMPIONS PROJECT

 

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

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

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

To build up this project former As Roma manager was hired, Rudi Garcia, after one high emotionnal season where Marseille reached the Europa League final in 2018, the following season had been horrendous

Time to change, and you owner doesn't want to spend money anymore, so the "Special Two" will have to deal with it

OM broken project seems more appropriate this year

 

 

 

AVB is Zubizareta choice, a new era after Rudi Garcia's tough end  and not a bad start IRL

 

 

 

Marseille celebrating his 120th birthday against Lyon 10 November 2019

 

 

 

 

 

Board expectations and club vision

The board wants you to achieve a top 4 finish, which means reach Europa league football in France, not so easy

If you decide to start with the transfer window open

You will get a little bit more than 5M€ available (which is more than IRL) and nothing  (7K!) availbale for wages

As last year, and i would say as usual since Evra flying kick departure, you will absolutely need :

-  A leftback to provide competition to Amavi, only player able to fill the spot at the moment, crazy

The club vision is really interesting for my taste, as you will have to start from scratch and rely on your knowledge and your scouting department

You only have 2 NON EU players in the team, so you would be able to add 2 more players, choose them wisely

I would not recommend to modify these expecations, even more than last year PSG is completely out of your league, Lyon and Monaco will be serious opponents, their squad are more competitive then yours

Don't forget, to reach Champions League football in France you need to be at least 3rd

 

Rivals

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

Would you stop our 8 years streak without a single victory against PSG in any competitions ??

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

 

 

Kit

Why Marseille ?

If you like to manage a really thin squad and develop your youngsters, it's for you !

Because you will have to (re)build an entire squad with very limited money !

Because overpaying players around their 30's is not an option anymore !!

You need, and will have to build on young players to try to succeed !!

This year is special, 120 yeras of existence, you need to offer a gift to Marseille fans

Because you have exciting youngsters to develop  !!

Because your have the biggestin Ligue 1 !!

Because you have to stop the losing streak against PSG for 8 years now !

Because your last trophy was in 2012 !

Because your DNA is to bring back  European football at the Velodrome !!

 

ALLEZ L'OM

Edited November 18, 2019 by nico_france

[nico_france]

Squad analysis

Last season, Rudi Garcia ended his reign in Marseille in a very difficult way, fans are more than angry with him

You and AVB now inherit Garcia's legacy and it's complicated

Only few (3) additions to the team as Garcia spent all the money in the previous seasons, and dome major sales like O'Campos who's shining in Sevilla

Your central midfield will be key this year, rely on it !

Goalkeepers

 

 MANDANDA

Despite his world cup last year, it was may be the worst season of his career with Marseille

Back fit to the club this summer, he's one of the most reliable player this season and he's back betwenn the sticks in the National Team

Your new club captain this year, fully deserved, BUT Steve is already 34y/o with a big wage and running out of contract in 2021, you will have to keep it in mind as you finances are not incredible at all

 

 PELE

Your back up as usual, far away from Steve level's, will be free at the end of the season, no reason for you to renew his contract, he's 36

 

Recommandations: Have a look to your development center, Simon Ngapandouetnbu might become interesting

 

 

Defenders

 

Centre Backs

 

ALVARO on loan from Villareal

With an affordable buying clause, the spaniard will provide experience and depth to a weak area this year

As your squad is really thin, no doubt you will use it, no real weakenesses and not impressive strenghts as well

Will be more than capable in Ligue 1

DUJE CALETA CAR

The croatian international starts his 2nd season in Marseille,

It was difficult for him last season, but this year he will have more space in your team

Good passing skills, useful if you want to start building your tactic from your back

He should remain with you a couple of years and develop into a nice player

 

KAMARA

Your best option here and only 19 y/o

Born and raised in Marseille, he renewed his contract this year which is a really good notice for you

A must keep at any cost

Could be a really interesting DM as well

 

PERRIN

Marseille academy product,

Your 4th choice in case of emergency, in the reserve squad at the beginning of the season

 

 

Fullbacks

Right side

 SAKAI

Still the #1 for the spot, his contract had been renewed till 2022

Professional, reliable the only "issue" for Hiroki is that he will turn 30 this year and is a non EU player, to consider from an economical and team building pov

Can help your for the left FB spot in case of emergency

 

 SARR

Still there

Still average in defending, still average in fact

You will be using him during your first season as he can also provide help on the AMR spot

But if you have a good offer for him, don't hesitate at all, too weak for Marseille standard imo

 

Left side

 AMAVI

#1 for the spot, because he's alone here

Still not a great defender, but you will have to deal with it

NKOUNKOU

In reserve at the beggining, try to develop him, would advise not loaning him as he's the only natural LB cover available, really young so be patient

Reccomandations: Absolute priority here, it should be just fine this year if you avoid injury crisis

 

 

 

Midfielders

 

Defensive

STROOTMAN

The dutch international is your best option for the DM spot

His lack of pace could be an issue on the pitch, his great mental attributes will be always appreciated on the other hand

But with one of the most important salary in the club, i would recommend playing him and then offload him if you get something good

Already 29 y/o

 

SERTIC

He's the proper definition of deadwood:

-big wages, useless, on his 30's, injury prone

-and most of all when he plays, he costs you points

You know what to do here, to offload, thanks god he's running out of contract in 2020

 

Central

RONGIER

One of the few signing this year, the french box to box joined us from Nantes for an important fee, he'a nice addition to the squad as he can help you out for th DM role as well

Useful and young signing

 

SANSON

Could be a really nice B2B option for you, reliable lad btw

 

LOPEZ

Born and raised in Marseille, Lopez (21 y/o) could develop in a very interesting playmaker

Good vison and passing skills

Really capable in a midfield 3

He's running out of contract in 2021, keep it in mind

 

 

Attacking midfielders

Right side

THAUVIN

Your best player by far !

BUT He's injured till the end of December

This is the most complicated issue to deal with as Florian is your main threat upfront, try to do your best till then

He's running out of contract in 2021, watch out

 

LIHADJI

In Reserve when you start

He's the most exciting youngster in the club, just shined IRL at the u17 WC with France

He could develop in a brilliant IF on the right side, Thauvin's injury should give the lad some deserved space

Develop him, you can get a really important player for the future

RUNNING OUT OF CONTRACT IN 2020, you know what to do

 

Left side

RADONJIC

The serbian international will start his second season here

Still really pacey, he needs to work on his technical skills and get more intelligence on the pitch

As you don't have a lot of options upfront, he will play till December without any problems

Can cover your right flank if you decide to play PAYET on the left wing

Central

PAYET

Former club captain, AVB gave this back to Mandanda this year

Really capable on the left flank, he's shining even more as #10

Will depend of your tactic, but he's currently playing AML IRL

Always important for all the set pieces

BUT Dimitri is your biggest earner in the club and already 32y/o

Definitely to consider if you want to stick to the club vision and the financial situation in Marseille

 

KHAOUI

Back from his loan, the tunisian international he's just not good for Marseille

To offload

 

 

Strikers

BENEDETTO

AVB choice upfront, Dario joined you from Boca for a little bit more than 15M€

At least someone who will bang them in !

Obviously your best option upfront, the argentinian is the finisher you lacked in the previous version

Can cover a lot of roles, the only downside for me is his age

Already 29, so it will be up you to decide what to do at the end of the first season

 

GERMAIN

Not really useful as a lone striker, could be interesting in a 2 strikers tactic

Your only cover for Dario, 29 y/o as well, and will never be a world beater unfortunately

You will decide what to do really quickly

 

Reccomandation: Aké in your reserve could be useful this year

 

Backroom Staff

AVB came with some interesting people, still so room to improve for the first season

Your scouting department will need some additions

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by nico_france

[nico_france]

TACTICS

No big surprise here, the curerent squad, especially with Thauvin injury is mostly fit for a 4-3-3

This is the set i used during Beta, got pretty good results with an evolving ME, so will see how it looks for release

This is the set up used IRL by Villas-Boas

 

 

If you want to play with Payet as your #10

He's really capable as a SS, same goes for Lopez if you want to play him higher on the pitch

 

The latest will be used in case of come back needed in order to have a 2 strikers pairing

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by nico_france

[nico_france]

reserved

[n1mez]

Very nice reading. Cant wait for you to continue it

[nico_france]

Started over tonight because of the new hotfix, still in preseason so far

Struggling a little bit to play the way i would like with my 4-3-3, the lack of crosses from my FB is kind of complicated to deal with

[quee]

What's the hotfix?

[DirtyJoe]

Nice, inspiring a OM save here i think.

[nico_france]

Il y a 9 heures, quee a dit :

What's the hotfix?

It was the one related to the youngsters détermination 

@DirtyJoe Welcome in !

Btw will post a recap asap

Just done with my first exciting season !

[nico_france]

Here we go again !

Season 1 just done, let's see what happened !

As a reminder, transfers are disabled for the first window in order to keep it "real", especially this year where money is an issue

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

 

SEASON 2019/2020

As stated in my opening post, this year Marseille will be an even more complicated challenge, especially with no transfers allowed

For those used to play with transfer disabled, you all know that most of the time in November or in January, the board will give you money

Révélation

But not this time

You won't get a single penny to spend in january

If you don't sell, you won't buy (which is the case IRL and that's great for my taste)

 

After Garcia's era where money was splashed for ageing players on BIG wages (Hi Payet, Mitroglou and Strootman), you will know have to deal with a completely different philosophy which is perfect according me for Marseille's situation at the moment

 

 

The first team is short in quality and quantity, if you plan to keep it real, you'll have to stick with some youngsters in any case !

 

TACTIC

With Thauvin's injury and the lack of possibilities upfront, i've been focused on developing a solid 4-3-3 like AVB is doing IRL

I want the team to be really high on the pitch and harrass their opponent in order to mask the lack of quality in several positions

When you start fresh, the starting 11 for a 4-3-3 is "decent" but most of your subs are far away a good level

Anyway before getting your best player back on the pitch (Thauvin will be available the 20/12/2019), you will have to do your best in order to compete for Europa League football for the next season

 

This is the exact formation i used when THAUVIN returned on the pitch

Prior his comeback RADONJIC was used and trained as a right winger while PAYET was AML

In January THAUVIN got the right wing for him, playing as an IF with attck duty, the only change made

This formation with my DM in defense duty allowed me to concede few goals during the first months, but sometimes scoring was tough

I turned things around after with others instructions and ME fixes i guess

 

 

TRANSFERS

As said above, you have to deal with a new mentality from the board who won't pump money in a sinkhole like before

So guys, you need to make some business first !

 

OUTS

 

No choice here, if you want to buy or even loan someone, first of all you will have to sell players, the board won't help you

As a result, even if it was not easy, i had to sell my captain MANDANDA, 34 y/o with this kind of wage, really i can't make it

Same goes for PAYET, your biggest earner, another obvious departure candidate, i trust RADONJIC which is a natural AML to cover this position along with my younster AKE

Won't lose my time for GERMAIN and SARR, they're just not good for me, so i'm really happy with  this money and most of all freeing important wages

On a side note, was talking about SERTIC, in the opening post telling this guy was complete deadwood, grabbed an injury for 8 months, had to pay him until the very last end of his contract

Those moves were vital for my financial situation, the only one i regret is Mandanda which was playing really well but i couldn't afford him in this situation

 

INS

 

 

The 3st names are already there at the beggining of the save (i really don't like this feature )

So let me introduce you the 3 new faces brought this winter

 

FERNANDO PACHECHO

Transfer listed from Madrid for 4.4M€ fee

This was the best i could get as for a GK at that time, kind of a bargain imo, as i won't stick with him forever

Ratings were not impressive, but it seems that GK's rating had been toned down once again from the Beta

Would recommend signing him if you have a GK on a budget

 

BRUNO GUIMARAES

Recommended by my scouting network

I could not avoid his useful versatility on the pitch

He has the qualities i'm looking for a DM because he know how to use the ball

A bit expensive for my tiny finances, but definitely worth it, 16.5M€ well spent

 

GONZALO MONTIEL

This lad costed me a little bit less than the money i got from SARR, my previous #2 RB

What a difference !

He never left my starting XI depsite his bad crossing stat, he's more than reliable on the pitch and averages above 7 rating

Great addition to the squad for 6.25M€

 

As expected from my board, i'm renewing the squad with youngers options and lower wages

 

No freebies are joiniing us atm for the upcoming season, we'll see if we can grab a big fish or two a little bit later in the summer !

 

COMPETITIONS

 

LIgue 1

A top 4 finish will be vital for my career in Marseille so let's see what happened

Well, it's been a 3 horses race with Monaco till December

Really surprised to be this high on the table tbh, would have even been possible for me to win the title on the last fixture of the season, but Lyon could not manage more than a draw against PSG

Got a terrible draw run at the very end of the season that costed me the title

Not really disappointed as my main objective was to bring back Champions League money, and football to Marseille

On a side note, the 8 years cursed against PSG has come to an end, i ended up beating them home

But they beat me away 3-1

 

French Cups

Coupe de la Ligue is, hopefully, living his last edition this season

So it's now or never if you want to grab this trophy for the last time

Even if we made it to the final

We lost against a good Monaco side

 

This year had been surprisingly really productive in Cups, as we reached the final of Coupe de France against our fiercy rival Lyon

And this time...

 

We made it !

An incredible rush of Left Full back AMAVI has awarded me my first trophy in Marseille !

Beating Lyon is even more satisfaying than any other team as you have to face former Marseille coach IRL who give you this "nice legacy" when you inherit of the squad this year

 

 

TOP PERFORMERS

He was not the most expected at all

But LOPEZ as an advanced playmaker had been HUGE all season long

 

Thauvin had been preety good as well so was Radonjic

 

A little look at the youngsters

LIHADJI is developing nicely, as expected when you use it

 

More than happy with this season so far

This summer will be active for transfers as i need to improve my squad for chasing PSG in the Ligue 1 title race

Don't expect much, but money , from our upcoming Champions League campaign

 

 

[FMunderachiever]

I have just started an Olympique Marseille save and i LOVE IT so far.

My tactic as i saw it was very different to yours, and i was very disappointed to see Thauvin injured till December.

But ill get some more games done and report back when the season is more underway

 

Love this thread!

[DirtyJoe]

"I sold the house and the cupboard is bare"

With escalating wages, no European Football, No Transfer budget. I have take a drastic approach with my save.

Club Vision -

• Sign under 23's - 8 new signings under 23 (complete)
• Play attacking Football - Attaching 442
• Work within the wage Budget - $756,480 v ($855,550)
• Qualify for UEFA Europa League

Transfers -

 

So away we go, first up Bordeaux at Home -

With Debutantes, Casteel, Celik, Terrier, Zaracho and Niakhate the new look OM staged a magnificent performance over  Bordeaux, Goals to Terrier, Benedetto (2), Zararcho, & Lopez to finish the match 5 - 1.

[DirtyJoe]

AUGUST 2019

A nice start throughout August, with 4 unbeaten games.

SEPTEMBER 2019

3 consecutive draws to start the Month, with an impressive draw against OL.

[Travis Bickle]

Will start my save soon. Can't wait. 

[nico_france]

@DirtyJoe Nice business here !

Used to get zaracho last year, was a very good player tbh !

May be too much support task in your tactic to explain the draws ?

Best of luck in any case !

Will try to post a recap asap as i'm done with season 2 now

Hope you'll have fun and success !! @Travis Bickle @FMunderachiever

[DirtyJoe]

@nico_france did you end up keeping Thauvin or did you off load him?  I think the latter, as the wages are extraordinary high.

[s0ni42]

Any insight to Rongier? I’ve got him on a shortlist at West Ham. Solid looking lad

[DirtyJoe]

10 hours ago, s0ni42 said:

Any insight to Rongier? I’ve got him on a shortlist at West Ham. Solid looking lad

He has been injured on my save, and has not been able to break into the midfield due to Lopez & Sanson's form.

Edited November 26, 2019 by DirtyJoe

[nico_france]

Il y a 12 heures, DirtyJoe a dit :

@nico_france did you end up keeping Thauvin or did you off load him?  I think the latter, as the wages are extraordinary high.

Definitely

he will renew his contract for roughly the same money

still young, homegrown and top quality

a must keep !

@s0ni42 Rongier is good for L1 but if you have a good offer, you can go for another option 

[nico_france]

 Season 2 is done now !

"Time for changes "

 

SEASON 2020/2021

 We did better than expected last season because we can now compete with the big boys in CL and hopefully get some really welcomed money

The task will be tough with an european competition to play this year as the team is still very thin and needs a lot of changes to be competitive

So let's stick to one of the most important transfer market made by the club this century !!

 

TRANSFERS

As said just above, and you should have noticed it by yourself if you already complete a season with Marseille

You just can't stick with the existing squad, first of all because you can't afford it and also if you want to stick with the club vision:

-Sign players under 23 for the 1st team

-Don't sign players over 30

 

OUTS

As you can notice, a lot of (good) business here, thi money is more than necessary, i have to start almost from scratch with this team

Completely surprised to be able to sell LOPEZ for this kind of money, he was not transfer listed, i just have to negociate this amount to ManU, even if HG and Club Grown, it was impossible for me to refuse 80M€ straight, btw he played all season long with ManU and they transfered Pogba to PSG for roughly the same money

For CALETA CAR even if he was my best DF last season, impossible as well to refuse this kind of money especially from a chinese club that i won't face in any competitions, market for defenders is more easy to fill this year, you'll see

 STROOTMAN is already 30, has huge wages, thanks again dear Norwich friends to offer me this adorable amount for a player who did not offer as much as he could for my side

Selling AMAVI for this kind of money is an absolute fraud tbh But i must admit that he had a very consistent season for me

Regarding BENEDETTO and SAKAI, pretty similar situation, both on their 30's and Non EU players, i will find find suitable replacements for them

MITROGLOU is coming back from his loan spell in Holland, obviously to offload

 

INS

 

 

A lot of investments were absolutely necessary, i need quality almost everywhere

As you can notice we were able to make some unexpected great moves !

 

DANI OLMO

The well known spaniard was suprisingly transfer listed around the end of the season

It was impossible to miss this great business for only 13.25M€

Can play almost everywhere upfront, he will be for me on the left wing mainly

 

 

THEO HERNANDEZ

Brother of the french world cup winner Lucas

Theo had difficulties in Milan, i wasable to negociate only 15M€ for quality Left Fullback

French btw and only 22 y/o (when i signed him)

 

JOHNATAN CALLERI

Nice freebie that will cover my #9 spot as a back up

Already experienced it in previous FM

Will be more than capable in Ligue 1 and i'm sure i'll mae money on him next year

 

JEROME ONGUENE

What a surprise here !

Only have to trigger his "tiny" release clause of 18.75M€

Homegrown btw, a must sign !

 

TALLES MAGNO

Only 18y/o and already a lot to offer !

Will be my left IF for years to come and can help me out in others positions

An absolute must sign !

22.5M€ was the price of his release clause

 

ZEKI CELIK

From Lille, a very useful Right back is joining us on the cheap only 8.75M€

I'm sure his good crossing ability will be useful when the ME will be fixed

 

MOUSSA DEMBELE

May be the greatest coup here

For some awkards reasons Lyon had sold almost his entire first team for silly money, like Depay for 26M€ for example despite their Europa League qualification

Delighted to get a deal done for only 21M€ for this quality, my striker for years to come

 

JAMES RODRIGUEZ

No need to introduce the lad

Had my best player on the pitch this year

Had joined us on a free from Madrid a little bit later in the summer (was recovering from an injury btw)

Immense player, especially for Marseille

 

ABDOU DIALLO

Transfer listed from PSG, we wera able to get the left footed CB for 23M€

French and young, a good replacement for my croatian boy off to China

 

Despite his 33 y/o MATUIDI still has a lot to offer, will be used as a back up and tutor for my young lads;  he's joining us on a free from Juventus after a test with us where he proved me he was more than capable at this level

 

NICOLAS DOMINGUEZ

He was a great find from my scouting department who poached the lad in Italy

For this kind of money 21M€, i'm covered in the midfield for almost a decade

Superb all around midfielder and only 22 y/o !

 

ADLI and OSIMHEN were just great financial deals from Bordeaux and Lille in Ligue 1

They won't be playing for me this season as i have my line up ready, but they will be starters elsewhere where they both had a complete season

ADLI is definitely a bargain for this quality, absolute must sign imo

 

As you can notice a lot of signings, that should be the last time that i brought so many new faces in

But i stick to the board vision for almost all of them and i need to build for the future

Hopefully we will already perform this year !

 

 

TACTIC

Decided to stick with my original 4-3-3, only a few tweaks

Got some difficulties at the back this year

Too many changes were made and the players seem to struggle sometimes

I'm already working on another tactic for the upcoming season

 

 JAMES RODRIGUEZ had been immense all year long, assisting for fun

Must admit that both wings worked pretty well, especially the right one

Will need to focus on a proper good GK next year, PACHECO is too limited for the top level

 

 

COMPETITIONS

 

LIgue 1

I need to compete for a CL qualifications this year (which means top 3 in France), this is what my board wants from me

That won't be for us this year again even if i managed to get 1 point more than last year

PSG (with Pogba, Halaand ) is too strong for us, we need to improve next season

But i'm quite confident as my squad is really young and i just built the core this season, we need to step up !

 

 

French Cups

No more Coupe de la Ligue this year, the competiton is dead

We only have the Coupe de France

I've been unlucky enough to draw Monaco away for the first round i had to play

Well, we lost 2-0 there, end of the journey

We won't be able to defend our only title earned last year

To definitely improve

 

Champions League

I had the pleasure to discover that despite finishing 2nd i was in the 4th bracket for the draw

And obviously i inherited a very easy group

Well, i know where to improve for the next season

What a crappy run

 

TOP PERFORMERS

As said above,

JAMES RODRIGUEZ had been a real worldbeater

Even if he's my top earner, that's well spent !

 

 

LIHADJI is still developing nicely

 

Next year i really need to get a trophy and most of all, i need to make a longer journey in Champions League

 

Edited November 26, 2019 by nico_france

[gipsy]

So I have started my yearly OM save; let’s see what this campaign will bring.

nico_france congrats for the thread as always and for your campaign so far! You have made some great signings :)

I started the game with transfers disabled during the first window and while the board requests to sell before buying, I did not plan to denature the team completely as OM would do and tried to stick to signing players no older the 23… except in case I could not find a player but also in case a good opportunity would present itself.  

First season went surprisingly well and by December OM was on top of the league 1 point away from PSG having beaten PSG 2-0, Monaco 1-0 away OL 3-2 or Lille 2-0 among others. I was kind of hoping that the board would give some money for the January window but nope…. 

So, I started offloading players and during the course of January sold:

·      Payet to Newcastle for 16.5M€ (12.5+2+2) with wage contribution of 42k/week for two years. He didn’t do well and was released at the end of first season so no more wage contribution and Newcastle still owed OM 2M+2M

·      Sarr to Watford for 7M€

·      Strootman to Southampton for 35M€ (28.5+2+2+2)

·      Germain went on a paying loan to Nantes and had an automatic purchasing clause after 15 games… he played 14 so back to OM at the end of the season

Then came the time to strengthen the team but I found out (understandably) that players did not really wish to move in January or were too expensive. After several unsuccessful attempts, I only managed to sign Raoul Belanova (RB from Bordeaux) for 5.75M€.

With Strootman gone I started playing Kamara as a DMC (covering for any injured or suspended CD) but needed a good player as Kamara was not natural in this position and loaned Victor Wanyama from Tottenham. Lihadj, Nkounou and Ake were promoted as cover to the 1^st team. 

On the 31^st of January Mandanda got injured for 6 months with damaged cruciate ligaments… A bit stressful but managed to bring Cesar, a Brazilian GK, on loan to cover Mandanda’s absence. 

The second part of the season went extremely well too considering the almost unchanged team of 17 players with 2 GK. OM lost away to PSG 3-1 but won again against Monaco, OL and Lille ending the season in second position with 88 points, 4 less than PSG. This was a great and unexpected achievement as I was not really expecting more than an UEFA cup this season.

OM lost 3-0 to PSG in the 1/4 of the coupe de la ligue and lost in French cup’s 10^th round to Amiens on penalties after a 4-4 draw; no silverware this year but OM qualified for the champions league! The board did not give more funds event with a CL qualification so OM has the remaining of the winter sales to spend. 

Bellanova and Lihadj developed well during the second half of the season. Benedetto scored 18 goals and Thauvin was below average when he returned with 4 goals and 3 assists.

Also, France’s UEFA coefficient increased so as of next season L1 has 4 direct CL, 2 UEFA spots and 1 spot in UEFA’s conference league playoff.

Off to season 2

Edited November 27, 2019 by gipsy

[SRL88]

Nice work on the thread. Good detail 

[DirtyJoe]

Nice work @gipsy Unlucky with Mandanda out.

[DirtyJoe]

Finally completed my first first season. For most part, pretty happy with my tactic and how the squad fitted into it. Has I moved on a lot of players, my squad did get pretty thin there for a while, once the yellow cards kicked in.

PSG had a fantastic season -

We ended up undefeated, but 9 draws did hurt in the end -

Happy with the squad, after signing Fode Ballo-Toure at left back -

Squad View

 

 

[nico_france]

You've been really unlucky to lose Mandanda like that @gipsy

Everyone is getting rid of Payet as far as i can see

 

For a first season, youn did really good  @DirtyJoe

96pts is really impressive

PSG is really impressive in my save, so is Monaco who won EL

 

[gipsy]

 Season 2

During the summer and with 33M available, the following players joined:

·      Stanley Nsoki from Toulouse for 5M€

·      Thomas Basila from Nantes for 12M€

·      Aurelien Tchouameni from Bordeaux for 9M€

·      Alvaro joined for 4M€ as per his loan deal. 

·      The Tramoni brothers from Ajaccio, Matteo and Lisandru. When OM played Ajaccio last season in the Coupe de France these two stole the show even though OM won that game in the end. Matteo joined on loan with an   option to buy of 3M€ and Lisandru joined for 1.6M€ going and went straight back to Ajaccio on loan. 

·      Claudio Gomes from Manchester City on loan

·      Dean Henderson from Manchester United on loan

The following players were sold

·      Kostas Mitroglu to Dynamo Kiev for 3.5M€

·      Walid al Kalal to Nimes for 2.4M€

 

The team for this season looked like this:

GK:Mandanda-Henderson

DR:Sakai-Bellanova

DC: Caleta Car Basila

DC:Alvaro-Nsoki

DMC: Kamara-Gomes

MC: Sanson-Lopez

MC: Rongier-Tchouameni

AMR:Thauvin-Lihadj

AML:Radjonic-M.Tramoni

ST: Benedetto-Germain

During the friendlies, the gelling worked well and the team looked impressive but I was not expecting the season that was about to unfold

OM started the season by losing the Trophee des Champions 1-0 to PSG in a tough game that could have gone either way. 

In the champions League OM was drawn with Olympiakos, Arsenal and Napoli… a difficult group but the qualification to UEFA cup seemed achievable.

By the end of September OM won 7 out of 7 Ligue 1 games including a 2-0 win away at Monaco.  In the champions league OM trashed Olympiakos away 5-0 and won, against the odds, 2-0 against Napoli at the Velodrome.

In October OM won its four L1 games including an out of this world victory against PSG in Paris…4-1!!! :D. In the champions league, OM drew against Arsenal and was 1^st in the group.

In November OM’s three L1 games ended in victories and in the champions league OM won a great game 1-0 against Arsenal and trashed Olympiakos again this time 6-0…remaining top of the group.

In December, OM got two victories in L1 and two draws including one against Lyon (1-1 away). At mid-season OM was 1^st in L1 with 16 victories and 3 draws 7points ahead of OL and 10 ahead of PSG (where Deschamps became manager after the Euro). In the champions league OM drew against Napoli and ended up top of its group with four victories and two draws. What a 1^st part of the season, better than anything I could have possibly expected

In January Thauvin, who renewed his contract in the summer, left to Beijing…. The 49M€ they accepted to pay was to good to turn down. Arezo (18yo) joins for free from River Plate de Montevideo, he is more for next season but will play some games this season. 

OM had to adjust to Thauvin’s departure and no replacement and this could be seen on the pitch with two draws and a win in L1 and losing Coupe de France’s 10th round. 

In February OM lost its 1^st game of the season 2-3 away against Rennes; the other 3 games ended with two draws and two victories. In the champions league, OM won3-0 in the first leg against Kiev.

In March, two victories and a draw in L1 allowed OM to remain 1^st and a draw in the second leg against Kiev allowed OM to progress t the quarter finals against Bayern

In April OM recorded 3 victories and a draw against OL. In the Champions League, the 1^st leg at the Velodrome ended in a 0-0 draw but unfortunately Bayern won the game 2-1… Neuer was on fire and OM could have won but hey…. Nobody expected them to be there in the first place.

In May, the only team that could still block OM from getting its 1^st L1 title in 11 years was OL. On the last day, OM was 1^st with 85 points and OL 2^nd with 82 points. OM won the game finally bringing the L1 trophy back to Marseille and OL lost. What an unbelievable season!!!! Can’t wait to see what the next one will bring but first I need to manage to resist the big clubs and keep the team.    

Edited December 13, 2019 by gipsy

[DirtyJoe]

Ok, its taken me a bit, but i have worked through a few seasons -

Season 2020/21

Transfers In -

Mendy picked picked up for good value at Left Back.
Sangare - Excellent cover for a box to box mid or Centre Back.

Transfers Out

Well, lopez out for a record $62M followed by Thauvin for $50M both wanted to leave.

League Focus -

Highlight of the season winning the Champions League

[Travis Bickle]

First season for me went well, in the sense we comfortably finished third and made the CL. But it was rough. At one point, 10 games left, we were only 2 points behind PSG who were 1st and we had the cup final vs OL to play. Lost the cup final and went on a losing streak, as well as having multiple long term injuries. 

Focus next season is to pass CL Group stages, win the cup and finish in the top 3 again. Any suggestions on good signings welcome :). 

[nico_france]

Good season so far Travis, injury crisis with such a thin squad could be a real issue, i've been lucky enough on that side

Just finished the 1st season as well, ended up 2nd and won Coupe de France against Angers, quite unexepected tbh

Regarding future signings, first of all you will have to shift big earners to get some cash, but upfront i can recommend Calleri, very capable striker, free at the end of season, for the midfield Matuidi is free as well in 2020 and can join you

 

[TheJanitor]

I've just started with Marseille on the latest patch (20.4.1). Anyone had luck with renewing Lihadji's contract? I want to start him while Thauvin is out but he wants to leave at the end of his contract

[karanhsingh]

I think he's programmed in the game to leave at the end of his contract 

[TheJanitor]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

I think he's programmed in the game to leave at the end of his contract 

Thanks. Shame, really wanted to build a homegrown contingent of him, Kamara and Lopez

[BadAss88]

I started unemployed and took over the 15th of November, when they were 9th. Now we're the 1st of January and we're sitting in 6th place, after 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.

This is my tactic:

DLF-s

IW-s                  IF-a

MEZ-a   BBM-s

HB-d

WB-a  CD-d  CD-d  WB-s

SK-s

GK: Mandanda and Pelé
DR: Hysaj and Sakai
DL: Amavi and Nkounkou
DC: Álvaro, Vavro and Kamara
DMC: Caleta-Car and Sertic
MRC: Rongier and Strootman
MLC: Lopez and Sanson
AMR: Thauvin and Radonjic
AML: Payet and Sarr
SC: Benedetto and Germain

For the winter transfer window, my priority is a fast central defender on a permanent basis, because Álvaro and Vavro or loanees. An extra depth central midfielder would be welcome as well, a cheap loan-deal would be perfect.