FMCU Joint Save

[oriole01]

Welcome to the South African First Division! Though it looks like you'll probably have a tougher time with it than I am at the moment, I think this could be a very fun part of the Managervich journey.

[andychar]

Very interesting. I thought it would be South America next then Africa last. 

So onto the update...

1. Wynter 
2. Andychar
3. Rikulec 
4. Noikeee
5. Mandy42 <--------- We are here
6. Jimbokav1971
7. Makoto Nakamura 
8. Smp20 
9. Manutd1 
10. Benjoe
11. Deisler26  
12. henri.melo00
13. TheLutterworthFox
14. Oldmangravz

100% know @Jimbokav1971 can't wait to manage in South Africa! While @Makoto Nakamura will be sick of the sight of Africa and @ManUtd1 will be hoping and praying we are finished by his go. Onwards and upwards!

[Jimbokav1971]

Just now, andychar said:

Very interesting. I thought it would be South America next then Africa last. 

So onto the update...

1. Wynter 
2. Andychar
3. Rikulec 
4. Noikeee
5. Mandy42 <--------- We are here
6. Jimbokav1971
7. Makoto Nakamura 
8. Smp20 
9. Manutd1 
10. Benjoe
11. Deisler26  
12. henri.melo00
13. TheLutterworthFox
14. Oldmangravz

100% know @Jimbokav1971 can't wait to manage in South Africa! While @Makoto Nakamura will be sick of the sight of Africa and @ManUtd1 will be hoping and praying we are finished by his go. Onwards and upwards!

Or alternatively @Mandy42moves twice in 1 season? 

[ManUtd1]

Uhh...I love managing in Africa...  

[Jimbokav1971]

Edited May 27, 2020 by Jimbokav1971

[Mandy42]

48 minutes ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

that's one triangular weasel! 

[Mandy42]

So I took over just before Christmas, which meant we had 1 friendly to play in December, and then the league got underway again in January. We were out of the cup, so all there really is to do is get enough points to not get relegated.

It isn't anything fancy, 4-1-4-1 counter attack, compact and hard to break down, concentrating on soaking up pressure and doing our best to not concede, then taking the game to our opponent when they lose the ball.

While we have won 4 and drawn 1 in the league we have been pretty lucky so far.

We have trailed in every game in which the opposition has scored. Defensive mistakes against Cape Umoya got us back into the game.

Against Steenberg we had shown nothing until in the last 10 minutes I threw our young poacher on and he grabbed us a goal right on the goal line.

Not convinced it really was a penalty against Tuks but I am going to take it!

Mbombela we looked alright, they peppered us with shots but couldn't get anything on target.

Richards Bay the only piece of quality we created is the direct free kick we scored from.

Don't think Ubuntu Cape Town have taken a single point in January.

That's the good news.

The bad news, I don't seem able to offer any player longer than a 1 year contract, might be due to their age? However seen as there is a league rule requiring a minimum of at least 3 under 21 players in the starting XI each game, the majority of the players are of that age. This means it doesn't seem that we are far away from a club coming in and making an end of contract offer on our players. Which is why our goalkeeper Zuma, who is one of our better players, has a contract agreed to go to a Premier Division club at the end of the season. 

The other rather bad news is that we don't have a single defender in the squad who actually seems to want to put his head on the ball, and no amount of trawling through the free transfer market suggests I am going to find anyone of better calibre. Literally every goal we have conceded has been a header, I close my eyes every time we concede a corner! I feel that the current squad has enough about it to keep us in the division, and thus keep our job (sorry @Jimbokav1971) and it should, as we were predicted to finish 6th. However, what state it is in come the end of the season depending on how many players get poached, is another story. 

On the plus side, with the keeper leaving you can hand pick your penalty taking hero for next season  

[oriole01]

3 hours ago, Mandy42 said:

The bad news, I don't seem able to offer any player longer than a 1 year contract, might be due to their age? However seen as there is a league rule requiring a minimum of at least 3 under 21 players in the starting XI each game, the majority of the players are of that age. This means it doesn't seem that we are far away from a club coming in and making an end of contract offer on our players. Which is why our goalkeeper Zuma, who is one of our better players, has a contract agreed to go to a Premier Division club at the end of the season. 

I've been going through this same dilemma on my save today. It's a rule for the First Division that you can't sign contract extensions for more than one year, unless you're able to negotiate a club option or automatic extension after games played clause with the player. What I did was get as many players who were willing to talk tied down on a pre-contract deal in December (or earlier), which will take effect in May. That prevents players from getting poached for free if they're willing to talk to you. I realize you're past that now, but maybe you could try that next season. Obviously the best remedy for this is to get promoted to the Premiership, where there's no such rule in place .

[Mandy42]

Almost a perfect month except for a 94th minute equaliser from a corner against Amazulu....

The Santos game was the 1st match since we took charge where we have been favourites to win. So much so that the back room staff suggested we through caution to the wind and go with an attacking mentality.

Now, this sort of idea usually scares the crap out of me, I hate it whenever a club I manage is predicted an "easy win" but I thought sod it, and as you can see the lads loved it!

Baroka are top of the league and expected to stomp all over us. However we went back to cautious and bored them in to submission.

Seems that we aren't the only team that cannot defend with their heads, all of Thato Khoza's goals this month have been headers.

Which means with 8 games to play we are 12 points above relegation.

 

[noikeee]

Quite impressive work in South Africa so far! 

[Mandy42]

6 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Quite impressive work in South Africa so far! 

JINXED ME! 

Our 1st loss of our tenure here, although that isn't the most disappointing result of the month.

Having been on a high of beating top of the league Baroka, it was obvious we were going to drop points against bottom of the table Ubuntu Cape Town....

TS Sporting once again we had to come from behind, requiring a goalkeeper error and a header in injury time to take all 3 points.

to be fair to @noikeee this is more the reason for our difficulties. 

Our star outfield player, inside forward from the left, having scored 5 this season himself and provided assists for 5 of Khoza's goals. 

Still sure we will stay up, however I double we will go much higher in the final two months of the season

Though to finish on some good news

Finish on some good news!

Seems the season is broken into 4 quarters, each of which with a cash prize for finishing top of that quarter.

The 18 points we put together in January and February saw us win quarter 3

[Mandy42]

2nd loss of the campaign, maybe @noikeee really did jinx me!

Though Stellenbosh have won 3 from 3 in the 4th quarter.

With Bandile injured with his hernia I looked at finding a different way for us to play and be effective.

Finally scouted a striker who can actually head the ball! Which when we play in a league where nobody seems any good at it, this man might be the South African version of Peter Crouch.

Which at the very least should mean he has a healthy future in podcasting.

With his signing we switched to this formation, removing the ball winning midfielder, who we had nobody who could play that role properly anyway.

Basically we still try soak up pressure, then get the ball forward and cross early. 

And we stopped the rot of back to back defeats and won our next two games.

Amusingly Tsepho Buthelezi hasn't really touched the ball, but his sheer presence seems to scare the bejesus out of defenders and leave other players wide open to score.

2 games left and it's safe to say we wont be getting relegated.

Ubuntu Cape Town are down, having added a whole 2 points to their total since we took over.

 

[Mandy42]

Final two games of the season and maximum points taken!

TS Galaxy we frustrated, until a John Khanye free kick put us ahead. Who else but Khoza added to our lead on the counter as they chased the game.

We went on the attack against Cape Umoya, after a cagey 1st half, Khoza popped up at the near post to head in easily, when every man and his dog was marking our target man at the back stick.

We had 23 attempts, 10 on target and I was beginning to worry we might make a mistake and be held to a draw. However a last gasp penalty put it beyond doubt.

Which means we finish 7th, one place and 4 points below the media predicted 6th of the beginning of the season.

Having only lost 2 games in the 1st period, quality in front of goal and 5 draws had us in 13th spot in the 1st period.

The 2nd period was where the woes really kicked in, 5 losses taking our combined goal difference to -7 and our W/D/L ratio to 2/6/7

However, in the 1st half of the season there were only 2 games where we had lost by more than a single goal.

And we had kept only 4 clean sheets in 15 games.

The period we won, we were perhaps lucky to take over during the December break, which meant we could train and play a friendly with the new tactic before the season began again in January.

We kept 4 clean sheets in this period, as many as the 1st half of the season, and 9 goals (thanks to a 4-0 win over Santos FC) helped us take our goal difference to +2 overall.

we now stood at 7/6/10

Back to back losses held us back slightly in the final period, but they coincided with injuries to key players in the final 3rd.

Once those players returned from injury, coupled with a two up front formation we rolled off 4 wins in a row.

Scoring 7 and not conceding.

 

Youth intake, the youth manager has offered pre contract agreements to the players he deems good enough.

 

 

oops forgot I placed this in here!

Seems Tunisia is the place to be!

Edited May 28, 2020 by Mandy42

[Mandy42]

@Jimbokav1971 I do hope you enjoy your time in South Africa

I have saved the game either the afternoon after the final match, or the day after, to give you the longest period of time to prepare for next season. 

Save game link enjoy!

[Jimbokav1971]

10 minutes ago, Mandy42 said:

@Jimbokav1971 I do hope you enjoy your time in South Africa

Why does nobody believe that I'm not moving to South America right now? 

[Jimbokav1971]

May 2039. Free State Stars. South Africa.

I've opened the save and we're still the Manager of Free State Stars in South Africa. 

@Mandy42had the team firing on all cylinders in the 2nd half of the season, but couldn't make up the lost ground from earlier in the season. 

We've won a lot as a Manager so far in this save,  but we've won nothing in South Africa, so there is certainly a reason to stay put.

But there are also options further afield. 

But nothing else in South Africa. Can I really leave South Africa when it's the only structure on the Continent in the game and we've not won anything there? I'm not sure I can, despite the fact that given the choice I would certainly not choose to manage here. 

So that brings me to looking at Free State Stars and 1st of all the facilities. 

That's not good. That's REALLY not good. 

In terms of the squad, it looks.... decent.

The GK is gone, and if we're just looking at stars, (I haven't looked at individual players yet), then we're certainly short at centre-half and striker. The thing that strikers me most is that we didn't score many goals last season, (very reliant on 1 striker (Khoza), and our centre-backs only scored 4 goals in 54(1) appearances last season. 

I've never managed in South Africa before so I don't know what level to expect, but let's have a look. 

As well as the GK, we've lost 2 more players already before pressing continue. 

GK. Mhlongo isn't really good enough, (when I compare him to the old GK Zuma), so I will be on the lookout for a replacement. 

DL. I like Khumalo, but I really don't like the "stays back at all times PPM for a full back who I'm going to give very attacking instructions to. I think it more likely that I will go with Zwane, (if I stay here of course), purely because of the negative PPM. Maybe the answer is to play Khumalo away and Zwane at home. 

DR. We have fewer options at right back and Khabane is the only realistic option.

DC. I'm interested to see what we have at centre-half because I remember @Mandy42mentioning more than once about our inability to defend set-pieces. When I see that Kewuti is only 5'10" and Chad is only 5'11" it possibly hints at why. Wyngaard looked to be the weak link, (according to stars and match rating anyway). Sibisi catches the eye at 6'5" but I really don't like his low Det. I think what I really take away from this is that I can see why @Mandy42struggled to defend set-pieces. The only problem I can see is that it might not be that easy to bring in better players. 

MC. With Mthembu leaving we look short in this area. Gxabuza appears to be the best according to stars, but when I look at him I really don't look the like the look of his physicals. Ndlovu looks very similar, (poor physicals again), and what stands out is that they both share the long range passes, (which I like), but which has to be within the right set-up. I don't think these 2 players are suited to playing together in a 2. I think they each need to play with an athletic/physical player. 

 

ML. I'm no tactical expert like some in here, but I look at the formation we were playing last season, (just the formation rather than the system), and I think we were possibly being a little too adventurous, (apologies @Mandy42no offence meant). I think I'm maybe just a little more conservative. I think in a dominant side this would be great, but I don't think we are likely to dominate. I like the back 4, (although might make a few tweaks, but in midfield I plan on dropping both wide players back to make a proper 4 across the middle of the pitch. 

Maseko has been played on the right, but that hasn't been a good fit because he's a lefty, so I'll be playing him on the left, (not inverted). 

The only thing I don't like about Masinga is his workrate. I think he can do a job for us as and when required. 

MR. Sofaldo is a "righty" who has been playing on the left. I plan on moving him back to the right. I worry about him getting sent off. I think we're weak in this area and it's important. 

SC. We played a TM with an AF last season and anyone who reads my stuff will know that I love a "Big" player up front. I am happy to play a Big Man up front if we have one, but I would prefer to stick with double AF's I think and then tweak things just slightly with individual instructions and PPM's. I found that using a proper TM takes away a little of the threat that might link a DLP and an AF. Khoza is obviously the bloke used as a TM last season, but Buthelezi could also do that role. What I really want is a speedy striker to pair up with these 2 "Big" men, but we just don't have anyone suitable at the moment. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Free State Stars. South Africa. May 2039. 

We were in trouble early in the season, but we really found form as the season developed. 

Seasons Best XI.

Overall Best XI.

Awards. Something that I notice here is that there were 3 players shown a red card this season and while 1 of them was obviously Sofaldo, another was GK Zuma and in all my seasons playing FM20, I don't think I have EVER seen my GK get sent off. I would be interesting to see what @Mandy42remembers about it.

Budgets. £19k for a wage budget doesn't mean anything to me, so what I like to do is see what we are spending already. (£17,230 That's not good news). 

Finances. This doesn't look good and it's making me think that a smarter option might be to move to a stronger South African club if the opportunity presents itself. 

What's available right now? 

And what is our reputation so that we might see what we are suited for. 

TS Sporting finished below us in the league last season, but they have a lower wage budget and a similar level of facilities. I don't think it's worth moving in this case. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Free State Stars. South Africa. Jun 2039.

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by Jimbokav1971

[Mandy42]

Zuma must have been sent off in the 1st half of the season (before I got there) As I never saw him red carded, in fact I never had a player sent off while I was there. I did have 3 players reach the 4 yellow card limit and have to miss a single game, but that was the height of my discipline problems.

And @Jimbokav1971 no offence taken. I too (on stars alone) went with a formation I thought could get results. As I turned the results around, and praised / criticised training performances, the morale came up, and we began to concede less. 

I think the adventurous nature of the formation was curbed by the cautious mentality and the counter attacking nature (least that was my intention). 

Though interestingly I used Buthelezi as the Target man and Khoza as the advanced forward.

Edited May 28, 2020 by Mandy42

[Jimbokav1971]

Kaizer Chiefs. South Africa. Jul 2039. 

I might not have stayed with the Free State Allstars, but at least I'm staying in South Africa. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Kaizer Chiefs. South Africa. Jul 2039.

Apologies for those of you who wanted me to stock it out at Free State Stars, (or a similar little club). We're an experienced Manager who has won a lot. I think it reasonable that we spend a year there and then move on to bigger and better things. 

They've won the odd trophy here and there. 

Facilities. 109,500 capacity all-seater stadium! 

Finances. 

Last season. I've never managed in South Africa before so I have no idea of what competitions we're going to be playing in so let's have a look at what went on last season. 

Pre-season. Who cares. 

African Confederation Cup. I'm not really sure what this is. It's a Continental trophy, but is it the African version of the Champions league EURO Cup or EURO Conference? The African Champions League is obviously the top Continental competition in Africa, so this is the 2nd tier trophy. 

African Champions League. OK. The African Confederation Cup is obviously NOT the African version of the EURO Cup, because we also played in the African Champions League. If anyone knows what the Confederation Cup is then please feel free to let me know. 

South African Premiership. 

SA KO Cup. 

SA Cup. 

Super 8. I'm not 100% sure, but I assume this is for the clubs who finish in the Top 8 in the league the previous season. We obviously won't be in it next season. 

Be The Coach. This is a one-off game always played between ourselves and Orlando Pirates. 

We didn't play in either the African Super Cup or the Club World Championships this season. 

That's 69 competitive games for a team that didn't do particularly well this season. If you were to win everything in South Africa I think you would need to play a LOT of games. 

[Mandy42]

the African Confederations cup IS the Europa League of Africa, or at least it's the 2nd tier competition, and the winner plays the winner of the Champions league.

You qualify by either winning a cup in any of the 55 CAF members. or by finishing 3rd in the top 12 ranked leagues in the CAF (I think the top 2 go into the Champions League)

I'm guessing if the same team wins both the Champions League and the Confederations Cup then it would be a similar arrangement in the Super cup as it would be in the Community Shield in England if the same team won the League and FA Cup 

[Jimbokav1971]

Kaizer Chiefs. Jul 2039. 

Looking at the squad. I've gone from managing a Welsh side in my own save, which has no Reserve squad and no competitive fixtures in the Youth Squad, to A South African side who plays lots of Senior competitive games, a Reserve side that plays friendlies, an U21 side that plays 30 competitive games in the Asidlali league and an U19 side that plays 24 games in the U19's League. My plan is going to stick everyone into either the U19, U21 or Senior squads, (leaving the Reserve squad empty to start with), and then go from there. 

GK. Mofokeng sound like an African swear word, but he's the best GK we have. He's not awful, but he's not great either, despite being capped by the (SAF) Senior side. 

DL. I like Woods and I think he could be an important player for us. I think we need to sign some cover though, 

DR. Anyone of a certain age will know that a certain Lucas Radebe played for Kaizer Chiefs back in the day, (that's where the band got their name from), so it's fitting that we have a Radebe who is 1st choice. 

DC. We seem REALLY week at centre-half. An area that is key to my style of play and an area where we seemed to struggle last season as manager of Free State Stars. I asked the DoF to suggest some free transfers at centre-half and to that end we have 3 Internationals in on trial who would walk straight into our starting line-up. The best centre-half at the club right now is probably 17 year old Tsepho. 

MC. This central areas seems to have much better strength than in the defensive areas. Shangase, Secker and Mpho (IRL) seem to be the best options in the middle of the pitch, but much will depend on them not being used in more attacking positions. 

ML. I would usually refuse to use an inverted player, but in a save like this where I only play a single season at a time, I might be forced to. My plan is still to play a "lefty" on the left and a "righty" on the right. I like Warder, (apart from his Det), and Currie (SCO) * will provide some depth. 

MR. Kunene (MR) will be my 1st choice right winger, even though he is more of a AMC and some of his PPM's might prove problematic. We're really lacking in depth in this area, (at least right-sided depth), so I will have to see what I can bring in. 

SC. Please give me a couple of decent strikers. Please please please please. I think Big Seema 6'8" is going to be really influential for us. Anyone who has followed by Cambrogi thread will be aware that I have used "Big" strikers with very limited footballing ability with some success, so hopefully the fact that he also has some ability will make him even more effective. I'm not sure I'm too fond of Kuku at all, but he could do a job I suppose. He's not completely rubbish. Chiwayo (POR) on the other hand looks decent. 

All in all I would say that apart from centre-half, things aren't too bad, but we need significantly more depth. 

[Jimbokav1971]

4 minutes ago, Mandy42 said:

the African Confederations cup IS the Europa League of Africa, or at least it's the 2nd tier competition, and the winner plays the winner of the Champions league.

You qualify by either winning a cup in any of the 55 CAF members. or by finishing 3rd in the top 12 ranked leagues in the CAF (I think the top 2 go into the Champions League)

I'm guessing if the same team wins both the Champions League and the Confederations Cup then it would be a similar arrangement in the Super cup as it would be in the Community Shield in England if the same team won the League and FA Cup 

What confused me is that we got to the Quarter-Finals of the African Champions League and also won the African Confederations Cup in the same season. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Rules in South Africa. Jul 2039.

Expectations. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Fans pick the squad? Be The Coach. Jul 2039. 

Well this is new. 

The 1st competitive game of the season is against Orlando Pirates in the Be The Coach Final. It's played between the 2 rivals every year and in what's certainly a FM first for me, the fans pick the squad. 

This should be a laugh. 

We ran out 2-1 winners despite having a man sent off in the 61st minute with the score still 0-0. If this is an early indication of how we will get on in the league, (Orlando finished above us last season), then this is pretty decent. 

We've won it the last 3 years now. 

Technically this is a trophy, albeit a very low ranked trophy. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Kaizer Chiefs. Jul & Aug 2039.

It's been a decent 1st month and we seem to be growing into it. 

Pre-season. 

Be The Coach.

African Confederation Cup. 

Super 8. 

Goal-scoring keeper. Mofokeng has scored 1 free-kick, but I somehow forgot to set him as pen taker and Shangase nicked it. 

[Edited]

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by Jimbokav1971

[andychar]

I love the move. In a much better position to get trophies fast! 

Great start as well. One massive trophy in the bag and another on its way!

[andychar]

Only seems like 2 minutes since I did one of these but the quick update...

1. Wynter 
2. Andychar
3. Rikulec 
4. Noikeee
5. Mandy42 
6. Jimbokav1971<--------- We are here
7. Makoto Nakamura 
8. Smp20 
9. Manutd1 
10. Benjoe
11. Deisler26  
12. henri.melo00
13. TheLutterworthFox
14. Oldmangravz

I get the feeling we are going to be with @smp20 in absolutely no time . Things are looking good for @ManUtd1 to avoid Africa!

Usual message, if you want taking off the list let me know, if you want adding to the list let me know and you'll be added to the list behind Oldmangravz.

[Mandy42]

@Jimbokav1971 great start, even if I miss my Free State Stars (I guess I still have the saved game for my own masochism)

Anyway! I can't believe it has taken me this long to put this together.

But how on earth can you deem yourself not tactically adventurous when you have your goalkeeper taking free kicks and penalties? :P 

[Jimbokav1971]

1 hour ago, andychar said:

Only seems like 2 minutes since I did one of these but the quick update...

1. Wynter 
2. Andychar
3. Rikulec 
4. Noikeee
5. Mandy42 
6. Jimbokav1971<--------- We are here
7. Makoto Nakamura 
8. Smp20 
9. Manutd1 
10. Benjoe
11. Deisler26  
12. henri.melo00
13. TheLutterworthFox
14. Oldmangravz

I get the feeling we are going to be with @smp20 in absolutely no time . Things are looking good for @ManUtd1 to avoid Africa!

Usual message, if you want taking off the list let me know, if you want adding to the list let me know and you'll be added to the list behind Oldmangravz.

Don't expect me to fly through this because I really want to give this my all and see what's possible. I might not have progressed loads since I took over from @Mandy42yesterday, but I actually invested a lot of time into the save. The transfer window is shut now so things should go quicker now at least until the window opens again. 

Just a little suggestion though, if someone asks now to be added to the list, perhaps they shouldn't be added to the list behind @OldManGravz. Perhaps they should be added to the list behind @Mandy42who was the last person to complete a season, because the list actually looks like this rather than as above. 

1. Jimbokav1971<--------- We are here
2. Makoto Nakamura 
3. Smp20 
4. Manutd1 
5. Benjoe
6. Deisler26  
7. henri.melo00
8. TheLutterworthFox
9. Oldmangravz
10. Wynter 
11. Andychar
12. Rikulec 
13. Noikeee
14. Mandy42 

So without making this about @OldManGravzbecause it is not about him at all, I actually think that he should have been inserted between yourself and me, (at the end of the queue). 

If I finish my season and @Makoto Nakamurais playing and someone else wants to join, then rather than being stuck in the list after @OldManGravzthey should be added between myself and @Makoto Nakamura. Anyway, just a suggestion. 

[Jimbokav1971]

29 minutes ago, Mandy42 said:

@Jimbokav1971 great start, even if I miss my Free State Stars (I guess I still have the saved game for my own masochism)

Anyway! I can't believe it has taken me this long to put this together.

But how on earth can you deem yourself not tactically adventurous when you have your goalkeeper taking free kicks and penalties? :P 

If I was playing a complete save then I would have much preferred to take over at FSS, but for a 1-season gig like this....... 

Speaking of keepers taking free-kicks, I realise I forgot to show the goal scored in the African Super Cup against Wits. 

 

[Ausie]

Jimbo what’s your reasoning behind always having your keeper on set pieces? Is it purely for a bit of fun? You must concede quite a few from counter attacks?

[Jimbokav1971]

24 minutes ago, Ausie said:

Jimbo what’s your reasoning behind always having your keeper on set pieces? Is it purely for a bit of fun? You must concede quite a few from counter attacks?

Hi @AusieThat's an excellent question.

The answer to the 1st part of your question is yes, it's completely a bit of fun. I just do it to add something else to a normal save. I started doing it in FM09, (I think), and have just continued with it ever since. 

The 2nd part of the answer is more nuanced. Do I sometimes concede goals as a result of this? Yes, absolutely. But is this a common occurrence, or even something that happens slightly more sporadically, no, it's actually not. 

I have been asked a few times in my Cambrogi thread how often I concede as a result of this, and I have been letting people know exactly how often it happens, (which is not very often at all). In FM19 for example I probably played played 25 seasons and didn't concede a single goal in this way. That being said I only allowed my GK to take 3 of the 4 types of free-kick last year, (although more recently I have given GK's all free-kicks). 

My own save, (Cambrogi), is currently at Sept 2046 and I think I have conceded exactly 2 goals in that whole time as a result of my GK's being in attacking positions, but I will also admit that the 2nd of these cost us the decisive extra-time goal in the 2046 EURO Cup final. 

To put the following goal in perspective, imagine you are managing a tiny Welsh club and you have somehow got to the final of the EURO Cup for the 1st time and after being 2-0 down to Chelsea, you claw it back to 2-2 to take it to extra-time and then in the 102nd minute you get this highlight. I will tell you exactly what went through my mind. It was.... "Wow, what a way to win this. My GK is going to spank home an extra-time goal from a direct free-kick in the Final of the EURO Cup to win it for a little Welsh club. There can't be many people in the World who have managed to do something like this on FM. He shoots..... oh, it's hit the wall......................uh oh............. Well that escalated quickly". 

So in answer to your question, no it doesn't happen very often, (because I have worked hard to crate a multi-layered defense to defend against conceding like this). 

What I would say is while the above might seem like a huge low, it is also balanced with what are pretty big highs. (I just love seeing it), and it also makes my save a little unique, (although less so now that it has become much more popular this year). 

So while the loss in the EURO Cup was enormous, the extra-time win against TNS in the Cup was also pretty significant at that time. 

[Jimbokav1971]

I was hoping/expecting that my furlough period was going to end on Monday. I've just had an email to tell me that it's been extended. 

As a result, while I'm still going to be playing & posting every day, I might take it just a little bit slower and go into a little bit more detail if that's ok with everyone? 

@Makoto NakamuraI know you're not updating a thread at the moment. Is there a reason why I need to rush it through or are you happy for me to take my time a bit? 

[andychar]

2 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

Don't expect me to fly through this because I really want to give this my all and see what's possible. I might not have progressed loads since I took over from @Mandy42yesterday, but I actually invested a lot of time into the save. The transfer window is shut now so things should go quicker now at least until the window opens again. 

Just a little suggestion though, if someone asks now to be added to the list, perhaps they shouldn't be added to the list behind @OldManGravz. Perhaps they should be added to the list behind @Mandy42who was the last person to complete a season, because the list actually looks like this rather than as above. 

1. Jimbokav1971<--------- We are here
2. Makoto Nakamura 
3. Smp20 
4. Manutd1 
5. Benjoe
6. Deisler26  
7. henri.melo00
8. TheLutterworthFox
9. Oldmangravz
10. Wynter 
11. Andychar
12. Rikulec 
13. Noikeee
14. Mandy42 

So without making this about @OldManGravzbecause it is not about him at all, I actually think that he should have been inserted between yourself and me, (at the end of the queue). 

If I finish my season and @Makoto Nakamurais playing and someone else wants to join, then rather than being stuck in the list after @OldManGravzthey should be added between myself and @Makoto Nakamura. Anyway, just a suggestion. 

Oldmangravz isn't a new player he has already played a season. What we will do is cross the bridge of a new player when it comes to it and I'll stick it up to the vote.

[Jimbokav1971]

Just now, andychar said:

Oldmangravz isn't a new player he has already played a season. What we will do is cross the bridge of a new player when it comes to it and I'll stick it up to the vote.

Ah sorry. Completely got the wrong end of the stick. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Summer Transfer window. Sep 2039. 

I found it quite hard to work out who to sign in this save because I didn't know the level at all and as such my transfer dealings have been a little "sketchy" to say the least. 

We had approx £11M to spend and an available budget of approx £110k per week of £170k per week, (which seemed enormous at the time). I also thought we were pretty weak though in terms of squad depth and strength. Not being au fait with football in this part of the world, I also didn't know if spending £10M was sensible or were the board being unrealistic, (you know how they get sometimes). 

To start off with I was quite conservative and almost signed players with the thinking that we're not a big club and I had to develop them and sell them on in order to create our own slush find, (because that's my normal style), but as the end of the window came nearer and nearer, I started to think that I should throw caution to the wind a little and splash a little cash. 

Gregori (ITA) (MR) is a "righty" who plats either centrally or on the left, but I actually signed him to play on the right. I thought that he would provide us with cover across the middle, (and even up front in a pinch), and knowing how reliant I am on set-pieces, I looked at him being 6'3" with jumping of 17, (while still having acceleration of 16), and thought that he would make a hell of a bench player. 

Lakay was bought with the intention of him being our 1st choice right winger. I think he's better than decent, even if I'm not overly keen on him cutting inside from the right. 

We were desperate for multiple centre-backs, and Njabulo seemed to fit the bill perfectly. 

Therlo's a little flawed, but we're playing with BPD and he's probably better with the ball than he is defending. Again, I love his jumping ability. I'm hoping that if we're dominant in many games then he won't have to defend too much and his aerial ability will allow him to be a threat at the other end. he could be a risk though and is older than I would usually sign. 

I signed Comitis as back-up despite the fact that I have agreed to him being 1st choice GK. I see him more as one for future seasons if we stay here. He's decent, and improves our depth, but until Mofokeng misses a penalty he is keeping the gloves. 

Dlamini was a bit of a panic-buy if I'm honest, but he's young and will improve. What I didn't realise until after he arrived was that all 3 centre-backs signed are "lefties". 

So that's where we were, but I had missed out on an amazing striker, (that I now can't find), and I was looking for a left back too. I still had loads of cash and budget to spend but time was running out. 

The rule is that we could only have 5 FNG players assigned to the squad at any time and I don't think we started with any at all, so this is where I turned my attention to. I was going to make some "Premium" signings. We had done ok so far with regards to transfers, but I wanted to sprinkle a little bit of quality on the top.

Pablo García (MEX) * is decent. We may have paid £1.6M for him, but we have cash to splash and just look at some of those attributes. Pace and acceleration at 17 and heading at 16. This bloke is going to stick the ball in the back of the net! Isn't he? 

It's a weird habit I've got, but I often like signing players of different Nationalities in pairs. It probably doesn't help them that much and I don't sign a player just for that, but it;s often on my mind when I'm looking for new signings and have just signed a FGN player. 

If I over-paid for Pablo, I think I got a good deal for Reynoso (MEX) *.I think he's a proper player at this level, (and is a "righty"). I really like him. 

I can't remember if Mexico is classed as North America or South America in real life, but in any case I was delighted with my 2 Mexicans so looked for some more South American inspiration. We were lacking at left back and while I couldn't find a starlet, I did find a current International who will hugely improve our side. Our full-backs have quite demanding roles so will probably be rotated a fair bit. Rodolfo (PAR), has the athletic ability to really make the difference. 

Motsosi was found by the DoF, (or whoever I have delegated it to), and I decided to let the deal go through despite not being 100% sure that we needed another player wide on the left. He looks like he might have something about him 

We might have spent £5M+ in the window, but I think I invested it quite wisely rather than just frittering it away, (although time will tell). 

Without realising it, I had also accepted a loan deal, (arranged by the DoF), who decided to bring in a right winger despite the fact that I had already signed a new 1st choice right winger. Either way, we have another FGN player at the club, this time on loan. 

We've still got  in the bank and have a transfer kitty of  available so I don't think I have been too frivolous. 

[Jimbokav1971]

PPM's. Sep 2039.

We all play the game in such differing styles and I think that's 1 of many reasons that makes this thread so brilliant. 

For example, when I 1st went to look at a highlight, the highlights were shown in 2d and I'm guessing that's because the Manager in front of me, @Mandy42watches highlights in this way, (as is really popular with "tacticians" as I call them). Interestingly he wasn't taking charge of either Squad training, (it's not called that but you know what I mean), or Individual training. Now I also don't control "Group/Squad" training usually, and I don't even watch matches at all so I'm certainly not saying that I'm right and he or anyone else is wrong, but it does serve as an example of quite how broad the differences can be, in how we go about playing the same game. 

PPM's is 1 such area. When I was looking at the FSS, (last season's South African side), I didn't like the look of some of the PPM's and there seemed to be nobody in the middle of developing new ones. (Again, this isn't a criticism of @Mandy42because he probably just doesn't think it's important and doesn't want to spend time doing it as a result, and he's not alone), but I thought I would show you what I do and why. 

This is the framework for my current Cambrogi tactic, but actually it isn't because I have evolved to CWB(a) in both full back positions and a CM(s) instead of the BBM(s), and obviously loaded the wrong tactic. That doesn't really matter though because the shape is much the same. 

So I'm picking my match squad for the 2nd game in September and I've picked the GK, (Mokofeng scored a penalty in the last game so keeps his place), and we come to selecting a left back. 

This is what I see. It's my squad, (all squads), filtered to just show D's and DM's who can play in the left slot. 

So straight away I can ignore the following. 

Tsepho is a DC.
Mtsila (POR) is a DR.
Radebe is a DR. 

So that's those 3 players out of contention and I now have to choose 1 player from 6 available, 

I wouldn't pick a player below 95% if I can help it usually, (and certainly not below 90%), so that also means that I'm going to rule out the following for poor condition. 

Woods 86%.
Jayiya 82%.
Pillay 75%.

This leaves me with 3 of 9 players to choose from. 

Rodolfo (PAR) is a new signing and although we don't trust the star system completely, we know we like him and that he was signed to be 1st choice. 
Ayuk (CMR) was signed on a free, (so that's why he wasn't mentioned), and he also hasn't made his debut yet. 
Gumede. has a "." after his name to indicate that he doesn't have the required quality and should be avoided if possible. 

So that gives us a straight choice between Rodolfo (PAR) and Ayuk (CMR). 

We know I really like Rodolfo (PAR) and in particular his explosive athletic ability. I look at him though and I see he has no PPM's. Something that I like all my full backs to have, (and this is no matter whether they are playing as full-backs, wing-backs or CWB's is "Gets Forward Wherever Possible". 

If I go to his training screen I can see that I've already got him learning that PPM, and I would have set is as soon as he joined the club. 

Now let's look at his normal training instructions. There is some recent opinion that suggests that the Position/Role/Duty should be left blank as it is in this picture, allowing him to train as a general DL, but I don't agree. I want to get him more used to the more attacking role that I want him to be playing in, (and DL doesn't suit for that). Instead I'm going to change that to WB(s)

This allows him to concentrate on the areas I think he will use most. I don't have to use him as a WB(s). I can play him in whatever role I like. 

The next thing is the individual training and I want to use that on almost all players, (with the exception of those who are declining). In his case I think he is decent going forward, but possibly lacking a little defensively. (At some point I might consider improving his crossing though). You can see this reflected in the grey coloured bars where certainly marking and positioning are a little lacking. 

The last bit is intensity and I think many people just ignore this. I think it's really important actually. You will see that his is showing "Double intensity", but also that there is a circle to the left of the Double Intensity. That means that while he is on Double Intensity training, it's actually an automatic setting based on my previously set instructions. 

This is the little auto symbol. 

Where this "automatic" system comes from is Training - Rest. 

How it works is that the intensity level of each player is determined, based on what his condition % is. Seems pretty straightforward. You wouldn't want a player just returned from injury working on double intensity, (because he will get injured again), and this helps that. I think it's what a lot of people encounter injury issues with. 

The only problem with this is that you have to go and set each player to automatic  for this to work. 

On the Training - Rest screen, you can see at a glance what all the individual players have been set to. Mine looks like this. 

You can see that some of them have been changed to Automatic, (and they are all on Double Intensity as a result), but you can also see that loads of them are on Half Intensity. Well that's no good. Don't worry, you don't have to go through each player 1 by 1. Just select the column on the left hand side and scroll down to the bottom slowly. You are selecting all players. Then, once all players are selected, move across to the right and select "Automatic". The screen will now look like this, (assuming all the players are above 80% condition). 

Apologies to those of you whom I am teaching to suck eggs, but I know there are a lot of people reading this thread who don't follow our own threads and I think it's important to get this stuff out there. People get put off by having to do loads of stuff in game, (and training is intimidating), but I hope this shows that even if you don't want to do all training, (I only do Individual training), there is still much you can do. The other thing is, you don't have to go through each player meticulously changing everything. I look at it in player selection for each match and if I see something I don't like or something that needs changing then I delve deeper. 

The other option for the left back spot for this game is Luc Ayuk (CMR). Now he has far less physical ability, but he has great fitness, so getting up and back and up and back shouldn't be a problem, and he is probably better defensively than Rodolfo (PAR).

He also doesn't have any PPM's and I think he would benefit from the same PPM. 

What I'm hopefully showing you here is that just by looking at who your left back is going to be and why, you can sort his individual training really easily. You don't have to spend hours going through each player. Just do it as and when you notice something. 

In any case, Rodolfo (PAR) starts at DL and we've sorted intensity training out for the whole squad and individual training and PPM's for these 2 players. Easy. 

Edited May 29, 2020 by Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

PPM's continued. Sep 2039.

The star of my recent signings was Pablo García (MEX) *. We may have paid £1.6M, but even if we ignore his PA, the suggestion is that he would be a very good player at this level as he is now. 

He's hit the ground running, with 5 goals in 2 games, so he's obviously performing at a decent level already, but can we help him or should we leave well enough alone? 

What sort of player is he? That will determine what we want him to do. 

Is he a clinical finisher? With finishing of 11, composure of 12 and technique of 14.... no, he's not a clinical finisher. 

So what sort of player is he? Will I think that pace is his strength, but he's not amazing at dribbling with the ball. I would have suggested that "knocks ball past opponent" is right up his street, but he's already got that. "Avoids using weaker foot seems to fit well with "runs with ball down right" but for me the jury is still out on "moves into channels".

I think in terms of finishing, what I would like to see is him "taking the ball round keepers", but the problem with that is his lack of dribbling. Let's give it a go anyway. 

I'd already predicted that his lack of dribbling ability might prove a stumbling block, so let's get him using his individual training to improve dribbling,  and see what our staff suggest as to a new PPM. 

I think that fits really well with him. I would love to be able to go round keepers in the future, but we will just have to see how this works for now.  

Edited May 29, 2020 by Jimbokav1971

[Makoto Nakamura]

6 hours ago, Jimbokav1971 said:

I was hoping/expecting that my furlough period was going to end on Monday. I've just had an email to tell me that it's been extended. 

As a result, while I'm still going to be playing & posting every day, I might take it just a little bit slower and go into a little bit more detail if that's ok with everyone? 

@Makoto NakamuraI know you're not updating a thread at the moment. Is there a reason why I need to rush it through or are you happy for me to take my time a bit? 

No need to rush, I'll still be here ready for my turn. 

[Mandy42]

must admit that PPMs are not something that I know a lot about, have much experience so I will be re reading that post to get the most of it down the line, when I am not popping in and out of the kitchen to make tea! I just tend to take it as a bonus if they work as intended for the role I use the player for.

Though, when it comes to FSS, by the time I got the job I only had half the season to play, which meant I went with some very short term thinking. Don't get sacked, leave the next in line the most time possible to decide what they want to do.

With regards to the tactics I watch extended highlights in the 3D engine in my own saves. As I have my computer hooked up to the living room TV, and because I like seeing extended footage in order to notice what my players are managing to do (and not do).

For 16 games in the bottom division of South Africa (having managed in the bottom tier of Zimbabwe) I didn't feel the extra highlights would be overly beneficial as the quality of the games isn't overly high. Plus I don't know exactly how to change the highlight match engine  

[noikeee]

Think I've played in 2D for years and years now. It's not so much about tactics but to be able to play it sped up, 3D looks awful sped up! Also it doesn't make my laptop feel like it's frying eggs as much. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Hat-Trick. Sep 2039. 

I'm in Oct 2046 in my Cambrogo save and I haven't had a GK score more than 2 goals. 

I'm just at the start of my 2nd season in this save and this happens. (I should also mention that Mofokeng should have been dropped for this game because he had a penalty saved in the last game, but his replacement isn't eligible for this competition so I couldn't drop him). 

 

[Jimbokav1971]

Sept 2039.

African Confederation Cup. We seem very strong in Continental competition. I'm not sure if that's because other African teams have grey players or because they aren't active leagues, but either way the games seem easier. In the 1st game against Kallon I didn't bother playing any centre-backs, and we didn't need them. Annoyed to concede in 2nd leg where Mofokeng bagged a hat-trick. 

South African Premiership. We lost our 1st game of the season and it's down to me I'm afraid. I weakened the squad too much, we were away, Mofokeng missed a penalty and conceded 4 goals in the open 20 mins, and we also had what appeared to be a good goal ruled out for offside. 

Goal-scoring keepers. Mofokeng scored a penalty against Kallon, missed one against Highlands Park and then scored a hat-trick against Kallon. He only played the 2nd Kallon game because our 2nd choice GK Comitis wasn't eligible, and I just can;t drop a GK who has scored a hat-trick, so it would seem that Mofokeng is here to stay. 

[kidthekid]

I really like the signings, especially the striker. Hopefully he lights it up in South Africa. @Jimbokav1971

[Jimbokav1971]

Oct 2039.

We've already bagged a treble.  I'm not completely sure how many competitions we have entered this season. 

Super 8. I'm not quite sure how significant this trophy is, but however good or bad it is, it secures us a treble. 

Actually, it's of more significance than I originally thought. 

SA KO Cup. Mbombela Utd are a currently 2nd in the Premiership and are only not top because we also spanked them in the league this month. 

African Confederation Cup. I selected a weakened squad in both these games, but there is a balance between rotating the squad and making sure we progress. None of our FGN players are eligible for this competition yet, (because they were signed after the registration period), so we are weaker even if I were to try and pick a full strength match squad. I think it also hints at the strength of our FGN contingent. 

South African Premiership. Mbombela Utd were top of the table an unbeaten, so the way in which we dismantled them was quite a surprise. 

Goal-scoring keepers. Mofokeng converted a penalty against Mbombela Utd in 1 of the Cups, but then got injured and missed the last 3 games. Comitis has been awarded his 1st 2 Senior South African Caps, but is now away with South Africa U23's. He's ineligible for Continental competition anyway, but I would have picked him in domestic games. 

Records. 

[Jimbokav1971]

3 games in 5 days, (or 7 games in 5 days actually). Nov 2039.

I know we had a tough schedule coming up, but had I know it was going to be this tough I would have signed more players. 

Sundowns won the league last season so are decent. I think I will probably go with our strongest line-up in the 1st game and then completely rotate the side for the 2nd game before picking up the pieces and seeing what is available for the 3rd game. 

Unfortunately the aged group sides also have fixtures during this period. I can't cancel the Witbanks Citylads friendly so I think I will move the fringe players from the Reserves to the Senior Squad, but the problem with that is that the game will still be played and the kids will play instead and they are more likely to play for the Senior side than the Reserves in some cases. 

We only had 3 players in the Reserves and 1 of them should have been in the Senior Squad and a 2nd is the back-up GK who is actually playing at the moment, so all 3 players have been promoted to the Senior squad. 

There are 4 fit players in the U21's so they have been promoted to the Seniors too. 

There are 3 fit players in the U19's so they have also been promoted. 

I don't care if I lose the aged Group games, but I don't want to limit ourselves in the Senior squad. I'm a  firm believer that a an average fit player is better than an unfit good player. 

[Jimbokav1971]

Leading Development clubs in South Africa. Nov 2039.

While this looks good initially, what I notice is that the highest valued players are actually at other clubs despite all being in their early 20's.

[Jimbokav1971]

Suspended for how many games? 

I'm selecting the squad for the SA KO Cup Semi Final against Sundowns and when it comes to the centre-backs I notice that 2 players are 1 booking away from a suspension. 

I look at Therlo's "Bans" page, and it suggests that all South African domestic games are grouped together in respect of discipline, with the exception of the South African FA Cup and that's good to know in advance. 

No let's have a look at Njabulo's "Ban" info. 

WTF!  He got a 9 (NINE) match ban for something! When did that happen and what did he do? 

These are the disciplinary rules in the South African FA Cup and it's still not clear. Could he have assaulted another player and then had the suspension increased? 

He hasn't been sent off this season. 

He wasn't sent off last season. 

He wasn't sent off 2 seasons ago. 

Although he was sent off 3 seasons ago, it was in the League rather than a Cup match so that can't be it. 

Ok, here we go. He was sent off in a Cup match, (and in the league), 4 seasons ago. 

4 seasons ago would make it @andycharin charge. I would love you to see if you can have a look at this and maybe try and work out what he did please? 

He was playing for Ajax CT at the start of the season, but it actually happened after he was transferred to Highlands Park. 

[Edit]

He was sent off in the Final, (which they won). 

I can just see the commentary now. "Njabulo's Zidane'd him!" 

Edited May 30, 2020 by Jimbokav1971