fm20 It's been too Lens: Titi's flash in the pan to glory

[smp20]

June 2021 Transfer Update

Ngwem ~ Evina ~ Minikoi

After scouring our scout reports these were the best three young talents who both wanted to sign and met the criteria. Ngwem was the biggest outlay but he looks like he will turn into a top class box-to-box midfielder. Evina is the youngest of the three and will fit in our system nicely as a left inside forward. Minikoi is a classy 'keeper prospect who will take the gloves for the u19s while academy star Mory Traore moves up to the first team. They are Cameroonian, Cameroonian and Central African second nationalities respectively.

 

[smp20]

July 2021 Transfer Update

Jean N'Guessan ~ Kouassi Kassi

Two more bargains direct from Ivory Coast. N'Guessan could become a useful centre mid, while Kassi is good enough to be on the fringes of the first team and has been banging in goals for ASEC Mimosas (23 in 35 or thereabouts). Meanwhile in Paris.....

[Hootieleece]

PSG is running scared! LOL! 

They probably already had 3 players for each position they filled...but then again did they win Champions League yet?

I bet AI PSG wins in spite of the turnover because of sheer quality of players.

[smp20]

1 hour ago, Hootieleece said:

PSG is running scared! LOL! 

They probably already had 3 players for each position they filled...but then again did they win Champions League yet?

I bet AI PSG wins in spite of the turnover because of sheer quality of players.

Nah they've been bottle jobs just with Real Life . Liverpool have won the CL both seasons (so 3 in a row) and also PL x 2....

[smp20]

Our big name signing for the summer arrives helping with our HG at club quota.

[smp20]

Edited May 8, 2020 by smp20

[smp20]

2021/22 Pre-Season

I don't normally post anything about pre-season, but that was a good one 

Edited May 9, 2020 by smp20

[Hootieleece]

Wins over Barcelona and Liverpool....expect a severe drop in form to begin the season due to complacency! LOL!

[smp20]

6 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Wins over Barcelona and Liverpool....expect a severe drop in form to begin the season due to complacency! LOL!

Can I fine the squad before that inevitably happens? 

[smp20]

Jean-Alain Boumsong has had a mare picking his first B squad here  

[smp20]

Mbappe is gone!!!!!! 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, smp20 said:

 

Jean-Alain Boumsong has had a mare picking his first B squad here  

Boumsong. there is a blast from my Scottish football past. 

[smp20]

6 minutes ago, Crazy_Ivan said:

Boumsong. there is a blast from my Scottish football past. 

I remember him from having a few blunders at Newcastle 

[smp20]

GET IN!!! A defensive masterclass and a late win, on Friday 13th 

[smp20]

Love these little messages . Two starts three bench appearances last season, I'm expecting more to come this season.

[smp20]

August 2021 Update

Transfer Overview

Less transfer activity this season - it could actually fit on the page! The outgoings were the remains of the non-African youth players, most with clauses if they ever made anything of themselves. With the exception of Serge Aurier, all of our signings have been 18 or under including our latest capture Marcel Kongnyuy arriving on his 18th birthday.

Results

We always seem to find Montpellier tricky, starting the season with a draw. This was followed by our first win against PSG and then an away win against their fierce rivals Marseille. We wrapped up the month with a convincing 3-0 win over an impotent Strasbourg who didn't manage a shot the whole game!

League Table

Of course it's early days, but we sit in 2nd behind surprise leaders Brest.

Champions League

Ouch, that's a tough group! As 4th seeds we were always in for a rough ride, but even 3rd seeds Shakhtar are one of the worst we could have faced. A push for 3rd place is the best we could hope for realistically.

Focus Switch to Cameroon

Titi's 100th game in management is the crucial World Cup Qualifier against Ivory Coast.

[smp20]

Cameroon vs Ivory Coast, September 2021

What a win and what a day for left back Collins Fai bagging his first international goals

We have a friendly for our second string vs Egypt in a few days, but eyes will be on the final qualifier next month away vs Zimbabwe where a win will secure a place in the next round - or unless Ivory Coast win by 15+ a draw will also do.

Edited May 9, 2020 by smp20

[karanhsingh]

Great stuff and congratulations on the win over PSG!

Mbappe leaving is also good news. I guess Neymar should also start slowing down soon.

[smp20]

6 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Great stuff and congratulations on the win over PSG!

Mbappe leaving is also good news. I guess Neymar should also start slowing down soon.

Cheers  - very good news about Mbappe he smashed 5 past us last season. Neymar is still only 29 so probs 2 or 3 years away from slowing down I reckon.

[smp20]

Is There Anything Sweeter Than Bréhima Diakité's Left Foot?

It's beautiful when rotation works in your favour. 17-year-old Diakité made his first start of the season and it's safe to say he smashed it. What a hat-trick!

[karanhsingh]

Wow those goals are amazing!
BTW how do you upload the goals like that?

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Well done for beating PSG. I am really enjoying this career thread.

[smp20]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Wow those goals are amazing!
BTW how do you upload the goals like that?

I use the Gyazo Video/GIF add on, then copy the direct GIF link into the post and it (normally) pops up automatically

1 hour ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Well done for beating PSG. I am really enjoying this career thread.

Thanks - glad you're enjoying it

[smp20]

Cameroon vs Zimbabwe, October 2021

A comfortable 3-1 win away at Zimbabwe, which means...

Group Table

We topped the group ahead of our nearest challengers Ivory Coast

WC Third Qualifying Round

No tie was going to be easy at this stage. I feel that we should be able to beat Tunisia. Uganda and Zambia are perhaps the two most surprising sides through to this stage, while African football giants Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Ivory Coast all miss out!

AFCON Qualifying Group 

We should 100% qualify from this group, most likely as winners as only Zambia should give us issues.

Edited May 9, 2020 by smp20

[smp20]

September - October 2021 Update

Results

September got off to a poor start losing our first game of the season away to Nimes and then opening our CL campaign with a loss, albeit an expected one at Stamford Bridge. Since then we've had some goo results - A 4-0 over Metz, a 3-1 win against Bayern, 3-0 over Monaco and of course the the rival win away to Lille. drawn a few too many games against teams we could/should be beating, though it's very clear that teams are acting more defensively against us now. We didn't enjoy our journey to Ukraine either...

League Table

After 12 games we have a very surprising league leader; Grand-est side Metz who we pummeled 4-0 in September! PSG have lost 1-0 away to us, Nancy and Brest as well as drawing 1-1 at home with Montpellier which is very poor showing from them. It's tight at the top, though I fully expect PSG to come back in to form and pull away.

Champions League

Even more surprises in the CL where we see Bayern rock bottom of the group! That Shakhtar game at home will be crucial if we want CL, or even EL, football in the new year.

Affiliate

Our first African affiliate is created and it's the best option - ASEC Mimosas 

Edited May 10, 2020 by smp20

[smp20]

World Cup Qualifying 3rd Round, November 2021

We're heading to the Qatar World Cup 2022

Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Cameroon and Morocco will be representing Africa at the World Cup - Titi was upset to see his Guinea go out on away goals. What a performance from Senegal by the way 

[Jogo Bonito]

Great idea and story so far. I always made my French club sides a mix of French and French-speaking African players, but your philosophy is a step further and makes for an interesting read.

I'm a big fan of some of those players you signed like Ganvoula, Sakho, Ndombele etc. And a personal favourite of mine is Cornet (signed him for Grasshoppers many moons ago after he had caught my eye before regularly appearing for Metz first team). A younger player who might be worth looking at is Steve Mvoue from Cameroon. Striker Habib Diallo is another who fits your bill, but you seem to have plentiful striker options already.

P.S. Could I have a look at your current first team squad, if you don't mind? Cheers.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[noikeee]

Excellent progress so far, classic @smp20 success story thread.  To get 2nd place in the first season back in the top flight was awesome. I really like the idea of the thread too, though I admire your discipline at releasing 5 star youth intake prospects just because they don't have the right nationality... I absolutely wouldn't be able to do that.  

[smp20]

November 27th Joker Signing

Kimpembe picked up a 5-6 week injury so we've opted to both cover him and bolster our back line by bringing in Harold Moukoudi as our joker transfer, on his 25th birthday no less!

 

[smp20]

3 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Great idea and story so far. I always made my French club sides a mix of French and French-speaking African players, but your philosophy is a step further and makes for an interesting read.

I'm a big fan of some of those players you signed like Ganvoula, Sakho, Ndombele etc. And a personal favourite of mine is Cornet (signed him for Grasshoppers many moons ago after he had caught my eye before regularly appearing for Metz first team). A younger player who might be worth looking at is Steve Mvoue from Cameroon. Striker Habib Diallo is another who fits your bill, but you seem to have plentiful striker options already.

P.S. Could I have a look at your current first team squad, if you don't mind? Cheers.

Thanks, I've really enjoyed building my squad in a different way to normal. A lot of the players I knew before but I'm also unearthing gems I hadn't considered / seen before, Ganvoula being one of those. Cornet has definitely been worth his high wage for sure . I couldn't seem to find Mvoue and Habib Diallo is definitely on my radar, but I don't want to splash out on him while we've got Ganvoula doing well. Cheers for the tips. Here's my overall squad after the most recent addition:

 

1 hour ago, noikeee said:

Excellent progress so far, classic @smp20 success story thread.  To get 2nd place in the first season back in the top flight was awesome. I really like the idea of the thread too, though I admire your discipline at releasing 5 star youth intake prospects just because they don't have the right nationality... I absolutely wouldn't be able to do that.  

Cheers, it's been going well so far  - very happy with that first season though we've been helped by the likes of Monaco and Marseille not performing as they should. I have to admit it was hard to just release some of those kid's trials, but it's gotta be done! Fingers crossed this time round we have some talented African dual-nats.

[Jogo Bonito]

Thanks for the squad view. You do look to have most of the bases covered, and nice to see some names that aren't featured too often. Surprised you don't have Mvoue in your database, perhaps he has retired but more likely he is just not in your game (I always have every African nationality loaded in my saves). Good luck!

[smp20]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Thanks for the squad view. You do look to have most of the bases covered, and nice to see some names that aren't featured too often. Surprised you don't have Mvoue in your database, perhaps he has retired but more likely he is just not in your game (I always have every African nationality loaded in my saves). Good luck!

No problem. There are plenty of other players I'd love to bring in but we can't afford them yet . I started with all players based in West Africa and Central Africa loaded as well, but maybe he didn't fit this criteria. Shame could do with some Cameroonian prospects for the NT 

[smp20]

I have never, ever had this before. Bréhima Diakité has just had his second off-field event affect his attitude. First it was his ambition, now its his determination 

[smp20]

November - December 2021 Update

Ligue 1

A great couple of months in the league, winning all seven games.

Put up the full table to show how solid we have been defensively, just 9 goals conceded at the midway point . We're 2nd but purely on goal difference. Metz, who were leading the table at the end of October, have dropped down to 6th. Auxerre are having a mare!

Champions League

Very proud to have qualified from this group, especially the double over Bayern which helped condemn them to bottom of the group .

We have a very difficult tie against Man City in the knockouts, We just couldn't keep away from Mbappe could we? 

Player Stats

Here are the stats at the midway point, ranked through the formation and then the most used backups. Mory Traore has become first choice between the sticks. Mido was doing very well up until injury, but the plaudits go to Ndombele who has been a class act in the centre of midfield. Bréhima Diakité is knocking on the door of the first 11 and would no doubt be in it if it wasn't for Maxwel Cornet who is joint top scorer and key creator. Unfortunately Ganvoula hasn't hit the same goalscoring heights as last season, I hope he can score more in the 2nd half of the season.

[Hootieleece]

Do you pick your starting 11 for each game or do you have the AssMan pick the team?

I used to be an Assman picker with me picking the team when Rotating the squad, but recently I have become more adventurous  with more Personalized PI's and a better understanding of roles and pick the team myself more often. 

Also I find that I can sometimes recognize better players for a role than Assman. I think his choices are influenced by squad status.

The reason I ask is about your goalie comment?

[Fudal]

1 hour ago, smp20 said:

I have never, ever had this before. Bréhima Diakité has just had his second off-field event affect his attitude. First it was his ambition, now its his determination 

He is incredible 

[smp20]

17 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Do you pick your starting 11 for each game or do you have the AssMan pick the team?

I used to be an Assman picker with me picking the team when Rotating the squad, but recently I have become more adventurous  with more Personalized PI's and a better understanding of roles and pick the team myself more often. 

Also I find that I can sometimes recognize better players for a role than Assman. I think his choices are influenced by squad status.

The reason I ask is about your goalie comment?

 I generally ask my AM to pick the team, then make a few changes from there 

16 hours ago, Fudal said:

He is incredible 

This is him on day 1, plenty of development since then. He was highlighted as the one to look out for in the youth intake preview but only seen as a 4* when he came through. It shows they can get it wrong!

[smp20]

Our first big money transfer goes through as Mido heads to the Premier League. He's been brilliant for us, but this kind of money is hard to turn down for a player who turns 30 next month.

[smp20]

We didn't take long to replace Mido, swooping in for transfer-listed Geoffrey Kondogbia. He's got the quality to be our Regista, as well as defensive steel that is unmatched by most. He's also a player home-grown at the club . And yes Serge, have some faith 

[noikeee]

Already looking like you're building a pretty neat team here, also quite remarkable to already be pushing PSG for the league. 

I give you another 2 seasons to win the CL. 

[smp20]

21 minutes ago, noikeee said:

Already looking like you're building a pretty neat team here, also quite remarkable to already be pushing PSG for the league. 

I give you another 2 seasons to win the CL. 

I think PSG will pull away soon. If we were to win CL in 2 seasons it would require a lot of luck! We've got what I would consider a decent squad, by Premier League standards would be top half on paper, but nowhere near a world class team.

[smp20]

Another big money sale, this time it is Cameroonian starlet Yan Eteki who signed for just £400k! He was our 5th choice centre mid so it would have been silly to turn it down.

[smp20]

January - February 2022 Update

Transfers

Yongwa ~ Tueto Fotso

The big signing had already been announced, but we also added two other players before Kondogbia arrived. Darlin Yongwa is a decent left back prospect who I've signed mainly to be in control of his development for the Cameroon National team, while Tueto Fotso is yet another Cameroonian prospect who could become key for club and country in the future.

Haidara, who missed the first part of the season due to a broken leg, joins Dijon on loan to get some games under his belt. Thiam was complaining about his lack of first team football so we let him out on loan, while Yongwa went back to the club we signed him from. Mido and Eteki were big sales and have helped our bank balance.

Results

If we were to have any chance of pushing PSG for the title we needed to get a result in Paris. Sadly we were unable to do so. Solid progress in the cup sees us through to the semi-final where we face Lyon, with the prospect of PSG (or Nimes) in the final. Form has been decent, but we've drawn a few too many games. One draw I was happy with is the 1-1 with Man City, here's hoping for a 2-2 at the Etihad!

League Table

We're now 6 points off PSG which makes it very unlikely to catch them. Monaco are just 5 points behind us so we need to maintain good form to keep our place in 2nd.

[smp20]

Sake! 

[smp20]

2022 Youth Intake

These two are the only players that meet the criteria, and only Seydou Kouassi is worth mentioning. He's a solid keeper prospect, though we have 2 good academy keepers already!

[smp20]

March 2022 Update

Results

March got off to a shocking start, going out of the cup in the semis, getting thumped by Monaco and then getting a barely usable youth intake. However, it got better. Diakite got a late winner against Brest, we managed to get past Man City on away goals thanks to a late Ganvoula goal, followed by a lovely 3-0 win over our biggest rivals. The bad and the good come in threes, it seems!

League Table

7 points off PSG and 4 points above Monaco who are a bit too close for comfort after beating us.

Champions League

Our unexpected triumph against Man City put us amongst Europe's elite eight - Barcelona coming up!

[smp20]

A great start to the Quarter-finals winning the home tie

[smp20]

Semi's here we come 

[Hootieleece]

All of these Big teams can be beat on the counter if you have Pace, flair and a solid defense...because they often underestimate your team if it doesn't have 11 Star Players making huge salaries.

My best was a FLA (Brazil), a super team in all but reputation, crushed them using Fluid-Counterattack Template and Attacking mentality. All the games during that World Championship Run were blowouts created by beautiful Counter Football. (Like 4-0).

[karanhsingh]

That's some excellent progress particularly in Europe! 

Are you using the same tactical set up or something different for these games?