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Post by Ben on Apr 14, 2019 14:45:17 GMT
Mutiny?
On the back of our title winning season, I'd have hoped that there would be nobody making noises about wanting to move on. Sadly, I was wrong. Marlon has had his head turned by a number of suitors and I need to weigh up whether selling him will help us going forward, as he's become a very unsettled member of the team, has influenced several other people and has now started to train really poorly. Initially - I would be delighted to see him out of the door - a £60m+ play day would be amazing for the club and the improvements that I could make. However, we already have over £200m in the bank and I cannot go out and sign any players unless they are from my own academy, as my restrictions imply. So - this is what I do have at the club - should he make the move... ______ I would say that both Vargas and Silva are both suited to the more defensive role that I employ - although both could figure in a more advanced play making position if I had an out and out holding player or played with a DM instead of an AM. I don't feel that either of these are direct replacements for Marlon and Tiago has spent the past few years as his midfield partner. The natural replacement is Miguel, who has learnt very similar player traits and is similar positionally - even if he does lack the dribbling and finishing ability that Valderrama has. Is developing really well an has a good personality which is showing as he is regularly my best trainer, something that Marlon is not at the moment. I would now suggest that Monteiro, the AMC who also came in to the team last season, is now a fully rotational option and, with the first team football required, I don't think that Campino is far away. Cardoso is a different option and his possible emergence in the first team could allow either Vargas or Silva to have their shackles removed and allow them more forward thinking freedom. Despite being 'best suited' as a Carrilero, that lacks the out-and-out defensive support of a CM(d) and I don't feel that I could play one along side a Mezzala so would need him to develop into a more defensive minded player. He's never been rated too highly by the backroom team here but according to them isn't far from Primeira Liga level - so would potentially work as a backup. Another very different approach would be to use Virgilio. He's not anywhere near natural as a central midfielder this point but has made quite a few average appearances on the right wing, mainly in cup games over the years. However - he fits pretty much what I want my Mezzala (or central winger) to do - run with the ball. His passing, dribbling and technique is not amazing (my staff do feel that he has space to grow into, though) but he is exceptionally fast and breaking into the half space at the right time would be pretty much his sole job - with decent decision making, wrok rate and off the ball, he'll contribute as much in the transitional play as anyone else. My coaches believe he is good enough for this level and would fill in as a backup on the wing for Tinoco, although he isn't technically as good as I want a winger to be. Some food for though, definitely...
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Post by Ben on Apr 14, 2019 14:58:46 GMT
August 2037A very promising start to the season with four green dots, one cup victory and six goals for Andre Folha, who seems to be relishing a change from a PF(a) to a CF(a). The league table this season does, however, show us absolutely nothing but we've already built up a solid goal difference which I know can make a point difference at the business end of the season.
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Post by Robson on Apr 14, 2019 15:06:48 GMT
No - I don't think I've ever watched a Rashidi video, actually, despite hearing many things about him over the years. I presume he's doing something similar? It only came about when looking at my options on the right hand side and seeing that I had some strength there, so wanted to utilise it. I don't like to hear the term 'exploit' - particularly as I'm someone that has never really delved too deep tactically; I make a tactic with a given style but then that tends to be as far as it goes and I have rarely used in-game tweaks or looking at opposition weaknesses for the better. The term exploit is very subjective, I perhaps shouldn't have used it, so beg your pardon. From another view its tactically very astute so definitely please don't take that as a slight. It sounds as though you've seen something that's a perfectly sensible evolution of a well worked system. And yeah drawing the defence across using support roles and/or occupation of the half space can leave 1 v 1's on the other side which could be perfect for a player capable of beating his man regularly. You may want a role, such as a pivot, that's capable of switching the play or someone with that PPM to pick your man out time after time.
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Post by Ben on Apr 15, 2019 6:58:57 GMT
No - I don't think I've ever watched a Rashidi video, actually, despite hearing many things about him over the years. I presume he's doing something similar? It only came about when looking at my options on the right hand side and seeing that I had some strength there, so wanted to utilise it. I don't like to hear the term 'exploit' - particularly as I'm someone that has never really delved too deep tactically; I make a tactic with a given style but then that tends to be as far as it goes and I have rarely used in-game tweaks or looking at opposition weaknesses for the better. The term exploit is very subjective, I perhaps shouldn't have used it, so beg your pardon. From another view its tactically very astute so definitely please don't take that as a slight. It sounds as though you've seen something that's a perfectly sensible evolution of a well worked system. And yeah drawing the defence across using support roles and/or occupation of the half space can leave 1 v 1's on the other side which could be perfect for a player capable of beating his man regularly. You may want a role, such as a pivot, that's capable of switching the play or someone with that PPM to pick your man out time after time. No offence taken, of course. I said that I don't like the word exploit as I have been so naive tactically that I wouldn't know an exploit if it bit me on the arse! The last known exploit I use must have been Diablo back on CM03/04. I agree with the pivot, or at least someone who can get the ball over there - however, as I want this to be a go-to approach within a game, and not a 90 minute each game approach, I'm loathed to teach traits. However - both AMs have the traits of 'plays killer balls' whilst one 'comes deep' and the other 'moves into channels' - the latter of which hasn't been amazing as he's got in the way of the Mez but the AP(s)'s movement to pull the DMC out of place whilst the MC's are moving to their left just frees up so much space that we can use.
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Post by Ben on Apr 15, 2019 6:59:29 GMT
September 2037
A month that looks much better on paper than it did from watching the games, where we have often been particularly poor in front of goal. I have to accept that teams are now going to sit men behind the ball more than ever following our league win and I need to find ways to counter that. We conceded twice against Basel, where twice their striker just tore through our defence, rounded the keeper and slotted in - I don't think we've really ever conceded that type of goal before. Dortmund are the other side in our group and the side that knocked us out of the competition last year.
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Post by Ben on Apr 15, 2019 12:10:45 GMT
October 2037We continue to grind out wins where necessary - there was nothing pretty about victories over Guimaraes, Sporting and Porto this month but they are three of the four biggest challengers to us - so having an early season gap is huge. One name is repeatedly seen on the scoresheet and that is Andre Folha, who has notched 22 goals before November - a simply stunning return for the 28 year old. Following his strop, Marlon Valderrama has played just 30 minutes of competitive football this year as he continues to train awfully and know that I cannot discuss it with him. I feel that we do miss his presence but should a sale happen in January - I think we can cope and the deal will be completed at my price, and not his demands.
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Post by Ben on Apr 15, 2019 15:51:03 GMT
Couldn't have gone much better... The mentoring group was working but this has accelerated the process massively!
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Post by Ben on Apr 15, 2019 16:10:19 GMT
November 2037Our 'worst' month to date when you consider the amount of wins but the Dortmund loss is largely irrelevant following our win over Basel - we are into the knockout phase with a game left over. The draw against Benfica was unfortunate as they are not really firing on all cylinders this year and it has brought our winning streak to an end but the solace we can take from this is that Porto lost away to Sporting so the gap opens to four points. With three new players seeking more football within the first team squad (Monteiro, Campino and Balde) this season - giving game time to my younger players has been hard but here is the progress I have made on that front: 17 year old Alberto Garcia has fully usurped 21 year old Fernando as the next full back to progress to the team whereas 16 year old right back Mucha had an outstanding debut in our 8-1 win over Gil Vicente. I hope to be able to offer opportunities in future for those players I deem good enough...
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Post by Ben on Apr 15, 2019 20:20:26 GMT
Milestone
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Post by Ben on Apr 15, 2019 21:11:44 GMT
December 2037A rare defeat - albeit in a game whereby my goalkeeper went off injured and, being as I haven't named a substitute on the bench for a good ten years, we faced trouble! Perfect, once again, aside from that - even if it took a lucky only goal to get us our extra time win in the cup. Our strikers are on fire at the moment, as seen below:
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Post by Ben on Apr 16, 2019 14:54:47 GMT
Good Riddance6 months of atrocity ends, on my terms.
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Post by Ben on Apr 16, 2019 17:45:08 GMT
January 2038The loss against Porto was pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of another Taca da Liga trophy but does give them an advantage - knowing that they have beaten us this season (albeit on penalties). The Rio Ave match, on the other hand, was an abysmal performance and, as such, our lead is cut to two.
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Post by Ben on Apr 16, 2019 19:35:41 GMT
Player Development
Below I have mish-mashed a few screens together to show the progress of a player who I had written off at the intake but kept because of his solid personality. Much like Andre Folha, years ago, who I said wouldn't ever make much - it seems Hugo Claro is trying his hardest to prove me wrong again. Below are the improvements (copied from the attribute development screen) that he has made from March 2037 to February 2038.
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Post by Ben on Apr 16, 2019 19:40:01 GMT
Depth issuesBelow is a screenshot of every player that is contracted to Beira-Mar (I currently have nobody out on loan): Whilst my first team squad is strong and I have some promising players in the U23 - Mucha, Garcia, Claro and Vaz are the main ones, I really lack any sufficient depth with Mourinho and Martins initially tagged in last year's intake but unable to make the step into the more senior squad, yet. With the focus solely on the academy - I really need to make sure that I have deep intakes whereby I can maybe introduce two or three players every five years into the first team. At the moment - it's difficult to rotate as we don't have enough players to fill out all of my teams for their competitive fixtures.
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Post by Ben on Apr 17, 2019 11:21:46 GMT
February 2038A month that looks really good on paper but I worry that the draw against Portimonense has allowed Porto back in and I also worry that taking only a one goal lead to Madrid is going to be a very difficult thing to defend. We lost Andre Folha to injury this month and whilst it re-assures me that is more the role than the player that scores (Pereira has been on fire in the CF(a) role) - we do really miss his presence up top. Things are also looking tighter at the back too, following a couple of training changes after the game against Real.
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Post by Ben on Apr 17, 2019 13:02:11 GMT
2038 Youth IntakeAs you can see from the amount of stars next to the players names already, that this intake is a fantastic one. We have standout players plus a solid level of depth and a number of players who are going to enter the U19 team next year. Last year, I had a hunch that hierarchy has a correlation with ability, particularly current ability, and I think that I am moving towards proving that - although Joao Tavares is an exception to that and will be released as he has awful technical skills, an awful personality and a lack of determination and work rate. I then look at the 'other players' and, as you'll see, I've not identified any of those are potential star players and the majority of them have poor personalities, lack determination and work rate and are more likely to find themselves being released as the year goes on and as they don't develop. However, Hugo Claro, as pictured a couple of posts up, was not rated highly and classed as an 'other player' last year - however his personality (F.Pro) at DET of 14 may have assisted this. Also, I seem to be making a correlation between media description and CA - promising appears to indicate a higher PA but if they have 'young' in front of their description - it has, for me, indicated a lesser current ability, as demonstrated here by Ventura, Vieira and Vaz not having that and also being the best three of the intake. Another thing worth noting from this is the ages of the players - Vaz has just turned 16, Muge will do so next month but Ventura won't be 16 for another five months and, as such, I would expect him to be significantly less developed (and I've seen how much a player can develop in that time). Lastly - the intake now has a big bearing on my summer plans for selling players. For example - Ruben Almeida is now 25 and is a backup player at left back to Xuxa. In the reserve squad, I have 17 year old Alberto Garcia, who has played well in some cup ties. If I had a decent enough left back that I felt could take Garcia's spot in the U23, I would actively look to promote Garcia and then sell Almeida. As that isn't the case - he has a stay of execution for another year and will be allowed to develop in the U23 squad. On the other hand, the influx of three potentially good DC's (Vaz, Muge and Barros) will mean that my U19 players (Patricio and Mourinho) will either be usurped as first choice in that team or moved into the U23 squad if they have the ability to usurp either of those (Silva and Martins). With neither Silva or Martins really ready for the first team - a decision will be made as to whether I sell one of those two to make room in the squad. Here are my five to watch from this intake...
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Post by Ben on Apr 17, 2019 13:22:42 GMT
Depth UpdateVery soon after the last one but the intake has provided me with some solace that we are actually able to fill out our teams now... Joao Vieira immediately makes the U23 squad and sees the impending sale of Virgilio Carvalheiro, who just hasn't kicked on despite nearly 40 appearances in the first team to date. I know his attributes are skewed somewhat due to his physicality but he's not rounded enough to perform on the big stage. Both Vaz and Muge have cemented themselves as a pairing and the ideal scenario would see those two lead the team in ten years - with Raposo and Riverola having retired, Marques staying in the first team and Medina moved on (as, unfortunately, he isn't home grown and that is my overall end goal) and one of Mourinho or Patricio having developed, too. I see the central defence area as one of strength for the future now. Sucena has moved back to the U19 for now (mainly to fill a gap) and Silva has a last chance as a CM(d) - he is already competent there so I will see how he performs and trains but he's unlikely to be a long term solution there with the aforementioned Sucena and Martins, who is very similar (and not comparable to Claro) also vying to move up a squad on my depth chart. Ventura and Vaz seem to be both able to challenge Folha as he ages and have already usurped Vitor Filipe from the squads (he was a youth candidate here in 2023 but I sold him to Porto for a then record fee of £3.7m - since then he's been doing the rounds in Portugal but came back in as a free agent a few months back) but I don't know whether either are going to reach the heights that Andre has. The only place on the depth chart I am weak would be at full back. Mucha is ready to step into the first team but will probably wait until Riverola has retired so that there isn't an influx of defensive players but Barros is being re-trained at right back whereas winger Morias is my only option as a left back and is being trained there. As previously mentioned - this gives Almeida a stay of execution and gives Garcia longer to develop in the youth team. Additionally - I have the left over youth candidates who are in the U19 squad and we be assessed periodically to see if they are to remain at the club into next season and ready for the next youth intake.
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ianf
New Member
Posts: 92
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Post by ianf on Apr 17, 2019 17:30:04 GMT
Much respect for taking the plunge to academy only - especially so far into a save. I sometimes feel aspire to playing like this but could rarely actually execute in practice - buying players is too much fun 😀
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Post by Ben on Apr 18, 2019 10:43:27 GMT
April 2038Our season should be over. Despite a thoroughly entertaining game against Benfica (for everyone except me), we came out losers to a late freak goal - but the loss against Sacavanense really looked to hurt us. Fortunately, Porto have also encountered a poor run of form and we remain 3 points clear. We also bow out of the Champions League, at the quarter final stage, despite a valiant effort against Man City. They are by far the biggest club in Europe right now and are steam-rolling everyone - so to restrict them to just one goal is a positive. We have three games in May as we look to defend our title. We have a fairly easy run in but anything is possible...
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Post by Ben on Apr 18, 2019 10:44:59 GMT
Much respect for taking the plunge to academy only - especially so far into a save. I sometimes feel aspire to playing like this but could rarely actually execute in practice - buying players is too much fun 😀 Thanks Ian! The first eight seasons were youth only but when I realised that this game may take up the majority of my FM19 time, I wanted to see what the transfer market was like. Returning back now is probably harder as we have an elite team and it's much harder to produce elite players than it is average or poor players! I have a logical plan in place and hopefully we can become a dominant force for years to come and I can move on the last few non-academy players.
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Post by Ben on Apr 18, 2019 11:17:33 GMT
With 20 minutes to go of the last game of the season - we are drawing 0-0 at home to bottom of the table and already relegated Belenenses. We are in a bit of bother right now...
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Post by Ben on Apr 18, 2019 11:25:57 GMT
May 2039An absolutely atrocious end to the season. I could go on about being 'FM-ed' on the last game but the truth is that we need to be better at breaking down poor teams. Portimonense took 4 points from us this season and that is what kept them up and stopped us from winning the league. Whilst I'm absolutely livid - we need perfection to win this league given the strength of Porto and Benfica and this season has not been that.
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Post by Ben on Apr 19, 2019 8:01:24 GMT
2038/39 Team Preview
After the events of yesterday, I put the game down and considered not playing again. However - I'm not the type to blame SI for their game, nor am I saying the game is broken. We simply were not good enough when we needed to be. I have come back today with new enthusiasm and some new ideas to implement. ________ Below is my first team squad for this season: My transfers out are as seen below: Despite mentioning a couple of times that Almeida would stay - the lowered demands of the board this season (just CL group stages and qualify for it again next year through the league) led me to make a decision to blood a couple of new youngsters. Alberto Garcia is good enough for this league, has no glaring weaknesses and is ready for some more action so I moved the former on. Carvalheira and Martins were two that have failed to make the step up from the reserve team, unfortunately. Also entering the team from the youth squad is Hugo Claro - who I have been shocked with over the past year. Currently, he is not good enough for the first team (my coaches rate him as a leading player for third tier sides) but he is a natural runner who plays centrally and, aside from Campino, I have no other depth there. If he can develop in the same manner as he has in the U19 team this year - some more first team football should allow him to really quickly develop into first team material. Again, with lower expectations - I feel that I can afford this type of risk for what could be a future benefit. I then bolstered my squad with two academy graduates - firstly, Miguel Laranjeira. He came through the a couple of years after Andre Folha and couldn't ever usurp him, so spent a couple of years on loan at Braga before moving there, then on to WBA and finally on to Villa for a £12m fee. They decided, after 8 goals in 43 Premier League appearances, to not renew his deal so I pinched him on a free. He's not amazing but does offer me a natural, and better equipped alternative to Andre Folha - who was very dearly missed when he had a month out injured. Next up is the loan deal for Luis Trabulo, who left us 11 years ago for a then record £16m to Fulham. Thinking about it, he was probably the catalyst for our development as, after one season in the top flight, we were short on money and this helped us upgrade our facilities. He has spent time at Fulham and more recently at Huddersfield, where we got him on loan from. Similarly to the striking role - we only have DIogo Marques ready for the first team at the moment, so this fills that gap. I'm quietly confident, again...
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Post by Robson on Apr 19, 2019 22:09:48 GMT
2038/39 Team Preview
After the events of yesterday, I put the game down and considered not playing again. We've all been there mate.
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Post by Ben on Apr 21, 2019 8:59:31 GMT
We are just not very good at the moment. We really have not found our groove but fortunately, even at 50%, we are able to beat most teams.
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Post by Ben on Apr 21, 2019 10:42:04 GMT
October/November 2038Much better on paper, but just as dour on the pitch. We are wasteful in front of goal and struggle to create a build up against ten defenders. I need to properly look at my plans moving forward. On the plus side, Benfica are well of the pace, and, even if Porto win their games in hand - we will sit with a small advantage at the top of the table.
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Post by Ben on Apr 21, 2019 10:49:40 GMT
Youth Training - an experimentSo far in this save, I have tried to build a type of player for my first team. I have brought them into the first team and developed them into role that fits in to my system or developed my system around their role. What I haven't done is looked at how they develop from when the enter the club. This is about to change. Firstly - for purpose of comparison, here is my youth squad now and their attributes for my key areas: I have always left the youth training to my assistant but after reading about the kind of difference in intensity youth players can handle, plus the different schedule where they play once a week - I want to see if I can push them any further. Below is a training regime for them whereby we don't use the 'general' training and instead use blocks that will develop attributes suited for my tactical style. There is far too much here - they have four full days with extra sessions and are 'at training' six days a week which I know does not mirror real life for academy teams. It places a bigger emphasis on physical development as well as other modules that I've never seen used within my youth training. I will re-assess this in six months time or so to see if there is an increase in injuries/attributes/training performances.
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Post by Ben on Apr 21, 2019 20:23:42 GMT
More than just first team performances?Above is Hugo Claro, the now-18 year old who has been in my first team this season. He has played 6(1) games with 0 goals and 1 assist at an average rating of 6.59. Normally - this would be a huge concern for me but I want to look deeper than that - at how it has helped his development. Firstly, he is now training with top class professionals yet has almost every week topped the ratings for training. Below is his attribute comparison between December 2038 and July 2038 - a screenshot I took when reviewing the squad for the coming season: That is 5 points of technical and mental progress and 6 points of physical progress. This, over such a short period of time, is fantastic and I would suggest way more than he could have achieved in the youth team. More importantly - the below has happened: In six months, he has gone from being a player suitable for a third tier side to a player suitable for a second tier side.
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Post by Ben on Apr 21, 2019 20:30:02 GMT
December 2038Still not at our swashbuckling best but we have opened up quite the lead at the top of the table moving into the second half of the season. Man City were a step too far and I had kind of hoped that Monaco would be strong and, as such, we'd get our chance in the Europa League - however we instead face Inter in the first knockout round.
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Post by Ben on Apr 21, 2019 21:59:44 GMT
January 2039I've lamented the team this season - saying that we aren't at our best and we are forcing things and, to some extent, that continues. However - if we can win the league whilst playing little better than average football - I will be delighted. We have added another competition to our cabinet this season with a Taca da Liga victory over Benfica and neither they, nor Porto, look like they can keep up with us this term. Again, we are very very early in the season to be making predictions - but we are in the best possible position.
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