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Post by Ben on Jan 9, 2019 21:15:20 GMT
December 2031
Despite finishing the month a position lower than we started, we have completed an unbeaten month, albeit with some dropped points against bottom half Camacha and Portimonense. The draw against Rijeka meant we didn't finish top of our group and have been rewarded with a tie against Lyon, whereas we play Sporting in the Taca de Liga and Chaves in the Taca de Portugal. January brings a time where I feel that there is going to be a few deals completed but that will more than likely signal the end of such busy incoming transfer periods, now that my policy is in full swing and my youth academy is performing well.
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Post by Ben on Jan 9, 2019 22:09:59 GMT
Incoming Transfer
On the look out for an AMC to add depth to a weak area of the squad and coinciding with the ending contract of Magalhaes, my first ever signing, I sent my Mexican scout to North America. He found on-loan Colombian Valderrama. I was, obviously, sold by just the name. Although Marlon hasn't had the best season at New York City, runners up in the MLS in 2031, he was a signing I feel is a good enough risk for me. There is clear, clear quality - a wonderkid and a very good array of attributes. My scouts worried that he may have some issues settling and is possibly a card happy (only 6 yellows last year though) but he will clearly offer me a huge chance at a profit. His parent club, Atletico Nacional, has a £1m release clause for foreign clubs, which Angel Di Maria took up. I already have a very good midfielder in Andre Guilherme and, actually, these players are both very similar with Marlon probably edging it due to the attribute skew of being two-footed: With the above signing of Marquez, too, I am now building a squad that is capable of competing on multiple fronts.
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Post by fmamerican on Jan 9, 2019 22:46:48 GMT
Carlos Valderrama's son? I loved his hair.
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Post by Ben on Jan 10, 2019 20:37:10 GMT
January 2032We have kicked off the year with a great month and now sit pretty in a very attainable third place, as highest scorers in the league. The draw away at Sporting leads me to a prediction that, now we've gone undefeated against them - should finish above them in the league. I doubt we can catch the top two and do have to play both of them again but this could potentially be our year to break the grip on the table. We started very poorly against Moreirense but fought back with a well-earned win over Setubal. The Taca de Portugal, a cup I've never won, saw us demolish a decent Chaves side before then putting four past Nacional; with new signing Mendoza opening his account for us. I wasn't too disheartened at the cup exit to Sporting as the final was scheduled just three days later, and this is very much a 'league points on the board' approach right now. We continued our hot streak win wins over struggling Guimaraes and Penafiel and rounded off with a somewhat fortuitous draw in Lisbon. Next month we play all of the bottom three but do sandwich that around our Europa League adventure. In this moment, the league is the precedent as third gives us our first ever shot at the Champions League (which I know winning the EL will, but that's not realistic right now).
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Post by Ben on Jan 12, 2019 15:27:00 GMT
February 2032We extend our league unbeaten run as we move above Benfica, for the time being, in the league. The focus on the defensive side of our play at the start of the season has paid off as we now can spend our time attempting to play decisive, free flowing, attacking football - scoring freely. Sadly, a European exit has tarnished the month but, as previously mentioned, top three is the aim here as it gives me a chance at the riches of the Champions League.
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Post by Ben on Jan 12, 2019 16:17:12 GMT
2032 Youth Intake
Absolutely fantastic, with depth where I need depth and a good spread of 'experiments' for developing. The standout here, and a player who is already good enough for the first team is Tiago Silva - the left footed central midfielder that I was going to try and sign from afar this summer. He's obviously a little raw and untested but that hasn't stop Marques, the centre back who came through last year, getting significant minutes in the first team. Torres is rated higher though, I am hoping that Silva hasn't already peaked! Tiago Silva
Andre Torres
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Post by Ben on Jan 12, 2019 22:44:07 GMT
March 2032
Unbeaten and performing well. We move towards the business end of the season in 2nd place but face Rio Ave, Porto and Benfica next month.
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ianf
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Post by ianf on Jan 13, 2019 3:58:52 GMT
Silva is unreal!
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Post by Ben on Jan 13, 2019 9:46:31 GMT
April 2032A tough month for us, fixture wise. Facing three of the top five in a row is hard at the best of times, but, when considering that this is the end of the season and our squad is somewhat depleted by injuries and a lack of depth, we were always up against it. A Folha-less side went to Benfica and, despite our numerical advantage in the midfield, just struggled to control the game. 19 shots to four and with 11 on target to our two, we never really had a chance. The Porto and Rio Ave games were both much more even and we do tend to play well against the 4231 shape, nullifying the threat of their AMC with a defensive minded CM but then causing havoc with our own AMC, either Guilherme or Valderrama. A Taca de Portugal final against Porto awaits in a competition we have never won before, preceding a couple of pretty straightforward league games. We face Portimonense and Setubal in the final two games, and neither of these have anything to play for - with 2nd place up against us as we surrendered our advantage in the defeat to Benfica.
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Post by Ben on Jan 13, 2019 9:49:14 GMT
I know! I have been at the club for 12 (I think) intakes and I think I've had a player able to join the first team in 4 of those - Trabulo, Filipe, Marques and now Silva. I don't think I've ever had that kind of thing in another country before - although haven't really managed in the 'big leagues' for any length of time.
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Post by Ben on Jan 13, 2019 12:46:34 GMT
End of Season 2032 The season has ended on a pretty decent note, albeit seeing us throw away the potential of finishing second due to an eight minute collapse at the bitter end of the Portimonense game. The victory over Setubal was a great demonstration of how far we've come, showing mid table teams that we are far superior to them on a regular basis. The untimely announcement of the U20 World Cup saw me without a total of 10 players for the Taca de Portugal, starting with a 18 year old goalkeeper and an untested defensive setup. Sadly, we couldn't hold on and lost on penalties - meaning we have still not won this competition. At the bottom of the table, it is sadness for Real and Sacavenense, two teams who played in the third tier at the time that we did. Both lasted two seasons but haven't managed to solidify enough to stay up. Replacing them are Pacos Ferreira, largely down to a loanee from ourselves and Maritimo. Below are the first team squad, sorted by minutes played: A small injury from Braz (and being on U20 duty) has meant he has missed three games from the season - but I have managed to rotate to a large enough degree that I have kept performances high, with only three players below that 'magical' 7.0 average rating. Firstly, Andre Folha has, once again, led the line and scored on a regular basis - albeit now seems to be finding the dry patches a little harder to escape from. I think this is largely because of the more defensive minded approach the opponents are taking, limiting the spaces for him to work in. Andre Guilherme created nearly one and a half key passes a game and led the team in terms of assists, although I would like to see a bigger goalscoring return from our AP. Similarly to this, Vitor Pereira has developed into quite a wonderful player, yet 6 goals from a very attacking team for a player who essentially plays as a wider forward just isn't good enough. This season has also seen me use the loan market well: Amazingly, Tinoco, Louro and Laranjeira have moved to wonderkids whilst being out on loan and Tinoco, playing for second tier winners, has amassed 16 goals and 15 assists in his 46 appearances. With Jota picking up a serious injury and returning early from his loan - I had a space in the tail end of the season in which I needed cover for, long term. Instead of looking outside of the club, I feel Pedro deserves a chance. Secondly, Joao Louro has excelled on loan - you don't win the Serie A top goalscorer, in a team finishing sixth, for nothing. I (Angel Di Maria) rewarded him with a new £8k p/w mid way through his loan and he'll return to the first team fold experienced in a big league. Botelho returns from his loan now ready for top tier action, Candeias has now played two full seasons in the top flight and Laranjeira and Almeida are developing well in the first team's of other mid table clubs. If last summer was about revolution in the transfer market, this is about evolution. I want to look at how the younger players within my team have a route to the first team and ensure they have their chances.
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Post by shrewnaldo on Jan 13, 2019 17:00:26 GMT
On your fixture screen, is the formation shown your tactic? Or the opposition's?
Wondering if your DoF is putting in a few minimum fee clauses that are on the low side? The Mendoza one looks a bit low to me but I don't know what sort of fees you'd expect for him.
Top work on finishing 3rd, real platform for pushing on.
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Post by Ben on Jan 13, 2019 21:59:11 GMT
On your fixture screen, is the formation shown your tactic? Or the opposition's? Wondering if your DoF is putting in a few minimum fee clauses that are on the low side? The Mendoza one looks a bit low to me but I don't know what sort of fees you'd expect for him. Top work on finishing 3rd, real platform for pushing on. It's the opposition - I was interested in some overall analysis of how I fared against opposition. Currently, most of the league favours a 4231, but I have, in past games, seen trends come and go with tactics so will see how I get on. The cost of the Mendoza deal or his wages? You can get players for absolute peanuts in Portugal - several of my wonderkids are valued at under £1m and any one in the third tier can be brought for under about £100k, regardless of their talent. Thanks - I expect Sporting to come back strong next year - they sold £88m of talent last summer and never replaced it - so a good window will see them back amongst the favourites again, considering their youth teams are comfortably the best in the country.
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Post by Ben on Jan 16, 2019 20:29:20 GMT
Unwanted salesI never like to go into a transfer window under-prepared or unplanned but I feel as if there is now a possibility we may either go into the season weaker than last season or may end up spending money on a player who I haven't researched and analysed in enough detail. First up is Elias Quinteros - a £240k signing from Huracan, in the Argentine second tier, two seasons back. He has moved on for a fee of nearly £25m to Chelsea: Elias had two years left on his deal but was angry about not being allowed to discuss a new one. He then decided to bring a few other members of the team into this, who also turned on me. Whilst he is a great player - at nearly a 100x mark up on the signing fee - I can't turn down this kind of deal. Next up is centre back Jorge Avalos: He was my second favourite signing last summer - coming in for just £150k from his native Peru - a true diamond found by my scouting set up. He performed well last year and his heading ability brought something that we have, historically, struggled with. Never the less - one year into his own deal, he too decided he wanted a new one. A polite 'no' followed and then a complete meltdown occurred and, of course, he took the side of Quinteros when he moaned. He's Resolute and Level Headed which (if I recall) has a small window on his professionalism, loyalty etc - meaning they'll be ok, but not great. I have no place in the squad I am building for players who are unprofessional and bad news and despite his clear ability, Avalos falls foul of that. The loan deal brings me £100k a month and all of his wages paid - so that'll save me nearly £340k in his wages and bring in just over £1m - a mark up on his incoming fee. I have no idea what the plan at the end of next season will be as I could only move him on to a much less reputable league. It does leave me two first team players down and, with the date rolling into July - only a short window to make replacements, of which I wasn't planning on doing.
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Post by Ben on Jan 19, 2019 21:38:50 GMT
Decimated
Transfer deadline day has not been too kind to me. A settled squad, even with the two aforementioned sales, having played a few games and settling in to a new season. Even with nearly £70m in the bank - the board have decided to get involved and sell off two of my first team players: £13m was enough to allow Louro to move on. He was superb in Serie A last term and, despite being second fiddle to Folha, was going to get some serious minutes this year. £22m, raising to £25.5m was enough to move on a player that I signed for just £75k. Laranjo had become an integral part of the first team and we are much weaker without him. The problem with deadline day? I'm now stuck until January...
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ianf
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Post by ianf on Jan 20, 2019 19:17:34 GMT
Tough! One of the many reasons I negotiate "optional extension" clauses as those cancel deals that go over your head!
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Post by Ben on Jan 20, 2019 21:03:27 GMT
Future PlansWe are, sadly, still not in a position to hold our own within the transfer market - if we are not usurped by transfer fee (strange as we now have over £100m in the bank yet only 47% of that is made available for my own transfers) we have our players unsettled by a mid table club in a more reputable league. This save is a long term thing, and if I hark back to the flow chart I made about six seasons back (see below), we are most definitely still in the progress phase - developing my squad and attempting to break the dominance of the big three in Portugal. However - whilst I am not part of this elite group of European teams, or even not the elite group of Portuguese teams - i need to adopt a slightly different approach. If I can enter that domestic dominance with hundreds of millions in the bank and profitable players in the team, I will be in a strong position. Therefore, during this time, I cannot be too upset if a player leaves as I am building up stocks ready for the time I may need to splash £100m on the only player that could improve my team. I will continue to allow players to move on to further their careers and replace them, either with academy graduates or new options. This will no doubt slow my progress down but I feel that it's somewhat realistic. My focus for players still maintains a similar focus to before - the academy takes precedent but I have added a few more 'layers' to this: The first two layers still remain, but the third layer mainly represents the type of player like Laranjo, above. He was signed from the second tier for £75k and sold on for nearly £25m. There are some fantastic players in the second and third tier and some of them, even in their mid-20's (like Magalhaes a few years back) can come in and make a difference, even to my side. I will still look at Buenos Aires, even if that takes me to Argentine's in general but the market is normally pretty costly - even if there is a big sell on value. I added the MLS a few years ago and now I'm planning to focus on mainly South American players generated by the smaller clubs, before they enter the MLS draft. They are all amateurs and therefore cost me nothing but, given their nationality, can become profitable for me. Next - free transfers are always ways of making profit for the club - so will look to arrange deals early on. Hopefully this can see me enter the next phase of this game in an even-sounder financial situation.
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Post by Ben on Jan 20, 2019 21:04:47 GMT
Tough! One of the many reasons I negotiate "optional extension" clauses as those cancel deals that go over your head! That's my go-to with youngsters when they come into the team but largely forgotten in first-teamers due to the added wage demand to include this! Good thinking though for next time, although I'm not overly bothered - everyone has their price within this team.
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Post by Ben on Jan 20, 2019 21:07:42 GMT
July and August 2032Busy month(s) to kick off the season but we have managed to make progress into the CL groups, for the first time ever. we even managed so despite losing to Trabzonspor despite them not actually having a shot on target - their only goal coming from the foot of Mendonca, my own centre half. We have started the league campaign well, despite a much thinner squad, of which I will share the incoming transfers shortly.
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Post by Ben on Jan 20, 2019 21:24:05 GMT
Transfers inSergio Martins. Andre Hugo. Jonas Mussa. The three above players are perfect examples of the above transfer policy - a combined £216.75k has been spent on them, with little in wages or signing on fees. They are all young and offer opportunity to sell on, whether they have broken into the first team or not. Hugo will be re-trained as an IWB(d) on the right hand side as, if he does make the team, offers me an option I don't have, instead of being an average player in an otherwise crowded role in midfield. Jailson is a gamble (isn't any striker with 10 for Finishing?) and will now be needed in the first team following the departure of Louro. However, he has absolutely fantastic mental attributes and is very physical for a 19 year old. He was playing at second tier Avai and I attended a couple of their Santa Catarina State games, in which he performed really well as a lone striker. Obviously, the level of these games is way below what he'll potentially be playing here but I felt that his decisions, anticipation and off the ball made up for his relatively poor work when he was on the ball - he'd get into good spaces where 'most' people could finish. He had a £300k release fee for foreign clubs and I feel that this is certainly a gamble worth taking, given how much he will give in training due to his personality. He is rated very low on PA but I really feel like he'll outperform that, given on those attributes. The scouts pulled up nothing with hidden stats, which helped too. In terms of his development here - I already play a PF(a) so won't worry about that and I will watch him play within my system before I decide on whether any kind of traits would help. Martinez could become the heir to the Laranjo throne. He's signed on a year long loan and Rayo are, understandably, not keen to let him go but he does have a ~£3m release clause, although this is twice my current transfer record. With the departure of the above name - he'll also be getting more first team football than I intended - as I had brought him in to see how much he'd develop and to give myself an option to buy, should I want to. I am not too excited about developing a player for someone else so his initial form will determine his future but I like his balance of attributes and the fact he is good with both feet. He has a competitive streak which I will watch but he could be a great player. I'm not 'happy' with the summer, per se, but I hope that we've got enough quality to be in and around the top four again.
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Post by Ben on Jan 22, 2019 22:45:21 GMT
A fantastic month in which I celebrated six hundred games in charge - with a 52% win ratio, losing and drawing 24% each. We have, four times, scored four goals this season with our forward play looking absolutely scintillating at times. In both Rio Ave and Setubal games, we decided to give up after half time, conceding a silly goal at a lapse in concentration both times. The Olympiakos game - on the other hand, saw us 3-0 down after 25 minutes - where I felt the real 'Champions League' would kick off but a great comeback - where I singled out aging full back Diego Dalot, allowing Mendoza to run wild, gave me a cool £2.5m in prize money. The high point of the month though is the Benfica win - where we have shown that we can mix it against the big teams and no longer need to sit back and try and hit them on the break. A perfect start but I, once again, foresee a top three finish as a target here.
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Post by shrewnaldo on Jan 22, 2019 23:51:26 GMT
Bloody good effort to get to 600 games. What's your target in the Champions League? Is it just a cash machine for the moment?
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ianf
New Member
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Post by ianf on Jan 23, 2019 18:55:41 GMT
Bloody good effort to get to 600 games. What's your target in the Champions League? Is it just a cash machine for the moment? He is already sitting on a ton of cash, I would assume rep increase is important
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Post by shrewnaldo on Jan 23, 2019 21:26:14 GMT
Ah yeah, fair point
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Post by Ben on Jan 24, 2019 19:28:04 GMT
Pretty much just a reputation boost, yes. Also putting my players in the shop window, although I have little idea of actually how much their rep increases from playing in these ties. Real Madrid are my other opponents and I fully expect that they will go through, along with Milan. Hopefully I can get into third spot and see what I can do in the Europa League. As for money - yeah, we're doing ok...
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Post by shrewnaldo on Jan 24, 2019 22:56:34 GMT
Catch up ;-) I guess I'm similar to you in that the absence of traditional transfers has really helped the bank balance spiral.
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Post by Ben on Jan 26, 2019 12:49:09 GMT
shrewnaldo - so the real question is, have you continued with the club side after the international sacking? I'm an avid twitter reader, although I don't use it for FM.
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Post by Ben on Jan 26, 2019 12:55:24 GMT
October 2032
If September was fluent, attacking football, October has brought about offensive uncertainty. Three deep crosses cost us against Portimonense, where we did field out 5'3" full back, Tiago Ricardo, but I couldn't hall him off due to the lack of cover on the bench. Our first team (stupidly forgot to make U23 players ready and they played on the same day) easily beat Sernache of the third tier before a run of a couple of timid performances. We went to Madrid fully on the defensive and I think that I may have gone a step too far. We have always looked to be tight before scoring but we are certainly looking like we lack creative influence going forward in a 4-1-4-1 formation with a flat four in the middle. We restricted Real to a couple of shot (so they're certainly not over running us) but barely threatened ourselves. I need to address this going forward. The game after the biggest ever tie would have to be against league champions Porto, wouldn't it? We were tired, lacklustre and never really threatened them - completely deserving the defeat. That continued into the Guimaraes game where it was only two late screamers by Vieira that saved us and we then, again, failed to perform against a very weak Nacional side. The good start seems to have slowed down but fourth is exactly where I am expecting come the end of the season - given the reduction in quality in the squad and the potential resurgence of Sporting after last year's disappointment.
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Post by Ben on Jan 26, 2019 22:05:35 GMT
November 2032A bit of a stop start month, where we again made a fool of ourselves against Moreirense - the Champions League hangover is real! I am slightly worried that, should Benfica win their game in hand, a six point gap is already open between us and the top three. I have secured the signing of several young players over the past month, of which I will review in due course.
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Post by Ben on Jan 27, 2019 10:17:10 GMT
December 2032A largely successful month where we eased into the sixth round of the Taca de Portugal and somehow scraped into the knockout rounds of the Champions League - going through at the expense of Milan. However, we meet Man City in the first knockout round so, presumably, our dream ends there. Annoyingly, we capitulated against Rio Ave and, as such, exit the Taca de Liga at the third phase. The pattern of previous years seems to be repeating - we are better than the chasing pack, potentially eight points ahead if we win our game in but we are a little off the pace of the top three. The gap isn't too big now and over the past six seasons, maintaining this ppg average (2.13) we would finish on 72 points and in 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 3rd and 2nd, which shows that we still need that extra something to get to the top. The past few months have seen intense scouting missions to North America and I have managed to secure the signings of several young players who will, hopefully, becoming profitable for me in the future or move into first team roles. Marcos SoteloVictor RodriguezHenry NinoCristian LuqueFrancivaldoThere are a couple of Portuguese based lads that I'm tying up deals for, as well as a Colombian wonderkid on loan at Roma with a stupidly low release clause. I am, hopefully, close to building a squad that has real potential to be a league winner in a few years and any gaps will hopefully be funded with sales from these 'profitable' signings.
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