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Post by jt on Nov 1, 2020 17:39:24 GMT
With the FM21 Beta just 10 days away, I thought i would get started on posting about the save that i have decided to go with to kick off this new game. This save is all about redemption. So the obvious question is what do i mean by redemption? Well in the context of this save, it is going to be all about taking teams that one extra step to become the Champions of Europe. In the history of the European Cup / Champions League there have been 19 teams that have made the final of the greatest club tournament in the world and failed to get the job done. That is 19 teams that have almost had the famous trophy in their hands, to fail at the last minute. Well my job is to change all of that and bring redemption back to as many of these clubs as i physically can. So what clubs need redeeming? Atletico Madrid (1974. 2014, 2016) Reims (1956. 1959) Valencia (2000, 2001) Fiorentina (1957) Eintracht Frankfurt (1960) Partizan (1966) Panathinaikos (1971) Leeds United (1975) Saint Etienne (1976) Borussia Monchengladbach (1977) Club Brugge (1978) Malmo (1979) Roma (1984) Sampdoria (1992) Bayer Leverkusen (2002) Monaco (2004) Arsenal (2006) Tottenham (2019) PSG (2020) So the rules of the save are to take over any one of these 19 clubs, take them to Champions League glory and than move on to one of the other eligible clubs. As the seasons go on, the AI might win the Champions League with any of these teams meaning they are than ineligible from the challenge. Equally if the AI takes a team to the final and they lose than they become a future option. Now the question becomes where do i start the save. Do i go with the newest member of this unwanted club in PSG? Do i go with my boyhood club Arsenal or do i take on one of the more interesting and smaller sides such as Partizan Belgrade or Malmo. Well, as i am a nice guy, I am going to pass that question on to you to decide who i will start this challenge with? What will make it the most interesting for you? You have until the 10th to make your decision.
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Post by Dirk Nowitzki on Nov 2, 2020 9:47:03 GMT
This is interesting! On the one hand, I'd think to start with a smaller team and work your way up, but starting with Malmö, Panathinaikos or Partizan will probably lead to long journeys to start off with, and maybe you'll even get too attached to them to jump ship. My choice would probably be one of the average teams in this list, and since I've always had a soft spot for Fiorentina, I chose them.
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Post by jt on Nov 3, 2020 17:26:54 GMT
Thanks Dirk and some solid reasoning there. To be honest all of the teams appeal (well apart from Tottenham).
So far it looks like the forum is sending me to Sweden.
Still 7 days to go for people to change that though.
Although I can't change the poll now that's it's made I will take up to 3 nominations from each member to see if that opens up the votes
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Mikey
New Member
Wales
Posts: 100
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Post by Mikey on Nov 3, 2020 18:29:28 GMT
Malmo will be an interesting choice! You should dominate your league but obviously the Champions League will be difficult. I personally voted for Leeds United. I picked them mainly because you will have the challenge of winning the Premier League (or getting into the top 4) as well as the Champions League challenge. Plus, this is Leeds first season back in the Premier League so you have that luxury as well.
Whoever you pick though, I wish you well and will follow once the game is out.
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Post by Marshdweller on Nov 3, 2020 21:29:23 GMT
I went for Malmo on the basis that if you started at most of the other teams you would quickly become too reputable for Malmo to hire you (I think). However, it could take you bloody ages to win the Champions League with them, so maybe one of the 'medium' sides would be a better bet. Depends how many of those teams you realistically expect to manage over the course of the save.
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Post by jawzy on Nov 3, 2020 22:10:13 GMT
Malmo, for quick seasons Brugge cause Belgium domestically have wonderful players Roma or Sampdoria or Fiorentina, if wanna do beta in a big league
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Post by chaodck on Nov 3, 2020 23:58:51 GMT
Leverkuse, because Charles Aránguiz is bigger than your problems.
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Post by richruzzian on Nov 5, 2020 13:43:15 GMT
I pick La Viola.
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Post by jt on Nov 8, 2020 17:04:03 GMT
Thanks for the votes for who has voted. Currently looking at Malmö with just two days to go but Fiorentina could come and snatch it.
Always a chance for an underdog too. If you haven't voted please do.
Hopefully will update on Tuesday with the opening post of the chosen team but it all depends on how my wife's labour goes!
It's all go go go here!
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Post by jt on Nov 10, 2020 11:40:11 GMT
Fiorentina Takeover After a draw between Malmo and Fiorentina the final tie breaker vote had to come to myself and I actually liked the way Dirk was thinking as i think this is a perfect starter club where there is a little bit to do but realistically i could get a first Champions League within 5 years if i prove to be any good. I also havent managed in Italy / Serie A for close to a decade and so i am looking forward to this massively. BackgroundACF Fiorentina are an Italian professional football club based out of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. Founded by a merger in August 1926 by a local noble and National Fascist Party member Luigi Ridolfi who initiated the merger of two older Florentine clubs CS Firenze and PG Libertas with the aim to give Florence a strong club to rival the more dominent Italian sides of the era. After a rough start and three seasons in the lower leagues, Fiorentina reached Serie A for the first time in 1931 and it was in that year they opened their new stadium, the now known Stadio Artemio Franchi where the club still plays to this day. Their first season in Serie A was a good one as they finished 4th but found themselves relegated the next year although they quickly returned to Serie A. In 1941, the club picked up its first Coppa Italia but World War II prevented the club building on their first success. During the 1950's the club started becoming consistent picking up top five finishes season after Season and this culminated in the first Scudetto in 1955/56 where they finished 12 points above Milan. The very next season Milan beat Fiorentina to the title but most importantly and especially for this save, it was in the 1956/57 season that Fiorentina reached the final of the European Cup (More on this later) and became the first Italian side to play in the final. Fiorentina finished Runners-up in the league for the next three seasons and in 1960/61 the club picked up its second Coppa Italia and was also successful in picking up the Cup Winners Cup beating Rangers in the final. Over the early 60's the club couldn't mount another title challenge generally finishing between 4th and 6th each season but a 3rd Coppa Italia was picked up in 1966. However, a 2nd and unlikely Scudetto was picked up in 1968/69 with Fiorentina recovering from an unimpressive stat to beat out Milan and Cagilari to seal their second and to date last Scudetto. In the subsequent European Cup the club was eventually knocked out at the Quarter final stage losing to Celtic. Despite going into the 1970s as the Champions of Italy the decade was not particularly kind to the club as the slipped to become a mid-table and sometimes relegation fighting team. A Coppa Italia win in 1975 was a rare highlight. In 1980 the club was bought by Flavio Pontello who changed the teams anthem and logo and bought in some high-quality players such as Francesco Graziani, Eraldo Pecci, Daniel Bertoni, Daniele Massaro and Pietro Vierchowod. The new team was built around Giancarlo Antognoni and in 1982 the club had an exciting duel with rivals Juventus. However, a bad injury to Antognoni gave the edge to Juventus who won the title and a rivalry between the two sides erupted. The following years saw massive inconsistencies with the club flitting between high finishes and relegation battles but the era did see the signings of two interesting players in the shape of Ramon Diaz and a young Roberto Baggio. In 1990 the club fought to the very final day to stay in Serie A but did reach the UEFA Cup final where they again faced Juventus. The Turin team won the trophy causing more heartache for Fiorentina but the Fiorentina supporters had real cause for complaint as the 2nd leg of the final was actually played in Avellino (Fiorentina's home ground was suspended), a city with massive Juventus support but the date of the 2nd leg was also the very same day Fiorentina sold Roberto Baggio to Juventus of all teams! The owner Pontello was sufering from economic difficulties and was selling players and was eventually forced to leave the club after serious riots in Florence's streets. The Club was then acquired by filmmaker Mario Cecchi Gori. Under Gori, the club began to stabalize with the acquisition of some good players such as Brian Laudrup, Stefan Effenberg, Francesco Baiano and most importantly Gabriel Batistuta. However, in 1993 Cecchi Gori died and was succeeded as Chairman by his son Vittorio. It was a bad year for the club as the side were relegated from Serie A on the very last day of the season. Claudio Ranieri was bought in as coach for the 1993/94 season and Fiorentina dominated Serie B returning to Serie A at the first time of asking. The club signed Rui Costa from Benfica who alongside Batistuta became an idol for the club and finished in 10th in their first season back in Serie A. 1994/95 saw the club pick up another Coppa Italia alongside a 3rd place finish in Serie A. However, the club wasn't really able to build on the success until the 1998/99 season with Giovanni Trapattoni taking over the side. With Batistuta firing on all cylinders the club mounted a title challenge falling short (Finishing 3rd) but earning the club qualification for the Champions League. In the competition they picked up some great victories beating both Arsenal and Man Utd but they were ultimately knocked out at the second group stage. The next season, Trapattoni moved on as did Batistuta who was sold to Roma and in 2000/01 they picked up their 6th and final Coppa Italia. The year 2001 heralded major changes for the club as the finances were terrible with the club running up debts of around $50m and the club was eventually relegated in 2001/02 season and went into administration. The club was regused a place in Serie B for the 2002/03 season and as a result effectively ceased to exist. The club was promptly re-established in August 2002 as Associazione Calcio Fiorentina e Florentia Viola with shoe and leather entrepeneur Diego Della-Valle as the new owner and the club was admitted to Serie C2 (the fourth tier of Italian Football). The only player to remain at the club in its new incarnation was Angelo Di Livio. The club won its Series C2 group with ease and would normally have been promoted to Serie C1 but were instead promoted straight into Serie B after Catania had their own similar financial meltdown causing the Italian Football Federation to increase the number of teams in Serie B to 24 clubs and promoting Fiorentina for "sports merits". The club finished that season in 6th place and won the play-off against Perugia to return to top flight football. Back in Serie A the club struggled in 2005 the club appointed Cesare Prandelli as the head coach. The club made some key signings including Luca Toni and Sebastien Frey and these signings earnt the club a fourth place finish and a Champions League qualifying round spot. However, in 1006 the club was again relegated to Serie B due to their involvement in the 2006 Serie A match fixing scnadal and were given a 12 point penalty. The club was reinstated to Serie A on appeal but with a 19 point penalty for the 2006/07 season with the club having their Champions League place revoked. The points deduction was later reduced to 15 on appeal and despite this the club still managed to secure a place in the UEFA Cup. In 2007/08 the club mounted another title challenge falling just short but most importantly qualifying for the Champions League. The club was knocked out of the Champions League and moved into the UEFA Cup where thy reached the semi finals ultimately being defeated by Rangers. Another fourth place finish in the league saw Fiorentina again make the Champions League but ultimately find themselves in the UEFA Cup where they were eliminated by Ajax. By the time 2010 came around the club had a new Chairman and the Manager Prandelli also bid farewell. Over the next few seasons the club found themselves battling relegation before the 2012/13 seasons saw the club finish 4th and qualify for the Europa League. Over the next few years, the club became renowned for being a selling side, selling the likes of Stevan Jovetic, Alessio Cerci, Adem Ljajic, Mario Gomez, Juan Cuadrado and Mohamed Salah to name a few. In 2019 the club was again sold to Italian-American Billionaire Rocco Commisso for around €160m. Unfortunatly the clubs performances left a lot to be desired with the side finishing in 15th place in 2018/19. In the last season just gone the club has improved a little to finish in 10th So a lot to do to be challenging in Italy let alone on a European Stage. Next update: The lost European Cup final
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Post by Dirk Nowitzki on Nov 10, 2020 14:21:36 GMT
Great choice of club! Will certainly follow how you turn La Viola from a bit of a mess (they have just hired Prandelli again this weekend) into world beaters. Exciting times in real life too for you, congrats!
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Post by jt on Nov 11, 2020 10:11:31 GMT
Fiorentina: The Redemption Story So now let's go back 63 years to understand the need for redemption to what was only the 2nd ever European Cup Final. Road to the FinalSo back then the tournament was a lot smaller as you can imagine and so only 3 rounds were needed to be navigated to reach the final. So after winning Serie A the year before for the first time, Fiorentina were placed in the South Central Europe group for the preliminary round draw, but were not among the first four teams drawn and therefore received a bye into the first round. There they faced IFK Norrkoping of Sweden who also had received a bye. In the first leg at the Stadio Artermio Franchi, they fell behind to an early goal by Harry Bild, but Claudio Bizzarri equalised shortly afterwards and the match finished 1-1. In the second leg, Giuseppe Virgili scored the only goal of the game to give Fiorentina a 2-1 win on aggregate. In the quarter finals against Grasshoppers of Switzerland, Fiorentina jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the first leg thanks to goals from Armando Segato and Romano Taccola's brace. Robert Ballaman pulled on back for the visitors. In the 2nd leg, Julinho extended Fiorentina's aggregate lead early in the 2nd leg, only for Ballaman to again reduce the Swiss side's deficit. However, Miguel Montouri put the game beyond doubt with a fifth which rendered Branislav Vukosavijevic's late goal a mere consoloation in the 5-3 aggregate scoreline. The semi-finals saw Fiorentina take on Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia. The first leg in Belgrade looked like it was playing out to a goalless draw until Maurilio Prini scored for the Italians with two minutes to go. The second leg did indeed go goalless with Fiorentina reaching the final and becoming the first Italian side to do so. The OpponentsStanding in the way of the title was a little side called Real Madrid. The Winners of the first ever tournament the year before and looking to keep their trophy. As title holders they too were given a bye directly into the first round. Their first round opponents were Rapid Vienna. Real Madrid won the first leg at the Bernabeu 4-2 but the 2nd leg didnt go to plan as Enrst Happel scored a hat-trick for the Austrians to give the Austrian side a 3-1 victory in Vienna. Now away goals were not implemented until 1965 so a 3rd play-off tie took place at the Bernabeu where Real Madrid won 2-0 thanks to goals from Joseito and Raymond Kopa. In the Quarter finals it was French Champions Nice. Real Madrid again won the first leg at home with ease winning 3-0 with goals from Joseito and Enrique Mateos (2). The Second leg saw Madrid win 3-2 with goals from Joseito and Di Stefano (2) doing enough to give Real Madrid a semi-final place against Man Utd. Hector Rial and Di Stefano put Read Madrid 2-0 up just after the half hour mark before Tommy Taylor pulled one back. However, just a minute later Mateos scored a third to win the game 3-1. Back in Manchester, Kopa and Rial scored one each in the first half which practically put the game beyond doubt. Tommy Taylor and Bobby Charlton both scored in the 2nd half but the aggregate score remained 5-3 sending Real to their 2nd straight final. The FinalThe Final was held at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on the 30th May 1957 in front of 124k people so were already facing an uphill task taking on the reigning European Champions in their own ground. Leo Horn of the Netherlands refereed the game. The first half remained goal-less but the deadlock was broken around a cloud of controversy after Horn ignored his linesmans flag signalling Enrique Mateos was offside before awarding a penalty for a foul on Mateos that also appeared to have been committed outside the penalty area. The great Alfredo Di Stefano stepped up to score the penalty in the 69th Minute to put Real 1-0 up. With that Fiorentina's resolve was up and just 6 minutes later Francisco Gento scored a 2nd to win the game 2-0 for Real and seal their 2nd European Cup and become the first side to win the final in their home stadium. So there you have it and 63 years later Fiorentina still wonder what could have been until now. Next Up: Fiorentina takeover report
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Post by chaodck on Nov 11, 2020 13:20:36 GMT
So, not only did UEFA award Real Madrid the benefit of playing a deciding third playoff in a tie at Bernabeu, but also scheduled the Final at Bernabeu and let them score on a shady penalty after a non-called offside? As UEFA calls it: Business as usual.
Good luck with this mate, will be following.
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Post by jt on Nov 11, 2020 18:04:19 GMT
Fiorentina: Takeover So with the game fired up, it is now time to start looking at what i have to play with as i look to firstly conquer Italy before making a mark on Europe. Game set-up & expectationsSo i have loaded up the game with a large database and 9 countries loaded up (England, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Serbia, Sweden and Belgium) meaning all of the currently eligible sides for the challenge can be picked up. It means we have a player database of 45k or so to play around with. Managerial wise i have set myself up as a 34 year old Englishman (as i am in real life) with the below attributes. I have signed a 2 year contract at £22k per week as i look to turn this club into a European force again. In return the club have fairly modest expectations. The Media are predicting an 8th place finish and the board match that wanting a top half finish for the club with a quarter final appearance in the Coppa Italia. Over the next 5 years the board still want us to be an established top half finisher meaning the pressure to get improvements quickly isn't there...yet. To be honest that is great news as one of the things that has been obvious going through Fiorentina's history is the lack of consistency moving from Title chaser one season to the next struggling to stay in the division. To go along with the top half finish, the club had a few requirements to go alongside it. On the field, they wanted entertaining football and from a playing squad they wanted us to develop players using the club's youth system, sign some high profile players as well as signing U23's for the first team. We also need to work within the wage budget as well as increasing the club's commercial revenue. We have a transfer budget of just over £10m with £20m in the bank and a wage budget of £1.1m with around £34k currently being unspent. Certainly enough money to get one or two new players into the team if needed. Playing SquadSo i must admit, before starting this save i was completely unaware of who was playing in Florence and so i was pleasantly surprised to see what we had at our disposal. In the goalkeeper situation we have 22 year old Pole Bartlomiej Dragowski as our No.1. He looks pretty solid and he has age on his side which is good. 30 year old Italian Pietro Terraciano will be a capable back-up if he either doesnt perform or gets injured. We do also have Alban Lafont out on loan at Nantes who will be another really solid option as long as Nantes don't take up the Optimal fee of just under £7m. Defensively we are well stocked particularly at the heart of the defence with veteran Martin Cacares, Captain German Pezzella and young Nikola Milenkovic providing the first choice options. Behind them we have Igor (on loan but joins for £4m next summer from SPAL) and Lucas Martinez Quarta who to be honest are only a smidge behind the first three. At Fullback we look solid enough with Cristiano Biraghi, Antonio Barreca, Pol Lirola and Lorenzo Venuti all vying for a first team spot. Just like the defence, the central midfield is also very well stocked. Gaetano Castrovilli, Erick Pulgar and Borja Valero make up just three of the options. Moroccan Sofyan Amrabat, Ghanaian Alfred Duncan and Italian Giacomo Bonaventura are also all available for the first team. The wings are a little short but we do have our big name legend Franck Ribery and Veteran Spaniard Jose Callejon being our main options. Backing them up, we have some younger options in Christian Kouame and Tofol Montiel. Frenchman Valentine Eysseric and Italian Riccardo Saponara are also in the squad but are on the transfer list and i think both will be moved on to boost the funds a little and free up some wages. Up top we might need a bit of work with young Serb Dusan Vlahovic and Italian Patrick Cutrone at the club. Cutrone is on loan from Wolves but will be joining permanently in the summer in a classic COVID deal for £13m. Early ThoughtsI think we have a solid enough base and there isn't too many holes to patch up which is nice. I probably wont change a lot in the first window with maybe a youngster or two being sought out as we have a couple of veterans (Ribery, Callejon, Valero and Cacares) that will need replacements. Ribery's replacement is the high priority as his contract runs out at the end of the season and with his wages being over £100k per week, he is comfortably the highest earner. Formation wise, i think we will play with three CB's which will be a move i have never tried with some wing backs trying to bomb forward. I'm still trying to work out where to play Ribery and Callejon with three options being looked at over the preseason. Next: My first Pre-season
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Post by jt on Nov 11, 2020 18:06:03 GMT
So, not only did UEFA award Real Madrid the benefit of playing a deciding third playoff in a tie at Bernabeu, but also scheduled the Final at Bernabeu and let them score on a shady penalty after a non-called offside? As UEFA calls it: Business as usual. Good luck with this mate, will be following. It definitley seems like UEFA were as corrupt back then as they are now!
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Post by jt on Nov 12, 2020 16:29:11 GMT
Fiorentina: Pre-season It has been a slow and steady start to pre-season as i have started adjusted to the small tweaks of the game and whilst i carefully consider what I am going to do with this side. TransfersIt has been incredibly quiet on the transfer front so far with no new faces joining before our first league of the season against Napoli. It hasn't been without trying but so far we havent managed to secure a deal. The main focus is on a left winger who will be able to compete and eventually replace Franck Ribery in the side. We were desperately unkucky to lose out on a deal for Uruguayan Nicolas De La Cruz from River Plate who chose Lyon over ourselves when we had a deal for just under £3m agreed. So i have had to look elsewhere, Ismail Sarr from Watford has been the subject of a few bids but the demands from Watford are far too steep for us even if i look at structuring a deal over the course of a few years. He wants to join but it looks like it will be a cheaper option. At the moment we are looking at 19 year old Argentinian winger Pedro De La Vega from Lanus where a deal for around £4m + 35% of a future fee or Japanese winger Shoya Nakajima from Porto for £5.5m as the option. I think i am leaning towards the more unknown De La Vega but it will depend on how it all goes. The other area where we have done some looking is for a 3rd striker to support Vlahovic and Cutrone. For this i had Mario Balotelli on trial but i decided against putting a contract in front of him and instead he went off to Greece with PAOK. Currently we are looking at Daniel Sturridge and a contract might go out to him if we have some spare wage budget after the winger is signed. So no ins but we have done some business in getting some players out. The main men out of the club were Valentin Eysseric and Riccardo Saponara. Frenchman Eysseric was sold for £1.6m to Saint Etienne whilst Saponara is off to Cagliari for £2.9m which has helped boost the coffers. On top of that some younger players (Beloko, Hanuljak, Toure and Milani) were all sold off as they were never going to be good enough for the first team. We also arranged some loan spells for Munteanu, Pinto, Krastev, Dalle mura and Djibril who would have all been on the periphery of the first team this season and game time is going to be much better for them moving forward. FormationTactically, i think this is what we are going to start the season with and this is likely to be the team for the first game against Napoli. We want to be playing out from the back and luckily all of the CB options seem comfortable with doing that. Igor is the only left footed option we have and with Cacares injuring himself in pre-season he will be given a chance to make that role his own. The full backs will look to get forward and provide another outlet whilst Ribery will cut in onto his preferred right foot from the left with Callejon being a more traditional winger for us. The midfield is definitely open for a good mix up as i have yet settled on my favourite two. In fact, i am even tempted to lose an option before the window closes to help free up some more opportunities for youngsters. Vlahovic had a slightly better pre-season and will start up top with Cutrone as back up. I'm going to train a 2nd tactic that might see both of them get a start or even move Ribery to a 2nd striker for the incoming winger to slot in. I never played with a Gegenpress last year which must make me the only one not to but i think a high pressing game should allow us to assert ourselves in matches and hopefully use that to start picking up some points. Pre-season ResultsOn the field we have largely been good with some nice victories over Lecce, Verona and Napoli in particular. We did struggle a little against Inter and Fulham but i think we have enough about us to do ok this year. Callejon was head and shoulders above everyone and i must admit at the beginning of the save i was wondering whether i keep him on the bench but after pre-season he is the first man on the team sheet. Next: September & October
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Post by Reiver on Nov 12, 2020 16:42:04 GMT
3 at the back tactics are great. I used one in my last save in Italy, except I had a libero instead of a DLP so I could use a mezzala in midfield.
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Post by jt on Nov 13, 2020 13:10:24 GMT
Fiorentina: September & October 2020 The season has started and we seem to be doing ok, all things considered. Are we the finished article? Not yet but before we get into some of the detail, lets do a quick recap of the first few weeks of the season. TransfersMy first signings are in and I am off the mark on FM21. The first signing is a man who fittingly needs a little bit of redemption after his betting scandals and that is Daniel Sturridge. He comes in as a third choice striker on a two year deal on just £13k per week and to be honest he will be mainly used in the Coppa Italia and also some league games. In reality if he gets 5 goals i will be comfortable it hasn't been a complete failure. Now the summer was spent trying to pursue a replacement for Ribery who we know at 37 doesnt have long left at the top. Now to be fair to the Frenchman he started the season well with two goals in two games but his limitations soon came up as a recurring ankle ligament injury meant he was going to be out for 3 months which really put the pressure on getting a replacement. As i mentioned before the three main targets were Ismail Sarr, Pedro De La Vega and Shoya Nakajima but in the end the man we chose to go forward with was none of these. Watford were not budging on Sarr and unless we wanted to stump up £30m+ we were not going to get him. I then started getting cold feet on De La Vega worrying about his current ability whilst Nakajima was a little older then i would have liked without everything i was looking for. So after the recruitment meeting, one of the team recommended 18 Year Old Brazilian Talles Magno and for £6.25m plus a sell on fee i bought in the young Brazilian. He is recovering from a broken arm so will sit out the first few games but he has an unexpected opportunity to stake a claim in the first team. There was one major outgoing though as we sold Cristiano Biraghi to Roma for £14m. He was our first choice left back but it was a good bid and we have Barreca on loan from Monaco who we have the option to buy at £5.5m as well as Igor who can play in that position so i feel like we are covered. I did make a number of substantial bids for Sportings 18 year old Nuno Mendes but they were having none of it On the fieldWell after 5 league games and a Coppa Italia tie i am proud to say we are undefeated. We haven't been excellent and we are certainly not playing the exciting attacking football the board want but we are being effective and right now they can't complain too much about the results we are getting. It all started with our first game of the season against Napoli at Home. A tough tie to start my campaign off but it was a chance to see how far off some of the better teams we were. It turns out we are not that far away from competing as we won the game 2-1. A 2nd minute own goal from Manolas after Lirola managed to get to the byline and put a low cross in causing the Greek Centrehalf to slide infront of Vlahovic and turn it in his own net. Napoli got back into the game with Politano scoring an equaliser but in the 35th minute Frank Ribery found himself in the box with the ball at his feet and slotted home what proved to be the match winner to give me a winning start to the season. However, the next two games showed where we have had some troubles as against the supposingly weaker sides we have really struggled to break teams down. It took a Frank Ribery goal equaliser to get a draw against Spezia before Callejon did the same in the next game against Crotone in back to back 1-1 draws. Then up against Sassualo we had our best attacking performance of the season as we managed to win 3-2 in what was a more comfortable victory then what the scoreline shows. That time Bonaventura, Kouame and another own goal were the goalscorers for us. However, we couldn't follow up that game with another victory as a bore draw was played out with Bologna leaving the table at the start of November to look like this. Our final game of October was our Coppa Italia tie against Serie B side Vicenza and as planned we played a mixture of some fringe squad players along with some first teamers to win the tie 2-0. It needed Vicenza to go down to 10 men to give us enough space to craft some chances but the goals came from the midfield with Erick Pulgar and Alfred Duncan scoring a goal apiece to put us into the next round where we will take on Reggiana for a place in the 1st round. Manager MusingsSo it has been an interesting start but we are not quite where i want us to be. We need to get better at scoring goals and creating chances. All of the stats say we are below average in this area and it is telling none of our out and out strikers (Vlahovic, Cutrone and Sturridge) have scored this season and without Ribery we have looked like we are missing that something special. Fitness has been a factor and we do need to rotate a lot at the moment which i think is also causing some challenges as we need to get into a rhythm that can keep us in the hunt for a European place.
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Post by Dirk Nowitzki on Nov 13, 2020 14:03:35 GMT
That's a nice start jt! Do your offensive players see enough of the ball? I'd be a little worried that your front 3 becomes isolated since they all have an attack role, so I'd probably test whether changing the striker to a DLF(s) makes him more involved and helps creating more chances. Vlahovic seems reasonably suited for that. Maybe even Ribery on a support role as well, with Biraghi on attack.
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Post by jt on Nov 14, 2020 11:44:37 GMT
Fiorentina: November & December 2020 Could we keep our form up? Would we be in contention for a European place at the turn of the year? All questions that we could get closer to getting an answer to On the fieldSo we started November off against Genoa, a team rooted to the bottom of the table having lost all 5 league games so far. A team therefore we should be beating right or at least scoring against? Wrong on both counts as a 0-0 draw played out once again highlighting a growing challenge with this team. So then Roma come to town. Struggling a little in the league but on paper a stronger side then us and one that should be in the european places come the end of the year. It was a tight affair with few chances so i was ecstatic when we won a penalty in the 26th minute. Up stepped Erick Pulgar and my god he hit the tamest penalty in all time, straight at the keeper to waste a golden opportunity as we went in at half time 0-0. I was worried, however Dusan Vlahovic finally decided to turn up this season and bagged a goal straight after half time. A goal that proved to be the winner as we came away with 3 points and a 1-0 win. Next up were Milan. Our toughest challenge yet and a team that was boasting the best defence in the league and Ibrahimovic right in form. However, things seemed to go our way as Franck Kessie managed to pick up two yellow cards in just 17 minutes to give us a man advantage. An advantage that we threatened to throw away on a few occassions. Dusah Vlahovic opened the scoring from the penalty spot before two Ibrahimovic goals gave them the lead. However full back Barreca then quickly got the game back on level terms before Vlahovic scored his 2nd of the game getting onto an Amrabat flick on. We back in the lead but not for long Castillejo scored in the 77th minute to put the game at 3-3. Then up stepped Daniel Sturridge in the 93rd Minute to score his first goal for the club and gie us a priceless 4-3 victory. I said i wanted at least 5 goals from him this year but i didnt expect him to score a crucial match winner. The Coppa Italia gave us a nice little break from the league as we took on Reggiana of Serie B. Again we rested a few players and rotated with Juventus around the corner and to be honest we laboured in this match. We struggled to create a lot, let them have some good chances and in the end it took a Callejon wonder goal breaking from a Reggiana corner to give us the 1-0 win and set us up with a 1st round tie against Milan! Back to the league and i mentioned Juventus were up next and like us they were undefeated in the league - albeit with a lot more victories then ourselves. Aaron Ramsey opened the scoring with a long range effort and credit to the team we didn't back down and we got our reward when left wing back Antonio Barreca scored a solo mazy run to give us an equaliser and the 1 point. A fairly routine 2-0 win over Udinese followed and at this point we we looking good and in some good form and may i add still undefeated in all competitions. However, as we ended 2020, the old challenges reared its head as we looked lacklustre infront of goal and struggled to compete in matches. Hellas Veronas inflicted our first defeat on us beating us 1-0. Atalanta dominated us and we were lucky to come away with a 0-0 draw before struggling to beat Benevento in the league needing Daniel Sturridge to get another 90th minute goal to win us a game 1-0. This was a side that had barely registered a point all season! Manager MusingsAgain, we look like we are in a good position in the league but I am still struggling to get things to gel. Defensively we have been solid conceding just 10 and largely i am happy with all of the backline. Its the midfield and forward areas we just dont seem to click. As per Dirk's advice i played around with the front 3 giving more variety in the mentalities but that resulted in the final three results of the year - 0-1, 0-0 and 1-0 and so actually moved us back a little more. Ribery is almost back after his injury layoff and we looked good with him in the side for the first two games so i am hoping that will bring some life back into the team. Callejon goes missing too often and we still need that goalscorer. Cutrone has been awful this year and Sturridge has leapfrogged him to back up striker and to be honest Vlahovic in the final three games was terrible. I might dip into the transfer window but i also have a couple of players coming back from loan spells and so i might give them a chance to perform. Franck Ribery has signed a new contract on a lower weekly wage meaning I have bought a little time for Talles Magno to develop into a first team player. I have also tied up a few others meaning we only really have Borja Valero's contract running short and the veteran is barely playing and i think its time for him to give up a place in the squad for a younger player. Talking of youth players we had our first preview come through and right now it doesnt feel like we are going to have much to work with but to be honest i am looking forward to the next summer when i can really sort through all of the youth players in the U20's and U18's and start to really shape the backroom staff as we need to develop a couple of players ourselves
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Post by Marshdweller on Nov 14, 2020 11:59:16 GMT
Given your ageing wingers and attacking struggles, would you consider switching to something like a 3-4-1-2?
I have provided plenty of evidence of my tactical shortcomings in the FM20 forum, but my only thought is that your current system might be lacking someone breaking centrally from midfield. I may be talking gibberish, but what about making the BBM into a CM(a) so that he gets forward earlier, and if you leave the AMR to provide width you would probably make the WBR into an IWB to cover the central area behind the CM(a). This could all be utter bollocks, of course.
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Post by Dirk Nowitzki on Nov 14, 2020 13:29:14 GMT
As per Dirk's advice i played around with the front 3 giving more variety in the mentalities but that resulted in the final three results of the year - 0-1, 0-0 and 1-0 and so actually moved us back a little more. Ribery is almost back after his injury layoff and we looked good with him in the side for the first two games so i am hoping that will bring some life back into the team. Callejon goes missing too often and we still need that goalscorer. Cutrone has been awful this year and Sturridge has leapfrogged him to back up striker and to be honest Vlahovic in the final three games was terrible. Oof, sorry, that's disapointing! I still think there is something to be won by changing some roles though, just not sure what it should be then. Anyway, a CL spot at the end of the season would be a great achievement!
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Post by jt on Nov 19, 2020 14:56:24 GMT
Fiorentina: January 2021 Coming into the month it was obvious our form was inconsistent as we have hung onto the European spots. However, a good run of form by our competitors could see us drop down the table. Some changes were needed. Returning playersWell rather than drop into the transfer market in January we were able to get two potential first teamers back in the squad after loan periods away. First back was Uruguayan Left wing-back Maximiliano Olivera who has been in Mexico with Juarez for the last 12 months. He comes in as an alternative to Antonio Barreca who has been hit and miss all season and gives us vital cover. He now has the rest of the season to play his way into the team otherwise he will likely be sold in the summer. The second new face is a slightly more exciting one as Brazilian striker Pedro joins and on paper he is our strongest out and out striker. He will get a starting spot over the next few months to see if he can perform any better than the current misfiring front line. On the fieldWell there has been a formation change as suggested by Marshdweller as we look to try and get more into games and hopefully turn a few of these draws into victories. So far in January we have had a right mix of results as you can see below Franck Ribery is back and he scored 3 goals in his first two games back to seal a 1-1 draw with Parma and a 3-1 victory over Cagliari but after that quick bright run of form it has been more slugged play. We should have beaten Sampdoria but just got sloppy whilst the Milan Coppa Italia side was an interesting tie where it took Penalties to seal our place in the quarter finals, as the board demanded. Lazio outclassed us in the league before the most boring of ties against Inter Milan but it does keep our generally good record against the so called bigger sides in the country. Franck Ribery changed the game against Torino as we came back from behind to win the tie. However, we ended the month going out of the Copa Italia to Inter before Napoli won a tight tie to leave the league table like this. We are right on a knife edge and to be honest i am expecting a slip down the table unless we can change something. We just need to be able to win 2 or 3 games on the bounce but the plethora of draws is hurting us. We need creativity and that is why i completed not one but two deadline deals. Deadline dealsSo two deals and partially triggered by a revolting Erick Pulgar who was incredibly annoyed i rejected a paultry offer from Sevilla for his services. I instead agreed a deal with Monaco for £10m for his services which he then turned down but i still pressed on and completed two new faces. The first was a loan as i bought in Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil to Italy on loan for a deal that is costing us around £2m in loan fees. He is getting along a bit but he has the ability to unlock a defance and he will fill the classic AM slot just behind the front two of Ribery and Pedro / Vlahovic. It is a hail mary pass and i suspect i won't sign him once his contract is up but he can't do any worse than what we have on the field at the moment. The second deal was for a young Argentine as i signed Fausto Vera for £8m from Argentinos Juniors to start as our deep lying playmaker. He genuinely could be a superstart and i suspect he knows it with a £40m release clause in his contract. It leaves our best 11 looking something like this Which on paper looks pretty good. I just need to get it to work somehow. Manager MusingsWhat has become clear is we are a bang average side and we are going to need a bigger rebuild then what i even thought but despite that we are in a real shot of Europe. If i am honest i think it will be Europa League or even the Europa Conference but with a summer to sort out the squad, bring back some of the players on loan and with some sales we might just have a team to start challenging for the Champions League spots. I fully saw Fiorentina as a 5 year project as a minimum (Much shorter for you better players) and despite the struggles i am still quite happy with where we are. If i can just get someone to score and someone to create some chances we might even do a little better. Not much to ask i hope
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Post by Reiver on Nov 19, 2020 15:16:36 GMT
We're tactic buddies! Since my last save of FM20 (funilly enough in Italy), I've been playing that formation (just with different roles)
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Post by jt on Nov 19, 2020 17:08:47 GMT
We're tactic buddies! Since my last save of FM20 (funilly enough in Italy), I've been playing that formation (just with different roles) Tell me the roles now! I need something. Defensively it is working. We conceded less XG than the average and perform pretty well. Just too stale in the midfield.
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Post by Reiver on Nov 19, 2020 18:00:46 GMT
Depending on who I go against, the WB can be on Support, and depending on who I have available in the front, the TM can be a DLF. More rarely, if I need to win the midfield, the AM slots back to an extra MC. Gave me two promotions in a row, plus a midtable finish in Serie A in FM20 and I'm confident it'll give me a top 5 finish in the Portuguese league now.
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Post by jt on Nov 20, 2020 15:36:52 GMT
Fiorentina: February & March 2021 I feel like i am constantly banging my head against the wall right now as we are on a horrible run. On the field7 Draws on the bounce. 7 bloody draws. We just can not win... or lose to be fair as we play out draw after draw. After the Crotone game i switched to Reiver's set up in terms of team instructions and also some of the player roles and there was an improvement. We should have beaten bottom of the tabe Genoa but we just kept conceding and to conceded 3 goals against an xG of 0.58 is heartbreaking. In fact we even took the lead against Roma and Juventus only to see ourselves get pegged back. Has the formation and role change worked? Very early to say but we are seeing more chances in the match. Problem is it is at both ends a little and we have a horrible trend of constantly conceding at corners at the moment. I think i counted 4 goals conceded from corners in just 3 matches and that is without me tweaking anything. On the plus side though, Ribery is back and is scoring goals. 10 goals in 14 starts from the French veteran who is showing he is easily our best play. The arrivals of Ozil and Vera have made us look better with Ozil still playing realistically - one match a world beater, the next a missing man. However, the main question is can we actually get a win as the league table is now not looking at positive. Manager MusingsThe Champions League is now a distant memory and so we are going to have to go at least one more season without playing in Europe's top division but we are right in the hunt for a Europa League spot or a Europa Conference place if worst comes to worst. The Coppa Italia final is Atalanta vs Inter and so i am going to be fully behind Atalanta for the win as that should open up another spot in the league. The real question is can i please win our 9th league game of the season
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Mikey
New Member
Wales
Posts: 100
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Post by Mikey on Nov 21, 2020 7:30:21 GMT
Ouch! All them draws. On the plus side, only Juventus have lost less games than you, so at least your defence is good.
Just need your strikers to find that winning goal, get away from them draws.
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Post by jt on Nov 21, 2020 22:32:55 GMT
Fiorentina: 20/21 End of Season Could we turn the corner and break our run of draws or will we slip completely out of the European places and end the season in a shower of mediocrity? On the field The answer is we could turn a corner as over the months of April and May we put together our best football to date. We were suddenly clicking with some slick build up play and Dusan Vlahovic suddenly became a striker worth having as he kept finding the net time after time as we picked up points. In fact over the 11 games we only drew 2 as we picked up 6 wins including three on the bounce. A 6th place finish and a place in the Europa league is nothing to sniff at and at the beginning of the season it was something i would have taken. However, having been in the Champions League spots for as long as i was, you can't help but wonder what could have been. The months of February and March really killed us and it is that killer instinct that we need more of next season as we want to progress and start to stamp our authority on this league. Next season will be our first foray into Europe for 5 years and here's hoping we can turn Europe Violet. End of season awardsDusan Vlahovic ended the season as top scorer with 15 goals and to be honest sort of saved his Fiorentina career with his form in April and May. The Serbian does need to kick on and start getting a few more 15+ stats but as an all rounder he is a solid bet. His partnership with Franck Ribery worked and the 38 year old was easily our classiest player this season. Without him in the team we do look like we are missing a little. Whilst at the back Lucas Martinez Quarta was our most consistent performer all season, never dipping under a 7.00 average rating and he really played his way into being a first name on the team sheet. A small shout out to Jose Callejon who got moved around a little as i shifted formations but not finds himself at RWB and it seems to suit him and he really started to come into his own during the back months of the season. Manager Musings & next seasons plansIll be honest the last two months of the season have really changed my thought process for what we are going to do. I was contemplating a fire sale of strikers but i think Vlahovic can do it. Ribery has a year left and even Cutrone started scoring a little at the end. What i do really want to change is the midfield and i can see at least two sales and potentially a few more. Antonio Barreca's form like Vlahovic at the end of the season was sensational and I am going to take up the option to make his loan permanent for £5.5m. We also have over 30 players coming back from loan and i need to sift through all of the youth players and release the ones that are not going to make it as well as find new homes for many of the players who were out on loan. A few may get integrated into the first team and I am also going to make a conscious effort to promote at least two youth players into the first team to keep my promise to the board of developing youth. It is not a bad budget and i think with some sales i can really boost the coffers and start to shape this team to what i want. The board are still wanting a top half finish, so no real pressure there whilst another quarter final appearance in the Coppa Italia and a 2nd Knockout round performance in the Europa League seems pretty reasonable. I want and to be honest for the sake of this save i neeed to be in the Champions league next season and that will be the aim no matter what
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Post by jt on Nov 21, 2020 23:24:14 GMT
Champions League Roundup This save can go in many directions depending on the performance of the AI and how all of the individual teams fare. If an eligible team suddenly wins the Champions League then they no longer need redemption but equally some new teams can fall short and suddenly become a viable option once I have done my job in Florence. The Champions League this year gave me the latter as we got a new member to the redemption club. That's right the money bags of Man City finally got to the final but they fell at the final hurdle to Liverpool and now become a viable team if the AI doesnt go on and win it before i get a chance to. Looking through the knock out rounds it was interesting to See Celtic get as far as they did but of course they have a European Cup to their name whilst Atalanta was the only other potential new member that made any inroads. In fact none of the existing eligible sides even made the Knockouts so what is exactly happening to the teams. Well let's go find out. England
Leeds United: A first year back in the Premiership saw a 14th place finish in the Premiership. Whilst in the cups it was a 4th round FA Cup exit and a 2nd Round exit in the Carabao Cup Arsenal: Another year of playing in the Europa League with a 5th placed finish in the Premiership. Whilst the Cup competitions didn't provide any more joy with finishes of the 5th Round in the FA Cup, QTR Final in the Carabao Cup and the First Knockout Round Europa League Tottenham: Across North London, the Scum didn't do much better with a 6th place finish in the Premiership, a Quarter Final appearance in the FA Cup, the Fourth Round of the Carabao Cup with the main highlight being the Semi Final of the Europa League
Spain
Atletico Madrid It was a mixed year for Atletico who won LaLiga, got to the Semi Final of the Copa del Rey but had a disaster in the Champions League where they came 3rd in their Group dropping into the Europa League where they were knocked out in the First round. First Knockout round Europa League. Valencia There will be no Champions League next year for Valencia with a 5th place finish in LaLiga. Whilst the Copa del Rey was not a place of joy either as they exited in the Fifth Round.
France
Reims – Champions League glory seems a long way off for Stade Reims with a 15th placed finish in Ligue 1. Their European adventure finished in the group stages of the Europa League whilst it was the 10th Round of the Coupe de France Saint Etienne – It was even worse for Saint Etienne who were relegated from Ligue 1 coming dead last whilst a 11th Round exit in the Coupe de France was their best highlight. Monaco – The Principality recovered from an awful season the year before to come 3rd in Ligue 1. It was the 11th Round of the Coupe de France PSG – Despite winning Ligue1 it was a relatively poor year for the Parisians as Celtic knocked them out of the Champions League at the First Knockout Round whilst they were surprise losers in the Semi Final of the Coupe de France. They did win the Trophees des Champions but the owners will be expecting more.
Italy
Fiorentina – See the above post for my efforts at bringing redemption. Back in Europe after a 5 year absence Roma – Roma has an awful year as they came 9th in Serie A missing out on Europe. It was a first Round exit in the Coppa Italia whilst they went out in the First Knockout Round of the Europa League Sampdoria It was no better for Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia as they too went out at the First Round whilst their league performance was even worse with 15th being their final league position.
Germany
Eintracht Frankfurt – It was an unlucky year for Frankfurt as a 5th place finish in the Bundesliga means it is the Europa League next year whilst a third Round exit in the DFB Pokal doesnt get them any nearer to being at the of the German pile. Borussia Monchengladbach – Mid table struggles for Gladbach with a 13th place finish in the Bundesliga and a very early exit in the DFB Pokal (2nd Round). The Champions League campaign wasn't great either, finishing in 3rd in the group stages pushing them into the Europa League where Dortmund knocked them out at the Quarter Final stage Bayer Leverkusen – The only of the German Redemption club to qualify for the competition next season taking a 4th place finish in the Bundesliga. However, still no silverware as it was an exit at the third round stage of the DFB Pokal and a Second Knockout Round exit in the Europa League
Greece
Panathinaikos - The once Greek Giants are in a real mess as they didnt make the top half of the table and finished in 2nd Place in the Super League Relegation Group. Whilst Olympiakos knocked them out of the Greek Cup at the 6th Round stage.
Sweden
Malmo – Malmo were crowned the 2020 Champions of Sweden and Currently sit in 2nd after 12 games of the 2021 season. A Semi final in the Swedish Cup rounded off an impressive domestic season but there is work to be done in Europe as they were Knocked out at the Third Qualifying Round of the Europa League.
Belgium
Club Brugge – Club Brugge are once again League Champions of Belgium. They could only make the Quarter Finals of the Croky Cup and they failed to progress out of their Champions League group.
Serbia
Partizan – Not a great year domestically for Partizan as they came 2nd in the Superliga whilst suffering a very early exit in the Serbian Cup. Just like Malmo they failed to qualify for the Europa League proper, exiting at just the 2nd qualifying round. A huge job to get these guys redemption. An interesting year for the Redemption club with as i said earlier, poor progression in the Champions League itself and with just 6 of the sides (Well 7 including new members Man City) out of 18 sides even qualifying for the Champions League and giving themselves a chance of Redemption. Who will be the first to leave this unwanted club? Only time will tell
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