|
Post by ttgb on Nov 26, 2018 21:03:46 GMT
Ben I have just caught up on your story so far. Again so much detail to the finer points of the game. I am glad I haven't got this version as I will be lost with the new mentoring and training. A name I haven't seen for a while! How are you? The mentoring is really simple to be fair and the training is automatically done by the assistant and, even if you want to do nothing else to it, works much better than it has in past versions. I really recommend this game to be fair, but then again I've never really been one to moan about them. I am good thanks. Slowly getting back in fm albeit fm18 after 6 months off. With the forum back up and running I can see myself getting to game sooner rather than later
|
|
ianf
New Member
Posts: 92
|
Post by ianf on Nov 27, 2018 4:23:03 GMT
Great to hear ttgb!
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 28, 2018 20:45:26 GMT
Recruitment Policy - A refinement
Initially, I had set out to be youth only then extended that to include players born within the local region called Baixo Vouga. However, I now want to slightly extend that for a couple of reasons a) there are very few players who are actually generated from these areas and b) I want to play this game for the most/all timespan of FM19 so want to experience scouting and signing players and I really won't be able to do that with the current settings. So, local region... I initially compared our Baixo Vouga region to the Basque country as that is how I intended to shape this club, however I have been mistaken by sizes. Further digging (something I love to do with any FM save) tells me that the editor and real life don't quite match in terms of local regions. But internet research tells me that the Baixo Vouga region houses roughly 300 thousand people - a really small population. Therefore - I propose that the region that I can sign players from extends to the 'Centro Region' of Portugal. Now - this is a 28 thousand km squared area of Portugal - nearly a third of the whole of the country and four times as big as the Basque country, area wise but has a population of just over 2 million, roughly the same as it's Spanish counter part. The below image shows the whole Centro Region compared with the Baixo Vouga region: Now - going back to the discrepancies between the editor and real life, it's not been easy to find a list of towns and cities in these areas - certainly not a definitive one, anyway, so I have used Wikipedia and Google Maps to find the major towns from the area. It might mean that I do miss Centro players but that, if anything, will only make it harder. Below is the list of cities I will be now recruiting from: In game - that gives me just over 1000 players - with just over 80% of those interested in joining and 1/5 of those under the age of 17 - my target age for signings. Despite this being a much larger area - we are still really focused on player development from our own club and, in the grand scheme of things, are still pretty restricted!
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 28, 2018 21:57:04 GMT
Player SaleI tend to really focus on the 'why' behind the sale when playing this type of game. I have just made this sale: So - this is my first choice winger, Joao Estevao, who has moved on to Nantes for a club record fee. With the restrictions in place which makes signing a direct replacement tough, I wanted to document my thinking behind it. He has played nearly 200 games for the club, scoring 30 goals - not a great return for an inside forward, albeit on support duty. He has been the most consistent player over the past few years - averaging over 7 in each of the last five seasons. However - the income will pay for future upgrades and I have a replacement in Larranjeira. Below is their comparison: Whilst neither player is technically great (or even good) they are both speedy and great on the counter attack. I don't think I really lose a huge amount with this sale and hopefully can use it to springboard the development of many more new youngsters.
|
|
ianf
New Member
Posts: 92
|
Post by ianf on Nov 28, 2018 22:05:33 GMT
Tough call but could payoff especially this early when he is not going to be part of you winning stuff anyway I find it hard to sell off my good players but determined to prove to myself and can sell and rebuild properly for FM19 at least once!
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 28, 2018 22:20:54 GMT
New Signing
I have just broken my transfer record (not hard as it's the first time I've spent money and only the second transfer I have made) to sign a player who doesn't fit my U18 development quota but does fit in with something I have always fancied - bringing through players from lower leagues and giving them the chance to develop in the spotlight. In comes Claudio Magalhaes for £110k. Firstly, Magalhaes is from Alcobaca, a mere 146km from our city of Aveiro so is very much from the heart of the Centro Region and has spent his entire career at third tier Leiria, scoring 34 times in 163 games as they have repeatedly won their division but fallen short in the playoffs. At 24, I doubt there will be many huge improvements to be made but I do envisage that any spare PA will be used as he'll be experiencing a much higher standard of matches which I hope will be used to increase his passing - his only real glaring weakness. I love his overall attribute balance and the fact that he is two footed - combined with many decent playmaking attributes (although they would be better with a high passing attribute, although he is aware of this due to his solid decision making). Behind the scenes - he was listed as consistent and loving big matches on his scout report - with no flags over injuries (21 in his career to date with the most serious being a hernia and a broken toe as well as a damaged Achilles tendon, although that injury was seven years ago) and his competitiveness. His 'con's now are that his crossing isn't great, he's currently a peripheral figure and he doesn't count towards the league eligibility - three minor things. He'll slot in nicely as a rotational option in the AP(S) slot and, if the coach report is accurate, could develop into a good Primeira Liga talent - which could see him move on for a decent profit when the time comes.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 1, 2018 22:22:05 GMT
Injury problems
This is why I needed to keep all of the youth intake - the succession plan of my U23 centre back moving up and then himself being replaced by one of the better U19 centre backs. Not an injury I've seen for a long time.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 2, 2018 14:41:55 GMT
Development and Progress: TelesA bit of a thinking out loud exercise with this lad, Teles. He's 17 now and well and truly good enough to be part of the first team, plus, is probably rated extremely highly for versatility as has learnt his new position, from ineffectual to natural in a little under two years (but has played there every week for youth teams). Below is a quick indication of his development: He is developing really well and is still listed as promising (although now as an attacking midfielder rather than a forward). I play him as an IF(A) on the left wing, due to him being right footed. Currently - he has the 'likes to beat offside trap' as his only player trait - which, even with poor decisions is great as it means that he plays right on the shoulder of the backline, almost like a wide forward. He is most dangerous though, when he picks the ball up in places like shown below, but has an issue when he gets to his final position, as his shooting is relatively poor. This is a perfect example of his pace having the better of the full back (#14), even on the outside and then him cutting back onto his right foot. Sadly, he fluffed the shot straight at the keeper and that is pretty much the common theme for this. So - I want to look at how to make the best of this player now that he's on the periphery of my first team. I've highlighted some of the key stuff there to see. He fits the position due to his footedness and my gegenpress/high intensity style is all about the overload in the final third so this is great but he doesn't really excel at any of the shooting, passing or crossing stuff. What I do see useful though, different from the original setting, is this: If he sits narrower - it eliminates the wider starting position and reduces the chances for a good defender to keep him wide and force the cross. There are few full backs in this league that can match his pace, combined with ability to dribble and then out-muscle him if they get close, so having him in that half space between the full back (now with the chance to turn him the wrong way) and the centre back will be ideal. The AP(s) will be able to link up and feed him the ball, ready to charge towards the goal. Looking closer at Teles himself, I was going to teach him some traits - the first being cuts inside and the second being to run with the ball. However, due to the role he is most suited to, I think these are just repeats of his team instructions and aren't the most necessary, at this point. Further down the line, I may choose to add them - particularly if I feel that he's not following the team instructions/my instructions for players around him are not allowing him to play his natural game - but I think, at the moment, I need to give him a trait that will help another part of his game - his finishing. These are all of the things I can teach him to do in addition to what he'd normally do. I feel these are necessary because he simply is lacking in this area. * Free kicks - maybe, but not going to help with the situation. * Long shots - This is a weakness so I don't want to encourage it * Lob the keeper - He is composed and has good technique but he's not central to the goal, making the angle harder and his poor decisions means he'll be trying it all the time. * Round the keeper - if judging every future chance by the above screenshot, he's not at the right angle and will have had to beat defenders to be there - so there may be cover past the GK anyway. * Blast the ball - good strength, aggression and technique - but considering the angle he may be cutting in from - has the potential to go badly wrong. * Place shots - good composure, flair and technique but his poor finishing means that this may just be a pass to the keeper. * Rifle free kicks - not helpful for now. * First time shots - good composure, but where he picks the ball up from will potentially lead to long shots * Overhead kicks - Not from where he'll get the ball from * No long shots - not really an issue right now. Given everything there - I think blasting the ball would work the best. He's cut inside between 18 and 6 yards out facing the keeper and a well struck, powerful shot has a good chance of either beating him at the near or far post. There is the potential for this to be utterly wild but maybe the AF(A) or even if the IF(S) on the other side would be on hand to collect the ball. My assistant, a good finisher himself in Rodrigo Palacios - thinks otherwise: But he thinks we should teach him to stick to the right hand side of the pitch (yeah, ok?) so clearly I win this one. He thinks 'it's probably going to be a waste of time' and, if it is, we can always undo it.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 2, 2018 22:12:54 GMT
Player SaleAnother 'justifying to myself' kind of deal here. I've completed the below sale: On paper, Resende should be a really top player - but I've been thinking about his, and other's, development through my youth teams. I believe that it's far harder to just throw a player into the first team this year and allow them to perform - as shown by Resende's 5 goals in 50 games. He was generated at a time where I had less infrastructure and less squad depth, so, was forced to promote him to the first team and throw him in at the proverbial deep end. However, he has performed ok in every area except for goals. £900k is a decent mark up on his current value and moving to Palace maintains his position in the shop window - hopefully helping me out financially if he can cut it in England. He has, however, only been granted a youth work permit, which may hold him back in the first instance. I will compare him to the player who will be replacing him, Andre Folha. Now, Folha has made remarkable developments from when he first came into the team and I have strictly monitored his development - bringing him off the bench and playing him in cup games. Rather than throwing him into the team as a 2* 16 year old, he's now 18 and has 8 goals in 12 career games - three of those goals coming in the league. He's played in the same youth team as Teles (I really would like them to have developed a relationship on/off field but sadly that doesn't seem possible) and is now ready for the first team, rather than being in the first team to be ready. I have quite a few other players who are in similar situations, CA wise, who I am trying to nurture enough to be ready to come into the team and excel: Pereira has made more appearances this season that I would consider normal due to the injury of Raposo but I am ensuring that Bolas, Lima and Pinto are slowly introduced into the first team.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 2, 2018 22:28:21 GMT
Player SigningsA couple of new acquisitions as I look to form a stronghold of young players from the area: Gabriel moves 40km down the coast from Sever do Vouga for the cost of £30k from Olivieirense - in the third tier. Centre back is not really a position I have a huge amount of depth in and he's reasonably solid across the board, except for his poor heading and awful leadership. He's listed as consistent and nothing has been flagged up about injuries and this, combined with a good personality, should see some good growth. My second signing from Leiria, this lad makes the 120km journey north on the Atlantic coast to join my U23 squad and is immediately third in line on my depth chart. My scouts liked him and, due to the fact he's classed as a CWB, tells me that there aren't any glaring weaknesses. I am concerned that, at 5'3", he's very small for a full back but looks good on the ball and going forward. He cost £90k.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 6, 2018 20:51:43 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 7, 2018 21:26:41 GMT
Season Nine Review
Missing out on a Champions League place by one goal scored. Seems a reason to be distraught but I am, overall, delighted by our play this season. We've been simply sensational at times and a draw against Porto and a 2-0 victory over Sporting showing that we can actually mix it, despite finishing some twenty points behind Porto. A run to the final of the Taca de Portugal (the other cup - not the one we won a few years back) sees the end to our most successful season to date. I have once again tried to heavily rotate but, when players are in such good form, changing the XI becomes tough. Youngster Andre Folha has developed into my favourite player of this save - the 18 year old led my scoring charts in his breakout season and, at times, it looked impossible for him to miss the net. I like that, despite his poor stat for shots every 90, he scores the vast majority of them - just under three quarters, which shows that a) he's pretty clinical and b) he's getting these shots away in the best possible places. He came second in the league top scorer charts, with 15 and won the Taca de Portugal top scorer too. Inside forward Teles has finished the season really strongly after a mixed start and scored a magnificent goal - exactly as discussed a few posts back, picking the ball up in the inside left channel on the half way line, skinning three of four, cutting back inside and beating the keeper. He too reached double figures for goals and I hope he continues his development. Volante Vieira completes my top three best players this year - 9 goals is a record high from the DM position and he's becoming an incredibly cultured and important player for us. I have made a slight tweak, moving my right sided attacker, Larranjeira to a W(s) so have moved Vieira to the right sided DM role which has allowed great link up, as opposed to running in to the space Teles occupies in the IF(a) role. The space also has allowed him to start deep but still get forward as much. Despite only being 19, he has now made 142 appearances for us - a great record. As we move into season number ten - I want to enjoy our time in the Europa League whilst continuing to try and pick up the best local, young talent.
|
|
|
Post by ttgb on Dec 8, 2018 8:02:17 GMT
Excellent work Ben.
Is there a way of transferring the squad views from fm18 to fm19?
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 8, 2018 22:22:08 GMT
Excellent work Ben. Is there a way of transferring the squad views from fm18 to fm19? Not that I could find when I moved my stuff over. Does this mean you have made the purchase?!
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 8, 2018 22:49:19 GMT
Player SalesPedro had fallen back to fourth choice centre back and, although decent physically and above average mentally - is really really technically deficient. As such, he simply didn't fit in with my desired style of football and has been moved on for £160k. He made 136 league appearances across the three levels for me and I am surprised that Real have taken a chance on him, considering that they're not too far from our level. Another experienced player, with 110 appearances for the club and an example of successful retraining, with Balde becoming the backup Segundo Volante in his later time at the club. However, it is probably the 'square peg in round hole' problem that he has fallen in to - too poor defensively for a DMC and not good enough offensively for a proper AMC. He too stays in the Primeira Liga but Chaves are a much smaller side than ours. Francisco Bolas will be promoted to the first team to replace him - and is probably a better player already. A big one. I am trying to play this game as realistically as I can, and one of those things is to make sure I accept sensible approaches for my players. There is no chance that a club of the size of Beira-Mar, with the finances we currently have and the reputation of the league we play in would allow us to say no to a deal of this size. Trabulo is clearly a great player and was one of my best but there are several re-assuring signs here. Firstly, the contract he has signed at Fulham is massive - with a year left on his £4k p/w deal in Aveiro, there was thoughts that he might be leaving for nothing at the end of this season. Secondly, looking at his development - he hasn't actually developed technically in the last five years. I know that he is an anomaly of a player - coming through being ready for the first team, but that would tell me that there isn't any potential left. He's great for us but I don't really think he's got the ability to make a regular international full back. Tiago Ricardo hasn't developed as much as have liked over the past season but he'll be promoted into the first team in the absence of Luis.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 8, 2018 22:50:41 GMT
|
|
|
Post by ttgb on Dec 9, 2018 9:35:57 GMT
Excellent work Ben. Is there a way of transferring the squad views from fm18 to fm19? Not that I could find when I moved my stuff over. Does this mean you have made the purchase?! Yes I bought it about a week ago. Haven't had much chance to play it yet though. Managed half a season with Hamburg and getting into that save, whilst looking round for a long term save.
|
|
ianf
New Member
Posts: 92
|
Post by ianf on Dec 10, 2018 17:51:18 GMT
Wow that seems like a big overpay by an English team... Great progress Ben. Almeida needs some mentoring but could be very good - any insights on how to get the best out of mentoring system?
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 11, 2018 22:21:44 GMT
Incoming DealInstead of splashing the cash like the rest of the world, my deadline day was used to tie up a deal for a 16 year old. André Guilherme signs from Benfica Castelo Branco, of the third tier, and the lad from Coimbra, just 50 miles away, moves for the grand total of £18k. He's been at the club for a couple of months now and his perceived potential has risen from 3* gold (1* black) to 4 and 1 - a significant increase overall. I was drawn to his fantastic personality - which has allowed me to deploy him in the U23 team, playing with players who are nearly 50% older than himself even though his attribute set may not actually be of equal ability. Since this decision, he has grown half a star in ability and I feel his playing time spent with better players (obviously not to the level of first team as he is yet to make his debut) has been beneficial to him. I was drawn to his dribbling, passing, technique, vision and flair as a creative midfielder but also appreciate his work rate and stamina as part of my high pressure approach. I plan to keep him away from mentoring groups as there is nothing that could better his personality nor a team average that can improve his determination. Likewise, I will leave his traits alone as they suit him. Going forward - I would like to make him a little quicker so that he can move more aggressively past people to add another facet to his passing ability and I would really like him to be able to finish once he does get into those good positions. A signing I'm really excited about developing.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 11, 2018 22:22:52 GMT
'Wonderkid' statusThe first of, hopefully, many!
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 11, 2018 22:24:58 GMT
Wow that seems like a big overpay by an English team... Great progress Ben. Almeida needs some mentoring but could be very good - any insights on how to get the best out of mentoring system? I hope so - I am missing a player of that ilk to be fair. I'm keeping it really simple at the moment - one or two first team players with either good personality or determination and the youngster I'm trying to develop. Not doing anything special between squads at the moment - have had a look at mentoring with the U23 and U19 team but I can't seem to find anyone who makes a real difference as 'group' leader.
|
|
|
Post by shrewnaldo on Dec 12, 2018 23:38:46 GMT
Just starting reading this, after a twitter recommendation from Samo. Still got lots to catch up on but just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying it so far. Great stuff.
|
|
|
Post by jawzy on Dec 13, 2018 22:19:58 GMT
Teles looks nice, and wow, an old name from ages, the Shrewnldo
|
|
lee
New Member
Posts: 5
|
Post by lee on Dec 14, 2018 9:08:38 GMT
Teles looks nice, and wow, an old name from ages, the Shrewnldo Nailed it there. Certainly an OLD name from the ages.
|
|
|
Post by shrewnaldo on Dec 14, 2018 23:34:35 GMT
Teles looks nice, and wow, an old name from ages, the Shrewnldo Nailed it there. Certainly an OLD name from the ages. Unnecessary
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 15, 2018 12:10:17 GMT
shrewnaldo - fantastic to see you posting on a forum - been following the blog and twitter since the 'olden days.' Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying as much as I am!
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 15, 2018 12:11:07 GMT
Europa League ProgressMy first foray into Europe is going well after we overcame this tough group. The impact of travelling has had a major impact on the players with long trips to Moscow and Tiraspol and this has had a noticeable hangover to our following league fixtures, meaning that we've somewhat faltered out way through the early stages of the league. Another consideration is that the size of the first team squad is simply too small to handle a 34 game league season, two domestic cups and a European adventure - with 27 games being played already as I approach the end of December 2028.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 16, 2018 20:52:51 GMT
Season 10 Youth IntakeI'm really happy with this intake as it solves another area where I'm having trouble recruiting and growing my own quality. Pedro Tinoco has the makings of a decent winger and, with some help, may fit in a bit better with my pressing style than I've had before - due to his decent work rate and physical attributes. Leonardo Pimenta has some decent mezzala-esque attributes - which would give me another option in the middle of the park, should he develop enough. Estevao and Madureira are a contrasting pair of centre backs with the latter being completely unable to head the ball (something that I'm perplexed about is the widespread lack of heading ability in my game) and Hugo Silva adds some more potential to an already decent set of goalkeepers.
|
|
|
Post by shrewnaldo on Dec 16, 2018 23:38:39 GMT
shrewnaldo - fantastic to see you posting on a forum - been following the blog and twitter since the 'olden days.' Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying as much as I am! Very much enjoying the read. I followed your last save in Portugal I think, which was really good too. Any tips for scouting for personalities? Can you ask your scouts to search for particular personalities or is it just using the custom views on the scouting screen? I'm playing a C&C game and youth development is equally key for me. Been having quite a bit of trouble in mentoring players into better personalities and some players' attributes are very difficult to improve, even when there's remaining potential.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Dec 17, 2018 19:48:17 GMT
shrewnaldo - fantastic to see you posting on a forum - been following the blog and twitter since the 'olden days.' Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying as much as I am! Very much enjoying the read. I followed your last save in Portugal I think, which was really good too. Any tips for scouting for personalities? Can you ask your scouts to search for particular personalities or is it just using the custom views on the scouting screen? I'm playing a C&C game and youth development is equally key for me. Been having quite a bit of trouble in mentoring players into better personalities and some players' attributes are very difficult to improve, even when there's remaining potential. That must have been Setubal from back on FM12 or similar! I do remember that the game was a watershed in some ways - I went into proper depth with player development for this first time ever. None, really - I have my filters on the scouting screen which omit any players not from the given cities (not sure if you've read that far yet?) and then just go from there. There aren't really enough quality players to actually scout for good personalities - merely trawl through the reports and make a decision on what my scouts find. Mentoring has worked really well for me actually - due another update.
|
|