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Post by Ben on Jun 6, 2019 22:02:19 GMT
Amadou Diawara - the gift that keeps on giving...
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Post by Ben on Jun 7, 2019 16:59:34 GMT
2026/27 Mid season Review
A couple of evenings worth of pure investment into the game has seen me fly through another half season and move towards the top of the league. We are much more potent going forward actually managing to score more than twice a game, something we didn't do last season. A strange week in November saw two very heavy defeats against poor teams - which knocked us back fro our strong start. We have been a little inconsistent, particularly towards the latter part of this half-season but chasing down Cesena is my main ask now!
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Post by Ben on Jun 8, 2019 14:33:43 GMT
Season 2026/27 Youth IntakeI am still utterly shocked that the small city of Serravalle is producing so many footballers, year on year and we are not even a big footballing team at this point. I am less happy, however, with the personalities that the people of Serravalle have towards football - probably knowing that they aren't all going to reach the heights of professional football and that they may end up representing a team ranked in the bottom 20% of the world. Immediately from this, I have identified a player that I like the look of - Davide Zafferani. He's a DLP, which requires a good spread of attributes for my assistant to think that this is his best role, he's a team leader - so I would indicate he's probably one of the better players and has better CA and he's also Sammarinese, which is great for us. Below is the personality/media handling breakdown: Media FriendlyThis is similar to balanced and covers options which aren't covered by anything else. Fairly SportingSportsmanship 15-20, Determination 10-14, Ambition 1-14 Professionalism <15 Not ideal - he's reasonably determined but not hugely ambitious nor hugely professional. The squad is listed as professional so hopefully that will have a knock on effect and most of the established players also share a good level of determination, so I wouldn't expect to see that move too much. Should he become a top player for my first team, I am unsure that he has exactly the right personality to be a team leader. He lists U20 manager Valerio Rosseti as his only favoured person - he has a determined personality but is also media friendly so I cannot take anything from the mentoring the manager had on him as a youth product. However, his playing style is passing and his coaching style is mental - two things which I feel he has influenced on Zafferani. He would also fit into his preferred formation of a 4-2-3-1 wide, in either the MC, AMC or AMR position. Here is what he looks like: Natural in two positions gives me a nice choice - to play him as a deeper playmaker in the middle, in competition with Mularoni and Maiolo or to use him in a weaker area of the team - AMC. His player trait isn't the best for what I want, especially not that far forward, so I will look to remove that from him. I would like him to be an engache or similar, a proper #10, to take into account his good first touch, passing and overall technique combined with flair, decisions and balance. He isn't the best off the ball so I do worry that the free-role will see him go missing at times but his training for the Engache role does focus on that. I want him to beef up a little bit - he's small and weak, mainly so that he can hold his own on the ball - particularly when we are at a level where the teams around us don't necessarily try and play football themselves. Looking behind his attributes - I am told that he is consistent. In his intended role this means he should be able to maintain good performances unless he is marked out of the game. I also like to think that being consistent means a little about that his individual facets are good too - like his passing accuracy will always be consistent, similar to the amount of chances he creates. He does have a competitive streak, a reasonably good/high level of aggression and is very brave Once his trait is removed - I think that I want him to move into channels and try killer balls, as these are both things I think would work with his attributes (minus possible his vision, which again should grow with his schedule). I might experiment with the dictates tempo but I do worry that having a player so far up the pitch that is the focal point to the attack may lead us to danger when he is not on form or marked out of the team. Likewise, I may get him to ease off tackles given his competitive nature - although that is not one I will necessarily focus on early in his career. For now, Davide will play a part within the first team it is pretty weak. My backroom team feel that he will improve a lot in the future, which is fantastic.
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Post by Ben on Jun 8, 2019 18:47:02 GMT
2026/27 End of Season Review
CHAMPIONS! One of the most relieving feelings I've had playing FM over the past few years - particularly when it has taken us seven seasons to make the first step up the ladder. We managed to claw back the seven point deficit from Cesena with some efficient football and a fantastic winning, and not conceding, streak. I haven't been hugely involved with the on-field slog to this point, admittedly, preferring to watch some highlights of the match and speed through - this will change from now on with our arrival in what is considered nearly the big time. Looking at the players below - I have every reason to think that we do need to be more than astute tactically to survive: The difference between this season and previous seasons is goalscoring - or more specifically, having a striker that has scored heavily, although, even this achievement has been at the expense of any one else making a real mark. Manca, Muratori and Giorgetti, common names for this accolade - all performed well and led the average ratings although I do plan to move them back on to their favoured sides next year - and still keep them as IWBs. This screen still shows the massive issue I have with squad depth - the gap between minutes played two thirds of the way down is extreme but, quite simply, these players are/are no longer good enough to warrant first team football. My intakes have been good but not hugely deep and I've not been able to flesh out more than just a solid starting line up. Time to start prep for a long old slog next season!
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Post by ttgb on Jun 8, 2019 19:18:59 GMT
Well done Ben. Strange that you were champions but only 4 players averaged over 7
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Post by fmamerican on Jun 8, 2019 20:34:47 GMT
Congrats on the Serie C title
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Post by Ben on Jun 8, 2019 20:48:11 GMT
2027/28 Pre Season: Part 1 - Analysing the squadSince removing the stars, sharing what my squad looks like has become significantly more difficult. Never the less - I have created an overview again (last time I did this may well have been the starting squad and there are only four remaining players from seven years ago). Initially - I would say that the squad is very bland. There are no leaders within the team based on personality or media handling and the pull of the 'professional' squad hasn't had a big impact on anyone, really. I have a professional backroom and I am spending time developing this but even with my younger players- Arzilli (F.Det), Bianchi (Light-Hearted) and Zafferani (F.Sport) - the abundance of professionalism isn't there. I have added Determination to that column as well but, again, that doesn't show too much - except for Bianchi and Arzilli leading the way, probably because it hasn't been brought down by the rest of the squad. Pellini is, sadly, lacking enough determination to even colour the cell! Next - I have decided to screenshot all of the numerical numbers and create an average of the hidden cells. The colour scheme matches that of the attributes: 1-5 is white, 6-9 is light green, 10-14 is dark green and 15-20 is gold. This matches with their 'colour' on the comparison screen but, as of yet, I've found no way of getting the colours exported. I figured that copying and pasting four hundred odd numbers hasn't really given away anything for me by seeing the attributes and it does make for an interesting thing. I could definitely break that down a lot further and look at specifics - attacking play, defensive play, set pieces etc but that might come in time. It does show that we are all weak technically - something which should probably make possession football harder than it needs to be. Naturally, my better performers tend to be those who are better mentally and we have a surprisingly high average physically - yet are the weakest and have the least stamina when comparing our club to the rest of Serie B. I have then taken a look at the coach reports and gathered information about hidden attributes. It is really positive to see that we are becoming versatile, something I alluded to in an early post. We have nearly weeded out all of those who hate big matches, with just two non-newgens left and there are a lot less one-footed players than ever before. Sadly, consistency seems to be a big issue but I would expect that with a squad who's average age is a little over 21. I have looked into the roles that I feel the players can play in, some of which do not fit my 'first choice' tactics but I will be planning to implement a kind of 'if x plays, adopt this strategy' which I will try and document. As you can see, from the coach ratings - some of the team is cut out for this league, but there is a substantial chunk who are not. I can build a team around Stefanelli - Muratori - Selva - Manca - Giorgetti, all of whom are good enough to play at this level. Add in to that a midfield combo of Maiolo and Mularoni with Molinari up top, and we have a base of players who should be ok. However, the issue comes when trying to supplement those players or deal with injury worries. My plan, over the course of pre-season, is to get the team playing how I want them and then delve deep into training and preparation!
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Post by Ben on Jun 8, 2019 20:49:05 GMT
Well done Ben. Strange that you were champions but only 4 players averaged over 7 Thank you! I know! We didn't really ever play fantastic football though, and, with not scoring a huge amount - players didn't really pick up high ratings.
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Post by Ben on Jun 8, 2019 20:49:29 GMT
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Post by fmamerican on Jun 8, 2019 20:56:02 GMT
Ride that goalkeeper for as long as you can.
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Post by Robson on Jun 8, 2019 23:06:05 GMT
Ride that goalkeeper for as long as you can.
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Post by Ben on Jun 9, 2019 14:50:30 GMT
Player profile - Andrea Arzilli
A player that I didn't profile when he came into the team as, to be fair, my coaches got pretty much everything wrong with him. I kept him on as he looked the best of a terrible bunch two years ago since then he has made some fantastic strides in his development. Here is his attribute development (still haven't found a way of hiding those '1s' and '2's but the key information is that he, even at this level and age, has made major improvements in the last 12 months. To find out why, I have delved a little deeper into his personality and media handling style: Fairly DeterminedDetermination 15-17 Professionalism <15, Leader <19 Level HeadedProfessionalism 13-20, Loyalty 12-20 From this, I can ascertain that he has professionalism of either 13,14 or 15 (I'm not trying to find exact numbers, but this ball-park figure would suggest that it is good, not great) and is pretty loyal to the club. I do wonder what will happen to his personality if/when his determination drops below the 15, which it is almost certain to do given the overpowered-ness of the feature that brings them all to a rough line. I've always been really interested in looking at the favoured personnel of these youth players - especially when it even says that 'x player has been brought through with influence from x coach' or words to that meaning. Whilst it does not list every coach who has had any kind of impact on every player, I am always trying to look for some kind of link. There must be a reason why we are informed to get a good HOYD, with a good personality etc and to see his link with the players. It may only be a small area, but I do try and get the best youth coaches with the best personalities I can. Below are the two players listed on Arzilli's profile: Valerio Rosetti (U20 Manager) - F.Det and Media Friendly. 4-2-3-1 wide, prefers short passing, adventurous style and is a mental coaching specialist.Fairly DeterminedDetermination 15-17 Professionalism <15, Leader <19 Media FriendlyThis is similar to balanced and covers options which aren't covered by anything else. Rosetti shares a very similar level of determination and, I would imagine, a similar level of professionalism. Arzilli would fit into any side managed by Rosetti as he would play at the tip of an attacking foursome. He's ok mentally, which might suggest that Rosetti hasn't passed on too much of his coaching to him but a F9 (or at least a player who could potentially play in that kind of role) does fit the short passing, adventurous style. Francesco Valiani (a real player - link to his wikipedia page) - M.Citizen and Unflappable. 4-4-1-1, short passing, attacking and tactical.Model Citizen Determination 14-20, Professionalism 15-20, Ambition 12-20, Loyalty 15-20, Pressure 14-20, Sportsmanship 15-20, Temperament 15-20 Unflappable Temperament 15-20, Pressure 15-20 Again - I feel that the determination level could be passed on as well as the loyalty of Valiani. I can't really ascertain much more about him - the pressure and sportsmanship probably haven't been passed over as there is no positive or indication on a coach report (thrives in high pressure matches/has a competitive streak). Again, Arzilli would fit into any Valiani managed side and the short passing and attacking style fits the kind of mould that he is developing into. So what do I want from him... We want to play a slick passing style, retaining possession and working the ball through the areas, utilising the space that we can make. Therefore, I think that rules out a PF or an AF (Molinari plays as an AF as that is where he is comfortable but he is often carried in the build up play for us) and leaves us with a CF or F9 will be the best options. I do have an issue with playing an F9 and an EG because they are both dropping deep but that is an issue I will look at addressing when it is needed. The F9 is described as below: What do I need from Arzilli? Well certainly a more technical player. With his pace - coming deep to pick the ball up, being able to orchestrate play and then also being fast enough to take players on or make a late dash into the box could see him being a very dangerous threat. In the short term, I will be focusing on his shooting as it impacts his finishing, long shots and technique, before moving to his passing and then his attacking movement. I want to see what he looks like and how he plays in the F9 role before adding any traits specific to that, in case it doesn't work out. Hopefully he can fulfil whatever potential he has and be an important player for us!
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Post by Ben on Jun 10, 2019 21:05:14 GMT
Forced salesSome deadline day this is turning out to be...
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Post by Robson on Jun 10, 2019 22:00:46 GMT
Interesting post Ben about Arzilli. I always liked your studies into parts of the game such as training, mentoring, personalities etc. Be sure to update the thread with any definitive conclusions you draw from it.
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Post by Ben on Jun 11, 2019 20:25:18 GMT
August/September 2027
Coming in at 1000-1 to win this league, I think we have made a really promising start to the season. I would say that we have been in each of the games, excluding the first fifteen minutes of the Empoli tie, and we have run the larger sides of the league, Frosinone and Brescia, close. We are going to struggle - that is a given, considering we have the smallest budget, by over £1m an year, the smallest capacity, stadium and, on the whole, weakest squad.
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Post by Ben on Jun 11, 2019 20:26:32 GMT
Interesting post Ben about Arzilli. I always liked your studies into parts of the game such as training, mentoring, personalities etc. Be sure to update the thread with any definitive conclusions you draw from it. Thank you! I'm not sure these players are really 'worth' my time investing in, yet. But I have always seen games like this a slog at the start before finally becoming a big team - this time, I'm happy to slow the pace down and get involved with these considerably poorer players.
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Post by Ben on Jun 12, 2019 17:54:55 GMT
October/November 2027And here is the struggle. Once again, aside from the Latina tie, we have pretty much been in every game. Losing to Cremonese, at home, was a poor result despite a good performance but only Benevento and Bari are currently in view in the table - showing that this run was tough. I have held off from looking at anything tactically up until now - I stuck with what worked last year and, on the whole, am 'happy' with what I'm seeing this year; we are in games and we clearly have much poorer players, but I want to take a closer look over the next couple of months to see what I can get from this bunch to set us in good stead for the future. Financially - here is our current picture: The £2.575m raised from player sales has massively helped us as we are now comfortably in the black. Projections suggest that I should finish this season with a positive bank balance but this may be offset by prize money if we stay in this division. Whilst relegation wouldn't ruin us financially, and the money gained from staying in Serie B isn't hugely different, we need to ensure we are a team who can stay profitable. Here is our current books for November: Each big spike of income signifies season tickets, prize money and player sales - with small bumps coming from the moves of Amadou Diawara. What concerns me is that our income simply does not match our expenditure at this time. Ideally - TV revenue is static each month (I have no historical data but we have accrued just over £400k for four months of this season) which means that, at this point, we can just about cover our player wages. What worries me here though is there is literally nothing that can come close to covering the cost of our staff wages. I have gone a little overboard, hiring eight senior coaches, three youth coaches plus managers for each age group team - giving me a staffing cost of more than the playing cost. I either need to trim down the playing staff (I only have 32 players in my entire squad to this point), trim down the coaching staff or find some ways of income that are repeatable and monthly! We do open up December with a cup tie away at Serie A Atalanta. Whilst we are rank outsiders, it should be a lucrative affair!
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Post by Ben on Jun 13, 2019 21:21:11 GMT
December 2027/January 2028Despite being, once again, incapable of drawing a game, we have picked up some valuable points in the past two months that have moved us out of the drop zone. December kicked off with what I thought would be a money spinning tie - just £40k was received from ticket sales and an eightieth minute goal saw us only given £9k as losers. Going forward - maybe this is the kind of tie I want to be having at home? On paper, a double header against Udinese and Parma sounds bad but they are both shadows of their former selves and we picked up a good win over Crociati, who are now sitting in sixth place. A poor start to the year was made slightly better with a good home victory over Brescia, another good team in this league, in seventh. The transfer window is about to slam shut and I have been able to keep my players this time, even with some moaning from the humongous amount of interest. Every player does have their price, and that is something that I want to ensure stays throughout this journey, but I literally do not have the squad depth to allow this - we are now under 30 contracted players across the three squads and the vast majority of those, outside the first XI definitely, are not good enough for this level and never will be.
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Post by Ben on Jun 14, 2019 17:33:50 GMT
2027/28 Youth IntakeAt a time where I have little understanding of where I want to take this team tactically - a youth intake that provides me potentially some good players in a variety of positions can only be seen as a good one. I was hoping, of course, that the reputation boost brought about a new level to the quality of youth intake and a number of these prospects could walk into the first team picture, as backup at least. That isn't the case but there are a couple of players I have picked out to be watched as they grow. With our financial strain as it is - I haven't been able to sign all of them so there may well be a chance that the Sammarinese Messi has walked away from this club with myself and my backroom team being incorrect. Below are the top three from the intake: Canti is the first player I noticed in this intake - as he has a couple of attributes in the extremely good range (but one being natural fitness which isn't really specific to his overall ability). His report reckoned he was already good enough for Serie C with the potential to improve a lot in the future. His positioning, for me, is up in the air, as I decide whether I want to use wingers in the AM strata or in the Midfield strata but hopefully converted him back to an ML won't be too tough. Balanced and Volatile (Temperament 3-6) is not the best recipe for development of a youngster but I reckon, with his good passing, first touch and physicals, along with his great technique - first team football could be what is required to get him to develop. Sadly, Percassi is not eligible for San Marino but will certainly need to find his way as a footballer before being considered. With nothing more than an average (at best) set of technical stats (remember - these could all be 9's and 'pop' to 10's soon) he doesn't actually look very good, at all. He's quite good physically, if a little slight but does make good decisions. I need to decide how I want to push his development - attacking, defensive or box-to-box are essentially the options and I'd be probably thinking about the latter hoping that his F.Pro (Professionalism 15-17, Temperament 11-20) Level Headed (Professionalism 13-17, Loyalty 12-20) will allow that to develop. Cochis is the last player I have highlighted - he is pretty quick, works hard, makes good decisions and can head a ball. He is lacking a lot in the other technical areas and, as such, wouldn't really fit in with any kind of possession play but he certainly seems like someone who could play on the last man. He's very one footed, which I dislike and will attempt to amend immediately, but there is a decent base. Balanced/Outspoken (Controversy 15-20) is, again, not the ideal combination for best development but I will do the best I can do!
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Post by Ben on Jun 14, 2019 17:57:05 GMT
February/March 2038Looking back, this doesn't look great. However - four defeats and four games where we picked up points is probably as good as I'm going to get at this point. My big concern is clearly goals, or lack of them. 2 months without a goal for a striker is a real worry - with neither Molinari nor Arzilli able to find the net and not much luck from elsewhere. With players positioned pretty much according to their best roles, we've been lining up in predominantly a flat 4-5-1 although have played a range of formations - 4-1-2-3, 4-3-3 and even a strikerless 4-1-2-3-0 but have really been unable to find both a style and shape that suits us. The next eight games are pivotal - stay up and we have a shot at making ourselves better over the next few seasons. Go down, and we lose two thirds of this already depleted squad and are back to square one - tactically and team selection.
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Post by Ben on Jun 14, 2019 20:20:24 GMT
April/May 2028We have, just about, done enough to stay in this division although we do face an extra two game playout against Pescara next month (stupidly long break between end of season and playout, which is annoying). A slight tweak tactically, of which I will run through over the summer months, has seen us a little more dominant going forward, even if we have only managed to score more than one goal five times over the course of the season. The little run of form came at a time when teams around us were flailing and, as such, have finished a comfortable seven points above the automatic relegation zone. We now rest and prepare for the biggest two games of my time in San Marino.
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Post by Ben on Jun 14, 2019 21:10:57 GMT
2027/28 End of Season ReviewEven though Pescara were sat in 17th in Serie B, they were a big club - predicted fourth with a striker up top who cost them just over £5m. However, we successfully dismantled them and, as such, stay in the division for next season. In the end - they offered very little and I knew that two draws would see us through as higher 'seeds' - giving us a big boost after the first leg. That leaves the table looking like this: Overall, an ugly season that leaves me with absolute delight. Due to the intricate nature of these promotions and relegations - we are lucky that we have four new teams to this league and, hopefully, gives us four teams that we are better than. We certainly need to find ourselves once again as we played some pretty dull football - only 24 goals scored, the second highest amount of defeats in the league and, as previously mentioned, only scoring more than once on five occasions. As you can see - there are not a huge amount of high performing players here, but, then again, I would expect that from a team that were ninety minutes away from relegation. On the plus side, Molinari comfortably reached double figures despite a barren spell in the new year but there was little support from the midfield in terms of goals. Stefano Stefanelli kept thirteen clean shirts, taking his total to 106 in just 203 games. There has been breakthroughs for Davide Zafferini and Alessandro Bianchi this year but we are still horribly short in terms of depth and those depth players are struggling, such are Arzilli - who is still unable to open his career scoring record. Next year is much the same - remain in this league!
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Post by Ben on Jun 16, 2019 13:51:27 GMT
August/September 2028Can we stop the season right now? We still have some frailties - losing 4-0 at home to the side currently bottom of the table being one of them, but this has been a magnificent start, capped off with a well fought away draw against a side who are far too big to even be entertaining this league, Torino. The move to a slightly more offensive shape hasn't really been at a detriment to our defensive solidity, casting aside the four goals we gifted Avelino. Andrea Arzilli failed to find the net in his first 15 games for the club but my trust in him, and moving Molinari to the wing, seems to be paying off as he leads our, and the leagues, scoring chart at this point. I do remember being relatively happy with the start last season and then watching it all fall down. I feel that we are in a better position this time around but I don't expect to keep this up for the long run!
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Post by Nick on Jun 16, 2019 15:55:50 GMT
Some great progress, Ben - I've just caught up!
Last season was all about staying in the division, even if it meant the playoff. You did that so it's job done. What the hell were Udinese doing down there? And Torino this season? Neither of them have any place being down in Serie B.
Great to see Arzilli hit form, especially after such a long barren spell, but as we saw last season, this could be far from over! Hopefully you can maintain form on the positive side of inconsistent and do enough to avoid that playoff this year.
Do you think you are benefiting from a settled squad? Team cohesion, dressing room atmosphere and managerial support must be very high and squad dynamics seem very important on this version.
How are San Marino doing, out of interest? Are you finding your players are managing to influence the national side, even at this early stage? Have they won a game yet?
edit
I also really like that little excel chart you put at the end of each season review. It's a great way to track progress over a long period. I'll have to steal that idea for my next long term save.
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Post by Ben on Jun 16, 2019 17:37:05 GMT
Some great progress, Ben - I've just caught up! Last season was all about staying in the division, even if it meant the playoff. You did that so it's job done. What the hell were Udinese doing down there? And Torino this season? Neither of them have any place being down in Serie B. Great to see Arzilli hit form, especially after such a long barren spell, but as we saw last season, this could be far from over! Hopefully you can maintain form on the positive side of inconsistent and do enough to avoid that playoff this year. Do you think you are benefiting from a settled squad? Team cohesion, dressing room atmosphere and managerial support must be very high and squad dynamics seem very important on this version. How are San Marino doing, out of interest? Are you finding your players are managing to influence the national side, even at this early stage? Have they won a game yet? edit I also really like that little excel chart you put at the end of each season review. It's a great way to track progress over a long period. I'll have to steal that idea for my next long term save. Thanks, Nick. Yeah - I just needed to stay up and, even though it was dull and boring work, we just about did enough. You mention teams that shouldn't be there - Pescara have no right themselves being in Serie C. Torino had it coming, to be fair, 14th, 16th and 17th before being relegated but there squad is strong! Serie A looks a bit weird right now: Lots of different winners and a host of teams who, historically, are not Serie A material. My love of Serie A started in the late 90's so I'm missing out Parma, Catania, Cesena, Bari, Empoli, Brescia etc. I don't think the likes of Virtus, Frosinone, Spal and to some extent Sassuolo (although very much deserved from their improvement in the last ten real life years) belong there. Also - Napoli are tycoon owned and have spent over £200m this year leaving them with a strikeforce of Gabriel Jesus (£77m) and Fabio Silva (£58m) with £48m Xaver Schlager in behind. ---- A settled squad has been vital. We have some players who are good enough but the squad, as a whole, is poor. I'm just banking on the below maintaining: San Marino are doing pretty well - up to 121st in the world (which, actually, is great for them!). 10 of their best starting XI have been from my academy (with all but 2 still at the club). Here is some recent stuff:
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Post by Nick on Jun 16, 2019 18:14:20 GMT
Wow, they're some really impressive results from San Marino, I didn't expect that much of an improvement! 13 points and finishing fourth in their group? That's great to see, especially at this early stage. I hope you get to see more improvement from them as the years go by.
Serie A has been nowhere near as competitive on my save. Juventus dominated the early years, mainly thanks to Ronaldo and Dybala, but Milan have won 6 of the last 8 with Napoli and Roma sandwiched in the middle. Juventus have mainly finished between 3rd and 7th in the last five or six years and are the prime candidate for me to takeover when the time comes to move to Italy.
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Post by Ben on Jun 16, 2019 20:49:44 GMT
Wow, they're some really impressive results from San Marino, I didn't expect that much of an improvement! 13 points and finishing fourth in their group? That's great to see, especially at this early stage. I hope you get to see more improvement from them as the years go by. Serie A has been nowhere near as competitive on my save. Juventus dominated the early years, mainly thanks to Ronaldo and Dybala, but Milan have won 6 of the last 8 with Napoli and Roma sandwiched in the middle. Juventus have mainly finished between 3rd and 7th in the last five or six years and are the prime candidate for me to takeover when the time comes to move to Italy. Actually - you are right, I have somewhat understated their rise! They have had two managers since the game started - Franco Varella (2018 to 2022) who had a 19% win ratio but current manager Pietro Rossi has won 21, drawn 10 and lost 28 of his games - a 35% win ratio. It would also appear that they have not only won promotion from the 4th tier (Group D) of the nations league, they have also just won promotion from the 3rd tier and will face teams such as Slovakia, Serbia, Poland and Romania. That is truly some rise! I hope that as we continue our growth, we don't 'outgrow' Sammarinese regens and end up with just Italians. If that is the case, the national team will stagnate and there is no way I'm going to be able to influence the team through nationalisation as I won't be bringing in new players. I'm excited for Serie A - definitely (however long that takes) but I know that I won't be facing any real players. The current Slaven Bilic (?!?!?) managed Juve boast a strikeforce of Pulisic, Lincoln and a Cypriot regen, looking a shadow of their former selves.
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Post by Ben on Jun 16, 2019 20:58:35 GMT
October/November 2028Again - could the season not have ended in September? A really poor couple of months for us, on paper, and on the pitch. We lost Andrea Arzilli to 'an innocuous' broken ankle - he'll probably miss all season now and we recorded just one victory which has seen us slip down the league. What concerns me the most is our inability to keep a clean sheet - errors are a big part of our game play right now and we are gifting goals to the opposition. Part of the reason for this loss of form, I believe is down to the above. 19 games into the season and the vast majority (minus Casadei who has come in allowing Molinari to fill the Arzilli gap) have played almost the whole season. We are tired. The 11 men on the pitch can stand up to the rigours of the opposition over 90 minutes - but two or three games a week, with little to no rotation, is proving tough. I think that I need to be clever with my rotation - potentially playing weakened teams against sides I know I won't be beating (saying that - we ended up with a solid away draw at Torino) and focusing on beating the teams around us. I think that is slightly adopting a 'small team mentality' but I do feel that this might be the key to our longevity in the long term.
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Post by Ben on Jun 18, 2019 19:27:15 GMT
December 2028/January 2029We continue our free-fall towards the bottom end of the table but we have, at least, sorted our leaky defence somewhat. I very much favour an approach where, as long as we are picking up points, look to stem the flow of goals and then spend time in training working on going forward. With young, inexperienced strikers, probably not of the calibre required in this league, I do expect goal droughts - and this one is no different. Still confident that we have what it takes to stay up...
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Post by Ben on Jun 18, 2019 20:37:27 GMT
2028/29 Youth IntakeForget depth, which this incidentally has - this intake has a brother! Lorenzo Zafferani heads up a solid group of players where he, along with Sammarinese striker Massimo Bologna, are team leaders, which would indicate that they are probably towards the top of the list when sorted on current ability. We are once again gifted an awful intake when looking at their personality, with several unambitious personalities and very few that I would call positive - minus Pogialli, who looks awful attribute wise. Here is Zafferani: He's not fantastic, to put it mildly. However, my coaches say that he is currently operating at a Serie C level with the potential to improve significantly in the future. There are no red flags anywhere and, aside from his natural fitness and dribbling - even though I am not really looking for a left winger to be an out-and-out runner, there are no really low attributes. He is 'left only' so I shall initially be working on that area of his game and then see how he develops. His brother is a vital player in the first team and I hope that I can develop him to be able to join him.
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