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Thread: Football Manager 2022

  1. #551
    Fuck like you cook.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd View Post
    I'm finding the two games a week fitness levels to be a big thing in this version (especially so in internationals, actually). Quite enjoy that to be honest as it is what real managers moan about the whole time.

    Always a balance between playing fit players and playing good players, which is an enjoyable part of the strategy.
    I've noticed this a fair bit last season and this. I didn't pay much attention in England as the games came thick and fast anyway but in Germany there is reasonable rest time so my players aren't always at deaths door. I think this is why I went down with Derby County in season one (points deduction being the obvious reason) but when your back four are all over 33+ years of age, they were doomed by the hour mark on a regular basis.

    Small differences but makes it rather realistic.

  2. #552
    Fuck like you cook.
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    In other news...



    Quite how I am only in the 'favoured personnel' list at Tottenham despite leading them to a domestic treble and two Premier League titles I don't know but I imagine knocking them out of the Champions League group stages has probably tarnished even that. Happy home coming for Smjffy but Massimiliano Allegri has undone most of my work already.

    Looking through the landmarks though and I'm gutted to see that Daniel Levy left in January and Omar Al-Enezi took over....an actual tycoon. The things we could have done together.

    Back in Germany, Bayern Munich have stepped it up compared to last season and trail my unbeaten Dortmund side by just three points, Munich's sole defeat coming against us. I'm hoping to make one or two additions in the winter transfer window now that we've qualified for the knock out stages of the European Cup but it's going to be a close one I reckon and probably depends on who stops scoring first, will it be our striker Arjan Dema or Bayern's 31 year old Uruguayan, Martin Satriano.

    This version of FM is really, really good in my opinion. I'd probably say early days (although I've lucked out by getting 'into' my first and only save straight from the off) but it could possibly be the best one yet.

  3. #553
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    It's too easy compared with the previous ones in my opinion.

  4. #554
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    I find the 3D engine and match experience to be pretty crap (why are the touchlines the width of a man?)

    The rest is pretty good.

  5. #555
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    I am actually close to getting fired from Krasnodar, with those stats:



    for "not meeting expectations". Mental. Need to win the last game and Zenit to lose so that we make 4th which was the goal set from the board.
    Last edited by Adramelch; 24-11-2021 at 06:47 PM.

  6. #556
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adramelch View Post
    It's too easy compared with the previous ones in my opinion.
    Fair comment, I actually find the toughest part of bringing in players that I consider value for money over the tactical side but then I haven't had to stray too far from my current one at the moment which is nice because tactically, I'm pretty inept. I can at least say this one is about 80% mine at this stage.

    I was tempted to add DS's set pieces to it but thought better of it as I get some handsome results as it is. I've stated a number of times, I don't really play the game in the way that it was meant (at least not in my mind), it's all about the 'story' for me. If I am the only one here who sits on his bed talking to himself or randomly searching the game for what I call 'career links' then I won't apologise for it.

    Best example I can give off the top of my head is Dylan Lovett. I don't remember the start but there was a point where I saw he'd moved to Newcastle in a big money move after doing well in Holland following his release from Man United, I think the transfer fee stuck but didn't think too much of it, then when I took over Wales and the name stuck out again when players were suggested so I stuck him in, then he went on to score against France on our march to the final. Silly as it may sound, I just imagined the whole story behind him, being released from his supported club, battling back, getting his big move, making waves on the international scene. Then last season I clocked his name again as he moved to.....Tottenham.

    If I could write as well as Jimmy then I'd delve deep into these things and try paint the picture I form, that's why I save my game 1st June every season, rolling auto save every month etc, just because I like to go back and see what other connections there are. I don't have to have signed that particular person but you know.

    Other examples. Klopp leaving Liverpool for Arsenal = Traitor. I imagine the story.

    Guardiola, in my mind he's lost the plot and fell on hard times. Why? Because he left Man City in 2023, joined Atletico, then Newcastle, then Leicester, then Hertha and now Bayer Leverkusen. He tried to hard to perfect his game it fried his head and now he's desperately trying to rediscover it except previous three jobs barely lasted a year. Next year will be a whole decade since he last won a single trophy, the last being the EFL Cup.

    Sad times. Sorry for the essay.

  7. #557
    Bookie Sir Andy Mahowry's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir Andy Mahowry View Post
    Toggle Spoiler
    Marseille 2046/47 Season Update:

    Transfers are in the quoted post.

    League:







    We absolutely pissed it, no club is anywhere near us right now.

    Cup:



    Played the youth against PSG and would have won if I didn't have someone sent off but oh well.

    Europe:



    We fucked it in the first leg (we scored first and kept missing chances) and from there it was too big to turn around. I tried going for it in the second leg but it left us too open at the back. Annoying as shit but I have 2 more seasons I believe to win it to play in the Club World Cup.




    The team is seriously good and I feel like we're so close to cracking the Champions League.

    Here is Perkins who is the true don of this team:



    In terms of this save it's pretty much done but I'm just chugging along to try and get the Club World Cup (750 days) and the European Championships (383) won. Oh and I need the Super Cup too before I can move onto 2022.

  8. #558
    Isn't he banned? Baz's Avatar
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    The last one didn't work so now we're like this:





    Plan is for the fullbacks to end up as centre mids, the defensive mid to end up as a centre back, and the rest to get in the box, albeit very cautiously.
    I'm a twit

  9. #559
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    Season 2026/27 Update

    So as I said in a previous post, I joined Krasnodar mid-season, as Shevchenko was sacked, courtesy of them being at 9th place after the first half of the season with just 19 points from 15 games. There was a distinct lack of defenders and quality wing-backs in the squad, but given the results I have gotten at RPS, I decided to stick to my 5-3-2 formation. There was also a fairly large number of wingers, but thankfully they could also play either in the midfield or up front. So even though several players would have to play out of their preferred position, I had faith that they would be able to adapt. The main problem squad-wise is the registration rules, that only allow for 8 foreigners, that being anyone that isn't Russian, Belarussian, Armenian or Kazakh. On top of that, it doesn't look like players get a Russian passport after X years, so once a foreigner always a foreigner (pretty suitable for Russia to be honest). That said, the club has a great youth setup and there's already many promising youngsters here, so I only ended up signing three players in January:



    This is the big one. A player we somewhat overpaid for (22m), but he's young, he's Russian and he was already good enough to be a starter for us so I think he's worth the investment (even though the board are really mad about it and even tried to block the transfer).



    Didn't quite plan on bringing in a midfielder, and a foreigner at that, but considering we didn't have to pay anything for him, I felt the opportunity was too good to pass up.



    A player that could probably see a decent amount of first-team football here, but due to the registration rules he won't be able for the time being. I loaned him out as soon as he joined, but I am hopeful he and Kabanov will be leading the line for us in a couple of years.

    In terms of actual football, here's the league table at the end of the season:



    We earned 38 points in 15 games (exactly double what the club earned in the first half of the season), which was far and away the best record in the league. That should have been enough to get us top 4 and a spot in Europe (and it would have been any other season), but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Our singular league loss under my tenure was to CSKA with them scoring a wonder goal and us squandering chance after chance, so in the end we only have ourselves to blame. We also made it to the semis of the cup after beating Rotor and Rostov, but stumbled against Spartak at home, losing 2-1.



    Nobody that really stood out. Bryan Gil is a player that can single-handedly win you games, but for every game like that, he also has three terrible performances. Sanabria was also great and horrible in equal measures. The only fairly reliable players were Litvinov, Hyndman and Kabanov really.

    The board have decided to keep me on, despite being disappointed with us not getting any European football next season. I have 22 million to spend on players and around 200k p/w in our wage budget that is not currently being spent, but I don't expect too many changes. The squad is clearly good enough to even win the league as is, as we only finished 6 points from 1st despite a horrendous start, so I am willing to give all of them one more season. That said, we have 7 regulars that are above 30 so I will eventually try and replace them.

  10. #560
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    Don't think that was a thing in previous version. Not a big change but a nice QoL.

  11. #561
    Senior Member Bernanke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bernanke View Post
    I give you Real Sociedad - Class of 2024











    I think Garcia is the really special one. Serious lack of leadership in this group overall though.

    Will check in on them again once they start getting first team appearances.
    A year in, and already some interesting developments in either direction.

    Ayerdi got a damaged cruciate ligaments 3 months after joining and was out for about 7, so his development stopped dead. No hopes for him to do anything but bounce around Sociedad B/C until we let him go at this point.

    Garcia, Agirre, Saizar are all coming along nicely, with the last one especially being ranked 10 in the NxtGen kids thingie at just 16 years old. Agirre is also a semi-regular for the Spanish U21, with the others having only featured at the U19 level. Gil is probably not gonna amount to shit with a determination of 5.

  12. #562
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    Season 11

    Borussia Dortmund - 2032/2033

    We brought in just three players during the summer window, Joao Eduardo of Santos, Asier Vilanueva from Real Madrid and transfer listed Florinel Rosca from our closest rivals, Bayern Munich for a combined total of £84M but we recovered £117M with a few departures, most notably Giovanni Reyna who moved to Barcelona for £85M which didn't go down too well given he was one of our best but I'm not turning that sort of money down for someone who was about to hit 30 years of age.

    Season Summary

    We ended Bayern's long winning run in the league last season so the task was to go again and retain it but we quickly discovered it wasn't going to be so simple as Munich were pushing us all the way and boy did it get close.

    Too close.



    Just five games left of the campaign and there wasn't a great deal to separate us but largely in part because we dropped two points against Wolfsburg which really did open things up a little but we were confident we'd win our remaining games.

    Perhaps too confident as we somehow conspired to lose to Frankfurt and thus lost our position at the top of table as Bayern took first place for the first time all season. I had no doubts at all they would beat Werder Bremen so we just had to be in a position to strike by beating Fortuna if the unthinkable did happen.



    And it bloody did. A 1-1 draw for Munich meant we leapt back into what was probably our rightful spot given how long we'd been league leaders and took the title on goal difference. Scenes.

    We didn't stop there as we repeated last season's feat of claiming the Supercup giving last season's runners up a bit of a spanking and indeed, the DFB-Pokal, the third time in a row Borussia had won the trophy.





    Domestically we were good especially going forward but would that work in Europe too?

    Champions League

    Not going to dress it up in the slightest. Qualifying from the group was relatively easy, a nice return to Tottenham being a nice moment but after we knocked out Barcelona, I felt we had every reason to be confident in the quarter finals against Real Madrid given our group games were relatively close (albeit without us winning)

    Well, I was wrong. We got ruined.



    What can you do other than go again. I'm going to splash some cash in the summer since we couldn't find the right players for the right price in the winter window and by time next season ends, so will my contract so I'm hoping to go out on a high. Quite a meh season really and had the final league game not thrown up the welcome surprise that it did then the entire campaign would have been a waste of time.

    We march on and with a bit of luck, Arjan Dema (59 goals in 46 games) and Jose Cuadros (46 in 47(1)) will again keep us healthy up top, Oliver Lindqvist recorded an impressive 37 assists in 39(6) games whilst for a second season running we broke some club records, including last seasons most points one by collecting 90 this time round. Our 29 league wins was a club record, just two losses was a club record and with Dema's goals leading the way his 39 league strikes ensured he claimed a personal one. Summer signing Asier Vilanueva, our new number one collected the record for most clean sheets in a season. Decent enough but room for improvement.

    Let's see where next year leads us.

  13. #563
    Isn't he banned? Baz's Avatar
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    Where’s Moukoko?
    I'm a twit

  14. #564
    Senior Member Serj's Avatar
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    2024/25 Playoff Final and Season Review



    Properly limped across the finish line there, but who cares. The tactics definitely needs some... defanging, as having my attacking players sent off every other game is probably not a good plan for the future.

    I don't think I can stay up with this squad or with my financial situation. My wage budget will be about half that of the next-lowest team. That said, it seems that, once again this version attacking tactics make the game much easier than trying to soak up pressure with cautious or defensive tactics, even with low-rated teams. So maybe with those I can sneak a couple of results that give me a fighting chance for the playoff spot.

  15. #565
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    Quote Originally Posted by Baz View Post
    Where’s Moukoko?
    He moved to PSG for £100M in 2026/27 but their success has still been limited to the domestic scene only. Runners up in the Champions League final in 2030 and 2031 losing to Bayern and Man City.

    He's wasting his career there in my mind but not a chance would I be able to afford him even if I wanted him back at Dortmund.





    Here's an odd one, mind. Real Madrid knocked us out of the Champions League this season, eventually winning it against....Brighton.

    The Seagulls have now been in three consecutive European finals.

  16. #566
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adramelch View Post


    Don't think that was a thing in previous version. Not a big change but a nice QoL.
    Nice as it is, I've used the DoF a few times to renew contracts and I find their version of excessive is completely different to my own. Handy though.

  17. #567
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    Belgium - Euro 2024 Qualifying

    We set off for a fairly whistlestop 10 matches of qualifying group, to be played between March and November 2023. Evidently from this group, the expectation was to qualify with plenty to spare.

    Andorra 0-3 Belgium: we could have had more goals, so we'll see if finishing becomes an issue (narrator: it did not), but otherwise we were as dominant as you would expect, with 29 shots. Goals to Saelemaekers, De Bruyne and Doku.
    Belgium 7-0 Luxembourg: fair to say we were a lot more clinical against the weaker of our neighbours. Origi scored four and earned a 10.0 rating. De Bruyne, De Ketalaere and Struijk got the others.

    At this point, an interlude, because this happens, instantly transforming our prospects as a football nation:



    Belgium 6-4 Iceland: hmm. An illustration of how I thought this tactical setup might go: immense power going forward, completely wide open at the back. Every time Iceland went forward it was an easy goal. Fortunately we got the result by flooding them at the other end. Lukaku hat-trick, De Bruyne, Saelemaekers, Januzaj.
    Belgium 1-1 Austria: we got slightly superkeepered here but even so, a disappointing result after being 1-0 up for a lot of the game. I made a blunder doubling down looking for the second, and Austria just flooded relentlessly into the gaps until they eventually equalised. This left us two points ahead of them in the group.
    Israel 1-6 Belgium: I was apparently fighting for my job going into this game. They went 1-0 up early which was a concern. Struijk equalised and then De Bruyne scored four. We could have had any number.
    Belgium 4-0 Andorra: we had an xG of 5.96. Could easily have had ten.
    Luxembourg 1-2 Belgium: the not-so-noisy neighbours gave us a bit of a scare here, or at least a nervous last twenty minutes, but Lukaku's 80th and 81st goals for Belgium carried the day.
    Iceland 0-3 Belgium: Iceland had been running 2nd in the group for a while but with a defeat to Austria and then this they faded from view, whereas these three points confirmed our passage to Germany (a welcome one this time). Lukaku, Tielemans and Carrasco scored.
    Belgium 3-1 Israel: by this point the campaign was starting to feel a lot like an England qualifying group. De Ketalaere, Lukebakio and Januzaj.
    Austria 2-2 Belgium: our final and probably worst performance of the campaign. Once again, there's an easy goal up for grabs any time they nick the ball off us in midfield, with the back three completely exposed. It doesn't bode well for when we play actual good teams, but zis is my philosophy.

    De Bruyne actually topped our scoring in the group with 9 ahead of Lukaku with 8, the pair only behind Austria's Junior Adamu and top scorer by miles, England's Harold Kane.



    We then played a couple of friendlies against slightly better sides in Mexico (1-1) and Denmark (1-0 win) while the playoffs happened, which at least slightly allayed the fears that we might get torn apart at the back by better sides.

    Then it was time for the Euro 2024 draw. The only notable absentees (if you can call them that) were Switzerland, who didn't get through either the group or the playoffs.

    A: Germany (hosts), Serbia, Russia, Wales
    B: England, Croatia, Netherlands, Romania
    C: Belgium, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia
    D: Portugal, Spain, Bosnia & H, Norway
    E: France, Denmark, Turkey, Austria
    F: Scotland, Italy, Ireland, Poland

    This also feels like the exact draw that England would get. Sweden were quite potent in the qualifiers and Slovenia are a lot more dangerous than traditionally due to the presence of Man Utd teenage hotshot Benjamin Sesko. Even so, it's a draw that really should suit a run deep into the competition for the red devils of Belgium. Elsewhere, group F looks like the most fun (Scotland were number 1 seeds) while group D also looks tasty.

  18. #568
    Senior Member Bernanke's Avatar
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    Well, I just forgot about the La Liga registration wage limitation and completely fucked it by having my DoF negotiate Oyarzabals renewal even when he dropped wanting a new contract. He's now on 425k per week and my cap is 1.9 million, so a fair few other players will have to be excluded for him to have a spot...

  19. #569
    DEATH TO THE WEIRD Raoul Duke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bernanke View Post
    Well, I just forgot about the La Liga registration wage limitation and completely fucked it by having my DoF negotiate Oyarzabals renewal even when he dropped wanting a new contract. He's now on 425k per week and my cap is 1.9 million, so a fair few other players will have to be excluded for him to have a spot...
    He's basically Messi'd your club

  20. #570
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    End of my first season in my journeyman save with Shortan Guzor in the Uzbek 2nd division, and it was a bit of a rollercoaster. Predicted to finish mid-table, we started on fire playing a possession heavy passing game - everything was going great as we ended our first 11 games with a 8-1-2 record, sitting joint top.

    When then played in some bizarre mid-season league cup group stage competition where we were drawn in a group with 5 Super League teams. We won 1 of 5 and were eliminated.

    Unfortunately, that poor run in the cup destroyed our morale and our players forgot how to play football. We proceeded to draw 2 and lose 4 of our next 6, before we went back to an old school 4-4-2, and brought in a few Chinese centrebacks when the transfer window opened. Top 4 qualifies for the play-off stage, and we somehow snuck in on the final matchday despite 1 win in our final 5 games.





    We entered the promotion group (2 of 4 teams qualify) and with our new signing Wei Zhen tightening things at the back, we managed to get promoted with a game to spare.



    I seemed to have lucked out finances-wise, with the owners pretty wealthy, and we sell out every home game somehow (7000). Massive budget for next year, but our rep is so low, I'd be surprised if we can bring anyone decent in. I may stick around, I may not depending on what jobs become available. The board also indicated that they want to build a new stadium


  21. #571
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    That has been the situation twice a day, every day for a transfer window lasting 2 months:



    I got 49 transfers offers on deadline day, which was about 10 unique ones, just the same club coming in 5 times during the day for the same player. It's gotten to the point where I think I might leave at the end of the season just because I don't think I can go through that for another two windows.
    Last edited by Adramelch; 27-11-2021 at 09:21 AM.

  22. #572
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    Belgium - Euro 2024 (Germany)

    Unlike when I took Senegal to the World Cup, we approached this tournament with a full complement of fit players. We also approached it with the same formation with which we had begun my tenure. It definitely has its moments of defensive vulnerability, but on its day is incredibly powerful going forward with the personnel we have, and was unbeaten across the 14 games of my tenure. The width from Januzaj (Doku) and Saelemaekers (Lukabakio) is definitely key, but De Bruyne's role cannot be underestimated, and nor can that of Lukaku having come back into the side. This may well be the last roll of the dice for Belgium as a top-ranked nation and I will certainly have a look around to see if any more interesting jobs are on offer after the tournament - I doubt this nation's talent will be so potent again.



    Our first group stage task was against Slovenia. Between keeper Oblak, and forwards Ilicic, Verbic and golden boy Sesko, this was probably the best Slovenian side assembled since independence and they had plenty with which to worry us. Indeed they had us on the rack early on, with Courtois denying Sesko on several occasions and then Ilicic hitting the post from a free kick. We grew into the game a little as it went on but found it difficult to carve out clear chances, Tielemans blowing a great one with about 20 minutes to go. Sesko then had another glorious chance saved by Courtois and Slovenia looked the more likely. It was looking like a 0-0 until late drama as Bornauw was apparently tugged in the area and after consulting VAR, we were given a penalty. Kevin De Bruyne tucked it away for a 94th minute winner. It felt a lot less deserved than these stats suggest.



    Next up were Sweden, who had edged past Slovakia 1-0 in their opener. We were unchanged, which in hindsight was a massive error - in these tournaments it has to be 4/5 changes every game or the players just run out of puff. We had the better of the first half until Viktor Gyokeres (in Isak's absence) was sent clear and scored what proved to be the winner just before half time. In the second half we absolutely battered them (with an increasibly knackered team) but Romelu Lukaku kept missing sitter after sitter, in an all-time atrocrious performance. I was left pining for the happy times before he came out of retirement and Divock Origi was piling the goals past Luxembourg.





    I think that massive XG leap was when he decided to miss from basically on the goal line.

    Our final group opponents were Slovakia, who had joined us on 3 points with a 3-2 win over Slovenia. It so happened that thanks to other group scenarios, we were all but through before kicking off. I brought Yannick Carrasco in for this game and immediately he repaid me by lashing one into the top corner. He then added a second on the hour which Lukaku nearly deflected wide but it snuck in the corner. Sub Lukebakio made it three to complete a bumming of a really poor side who somehow snuck through with us despite Slovenia beating Sweden (head to head divisors are awful).





    Missing out on top spot gave us a group winner in the last 16, though it was an unexpected group winner: Wales, who had beaten the hosts Germany in the opening game before also slaying Serbia and Russia.



    The Welsh seemed to be in between eras - four teenagers in the squad but none of them starting, and a functional setup in which everything went through Kieffer Moore. To be honest, they were pretty crap in this game, perhaps having peaked too early while our slow start (a theme among my sides at tournaments, it seems) was starting to pick up. We came haring out of the blocks and Saelemaekers gave us an early lead. We could have had several more but Lukaku finally arrived at the tournament on the hour, thumping one home from 20 yards. A Carrasco penalty rounded things off.



    This took us through to a quarter-final against the tournament favourites, There'll Always Be An England. I could now at least say I had matched the best Euros achievements of Mad Dog Martinez, almost certainly with a worse squad. But could I better him?



    Saelemaekers was suspended for this one so in a slightly cowardly switch, I opted for the 32 year old and more defensively minded Thomas Meunier on the right. I was justified in being a little afraid, as Waistcoat's men had rattled in fourteen goals in their four games, Foden running the show. Here they went with Sancho, Rashford and Kane as their front three.

    Ever since I adopted this 3-4-2-1 formation, I had been scared that at some point we were going to come up against a team with good wingers who could exploit the massive gaps in behind the wide men and either side of the centre backs. It's fair to say that England were that team. Jadon Sancho in particular decided it was time for some anal. In the fifth minute he thrashed home a Rashford cross. In the seventh minute, they swapped to make it 2-0. They then repeated the trick on 13 minutes - 3-0 England. Just before half time, Courtois went on a mad dash out of his goal to get the ball, missed it, and Rashford scored again. 4-0. The scene was akin to what must happen in Nigel Farage's wet dreams, but with even more throbbing English phalluses inserted into pert Belgian behinds.

    It was at this point that I came to a horrible realisation. I had spent the whole tournament and qualifiers trying to be better than Roberto Martinez. I now oversee the wreckage of a quarter-final defeat, tactically stubborn as I refuse to organise a defence properly or adapt to the strengths of superior opposition, and there is no denying it. Not only have I not managed to better Roberto Martinez: I am Roberto Martinez.

    The bumming was compounded with an own goal on 71 minutes. I can rarely remember being on the end of such a fisting as this. My Belgium career ends in quarter-final disgrace.





    Either sarcasm has reached Belgium at last, or Camille has had one waffle too many.



    Even for footballers, that's one hell of a whip-round. Things washed out like this:



    The number of years of hurt was thus extended to fifty-eight, Southgate resigned, and the French reigned supreme. I had singularly failed to add to my African Nations title, and this Belgian side aren't getting any better. Two years until World Cup 2026, and it's time for a move - and a pretty exciting move, at that.

  23. #573
    Senior Member niko_cee's Avatar
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    Don the waistcoat!

  24. #574
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    Season 2027/28 Update

    My first full season in the club and given how well we did in the second half of last season I was quite confident that we could challenge for the league and, at the very least, achieve the board's expectation of qualifying for the Europa League. Things started on the wrong foot as we had a barrage of offers for several players, which ended up unsettling a lot of them. Our starting goalkeeper Pau Lopez left in the summer (17.5m), as did Bryan Gil (21m), Reece Oxford (20m) and Masina (free). They were joined in January by Hyndman (1.9m), who wouldn't sign a new contract, Litvinov (38m) and Sanabria (1m). In came several players:

    Toggle Spoiler


    Now on to the action:



    It was between us and Dinamo for most of the season, but thankfully their form dropped just as ours picked up in the tail end of the season, which resulted in us winning the title for the first time in our history, with just the one loss. 66 points would have been enough to clinch the title most seasons, so for the 2nd and 3rd team to gather that many is not something you see every day. 71 points is the second highest points gathered in this league, which is pretty satisfying. We also managed to pair the league with a cup win after we went past Lokomotiv (2-1), CSKA (0-0, won on penalties) and Zenit (3-1) to set up an unexpected final against Kuban. We did our best to screw it up but eventually our quality showed and we won the game 2-1.



    As the stats show, every player really played their part in our performance this season. If I were to single out a few, it would be our front three, with Kabanov really coming into his own this season, Acosta shining ever since he returned from his loan in January, and Palacios being a very consistent performer through and through.

    I am tempted to leave now, but, at the same time, we will play in Europe next season so I imagine I'll stay. After that I am definitely leaving though as I don't think there's much improvement to be had from here on out.
    Last edited by Adramelch; 27-11-2021 at 03:54 PM.

  25. #575
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    Their manager left for Barcelona. Very tempting if they do actually offer me the job.

    Edit: Well dilemma avoided as they went with somebody else.
    Last edited by Adramelch; 27-11-2021 at 05:33 PM.

  26. #576
    Fuck like you cook.
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    Season 12

    Borussia Dortmund - 2033/2034

    Before we had even considered who our summer targets were, I knew that this season would be my last in Germany and so I hoped we'd continue to sweep all domestically for a third year running but I'd quite happily have conceded the league in exchange for some European success.

    Transfers In



    Big outlay and none more so than on Liu Tonghao who returned to the club after leaving for City in 2027/2028. A club academy product but probably a waste of nine figures given he wasn't that good.

    I don't think I'll be so lavish in future seasons given the first player I signed at Dortmund, Jose Cuardros claiming a whole raft of awards, the first newgen to win the Ballon d'Or too.



    Anyways, moving along.

    As ever, we started with the Supercup but we made to battle late on as we looked to have thrown it away, Araugo sparing us having to listen to Munich give it the big 'un.



    We did secure the title once again although losing to Bayern on the final game of the season meant we missed out on beating our club and the Bundesliga records for most points. It wasn't too bad though, a title win in each season at the club, all the more impressive given our first ended Munich's 20 year hold on the division.



    Finally, at least on the domestic front, we retained the DFB-Pokal. Freiburg unexpectedly dumped Munich out in the semi finals but it was a professional performance in the finale.



    It was however the Champions League that we wanted and after claiming six wins in six to qualify at a canter, I was optimistic. We didn't lose too many games at Dortmund.



    We were drawn against Sporting in the first knockout round and although we only won 3-1 on aggregate, it probably should have been much more comfortable, as comfortable as the quarters against our league rivals Bayern in fact. Such wins just made me think that this was the year.

    A return to former club Tottenham (and eventual Premier League champions) came up next and after dismantling them 5-2 in Germany, we had to rely on Schmid's late late late goal to ensure our passage into the final where we would face Man United. The Red Devils finished in 7th place domestically and although we knew it wouldn't be easy, it just felt like it was time. Time to end the wait, both for Dortmund and personally. Baring in mind I had lost every final to date in Europe. Did we do it this time round is the question.....



    Toggle Spoiler


    No idea where I'll end up next but I'm thinking a sabbatical may be in order but we'll see what happens on the managerial merry-go round.

  27. #577
    Senior Member Lofty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lofty View Post
    Saw a save idea that hooked me on a facebook group, so going to faff with my knackered desktop to give it a go on FM20.

    Starting as 1860 München with a view to usurping Bayern as the best team in Munich/Germany. Only 5 non-German players allowed. Use a Libero (Beckenbauer) and Raumdueter (Müller) in every tactic I employ.
    As previously mentioned I was getting bored of my Barrow save so giving this a go. This is with FM21 Touch. The side is very 'not great, not terrible', there's no money and attracting loanees who aren't horseshit is a chore. Regardless I soldier on and play this:



    A few square pegs in round holes but on the whole it seemed to do the trick. Took a few pastings here and there and was grateful for the winter break when I was on the verge of an injury crisis. End of the first season:



    Shout out to the improbable hero of the campaign:



    None of this early success would be possible without him, however I think he will probably need to be binned off now as I doubt a 36 year old target man will be what keeps me from an immediate relegation.

    Mid season I got this message for the first time ever:





    Head of Youth Development was immediately poached after this and anyone remotely suited to replacing him wants €2k a week more than I can offer

  28. #578
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    In the most important news of the day, RFS have made the CL group stage again. I obviously built a dynasty, seeing as they have neither bought nor sold any players in the 1.5 years since I left.

  29. #579
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    Quite the move given PSG should by all rights be desperate for European success so hiring perennial European flop Smjffy is a match made in heaven, right? After reaching their first in 2020, the French side had to wait a further decade to get to the finale again, again losing to Bayern Munich though. Twelve months later PSG repeated the feat, both reaching the final and losing it, this time to Man City.

    Only three times in the last 22 years has the Ligue 1 title ended up anywhere other than Paris so domestic success should be a given and if both former managers managed it easy enough, so should I.

    Those managers?

    Mauricio Pochettino
    who lasted just over eleven years winning ten league titles and sixteen cups whilst his replacement....erm, Nathan Ake, who fresh from stints with Lens and Saint-Etienne was deemed ready to manage the countries biggest club, he did lead them to an unbeaten season in the division last year tough so perhaps a bit rough on him being let go.

    Some huge names still exist at the club, 35 year old Gianluigi Donnarumma who still looks beastly, Martin Odegaard, 34 year old Joao Felix and sadly the outgoing Matthijs de Ligt who departs for Barcelona.

    I do get to manage Yussoufa Moukoko now though.

    Let's go!


  30. #580
    Senior Member Gray Fox's Avatar
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    What's that, about 16 seasons in? You're flying Smiff.

  31. #581
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    It's the save I started on beta but probably helps that I finish work pretty early so have a lot of free time.

    Currently into the 13th season and still really into it. As a run down for those interested:

    21/22 - Derby - Relegated to League one
    22/23 - Derby - League One champions
    23/24 - Millwall - League One champions
    24/25 - Millwall - Lost in Championship playoffs
    25/26 - Rangers - Domestic treble, lost Europa League final to Arsenal.
    26/28 - Wales - Won the European Championships
    28/29 - Tottenham - Took over after midway, finished 9th, lost FA Cup final and Europa Conference League final.
    29/30 - Tottenham - Domestic treble. No European football due to above^
    30/31 - Tottenham - Domestic treble, 'that' semi final defeat to Brighton in Europa League semi's
    31/32 - Dortmund - Won Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, lost the semi finals of Europa League again to Brighton.
    32/33 - Dortmund - Won Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, got ruined by Madrid in the Champions League quarters.
    33/34 - Dortmund - Won Bundesliga and DFB Pokal, lost the Champions League final to Man United.



    Subject to change but I think a season or two in France will suffice then it's Italy and Spain to try do the same there. I have got Holland and Portugal loaded also so I imagine I'll travel across there at some point but at this stage it would seem like a drop down given the steady rise thus far. Bayern offered me an interview after leaving Dortmund but I didn't want to tarnish my reputation, maybe once that is done it'll be time to load up China etc to try for the AFC Champions League although I don't want to get too ahead of myself. I can only see myself managing the big clubs from this point on but I do feel at some point building a 'dynasty' of sorts with a club in the lower reaches would be a fine way to bring my career to a close.

    Man is only 49 years old so time is on ones side.

  32. #582
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    That's some great stuff Smjffman. PSG used to dominate Europe up until FM20 but from last version onwards that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. They were nowhere to be seen in my Gateshead save in FM21 (they never made it past the quarters iirc). That said they have been a bit more competent in my current save, making it to the last two finals, but they ended up losing to Bayern (that's some pattern forming there) and Chelsea.

    As for you looking to take over a lower club towards the end of the save, I think you're probably better off starting a new save, as the game will be much slower at that point.

  33. #583
    Bookie Sir Andy Mahowry's Avatar
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    They're pretty shit in my save:



    One win and that's it. Three consecutive seasons of not making it out of the groups too.

    Not up to much during their Europa League seasons either:



    Losing to Spurs ffs.

  34. #584
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    And right as this discussion happens, PSG just won the Champions League in my current season.

    I might or might not have spent all day playing FM so here's another update.

    Season 2028/29 Update

    My contract was to expire at the end of the season, so I thought I might as well stay and play some European football and leave for greener pastures when I am out of contract. There were times where I was tempted to leave with job offers from Bilbao and Lille but I ended up staying in Russia. I didn't think there was much need for strengthening in the squad, or rather there was but we were limited by registration rules and Russian talent was lacking. We started the season with pretty much the same squad as last season, but we did end up making a high profile signing in January when one of our defenders broke their foot. So in came Bogunovic for 7m from Red Star:



    Honestly he's too good for the league so I am surprised he even joined us in the first place. The season started with a very easy 3-1 Supercup win over Dinamo and it only got better from there:



    Much easier this time around. We spent all but 4 weeks in first place and ended up winning the league with 4 games to spare. We broke records for goals scored, conceded and points won and that was even with two freak losses to Lokomotiv and Sochi. This success was once again paired with a cup win, after we beat Khimki (2-2p), Akhmat (2-1), Rostov and CSKA (1-1p).

    We also had European football this season. The board expected us to reach the group stage, which I felt was fairly optimistic given that we were unseeded in the playoff, but in the end we were close. We were drawn against Young Boys and almost grabbed a win in the home leg, but they undeservedly got a 96th minute equaliser through a silly penalty. The return fixture was a drab affair as it stayed 0-0 after 90 minutes and it all looked like it was heading to penalties but they grabbed a goal in the 118th minute and then a second as we threw all bodies forward trying to get an equaliser. All in all I thought we gave a good account of ourselves but it wasn't to be. Instead we would be playing in the Europa League. The draw wasn't too kind for us as we were drawn against Sevilla, Rangers and Kobenhavn, but we nevertheless managed to go through. Here's how the knockout rounds looked like:



    We got fairly lucky with draws as we avoided the Leipzigs, Lyons and Napolis of the world, but I'd say we also played really well throughout. That said, we did our best to sabotage ourselves against PSV and Leverkusen, but in the end we managed to prevail on penalties and extra time respectively. In the end, we would be facing Leicester in the final, which made me hopeful as it looked like a winnable game:

    Toggle Spoiler


    Squad-wise, I wasn't able to grab the standard best eleven screenshot as I joined a different club right after the cup final, and a big squad means that not all relevant players are shown in a single screen. So instead, I'll just say that our front three were pretty great again, with them bagging 68 goals and 25 assists between them. Our wing-backs also played an important role with a combined 34 assists.

    So I mentioned that I'd already agreed (from early March) to join a club at the end of the season, but now it has gotten a bit awkward as the Europa League win means it's a somewhat backwards move. Oh well, I'll stick it out for a year or two and look for something better afterwards:



    They also agreed to appoint me whenever they sacked their manager for doing badly, yet the caretaker went and won the league anyway, so there's a good chance we will be playing Champions League football next season.
    Last edited by Adramelch; 28-11-2021 at 07:20 PM.

  35. #585
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    Great Europa League win, Adra. I know there are good draws and bad draws, but Charleroi in the quarter-finals is taking the piss a bit

    -------

    A few national jobs came up in summer 2024 to pique my interest. I applied for three that appealed: Chile, who were struggling in South American qualifying, and Denmark, with an interesting young side, both offered me their gigs. In the end, however, I plumped for a country that I believed to have its very own Golden Generation.



    There is obviously one man who rules the roost. Here is the Alien in all his glory. With 47 goals from 44 caps, he is quite good at football.



    However, behind him we have the nuts and bolts of what could be the best Norwegian team ever, and certainly the best since the 1990s. Martin Odegaard, at 25, has just gone to PSG for £86 million and is a stud in the AMC position. Jens Petter Hauge, Anders Schjelderup and Antonio Nusa are all young wingers of great promise. In midfield, a Berg-Berge duo will screen (Patrick Berg, of Napoli, and Sander Berge, of Inter). The centre back pairing of Kristoffer Ajer (26, Arsenal) and Martin Normann Williamsen (20, Juventus) offers a mix of physicality and class.

    Norway made it to Euro 24, in a group with Spain, Portugal and Bosnia. They lost the opener to Spain - fine. Then they beat Portugal 4-1, which should have made them dead certs to go through. Instead they managed to be thrashed 4-0 by Bosnia and go out in last place. That earned their manager the sack. To me this is a great opportunity - the team writes itself on paper, unlike with Belgium where I had to come up with a wacky setup to get the best players in. 4-2-3-1 will be the order of the day.

    We don't have our World Cup qualifying draw until December, and so the first task is a fresh Nations League. We had just been promoted from League B, and so in a new League A season found ourselves needing to finish top three to stay up in a group containing Spain, Poland and the team I'd just left, Belgium.

    The Spain job went to - you guessed it - Roberto Martinez, and his boys were our first opponents.

    Norway 2-4 Spain: this game was a bit of a joke, we were probably the better side but every half-chance they had was ruthlessly dispatched. Haaland got our goals.
    Poland 1-2 Norway: a strong performance and important win to put Poland under the pump in the group. Berg from long range and Haaland, who already after two games is just a joy to manage. This was his 50th Norway goal.
    Belgium 1-2 Norway: Knee-slides down the touchline all round as we stole victory thanks to two more world class Haaland finishes. Belgium otherwise the better side.
    Spain 4-0 Norway: away to a team like Spain there's basically nothing you can do, the game is so stupidly open and their players are so good that they'll get 10-20 decent chances in the game and take several. They just run straight past/through our defenders. They had 15 shots on target.
    Norway 0-1 Belgium: a really annoying game in which we dominated for an hour, Belgium nicked one, and then we didn't touch the ball again.
    Norway 2-2 Poland: another game that we dominated and didn't win, defensive lapses are becoming quite costly, although Poland went down and we stayed up. Haaland with two more.

    That left the Nations League group like this, as we stayed in Europe's top flight:



    Then it was time for the World Cup qualifying draw. We were seeded in pot 2 and with Sweden and a not-so-great Croatia in the top seeding pot, it was very much a draw in which you wanted to avoid one of the big boys. We did not.



    I think we should have enough to deal with the other four, but will we be able to spring a surprise and overcome the Italians? Who knows.

  36. #586
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd View Post
    Great Europa League win, Adra. I know there are good draws and bad draws, but Charleroi in the quarter-finals is taking the piss a bit
    They were taken over by a tycoon a few seasons back so it's not as easy as one might think (topped a group of Valencia, Gladbach and Astana and then beat Lyon in the knockout round), but they were definitely the easiest of the lot. We really didn't play a proper big team over the whole season so we have to count ourselves lucky for sure.

  37. #587
    Senior Member Lofty's Avatar
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    You can only beat who is in front of you, many a famous save has been propped up by a favourable Europa League draw.

    Only two games into the Bundesliga 2 season but sat top having had all 5 VAR decisions go in my favour

  38. #588
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    I am a couple of years on from my last update. 2026/27 was the last update (full will come) and I have just started 29/30 but the end might be near.

    I spent the summer with 4 of my main players getting a bit twitchy (Byrne, McMurtie, Patel and Sucharewycz) about wanting to move onto bigger clubs but the real issue is this:

    Toggle Spoiler

  39. #589
    Senior Member Lofty's Avatar
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    Yeah that's not ideal, ultimate poison chalice

    Dario Gradi Park by the way

  40. #590
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    I know. Of all the choices they went with park

  41. #591
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    I was confused for a bit as my brain just read "Dario Gradi Park after South Korean investor Sang-Hee Park" and thought it was a new stadium named after him for a second or two.

  42. #592
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  43. #593
    Fuck like you cook.
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    Season 13.

    PSG - 2034/2035

    I said auf wiedersehen to Germany and Dortmund, fulfilling the terms of my contract and went in search of a new challenge, or rather, a better chance of landing some European glory and it didn't take much to say no to PSG when the call came. It was almost a given that domestically we'd be too tough to beat but it was still going to take some going to match the clubs unbeaten league campaign under Nathan Ake.

    The club had a prearranged deal to bring in Motherwell's Bobby Adams which I probably would have cancelled because I needed/wanted ready made talent who could get us/me over the finish line.

    With that said, the three players we did bring in were pricey, mostly transfer listed but very nice additions to a squad already loaded with quality.



    Jonathan Meijer had outgrown Everton and would slot in comfortably in our defence.



    Mohamed Saidi went on to score 51 goals in 49(1) appearances in what was a career best for the Dutchman. I'd argue he helped bring the best out of Moukoko too. More to come on him.



    Christopher Cruz according to the stats had his best season to date too, the centre back scoring 13 times overall, eight times in the league and his average rating of 7.64 was almost .50 higher than at any other time in his career.



    Season Summary

    Let's get to the nitty gritty though.

    We didn't go unbeaten, far from it, as Rennes and Saint-Etienne ended the long unbeaten run extending from last year but the title was wrapped up with relative ease however taking over RC Paris's long time record of most team goals was quite pleasing, a record held since 1959/60.



    Of course the league wasn't the first trophy to come our way as the Trophee des Champions was picked up early doors. Bruno Pires almost taking it out of our hands before Youssoufa Moukoko said nah.



    The Coupe de France followed later in May but given PSG won it twelve months earlier, it wasn't much to get excited about.



    A clean sweep on the domestic front which was no more than should be expected.

    But for Europe....

    We didn't get off to the best of starts after losing in the Camp Nou to Barcelona but our passage to the knockouts was as simple as it looked, the victory in the return fixture enough to send us through as group leaders.



    We drew Manchester United in the first knockout round, the same team who defeated my Dortmund side twelve months ago and it looked as though they had done us over again.



    That was of course until Ince struck in injury time to give us hope. Not that Ince, obviously.



    Scenes.

    As we battled on in extra time, Vitor Manoel's effort ensured there would be no penalty shootout and we went through to the quarter finals where we would face former club Tottenham.

    Our 2-2 draw, helped by the already signed Bobby Adams looked to have given us the advantage as I didn't anticipate Spurs winning in France but we were made to work for it and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit nervous.



    Our passage to the semi finals confirmed and we'd be facing Spanish giants Real Madrid who knocked my Dortmund team out the competition the season before we made the actual final.

    Whilst we lost 1-0 in Spain, it wasn't the end of the world and that was confirmed in the return where our 2-0 victory sent us through to the finale, thankfully against Manchester City who had beaten Dortmund in the semi finals. I don't think I could have coped with that sort of defeat.



    It was at this point that I noticed something that had escaped me. The final was going to be played at the Principality Stadium. How romantic would it be....the most successful Welsh manager of all time, a former European Championship winner with Wales, finally ending his career long wait for European glory at home. It would be too perfect, surely?

    Well, it looked like that was going to be the case. Johan Eisenga gave Man City the lead as we trailed going into the break but when Jose de Jesus Cuadros added a second on 58"minutes, it was as good as done. Familiar name? Of course it is, my very last act as Dortmund manager was selling him to The Citizens for £150M.

    However....just after the hour mark, Youssoufa Moukoko gave us a glimmer of hope. The striker had had a wonderful season, scoring 66 times in 50 matches, a feat that meant he took Ibrahimovic's record from 2015 off him. A career best for the 30 year old striker and he was just phenomenal throughout.

    We still needed another though and time was running out but Sebastien Vincent, a man who was looking to leave in the winter window struck gold and levelled proceedings on 83"minutes. Saved! We were still in with a chance of ending my wait, PSG's wait and finding some measure of revenge against City who defeated PSG in the final the last time they made it.

    But you know, sometimes football is cruel. It just wasn't cruel to us this time.

    MORO!!!!!!!!



    EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS!!!!
    Last edited by Smjffy; 29-11-2021 at 05:02 PM.

  44. #594
    Senior Member Serj's Avatar
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    Congrats, Smiffy - that's quite the path to the trophy as well with the opponents you had.

    As for my Helmond save:

    2025/26 Review

    Well, it's not really a review since there's one match left to play. Our fate has already been decided, however.



    Not that surprising, really. I always knew I'd struggle in the Eredivisie, plus I didn't manage to replace my best attacking player in terms of quality. I guess this is where attribute masking really hurt me as I barely have any knowledge of the leagues outside of the Benelux microcosm.

    At least we're a somewhat determined bunch:



    I'm currently debating whether I should stay, rebuild and create a legacy or move on to greener pastures.

  45. #595
    Senior Member Bernanke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bernanke View Post
    I give you Real Sociedad - Class of 2024
    So, a side effect of the Oyarzabal registration debacle was that fielding these kids became an earlier than planned reality, and...



    I give you the 17 year old who won the CL title for his childhood club in ET :



    The rest are also kicking on, and it makes me really happy to see Ayerdi still making progress despite the cruciate ligaments.









    All but Ayerdi (4.5) are still 5-star prospects. Not sure what to make of Gil, but I think his two-footedness plus extreme flair is what could make him a somewhat interesting player in the end.
    Last edited by Bernanke; 29-11-2021 at 08:15 PM.

  46. #596
    Senior Member Adramelch's Avatar
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    The amount of European trophies on this page is off the charts. Good job people.

  47. #597
    heavy like led Dark Soldier's Avatar
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    When we all doing a draft, then?

  48. #598
    Senior Member Jimmy Floyd's Avatar
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    Norway - 2026 World Cup Qualifying

    Up against Italy, Romania, Finland, Kazakhstan and Moldova. To qualify for the North American World Cup, we had to win the group or be one of the six best second-placed teams. It was a short trip to Helsinki to begin with.

    Finland 0-0 Norway: deeply frustrating start, Haaland had so many easy chances and missed the lot. The rest of our team might as well not bother when it comes to shooting. Already massively on the back foot vs Italy.
    Norway 1-0 Romania: 28 shots on goal, 3.5 xG, we only won this late through Haaland. The ease with which we dominate games and the complete inability of any of our players to put it in the net are both astounding. 6-0 wouldn't have flattered us. Two points behind Italy.
    Moldova 0-4 Norway: a comfortable warm-up for the big game vs Italy in Oslo. A few different people scored, which was nice. Italy beat Romania 7-1, which was not so nice. We are with Finland on 7pts, two behind the Italians.
    Norway 1-1 Italy: we gave this as good as we got, and had several late chances to win it miraculously saved by Donnarumma. Odegaard's goal was a long range beauty.
    Norway 3-0 Finland: a crucial result for our position in the second place table, it took us over an hour to break down the tedious Finns. Eventually Haaland and Sorloth (2) prevailed. 28 shots to 2. Still two points behind Italy.
    Norway 7-2 Kazakhstan: useful for the second place table to pile the goals on. Haaland and Ajer managed two each. Italy won in Finland to remain two clear. Romania 2pts behind us in third.
    Romania 1-3 Norway: this was a giant step towards qualification. Romania had been on a good run but we ended it with goals from Haaland, Berge and Berg. Still two points behind Italy but now well placed in the second placed table.
    Norway 6-1 Moldova: another barrage of goals and, finally, Italy dropped points with a draw in Romania. This left us level on points with Italy but still 6 behind them on goal difference going into the big clash in Rome.
    Italy 2-1 Norway: we were by far, and I mean by far, the better side in this game. Once again, an FM trope from time immemorial, they just ruthlessly savaged it into the back of the net the only two times they had a sniff - that's what the high rep teams do. It's not like they had the best finisher on the park. Haaland pulled us level in the second half after Raspadori's rasping opener, and then the now-ancient Immobile scythed one in with seconds to go. What it meant was that to qualify for North America we still had to get the win against Kazakhstan in our final game.
    Kazakhstan 1-3 Norway: and we qualified, but we nearly made an almighty mess of it. Haaland had us up early but then with 20 minutes to go, as we pressed for the second, some bloke called Bobrovski rides in off the fucking steppe into 80 yards of space and buries the equaliser. Cue panic, subs thrown on and all hands on deck but fortunately this time we came up with the goods through Haaland and finally young midfielder Ronningen Jorgensen.

    So after a fraught but ultimately successful qualifying campaign, it ended up like this:





    Denmark conceded a 95th minute equaliser in their final match, which knocked them out and sent Wales to the World Cup for the first time in 68 years. Some other unusual qualifiers to the expanded 48-team tournament included Venezuela (their first ever), Angola, Panama, U.A.E., New Zealand, Qatar, and Haiti, who went on a remarkable slalom run through the various playoffs to finally beat Iraq on penalties and get into their first World Cup since 1974.

    Here's how the draw spun out:

    A: USA (co-host), Norway, Venezuela
    B: Mexico (co-host), Serbia, U.A.E.
    C: Senegal, Scotland, Uzbekistan
    D: Germany, South Korea, Tunisia
    E: France, Iran, Angola
    F: Argentina, Ireland, Saudi Arabia
    G: Brazil, Switzerland, Jamaica
    H: Belgium, Algeria, Costa Rica
    I: Portugal, Chile, Australia
    J: Sweden, Colombia, Japan
    K: Canada (co-host), Turkey, Ghana
    L: Spain, Morocco, Haiti
    M: Nigeria, Wales, New Zealand
    N: Italy, Peru, Mali
    O: England, Uruguay, Qatar

    And here's the squad and starting XI we'll be taking to North America:



  49. #599
    Isn't he banned? Baz's Avatar
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    69 goals in 61 games. The race to 100 goals vs games is on.
    I'm a twit

  50. #600
    Senior Member SincereTheRebel's Avatar
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    Work Permits. If my player for wolves does not have one and I send him on loan to one of my feeder clubs in league 2. Will he play league games?

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