Abou Diaby & Aubervilliers: Fulfilling Great Potential

[Schnauzer]

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Bonjour a tous!
Due to the boredom of quarantine I have decided to make an FM story for the first time. I decided to take on a save with potential to rack up a number of seasons, with a lot of challenge involved. For this idea, I will be playing as former Arsenal and French national team player Abou Diaby - an extremely gifted footballer who sadly never quite reached his enormous potential due to a catalogue of injuries. Diaby grew up in Aubervilliers, a surburb just outside of inner-city Paris, and started his junior career playing for Football Club Municipale d'Aubervilliers. Diaby played there between the ages of 8-12 before moving to Red Star Paris, followed by PSG and INF Clairefontaine, before making his professional breakthrough at Auxerre. From Auxerre he moved to Arsenal for around £2 million in January 2006. He became an Arsenal fan favourite despite being blighted by injuries, and made 124 appearances and scored 14 goals across 9 years at the Gunners. He made 16 appearances for the French senior team, scoring once. He finished his playing career with a short injury stricken spell at Marseille before officially retiring in February 2019.

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Clearly Diaby never quite fulfilled his undoubted potential as a player, but can he do it as a manager? This save puts him fictionally in charge of his boyhood team FCM Aubervilliers, in the National 3 - Paris Ile de France division; all the way down in the 5th tier of French football. This is a semi-professional team with a weekly wage total of under £5k per week for the whole team, and one who plays in stadium primarily used for athletics - see the picture below of the 'Stade Andre Karman'. They don't boast a large fanbase and they must compete with the other teams surrounding them: not just the riches of Paris Saint-Germain in the west of the city, but also Paris FC and Creteil-Lusitanos in the south, L'Entente SSG to the north, and just 5.6km away lie 3rd tier Red Star Paris. Things will certainly be difficult!

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I hope you follow the story as I attempt to rise through the divisions and attempt to knock Paris Saint-Germain off their perch as champions of Paris and France!

 

[Schnauzer]

PRE-SEASON 19/20


We have had a surprisingly productive preseason, bringing in a total of 10 players and seeing 2 leave. This is a great result as I started without any centre backs and had just one centre midfielder, meaning that the squad was hugely imbalanced. Two players left to free up wages. The masterstroke was getting US Concarneau to become the new parent club, as they agreed to supply us with 5 quality young players to gain experience, all without having to pay a penny in wages! The other players brought in on free transfers are all very cheap in terms of salary, and provide the team with plenty of competition now.

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The below are the best of these transfers:

DADA
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The 25 y/o Madagascan midfielder joins us on a 2 year deal having previously been a reserve team player at neighbouring Red Star Paris. He will add a lot of quality to our midfield and hopefully some goals from late runs with his PPT of 'gets into opposition area'.

HACENE BENALI​

A young winger who I feel should be playing at a higher level than the 5th tier. Crossing and passing attributes of 14 and flair of 13 means he should be getting assists galore!

ABDOURAHIM MOINA​

Moina is another talented centre midfielder who like Dada is very comfortable on the ball and will help us to execute a sharp passing style of play. Has a great first touch which will be useful as I want him to be a deep playmaker who can control the game even under pressure.

SOFIANE LAOUAR​

Whilst Benali will be driving the ball forward on the right wing and looking to play in the striker, on the opposite wing I wanted someone to cut inside and be a goal threat. Laouar has the technical ability to do so and at only £70 per week we have a great player on our hands.


BEST EXISTING PLAYERS

YANN KERBORIOU​

Kerboriou is certainly too good for this level and he has played a lot of games in Ligue 2 for Creteil-Lusitanos only a few years ago. I'm not sure if we will be able to keep him after this season however as we are paying him nearly a grand a week, which is nearly a quarter of our overall budget. Hopefully he does the business this season though.

LOUIS LAPOUGE​

Lapouge looks to be a pretty strong striker for this level, and whilst he lacks a natural finishing ability he is able to create lots of chances with his dribbling, touch and balance.


Friendlies

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A very good performance against Zurich to only get beaten 1-0 is the standout result. Also grabbed a goal against nearby rivals Red Star.



Pre-Season Odds

The booking have us to finish in third, ahead of all other non B teams and also ahead of Creteil's B team. However with just one promotion spot and B teams allowed to be promoted into the 4th tier I know the odds of us getting promoted this season whilst PSG and their wonderkid assembly are still here are much lower in reality than 2-1. In truth, this season should be viewed as a free swing at promotion without expectations, while assembling a team that can secure promotion in the 20/21 season once PSG's B team are gone.

Here is how we will line up this season. I want to play pacy football that isn't overcomplicated, but also pins the opposition in their half and creates lots of chances. I may tweak this tactic but its a start.

Allez Aubervilliers!

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

I'm not an Arsenal fan but have always had an affection for Diaby. Remember him completely running the game against Liverpool at Anfield which I think was one of the last games he played for Arsenal

 

[Schnauzer]

I'm not an Arsenal fan but have always had an affection for Diaby. Remember him completely running the game against Liverpool at Anfield which I think was one of the last games he played for Arsenal

Yeah me too, I think if it hadn't been for the injuries he would probably have been have been one of the world class central midfielders of his generation. Watching the below video I think he actually resembles Zidane more than Vieira who he is more commonly compared to:

Thanks for reading mate!

 

[Schnauzer]

AUGUST & SEPTEMBER UPDATE​

Well this first update certainly is one of two halves! We had a horrible start and I don't think my tactics were quite balanced right, but it soon turned the corner.

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A bad start to Abou Diaby's reign. We only managed 9 shots all game as we simply didn't get the ball into dangerous positions enough, and the players movement was too predictable. Laouar did however score a great header from the near the penalty spot, glancing it into the far top corner. We should be beating teams like Torcy.

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I thought that the first game was going to be a one off, however it was more of the same here. Again we struggled to work the ball into dangerous positions, but Laouar grabbed another great headed goal - he looks a player! Sloppy defending though gave Creteil's B side the 3 points and it looks a mammoth task already to overtake PSG B side, given that there are only 26 league games.

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That was more like it! I noticed that the forward movement had been too easy for the defenders to pick up so I adjusted the tactics to allow more off the ball movement, and it paid off big time as both our striker Lapouge and our number 10 Ewagnignon (what a name) netted hatricks. Sub striker Dupa got his first goal also. Noisy-le-Grand will struggle this season.

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We didn't play badly here and I think it was just a case of Paris FC B side being a good match. They are probably our main competition for the top spot next season after PSG B inevitably go up, so this was a good marker.

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A good win but we probably should have scored a few more. Benali scored again, he is doing great so far.

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A really easy win against another poor team. It's encouraging that the goals are being spread across the attacking line. We are starting to get bragging rights for being being the best Parisian suburb team outside the big boys' B sides.

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The first game in our Coupe de France campaign was a big win over 6th tier team from the Pas-de-Calais region. We sent them back north with such force they may reach Dover!

PLAYER OF THE UPDATE

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A pretty straight forward choice for the winner, as Benali scores 4 goals and assisted 7 in the past 7 games. Definitely our danger man.

TACTICAL TWEAKS

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The key to the turnaround in form was to changing up the striker / number 10 roles and duties. Previously I went for a APM/S and AF combination, but the opposition defence found it too easy to track Lapouge whilst Ewagnignon wasn't getting close enough to the action. After playing around with different ideas, this combination lead to us beating Noisy-le-Grand 7-1 and both Lapouge and Ewagnignon netting hattricks. It works so well as the team knock the ball around waiting for these two to interchange positions and to open space for a forward run from deep, which also invites Laouar to cut inside from his IW role and Dada to surge forward from CM. Out of possession, Lapouge drops deeper and makes a more solid unit, whilst winning more clearances. It also means that Benali is the most advanced player on the right wing, which works greats as we can play through balls for him behind the defence and he then pulls it back for a finish.

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Not the best start but hey it's still open I guess. Amazingly PSG B lost to Versailles 1-0, after absolutely destroying every other team they played (see the +20 goal difference already lol). Hopefully we can push on and close the gap now.


Allez Aubervilliers!

 

[Schnauzer]

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER UPDATE​

We're losing too many games. Still sort of in touching distance from the top spot but it will need a big push to get there.

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A nice result after Boulogne-Billancourt (which is actually basically the area where the PSG ground 'Parc des Princes' is) pulled us back twice.

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A big win in the Coupe de France, with backup LW Arnaud Honore grabbing a hatrick.

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Ah. Came unstuck here against one of the better sides in the division. Racing Club de France Football are actually a very well known side with a lot of history in France - they were founding members of Ligue 1 and even won the division in the 1935-36 year, and have 5 Coupe de France titles! Maxime Bossis and David Ginola are both former Racing CFF players also. Nevertheless these days they're not up to much, so it's still a disappointing defeat.

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Another comfortable win in the Coupe de France against another village team. This crazy competition has so many rounds!

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Back to the league, and a satisfying win over newly promoted side Saint-Leu.

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Another good league win, and more goals from centre back Franck Momo and from on loan midfielder Moina.

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Oops. There goes our cup run! Knocked out by fellow 5th tier side Auch Football (from the Occitanie / South-West France region). We battered them all game but couldn't score, and paid the price on pens.

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Our first meeting with Paris powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (by the way, it is no longer based in Saint-Germain-de-Pres), albeit, their juniors, ends in disappointment. We started well but they were simply too strong, boasting future prospects like Loic Mbo Soh, Mitchel Bakker, Marcin Bulka and Xavi Simons. A good effort.

This deat was slightly more worrying. It also means that Versailles are teetering at the top of the table.



PLAYER OF THE UPDATE

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A couple of players in with a shout but I'll give it to centre back Franck Momo, who has played beyond expectations and has grabbed a few goals from corners, by standing next to the keeper and bustling the ball into the net. It's old school and I love it!

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Despite moving up 2 places since the last update the table looks worse, as our deficit from 1st place has gone from 5 points to 12 points. I think we can safely say that Diaby will not be conquering PSG in his first season. What is worrying however is how close Versailles are to doing exactly that! I need it to be PSG going up, so that we don't have to worry about them next year after they inevitably hoover up most of Europe's young talent..

(Edit: I've just noticed that FC Saint-Leu have lost 12 straight games )


Allez Aubervilliers!

 

[Crayth]

Good luck mate, seems like a fantastic challenge!! Good luck!

 

[Schnauzer]

@Crayth Thanks bud, and yeah definitely a longer term project but I'm hopeful once I get out of this league with PSG's wonderkid brigade we can start to make some ground! I love the French leagues and am a bit of a francophile and francophone so its an interesting one for sure

 

[Schnauzer]

DECEMBER, JANUARY & FEBRUARY UPDATE​

I'm going change the format of the updates slightly and post screenshots of schedules page, as it makes the update a bit lighter.

We initally continued our horrible form from November on before turning a corner, which is making me feel positive for next season.

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December continued our bad form and the 2-0 home loss to Les Ulis (the birthplace of Thierry Henry, Moussa Marega and Patrice Evra and Anthony Martial's first ever club) was our 5th defeat in a row. Thankfully we turned a corner by beating Creteil's B side thanks to backup striker Alban Dupa stepping up to the plate. What changed, you ask? Well....

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Abou Diaby's experience in English football inspired me to revert to the footballing art that is the FOUR-FOUR-*******-TWO. See below video if you don't get the reference

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January continued the upturn in form, with Dupa scoring again and Dada with his first goal for Aubervilliers.

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We sign LB Bastien Bataille as we only had Sid-Ahmed Dfeili to play there. At only £20 a week we can't go wrong. We're basically just paying for his ubers to and from the ground HisPPT of 'gets into opposition area' suits what I want from my marauding LB, overlapping the IW, whilst the RB tucks inside - a la Mikel Arteta.

February should have been 3 wins out of 3. We're struggling again to turn chances into goals. In the game against Saint-Leu we had 32 shots, to their 0, but it finished just 1-0.

We have agreed to sign Glodi Mafuala we his contract ends in the summer. Looks a talented player and hopefully his high determination will see him improve.

We have also extended the contracts of Alban Dupa, Rhys Ewagnignon, Alexis Honore and Louis Lapouge.

Arnaud Honore has agreed a pre-contract with a 2nd tier Cypriot side (no big problem) and Sofiane Laouar has handed in a transfer request, but he has been unable to match his early season form.

PLAYER OF THE UPDATE

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Dupa has stepped up and shown he can form a good partnership up top with Lapouge, and deserves the award.

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With 6 games to play thankfully it looks increasingly likely that PSG B will go up. We are at least finishing well and I'm confident about our chances next season, after I can make the team completely my own.

Extra shout out needed for FC Saint-Leu 95, who finally won their first game against Noisy-Le-Grand! Go on lads



Allez Aubervilliers!

 

[Schnauzer]

END OF SEASON UPDATE: MARCH, APRIL & MAY​

So the season petered out and we had just 6 games to play to finish the season - but these games have emboldened us to go for the league title next season.

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March actually was a wash out against two sides that are quite similar in stature to Aubervilliers. Both games culminated in an away 2-1 defeats. We were well beaten by the boys in orange Boulogne-Billancourt but I felt aggrieved not to have at least got a draw against Racing as we had the better chances.

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Much better! Theo Lagadec bagged his 3rd and 4th goals of the season and he has been an excellent loan player this year playing at CB on loan from our parent club US Concarneau.

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There we go! A big, morale-boosting victory at the home of the youngsters in waiting of PSG shows that we can do so much better next season. We top it off with a victory over Les Ulis to finish the season on a 4 game win streak.

FINAL LEAGUE TABLE

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Given that our media prediction was 3rd I'd say this hasn't been disastrous, but I am not happy at finishing 4th either. I said before the season that given the players available to PSG B, this season would be a complete free hit but we didn't show nearly enough consistency to challenge. PSG B smashed it and won all but 3 matches and were worthy winners. Their division rivals next season will be relieved to know that they cannot progress further than the French 4th tier as a B side!

What worries me is the performance of Versailles. They pushed PSG B to the end and won over 80% of their league matches. It won't be easy at all getting out of this division next season.

The teams leaving us after getting relegated are Noisy-Le-Grand, Les Mureaux and Saint-Leu.

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Very happy to have extended the contracts of attacking duo Rhys Ewagnignon and Louis Lapouge and I believe that they can take us up next season with their goals.

However, we are losing a lot of first team players. Kerboriou (wages far too expensive at £975 a week) and Dfeili (not good enough imo) will be leaving on free transfers. Lagadec, Moina and Benali will return to Concarneau after their loans. Lagadec is actually out of contract but doesn't want to permanently relocate. Moina and Benali refuse to return on loan and to be honest I don't blame them for wanting to play at a higher level as they have been superb.

Sofiane Laouar remains transfer listed by request but we may end up coming to an agreement for him to stay. He's a good player on his day but fairly inconsistent, a player trait that I don't like.

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Joining us in the summer on a free transfer will be attacking midfielder Damien Durand, who will challenge Ewagnignon for a starting spot. He is a very technical player with a bit of speed and I have secured him at just £75 a week.

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Also incoming to provide cover at CB is Ismail Bachir, who joins us having previously been an academy player for FC Fleury 91, another Ile de France region (basically the greater Paris area) based team. He has good mental and physical stats but the height at just 5'7 for a CB isn't ideal.

Finally we add right winger Zacharia Diallo on a free transfer to come in and replace the brilliant Hacene Benali. He isn't quite the same level but he has a lot of potential and hopefully Diaby can coax that out of him. Diallo played last season at recently relegated Noisy-Le-Grand but is an academy graduate of SM Caen, so he has reasonable footballing pedigree.

More to follow as I make the squad my own and cut down the wage bill to make this club sustainable in the lower leagues, as to ensure that if we go up, we might have a transfer budget of sorts to strengthen against a better standard of player.



Allez Aubervilliers!

 

[Schnauzer]

PRESEASON & FIRST 9 GAMES OF 2020/21 SEASON

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Bookies predicted finish: 2nd place
Odds: Evens
Bookies favourite: Paris FC B

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We head into the 20/21 season off the back of a 4 game winning streak and in high spirits. With the additions of Mafuala, Durand, Bachir and Diallo we have added some useful rotations and brought down our average salary considerably - comparing these players to those they will replace. I set up a friendly fixture list that wouldn't demotivate the players too much - see the 'Sunderland till I die' Netflix documentary in which they feature their final pre-season friendly against Celtic, brutally losing 5-0 at home.

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The most difficult fixture was against Tours, a big side still languishing in the 4th tier with a good youth system. We come out of it with a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from trialist Lilian Bochet, who unfortunately was well out of our price range as soon as Belgian 2nd tier side Oud-Heverlee Leuven offer him a £2.3k per week contract. Fair play to him! In the rest of the games my assistant oversaw routine wins whilst I focused on transfers.

NEW TRANSFERS

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On top of the Mafuala, Durand, Bachir and Diallo additions we have added 6 more players in to ensure that I am working with my own squad this year. I'm very pleased that we were able to bring back young CB Theo Lagadec for another year as he was fantastic in the 19/20 season. We are able to negotiate with Troyes to bring in 3 of their young prospects in Karamoko (a right winger with good dribbling ability), Munier (an all rounder left back) and Brahimi (a playmaking midfielder with a decent set-piece). Ibrahim Coskun is a solid French-Turkish central midfielder who played his junior football at the prestigious Auxerre academy and then at the Turkish giants Galatasaray. He played in the 4th tier of France last season at St-Pryve St-Hilaire FC.

The most eye-catching signing that we have made is definitely that of the goalkeeper Charles Itandje. Charles is a Cameroonian international and played for Liverpool between 2007-10 so he brings a great deal of experience and professionalism to the squad, which Abou Diaby would need to keep consistency over the course of the 26 games, unlike last year. He has also played regularly in the Greek and Turkish super leagues for the likes of PAOK and Konyaspor. He hails from Bobigny, a municipality right next to Aubervilliers and played his football in the Paris Ile de France division last season for the impressive Versailles. We hope that he excels in his return to north Paris!

AUGUST

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Our old problem of lack of consistency rears its head again! ES Viry-Chatillon are a newly promoted side and we really should win games such as this. It's unfortunate, as we had secured a late win against the newly impressive Ivry and then beat last season's hotshots Versailles.

SEPTEMBER

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We start with a strong performance against newly relegated Poissy, amassing 71% possession. Then comes another infuriating performance, this time at home to Les Ulis. Charles Itandje let in 3 questionable goals. His age (37) and lack of agility are certainly now being put into question. Next followed a useless performance from our forward players as newly promoted Senart-Moissy sat back and happily took a point. I have no idea how they are drawing crowds of over 2,000 people but I expect they will soon become a force in the lower leagues with that support. We finish with a morale boosting win in the Coupe de France, and another good performance from Damien Durand.

OCTOBER

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A much better month! We are frustrated by Boulogne-Billancourt but they aren't a bad side at all. Advancing to the 7th round in the Coupe de France and beating newly relegated Mantois marks a success in my books.

PLAYER OF THE UPDATE

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Damien Durand has settled in very well following his summer move and has even displaced our 19/20 player of the season Rhys Ewagnignon in the number 10 position. He has 4 goals and 3 assists from his first 10 games.

LEAGUE TABLE

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Not at all a bad start and I think we're on the right path following the month of October. It's just frustrating that we lost to two average teams in Les Ulis and Viry-Chatillon. I don't think either Ivry or Mantois are as good as PSG B or Versailles were in 19/20 so I'm feeling confident that we can close the gap!

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Allez Aubervilliers!

 

[Schnauzer]

So we fell quite far behind off the leaders again and unfortunately I've somewhat lost motivation in this save as I don't want to play a third season at this level.

Planning to start a new story soon - potentially another low-league save elsewhere in Europe!