FC Lorient

[leckuno]

Since my Brescia save I've struggled getting into a save as I've been looking for a challenge to write about rather than trying to find a save for fun and I've finally found a save I want to play now with FC Lorient.



The club was founded in 1926 by a mother and son where they began as an amateur club but whats interesting is that less than 30 years later her grandson joined the club and became the first French international to play for the club as well helpign France make it to the 1954 World Cup. He even went on to become manager of the club as well.


The club has a very small history in the terms of silverware with the club only having won the Coupe de France once in 2002 and Ligue 2 in 2020 so it gives us a huge change to write our own name into the history books with the club.

The Clubs 5 year plan

Its good to see that the board aren't expecting a lot of things this season with just having to finish mid-table and then just having to maintain a top 5 finish for the rest of the first 5 years so there isn't a lot of ambition within the board but we can hopefully change that over the years.

The Supporters

This season the supporters have some really low expectations and just want us to remain in the league and the fact we only have 8,500 season ticker holders for a stadium that can hold over 18,000 means we can try and bring the fans back as well. We do have a large social media following though to start which is good.





​

 

[leckuno]

The Start

As always when starting first place to go is the bank balance to also find out what we have to spend on transfers and wages. First thing I notice is that we have no money to spend on wages at the moment but that could change if the right player is found as we do have over £2million to spend on transfers but we will need to be careful with just £8million in the bank.

Next it was time to evaluate the squad that we currently have at our disposal for the season ahead

We have quite a large squad at the moment but what we can see at a first glance is that it is missing a lot of quality with only a few stand out players. First player in defence that will be big for us in Benjamin Mendy who joined in the summer and will be our starting LB for the next few seasons and brings a lot of top of experience to the squad

We then have two stand out players in midfield for us and they are only 17 and 18.

Aymen Kari

Kari is currently on loan from PSG and looks like he could develop into a **** of a player. We do have the option to sign him for £3.4million come the end of the season but with that brings a but back clause of just £4.28million but it could still be worth the gamble if we can get him

Junior Kroupi

A player who I signed on my Brescia save and know well from it but at 17 he will be getting plenty of first team football this season as we will look to develop him and make him one of the next French legends to grace the game to come through the clubs youth team.

Season Preview

We're expected to finish 13th this season but with the odds we could be pulled into a relegation zone if we aren't careful and it looks like they expect us to really struggle to make it into the top half of the table with the players that we have. It looks like PSG will be the run away favourites as usual as well.​

 

[leckuno]

Preseason

Transfers Out

There hasn't been a massive outflux of players in the opening window as only 3 players leave the club. The players that left were all either too old and not going to feature long term or just weren't going to be in my plans for the seasons ahead.

Transfers In

We've only made one signing so far in this window as I don't want to sign people who aren't going to improve the overall squad. We welcome Martin Vitik from Sparta Prague for £1,000,000

At only 20 years old he already has great physical stats and will be a strong centre back and at 6'4 he will be a huge presence in the air at set pieces as well.

Preseason

We have a mixed preseason where we tried our luck against some bigger teams and it back fired on us. We got some wins though as it helped us decide on our starting XI and tactic

Tactic

It might be daft with where we're expected to finish but I've decided to play an attacking brand of football the fans want to see entertaining football and we will do our best even if it doesn't get us the results that we're after.

August

Well its one of the worst possible starts we could of asked for but at least 2 of the 3 games are at home to give us half a chance

​

 

[leckuno]

August

PSG v Lorient

A result that was as expected here as Ramos ran riot against us but it was great to see Kroupi score his first goal for the club even if it was just a consolation

Lorient v Nice

https://fmshots.com/images/2024/02/07/23be6f6e84bf40a13.png

We raced into an early lead before doubling it 15 minutes later, we were given a fright right before half time though as Nice pegged us back. It could have taken the wind from sails but we managed to get get back in the game through Kroupi before winning comfortably in either a goal in the closing minutes.

Lorient v Lille

A very good draw here as Lille are predicated to finish a good few spaces above us in the league so we can take plenty of positives from the game

League

Only 3 games so there isn't much too look at but what a surprise PSG are already 2 points clear at the top

Transfers

It got to deadline day and I wanted to see if I could bring in a new striker and found Hugo Ekitike on the loan list and he fits the bill perfectly for us and will come in and lead the line for the season ahead.

September

Another 3 games this month but we have an excellent chance to pick up points against Le Havre before having to face Monaco​

 

[leckuno]

September

Le Havre v Lorient

Ekitike makes his debut and scores 2 goals in a dream debut for us and hopefully he's like this in every game for us

Lorient v Monaco

We knew this was going to be a tough game again coming in against one of the bigger teams so to only lose by a single goal here isn't too bad

Nantes v Lorient

Even though we got a point here I'm really disappointed with us throwing away a 2 goal lead and conceding right at the death thanks to a set piece as well/

League

6 games and we sit in 7th spot which is exactly where we want to be by making sure we finish in the top half but what a surprise that PSG are already running away with it after only 6 games.

October

We've got more tough games this month as I keep forgetting how many good teams there are in this league at the moment​

 

[leckuno]

October

Lorient v Montpellier

A very close game with the team expected to finish just above us in the league and its a set piece that separates us

Lyon v Lorient

Another expected result here as we came up against Lyon

Lorient v Rennes

A much better performance here as we record our first win in 5 games as Le Bris is the MOTM here with 2 goals and an assist from the left wing.

Reims v Lorient

A very lucky result here after taking the lead in the opening 10 minutes as Tosin came on a sub with 20 minutes to play and poked the ball home with the final kick of the ball for the win

League

We hold out in 7th place still with 14 points but its still close below us as we're only 7 points above bottom spot and a whopping 16 points behind PSG in top spot.

November

Another tough game to start the month against Lens but after that we have two great chances to pick up points in the final 2 games.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

PSG

 

[leckuno]

PSG

Yup they are flying and going to be hard to catch over the next few seasons

 

[leckuno]

November

Lorient v Lens

Not the best game for us here as Lens were able to over power us easily and showed the gap we need to close.

Clermont Foot v Lorient

A really bad result here against a team sitting near the bottom of the league in a game we really needed to do better.

Lorient v Metz

A much better game here and Faivre got us off to a flyer in the opening minute before Kroupi was able to double the lead later in the first half to get us back to winning ways.

League

We have held on to 7th spot again as we still sit just outside the European spots and also still only 7 points above the relegation spots as we really need to start pulling away from those soon

December

Some decent games this month for trying to pick up points but Marseille and Toulouse will be tough games with them just below us in the league​

 

[leckuno]

December

Toulouse v Lorient

The perfect start to the month here with us getting off to an early lead before putting the game to bed in the final 10 minutes of the game

Lorient v Marseille

The game I was really not looking forward to this month and we came so close to getting a draw but sadly it wasn't to be here.

Lorient v Strasbourg

We bounce straight back with a big win here against Strasbourg and its great to see Ekitike getting on the score sheet again here.

Brest v Lorient

Well it was an exciting 2 minutes of the game here as the rest of it was pretty boring but it was disappointing to draw with the team bottom of the league

League

We're doing very well in holding onto 7th place at the moment. The big news is though is that PSG have finally dropped points with a loss against Lille and a draw against Le Havre

January

Now its our turn against the teams to take points off PSG but we also get to start in the cup as well which always brings a bit of fun​

 

[leckuno]

January

Coupe de France 9th Round
Lorient v Guingamp

We made sure we were going to make it through this round at least and put out a strong side against the Ligue 2 side and even though it took us to the 2nd half we got a very comfortable victory.

Lille v Lorient

This was always going to be a tough match here and the better team won as we really struggled to trouble their keeper.

Coupe de France 10th Round
Lorient v Valenciennes

We got lucky with the draw again here drawing a Ligue 2 side but they made it harder for us but the on loan Faivre got the opening goal before the 17 year old wonderkid put the game to bed with 8 minutes to go.

Lorient v Le Havre

A good performance here against the team currently at the bottom of the league as Kroupi was the stand out player here scoring a wonder goal.

League

PSG back to an undefeated month again but more importantly we've moved up to 6th on goal difference but are still only 13 points clear of bottom spot

Transfers Out

We had no incomings this month as i really struggled to find players to join us that would improve the squad but we did sell a few players from the youth teams. The main outgoing was Tosin though who was moaning about not playing so we decided to offload him for a decent fee.

February

A busier month this time and a much tougher draw in the cup this time as we travel to Monaco. The league games could be challenging after facing Metz though as they all have the opportunity to mix it up​

 

[leckuno]

February

Metz v Lorient

Ekitike has been a bit hit and miss this season but when he performs he performs well. He is young though and will take more time to reform those parts of his game.

Coupe de France 11th Round
Monaco v Lorient

We sadly get knocked out of the cup here but Monaco are playing well just now and were the far better team

Lorient v Reims

Reims are only a couple of spots behind us in the league just now so I was hoping to get a better result at home but sadly it wasn't to be

Strasbourg v Lorient

Our confidence has clearly taken a knock after going out of the cup as we end with only a point here in another game that I thought we should of got the 3 points from

Lorient v Nantes

A really poor start to the 2nd half here as Mohamed scores two quick goals just after the restart and we weren't able to recover to get back into the game

League

With a poor month with just 5 points from 12 we have dropped down to 8th spot. We're still exceeding all expectations though with being in the top half at the moment.

March

A bit of a horrible 3 games in a row here with the current form we're in so we might need to try something a bit different here.​

 

[leckuno]

March

Rennes v Lorient

A good way to bounce back from the run of losses with a draw against a very strong team

Lorient v Lyon

After deciding not to bother changing anything and sticking with our attacking gameplay could this be our form finally turning for a while as Ekitike and Kroupi link up twice to help each other get on the score sheet.

Monaco v Lorient

What a victory as we wanted revenge on Monaco after our thumping in the cup. Going in 1 down at half time I didn't expect things to get much better but what a 2nd half as a quick goal got us going and unsettled them and then we took full advantage of it.

Lorient v Brest

I always have the fear when playing teams in the relegation zone as they always have a lot more to fight for at this time of the season. Again though after initially falling behind we came together and got a well earned win

League

Well safe to say this month didn't go as we expected as we performed a **** of a lot better and manage to jump up to 6th spot. PSG have been nuts with just losing 1 game so far and with the amount of goals they've scored.

Youth Intake

A so called golden generation for for club, but sadly its the usual. While looking at the players though there is only one standout candidate who looks like they have the potential to make it to the first team one day. Left back Yannick Mercier has the makings of a decent wing back and we will look to improve his dribbling and crossing stats as well

April

Can we be the next team to take points from PSG this month?​

 

[leckuno]

April

Montpellier v Lorient

We continue our excellent run of coming back from a losing start with a win and we left it spectacularly late to win it as well with two good goals in the final minutes.

Lorient v PSG

Well we aren't the next ones to take points from PSG as they were just too strong for us again but we did take positives away from the game as well with only losing by a goal.

Nice v Lorient

A loss here but I felt we had done well enough to at least get a point but it wasn't to be.

Lorient v Toulouse

We bounce back after two losses on the bounce but we leave it very late to show how close the game was but we just had that extra wee bit after we made the subs with 10 minutes to go and Dieng got the goal after just 8 minutes on the park

League

We hold onto the final European spot at the moment but Marseille are right behind us. PSG have already been crowned as champions and 2 of the Champions League places have gone as well.

May

Our final 3 games and I could of certainly asked for an easier 2 games here as Lens could still ****** 2nd and then Marseille could leapfrog us as well before hopefully an easy game in front of our own fans to round the season off​

 

[leckuno]

May

Lens v Lorient

Not the start we had hoped for this month but we knew it was a tough game against 3rd in the league and wasn't our day.

Marseille v Lorient

A vital game for us as we try and stay in the European spots and we went all out for it and it back fired as Marseille took their chances against us.

Lorient v Clermont Foot

A perfect way to end the season in front of our own fans with a commanding win and Ekitike gets to say goodbye in style as well with an excellent brace.

League

Sadly the difference was just the Marseille game as we finish the season in 8th spot but on the upside we finish higher than expected and can use it as a solid base for next season to go that one step further.

Transfers In

Before the end of the season we still had a hefty transfer budget left as we hadn't signed anybody so I wanted to make sure we didn't lose out and went and signed two new players

Jovan Šljivić

Sadly we weren't able to convince Kari to sign a permament deal with us so I wanted another young midfielder so the scouts were busy and found Šljivić who joins us from Crvena Zvezda for £4.5million

Nicolò Tresoldi

Again we knew that Ekitike was leaving at the end of the season so a new striker was going to be a priority so we splash out £7.5 to sign Tresoldi from Hannover where he managed to score 10 goals in 22 games last season so hopefully as he matures he will develop into a top class striker for us

Budgets

So not the biggest budget which is as expected but there are a few players we will be looking to sell over the course of the window which we will then use to strengthen the team.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Decent enough first season in charge and like you said, a good foundation to build on. The Serbian 18 year old could become a key figure in your midfield over the coming years I reckon.

 

[leckuno]

Sorry guys been away on holiday and had some poor internet coverage so been playing while not updating. Sadly the 2nd season didn't go to plan. I ended up selling 15 players and then brought in 8 with the money and it wasn't enough as it all went backwards and I ended up being sacked in November due to barely winning a game

 

[misterioBean]

Sorry guys been away on holiday and had some poor internet coverage so been playing while not updating. Sadly the 2nd season didn't go to plan. I ended up selling 15 players and then brought in 8 with the money and it wasn't enough as it all went backwards and I ended up being sacked in November due to barely winning a game

Well that sucks, looking forward to your next save then