Franjo: A Journeyman Story (New Episode Every Week Day)

Interesting. Might be a good job there’s an “Other” option :D
 
I'd be leaning towards either Captiste, for apparently at times singlehandedly keeping you in the league; and his remarkable David Blaine-esque powers to ensure a happy changing room....

...or...

...and it's slightly leftfield, but Lenogue's penalty saving prowess ought to be recognised!
 
I did think about shortlisting Lenogue and as amazing as he’s been at times, he’s been absolutely atroucious at others!
 
See... maybe I'm taking this too literally but shouldn't an award for Underappreciated Excellence go to a player that's not had much attention? I'd have thought Captiste was your #1 Most Appreciated player. And Foden surely gets way too much recognition to qualify for an Underappreciatedness (?) award.

Sissako from that list, for me. He's my 1st pick.

Then Fomba.

And you know what? Zoun for 3rd. I know he's one of your star players, but I don't often see much written about him these days other than "...and Zoun cuts inside before finding the bottom corner" or "Zoun unleashes a thunderbastard into the top bin from 64 yards away." He just sort of gets on with it, scores big goals, and then goes about his business. And I'm just reading episode 175 where it turns out he's chucked in a transfer request (****'s sake) and you've said you've never been fully convinced by him, which just reinforces my point that he's a SAFAFUE contender because from a reader/fan's perspective it's looked like he's been a crucial part of the team who shows up when a big moment is needed.

*Drops mic*

Peace
 
As for Ep175... not a bad decision in the end I reckon. Maybe feels a bit like a defeat in context, which is understandable since those big 4 would all have been great gigs. But I reckon with a decent summer you can really build something in Auxerre. Look to your youth, sir!
 
Haha **** mate :D the “unappreciated” originally meant unappreciated by the media, triggered by Lenogue somehow not being shortlisted for the Ligue 2 GKOTS, but I guess it should extend to me. I definitely take your point about Fomba, solid player, but i have to disagree about Zoun. I might not have made this too clear but basically every time he’s played I’ve quietly taken him off with about half an hour to go because he’s on a 6.4 rating. But yeah he does occasionally run the show! In my eyes there isn’t too much difference between him and Ferhat at the minute in terms of ability so i’ve favoured Ferhat because he’s a few years younger, home grown, more versatile and has potential to actually be really good!

in summary, Zoun bad & vote for whoever you think for SAFAFUE, I’ll probably open it up next year (TAFAFUE) and specify that it can be players I’ve underappreciated too :)

also, new mini-sode

Franco’s Big Week (Franjo: A Journeyman Story - Mini-sode 175.5)
http://franjo.blog/2018/07/17/francos-big-week-franjo-a-journeyman-story-mini-sode-175-5/
 
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Well then, I'll stick with (1) Sissako (2) Fomba and I'll change (3) to Doucouré. Because **** the police.

Good to see you staying at Auxerre - just hope you get a bit of money to spend. Hopefully the existing squad will feel they belong in Ligue1 a bit more next season and they'll be more up to the task.
 
Solid picks! Yeah I hope so too. To say how young most of them are a year in ligue 1 won’t have hurt their development at all

Squad Announcement - EIL 2023 (Franjo: A Journeyman Story - Mini-sode 175.5.5)
http://franjo.blog/2018/07/19/10848/
 
When do the regular updates start again mate? Ordinarily you give a timescale.

On topic, here's hoping not every match ends 5-4, eh...
 
Sorry about that bud, slipped my mind this time! Here’s the next mini-sode:

France v Portugal - EIL 2023 Final (Franjo: A Journeyman Story - Mini-sode 175.5.5.5.5)
http://franjo.blog/2018/07/26/franc...njo-a-journeyman-story-mini-sode-175-5-5-5-5/

So now that the season’s actually over, next week will be the review and around the world minis (Probably Tuesday and Thursday) and then we’re back the following Monday which I believe is the 6th August
 
Congrats on the EIL win mate. Presumably you'll stick around with France for the next Euros/WC? Not sure which is next. Could be an interesting few years of transition, considering the average age of the squad. Judging by your goalkeeper situation it looks as though the next generation of players isn't quite up to the same standards as the last...
 
Haha you might be right, but I reckon Leo can still come good! Yeah I’ll hopefully be able to stick with them through to Euro 2024 but it is worrying seeing the gulf in ability between this generation and the next. It really is a ****** golden generation though so i suppose that’s to be expected!
 
Would LOVE to see you take the reins back at Hollviken again, that'd be amazing.

My ratings, then... hmm...

France - I reckon 8/10 seems fair. You've got a phenomenal squad who should be winning stuff... and that's exactly what you did. You've taken genuine steps towards bringing in the next generation, which will be hugely important in the next few years. And what's more, your team entertained. Not necessarily the exact set of tactics I would have used in your place, but you can't argue with 10 goals in two games against BIG sides.

Auxerre - hmm. This one is trickier. On the one hand, you really can't argue against the fact you survived on a proper shoestring. Only being able to bring in 2 players was a huge handicap, so viewed through that prism it's a sensational achievement because that group of players looks to me to be comfortably in the bottom three teams in the league. On the other hand... I feel you could've made life easier for yourself. Looking at a couple of your tactics screens has been frustrating at times, because... well, to speak plainly, you've made some very strange decisions. Some massively ambitious plans like attacking too much, trying to control possession with a weak team against some outstanding opposition... chopping and changing tactics every week, not giving the team time to learn their jobs and settle into them... playing McCarthy as a box-to-boxer when he's clearly a #10... and some of your tactics look like they leave huge gaps between defence and midfield or (especially) between midfield and attack as I don't think you get your role selections quite right.

BUT you survived, fairly comfortably in the end, despite having no money, comparatively weak players and horrendous, HORRENDOUS luck with injuries. That has to be applauded, as does the fact you stayed loyal to your core group, which will only benefit you in the long run.

So all in all, I'm giving you a 9/10. I may not agree with a lot of your decisions, but they paid off. Can't say better than that.
 
Cheers buddy. I reckon your points RE: Auxerre are fair so a 9’s very generous considering :D
 
Sidenote 2: How naive I was. How optimistic I was about my chances of having enough free time last week to sort this bad boy out. Sadly I've not so it's going to be another week before we can kick off 23/24. I'll try and fit an extra mini-sode in this week but again it depends on how busy this week is!
 
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