I was looking for inspiration for my next FM save, having played the Giants, the Minnows and the Fallen Giants in this latest version I wanted something different. I was looking through the "Biggest Regret" thread when one post stood out. Somebody talked about their biggest regret bing leaving Arsenal to manage Barca and finding their team in a state of disrepair, becoming disallusioned with the job at hand and quitting.
So, with that in mind, and knowing the AI mechanics pretty well I decided to dust down my old workhorse PC and start an experimental game, 7 years into the future.
I loaded the English, Italia and Spanish leagues as playable, and the Brazilian and Argentinian as view-only (to get the decent regens), and set the game to holiday for 7 years. A few hours later and here we are in June 2017. Kevin Nolan's just been appointed Barrow Town manager and Stuart Pearce was just given the Liverpool post. Neymar is the worlds most expensive footballer (£56m, Santos > Barcelona in 2014) while 4 out of the top 7 most expensive transfers belong to Man City (Hamsik @ £41m, Pastore @ £34.5m, Jesus Navas @ £30.5m and Roderick Miranda (via Real Madrid) @ £27.5m).
Barcelona's the world's richest club at £986m, closely followed by Real Madrid at £865m. The nearest rival is the Arsenal at £457m. Chelsea are the richest club without a loan debt at £417m. Man City have won the Champions League two out of the last three seasons but are in debt, with Althletico Madrid winning it in between the two City victories. Argentina won the 2014 World Cup, while the European Championships went to France in both 2012 and 2016.
Despite City's dominance in Europe they still haven't won the Premiership, with Man Utd claiming the 2011 title and then it rotating between Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea for a few years before Chelsea won the last two. Man City have been runner-up 3 times in 7 years though. Barcelona and Real have kept their grip on La Liga with Barca winning 4 titles to Real's 3 titles. Athletic Madrid have split the Giants on 3 occasions, finishing 3rd a further 3 times.
Now, for picking a team... Whenever I start a new game with a relatively high rep club, I have 7 players I always try to sign (not a very original list, i'm afraid!). So, with that in mind I checked where they currently are, and their current ability using Genie Scout. % based on CA against PA.
Rafael Varane, Leverkusen, 96%
Sergio Araujo , Leverkusen, 97.5%
Romario, HSV, 96%
Tobias Figueiredo, Napoli, 94%
Ganso, Santos, 99.5%
Eden Hazard, Liverpool, 99.4%
Romelu Lukaku, Udinese 95%
All's well in the universe it seems. Although none of them really play for a top club with the exception of Hazard.
I wanted to manage Barcelona from the beginning of this process, but it would largely depend on their current squad, finances and whatnot. After a quick investigation it looked like they fitted my requirements perfectly with a squad average age of 28. So off I went...
Expectations and Budgets:
Title Challenge; £150 million, £4.3 million wage budget per week (currently spending £2.1 million)
Title Winner; £150 million, £4.7 million wage budget per week (currently spending £2.1 million)
No need for the extra pressure and I don't think I can exceed those wages, so I picked Title Challenge.
Team Report:
Messi is still the talisman, but our midfield is now the weakest point in the team. It'll need strengthened, and i'll explain why later.
Goalkeepers:
Valdes is still #1 at 35. His mental attributes aren't that bad, but his physicals are poor. There are 2 30+ reserve keepers that I won't go into much detail about, but they're useless. There's then a 17 year old regen with the potential to be better than Valdes' current ability. He'll be my #1 unless I find better at a reasonable price.
Defenders:
With Mertesacker (32), Pique (30) and Kjaer (28) the central area is very well covered. 1st choice pairing is Pique and Kjaer. Left back I have a Regen who has phenominal physical attributes, but like Theo Walcott all he can do is run very very fast. A 30 year old Christian Ansaldi provides the cover. Davi Alves at 34 is still the 1st choice right back, backed up by a few fringe players at best. A 29 year old Mauricio Isla is an able deputy, but is better suited sitting in front of the back 4.
Midfielders:
I plan to play a 4-2-3-1 with two holding midfielders and 3 attack-minded players (AML, AMC and AMR). Mascherano can partner Isla in front of the back 4, providing a decent balance, although at 33 Mascherano is on his last legs. Barnetta is the only cover I have in this area, apart from Pique being able to step out of the back 4.
The attacking options are a little better with Pedro, Neymar, Messi, Iniesta, Erick Torres and Sercan fighting for the three spots. Messi is still outstanding, as is Neymar, but Pedro, Iniesta and co are all not good enough for Barca at this stage in their careers. I reckon a new AMC and some competition on each wing is required.
Strikers:
Erick Torres and Sercan can play up front, and in fact Sercan is my best "striker". Bojan is the best out and out striker I have and he's not world class. Neymar is another option, but that leaves another hole to fill in the midfield. A complete overhaul of the front line is required.
Staff:
The staff aren't that bad. A 2nd GK coach is required, one or 2 new Fitness coaches and a new attacking coach, but apart from that they've done okay. Only 3 youth coaches is a bit of a worry, but something that can be addressed over time. I have an okay number of scouts (11) and a decent number of physios.
The Club:
I have 9 feeder clubs that aren't my reserves, including Maritimo in Portugal, Heerenveen in Holland, Zenit in Russia and a few in South America. I'd like a better one in Argentina so might try to push through that. The stadium hasn't been touched and the youth facilities are pretty much as good as they'll get.
The Transfer Market Assault Plan:
I don't need a 'keeper as Valdes is an able #1 or an excellent backup. I can free up 30k in wages getting rid of my other 2 'keepers. Right and left backs are a priority, along with an entire new midfield and a world class striker. Can I do it all for under £150 million? I doubt it.
That'll do for this post. I'll post my Transfer Market Assault next time.
So, with that in mind, and knowing the AI mechanics pretty well I decided to dust down my old workhorse PC and start an experimental game, 7 years into the future.
I loaded the English, Italia and Spanish leagues as playable, and the Brazilian and Argentinian as view-only (to get the decent regens), and set the game to holiday for 7 years. A few hours later and here we are in June 2017. Kevin Nolan's just been appointed Barrow Town manager and Stuart Pearce was just given the Liverpool post. Neymar is the worlds most expensive footballer (£56m, Santos > Barcelona in 2014) while 4 out of the top 7 most expensive transfers belong to Man City (Hamsik @ £41m, Pastore @ £34.5m, Jesus Navas @ £30.5m and Roderick Miranda (via Real Madrid) @ £27.5m).
Barcelona's the world's richest club at £986m, closely followed by Real Madrid at £865m. The nearest rival is the Arsenal at £457m. Chelsea are the richest club without a loan debt at £417m. Man City have won the Champions League two out of the last three seasons but are in debt, with Althletico Madrid winning it in between the two City victories. Argentina won the 2014 World Cup, while the European Championships went to France in both 2012 and 2016.
Despite City's dominance in Europe they still haven't won the Premiership, with Man Utd claiming the 2011 title and then it rotating between Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea for a few years before Chelsea won the last two. Man City have been runner-up 3 times in 7 years though. Barcelona and Real have kept their grip on La Liga with Barca winning 4 titles to Real's 3 titles. Athletic Madrid have split the Giants on 3 occasions, finishing 3rd a further 3 times.
Now, for picking a team... Whenever I start a new game with a relatively high rep club, I have 7 players I always try to sign (not a very original list, i'm afraid!). So, with that in mind I checked where they currently are, and their current ability using Genie Scout. % based on CA against PA.
Rafael Varane, Leverkusen, 96%
Sergio Araujo , Leverkusen, 97.5%
Romario, HSV, 96%
Tobias Figueiredo, Napoli, 94%
Ganso, Santos, 99.5%
Eden Hazard, Liverpool, 99.4%
Romelu Lukaku, Udinese 95%
All's well in the universe it seems. Although none of them really play for a top club with the exception of Hazard.
I wanted to manage Barcelona from the beginning of this process, but it would largely depend on their current squad, finances and whatnot. After a quick investigation it looked like they fitted my requirements perfectly with a squad average age of 28. So off I went...
Expectations and Budgets:
Title Challenge; £150 million, £4.3 million wage budget per week (currently spending £2.1 million)
Title Winner; £150 million, £4.7 million wage budget per week (currently spending £2.1 million)
No need for the extra pressure and I don't think I can exceed those wages, so I picked Title Challenge.
Team Report:
Messi is still the talisman, but our midfield is now the weakest point in the team. It'll need strengthened, and i'll explain why later.
Goalkeepers:
Valdes is still #1 at 35. His mental attributes aren't that bad, but his physicals are poor. There are 2 30+ reserve keepers that I won't go into much detail about, but they're useless. There's then a 17 year old regen with the potential to be better than Valdes' current ability. He'll be my #1 unless I find better at a reasonable price.
Defenders:
With Mertesacker (32), Pique (30) and Kjaer (28) the central area is very well covered. 1st choice pairing is Pique and Kjaer. Left back I have a Regen who has phenominal physical attributes, but like Theo Walcott all he can do is run very very fast. A 30 year old Christian Ansaldi provides the cover. Davi Alves at 34 is still the 1st choice right back, backed up by a few fringe players at best. A 29 year old Mauricio Isla is an able deputy, but is better suited sitting in front of the back 4.
Midfielders:
I plan to play a 4-2-3-1 with two holding midfielders and 3 attack-minded players (AML, AMC and AMR). Mascherano can partner Isla in front of the back 4, providing a decent balance, although at 33 Mascherano is on his last legs. Barnetta is the only cover I have in this area, apart from Pique being able to step out of the back 4.
The attacking options are a little better with Pedro, Neymar, Messi, Iniesta, Erick Torres and Sercan fighting for the three spots. Messi is still outstanding, as is Neymar, but Pedro, Iniesta and co are all not good enough for Barca at this stage in their careers. I reckon a new AMC and some competition on each wing is required.
Strikers:
Erick Torres and Sercan can play up front, and in fact Sercan is my best "striker". Bojan is the best out and out striker I have and he's not world class. Neymar is another option, but that leaves another hole to fill in the midfield. A complete overhaul of the front line is required.
Staff:
The staff aren't that bad. A 2nd GK coach is required, one or 2 new Fitness coaches and a new attacking coach, but apart from that they've done okay. Only 3 youth coaches is a bit of a worry, but something that can be addressed over time. I have an okay number of scouts (11) and a decent number of physios.
The Club:
I have 9 feeder clubs that aren't my reserves, including Maritimo in Portugal, Heerenveen in Holland, Zenit in Russia and a few in South America. I'd like a better one in Argentina so might try to push through that. The stadium hasn't been touched and the youth facilities are pretty much as good as they'll get.
The Transfer Market Assault Plan:
I don't need a 'keeper as Valdes is an able #1 or an excellent backup. I can free up 30k in wages getting rid of my other 2 'keepers. Right and left backs are a priority, along with an entire new midfield and a world class striker. Can I do it all for under £150 million? I doubt it.
That'll do for this post. I'll post my Transfer Market Assault next time.
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do you intend to buy real players or regens or is there no real plan on what type of player to buy?