ILoveLamp

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REVIVING LA MASIA

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Barcelona's famous La Masia academy has produced some of football's biggest stars like Messi, Xavi and Iniesta who have won everything football has to offer.

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However, over recent years the production line has dried up a bit and the club have been splashing the cash for first team players rather than promoting from within.

My mission is to change that by implementing one simple rule....

NO SIGNINGS ALLOWED

Graduates
2018
2019



 
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I'll be playing this one alongside my Fergie save.

Oddly, I don't like the transfer windows in FM as they take quite a while and the AI bids for my players our terrible and yet they demand crazy fees for their average players
 
Great idea for a project, looking forward to hear this story
 
Are you using the same tactic as you are in the Fergie save? Think it'll produce similar results?
 
We get revenge against Madrid in our first league encounter with two late goals

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However, we already have a small squad and the injuries are mounting up!

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Paco's injury will give young Abel Ruiz (see earlier post) a run in the first team.

Another option up front has been to retrain Dembele as a poacher. His finishing and composure need a lot of work but that blistering pace could be lethal.
The early signs are promising as he hits form with 5 goals in 4 games.

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Results

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The Champions League is always a priority and the first knockout draw saw us drawn against Bayern Munich.

Immediately after the first leg we also has a showdown with Real Madrid in the league. These three games could well determine the rest of our season.

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Madrid were owned!! 8 goals... sensational.

Thomas Muller tore us a new one in the first leg as our defensive issues came to the fore. If I was allowing myself to sign players Pique and Vermaelen would be the first players replaced. Pique hasn't the pace for my normal defensive set up and Vermaelen is too injury prone and his physical stats will soon plummet as he ages.
 
2017/18

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Of course we were always going to be among the favourites for the title with the current squad but a few injury crises saw us in a title fight for much of the season. Only towards the end of the season did we pull away.

With no transfers allowed our future title chances will all depend on the production line at La Masia. If it fails we fail.

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Pretty poor goalscoring returns for Messi and Ronaldo compared to their usual standards. Ronaldo had no excuses but Messi was injured quite a bit and his 26 league goals came in only 22 starts.

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Barca B

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Well that was unexpected even though we do have a few players there on the brink of the first team.
 
2018 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

After beating Bayern in 6-5 two-legged thriller in the first knockout round we drew Napoli in the quarters.

That was a more straightforward encounter after we won 6-2 in the first leg.

The semis await against Barcelona legend Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

Dembele scored two goals in the 80th and 81st minute to steal a 3-2 win in Manchester.

In the Camp Nou Aguero scored a 56th minute penalty to blow the tie wide open. Fortunately Vermaelen gets an immediate reply in the 59 minute. However ANOTHER penalty for City in the 86th, converted by Jonas, saw us clinging on for the final minutes before eventually sealing a final berth via the away goals rule.

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CHAMPIONS!!!

A pulsating start saw us exchange goals in the 11th and 12th minutes. In an even game we managed to ****** a 62nd minute winner and fittingly it was my first La Masia graduate Abel Ruiz who scored the winner in his breakthrough season!

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2018 LA MASIA GRADUATES

This is why we are here!

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Y18 is the year they came through. The * means one of the better graduates. This helps me keep an eye on them during their time at Barcelona and beyond



Oddly the best product is called Xavi... where I have heard that name before?? I don't play with wingers so time will be spent trying to get Xavi familiar with a wide striker position. Dembele made the change last season and ended with 20 league goals so I am optimistic.


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With Pique and Vermaelen the wrong side of 30 we need some centre backs coming through asap. Manuel will gets games eventually.

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We have a lot of right wing backs currently with Vidal, Sergi Roberto and Semedo but Jordi should get plenty of game time for the B team at least in the future.

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Another centre back. Though not tipped for the very top we will need pace in our back line soon so one to keep an eye on.

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January 1st 2019

We add the World Club Cup to the Spanish and UEFA Super Cups we won earlier in the season.

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Good to see Messi with a hat-trick as he has once again been plagued by injury having picked up an achilles problem playing for Argentina in the World Cup and missing 4 months.

Without Messi Suarez has carried the team with 22 league goals in only 15 games. His contract was up in the summer and at 31 looking £450k a week I wasn't going to give him it but such form deserves such rewards.

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ter Stegen wants a new deal and will probably get it. I like letting them sweat a bit if they have time on their current deals.

Jordi Alba also wants over £300k a week. That is too much and he may be sold and someone promoted from the Bs

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Barca B

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Again, they are at the right end of the table. None of the La Masia products have featured however. I've included them on the bench for some of the cup and UCL games but no need to rush them as the B team already had a few players more worthy of a first team appearance. There time will come.

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I gave Xavi his debut in the second leg of a Copa del Rey match v Eibar. We'd won the first leg 3-1.

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He does not disappoint with TWO ASSISTS

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Because the Y18 graduates aren't featuring for the B team in the Segunda I tried loaning them to our Romanian affiliate club Viitorul only to find out that under 18 players cannot be loaned abroad.

No Spanish team is interested in them currently. Hopefully the board announce an affiliation with a lower league Spanish side soon where I can send them to.
 
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