SaintMotbot's Capital City Challenge

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SaintMotbot

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Hi Everybody!

Following the untimely demise of my last save due to a corrupt save file, I turned to you to see what you would like to see in terms of a story. I have taken on board everything you guys have said, and have decided to do a big mash up of all your suggestions. So welcome to...

SaintMotbot's Capital City Challenge!​

View attachment 117410
What is a capital city challenge I hear you ask? Here are the rules of the save.

1. During my career, I can only manage clubs that are geographically within the capital city of any country, I will include a helpful list of possible clubs later in the post.

2. The aim of the save? To win the top division title in each of Europe's top 5 leagues with a club situated in the capital cities of those countries. Depending on the success of the save and how much you guys are enjoying it, I may extend the challenge to include the Champions League as well.

3. I am freely able to move as I wish between clubs in Capital Cities.

4. Again depending on the success of the game, I may add some more countries and leagues to the challenge. Feel free to drop me a message or post on the threat with any suggestion for leagues you would like to see or clubs you would like me to manage :)


So here is a list of clubs that I am free to manage off the top of my head, If I have missed any, let me know and I will add them in!

[TABLE="width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Country[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Capital[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Clubs
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]England[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]London[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Crystal Palace,
West Ham, Fulham, QPR. [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]France[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Paris[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]PSG, Paris FC.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Germany[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Berlin[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Hertha BSC, FC Union Berlin.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Spain[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Madrid[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Rayo Vallecano.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Italy[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Rome[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Roma, Lazio.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Spain, France and England are seem like fairly easy propositions, while Italy looks slightly harder and Germany looks very hard indeed.

Hopefully this save will include a little bit of what everybody wanted and I hope you all enjoy! :)
​
 
So the big question that remains now, where am I going to start?

I didn't want to start in Germany, as I have just spent some time in the Bundesliga with my last save, and there was only one other club that instantly caught my eye, so my adventure is going to start with..

View attachment 117409
 
This sounds awesome! I can't wait to see how you do with each club! good luck mate ;) question though? Don't you think it would've been more challenging if you started with let's say Paris FC or Union Berlin who are a very small side and then take them to the CL trophy to be able to actually get the job at those big clubs?
 
Linecoigne1998 said:
This sounds awesome! I can't wait to see how you do with each club! good luck mate ;) question though? Don't you think it would've been more challenging if you started with let's say Paris FC or Union Berlin who are a very small side and then take them to the CL trophy to be able to actually get the job at those big clubs?
Click to expand...

Cheers man! Yeah it would have been more challenging, but this is going to be kind of a long save anyway and for once I would like to complete one of these challenges! :P perhaps if we get off to an amazing start and pick up a couple of titles early on I will take a step backwards and build a club from the bottom!
 
SaintMotbot said:
Cheers man! Yeah it would have been more challenging, but this is going to be kind of a long save anyway and for once I would like to complete one of these challenges! :P perhaps if we get off to an amazing start and pick up a couple of titles early on I will take a step backwards and build a club from the bottom!
Click to expand...
Totally get what you mean, good luck then :)
 
View attachment 117408
Roma are a big club in Italy with a big history. Plenty of silverware in the old cabinet there including 3 Serie A titles, the last of those in the 2000/2001 season. We are in an extremely secure financial position, with an extremely talented squad of players at our disposal. Our main issue? Juventus. We are going to have to find a way to score more points over the course of a season than Juventus if we are to lift the Serie A trophy and get us off to a flying start. Trickier than it sounds.

View attachment 117407
In the Stadio Olimpico we have a top quality stadium, capable of seating 70,634 people, one of the biggest in club football and certainly right up there with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Man United. With the state of Italian football at the moment we might struggle to fill it, but the potential is certainly there and the infrastructure is in place to be a massive club with a huge fan base and significant financial clout.

Key Players​

View attachment 117406
A player of top quality, Nainggolan has been courted by the likes of Chelsea and Man United, he is very almost the perfect box to box midfielder. His physicals and mentals are just without fault, while he can tackle, mark, has an eye for a pass, can finish and can fire long shots at goal. I cant see a weakness in the lad, other than his aggression that gets him a lot of bookings. Will be a key star in our side.

View attachment 117404
Nainggolan needs a partner you say? Well I guess this lad isnt a bad option. Kevin Strootman is one of those nearly players whos injuries have held them back from being one of the elite, but I really rate this kid. Again his mentals are superb and he is capable of a tackle, but it is his playmaking ability that sets him apart. Passion, vision, team work, decisions, composure, anticipation. If he can stay fit, the lad is a monster, only 26 years of age as well.

View attachment 117405
OK, so I may be going a little bit overkill with these midfielders but we just have such good options! One of the finest defensive midfielders in world football, De Rossi is a household name the world over. Getting on a bit but still capable of bossing games, he is a real asset to the squad. If I was to play De Rossi, Nainggolan and Strootman in a midfield triangle, they have determination of 18, 19 and 20 and all have team work and work rate of 14+ while all being able to tackle and pass. Keep them fit, and we can control games.

View attachment 117402
Another seriously good player, he is capable of attacking and defending and will probably start the save in the right back position behind Salah. He can offer us real width and can track backwards and forwards with ease with his pace and work rate. I can see a lot of assists for the boy this year.

View attachment 117403
I remember this lad when he was a wonderkid before he signed for City. I have always been a fan of Dzeko and while his stats may not look overly impressive, he has this ability to just score goals.

View attachment 117400
Salah is pretty much the perfect winger if you are not worried about him tracking back. Lightning quick with good feet, some good technique and some serious flair and skill as well as the ability to score goals. Class act.

View attachment 117396
I feel our key players so far have been a bit light on the defensive front, so here is Manolas. A top notch centre back, tall, strong, quick and with good composure and concentration, he has all the potential in the world. Can he realise it with us?

The Wild Card​

View attachment 117395
The man, the legend, Francesco Totti. Starting his 26th season with the only club he has ever played for, he is the ultimate one club man. His technicals and mentals are as good as you are likely to see, even if his physicals are starting to let him down with age. He will be staying at the club until the day he retires, he has earned that much from us.

The Squad​

View attachment 117390
Plenty of quality in the squad that were seriously unlucky to miss out on key player status. Szczesny is a quality goalkeeper, Rudiger and Vermaelen are fantastic options at the back, Paredes, Gerson, El Shaarawy, Iturbe and Perotti are all fantastic options as well. I will just take some time now to create a tactic around the players I have at my disposal and formulate a plan going in to the transfer window!
 
Tactics​

View attachment 117373
Having had a play with the squad, this is the sort of tactic that I am looking to implement with plenty of movement. The idea is that the full backs will overlap while the inside forwards cut inside, giving the opposition defence a dilemma as to who to follow. At the same time Totti is going to be dropping deep and using his first touch and passing to play in the inside forwards and the forward runs of Nainggolan who will hopefully get past him and into the box. All of this is built on the solid defensive foundation of De Rossi, Vermaelen and Manolas, while Strootman will sit deeper and spread the play with his passing ability and vision.

Now obviously this wont work against all teams but fortunately I have the players that I can switch things up a bit, tell the full backs to stay back to give us a more defensive mindset, convert the inside forwards to wingers who can look to find Dzeko who can play as a target man. This could be a really good counter attacking option in games that we cant control.

Injuries​

One of the major problems that I have found coming in to the save is some of the injuries that we are carrying

View attachment 117372
Rudiger we can cope with as centre back is a particularly strong area of the club, but Mario Rui's injury is a bad one. He is effectively our only recognised left back at the club, even if he is only on loan.

Transfer Budget​

This brings us to our next problem, the transfer budget.

View attachment 117371
As you can see, we dont have a whole lot of wiggle room, but I have shifted it slightly to give us slightly more wages and less money to spend. This gives me a couple of things to think about.

1. Mario Rui. He is a fantastic left back, no doubt whatsoever. His stats are very impressive and I am sure he could do a real job for us. The flip side? He is only on loan with us, he' going to miss half the season, and I barely have the money to sign a decent left back. If I cancelled his loan it would free up another £40k a week in the wage budget which I might be able to do something with. A big call to make with that one.

2. Anybody that has seen any of my stories will know that I like to have two players capable of playing every position and three options up top. Now while the squad is very good we do look a bit shallow in two areas, left back and central midfield. "but you have just been going on about how good your central midfielders are?" I hear you say, but it is depth that is the problem. With Strootman being very injury prone and De Rossi quite likely to be picking up suspensions, the only decent backup we have in centre mid is Paredes, who is a quality player that I am very happy with, but we cant go the whole season with just four centre mids. Yes, Gerson can do a job in the middle, but he is far better out on the left hand side which is where I would like to keep him. We are going to have to be quite smart in the market this year.

View attachment 117370
So this is how I see the depth of our squad looking at the moment. I am going to need a central midfielder and possibly a backup in the defensive midfield area. I am also going to need a left back, however if I cancel Rui's loan to do that, I am probably going to need two, because I am not overly thrilled about the idea of Juan Jesus playing left back and the on loan Emerson Palmeiri is not that good, although thinking about it, he could do a job for us as a back up.
 
6 million seems very low for a team of Roma's stature but hopefully that's enough for you to get a decent left-back!
 
Great start mate, I like this challenge. I have a good fix for your left back issue, Ludwig Augustinsson at Kobenhavn, only about £3m and will be worth £20m in couple of seasons. Really well rounded stats and he provides plenty of assists as well!

Also depending on what kind of CM you are looking for I would recommend Marcelo Meli at Boca as well, he is a pitbull of a midfielder and you can pick him up pretty cheap.
 
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really looking forward to this. and agree with bullardinho about the LB, bought Augustinsson for Inter for around 4m and he has started the season as my best player comfortably
 
When you get to London you could alway try AFC Wimbledon, a young club which is moving up, it will make London a more interesting challenge than the bigger London clubs. There is also Millwall or Charlton as another options.
 
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Good luck with this one mate, will be following and at least now their is no Sunderland involved I can be fully behind every team you manage :P
 
Glad there is a lot of interest in this :) I am going to have to delay the start of this by a few days, maybe a week, but it will happen!
 
Looking forward to this - you're other story was my favourite this year so far :)
 
Roma is decent team and I think you should win Seria A in 3 years at most!
 
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