Super Dépor - Historia de Amor

[tracksuitmanager]

 

[tracksuitmanager]

It’s been a while since I last blogged, a series of different things got in the way and destroyed my motivation to blog and to even play Football Manager. Covid, parenting and working in the NHS to name a few, but I’m glad to finally be back.

I hadn't initially planned to return to blogging, of course like most Football Manager addicts I constantly watch the YouTubers and continue to read the blogs. I had been jumping in and out of saves for a while now, struggling to find the one that really grabs hold of you. But after re-reading one of KlippyBo’s Bilbao blogs (shot out to Aitor Herrera by the way, what a legend) I wanted to start a save in Spain, something different to Bilbao, but I wasn’t sure who. It was then I stumbled over Clayts Deportivo la Coruna rebuild, that caught my attention. Following that. I then found Tifo’s brilliant video entitled ‘The Rise & Fall of Deportivo la Coruna’, I didn’t realise the club was in the mess it was. That’s when I found the club for my next save.

Having found the club I wanted to manage, I started to plan my save. I didn't want it to be the usual jump in, play and get bored after season one, I wanted there to be some narrative behind it all. I proceeded to write a story in my head, which quickly turned into me jumping around the editor like a bull in a china shop. After a while the save was created, I was immediately hooked. Luckily I had just taken a week off work and the kids had an intense swimming course which kept them and more importantly the wife busy - result.

Within a few days I had finished the first season, I won’t spoil anything here but it’s been an incredibly fun save. I have been sat at work thinking about the save, creating a squad depth chart on excel, planning my next signings, over thinking my last few results etc. the save had truly taken over, I’m almost certain that some of you have all experienced this feeling.

This is when I started to think about blogging about the save; will people be interested? Am I going to stick to it? Have I even got the time? I eventually managed to think about the positives and the most important one at that, I enjoy it, the writing, the making of the graphics etc. Even if no one reads it, I’ll enjoy doing it and hopefully it will keep up my motivation and drive to play Football Manager.

With all the above in mind, I would like to introduce you to Super Depor, historia de amor (a love story/story of love).

I hope that you enjoy the blog…

Adam,
Tracksuit Manager

 

[tracksuitmanager]

We have some news reaching us that Deportivo la Coruna, currently in the third tier of Spanish football, are in talks over a possible takeover of the club. Our sources tell us that the interested party are an English based consortium who say that they are keen to take the club forwards and restore them to the top of Spanish again.

At the moment we don’t have any further details on this but will be sure to update you if anything else comes to light.

Presenter: “Guillem, what would this takeover mean for Deportivo la Coruna?”

Guillem: “The club is in a horrible mess at the moment and that is affecting the team and their performances. I would hope that the takeover would give the club a clear structure and build the foundations for the club to get back to La Liga, where they belong”.

Presenter: “Given the mess that the club are in, what would the new owners need to bring to the football club?”

Guillem: “They would need to invest in the club, not just the players but the staff and the whole infrastructure of the club. Deportivo has a rich history but it has fallen behind in the last few years. For the club to get back up the leagues they would need to improve everything, from the scouting network to coaching at academy level”.

Presenter: “Do you think Deportivo can get back to La Liga?”

Guillem: “Yes I do, but it might take some time. The Spanish lower leagues are tough to get out of. There are some brilliant clubs that have essentially got stuck down there and that could potentially happen to Deportivo. That’s why it is vitally important for any new owners of the club to invest in them”.

 

[tracksuitmanager]

It’s official, the takeover of Deportivo la Coruna has now been completed. Andrew Kelly has been named as the new chairman of the club following the successful takeover from the English based consortium.

The club have released the following statement:

Club Statement

We are delighted to announce that the takeover of Deportivo la Coruna has now been completed. We would like to thank everyone for their patience over the last few weeks.

The club has appointed Andrew Kelly as the new Chairman, with Edward Taylor and James Collins being appointed as Managing Directors.

Andrew Kelly has issued the following statement “I am delighted to join such a historic club in Deportivo la Coruna. I am excited to get to work and take this club back where they belong, at the top of Spanish football. We are aware that this is a big task but can assure you that we are all committed to the project. There will be a number of changes within the club in the coming weeks and we will keep you notified of these as soon as they happen.

Edward Taylor added “It is an honour to become a part of this fantastic club. I have been working in Spain for a while now and I am excited to get started on this project. Andrew, James and myself will lead the club into its next chapter and are confident that we will turn this club into a successful one again”.

James Collins also added “Deportivo la Coruna are a club that I have followed for many years now and it is fantastic to become a part of this enormous club. I cannot wait to start building the blocks to get this team back on top again. From improvements into the training grounds to restructuring the management of the football club, we will stop at nothing to have this club back at the top of La Liga”.

The club would also like to thank Borja Jimenez for his support over the last few weeks and would like to wish him well for his future endeavors. We can assure supporters that a new management team will be appointed in the coming weeks.

 

[tracksuitmanager]

Deportivo la Coruna have appointed Adam Robertson as their new head coach. The 36 year old Englishman will be taking his first job in senior management following his previous roles as Under 18s Manager at Chelsea and Liverpool.

Robertson worked with Chelsea from 2014 to 2018 in their youth academy eventually taking the Under 18s Managers job in 2016. He would then move to Liverpool following Steven Gerrard’s departure from the club in 2018, staying with the club until 2021. Over the last year Robertson has been working in Spain with a number of top clubs which has helped him earn his UEFA Pro License.

The club have released the following statement:

Club statement

We are delighted to announce that the club have appointed Adam Robertson as our new head coach.

Adam is one of the brightest young coaches in football and we are proud to have him as part of our football club. He has previously worked with Liverpool, Chelsea and a number of Spanish clubs to add to his impressive CV.

We will work with Adam over the next few days to bring in a strong backroom team to support the club during the upcoming season.

Adam Robertson has issued the following statement: “I am honoured to be appointed as the new head coach of Deportivo la Coruna, this is truly one of the proudest days of my life. I am really looking forward to the upcoming season, me and my backroom team will be working hard in pre-seaon to get the players into the right shape to have a successful campaign”.

There has been a mixed reaction to this appointment, which fans bemused as to why Deportivo have appointed such an inexperienced manager. Some highlights include:

@deportivofan123 on Twitter: “This can’t be real, what is my club doing!”

@united4ever on Twitter: “Some random just got the Deportivo job, literally living a Football Manager dream there”

@franciscojeppe82 on Twitter: “Seriously, who is this guy? Who has he managed before? Where did they find him? I won’t be renewing my season ticket now!”

 

[tracksuitmanager]

Deportivo la Coruna has today appointed David Navarro as their new Director of Football. David previously held the Director of Football role at Levante.

David, who is a former Spanish professional footballer, played for Valencia, Mallorca and Levante to name a few, racking up a total of 348 appearances eventually retiring at Alcorcon in 2017. David joined the Alcorcon backroom team before taking up his previous role at Levante in 2019.

The club have released the following statement:

Club statement

The club are delighted to announce the appointment of David Navarro as our Director of Football.

David will work closely with first team manager Adam Robertson on player recruitment and departures as well as restructuring our youth academy setup and bringing in new staffing additions.

David has issued the following statement: “I am delighted to join this fantastic club, Deportivo is a huge name in Spain and I am excited about bringing this club back to glory”.

David also added: “I will be bringing lots of knowledge from my previous position at Levante and making early improvements into this club. Unfortunately previous management neglected the youth academy and this is what my focus will initially be on”.

Fun fact, in 2013 Spanish Football website El Gol Digital ranked David Navarro third in their list of the worlds dirtiest footballers!

 

[tracksuitmanager]

Welcome everyone to this season's first press conference, which includes First Team Manager, Adam Robertson and Director of Football, David Navarro.

Pablo Saenz of La Voz de Galicia:
“Adam, welcome to the club. Can you tell us about your style of football and what your expectations of this season are?”

Adam Robertson:
“Thank you Pablo, yes certainly. My style of football will be fast, direct and mostly attacking. I want my team to score goals and dominate the opposition, we also want to entertain our loyal fans. My expectations are to simply win the league, and I won’t accept anything less”.

Carlos Fierro of Marca:
“Welcome Adam, club captain Alex Bergantions is currently transfer listed. Will he be leaving the club in the near future, if so, who will become the new captain of the club?”

Adam Robertson:
“No Alex will be staying with the club and remaining as club captain. It’s important for me to have someone with his experience and knowledge of the club. He is someone that will lead the dressing room, demanding respect and ensuring our standards don’t drop. He’s a really important player for us and can play in a number of different positions. I’m a big fan of Begantinos”.

Erik Torres of El Pais:
“Hello Adam, what can we expect from you in the transfer window? Have you got any targets that you are looking at bringing into the club?”

Adam Robertson:
“Myself and David are currently looking at the squad and we don’t think that there are any major gaps at the moment. We will be monitoring the team during pre-season and identifying our strengths and weaknesses. Of course, like any club we have a shortlist of players that we would potentially like to bring in but that all depends on our budget and league rules”.

Carlos Fierro of Marca:
“Hello David, are the owners financially backing the club and what can we expect from them this season?”

David Navarro:
“Yes the owners are financially backing the club. They have kept to a number of promises and we will see many improvements over the next year or so. They have already invested in our training facilities, youth coaching and have also made funds available for player recruitment. They are incredibly supportive and are working to the same goals as everybody else”.

Sergi Gomez of El Mundo:
“Welcome David, there are rumours surrounding new coaches coming into the club. Can you confirm any names for us?”

David Navarro:
“There will be a number of new coaches announced in the comings days, I won’t be providing any names yet. We have a new Assistant Manager who will be working very closely with Adam and we are excited to have him on board. We also have a whole new scouting and medical team coming in too, which will improve the club enormously”.

 

[tracksuitmanager]

Deportivo la Coruna have today announced a number of key staffing additions to the club.

Firstly, former Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris has joined the club as Assistant Manager. Jody, who was previously Assistant Manager to Frank Lampard at Chelsea, worked with Adam Robertson in the Chelsea academy.

Jody spoke about his appointment: “I’m really happy to be here and to work with Adam again is quite exciting. I’ve always wanted to work abroad and the club have given me the opportunity to do that. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in”.

Adam Robertson added; “Jody is a great friend of mine and is the first person I contacted about joining the team, I really delighted he took us up on the offer. Jody will offer a lot to this club and will be my right hand man this season. We worked together previously at Chelsea and had a lot of successful, I hope to replicate that here”.

Simon Hunt has been appointed as Chief Scout, the former Nottingham Forest Head of Scouting joins the list of Englishman arriving at Deportivo this summer. Hunt has vast experience in the coaching department having previously worked at Spurs, Southampton, Derby, West Brom and Blackburn to name just a few.

Simon expressed his delight on joining Deportivo: “I’m over the moon, this is a big step for me to come abroad and experience a different culture in football. I’ve worked with Adam and Jody previously and hope to be able to hit the ground running. We have a raft of fantastic coaches joining the team such as John Metgod and Goran Vucevic, which I am really excited about”.

Adam Robertson added: “This is a great appointment, Simon and I have been friends for a while and I know how passionate he is about his role. He will bring in a wealth of experience and knowledge and I’ve got no doubt he will improve the scouting network at this club. I’m really looking forward to working with him”.

Deportivo fan favourite Jorge Andrade also joins as a First Team Coach. Andrade played for Deportivo between 2002 and 2007 totalling up over 120 appearances for the club. The Portuguese international was a vital member of the squad helping them reach the Champions League Semi-Finals in 2004 where he was unfortunately sent off for kicking his fellow countryman Deco.

Jorge Andrade spoke about his arrival: “I’m very happy to be back here, this club brings back lots of happy memories and I am excited to make more over the next few years. I met with Adam and David Navarro and they sold their vision with me, they have some fantastic plans and I want to be a part of that”.

Adam Robertson added: “Jorge was a no-brainer, a real fan favorite here we moved quickly to make it happen. He has a fantastic coaching pedigree having previously managed in Portugal, he will work very closely with myself and Jody and will be a major part to bringing success back to this club.

There were also many other additions to the squad including former Valencia player Vincente joining as a Scout, plus a number of English coaches such as David Lee and Marcus Stewart joining the ranks. We also added in a number of Spanish coaches, scouts and physios just to have that perfect mix.

Leave a comment if you are enjoying the read and tell me who your go to backroom staff additions are?

Next up, our squad evaluation…

 

[tracksuitmanager]

Firstly, I must add that I had transfers blocked for the first window, I wanted to make it more challenging having to use the squad Deportivo already had, which admittedly wasn’t too bad of a squad.

Secondly, I’ve started writing this from the second season so there may not be any screenshots in this section.

I will split this into categories and discuss individuals rather than going through the full squad. I will add what they provide to the team, where and if they will feature for me as well as whether I will be looking to move them on anytime soon.

Goalkeepers

Ian Mackay - Keep
Pablo Brea - Sell
Brais Suarez - Keep

We have very little depth between the sticks. Ian Mackay is the obvious first choice goalkeeper, he is good for this level but at an end where I would be looking to replace him next season. Being a Glasgow Rangers fan, I’m a sucker for a Scottish player (as you will no doubt see from this save).

Pablo Brea will be leaving at the first opportunity and youth prospect Brais Suarez will be sitting on the bench for a season being the understudy to Mackay. I have a number of players being scouted and will most likely be looking to bring somebody in during the January transfer window.

Right Backs

Trilli - Keep
Victor Garcia - On Loan
Jorge Valin - Keep

I’m quite excited by our options at right back for this season. Trilli is sensational and only 18 years old, there is so much potential in this guy it’s going to be hard to keep hold of him, the unfortunate thing about managing in Spain is having to have release clauses in your contracts and the horrible agents always locking in at a low fee.

Victor Garcia who we have in on loan is a good option as a back up right back or even being pushed up to a right winger. Jorge Valin is another young right back to not currently good enough for the first team, I will be looking to loan him as soon as I can to get him some valuable first team experience.

Left Backs

Hector Hernandez - Keep
Diego Aguirre - Sell

Left back is where I am slightly worried, we have two decent players who are capable to play at this level but no notable youth prospects to come through. Hector Hernandez is 31 and probably are best option, however with his age I would be looking to replace him either in January or end the end of the season.

Diego Aguirre is quite a good player but I don’t particularly like him, it’s either down to his hefty wage or his DF11 photo, most probably his wage. I’d be looking to get him off the wage bill as soon as I can and replace him with a young prospect who I can mold into my style of football.

Centre Backs

Alex Bergantinos - Keep
Adrian Lapena - Keep
Borja Granero - Sell
Jaime Sanchez - Sell
Pablo Trigueros - Sell
Dani Barcia - Keep

We have plenty of options at centre back, some good, some not so good. The important thing is at this level all these players are great and would start each week but I am a man of particular taste and unfortunately for some of these players they might be out the door in January.

Although Bergantinos is actually a midfielder, I feel he is best placed in the heart of defence. It’s anybodies guess who will partner Begantinos at the back, I think I will wait for pre-season to see who stands out. I do like the look of Dani Barcia, a 18 year old left footed centre back, he definitely has potential to make it into my team.

Granero, Sanchez and Trigueros are also take up a big chunk of the wage bill, which does not particularly sit right with me so they will all be looked at and moved on quite quickly if appropriate.

*any excuse to get Messi on the blog…

Central Midfielders

Diego Villares - Keep
Juergen Eltim - On Loan
Rafa de Vicente - Sell
Juan Carlos Menudo - Sell
Josep Calavera - Keep
Mario Soriano - On Loan
Mario Nareja - Keep

Another strong area for us but again we have some players that I’m not too excited about. All players are more than capable at this level but most are late 20s, I’m a big advocate of young talents and giving them game time. Diego Villares is by far one of the best players at the club, he is a very talented footballer and will be the first on my team sheet. I will be playing a 4-2-3-1 with a deep lying playmaker alongside a centre midfielder on support and an attacking midfiedler on attack in front of them.

Similarly to the centre backs, a few of these players are aging and are taking up a chunk of our wage bill. I’ll be looking to move some of these players on as soon as I can and look to bringing in younger players that I can develop and mold into my style of football.

I like the look of Mario Nareja and will be giving him a chance to shine during pre-seaon, on the flip side I don’t like the look of Mario Soriano who is on loan from Athletico Madrid, luckily we are not paying him anything to be here.

Wingers

William De Camargo - On Loan
Alvaro Rey - Sell
Carlos Doncel - Sell
Peke - Keep
David Mella - Keep

We are quite short in this department, however we are lucky that some of our strikers are able to deputise as wingers quite effectively. William De Camargo clearly stands out as the best winger at the club, he is currently on loan from Leganes. The tricky Brazilian will be a regular for us on the right wing, this just leaves us to identify who plays on the other side.

Again there is a theme here, I don’t like Rey or Doncel. Don’t get me wrong they are good players and probably too good for this level but they aren’t my type of player and they are on a hefty wage. I do however have a plan, even though we are not able to make transfers in the first window we are able to sign unattached players when the window closes. We have a couple of players with us on trial that I would be looking to sign as soon as possible.

Peke and David Mella stand out as quite promising prospects and I will be looking to bring them into the side and see how they fare in pre-season.

Strikers

Alberto Quiles - Keep
Miku - Sell
Noel Lopez - Keep
Hugo Baldamor - Keep

Lastly our forward options look pretty good, Alberto Quiles looks like he could be our regular number 9, however Noel Lopez from the B team looks pretty special, so I will be looking to bring him in for a chance in pre-season.

Miku is an aging striker, on a lot of money plus he spent some time at Celtic Park so he will one of the players leaving the club. Hugo Baldamor is a young striker in the under 19s that looks quite promising but is way off the standard at the moment, he will most likely be having a loan move next season for some first team experience.

Targets

Our key focus is to bring in a goalkeeper, left back and a couple of wingers, I believe that with these signings it will improve our squad massively. We should walk the league this year as our squad is much better than everyone else's, so I’m not too worried if we can’t get anyone until the January window.

If you know, you know…