SR67 - Comments

OK. So I know I said I wanted to bring in a quick central defender and a box-to-box type player for the middle of the park. Neither happened, their clubs just wanted far too much really. Lets talk about the defender first, Jerry St. Juste is still on my radar but sc Heerenveen were having none of it. They simply just didn't want to sell. Arsenal accept a loan offer for Rob Holding, with a £3.5 million option to buy - GREAT. Then Swansea swoop in a sign him in a £5.25 million deal. He would have been ideal; 6"3', quick and decent with the ball at his feet. His height made him my presence over St. Juste. As for Suently Alberto, the more I thought about it the more he didn't look like he would cut it.

Hibs were taking the piss with John McGinn (as were the other two targets clubs), they wanted over £5 million for him. Not a chance was I going to pay that money for a player in the Scottish Championship. Lorenzo Crisetig and Conor Hourihane deals couldn't happen because the ridiculous fees demanded, despite both players only having 6 months left of their deal. I will look at them again as the season comes to a close.

Julian Green was originally signed on a pre-contract. After I thought about it, it made more sense to buy him early. He wasn't playing at Bayern, meaning he wouldn't develop and I was lacking a 3rd striker. He also gives us that extra option on the wing.



Linus Wahlqvist joined hours later. Quite the expensive purchase – costing a cool £3.8 million. The cost subsidises by the sale of Cristian Gamboa who had become unhappy with lack of opportunity. Wahlqvist is a long-term singing and a natural replacement for Mikel Lustig. At 6"1' he is quite tall for a full back and can cover the heart of defence.



Quite some players left; mostly youngster on loan. Only four players left permanently; Cristian Gamboa and Nir Bitton both left for Marsellie, I couldn't have paid anyone to take Efe Ambrose off my hand and Kris Commons' broken ankle meant he would miss the end of the season so no one would take him off my hands. We finish the season in the black in terms of transfers.



Tutoring
In terms of tutoring there wasn't any massive success'. Nir Bitton significantly helped improve Kris Ajer's technical skill but his determination dropped (17>13), I plan on setting hi up with Scott Brown to boost this back up. Eoghan O'Connell's mental's massively improved from the help of Kolo Toure; notably determination (11>15). Tony Ralston made all round improvements under the influence of Mikel Lustig.

Thanks @Dan. I am almost enjoying doing the write ups as much as I am the save. My most enjoyable FM save to date.

Haha @Shedender I don't plan on stopping any time soon.

Our Scottish Cup run has come to an end, but the run generated us over £150k in gate receipts alone and means we are at a profit for the season so far. Also converted to a 4-4-2, in the process of emulating Sacchi's Milan side.

Slow Centre Halfs
We lost a few goals with the opposition striker playing off the shoulder of one of our centre backs, I came up with a temporary solution to combat strikers with pace. I played with a deeper defensive line and used Lustig in the middle (acceleration/pace 14) and set his parter to cover. Ideally I want to bring in a quick defender.

This showed particularly in the game against Leverkusen (when it was highlighted). Javier Hernandez had a field day netting a hat trick, the return game in Germany we had him covered. The result 3-1 win to take us through to the Europa League knockout. I forgot to set it up to combat Kris Doolan to Partick Thistle and paid the price, he's not the quickest but inical. relatively quick and absolutely clinical. Despite dominating we lost to a single goal.



I came up with a shortlist of three players, red flags with Jerry St. Juste and Suently Alberto is low determination. However I do have Kolo Toure (18) to tutor them, so that shouldn't be an issue long term. The red flag with Rob Holding is obviously the cost, I imagine Arsenal will want a pretty penny for him as well as significantly higher wages.



Results were good in December, Partick Thistle result completely my fault. We came from behind twice to beat Hamilton 3-2 and reached the last 32 of the Europa League; overall a good month. Looking forward to dipping my tops in the January transfer market.

Upon starting the game I didn’t really have a long term plan just a general goal of dominating Scottish football and progressing through Europe. So here is what I have come up with in my 5-year-plan.

1. Set the tone for the save with a domestic treble and reach the group stage of European competition.
2. Champions League group stage.
3. Champions League group followed by a good Europa League run.
4. Champions League last 16 or win Europa League.
5. Complete 10-in-a-row and a Champions League semi-final.

To reach these goals I will have to be smart in the transfer market and tactically astute. Back to the first point, we can’t constantly be losing money in the transfer market. Making a profit most years is a reasonable target. Should be possible for the coming season considering the amount of deadwood we have out on loan. Each season wills see the arrival of a project player; someone who will be around for a season or two and (hopefully) be sold for profit. You could even say Diego Poyet falls into that category; our affiliation with Kaiserslautern should be a useful tool in developing these players.
Wage Structure

In FM16 as a general rule I used the generation of income from season tickets and gate receipts as a guide to my real wage budget. With 40k+ season ticket holders and average attendances of 48k so far this season my estimation is over £20 million. Next year I will have an exact figure to work to.

Here's how it works out just before the January transfer window opens with my estimates. Luckily I like to work with a small squad.



Now you might be thinking how is it possible to profess limiting myself to such a budget. Well once direct entry to the Europa or the Champions League group stage is guaranteed through coefficient (not after qualification rounds) this will be added to the formula. Allowing a significant boost, from here we are pretty much at a ceiling however. Not to worry, as I won't be paying players six-figure weekly sums anyway. And the type of player demanding such will probably not be interested in plying their trade in Bonnie Scotland.

Tactics

I decided to change things up tactically, I wanted to try a flat four in midfield to see how it turned out. I also wanted to play more 'the Celtic way'; as in quick attacking football, and very attractive to watch. Player instructions very simple at the moment and a work in progress. Only notable changes is GK to distribute short, LW to push further forward and AM to hold the ball up.

Great first season in the top division, well clear of the drop! Massive points and goal difference between you and Derview.

I second China!

Well what a turn around, we lost to 2nd place who went top then won 3 league games on the bounce and secured a replay in the Scottish Cup vs St Mirren. On a bad note we lost Isaac Layne who score 13 inn 22 L2 games as his loan expired.

@r96Skinner has been, things looking good now though!

A factor in how successful this save will be is how other Scottish sides do in Europe. The better they do the easier it is for us to reach the last 16 and avoid a group this this years. There are many factors that will come into this, a good home scouting network to identify the best home grown players and monitor their transfer activity. A good worldwide scouting network means I won’t have to rely on making myself stronger by wakening domestic rivals.

Guidelines for Improving Scottish Football

1. Avoid hovering up all of the Scotland’s best youth prospects and have them rotting in the u19 when they played 18 first teams games the previous season. Or just as bad singing 6 players 18-20 and loaning them to English league 2 sides. Instead focus on cherry picking the best and brightest, who can play a part in the first team or be loaned to another Scottish Premiership side with guaranteed first team football.
2. Control the number of players in the squad, there is no sense in having an u20 squad of 50 players with only 10 of them having any chance of making it. This has a threefold negative effect; (a) it’s a drain on resources, (b) it limits playing time for more talented youth players and (c) they could be moved on and get game time. For players identified in this category there will be a four-step plan. Try to move on with sell on clause, try to move on for free, try to loan and finally release.
3. Domestic teams will now have first option on players for sale/loan. This will be on a case-by-case basis. For example I am not going to loan Aberdeen a striker who is capable of scoring 6/7 goals from January if they are only 6 points behind. However if they need him on a 6 month loan in August and are trying to qualify for the Europa League then definitely. For each of the lower divisions I will also focus on one side per season in terms of loans/frees in order to help them gain promotion.

With relation to point 1 above I started to implement Phase 2 and 3 of my scouting department development plan.



Phase 2

• Erik Larsen was brought in to build up an in depth knowledge of you Scandinavian players and snap them up young and cheap similar to the Ajax model.
• Countries such as Spain/Portugal/etc. Will be scouted by forma Clermont Foot manager Helena Costa. She will be assigned to spend 2/3 months in each building a profile of the players available there.
• Stephane Pauwels came in to assist Sjaak van den Helder in covering the more central countries like Holland and Germany. This is where I expect to have the largest pool to choose from.

Phase 3

• Lech duo Tomasz Wichniarek and Jacek Terilowski have been brought in to find the brightest young players in Eastern Europe. This is market I expect to be littered with gems. Like the Central Europe scouts the will spend around 2/3 months in each nation to build a profile.
• To complete my coverage of Europe Christos Orkas will be scouring Southern Europe in the likes of Greece and Turkey.

A few more members of staff came in to fill out the available positions. Improvements will be made to the coaching set up when I can.

Being a Scottish side we don't generate a great deal of revenue, intact we rely heavily on both season ticket sales and UCL qualification. Prize money for the Scottish Premiership is terrible and TV rights even worse. However we have the advantage of a 60k seater stadium and a he fanbase. On the back of this we raised £19 million from season ticket sales.

Qualifying for the Champions League meant and extra £14.4 million in prize money - with a game to play and TV money still to come. Leaving us with a healthy bank balance. Due to this I am in no hurry to sell any key assets.



Being in such good financial health meant that there was funding available to improve the equality of the squad. The full amount will not be spent in January and an effort will be made to move a few players on to reduce the wage bill. Upon the news of my January war-chest I immediately stated to identify who fit my criteria for the players that my scouts found.



I had a look at the players who will likely leave in January/July I decided that midfield will be the priority. But what do I want in a midfielder? Firstly the must be able to pass a ball. They must have high work rate/determination and be able to last a high intensity 90 minutes. This criteria left me with 3 players. In terms of personality they all fit what I am looking for and can fit the BBM and CM role.



We went on a great run of form that seen us unbeaten domestically since the loss to Aberdeen, we won the League Cup, can still quality for the last 16 of the UCL and score 74 goals in 29 games. The highlights of the season so far being a 9-0 win over Rangers, 2-2 draw with Juve (conceding in the 89th) and 7-1 win over Spurs. All this sees us with a domestic treble available and 9 points clear with a game on hand.

Thanks @r96Skinner!

@Shedender it wasn't even my best result - from my Beta save

@Mark! he's been great for me so far with 25 in 28 with 8 assists, experimenting with a 3-5-2 up front but means sacrificing Sinclair or Tierney. Works well though and I use each time one isn't available. Both too good to drop, Sinclair 17 in 29 so far and 7 assists.

I added to our rather depleted backroom team with a host of additions, filling up most of the first team roles. More will come in over the course of the season, but for now I am happy. Mick Halsall comes in as Chief Scout and looks a steal at only £40k from Notts County, he has already been tasked with finding us a new CM. Phase 1 complete.



I made a few more tweaks; instructing the CB and CF to play a shorter passing game. Slight increase in pass completion but sample to small to tell. Breezed through to the CL groups securing at least £15m in prize and TV money. Changed too many players in the Aberdeen game as the team was tired due to fixture congestion.

First Rangers game finished 9-0, yes 9-0. It couldn't have went any better, we dominated the match containing them in their own half. We had 14 SoT and managed 6 CCC to their ZERO.

A huge part of how successful this turns out will be down to the scouting team and how I utilise them. This is due to my reluctance to use the basic player search function, except for bosman deals and to see who is transfer listed.

I play to expand the scouting department in phases.

1. Scotland, rUK and Ireland along with a Chief Scout being sent out on specific assignments.
2. Scandinavia and Central Europe
3. Eastern and Southern Europe
4. The Americas and the Caribbean
5. Africa/Asia/Oz

Each phase will be scouted slightly different form the last, I will go into this as I manage to recruit for these areas. As a general rule assignments will tend to last for 3 months.
Phase 1

• Chief Scout will be sent out roaming in order to find a player with a specific skill-set ready for the first team. This will wait until I have a budget available as I want the best possible candidate.
• Development league and the UEFA Youth League scout; John McGlynn will be my man on the ground at both the u20s and the UYL, he will also e tasked with scouting next opposition.
• A scout looking for the most promising players in England; Michael Murphy will be on the hunt for the next Moussa Dembele to slip through the net down south.
• Someone looking for first team ready players in rUK and Ireland; David Moss is tasked with finding me first team ready players in the UK, focusing mainly on the Championship and Premiership.

The remaining phases will be carried out as and when scouts are identified but summary posts will follow. Another way of increasing global scope that I will be looking into is through affiliation. We already have informal partnerships in Ireland, NI and Mexico. I expanded this by requesting a club with successful youth development.



I had a few options from England, Romania and Spain but the Germans seemed like the best option. I plan on using them the way Chelsea use Vittese to blood in players.

• 2 Bundesliga is playable so players send on loan will get opportunity to play
• The standard of the league is probably better than SPFL
• They have some talented youngsters in their side
• We get a foothold in German football

Tactics seem to be working out well, the one tweak I have made though is dropping back to a DM and two CM. I have now just found out after all these years that starting formation represents your defensive shape.



And other news...

Excellent, Cheers!

After the Elgin loss..

Hopefully can at least last until the A!

Initially I was going to share my plans for scouting and staff recruitment, but I have yet to pass the first transfer window and have funds for compensation yet. Another point is that I should probably identify the type of players that I will be targeting.

Looking at the initial squad – just considering the starting XI – what I need long terms is the following;

Goalkeeper
Right back
Centre midfielder x2

All of the players I will be looking to bring in are what you would consider complete players, along with one or two ‘specialists’. Goalkeepers should be first and foremost good shot-stoppers but good with the ball at their feet or at a level that can be improved. Defenders should be able to defend but good passing and vision would add to the squad.

My wingers should have pace and be able to cover the length of the pitch comfortably when playing with three at the back. I like well-rounded midfielders, but each should have a stand out quality that makes them unique, as well as a good playmaker. Up top I like to have a striker who can do it all, drop back, hold-up play and also deadly in the box.

There will be many factors behind decision making when signing a player as well as outlined above.

• As stated in a previous post I will be avoiding the player search function, instead relying on my scouts and own real life knowledge of the game. To do this I will look to build an extensive scouting network as stated in Part I, this will be explained in more detail in the next post.
• Player age will be a deciding factor. We won’t be paying for old rope. Key age range for the first team will be 20-24 with obviously some exceptions.
• Career appearances and caps/youth caps. Players with more of these tend to be more developed already and first team ready.
• Player personality will be a huge factor if a senior player – youth players will be brought in and moulded.
Most importantly. Will they improve the starting XI or bench?

Transfer Activity (Budgets Disabled)
So far I have only brought in one player in Diego Poyet. This lad looks great, possibly a key player in the future in the playmaker role. He looks a certain improvement on Nir Biton and after a year out on loan should come back with some top-level appearances under his belt.



A lot of deadwood left on loan to free up the wage budget and put them in the shop window. I purposely avoided sending u20 players out on loan as I would rather focus on selling the ones who won’t make it in January.

Unlucky in the league, cup run looks to have cost you the title.

You were doing well with L&S interest in to see if you can overtake them.

Philosophy
As you will know from a previous post, we will be lining up with a 4-2-3-1 similar to the way you see Celtic at the moment. Focus will be on build from the back, win the ball back quickly and dominate possession.



Very Fluid: This is important for me as it better describes the style of football I want to play than any of the mentality settings do. I want the whole team playing as a unit; defenders contributing to the build-up, midfielders pushing forward and overloading defences and the forward dropping back and linking up play.



Standard: As I haven’t yet had much experience with a very fluid mentality I will stick with this at the moment and monitor.

Team Instructions


Player Instructions
*All default unless stated
GK: Distribute quickly, distribute to CB, and roll it out
DLP: Close down less
AM: Hold-up ball
Pre-season

After a poor start, pre-season turned out very well. Moussa Dembele looks to have cemented his place in the starting XI come the first competitive fixtures. We looked good throughout; dominating possession and had some quick breaks leading to goals.



The next thing on the agenda is to step up the staff recruitment process, particularly the scouting team in order to get a pool of players to look at if required in January.

Good luck knocking Red Imps off their perch

Will be following this, always liked this challenge. Tough and lengthy but can still sign quality players. And take them with you.

This will end up a great save if you can do it. Keep it up!

We have established the rules I will follow, my initial thoughts on the squad/transfers/tactics and a more detailed analysis of the squad. I will play high pressing, high tempo football building the attack from the goalkeeper. As the tactics aren’t completely set-up yet I will discuss training and player development first.

Common stats I will be looking at are passing, stamina, technique and teamwork. As the will all be key to how we play. Obviously player position will dictate the level required, but in relation to position will be vital. I will tend to avoid players who lack in more than one of them or those who do not look like they can improve [see Part I Rule #4].

Team Training
I will most likely use the ‘ball control’ as a default setting here changing it if needs be.

Individual Training
This will run in three cycles fitting in with the three sections off attributes; 1. Physical will run July-October (covering pre-season and the beginning of the season); 2. Technical training November – February – this is the longest section as I believe it is the key area; and 3. Mental running March – May.

Players will also be trained in the position/role that they will be playing, I fully expect this to minimise/eliminate flaws in a player’s game with relation to my tactical philosophy. Centre backs will all be trained as ‘CD’ and in the future developed into ‘BPD’ and full backs ‘FB’ and eventually ‘WB’. Centre midfielders the will be trained as ‘DLP/AP’ and ‘BBM’ as for wingers they can be either ‘Winger’ or ‘IF’ and the CAM will be a fluid role. Up top I intend to have all ‘CF’



If they do not meet my standards they will be swiftly moved on. This method will be tedious and time consuming but ultimately worth it. Once the first team is set up similar methods will apply to the u20s. I plan to use the in game notes system as a reminder.

Kieran Tierney, Liam Henderson and Moussa Dembele will be used as examples at the end of the season.

Tutoring
This will be a reoccurring task throughout the season as I believe this is the most efficient way to boost mental attributes and we have some very good tutors in the squad e.g. Kolo Toure, Scott Brown, etc.

The first set of tutoring assignments is;
| Craig Gordon - Leo Fasan | Mikael Lustig - Tony Ralston | Kolo Toure - Eoghan O’Connell | Emilio Izaguirre - Daniel Church | Nir Bitton - Kristoffer Ajer | Scott Brown - Liam Henderson | Scott Sinclair - Ryan Christie | James Forrest - P.J. Corssan | Leigh Griffiths - Jack Aitchson |

Ralston, O’Connell, Ajer, Henderson and Aitchson will be used as examples at the end of the season.

@VP. think I'll be able to keep hold of him for a few seasons. He's on a £25k p/w four year contract, after two season I'll probably look to extend it if he's still happy. But I could see us breaking the £20m make, just like we should in reality.

I'm all for C as well.

I'd go for it, would be a shame to see it die.

FFS 2025, getting you moneys worth here keep it up!

Funny how Swansea put both you and @Shedender out with Dundalk.

Fairly flying through the clubs and picking up some silverware, where next is the question?