SamuraiPizzaRob - Comments

Farewell to the Mestalla
 

With the wind in our sails, my Valencia side welcomed Real Betis to the Mestalla, looking to maintain our lead at the top of La Liga. Andre Almeida's 38th minute goal helps us secure the 3-points ahead of our trip to the Bernabeu the following week, with the league table looking like this:
 

We are frustratingly bad at Real, but only lose by a single goal (this will be important later...); so our lead at the top is now down to 3-points, and Real has that game in hand....which they duly squander, unable to beat Osasuna three-days later. We cling on to 1st place, but a draw at home with Sevilla really puts the pressure on heading into the final straight. We secure three successive 2-1 wins, at Osasuna, at Ray Vallecano (thanks to a Marcos Leonardo wonder strike), and at home to Las Palmas; but we have to travel to 4th placed Celta next. Having stumbled through the last few games (including an extra time loss in the Copa del Rey Final against Real Madrid), a formation change follows in an attempt to spice things up a bit, and thankfully it works! We switch to a 4-3-3DM (from 4-2-3-1) and a brace from Hugo Duro, combined with a brace from Pedro sees us run out 4-2 winners, with one very heavy sigh of relief from me.

A thumping 5-1 win over Rayo Vallecano at the Mestalla puts us in a strong position with two games to play - away at low/mid-table Granada, before a home tie with relegation threatened Mallorca to finish the campaign. At this point we are still 2-points ahead of Real Madrid.
 

When Fran Perez puts us ahead at Granada after just six minutes, I am feeling smug. When we fail to score again, and miss an 89th minute penalty, I admit to feeling the nerves, especially when six minutes of injury time are added. In true FM style, Granada score their only shot on target in the 94th minute to steal a draw.
 

What does this mean for the title? Well, thanks to our resounding 4-2 win over Real earlier in the season, we hold the tie breaker! We're level on points, so a win against Mallorca would guarantee us the title!!!
 

Deep breath now everyone...
 

CHAMPIONS!!!
 

In what can only be described as a performance for the ages, my Valencia side not only secures the La Liga title (for the first time in 22-years) in our final game at the Mestalla, but we do it in style, thrashing Mallorca 9-1! Hugo Duro scores four times to win the Golden Boot, and an unbelievable tense run in leaves me somewhat exhausted.

Summer Lovin'

It was perhaps inevitable that the Saudi Pro League would poach one of my stars eventually - and sure enough the interest in Jose Gaya soon turned into a bid. Initially I rebuffed them, Gaya got mad, but I pointed out he has a release clause in his contract. He backed down, content with my response. 24-hours later, not one but two SPL sides have bid the required £86m to trigger the release.

I was sad to see Gaya go; our captain, a club legend who I'd hopped might be a one club man under my watch, setting a new record for appearances perhaps. Alas. Gaya was 30 however, so his peak years were likely coming to an end, and the amount of money involved helped the club bank balance move North of £100m, whilst giving me a nice transfer budget to play with.

Good replacements seemed hard to come by, with Wolves driving a hard bargain for us to secure Rayan Ait-Nouri's services - it was all a bit FM20 having the Frenchman back on my left flank, but hey ho.

Having achieved Champions League football in each of the past two seasons, I didn't want to spend for the sake of it. We scouted many players, but few really stood out as massive upgrades as the preseason rolled on - and then...a chance...a gamble, perhaps yes, but it was him. He was interested in a move to the Mestalla. Could we? Should I?

I bid, a cool million for what might only be six-months of service, or it might be a year if I play my cards right. He could be the man we need to tip us over the edge, to win some silverware and take that next step. What was a hefty transfer budget is poured into the wage budget, and all of Valencia rises to welcome the legend that is Leo Messi to the Mestalla!

At 38, he's still got it, perhaps a little slower, but he makes his presence felt in our final preseason game, a 4-2 win against FC Twente. Now if I can just persuade him to postpone his retirement until the end of the season, rather than at Christmas...

Rocky Road

We start with a 2-0 win against Getafe, but it's a wobbly start to the 2025/26 season - I admit it may partially be my fault, as I try to fit the team around Messi, rather than slot Messi into an already pretty good team. We lose at Barca, tie with Real Sociedad, and while we beat Almeria, a draw at Girona and loss at home to Villarreal don't spell out a great start to the campaign. We also lose at Fenerbahce to begin what will be an immensely frustrating Champions League campaign.

Wins over Cadiz and Alaves get us back on track, Messi bagging a hat trick against the former (inc. an 89th minute penalty to win it, 4-3). We're slowly starting to tick, and pick up some good results domestically. Sadly draws with Bayern (respectable) and Juventus (a missed opportunity, I am left cursing Wojciech Szczesny) leave our Champions League hopes hanging by a thread, with a loss at Barcelona leaving us with an awful lot to do, even, if we do thump Brugge 5-0 in our next game.

Come late December and we're in the top-four, and in a slightly unlikely fight for the title - Celta Vigo remain the surprise package, but with none of Atleti, Barca, or Real able to really string together a series of wins, the five clubs are all within a couple of points of the top spot.

Sadly I cannot convince Messi to postpone his retirement however - despite forming a strong partnership with Hugo Duro, the Argentine maestro bids football farewell after helping us beat Granada 5-3 at the Mestalla. He scored 7 goals in 17 games, and picked up multiple assists. I miss that little guy already.

"Lousy Smarch Weather"

Hugo Duro appears to be in a sulk following the winter break, I guess he misses his old Messi too, but fortunately academy starlet Manuel Arastey is on hand to pick up the slack as we finally break Mallorca's resistance. Carlos Soler adds a second three-minutes later to secure a 2-0 win ahead of tough games against Barcelona (a 3-0 loss...) and Real Madrid in the Supercopa Semi Final. I am quietly confident, following a 4-2 win against Real earlier in the season, but we're under pressure for much of the game. We manage to go into the break at 2-2, but they pull away in the second half to beat us comfortably 4-2.

Confidence restored against Getafe with a 3-0 win, before we set a club record 13-0 win against minnows Figueres in the Cope del Rey Third Round. This kicks off a 16-game unbeaten run in all competitions, which is still active at the time of writing. A draw at Brighton effectively puts us out of the Champions League, though we smash Sparta Praha in our final group game. A slew of injuries (at one point we had seven players out, four or five of whom could be considered first choice...) combined with a little unrest among some of the fringe/squad players about their game time pushed me into the transfer market before the window closes, adding striker Pedro from Flamengo, and Rico Lewis from Man City.

We end up in a bizarre run of Cup games thanks to repeated postponements of our game at Rayo Vallecano. Still, you can only play what's in front of you, and the Copa del Rey is kind to us - we beat second tier Lugo in the next round, then FC Andorra (who knocked Atleti out), and then beat Racing Santander 4-0 in the first leg of the Semi Final. Kind draws no doubt.

Amid the crazy Cup draws, and gutsy performances we've risen to the top of La Liga - a 2-1 win at Atleti (I think the first time I have beaten them in this save) is followed by a convincing 3-0 win over Girona at the Mestalla to push us 5-points clear, although Real have two-games in hand and trail us by six-points...and we go to the Bernabeu in two weeks time!

Oh, and we smashed Racing in the second leg of the Cup Semi Final to give ourselves another chance at some silverware - Real or Celta await us in the Final.

Second Season Syndrome?
 

Having made a decent start to the 2024/25 season, I was feeling confident heading into our first Champions League game at Partizan - so naturally we stumbled to a 0-0 draw, before losing 4-1 at Bilbao in La Liga. We bounced back with a 5-1 win against Osasuna, before beating Rangers 4-2 in the Champions League, then thumping Espanyol 6-2. Confidence restored, especially after we beat Barcelona in Barcelona, thanks to goals from Carlos Soler and Fermin.

Despite going down 1-0 after just 30-seconds, we go on to thoroughly outplay Liverpool at the Mestalla, but simply cannot seem to beat Allison - we claw one back eventually, only for Darwin Nunez to score a worldy 20-minutes from the end. A 75th minute penalty should have seen us level, but Allison saves it. We had 11 shots on target in total, with an xG of 2.16, but lose 2-1. Football eh.

Results remain mostly good, we beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the Supercopa Semi Final, but play poorly against Barcelona in the Final - somehow we're clinging on when Barca get a 95th minute penalty(!!!) which Lewandowski puts away; we didn't deserve to win, but it still stings to lose so late.

Unfortunately our broken salary cap means no January transfer signings either, as we're already at the limit - despite this the Board decide to take out a £25m loan, and give me £31m to spend on transfers. I can't use it in January, but formulate a plan to use it after the window closes, ready to bring some reinforcements in in the summer, more on that below.

We get dicked by Real Madrid in the Champions League, and lose at home to Porto, but we've done enough to get to the first knockout stage, where we're drawn against....Barcelona. FFS. January was tough, inconsistent; February was a nightmare. We fail to win any of our six games in February, get knocked out of the Copa del Rey on penalties for the second year in a row (this time to Villarreal), Barca put us out of Europe.

We bounce back in March; a formation change to a 4-2-4 (with two IWs) brings the goals back - we beat Espanyol 4-0, thump Barcelona 4-1 at the Mestalla, and while we throw away a 2-0 lead against Girona (who equalised in the 96th minute...) we put together an eight game unbeaten run - which includes a 2-1 win against Real Madrid. Annoyingly we screw up another 2-0 lead at Sevilla, conceding three goals in the second half, including two in the last eight minutes, to lose 3-2. A 5-1 win over Cadiz is enough to see us secure a top-four spot again though, so we're back in the Champions League next year.
 

We finish the year with a record of 23 wins, 10 draws, and five defeats, scoring 90 goals (second best in La Liga), while conceding 37. We finish on 79 points, one less than last year.

I am left wondering what might have been had Hugo Duro not suffered two major injuries during the season (torn thigh muscle, broken foot), which dented our offensive output somewhat as Marcos Leonardo struggled for form all year. We had a total of seven major injuries in all, and a stack of moderate ones. 
 

Fingers crossed fixing our salary cap number will help us acquire some squad depth during summer 2025...

As a nice side note, newgen striker Manuel Arastey becomes Valencia's youngest ever player, before becoming its youngest ever goal scorer too two games later.

Summer 2025
 

Using the aforementioned £31m, I structure a deal to bring centre back Strahinja Pavlovic from RB Salzburg, and cut a late season deal to bring in Ilaix Moriba from Leipzig as squad depth. Jaume Domenech decides he wants to move on, so I ship him out to Nantes and bring in Stefano Turati as my backup goalkeeper.

I still have in the region of £18m to spend if I want to, and am quite tempted to look for another striker to add depth there; unfortunately we miss out on Turkish wonderkid Semih Kilicsoy - thought we had it in the bag, only for Atleti to stage a late bid and gazump us. The dicks.

This post concludes with the news that not one but TWO Saudi Pro League sides have triggered Jose Gaya's £86m release clause - I don't want to lose my captain, but we seem essentially powerless here, so it's time to start scouting for another LB as well.

Summer 2024

Following a successful first season a the Mestalla, preparation begins for a return to the Champions League, whilst also looking to bring on the young talent at my disposal.

Inevitably the Saudi Pro League teams begin to circle however; Mouctar Diakhaby says he wants to leave, so I agree that he can go if an offer of £26m comes in - Al-Nassr oblige and so he's off. Not to be outdone, Al-Ahil come in for Thierry Rendall Correia; he Portuguese full-back wants £400k per week to stay, so I merrily accept the Saudi side's £30m offer and get to investing the money back into the squad.

Yann Aurel Bisseck comes in at CB from Inter for £12m (possibly rising to £13.5m), replacing Diakhaby in the squad, while Ivan Fresneda makes his return to Spanish football for £18m (rising to £20.5m). Have I overpaid for the right back? Maybe, but I like the idea of building my Valencia side around home grown talent, so that Spanish passport puts my mind at ease, especially if he reaches his potential.

The midfield also gets a boost, with Israeli wonderkid Anan Khalally joining for £2.2m from Maccabi Haifa, while Carlos Soler makes a spectacular return to Los Che after falling out of favour at PSG. Javi Guerra also becomes our highest paid player after agitating for a contract renewal, but the kid is so good, and versatile, I can't bear to see him part. Soler's arrival means I'm now retraining Guerra to play AMC rather than as a Segundo Volante (ATT) (albeit he did bloody well in that role last season).

EDIT TO ADD - Also added Marcos Leonardo from Benfica, as Duro was my only truly first team quality striker, so a bit more depth (and potential) there!

The only downside is that, despite a vastly improve financial position via sales, a 3rd placed finish, and the new seasons influx of sponsors cash, our wage cap doesn't rise - a long standing FM bug by the sounds of it. It means cutting one or two players out of our La Liga squad to make room, but we're still looking in good shape, and those players that miss out on the league squad still fit into our Champions League plans, where we boast eight HGC players, ad 15 HGN players from our squad of 25. Not bad.

Season 2024/25

A rash of injuries right before the start of the new season has me slightly worried, but a tough opening fixture at Atletico Madrid ends in a 2-2 draw before we thump Betis 4-0 at home; a 1-1 draw at Levante is followed by another dominant home win, this time beating Real Sociedad 4-1 thanks to a Hugo Duro hat trick. We play Celta Vigo at home next in the league.

The new Champions League format sees us drawn against Partizan, Rangers, Liverpool (eek), Leverkusen, Hoffenheim, PSV, Real Madrid (who we also have to play in the Spanish Supercup), and Porto - a tough set of fixtures, but one we might be able to come through if we play to our potential.

Around the turn of the century, Valencia were among the best sides in Europe - Los Che reached back-to-back Champions League Finals in 2000 and 2001, before going on to win La Liga in 2002 and 2004, and the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) and UEFA Super Cup in 2004. They were good, very good. Since then? It's been a slow decline which eventually turned into something of a collapse.

A succession of star players - including David Silva and Juan Mata - were progressively sold to balance the books, and life under current owner Peter Lim has been, at best, frustrating. After finishing 16th in 2022/23, narrowly avoiding relegation, the club turns to unknown Englishman Rob McGregor to turn things around…

Day Zero

As with every other version of the Football Manager multiverse, my first day at the Mestalla is a reminder of which stars have been sold over the summer - with Yunus Musah's departure to AC Milan the latest in a long line of youngsters I've seen show their talent at Valencia, before being promptly sold.

Fortunately club captain, and Spain international, Jose Gaya remains, whilst a number of the clubs youngsters have taken a step forward thanks to the opportunities presented to them as a result of the club's spendthrift ways - it may be a case of ‘raise ’em then sell ‘em’, but the Valencia academy does a great job raising ‘em, so there’s something to work with at least.

The transfer budget is limited, just over £2m, but with the wage budget already exceeded that sum is quickly diminished, and my resolve is severely tested when Saudi Pro League teams start sniffing around Gaya.

Despite the bumper pay day they offer, I resist; it upsets Gaya in the short term, but I decide our captain is more important with us at this stage - aside from a couple of outgoing loans, this concludes the summer transfer business…

Fortunately there's no restriction on who I can bring in staff wise, so a major overhaul takes place here - by the start of the season my coaching and recruitment teams are among the best in the league, and the medical staff is pretty good too.

On the Field

Despite starting out with a good old fashioned 4-3-3 DM, we quickly end up playing a 4-2-3-1 after some strong preseason results; when we annihilate Osasuna 6-1 on the opening day of the La Liga season, it's pretty much sealed that this will be our go to formation for the season ahead.

Results are pretty good - we play poorly, and lose, at Cadiz and Mallorca, but otherwise pick up eight wins from our first eleven games to setup a nice platform from which to not only secure a top half finished (Board requirement), but maybe even challenge for a European place!

We make a hash of our Copa del Rey first round tie at Deportivo, losing the They Used to be Good Derby on penalties, but our league form persuades the Board to free up some cash before the January transfer window as we continue to push for a European place.

Second Half of the Season

A couple of financially helpful outgoing loans helps boost the transfer kitty further, and some creative deal construction allows us to sign Agustin Giay and Fermin, and bring in Nordi Mukiele on loan, before the window closes. 

On the field Hugo Duro is battling it out with former Valencia striker Maxi Gomez for the golden boot and five wins from our first six games following the restart sees us rise into the top four!!! A 1-0 loss at Villarreal is quickly forgotten as we win six on the bounce, including a 2-1 win over Barcelona at the Mestalla - suddenly we're not just top-four, but snapping at Real Madrid's heels for the top spot.

We can't keep it up, Real barely miss a beat after a slight wobble in February, while we're tiring. Duro has hit a cold streak, and so we're scrapping for every point - fortunately, the cushion we've built up is sizeable, keeping Atletico at arms length in 4th, and leaving us well ahead of 5th placed Real Sociedad; a 2-0 win over Los Txuri-Urdin to start May sees our place in next season Champions League secured!

While we lose at Atleti, draws with Athletic Bilbao and at Real Madrid keep us ticking before we thump already relegated Granada on the last day of the season.

Post Season Wrap Up

Hugo Duro finishes the season as the top Spanish goalscorer, second overall behind Gomez, and third overall in Europe as a whole!

I'm awarded Manager of the Year, after we smash the preseason prediction of finishing 9th to secure 3rd spot with 80 points, just two-points behind Barcelona!

There's also a Board takeover brewing…

Exciting times!

Apparently it's bundled in with TV money - so teams that finish higher get a bigger slice of TV money next time.

Just finished my first season managing in La Liga in FM24; is there no prize money paid out once the league campaign finishes (based on final league position)?

If I look under League Rules, there is no prize money listed for La Liga (as opposed to other leagues, which show how much a team receives for finishing in a certain position) - thought this was a bit unusual?

Having just upgraded to FM24, and so with a need to get to grips with some of the new changes (set piece overhaul), I sought out a save with short-mid term possibilities that wasn't going to completely kick my arse out of the gate (I'll save Valencia for that ); given their horrendous season IRL, it seemed like a good time to return to an old favourite: AFC Ajax.

Day Zero

Having enjoyed a lengthy save with Ajax back in the days of FM10 (as well as fond memories of watching their 'golden generation' win the 1995 Champions League) the Dutch club have held a soft spot in my heart for a number of years now. The team I inherit in FM24 is somewhat different to that which I started with in FM10 (I meant that metaphorically, not literally, as FM10 was a long time ago now...).

IRL the club cashed in on Mohammed Kudus, Jurrien Timber, and Edson Alvarez among others, while captain Dusan Tadic and Davy Klaassen also departed. What's left is young, but talented with bags of potential and (hopefully) some strong veteran leadership in Jordan Henderson, Steven Berghuis, and Steven Bergwijn. The Board want a title challenge though, so I'm leaning towards adding a little more experience to help guide the team in the short term - especially with goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli out for 5-7 months due to a dislocated shoulder...

Centre back Ahmetcan Kaplan is also out for several months with a torn knee ligament, so extra coverage there is under consideration, but really it's a goalkeeper I am looking for in the transfer market - beyond that it's a case of looking for upgrades or quality youngsters to bring in for the future. A healthy £30m isn't backed up with a lot of flexibility in the wage budget however, so some adjustment is needed as I drop the kitty to £25m to give me some head room. A decision also needs to be made on Gabriel Misehouy, who has a lot of potential but is apparently intent on running his contract down and leaving on a free next summer; do I sell or do I hold and hope he changes his mind? Another decision to make!

Long term, I admit I would love to lure some former players back to the club, but that is a long way off right now.

Staff wise, club legend Dennis Bergkamp as a coach among a significant number of changes as I bid to make the club Staff the best it can be.

Tactically I've setup a structured 4-3-3, and 4-2-3-1 formation to start with - the intention here is to evolve this relatively quickly into a more Ajax-like free flowing setup.

Fair to say the 2023/24 season challenged me like few FM seasons ever have. After a solid 3-0 win against Uerdingen in the DFB-Pokal, we only pick up one win in our next twelve games!!! A brief uptick versus Freiburg (4-1 win) is quickly forgotten due to narrow losses against Leipzig and Wolfsburg. It's fair to say I am frustrated, and slightly at a loss as to how we've fallen apart in the way we have.

An absolute ding dong of an encounter at Koln seems to shift the sands though - somehow we come out of the game 6-5 winners, thanks in no small part to a four-goal performance from Marcos Leonardo. We win three of our next five games, but losing Leonardo to the Pre-Olympic qualifiers hurts us and we slip to three defeats from four games in February.

Thankfully things pickup in March following a tactical shift to a good old fashioned 4-3-3 DM; despite Kevin Behrens dismissal after just 8-minutes, we beat rivals Hertha 2-1 to kick off a run of sevens wins, one draw, and two defeats to end the season, helping us rise to 11th in the table.

In a bid to build on that late success, we sign Brandon Williams on a free from Man Utd, and add Yusuf Demir, Matheus Franca, and goalkeeper Robert Popa to bolster our squad depth, before also picking up former Liverpool midfielder Leighton Clarkson on a free transfer.

A good preseason is almost derailed at Dynamos Dresden in the Cup, but we manage to come through in extra time, securing a 4-2 win thanks to Laurenz Dehl's hat trick.

Frustratingly we can't seem to build on it when the league starts -  we out play Gladbach, but our defence seems to have collapsed, conceding two sloppy goals before giving up a LATE equaliser in the 96th minute (two minutes after the game was supposed to end…) to tie 3-3. A shoddy performance at Hoffenheim sees us lose 1-0, before we surrender a 2-goal lead to tie with Leverkusen.

Going forward we're doing well, but once again it is defence which is causing me headaches. Next up, an away trip to Schalke.

When last we left, my Union side had just beaten Werder Bremen, were 7th in the table, and feeling good about ourselves.

A draw at Trabzonspor in the first leg of our Europa League Knockout tie extended our unbeaten run in all competitions to 19-games, a new club record! It would be fair to say it was downhill from here...

Wolfsburg thump us 4-1 in our own backyard to kick off a five straight defeats in the Bundesliga as we begin to slide down the table. A 3-2 win over Trabzonspor keeps the European dream alive however, and when we beat Real Betis 1-0 in the first leg of our Round of 16 tie I wonder if there's a little beacon of light at the end of the tunnel still; alas this too proved to be a case of 'it's the hope that kills you', as Betis take an early lead (aggregate score 1-1) before Kevin Behrens sees red 28 minutes into the match; we then lose captain Christopher Trimmel to injury, leaving us to finish the game with nine-men...naturally Betis score late to send us home. we do manage to grind out a win on penalties in the quarter final of the DFB-Pokal at Wolfsburg, but we play like crap in the semi-final at Frankfurt and lose 2-0.

In all, our last 16-games in all competitions yield just five wins, two of which come in Europe and the other is a shootout victory in the Cup. We still seem ok defensively, but our offence has run dry. It's a slightly depressing end to the year, albeit we wrap up the season with a 2-2 draw at Bayern and finish 11th, well out of the relegation fight, so the Board and fans are happy.

A second summer of squad upheaval follows, as I look to skew young and talented - because I'll either have a great squad for the next 5-10 years, or cash in on some of the games wonderkids and have some decent finances.

Out go Sheraldo Becker, who was frankly pish in season one, Kevin Mohwald (expiring contract), Tim Skarke, Danilho Doekhi, and Jerome Roussillon, all for a profit (albeit a small one in some cases). In come Josha Vagnoman, GK Florian Muller, and Dan-Axel Zagadou from Stuttgart, Diego Coppola from relegated Verona, Arda Guler, Romeo Lavia from relegated Southampton, and Marco John from Hoffenheim. Pretty much all of the deals entail instalments and clauses, but with an aim of growing the club, I'll take the chance that the on field growth will justify the financial outlay.

I try to simplify my tactics as well, switching off some of the instructions whilst resetting my 5-2-3 primary formation (three CBs, two WBs, a DM, a CM, an AM, and two strikers) - it served me well through the first half of year one, so I am hoping we can get back to winning ways with it again. I also have a highly structured 3-4-3, and a classic 4-2-3-1 (two DMs) as my alternatives.

Season 2023/24 gets underway with a Cup tie at Uerdingen, before the Bundesliga begins away at Hoffenheim.

We've reached February 2023 in Berlin, and things are going well.

Some tweaks to our tactics helped secure 3-1 wins over Babelsberg and Reggiana to finish the pre-season, before thumping Kaiserslautern 4-1 in the first round of the DFP-Pokal - hardly giants of the game, but it felt good to get that first competitive win under our belts, especially as the opening four games of the Bundesliga pitted us against RB Leipzig (1-0 loss), Hertha (away, 1-1), Leverkusen (thumped 3-0 at home...), and Dortmund (3-1 loss in Dortmund). A 2-0 win at home to Werder Bremen gets us up and running however, and a reasonable draw in the Europa League sees us come up against Kazakhstani side Tobyi, and Braga during September - winning both games! A 4-2 win over Stuttgart gives me hope, but three losses on the bounce (to Freiburg, Feyenoord, and then Gladbach) leads to a team meeting pep talk.

Happy to report it works, as we beat Feyenoord 4-2 in the return fixture in Berlin, squeeze past Hoffenheim in the Cup (on penalties) and confirm our passage to the knockout stages of the Europa League with a win in Braga before November is done.

Due to the World Cup, we have just four games in November - beating Tobyi at home and Mainz away, whilst drawing with Hoffenheim and Bayern in the BuLi to leave us in a comfortable mid-table position by the break.

A busy January sees us playing seven games, securing wins over Augsburg, Frankfurt, and Koln, and picking up points against Leipzig, Hertha (who got a last minute penalty to tie the game...) and Leverkusen! We also beat Kiel to advance to the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal (where we will play Wolfsburg). A draw with Dortmund, followed by a win at Bremen, sees us extend our unbeaten run to 12-games as well! We're currently 7th in the league, fighting for a Europa Conference League spot, with a winnable tie against Trabzospor coming up next in the Europa League.
 

Given the Board just wanted us to avoid relegation, it's been a good season so far - one which I will admit has already taught me a lot due to the squads makeup and limitations, forcing me to break away from the 4-3-3DM and 4-2-3-1 I've played in basically every other FM23 save 🙂

Transfer wise, Jaeckel's departure to Leipzig gave me enough space to structure deals for Martin Baturina from Dinamo, and Alex Scott from Bristol City - the pair will either become the backbone of my Union team for the next 10-years, or net us a healthy profit down the line. Either way they've both been solid contributors this season, as has centre back Patric Pfeiffer, who I signed from Darmstadt to provide cover, but he's probably been my best defender this season!

Forward pair Sven Michel and Kevin Behrens have formed a strong partnership too, each netting 12-goals (all competitions) up to this point - a return far greater than I expected of them when the season began - while American Jordan Siebatcheu has also chipped in. Sheraldo Becker has been bobbins though, so a couple of other sales were wrangled into a clause heavy deal to sign Marcos Leonardo from Santos, while I am hoping youth prospect Benjamin Hoffmann - who I made Union's youngest ever player earlier in the season - recovers from a cruciate ligament injury in time for next season.
 

In terms of other departures, Aissa Laidouni's hissy fit at being left out of our Europa League squad quickly saw him sold to Dinamo for £3.7m, while Paul Seguin was shipped off to Southampton for £900k so we recouped something for him before his contract expired. Milos Pantovic was also eventually sold, as he became fed up with sitting on the bench. As he joined Union for free, the £375k fee still represented a profit for the club; I think I've managed to sell everyone at a (small) profit so far, which has helped to keep our transfer activity balanced so far.

Hoping we can continue play well and maintain out top-half position, giving us something to build on for next season and beyond.

Following the surprise departure of former manager Urs Fischer, FC Union Berlin have appointed an unknown Englishman to guide the team forward, as they seek to establish themselves as a permanent fixture in the Bundesliga in the virtual footballing world of FM23!

My years as a professional at Peterborough United helped me achieve some National acclaim, before a knee injury cut my playing career short. Unable to play, I focussed my energy on achieving my Continental Pro License before taking up my first management role at the  Stadion An der Alten Försterei in June 2022. 

Despite a 5th placed finish in the BuLi last season, ensuring Europa League football, and the sale of Taiwo Amoniyi for £17.75m to Nottingham Forest, Union's finances are modest to say the least. With just £800,000 to spend, and some gaps on the squad depth chart, I set about the task at hand - become an established Bundesliga team, be competitive in the Europa League, and reaching the latter stages of the DFB-Pokal.
 

With a number of hard working central midfielders, I settle on what I'd call a 5-2-3 formation as my main tactic - with wing backs, two defensive midfielders, an AMC, and two strikers.
 

It's a setup I hope will make us solid at the back, whilst giving us a chance to score a few goals - it also means I can cash in on the interest being shown in winger Levin Oztunali, selling him to Strasbourg for £3m.
 

I do my best to upgrade my staff - with David Platt and Dennis Bergkamp joining the club - but Union's reputation is still too low for me to entice some other notable names to the German capital. Never mind, this is a long term project.
 

Pre-season starts modestly - we do seem to be defensively sound, but we're struggling to score goals; Amoniyi's departure is being keenly felt right now, and when left back Niko Giesselmann tells me he will be 'assess his options' at the end of his contract next summer I have a choice to make. He's one of my better players, but if he's set on leaving...so I look to make a little cash again, selling him to Leverkusen for £2.5m (rising to £3m) and bring in Luca Itter from Greuther Furth as a replacement. It leaves me with £4.5m in the transfer budget, but following some contract extensions, and tying down some young talent, the wage budget has just £9.8k per week available.
 

Ideally I still want another striker, and another centre back - an issue compounded by Leipzig's offer for 23-year-old CB Paul Jaeckel - the player wants to go, so I'm working on the best deal I can here. There are few, if any, players that I'd say are untouchable, so if the money's right...cohesion is already poor, so now feels like the time to make changes, so as not to disrupt things later.
 

A good win over Babelsberg in our next pre-season game would be very welcome though, it has to be said - even just a couple of goals would be nice, having managed just one in four previous outings; happily we have only conceded one too, but stiffer tests undoubtedly await once the season gets properly underway.

Quick update post Summer 2024 transfer window.

Looked to add some depth to my defence by bringing in Mohamed Simakan on loan from Leipzig (with an option to buy clause) as the vultures were circling around my defensive unit. The Frenchman's arrival paved the way for Rick Karsdorp's departure, after the Dutchmen decided he'd be ‘exploring his options' when his contract was set to expire next summer anyway - cash in while I can I guess.

Cleared out some deadwood in the shape of Stephan El Shaarawy and Ebrima Darboe, and saved some further money on wages by moving Rui Patricio on - Stefano Turati will take the gloves full time - whilst also loaning Houssem Aouar to West Ham.

Eventually a big bid did come for one of my stars, with Atletico Madrid offering £55m for Roger Ibanez. He wanted to go, so I took the money; used some of it to repair our battered finances (yay Italian football in 2023), and a chunk to bring in Caleb Okoli as replacement.

Three wins, two draws, an a loss at Milan to start the new Serie A campaign, while we've secured a win and a draw in our Champions League outings thus far.

Into the Unknown
 

Following a frustrating start to the season, things very much felt like 'that difficult second album' for my Newcastle United team. While we managed to secure a 1-0 win against Aston Villa, our Champions League campaign got off to a bad start when we lost at Juventus, before being unceremoniously dumped out of the EFL Cup by Manchester United a week later. A loss at Tottenham, followed by a home draw with Lyon in the CL left us in a precarious position at both home and abroad; thankfully an upturn in fortunes came at the end of October, with Callum Wilson scoring twice to help is beat Barcelona at St. James' Park, before we thump Fulham 4-0 to finish the month.
 

November is equally kind to us, we pick up Premier League wins at Leicester, and against Bournemouth, as well as wins away at Barcelona (3-1!) and Lyon (5-2!) to see us through to the knockout stages. Our reward for navigating our way out of a tough group? A Last-16 tie with Real Madrid...

A surprise loss at Brentford is followed by an 11-game unbeaten run in the league however - enough to propel us up to 2nd in the table by the end of January, with a 1-0 win at the Etihad a nice way to end the month.

Transfer wise, Stefan de Vrij wasn't happy with his playing time, so I loan him back to Inter, and put together a 'loan with obligation to buy' deal for Belgian CB Zeno Debast. Also manage to slap together a package to bring Arda Guler to Tyneside - albeit I agree to loan him back to Fenerbache for the rest of this season, as he'll get more playing time there in the short term.

February starts with an FA Cup win at fierce rivals Sunderland - art imitating life in that regard - with a trip to Middlesbrough next on the card league wise.

Summer 2023

After qualifying for the Champions League, the Board hand me a healthy £100m+ transfer budget; Southampton's relegation opens up Tino Livramento's relegation clause, so I spend £29m to bring him to Tyneside with a view to making him one of my long term options at RB - he also helps contribute towards my aim of trying to use more home grown players.

With that in mind, and after much to-ing and fro-ing about how to tweak things, I bite the bullet and trigger Jude Bellingham's release clause too - £93m straight out the door; but I've picked up a quality English player, so I'm happy.

I also bring Bobby Clark back from Liverpool (future HGC I hope), and Fraser Forster from Spurs to be my backup GK, mainly because he holds HGC status for Champions League purposes. 

When Dan Burn decides he wants to move on, to try a new challenge, I strike a deal to ship him out to Crystal Palace, before circling back to Selhurst Park to sign Marc Guehi as his replacement - although this deal carries some future instalments and clauses, where Bellingham and Livramento were straight payments, so although they've hammered the bank balance in the short term, they don't carry any future fees.

The Board inform me that we've received a large cash injection via a ‘European telecommunications company’ - given the deal is worth £76m, I decide it must be Vodafone, and use it as an opportunity to dick around with some kit design ideas (especially as Newcastle are due to move to Adidas as supplier anyway):

Third jersey probably needs work…anyway; several staff members retire, including my Ass Man Brian Kidd (replaced with Steve Holland), but these positions are filled and my backroom remains healthy looking. 

2023/24 Season

Things get off to a good start thanks to a 3-1 win at newly promoted (local rivals) Middlesbrough, before we beat Man City 2-0 at St. James' Park.

Unfortunately we then collapse at Anfield, losing 3-0, shit the bed at home to Chelsea (1-0 loss), before losing 3-0 at West Ham. Several players are ranked below 6.5 in terms of recent form, and we just generally do not seem to be clicking. At least it's the international break, and I can go and have a little cry before our next game at home to Aston Villa.

Yeah; he was playing ok for me - but he was definitely second choice RCB, and expendable long term, so when he came to me it was an easy decision to sell! Especially when it enabled me to bring in de Vrij, a much better CB.

Forgot to add my January 2023 transfer ins and outs.

Sold Martin Dubravka, and Jacob Murphy (neither seeing much playing time, and neither had a long term future at the club for me), while Jamaal Lascelles decided he wanted to pursue a different challenge, so shipped him off to Burnley.

Experienced CB Stefan de Vrij came in to bolster the backline, while Matheus Franca and Agustin Giay were both purchased and then loaned out - Giay staying at San Lorenzo, and Franca to Tigres. They're signings for the future, so may as well get them decent game time elsewhere for now.  

After a solid start to the season leading up to the 2022 World Cup break, my Newcastle United side looked to kick on once the domestic schedule resumed in late December.

A straightforward win at Ipswich in the EFL Cup eased us back into things, before earning a hard earned point at Anfield on Boxing Day, followed by a thumping 6-0 win over West Ham at SJP to round out 2022.

January was a little boggy - despite a league win over Aston Villa, and FA Cup victories at Bolton and Brentford (a 5-3 thriller no less!), we were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Chelsea, and dropped league points at Brentford and at home to Brighton. Things began to pickup from here however; winning three out of four PL games in February, four of our five games in March (seeing us through to the FA Cup Semi-Finals as a result) and we're in the mix for both some silverware and a Champions League place.

Unfortunately we lose Alexander Isak to a torn calf muscle - oh dear. Our top scorer hobbled for the rest of the season…

A draw at Chelsea on April 1st kept our noses ahead of the blues and Arsenal in the battle for 3rd and 4th (Man City and Liverpool are way out in front at this point); before we complete a stunning turn around against Arsenal at St. James' Park - coming back from 3-1 down to win 5-3!

A loss at Man City is soon forgotten as we record wins over Everton, Bournemouth, and Southampton, whilst thrashing Fulham in the FA Cup Semi-Final to set ourselves up a good ol' fashioned Final clash with Man City (gulp). On the downside, another serious injury as Miguel Almiron - who's been flippin' brilliant all season - is side-lined for five to eight months with ligament damage.

A 3-3 draw with Spurs, followed by a 0-0 at Leeds, sees us gather the points we need to secure a Champions League spot for the 2023/24 season! Unfortunately we're now without Declan Rice too - out for a month with a groin injury.

The final day of the season is still fun however - Liverpool's slip up at Fulham means they are only one point ahead of City going into the final round of games; whilst the relegation battle also goes to the wire, with Wolves on 28 points and Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, and Southampton all on 31! We thrash Wolves to see them down, while Bournemouth escape the drop thanks to an 88th minute winner from Hamed Traore against Man Utd, sending Southampton and Forest down.

Elsewhere, Barcelona pip Real Madrid to the La Liga title by one goal! Yep, Goal Difference decided the Spanish title, with Barcelona's +43 besting Madrid's +42! In response, Real sack Carlo Ancelotti…

After such final day drama my heart can only take so much more, so when we walk out at Wembley to face Man City on the FA Cup final, I've already dialled 99 and my finger is hovering over the other 9 in case I keel over…

No Isak, no Almiron, no Rice, and City score first; Kyle Walker is somehow allowed to saunter through our box before squaring a pass to Jack Grealish. Arse. Joelinton is then forced off injured. It's not going well, until Joe Willock gallops free to equalise. We're defending like our lives depends on it. We're in this…WE'RE AHEAD! Sven Botman heads home from Kieran Trippier's free kick!!!

2-1 up at half time, we fight, we claw, we hold the line, fatigue is setting in, we're so close, two minutes of injury time…oh no; Jamal Lewis - the only non-City or Liverpool player to make the Premier League Team of the Year - scuffs a 92nd minute clearance, it falls straight to Lutsharel Geertruida, the kitchen sink carrying right back, who throws everything his has behind his shot…and he scores. The virtual last kick of regular time and it's an equaliser. My heart sinks. We regroup, we struggle on, but our depleted bench has little to offer. We keep grinding our way through the time, only for Julian Alvares to nip in front of an exhausted Botman in the 115th minutes.

The dream is over. 

Staff thoroughly revamped, with Brian Kidd coming in as my Assistant Manager, and Dennis Bergkamp among the new coaching hires for the senior team, whilst club icon Shay Given joins the U21 coaching team. Coaching Team now among the best in the Premier League, as is my Sports Science department; Recruitment and Physio teams both towards the top end, but not quite strong enough to displace the two Manchester clubs just yet.

On the field, Declan Rice becomes my first signing as Newcastle United manager (£80m, rising to £85m), while Ridle Baku comes in as backup/long term replacement for Kieran Trippier at RB. I also pickup Alex Scott from Bristol City (per OP, would like to develop more homegrown talent this time). After a couple of honking performances my defence early in the campaign, Josip Sutalo arrives on transfer deadline day.

Out go Javi Manquillo, Matt Ritchie, and Paul Dummett on permanent deals, while Ryan Fraser heads up a number of loan departures which I hope will become permanent deals.

Things start well, with a thumping 4-1 at home to Fulham, but we prove inconsistent thereafter - and have struggled away from home in particular. A succession of minor, but important, injuries mean various players miss 10-14 days at a time, disrupting my attempts to bring some cohesion to the group. Despite this, we do pick up some very tidy wins against Man City, and Chelsea at St. James' Park!

Currently 7th in the Premier League, and through to EFL Cup Fourth Round, where we will travel to Ipswich.

No, Newcastle is not the greatest challenge in Football Manager anymore. Do I care? Also no. NUFC fan IRL, still rocking FM23, wanted a save to while away the evenings with, but one that didn't quite tax the brain in the way trying to turn Peterborough into a global powerhouse does. I just don't have the time or patience for that.

So here I am, neck deep in virtual oil money, managing my beloved Newcastle for a second time in FM23 - I'd won the PL in that save, but sort of lost track of where I was with it, so started over with more of an emphasis on developing homegrown and domestic talent; albeit I am no fool, I'll use the money as well.

Can I establish Premier League and European dominance? The history of moneyed sides in FM suggests that yes, I can; how soon? Too early to tell…

Shall document my adventures here.

Haven't updated this for a while; second season syndrome! With a number of youngsters in the starting line-up, some injuries (including a long term problem for Paulo Dybala), and the usual fixture jam that comes with playing in Europe, it was an inconsistent year for my Roma team.

A sluggish start led to some concerns about whether we'd qualify for the Champions League, let alone defend our Serie A title, as teams above us kept on winning, 

We hung in there however, and a strong April moved us firmly into the top four as others fell away; thankfully we remained there despite a very poor May - Champions League football secured, Board happy. Also added Arda Guler in the January window, so our pool of talented youngsters is pretty decent now, at least from an attacking standpoint. 

Need to look at our defensive setup though, as we conceded 19 goals more than we did in our championship year - though we did score four goals more as Tammy Abraham roared to the Golden Boot (34 league goals in 37 games, 47 in 48 games overall).

Knocked out of the Coppa Italia at the quarter final stage by Atalanta on penalties; we ended up with Liverpool in the Last-16 of the Champions League - and we shit the bed at Anfield, so that was essentially it after one leg…put in an admirable shift at home, but damage was done. 

A 1-0 loss to Juventus in the Supercoppa Italia Final meant we went trophy-less in season two - still, the sweet taste of that Serie A success in season one remains.

The Board has given me £17m to spend ahead of season three, but TBH I am unsure where to spend it right now - a new left back is probably the best bet, as Spinazzola gets older - and spending sprees in years one and two have left the clubs finances in a slightly delicate position; not irreversible though. Just playing it a little more sensible for a year or two I think.

Inevitably Europe's big clubs are circling however - whether they'll meet the valuation we have for our stars remains to be seen. I might just sit on the transfer kitty for a bit and see how the season pans out, as a some of my younger players develop further and we work towards our next goal of winning the Champions League.

Onwards!

The summer 2023 transfer window sees me skew young - Pietro Pellegri, fresh off a brilliant season with Torino, comes in as my second choice striker, replacing the disappointing Andrea Belotti. Martin Baturina and Josip Sutalo arrive from Dinamo to bolster our midfield and defence respectively, while Southampton's relegation from the Premier League allows me to cut deals to sign Romeo Lavia and Tino Livramento.

Rui Patricio stays for at least one more year, but his aging body leads me to sign Stefano Turati from Sassuolo as our long term option in goal. Nostalgia also sees me make a move for Sebastiano Esposito from Inter.

Out go Eldor Shomurodov, Gonzalo Villar, Carles Perez, Justin Kluivert, Ola Solbakken, Nemanja Matic, Bryan Reynolds, and Zeki Celik (for twice what Roma paid for him in 2022).

The squad remains tight, but better in the long run I feel - I have at least one player for every position, plus some good youth prospects, including newgen forward Andrea Babbini, who has a current Potential rating of four stars.

March 2023 proved kind to my Roma side - a 2-1 win against Milan was followed by an admittedly disappointing defeat in Sturm during the first leg of our Europa League Last-16 tie, bt a 1-0 win in Turin, thumping 5-1 win against Sturm in the second leg, and a hard fought point against Sassuolo kept us in the hunt for European and domestic success, but at the cost of our fitness as April brought no less than nine games!

A win over Verona suggested we'd be up to the task, but a 5-2 loss to Juventus in the first leg of the Coppa Italia Semi-Final took the wind out of my sails a bit - we were poor, dreadful in fact. I admit to fearing the worst, but resounding wins over Bologna, and FC Midtjylland quickly got us back on track. We beat Empoli and Spezia to retain our spot at the top of Serie A, we finish off the Danes to advance to the Europa League Semi-Finals, and extract some form of revenge on Juve, beating them 3-1 in the Cup SF second leg - oh so close to overturning them…

A surprise loss at Lecce to finish the month (classic FM situation) hints at how tired we are though; we grind out a 0-0 with Lazio, Gigi Wijnaldum helps us secure a sluggish 1-0 win against Fiorentina, before we grind out another draw with Lazio in the Europa League SF first leg (yes, an all Rome semi-final!).

The grind is worth it however, all the fingernail chewing justified when Paulo Dybala lashes home a penalty at the Olimpico to give us a 1-0 win over Inter and the title!!! 

We're dogshit against Lazio in the second leg, losing 2-0, but I don't care - we are the champions. The first step in my quest is achieved.

We've reached February 2023 in my FM23 Roma save, and I'm happy to report that the Giallorossi remain top of Serie A, 5-points clear of second place (and surprise package of the season so far) Torino! Particularly pleasing given we were without four first choice players for between two and four weeks at one point.

March brings the Europa League Round of 16, where we've been drawn against SK Sturm, while Juventus await us in the Coppa Italia semi-final in April.

Transfer wise, I manage to strike a deal to bring Matheus Franca in from Flamengo - albeit the young Brazilian will remain on loan with Flamengo until the end of their season - and signed Fabian Reider from Young Boys; Marash Kambulla was the only departure, joining Real Sociedad on loan for the remainder of the season.

With Manchester United sniffing around, I've opted to offer Paulo Dybala a new contract, one without such a relatively small release clause (£17.25m…) - I'd like to keep the core of this squad together as best I can, and fought off interest from PSG, Real Madrid, and -checks notes- Tottenham Hotspurs(!) to keep other key players at the club during the winter transfer window.

Additional: I also negotiated new contracts with Chris Smalling, Stephan El Shaarawy, and Nemanja Matić; all three have been performing well, plus the renegotiations see them take reduced wages, saving me around £50k per week against the budget - Matic wants one more year than I'm willing to give really, but I'll take that chance while Bove develops further.

One last FM23 save, returning to an old favourite of mine - AS Roma!

A Brief History

A Newcastle Fan IRL, the majesty of Francesco Totti was brought to my TV screen thanks to Football Italia on Channel 4 through the mid-to-late 90s. From there a CM00/01 Roma save - which helped me through one of the most difficult periods of my life - saw a life long affinity with the Giallorossi develop. They've been a regular FM save choice of mine ever since.

In FM23

A simple set of goals; to first deliver another Scudetto, and then grow Roma into the biggest club in the world!

The Technical Bits

I'm using the Winter Update database (c. January/February 2023) - so Cristiano Ronaldo to the SPL, Gakpo to Liverpool and all that jazz.

How It's Started…

A limited wage budget meant some rebalancing of the transfer kitty, but with a few squad depth issues I needed to wheel and deal in order to have my Roma side ready for the season ahead.

In came Simone Bastoni to backup Leonardo Spinazzola at left back, Houssem Aouar arrived to add midfield depth (especially with Georginio Wijnaldum ruled out through injury until after the World Cup), and I signed Yunus Musah from Valencia, primarily with the intention of performing an old FM trick and converting him to a right winger! Secretly, I hope to bring Nicolo Zaniolo back to the Olimpico at some stage though.

We're not deep deep, but with some good youth prospects - like Nicola Zalewski and Edoardo Bove - I feel we have enough to challenge for a Champions League spot, compete in the Europa League, and maybe make a little Cup run in the Coppa Italia.

The club staff was also thoroughly revitalised, with Brian Kidd and Dennis Bergkamp among those joining the first team coaching staff, whilst Real Madrid legend Guti was hired as the new Under 18 Manager among a raft of changes to my youth staff.

I setup us up with a 4-3-3 DM to begin the year with, plus a 4-2-3-1 (with a double DM), and a 5-3-2 that encompasses two DMs and an AM - no doubt tweaks will be needed as the season goes on, but that's how we're starting out.

Up to the World Cup

An opening day loss at Atalanta (0-1) is quickly forgotten as we win ten on the bounce in all competitions - propelling us towards the top of Serie A, whilst setting us up to progress to the next round of the Europa League. Despite some minor injuries, and a few tired legs due to the compressed schedule, we reach the World Cup break sitting in 1st place in Serie A, and top our Europa League group, booking out place in the Last-16.

The season resumes on January 5th at Fiorentina, with a home tie against Bologna in the Coppa Italia six days later.

I also send a contract offer to Marcus Thuram, in a bid to bring the Frenchman in on a free during the summer - with Andrea Belotti struggling as second choice behind Tammy Abraham, it seemed like a good move, especially as Thuram wanted similar money to Belotti (and can provide further depth at AML). 

Just wanted to stop by and say a big THANK YOU for making these available - looking forward to tinkering with some of my own designs

“We don’t talk about 2002” I’m reminded, as my new assistant shows me around the BayArena. Suddenly the tale of how I became a professional footballer (Regional Level), the knee injury which cut short my fictitious playing career, and my journey to a (also fictitious) Continental Pro License are lost in the wistful gaze of the young employee stood next to me. How could I be so foolish as to even mention the word ‘2002’ on my first day as the new Manager of Bayer Leverkusen…

Football fans with a solid recollection of 2002 will remember two things about this particular vintage: the World Cup in Japan and Korea, and Bayer Leverkusen’s catastrophic collapse at the end of what had, at one time, shaped up to be a legendary campaign.

By late April of that year, Die Werkself led the Bundesliga by 5-points with just three games to go, had qualified for the DFB Pokal Final, and were into the Champions League Semi-Final – later beating Manchester United (on away goals) to reach the Final. Things unravelled in truly brutal fashion however; losing to Werder Bremen, and Nürnberg to allow Borussia Dortmund to slip through and steal the league title by just 1-point; collapsing against Schalke in the Cup Final; before tasting one final, bitter defeat as Zinedine Zidane’s iconic volley saw Real Madrid crowned European champions at Leverkusen’s expense.

This triple heartbreak was further compounded by the departure of star midfielder Michael Ballack, and Ze Roberto to rivals Bayern Munich that summer. Centre back Lucio followed a year later. It kicked off a cycle of developing, then selling; helping keep Leverkusen on a solid financial footing, whilst also making them largely competitive – with multiple top-5 finishes, and even a run to the DFB Pokal Final again in 2020 – but ultimately unsuccessful in terms of silverware. The 1988 UEFA Cup, and 1993 DFB Pokal remain the clubs only major honours since being founded by workers at Bayer AG in 1904; this despite a host of future stars passing through the industrial city.

No more however; I’ve stumbled into town with my Duolingo German and ‘can do’ attitude. The players eye my cautiously as I lay out our hopes for the season:  qualify for the Champions League, reach the second knockout stage of the Europa League, and look to make a healthy run in the DFB Pokal. It’s a tidy squad, something that can be built on, or in the case of Florian Wirtz, built around. I am determined not to see this young star leave Leverkusen.

The transfer budget is a modest, but useful £7 million – though closer to £6 million once I’ve made adjustments to create extra breathing room within the wage budget. Some wheeling and dealing is required, judicious use of installments and clauses helps land young starlet Karim Adeyemi, while Pierre Kalulu arrives from AC Milan to flesh out the defence. Mönchengladbach’s £4 million (potentially rising to £4.5 million) offer for Daley Sinkgraven helps ensure there’s enough left to secure the signing of Andrea Papetti, as well as left back Simone Bastoni.

Inevitably, the sharks are circling around some of my star players – Patrik Schick, Moussa Diaby, and Paulinho draw admiring glances from Bayern and RB Leipzig respectively, but my plan is to hold on to all three unless a significant offer is received.

The back room staff is shaken up to, with veteran Assistant Manager/Coach Brian Kidd arriving as my number two, while Dennis Bergkamp also joins the coaching staff. Club legends Simon Rolfes, and Stefan Kießling retain their roles as Director of Football and Technical Director respectively, but my recruitment team sees a raft of changes otherwise, becoming one of the best in the Bundesliga by the time I’m finished.

Tactically, it’s a tried and tested 4-2-3-1, and a slight variation on a 4-1-4-1 I’d picked up elsewhere, which form our template to start the season. Both allow our best players to play in positions that can, in theory, excel in, whilst providing both a reasonable defensive base, and a threat going forward.

Pre-season goes well, slowly building on each performance, with a win over Galatasaray in our final friendly giving reason to be hopeful entering the new campaign; which begins with a regulation 2-0 win away at Babelsberg in the DFB Pokal. Could it have been more? Perhaps; but as the first game under a new manager, and his new system(s), well, we’ll take it. Frustratingly we cannot secure a first Bundesliga win of the season away at Union Berlin a week later; despite dominating possession, our shooting is wayward, with just three of our 16 shots on target. At least Schick scores, annoyingly so do Union – Taiwo Awoniyi turning home one of their two chances on goal to see the game finish 1-1.

Things do not improve when we host Mönchengladbach on Match Day 2, with the visitors securing just two shots on target (to our nine…): one in the opening minutes, and in the 90th minute; guess which goes in? You guessed it, Marcus Thuram’s late header condemns us to a 1-0 defeat. Ah well, better days are to come, as we dispatch Augsburg 2-0 thanks to goals from Lucas Alario, and Diaby; although we were somewhat labouring for the first 60 minutes. Nevertheless, a win is a win, and the Europa League draw has been relatively kind, pitting us against Celtic, Slavia Praha, and Brondby – it’s a group which feels…winnable.

Next up after the international break: Borussia Dortmund.

I've had Valencia saves in FM20, FM21, and FM22 - the latter of which I really should return to after a break from it recently. That or restart to include the Winter Transfer update. 

I've found them to be a really good team to manage, as there is a good youth academy, sufficient reputation to attract good players and compete, but also financial limitations and two serious challengers in Real and Barca to overcome. I'd recommend Valencia to anyone looking for an FM save, they're one of my faves now, and I've sort of gained an affinity for them in real life too as a result.

For comparison, I've finished 3rd for three season in a row in my FM22 save, and won the 2023 Copa de el Rey (and 2023 and 2024 Super Copa) - really we should have won La Liga in 2023/24, but we choked in our last couple of games. I was gutted, and it's partly why I took a break from the save (well, that and a bad start to the 2024/25 season - needed to take a step back before there was an FM related laptop breakage ha ha). As I said, I might start over with the Winter Update.

My Valencia save was from the 2210 (previous) update - like a plum I'd overwritten the dbc, edt, and Inc folders in the 2210 sub-folder when I was trying to patch everything so any new saves with 2230 show up ‘correctly’. Basically I had to re-apply the change to the City, Club and Stadium Names.Inc file in 2210/Inc folder and hey presto, everything is back as it was.