From Madeira With Love (FM2014 Dynasty) Finished!!! Check out stats and final stuff!!

[Abe Sargent]

End of season awards?

Rondon was the league’s top goal-scorer this year with 23 goals.

Lucas Castro came in 2nd in Player of the Year. He did win for most league assists with 12, the same number as Lansbury, who had more playing time.

Fabian Ruiz came in 2nd in best GK.

Strandberg, Lucas Castro and Rondon were in league Team of the Year.

We won the Fair Play Award.

Strandberg won for Central Defender of the Year for the League!



Agra just got a hattrick in youth play for the U19 squad for Portugal

[Abe Sargent]

Stats!

Rondon’s 23 goals was 2 more than 2nd, and 7 more than 3rd.

Lucas Castro’s 13 goals were tied for 6th most.

With 12, Castro and Lansbury led in assists. Rondon had 10. Hojbjerg 8, Franny 7

(Skolnik just had 5)

Rondon was 2nd with 8 MOM. Lucas Castro was 6th with 5

Castro, Lucas – had 14th place with 2.88 dribbles a game while Lansbury was 2.72

Lansbury ran the most with 356 klicks

With 9, Ruiz came in 2nd with the most Clean Sheet s (The leader had 16).

Rondon was 5th in key passes with 26, Lucas Castro had 20 and Javi had 18.

Costa had 17 key tackles – tied for 17th.

Strandberg had 90 key headers, 2nd best, and Costa 12th with 59.

Strandberg was 4th with 315 interceptions; Hojbjerg 10th with 244, Costa 16th with 213


Lucas had the 2nd best rating – 7.53, in the league. Rondon was 4th with 7.49. Lansbury was tied for 13th with 7.22.


I win Manager of the Year

[Abe Sargent]

The Final Table:

1 – Nacional da Madeira, 74 points, +48
2 – Benfica, 68, +38
3 – Porto, 65, +50
4 – Sporting, 62, +32
5 – Braga, 57, +22
6 – Vit Guimaraes, 45, +4
7 – Maritimo, 43, +2
8 – Academica, 42, -3
9 – Rio Ave, 39, -3
10 – Belenenses, 38, -12
11 – Gil Vicente, 33, -8
12 – Arouca, 29, -21
13 – Vit. Setubal, 26, -26
14 – Aves, 25, -27
15 – P Ferreira, 18, -40
16 – Beira-Mar, 16, -56



Real Madrid beat Man U 4-2 in the Champions Final

We got another 2.99 M from that TV revenue

[Abe Sargent]

The final game of the season arrives. The Taca da Portugal. I don’t make any major changes to the squad, although I do have new “star” Marcio Sousa suiting up as a backup, just in case things go really really well. Pick up this trophy again! Rondon is on an attack run, tackled, and Franny grabs the ball, rushes and scores in the 14th. They score back on a counter attack in the 25th. Franny intercepts a bad pass by their GK and sinks the ball long range into an open net. Half time. Franny blew up in a cup match last year for a hatrick. I sub in Marcio Sousa for Skolnik, and then swap him for Lucas to bounce him to the left. I have a good feeling about this. Then Rodrigues for Rat. Finally Agra in for Rondon. And we hold on to win, 2-1. MOM is again Franny Castro. Congrats!!!





We have done the Treble, and won both Cups and the League.

[Abe Sargent]

Cristiano Renaldo claimed Best Player from the Champions Cup

Henri Lansbury was named to the European Champions Cup Dream Team. Nice job!

The other players were 2 from Man Utd, 1 from Bayern, 7 from Real Madrid, so to crack that was really swell.

Messi wins Player of the Year for the Spanish League.

I accept an offer to head to Tottenham for a friendly competition in August.

Yearly summary report:

Rat and Sergio dispappointed.

Agra, Ruiz, Rodrigues, Franco and Marcio Sousa were all impressive. Yay!


Nicely done folks.

[Abe Sargent]

Time for South African Football. Three of my international players are about to retire. (I just added in both South African leagues). They can play for our June games and then should be gone.

I modify the squad a bit and confirm it. I recalled a couple of folks that were out of form for the old managers to see if they are better – we have one game against Mali and then two friendlies to try things out.

Goodbye May, you were a great month!

[Abe Sargent]

June


2nd – Away vs Mali, World Cup Quals
9th – Home vs Saudi Arabia, Friendly
13th - Away vs Australia, Friendly


Before we head into too much Republic of South Africa for one Abe to handle, let’s take a quick look at my boys in Madeira. A variety of core players are wanted now. Here’s a way to know if I consider someone a “core player”. Ideally, what do I expect my team to look like five years from now?

GK Fabian Ruiz, fully grown, doing his best Tim Howard impression
DC Hernani Costa, fully grown, considered one of the best Portuguese defenders of his day
DC Stefan Strandberg, Hitting 31, a DC Rock (I might find/grow someone better later on)
DL Canela – Hitting just 23, one of the best fullbacks in his generation from anywhere.
DR Joao Luis Rodrigues – Hitting just 23, one of the best fullbacks in his generation from anywhere
DMC Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – After developing, at the age of 26, one of the best deep-laying playmakers you can find in Europe.
ML Unknown - I don’t have a future stud here yet. Skolnik is alright, new signee Pflugler is a future in another spot. I don’t have this guy yet.
MR Unknown – Same here.
AMC – Sebastian Pflugler – Just 23, this German stud will be fully developed and a rock-star for us, putting up numbers that made Defederico, Lucas Castro and Javi redden in shame.
ST Mariusz Stepinski – Hitting 26, this Rondon replacement might still be with us. Maybe. This is a potential place for a new player down the road.
ST Andreas Rocker – At the age of 22, this recently signed developmental candidate is another house from Bayern. I expect him to blow the pants off anyone else who comes close and to secure this side next year.

I would love to see Agra, Luis Carlos, Paulo Franco and Marcio Sousa still on our team as rotational folks.

So, anyone on that list is a “core player” and I want to wave them off. Obviously, plans change. Canela and Rocker seem like the sorts of players that I’ll get a gigantic offer from in a year or three for like tens of mill in fees. I might do that. We’ll see.

[Abe Sargent]

There are wanted signs by:

Lucas Castro
Rodrigues
Marc
Espinosa
Hojbjerg
Strandberg

So, let’s take a look and see if I can’t push folks away. Especially for Rodrigues, Hojberg and Strandberg


What are my folks worth right now?

Hojbjerg – 15.75
Lansbury – 13
Lucas Castro – 12
Strandberg – 10
Djaniny – 8.5
Aurelio – 7
Skolnik – 6.75
Franny Castro – 6.25
Marc – 5.5
Ruiz – 3.5
Rodrigues – 2
Costa -1.9


Chelsea and Liverpool are sniffing around Hojbjerg’s panties. I set his asking price at 25 mill.

Rodrigues is wanted by Juventus. He goes to 15 mill

Strandberg is wanted by 6 clubs. I bump his 7.5 price to 16.

[Abe Sargent]

Do this for the fans! We draw blood first and score in the 27th. Then again in the 42nd. I put in one of my best youth prospects, a DC named Cyril Mzizi. MOM is Thulani Serero on the MR spot. We have qualified with a game to go!


I like him a lot. Maybe he could be my new DC youth/rotation guy, I scout him out to see what it might take to dislodge the 17 year old. He’s happy to sign, and wouldn’t want too much. He’s not a stud, just a good solid guy who’s already well developed, and he turns 18 later this month.

Our initial budget is set at 350k and 8.17 mill. I am denied a request to upgrade our youth facilities, but they do accept it to upgrade our training facilities again. It should be done by December.


The Saudi Arabian friendly comes, and we end up tying 2-2.


We raised 23M in prize money last year.

I made an offer for Mzizi

We are not favored for today’s match in Australia. I start out countering. 0-0 half. They finally score in the 61st. I think I might want an AMC for my roster. We score late in extra time on a lovely break away move. And that’s it, we tie the game. I’m very okay with that. Happy with that!!!

[Abe Sargent]

Javi Espinosa was signed by West Ham United.

Cyril Mzizi has signed with us officially.


Whoa! Francisco Castro score his first international goal for Chile today. I congratulate him!

We are selling tons of shirts last season:

1. Hojbjerg
2. Rondon
3. Lucas Castro
4. Lansbury
5. Espinosa


Want to buy some of our banners?





The U20 Portugal Squad is in the U20 World cup and just crushed Argentina 2-0 to advance to the Quarter Finals. On that squad, starting, are Luis Carlos, and Vitor Barreto. We also have Joaquim Pereira, Serrgio Laranjeira, and old player Jose Moreira is the GK.

But now they have the Brazil U20 squad.

The Portuguese Premier League has dropped another spot in the Competition rankings to 7th, behind Russia.

We have moved up to the 32nd position is the European Clubs Ranking.

Benfica, 14th
Porto, 16th
Clube Desportivo Nacional da Madeira, 32nd
Braga, 70th
Sporting, 103rd
Maritimo, 122
Vit Guimaraes, 123


The U20 Portugual team loses to my peops, the youth Brazil squad.

[Abe Sargent]

Fabian Ruiz is getting called up the main USA squad now.

Freire is heading to OGC Nice.


I still want a backup GK, so I asked Baptista to hang around, but the starting bid was 9k and I said good bye.

Staff stuff.

I make offers to resign every one of my scouts. I like our scouting staff a lot.

I make some coaching offers.

Germany beat Brazil in the U20 World Cup

We were the biggest overachievers in the liga last year!

Mario Rondon was voted Fans Player of the Year

Paulo Sergio has retired

I keep the Champions Cup money right now.

We got 2.26 mill for the Liga rights

[Abe Sargent]

It’s June 30.

I still need to find a good backup GK option. What is around me? We find a nice young guy, Georgian, who plays for a Russian club found by my East European guy a while ago. I ask for a scout report to be generated – how much to buy him, and so forth.

I make an offer to a 31 year old Ukrainian GK currently out of work named Olexandr Bendura, to be my backup GK for 2 years.

And now its July 1.

Our four transfer folks arrive. All young and ready to rock the block!


OM Made an offer for Andrei Marc. Hmm. I just have him for one more year. He’s my primary backup rotation guy for DC and DMC. I dicker them up to 5.75 Mill for him. I can do that. I’ll go shopping for someone else.

Rondon already scored twice in his first match down in Brazil.

We have a new Head of Youth Development – Rodolfo Bodipo, from Equatorial Guinea. (And Spain).

Other staff we signed include:

Scout, (International Player) Mohammed Tchite, Rwanda, Belgium, Burundi
Physio, Nikos Kalamaras, Greek
U 19 Coach, Titus Bramble, England, Montserrat
Scout (International Player) Dmitry Sychev, Russian
U 19 Coach, (International) Lassad Nouioui, Tunisia, France, Morocco
Scout (International) Miroslaw Trzeciak, Poland

I add Scandinavia, Central Africa, and East Asia to our search radius. We now have all of Africa, North America, South America, covered.

[Abe Sargent]

Our Youth guy for GK has signed. Let’s wait until everyone is singed and then we’ll look at them all together.

We sold Marc for 5.75 mill – that’s a good flip.

We win 2-1 at Freamunde. Fabian Ruiz was away for an international and we started Merab Totladze in the GK.


GK Olexandr Bandura has agreed to sign with us.

One last question, I suppose. Do I need to find a replacement for Andrei Marc? And if so, who?

So let’s see who I have first. I have some lesser talents on my younger folks. Let’s drill into one:

Say hello to 18 year old DMC/MC Nelio Fidalgo, who has had some youth caps, if you’ll recall for us. I move him to my senior squad. He came through our youth ranks in the same class as Joao Luis Rodrigues. He could be a backup DMC guy quite easily. 14/15 speed, 11 mark, 13 pass, 14 tack, 12 strength, 13 decisions, work rate, and 11 teamwork and positioning. He’s a bit worse than Rafa was when he had the position. I liked him enough that I never loaned him out, and developed him here. It may be time to give him the limelight. Like Costa and Rodrigues, he grew up here in Funchal and is a fan of the club. Folks like Skolnik have mentored him.

And if Fidalgo is my sub DMC (other than Strandberg, who can slide over for a game or something), then perhaps I just need a 4th DC. And that could easily be Jose Pedro Cardoso, a youth player I grabbed a long time ago and sent out on a lot of trials. 19 years old, has 12/13 speed, 15/14 jump/head, 13 mark, 12 tack, 11 pass, 15 strength, and even a 12 composure and decisions. He was one of our younger players a while ago, and I picked him up for another deal. Maybe its time for 19 year old JP Cardoso to get the 4th spot on our senior squad, instead of being loaned out again. He was 1st team for Vit G last year, and had 23 league appearances, and had a 6.9 rating. So it’s his time to shine.

And thus, I don’t expect to necessarily need to bring in an Andrei Marc guy for coverage. My youth are here and ready.

[Abe Sargent]

Who is in the last year of their deals?

Stefan Strandberg
Dejan Skolnik
Lucas Castro
Francisco Castro
Vitor Barreto
Sergio Laranjeira
Jorge Agra

I make an offer to extend Agra’s deal for two years.

It’s time to consider replacing Skolnik, and I have a ton of transfer money post-Marc. Can I go shopping for my future stud ML now? Let’s see if I can find him.

The team I played against last year (Dinamo) has a 20 year old D, WB, M, AM L guy named Marin Komorski. This is why I spend so much time looking those over! I get a scout report, so see if he’s be willing to come over and what it might cost. I’d be willing to pay a solid amount. He comes back really high. So I send an enquiry. I could bring him in now and tutor him by Skolnik and get him ready for the ML spot. I offer 725k for him and Dinamo accepts.

Agra has signed a new deal for us through 2020.

I offer Strandberg a new deal.

Olexandr Bandura will start for me at GK for today’s friendly. We win 5-1.

[Abe Sargent]

Montenegro have now joined the EU

Strandberg signed his new deal.


We win 4-0 in our friendly at Santana.

20 year old Marin Komorski has arrived. We paid 775k for him.


Now we’ve brought in everyone but Canela. He arrives next month in August. We’ll look at him more then. So, let’s look at our many new arrivals in detail.



ST Mariusz Stepinski, 22, Polish, Speaks Polish, German, French and basic Russian, Ambitious

Played for Lens the last two years in France, and had adequate ratings. We expect more (just like Lansbury’s ratings improved). 24.5k/week, key player, through 2021, and worth 8.5 mill right now. We will be playing him in Rondon’s target man spot at ST.

Our scouts feel he is about as good as he’ll get.

Physical? 16/14 speed, 16 agility, 13 jump, strength, stamina, 12 fitness, 11 balance. All solid stuff. I’d prefer more jumping, but he was a later choice.

Mental? 15 flair, off the ball; 14 anticipation, aggression; 13 composure, work rate, decisions; 11 teamwork, determination, concentration, bravery; 9 leadership, 7 positioning. Nothing amazing. But he’s solid.

Technical – 16 – First touch; 15 finishing, technique, dribbling; 14 crossing, penalties; 13 long shots; 12 passing, heading; 11 corners, free kick taking; 8 tack; 7 long throws, mark. So he has a high finishing, just like Rondon, of 15 and a solid enough jump/head, plus some strength, speed, and pass/cross to help out his fellow teammates. Our coach thinks he’d be a better deep lying forward, but I’ve never worked with one before. Seems like a bit of what my AMC does, really.

He’s been capped 13 times by Poland already and gotten 4 goals. Poland plays a 1 ST set up to enhance stud Robert Lewandowski’s chances. He is considered the second best Polish Striker right now.

Welcome to Portugal fellow!

[Abe Sargent]

16 year old GK Merab Totladze, Georgia, speaks Georgian, Russian, Resolute. Seems like a similar type of player to Ruiz. Has a 4.5 star scout rating by my staff. 375/week, 230k. Signed through 2020. We paid 400k to bring him over.

Physical – 5, 13, 13, 12, 8, 6, 7, 11
Mental – 8, 8, 8, 13, 11, 7, 12, 17, 2, 10, 2, 10, 13, 13
Goalkeeping – 8, 11, 11, 8, 3, 10, 11, 11, 8, 2, 12, 11, 9, 7

So he’s raw, but you can hopefully see how he’ll grow over time. I head back to the Georgian club he was at originally, and look at their key player, who’s 17. I order a scout repot, because of how highly rated he is, and the half stats I see are interesting. Perhaps I can bring over another youth player from Georgia to be buddies with Merab Totladze.

He’s a future contender. We can develop him like Jose Moreira, and then either move to him, or sell him, and meanwhile use him as a nice backup/potential guy.

(He is a newgen, so no pic, sorry)

[Abe Sargent]

Our other GK acquisition is backup Olexandr Bandura, Ukrainian, until 2019, on 7.5k a week, 110k value. This Resolute 31 year old Ukrainian footballer (speaks Russian, Ukrainian) started for years in the Ukrainian premier League. He had more than 100 apps for Metalurg Donetesk over 7 seasons. Last year he had an average rating of 7.14 and 11 clean sheets in 27 apps. He’s not a chump.

Physical – 13, 15, 9, 16, 16, 12, 16, 13 (15 technique) - Great stuff. If only the rest were as good.
Mental – 6, 16, 10, 4, 11, 16, 15, 15, 4, 7, 1, 7, 19, 15 – Some nice stuff, 19 teamwork? 15 Decisions and Work Rate But that 7 positioning, ugh. But that’s not the worst part…
Goalkeeping – 5, 15, 15, 5, 14, 13, 9, 9, 6, 2, 9, 6, 14, 7

For those of you keeping track at home, that’s an abysmal 5 in aerial, 6 in one-on-ones, and he’s poor in ball distribution (7 throwing, 9 kicking) and not exactly a barn-stormer in reflexes (9). He relies on his physical stats and mental knowledge of the game ot overcome his technical flaws, and thus, he’s been relegated to backup for us. But he fills some needed shoes as a mentor, older GK who can tutor folks, and help out until Totladze is up to speed.

Welcome to the islands!

[Abe Sargent]

DC, DMC, MC Cyril Mzizi, 18, South Africa, Balanced, speaks English, Zulu, just a 4 star scouting recommendation, 3.3k/week hot prospect, for two years until 2019. Worth 450k, we paid 500k to bring him in from Orlando Pirates. He’s not Costa or Rodrigues, just a solid backup prospect.

13/11 speed, 16/16 jump/head, 13 mark, 17 tack, 16 strength, 19 brave, and so forth. He’s got a lot of solid skills to build around. Here’s his full skill set:

Physical – 13, 8, 10, 16, 11, 11, 16, 16
Mental – 13, 12, 19, 10, 12, 7, 10, 13, 9, 3, 7, 12, 9, 12
Technical – 8, 13, 5, 4, 9, 11, 16, 10, 4, 13, 9, 10, 17, 9

I need to work on passing. That’s his focus in training right now. But I hope to continue to develop him for my RSA squad while I build him into a solid guy.

[Abe Sargent]

My next youth (newgen) signee was17 year old ST, AMR Andreas Rocker, Germany, speaks German, signed with fellow teammate and countryman Pflugler. 5 star report, and a suspected horse of a guy. Determined. Helped guide the U20 German club to a victory in the World Cup.

Signed through 2020 for 24k, 5.75 mill, this is the sort of guy you’ll play, his value will skyrocket, and some established team is going to throw a ton of cash at. I’ve seen it before. Take a look at just how spankingly interesting he is:

Physical – 15, 13, 12, 12, 10, 15, 16, 15 – That’s a feasible 15/15 speed, with a solid strength to keep defenders from muscling him off the ball. He even has a adequate 12 jumping.

Mental – 9, 15, 9, 16, 11, 10, 13, 18, 10, 12, 17, 10, 10, 14. Yes, that includes a huge 18 determination, 17 off the ball, and so forth. Also note that very low flair of just 10. He’s German, not Brazilian.

He’s a guy I’ll start in and out with Francisco Castro until he develops a bit more and then its Rocker Time!

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s take a gander at his fellow FC Bayern Munchen youth star –

M/AM LC Sebastian Pflugler, 18, German, Realist, dubbed the new Gunter Netzer, speaks German, paying him 18k/weekly until 2021. Comes with a 4.5 star scouting rating, and worth 350k right now.

This is my new Javi Espinosa. Let’s take a look.

Physical -12, 12, 13, 7, 13, 15, 13, 13
Mental – 14, 12, 10, 13, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 8, 17, 16
Technical – 9, 10, 13, 11, 14, 10, 9, 14, 9, 9, 14, 10, 9, 14

So he’s not read yet. I hope to develop him into my future starter at the AMC spot, but for now he’s my Javi Espinosa, subbing, getting reps, and being developed. We also think he’s under-rated financially, and should be worth a whole lot more. I suspect that will change as his performances grow.

[Abe Sargent]

Would you like the see the guy we think is our future at the ML spot?

D/WB/M/AM L Marin Komorski, 20 years old, Croatian, Resolute, speaks Croatian and basic Slovenian, Bosnia and Serbian.

Finds the presence of fellow Croatian Dejan Skolnik helpful. From one generation to the next, we are passing the torch. We paid 700k to bring him from Dinamo. He begins worth 525k, off a 7k/week deal until 2021, as a squad rotation player.

What did I see that I liked so much to make the plunge for him a year early (I was expecting to draft Skolnik’s replacement next year)? Let’s look!

Physical – 13, 10, 11, 10, 19, 14, 12, 12 – He needs to have enough speed to not embarrass himself (13/14) and decent stamina too (14). I’d like a little more zest, but that’s not bad.

Mental – 10, 16, 14, 14, 11, 16, 15, 17, 10, 16, 12, 10, 12, 13 – Again, he’s got some solid stuff including that 17 determination, but just a 10 flair for the attack.

Technical – 12, 16, 13, 8, 15, 11, 9, 9, 14, 8, 17, 8, 9, 14 – For those of you checking at home, that’s a sterling 16/17 cross/pass. He’ll hit home a lot with that skill set. Weak finishing (8) and long shots (9). I may have him not do those things on his attack runs, looking to pass instead.

We have a 4.5 star rating for him, and I’ll hand him to Aurelio first for tutelage. (Skolnik is already training Mzizi). He could be the guy for a long time to come. So this year I can sub him in at a ML and DL, sort of like I did with Sequeira. Get him primed for next year.


And when Canela comes in, that will conclude our major inject of talent. I worked several hours to scout, explore, and look up tactical options and such for these guys. I suspect this will be last major class of changes to come in for a while.

[Abe Sargent]

We have connected:

Aurelio-Komorski
Skolnik-Mzizi
Ruiz-Joaquim Perreira (Youth GK)
Lucas Castro-Marcio Sousa



It won’t let me mentor GK Totladze yet.

Because I have a bunch of competition at the ML (Skolnik, Pflugler, Lucas Castro, Komorski) I just don’t see Luis Carlos getting enough balls. So I will lend him out for development. He heads out Victoria Plzen in the Czech republic.

I hand out high cup bonuses, normal other stuff.

We win 10-0 in another friendly. Costa s out for a few days but should be back by the next friendly.

Berlin won the bid for the 2014 Olympics

I get my board to sign off on a Trial Day. I sign one of the 17 year old youth folks MC Paulo Dias. There’s an unsigned GK I like better than the backup GK from Ukraine I signed. But alas. He was not on my radar.

It’s neat how I usually went to Latin America and the Hispanic world of Spain and Portugal in all of the previous years, but this year most of my people are from eastern or central Europe (Poland, Germany, Croatia, Germany, Georgia, Ukraine) .


Our next friendly is against Celta on the road in Spain. I begin countering, Olexandr Bandura is still in the net. Tons of pressure early and I go to defensive. Hojbjorg finds Lansbury for a score. Rodrigues picks up a nock and I sub him off. Skolnik to Stepinski, called offsides. Lansbury hits a rebound after Lucas Castro’s shot is pushed back. Franny hits one too. Franny hits the hay again just before the half. And we hold the game scoreless in the 2nd half and win 4-0, mom was Lansbury.

I sign a new deal with the club.

[Abe Sargent]

August, 2017


5th – Friendly Cup in London, vs Cadiz
6th – Final or 3rd Place Game of that Cup
12th – Supertaca vs Vit. Setubal
18th – Home vs Sporting
27th – Away vs Maritimo


Good training was noticed by Paulo Franco, Rocker, and youther Foguinho

A quick assessment of my squad:

GK Fabian Ruiz, Olexandr Bandura, Totladze, and Joaquim Perreira, in that order. We have depth and promise.

DC Stefan Strandberg, Hernani Costa, Cyril Mzizi, Jose Pedro Cardoso , Paulo Franco. This squad is 26, 19, 18, 19, and 18. So a lot of youth, but also one that’s improving and getting better.

DR Joao Luis Rodrigues, Joao Aurelio, Paulo Franco. I have my stud finally starting, with a good solid backup in Aurelio and a nice youth prospect with Franco again.

DL Canela, Rodrigues, Franco, Marin Komorski, JP Cardoso. Lots of people can play the spot, but soon to be signing will be here shortly. Canela, arriving on Aug 30, is an out and out stud.

DMC Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Stefan Strandberg, Nelio Fidalgo, Cyril Mzizi. Just one starter here, but the depth is weak. If I lost Hojbjerg for, say, four months, would I move Strandberg here, start Fidalgo or start Mzizi? I’m not sure any answer is good enough long term.

MR Henri Lansbury, Joao Aurelio, Lucas Castro. I can always slide Castro over in serious injury – I have a ton of depth at the AMC spot. I am not worried here at all.

ML – Dejan Skolnik, Marin Komorski, Sebastian Pflugler, Lucas Castro. Pflugler does not have the typical stats I like from the spot, like crossing. But I can use Komorski one year early if needed, which gives this huge depth.

AMC Lucas Castro, Sebastian Pflugler, Marcio Sousa, Vitor Barreto. I included a few youth prospects there too. If I need to, Hojbjerg can play it well, and I can drop Mariuz Stepinski to it too. This is very deep, with great people.

ST – Mariuz Stepinski, Fernando Castro, Andreas Rocker, Djaniny, Jorge Agra, Sergio Laranjeira. I’ll look to loan out Sergio soon, but that still leaves me with 5 ST when I normally like to carry four. Djaniny leaves in 2 years, Sergio this one, and Franny in a year. So this should soon be the Stepinski/Rocker show. For now, it’s a bit jammed.

[Abe Sargent]

I offer to extend Sergio. He’s too good of a prospect to just let go.

West Ham want Djaniny. I’d love to sell him. I send them an offer to see if they bite. I get 4 offers for 2 mill.

I get a 1.9 mill bid for Skolnik from a Greek side. I don’t want to lose his leadership this year helping to develop my talent. I want to keep a fellow Croatian on the squad for a year for Komorski. So I keep my stuff for now.


We win the Cadiz match 5-1. So much for Argentinian football I suppose. Mom was Stepinski

Tottenham defeated San Lorenzo, so we’ll play the hosts tomorrow. We tie them 1-1 and it heads ot PK goals. We lose on PKs.

[Abe Sargent]

Sergio signs with us. I get an offer for 6 m from Galatasaray for Joao Aurelio. That’s a lot of money for a backup/rotation guy. I really like Aurelio, and it was looking like he’d be the last one standing from my original squad. It’s just him, Djaniny, and Skolnik. Well, we know who it’ll be now. Aurelio is 28, and I am stupid if I don’t take this offer. I dicker them up to 7.5mill.


Djaniny signed with Chievo in Italy.

Galatasaray, clearly not done raiding me for players, has also made an offer for Skolnik, for 2.5 mill.

We have sold Aurelio. That was a heavy heart, but a full pocketbook, that I waive you good bye. He actually comes in for 9.25 mill, so that’s nice.

After one of my 18 year old youth squad folks misses training after coming home late from the night club, I issue a warning.

[Abe Sargent]

[Abe Sargent]

For today’s Supertaca, we will be starting Paulo Franco in the DL spot and Rodrigues in the DR one. Early on, Francisco found Stepinski for a score in the 6th minute. He scored on his debut! Lansbury crosses a corner to Skolnik, and the ball is intercepted by them, bounces to Costa who heads it in, in the 35th minute. We had some other real chances. 2-0 at the half. Keep it going! More opportunities gone knocking. We’ve had two waved off, just now a Hojbjerg IFK to Skolnik was offsides. But then Skolnik sinks an IFK in the 71st. I sub in Marcio Sousa for Lucas Castro and Agra for the other Castro. Strandberg leaves for JP Cardoso. We win 3-0. MOM is Hernani Costa. Congrats!!!


To do list:

Set Pieces
Find Aurelio Replacement
Pick Captain

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s find a new Aurelio. Older, can be a good mentor, squad rotation type guy who can play both MR and DR. I have the cash to splash to buy someone if needed. Let’s hit up my scouted stuff. I’m trying to find lads with great mentals to help my people in tutoring. People that really understand the game, they just get it. I send out about 12 or so scouting report requests on some folks I like.

Are they willing to come in, how much, what do they really look like?

Alright, let’s look at the results:

Some reports on folks like Bruno Pereirihina, Darijo Srna, Pavle Ninkov, Joel Ward, Paul Aguilar, Roberto Rosales, Cristian Gamboa, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Mariano.

If I just want to sign a relative Aurelio cline, Roberto Rosales is the guy. 28, Venezuela, decent skill set that won’t disappoint, etc. That’s the safe play. Sign him for a squad rotation deal and move on.

As a fellow Portuguese fella, Bruno P is a solid choice, 29, can speak the language, but he doens’t have the Mentals of the others.
 

People like Srna and Lichtsteiner have amazing Mental stats. But they’d both likely demand to start. They also probably want too much money for my budget. Lichtsteiner is making 68k a week right no,w and Srna is cutting in 61k. They won’t come to us for 30 or 40k.

Because he’s Brazilian, Mariano speaks Portuguese, has adequate Mentals, but we can’t dislodge him from his club without paying way too much for him.

Aguilar would require 3-4 mill to get. Joel Ward the same.

Ninkov has the right priceagg and price. His mentals aren’t that super hot, but they aren’t bad. Other than Flair, everything is at least 12. But other than work rate at 15, nothing is higher than 14. While he’s Serbian, he also speaks French, Macedonian, Croatian, Slovenian, Bosnian and basic Turkish.

Let’s keep looking. Maybe we can find some folks in our next round of folks. What do we have this time?

Danny Rose, Camilo Zuniga, Victor Sanchez, Maxi Pereira, Ahmed Fathi and Roberto Hilbert

I found my guy – Maxi Pereira. Currently for Benfica, where he has played for 10 years, entering his 11th. He’s my guy. He meets every qualification I have, plus he’s cheap to pick up and sign, according to my scout. I make an offer to him right now.

[Abe Sargent]

Captain – Dejan Skolnik
Vice – Stefan Strandberg

Benfica accepted our offer of 60k for Pereira, and we have agreed to a squad rotation contract with him for two years.

Gladbach made a transfer offer for Sergio Laranjeira for 1 mill. Hmm. I get them up to 2.2 mill and I take it. Just like I did with Joaquim Sousa, I’m have to have flipped him for some cash.

Hello Maxi Pereira, which Benfica fans are sad to see happen. I get him registered and a number.


D/WD/M R Maxi Pereira, 33, Uruguay/Portugal, speaks Spanish and Portuguese, 98 caps for the international squad, 18k week, until 2019, 58k value. Professional.

Now, why did I bring him here?

Was it the physical stats? 10, 10, 11, 5, 15, 11, 14, 10. Nope. Not with that 10/11 speed.

What about his technical attributes? 10, 13, 10, 9, 10, 12, 10, 11, 13, 12, 11, 111, 13, 9. Not really. Sure, a 13/11 cross/pass isn’t great, but it’s fine. 12 Mark, 13 tack aren’t any better than Paulo Franco.

What about his mental stats? Ah yes… 17, 13, 12, 12, 15, 12, 14, 14, 8, 17, 15, 14, 15, 16

That’s where his value lies. In understanding the game. Sure, he’s not Srna or Lichtsteiner, but he’s one of the best options, and he’s local, knows Portugal, speaks the language, was willing to go for a rotation deal, and was cheap.

He was the right fit.

[Abe Sargent]

I decide to start Maxi in today’s opening match against Sporting in the DR spot. Pick up where you left off! Rodrigues with an early yellow. 0-0 half. We can still win! Hojbjerg is injured. I put in JP Cardoso and move up Strandberg. They hit us on a break in the 68th, so Lansbury returns the favor and hits Stepinski for a score in the 63rd. I move to control. Then attacking. Very high tempo. But we can’t get another score and we tie them 1-1. MOM was Fabian Ruiz.


We have officially sold Sergio.

Ruiz in Team of Week


I have a ton of money. Could I find my future MR right now, and just have them work on stuff for a while? I’m just wondering, I take a quick look and see. Maybe I could buy a Canela-like MR for next year? It’s not looking too sexy right now.

[Abe Sargent]

So in the mean time, I decide to get ready for the Maritimo match. I begin countering since we are on the road against our rival. Strandberg gets a nice header off a corner for goal in the 20th, and then Stepinski puts back his own rebound for goal in the 33rd. Hojbjerg finds Franny on a break and Castro puts it away. 3-0 at the half. Keep it up! I toss in Pfugler for Lucas Castro. Maxi P gets a yellow so in goes Paulo for him. Costa finds Pflugler who runs with the ball, shoots a twisting shot from range, sinks it n the 78th. He scored on his debut! JP heads in for Costa. And we cruise 4-0 on the road. Stefan Strandberg is MOM. I’m very happy!!!

[Abe Sargent]

Want to see what some of our youth folks with some starting are at (Costa, Ruiz, Rodrigues?)

Hernani Costa, May 2016

Physical – 12, 13, 12, 14, 8, 12, 14, 14
Mental – 3, 11, 10, 11, 13, 10, 12, 7, 6, 9, 7, 13, 15, 16
Technical – 7, 5, 8, 5, 12, 6, 13, 6, 3, 15, 12, 9, 14, 8


Hernani Costa, August 2017


Physical – 13, 14, 13, 15, 9, 13, 14, 16
Mental – 3, 13, 10, 13, 14, 11, 13, 7,6, 9, 8, 14, 15, 16
Tech – 7, 6, 10, 6, 13, 6, 13, 7, 5, 17, 12, 9, 14, 9

As you can see, Costa has continued his parabola of growth and development.



What about, say, Ruiz?


I can’t find his stats from last year, so what about this


Fabian Ruiz, 2015, right after signing him

Physical – 10, 12, 14, 13, 12, 7, 9, 14, (4 technique)
Mental – 9, 13, 9, 12, 12, 4, 13, 15, 1, 13, 1, 12, 11, 14
GK – 13, 12, 11, 8, 6, 9, 13, 13, 13, 1, 15, 8, 9, 11



Fabian Ruiz, August 2017


Phys – 10, 13, 15, 15, 13, 9, 11, 17, (5)
Mental – 9, 13, 9, 13, 13, 3, 14, 17, 1, 14, 13, 11, 15
GK – 15, 16, 15, 8, 7, 10, 15, 14, 15, 1, 16, 8, 9, 12


Is he better? Yup! Look at that jump in Command of area (12 to 16) and communication (11 to 15) in just two years. So good stuff there.


Now what about Rodrigues as he gets ready to start?


Joao Luis Rodrigues, August 2017

Physical – 18, 14, 16, 12, 18, 17, 16, 13
Mental – 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 13, 13, 13, 13, 11, 12, 13, 10, 15
Tech – 6, 12, 16, 7, 14, 4, 13, 11, 14, 12, 12, 10, 16, 14

So good stuff like 18/17 speed, and such. I want to work on marking (just 12) because tackling is 16. Passing is just 12/12. But we have our guy with lots of other stuff everywhere.


Let’s bring in our last guy, because I don’t see any major MR options yet.

[Abe Sargent]

We have sold 700 season tickets more this year than last.

I ask my scouts to come up with a list of the best and brightest young talent in Portugal. Maybe we can transfer in another young player or three who we can develop and flip for cash and squad depth.

Let me set up set pieces.

Porto had a young stud everyone is raving about. 16 year old Rui Pereira.

I scout some folks. Rui comes back studly. Porto got a great player. There are a few dorks here and there that intrigue me, but nothing cheap or awesome. It seems like the big clubs in Portugal (us now, Porto, Benfica, Sporting, Braga) have been buying up the good young players.

Maxi P, Costa, Strandberg, Rodrigues and Skolnik were named in my Team of the Week.

[Abe Sargent]

Dario Veron believes that Canela has the potential to be one of the best players at the club. Five stars!


DL Canela, Brazil, the final part of the puzzle arrives. 18 years old, paying him 14k/week through 2019, he’s worth 7M, we paid 6M for him, and I agreed to pay off his agent so we own all of him. Fairly Determined, he speaks English and Portuguese.

Here’s why I paid so much money for him and targeted him. In 2016, he had 11 MOM in the Brazilian First Division in 44 appearances and a 7.69 rating. Last year, playing less, in just 18, he still rocked a 7.52 rating. He was one of my best players for my Olympics squad.

Physical – 16, 14, 12, 11, 16, 16, 13, 15 - That includes a 16/16 speed, as well as solid traits elsewhere.

Mental – 9, 14, 7, 8, 9, 7, 11, 17, 9, 12, 6, 15, 12, 14 – This is the weak area, and could use some development, no question. But still, he’s solid.

Technical – 8, 12, 9, 9, 14, 9, 15, 14, 12, 13, 16, 3, 18, 10 – So we already have a guy with 18 tackling, 13 marking, 16 passing 15 heading and even a 12 crossing. Note the unusual 14 long shots, but just 9 finishing. Odd.


And thus the final transfer of consequence has arrived. I’ll resign him to a longer, more expensive deal later on.

[Abe Sargent]

We brought in 8.6 mill for making it to the Champion Group Stage.



Our Group this time? Holy crap!


Group G

Chelsea
Valenica
Ajax
Nacional da Madeira


I’m not sure about this one. Benfica lost to AS Monaco FC in the Qualifiers and did not make the stage at all. I’m not sure this will be Portugal’s year.

[Abe Sargent]

September

3rd – Home vs Tondela
17th – Away vs Porto
20th – Away vs Valencia, Group G
24th – Away vs Braga
30th – Home vs Aves


South Africa:

8th – Home vs Uganda, World Cup Quals
12th – Home vs Iran, Friendly


Good training? Rodrigues, Sousa, and Mzizi. Bad? Costa, Bandura, Komorski


Francisco Castro is 2nd place Goal of the Month


The Senior Squad for Portugal is named. It includes: GK Jose Moreira, our former future guy, DC Hernani Costa, DL/DR Joao Luis Rodrigues.

Yay!

The U21 squad includes these former or current folks: GK Joaquim, Pereira, DC Jose Pedro Cardoso, DRLC Paulo Franco, AMC Vitor arreto, ML Luis Carlos, ML/AMC Jose Goncalves, ST Jorge Aga, ST Sergio Laranjeira.

U19? Marcio Sousa,


Other Senior Sqauds – Cyril Mzizi for RSA, Fabian Ruiz for USA, Dejan Skolnik for Croatia, Hojbjerg for Denmark, Strandberg for Norway, Stepinski for Poland, and Franny Castro for Chile

I scout out the Georgian youth squad to see if there is another player or two I can bring over.

About half of our shirt sales each month are non-domestic. We are building a international fan base a bit at a time.

The highest of the scouted folks is a 3 star candidate. Davit Kurdadze. I actually like him. I make an offer to his team.

[Abe Sargent]

We’ll start Canela for today’s match against recently promoted Tondela. We’ll also be giving Rocker a start in the ST across from Stepinski. Lansbury finds stepinksi for a score in the 9th. Joao crosses to Lucas, who heads it to Rocker who scores in the 18th on his debut. Rodrigues playsa much better attacking game, driving the ball, crossing to Stepinski, who finds Lucas Castro on a run and scores in the 21st. Once again the Rodrigues-Stepinski-Castro connection finds goal in the 29th. Half. Keep it up! First sub – Agra in for Rocker. Rodrigues finds Stepinski for a sore in the 67th. JP heads in for Strandberg. Paulo Franco for Rodrigues. We win 5-0. Nasty! MOM is Stepinski with 2 goals and 2 assists, but lots had 9.0+ days (Rodrigues, Lucas C). We just unloaded on them.


I think this team is about to push things into another gear.

Five players – Costa, Rodrigues, Castro, Lansbury, and Stepinski were in Team of Week

Davit Kurdadze will be joining us on Jan 1.

Flugler was injured in his youth game for Germany. He’ll take around a week or so to get back.,

[Abe Sargent]

South Africa time. With one game to go, we have already won Group 10 for the World Cup Quals. This is just for fun! But I still want to stamp out Uganda. Today I’ll be starting DL Steven Mavimbela, who is just 22, and another of those uncapped youths we need to move onto. The rest of my defense is nasty – GK Khune is the best player on my roster, DR Anele is great, and DC Matholo and Xulu are perfectly serviceable walls. When I took over this squad it had 10 players 30 or more. One has grown to 30 since (Khune). Inclduign him now, I have just 7 players. One of my MCs, Andile Jail, is another of my best folks, but the other spot has some weaknesses. I’m trying someone new. We wings are just okay, and I have one good ST (Tokelo Rantie) and one weak one.

Keep up our run today vs Uganda! It’s 2-2 at the half. I make some changes and we score in the 61st. 3-2 us. We get another in the 80th. We win 4-2. MOM is ST Rantie. Good win for us!

[Abe Sargent]

Joao Luis Rodrigues scored today in his first appearance for the Senior Squad for Portugal! I congratulate him on both. Jose Moreira and Costa got their first caps too!

I watch each of the scores, to see what happened. Rodrigues hit in a corner kick after the ball was tackled. I congratulate Costa too! Costa was 8.3 in his debut and Rodrigues 9.2. Sure, it was against San Marino, but I’ll take it!

Luis Martins was just called up to the Senior Squad to replace an injury to another fullback.


I hand out a fine to a player who missed training again after I gave him a warning last time.

Marcio Sousa was MOM against Poland U19.


I will be starting 19 year old Siyabulela Motloung against Iran today in the MC spot after I push my experimental MC candidate Daylon Claasen out wide to cover for a tired guy from the Uganda match. I’m leaving in DL Steven Mavimbela. Pick up where you left off! MR Claasen scores in the 28th from a pass by DR Anele. Then Rantie gets his at-least-one-score-a-game quota in the 35th. Rantie to Mphela, our other ST, for a score in the 44th. Half time. Keep it going! Mphela finds Rantie back for the favor in the 51st. I make my first subs. I sub in Mzizi and Lebese on the ML spot. A few others arrive. We beat Iran 4-0. MOM was ST Katlego Mphela. Well done!!!


Motloung, my new middie, had a 7.6 rating in his debut. Not bad kid.

At 107, Khune is the most capped player in RSA history. Ranties 36th goal is the RSA record too. And he’s just 27.

Rodrigues was an 8.1 for Portugal, Costa a 7.0, both started.

[Abe Sargent]

For our next match, against Porto, I am starting Canela, F. Castro, since we are on the road vs Porto. Of course, I begin countering. We give up an early goal off a corner kick and then a late one to a nice attack. We are down 0-2 at the half. Yuck – show me something else! I make some subs, inclduign Mzizi and DMC Nelio Fidalgo and try some other tactics, and nothing works. We lose 2-0 on the road vs Porto. Not an auspicious start to the season. Far from pleased!

Canela is a bit jaded. I rest him for a week.

Marcio Sousa gained a lot from his tutelage from Lucas C.

In order to get to the World Cup, I have to get through Morocco. We have two legs against them. Win, and we are in the 2018 World Cup.

[Abe Sargent]

For today’s away match in Valencia, Maxi P. is starting. Get us revenge!!! They score very quickly – first ten minutes. Then we give away a PK and they score again. Finally Lucas finds Lansbury for a score in the 30th so it’s not a shut out. Then they score again. This is not revenge!!! Skolnik gets a yellow and I pull him for his sub. Then Lansbury hits Strandberg for a corner kick score in the 79th. Stepnski almost scored off a break in the 82nd. Game. We lost 4-2. Unlucky Boys!!!


I got an offer of 3.1 mill for Francisco Castro. That’s too many STs getting sold too quickly. Right now I have Stepinski, Castro, Agra and Rocker. Now if Rocker were ready to go, I could sell Castro, move him up, and find another ST. That leaves me too thin though. I reject it.

[Abe Sargent]

Do you want to know what’s the best way to handle having two rough road games on the road vs Porto and Valencia? A third one on the road against Braga! The last two years, we have lost this game 1-0. We’ll move Canela back into the starting lineup. Pflugler is back too from his injury. I start defensive, with an eye to sliding to counter after a bit. I do that in the early 20s. They score off a break away in the 34th. They score again. Half time. Then we get a score, off Lansbury, in the 78th. I move to control, attacking, and we punch the door a lot but it never falls in and we lose 1-2. So again, a one goal loss away against Braga. Mom is Lansbury. I can’t fault your effort lads!

So right now, with 5 matches played, we have a 2-1-2 record. We are also on a 3 game losing streak. That’s not where I want to be.

I fine my youth guy again, this time for 2 weeks wages for missing practice.

[Abe Sargent]

Today’s Aves game is my 200th for the club. I make no changes to my starting squad. I need them to get a big win to help morale. We have Chelsea next. Lucas drives in for a score in the 2nd minute. They just squeeze in a tight shot in the 9th. Lucas to Franny, 18th minute. Lucas to Stepinski, 28th. Skolnik to Strandberg, corner kick score. 4-1 at the half. Keep it up!!! Lansbury to Costa for a score off another corner, 51st. I put in Pflugler for Skolnik, and swap him and Castro. Rocker for Castro. Pflugler finds Francisco for a score just before he heads out. Mzizi in for Strandberg. Lucas to Lansbury for a score, 83rd. Lansbury to Rocker, 88th . We just clocked them 8-1. Mom was Lucas Castro.

That was our biggest ever win, better than the 8-2 victory we logged in against Portimonense.

[Abe Sargent]

October

3rd – Home vs Chelsea, Group G
8th – Home vs Arouca
21st – Home vs Lusitania Lourosa, Taca da Portugal
24th – Home vs Ajax, Group G
29th – Away vs Belenenses


South Africa:

13th – Home vs Morocco, World Cup Quals
17th – Friendly at Ethiopia



We like Marcio Sousa, Rodrigues, and Costa in training, but not Pereira, Pflugler or Canela.

Lucas Castro won Player of the Month for the league.

• 8 Players were in the Team of the Week – Ruiz, Strandberg, Canela, Rodrigues, Costa, Lucas Castro, Franny Castro, Lansbury



I begin countering against Chelsea. I made no changes to my roster, but yes they are flying again with superb morale. I’ll skip the talk. We lose 5-1. Ouch.

[Abe Sargent]

Next is Arouca. Lansbury is assisted by Lucas early on. Yay. Then Stepinski finds Lansbury for another score off the right side and Stepinki feeds Lucas for a score in the 7th. Lucas is injured and I sub in Pflugler. Half. Keep it up! I pull Hojbjerg for Fidalgo. They sneak in a goal in the 69th. Franco in for a tired Canela. Game, we win 3-1. MOM was Lansbury.


Lansbury and Lucas C in Team of Week

[bbgunn]

Amazing run here with Madeira! I am stunned. Keep it up!

I like your reporting style. Game reports are short and sweet, but with enough detail to keep the reader involved AND keep the flow going.

I'm amazed, though, because you are flying through seasons. When I play FM, I'm lucky to play two matches in a week, and that's without writing a dynasty. Maybe I don't have a lot of time in front of the computer, but I'm trying to win, so I obsess over roster decisions, game strategy, etc. I know that the newer FMs have a mode that allows you to simulate matches without playing the whole thing (the latest FM I have is 2011), so maybe that helps.

[Abe Sargent]

Today’s qualifier against Morocco is rough. They are a very good team. But this is in our place. Can we upend them? Pick up where you left off! We begin standard. Late in the first half, DC Mathoho hits Rantie for his obligatory goal. It’s in his contract, once a game, Rontie scores. Not more, not less, just one a game like a little machine that checks the box – did you score today? Yes you did big man!




Halftime. Room for improvement! Morocco had some chances in the 1st half. I have to pull Jali, he’s tired. I probably left him in too long, but he’s Jali. MR Serero crosses pass the STs and over to the ML on the other side, my young guy, Motloung, who hits a nice shot for a goal in the71st. I sub in another youther DC for Xulu. Morocco marches back and scores off a break in the 87th. That’s not what I wanted to see. We ended up with just a 2-1 victory. MOM was Motloung, my youth guy.





ML Lebese gets the first score against Ethiopia from a Serero cross. There’s Rantie’s one goal a game in the 50th. I make some changes, some more changes, and then we win 2-0 here in Ethiopia. MOM is Thulani Serero.



In World Cup Qualifiers some news:

Over in Europe, the following teams won their Groups, and are in the World Cup:

Sweden, Serbia, Italy, Germany, Spain, Ukraine, England, France, Greece

These teams are in the Playoffs –

N. Ireland, Croatia, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Holland

These teams of note were knocked out:

Ireland (just one point behind Holland), Turkey (just one point behind Poland), Switzerland,

Iceland barely missed out – by TWO points beneath Belgium. I would have given my right nut to see Iceland make the World Cup. Ah well.

Hojbjerg scored twice for Denmark yesterday.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Amazing run here with Madeira! I am stunned. Keep it up!

I like your reporting style. Game reports are short and sweet, but with enough detail to keep the reader involved AND keep the flow going.

I'm amazed, though, because you are flying through seasons. When I play FM, I'm lucky to play two matches in a week, and that's without writing a dynasty. Maybe I don't have a lot of time in front of the computer, but I'm trying to win, so I obsess over roster decisions, game strategy, etc. I know that the newer FMs have a mode that allows you to simulate matches without playing the whole thing (the latest FM I have is 2011), so maybe that helps.

Thanks I appreciate it!

Basically I'm an obsessor. I play one game at a time until I squeeze every little bit of juice from it, then I more onto the next one. So, according to Steam, I've put more than 150 hours into the game in the last what, 2 weeks or so? That's a ton of time. I'll start a game, brush my teeth or whatever, come back and report, make some changes, etc. I'll stay up way too late in order to finish a month or a Group or whatever. I think that's why I'm blazing through right now.


Abe


EDIT -Oh, and I'm getting my clock handed to me early this season. Dang. 5-1 loss to Chelsea? 4-2? 3-0? Nasty stuff there.

EDIT 2 - Oh, and it helps that I was gifted Rodrigues and Costa and Agra. I have never gotten players of that caliber before, and never that many. Helps to play in a football rich country I guess, but still.

[Abe Sargent]

Who am I playing in today’s Taca da Porugal team?

Agra, Rocker
Pflugler
Komorski, Maxi P
Fidalgo
Paulo Franco, Canela
Mzizi, Cardoso
Bandura

They are up 2-0 at the half with scores by Canela and Rocker. Agra lifts a corner to Mzizi for a score. We win 3-0. We have scores by Canela and Mzizi for the 1st time. MOM was Mzizi.

We have an 18 game winning streak in the Taca da Portugal, better than anyone else. Braga were knocked out by Olhanense.

[Abe Sargent]

Can we salvage a victory in the Champions Group G today, here in Madeira, against Ajax? Its our best chance too. Pick up where you left off! I start counter style. They score in the 11th, but then Stepinski crosses dangerous to Franny for a score in the 16th. 1-1. They score again just before the half. Then Stinpinki smashes Lansbury for a score in the 62n. I pull some folks, but we can’t get another and we tie Ajax 2-2 here.

Apparently, Costa has “shown a remarkable improvement in his attitude lately.” “has evolved as a result of recent off-field events and is now more determined than ever.”

I don’t know what happened in his personal life, but his determination shot up from 7 to 18. That’s enough for me. That’s nasty good. That was one of his mental weaknesses. He now has a Determined personality.

He was also regularly whining about too much training. I try to train him now with heading. That’s something I’ve wanted to improve for a while, but I’ve been focused with things like positioning instead.