StlDucks career mode

[stlducks]

Instead of making a new thread for one career, I am taking a note out of Matt10 and making a thread for this career mode and any future careers I do. Like usual, I am going to start with Tottenham and try winning a trophy finally!

Usually the first post of my career is about the club but since Tottenham is a pretty well known club, I will be skipping that post this time but in season 2 I will post the squad list.

To start, this season is starting with the current squads as of the end of January 2020. The 2019/2020 season has been voided.

Playing PES2020 on the PS4.
Difficulty: Superstar
Half length: 15 minutes
Controls: full manual (I'm not good but the challenge is fun)

Transfers are set for "fairly low" and negotiations are set at "hard" with a "low" budget per PES settings. I try keeping all transfers realistic. I am not very familiar with the youth academy for PES so I do not have any rules on that at this time.

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

Career Summary


2019-20 season
Premier League - 4th place
FA Cup - Rd of 16
Champions League - Winner over Barca


Start of 2020/21 season

https://forums.operationsports.com/forums/other-sports-dynasties/967393-stlducks-career-mode-13.html

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

Jose is out!

After a half season of up and down results, Tottenham have parted ways with Jose Mourhino with the manager stating "a lack of passion" for the job and returning to his old commentary position.

"I wish Tottenham all of the best and wish I was more successful in my time here. But the passion I once had is no longer there, my time as a manager is complete. I enjoy working with Sky and enjoy having more time with my family. Thank you Tottenham, but I cannot continue as the manager of this club." Jose announced in a statement to the club.

Tottenham and chairman Daniel Levy were quick to announce the next manager, someone very familiar with the club and who has expressed interest in managing one day. The new Spurs manager is a fan favorite and if not for the injuries, might have been one of the greatest defenders in the Premier League.

The King returns

Ledley King, a current club ambassador, has been announced as the new Tottenham manager. King played his entire career with Tottenham, over 300 matches from 1999 to 2012. For the latter part of King's career, a chronic knee injury slowed him down to where King would not participate in practice. His former manager Harry Redknapp called him a "freak" for playing at such a high level and never training with the squad.

Others praised King for his talent including rival and legend Thierry Henry saying King was the best defender he ever played against. In his full career, King only had 8 yellow cards.

Will this translate to success as a manager? Being a great player does not guarantee success as a manager but Spurs need a defensive fix and King is the best man for the club in this difficult time.

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

The first big question for Ledley King is what to do with Jan Vertonghen? The Belgium defender has been with Spurs since 2012 and has been a key player appearing in 228 games. Vertonghen is 32 years old and in the final year of his contract. With fellow Belgium, Toby Alderwerield signing a new contract to stay with the club three more seasons, rumors have swirled of Vertonghen's interest in staying as well.

King has spoken little of transfers but did mention Vertonghen will not be leaving the club this summer. That leaves two options for Spurs, signing Vertonghen to a new contract and taking the risk of having two aging defenders. Or let him leave on a free at the end of the year.

"Jan is a key man for us. We have already lost Danny Rose in defense and have a very thin squad defensively and even less experience. I have known Jan since his arrival at Tottenham and am excited to work with him." King said in his opening press conference.

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

Spurs end preseason 2-1-0 beating Juventus and Manchester City, drawing against Atletico Madrid in America.

Tottenham played a first class schedule in preseason going up against the giants of Europe. Spurs rotated often using young players such as Alfie Whiteman in goal, Oliver Skipp in midfield and Troy Parrott at striker often.

"The key is we had no injuries and players feel fresh." Ledley King said in his post-match press conference before the team boarded a flight back to London. "The Premier League is long and very challenging. I expect injuries of course so having young players ready to fill in is what every club needs."

Tottenham open their league play against Wolves in London.

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode



Spurs open the Ledley King era against Wolverhampton at New Tottenham Stadium. King is going with a simple 4-2-3-1 formation with Jan Vertonghen as the LB being the only surprise pick.

A Dele Alli header gave Tottenham a first half lead after Wolves dominated the first 30 minutes. Wolves quickly responded in the second half when Diogo Jota played a quick 1-2 getting between Sanchez and Alderwerield making room to curve his shot into the top right corner.

Tottenham controlled the second half despite allowing the goal but were not able to find the go-ahead goal in the end.

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

Group A
Lokomotiv Moskva
Arsenal
PSV
Kobenhavn

Group B
Shakhtar Donetsk
Bayern Munich
Porto
Dinamo Zagreb

Group C
Juventus
Man City
Lille
Genk

Group D
FC Barcelona
Tottenham
Olympique Lyon
Olympiakos


Group E
PSG
Chelsea
Napoli
Dynamo Kyiv

Group F
Ajax
Atletico Madrid
Zenit
Young Boys

Group G
Benfica
Real Madrid
Galatasaray
Celtic

Group H
Liverpool
Inter
Club Brugge
PAOK

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

A new lineup for Spurs against Everton, a 4-1-2-3 with Eric Dier as the defensive midfielder in front of the back four. Dele Alli and Lo Celso are playing behind a front three of Son, Kane and Lucas Moura.

Everton got off to a quick start behind former Arsenal man Alex Iwobi who knocked in a loose ball in the box following an Everton corner. The Toffees kept the pressure up for most of the first half, earning a penalty right before the break. Hugo Lloris came up with a big diving save but again, Iwobi jumped on the loose ball first and slotted it home for his second of the game.

Spurs came out aggressive in the second half, attempting 10 of their 11 shots in the game in the final 45. Harry Kane got on the end of Serge Aurier's cross to make it 2-1 with less than 20 minutes to go. Dele Alli hit the post and Lucas Moura had a great chance saved as Tottenham failed to score again.

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

The first transfer window of Ledley King's career has come to an end and like usual in Tottenham, it was pretty quiet. The biggest move Spurs made involved no funds being transferred but a straight up player swap. Midfielder Tanguay N'dombele was sent to OG Nice for right-back Youcef Atal. Tottenham have plenty of midfield options with N'dombele failing to impress in his first season in the Premier League, Spurs are thin at right-back down to only Serge Aurier as the only true RB in the squad.

"The move made sense to help our squad and also send Tanguay back to France where I believe he is most happy." Chairman Daniel Levy said. "Atal is the defender we have been missing to help with our fullback rotation and the deal made too much sense to pass up."

Other moves for Tottenham were all outgoing. Goalkeepers Michel Vorm and Brandon Austin were sold for a combined total of 731,000 pounds.



Barcelona were the biggest spenders with the top two highest transfers. Bringing in Lacazette from Arsenal and Michael Kean from Everton for a combined 150 million pounds.

Other key transfers
RWF Ferran Torres (Valencia > Napoli)
LWF Bernard (Everton > Bayern)
RMF Lazaro (Inter > Man Utd)
AMF J. David (Gent > West Ham)
CMF M. Lopez (Marseille > Barca)
LB J. Amavi (OM > Liverpool)
GK K. Schmeichel (Leicester > Liverpool)
CB R. Holding (Arsenal > Everton)

[jct32]

Re: StlDucks career mode

Can't believe you got rid of N'dombele. Lo Celso is always a beast for me on this game. Playing him and Eriksen together can get overpowering quick.

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

Can't believe you got rid of N'dombele. Lo Celso is always a beast for me on this game. Playing him and Eriksen together can get overpowering quick.

Lo Celso is awesome in this game for me with Winks or Dier playing behind him and Dele getting forward from midfield. Lo Celso is very quick with passes and is not easy to push off the ball so I like using him.

N'dombele has been awful for me in the exhibition games and the first game of this year. For some reason, every time a defender pushes him, he stumbles off the ball. His stamina is also not great (kind of like real life). With so many midfield options between Dele, Lo Celso, Winks, Dier, Skipp and Gedson plus the young guys like Amos for the future, N'dombele was the odd man out for me.

[KG]

Re: StlDucks career mode

Excited to read this Stl!

The UCL Groups D & E are tough!

What's funny is that in my Chelsea ML Spurs play N'dombele at RB lol. I'm a big fan of his IRL but he's getting that Chelsea - Bakayoko deal where he starts out slow because of injuries and they just kill his confidence. He's a much better player than Baka though.

GL though!

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

Excited to read this Stl!

The UCL Groups D & E are tough!

What's funny is that in my Chelsea ML Spurs play N'dombele at RB lol. I'm a big fan of his IRL but he's getting that Chelsea - Bakayoko deal where he starts out slow because of injuries and they just kill his confidence. He's a much better player than Baka though.

GL though!

Thanks KG! That is a great comparison, I thought Bakayoko was going to be a really good player for Chelsea when they first signed him but like you mentioned, the slow start did not help him.

[stlducks]

Re: StlDucks career mode

UCL Group Stage Match 1


Spurs start their Champions League campaign at home against Lyon. Tottenham will be wearing their traditional all white kits UCL kits while Lyon wear their normal away colors. Spurs are sticking with the 4-1-2-3 formation with new signing Atal making his debut at RB. Lyon are in a defensive 4-2-3-1 using two defensive midfielders.

The first half was all even, Tottenham coming close from a Harry Kane strike outside the box that went just wide. Lyon responded with a counter attack chance setup by Traore and taken by Memphis Depay that went inches over the post. First half ended 0-0 with Tottenham having 56% of the possession.

Second half started out with more energy from both sides. Lyon came out of their defensive shell and started holding more possession and creating chances. Hugo Lloris came up with three big saves in a row off a corner from Lyon that Spurs were not able to clear.

Harry Winks made a careless foul that setup Depay for a free kick opportunity. A perfect strike from the captain placed the ball into the top left corner out of Lloris' reach.

Depay watches his shot curve into the top corner

Ledley King subbed on Gedson Fernandes, Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon to change Spurs into a more attacking formation but the offense still were not able to find a way through. Kane connected on a header straight at the keeper for Spurs best chance of the second half.




Group standings

[Miles Perry]

Re: StlDucks career mode

Tough start to the UCL campaign.. Getting at least a point against Barca will be huge. Need all 3 against Olympiakos.