How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

[vrabbit]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

ok so this thread currently has active careers by:

* Kenny (as I understand it Keano's bro, welcome!)
* Simp
* 10cabee
* Keano
* jamie
* cruzerr
* texas
* jagger?

have a lot of reading and commenting to do ...

[sportsfreak96]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

I have one going as well I just cant update it because I'm out of town atm

[vrabbit]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

ok let's get to it then

* Kenny - as I said, welcome to the forum! You'll learn I'm a bigger fan of smaller team CM's so Everton is sort of up my alley. Nice start to the season minus the beatdown by Chelsea. Would I be correct in assuming you disabled the 1st transfer window? it seems that way to me. If not, would love to see what your roster looks like.

* Simp - you damn communist, I get busy for a bit and you already dumped Verona AND already are in your 2nd season with Man U. You just can't stay away from those big-time teams can ya? **Alcorcon spoiler alert: one of your new acquisitions has also joined the team in the southwest of the Madrid metropolitan area, and this happened before I read your latest updates**. I have to admit part of me enjoyed that you didn't win any trophies last season, it's a nice break from all the winning that you do. I'm sure that won't last long.

* 10cabee - it is entirely possible that this is my first time commenting on your CM and if so I apologize, it's been long overdue. Right away I can tell you I'm a fan of your Tim Payne acquisition, I too snatched him from free agency at Dagenham 2 or 3 seasons ago and he was a nice contributor for the team, should see some improvement in his ratings. I will also give you mad props for having such a fine season with such a low-rated roster, but at the same time I have to admit I sort of speed through your updates because they're too detailed for the time I have. That's a knock on me, not on you. Keep it up.

* Keano - much like your brother with Everton I'm digging the Swansea CM. I have to say you're struggling more than I would had anticipated, would this be you adapting to the new game? I'm sure you'll turn it around and at least qualify for European competition next season, especially seeing who you're targeting in the upcoming transfer window. True story: the player I alluded to in my comment to Simp is a player you're targeting.

* Jamie - nice to see you back at Newcastle. Also baffled by your struggles though I know you're way better than that and glad to see you have steadily moved up the standings through the first half of the season. Digging the Oliveira signing and Ronaldinho's of course (always full of win).

* cruzerr - oh you sneaky you, making me pay more attention. Pretty good writing on your part and at least for now I'm hooked. Keep it up (goes without saying that I love it as a League 2 career).

* indi - welcome back again, my vote is for Bordeaux, we just don't see Ligue 1 CM's around here.

* texas - take it from someone that has been through it way too many times (3): AVOID THE PLAYOFFS. Hope you can have a strong April as I believe that's when the league games end. Also you might as well scrap the POTM portion off your updates since Wilson wins it 95% of the time, or at least find different pictures of the dude to keep it fresh! Oh, and nice work with Northern Ireland, how in the hell are you doing that? Anyways, hurry up and join me in the BPL will ya?

[texasbum06]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

* texas - take it from someone that has been through it way too many times (3): AVOID THE PLAYOFFS. Hope you can have a strong April as I believe that's when the league games end. Also you might as well scrap the POTM portion off your updates since Wilson wins it 95% of the time, or at least find different pictures of the dude to keep it fresh! Oh, and nice work with Northern Ireland, how in the hell are you doing that? Anyways, hurry up and join me in the BPL will ya?

Haha trust me, I hate having to keep putting him up there. Maybe I will change it to the "Anyone but James Wilson Award".

This month will be huge as far as playoffs or straight promotion goes. No international games this month so I'm thankful for that. There is 1 match in May which I'm hoping will be meaningless but there still could be a lot to play for in that last match.

[Keano16]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

* Keano - much like your brother with Everton I'm digging the Swansea CM. I have to say you're struggling more than I would had anticipated, would this be you adapting to the new game? I'm sure you'll turn it around and at least qualify for European competition next season, especially seeing who you're targeting in the upcoming transfer window. True story: the player I alluded to in my comment to Simp is a player you're targeting.

Aye I have struggled a bit adjusting to '15. I feel comfortable with the sliders I have now so hoping to push for a Europa League spot in the coming months. I think I know the player you are talking about. I'm not sure if I have enough to get him of even if they will sell. We shall see, I'd certainly love to get him though.

[jamiec47]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

* Jamie - nice to see you back at Newcastle. Also baffled by your struggles though I know you're way better than that and glad to see you have steadily moved up the standings through the first half of the season. Digging the Oliveira signing and Ronaldinho's of course (always full of win).

Yeah, I was struggling to get used to FIFA on next-gen but since I got the hang of it I've been flying up the table rapidly.

Glad to see you like my signings. Ronaldinho, despite being 34 and 80 overall, is simply the most fun player I've ever used on FIFA. Oliveira isn't working out at the moment though and tbh I really don't see him taking Riviere's spot any time soon.

[vrabbit]

Re: How's Your FIFA 14 Career Mode Going?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Spoiler

Wishing all of you guys Happy Holidays!

Dagenham '17-18 Season
December/January Update

League Match 16
QPR - Dagenham (2-3)
Hoilett 11'
Reyna 64'
Akpom 86'
Elito 89'
Yilmaz 90+'

Recap: Well that was scary. Although QPR was the best team in the Championship last season we had been able to narrowly beat them both times then. This season they're fighting to stay out of relegation while we're battling for the league title, but they still gave us a hell of a fight. Love the resilience the lads showed in this one.

League Match 17
Dagenham - Chelsea (3-2)
Monzon 12' (P)
De Bruyne 45'
Elito 52'
Collins 56'
Schurrle 90'

Recap: Even I was shocked as this game went on because we outplayed the league leaders (going into this game) really throughout. The penalty awarded to us early on was well deserved but when De Bruyne evened it up before the half part of me felt a storm was coming. But WE BROUGHT THE STORM! 2 goals in a 5 minute stretch seemed to knock off the Blue Lions and we closed it out for the victory and overtaking

League Match 18
Arsenal - Dagenham (0-3)
Ngando 30'
Elito 44'
Collins 62'

Recap: It's official y'all, we're a contender for the BPL title. A week after shocking all of England with a victory against Chelsea we walked into Emirates Stadium and slapped around the hosts. It comes as no surprise that Elito and Collins are handling the strings of the best form we've had all season, and arguably the best form the team has had in its 25-year history!

League Match 19
Dagenham - Hull City (2-1)
Reyna 11'
Brady 64'
Caseres 66'

Recap: Don't ask me how we can outplay Chelsea and Arsenal but we suffer to beat a relegation team like Hull City, I have no answers. Luckily Caseres stepped up for Collins who suffered an ankle injury early in the game and we were able to carry on with 3 more points.

League Match 20
Wigan Athletic - Dagenham (2-1)
Nimely 31'
McLean 41'
Sio 85'

Recap: I mentioned in the last update that Wigan always gives us trouble and, well, here they are again. If we are ever able to string the 10+ passes they put together in front of the box before Sio's goal near the end I will be shocked. They just always play us tough and this was a hard defeat because Chelsea is right on our heels.

JAN
League Match 21
Dagenham - Nott'm Forest (1-1)
Giva 57'
Lascelles 58' (OG)

Recap: Oy! I think Nott'm Forest borrowed Real Madrid's players for this one, because they were playing out of their minds! Credit to our guys for fighting in every minute of this game, and a Nimely rocket bounced off the goalkeeper and then off Lascelles who was trying to get out of the way for the ball to continue to go away from the goal. He wasn't quick enough, however, giving us a draw that ultimately was better than a defeat, but Chelsea is now back in 1st place.

F.A. Cup - Round 3
Dagenham - Crewe Alexandra (4-0)
Wilkinson 4'
Nimely 13'
Caseres 45'
Reyna 59'

Recap: I'll be damned if we're going to overlook a team with Max Clayton leading their attack but we shut the kid down and put a whooping on the visitors since early on, convincingly moving on to the next round of this competition. Recall that one of our goals this season is to win one of these cups and we went out too early in the Capital One. However, doing better than expected in the league, it'll be tough to manage to stay competitive in both leagues.

League Match 22
Dagenham - Cardiff City (3-1)
Monzon 33' (P)
Reyna 72'
Zindilis 83'
Jeong 90'

Recap: Cardiff once again did a fine job of protecting their goal, keeping us from displaying our dominance on the scoreboard for much of the game, but eventually we broke through to score 3 times on them again. Really cool moment for the kid Zindilis near the end as he got to score his first goal in a Dagenham uni. He's worked his way to being the 3rd CAM for us and we try to bring him into games whenever possible.

League Match 23
Everton - Dagenham (3-3)
Fellaini 2'
Gibson 51'
Monzon 59' (P)
Viola 65'
Wilkinson 87'
Vilna 90'

Recap: What. A. Game. We had embarrassed Everton back in November to the tune of 4-0 and they surely remembered that, dominating us from early on. But to the guys' credit they never backed down, even when the 0-2 deficit signaled defeat, and even when Viola brought us back down to 2 goals behind just minutes after we had cut their lead. Perseverance all the way, Wilkinson put us back within 1 with a header off a corner kick then Nimely broke through on a breakaway and hit a nice shot saved by the Everton goalie, the rebound knocked to the back of the net by the kid Vilna who raced to the corner with several players right behind him to celebrate a great accomplishment. In the bigger picture Chelsea continues to separate from us but at least we managed to save a point.

F.A. Cup - Round 4
Arsenal - Dagenham (1-3)
Elito 24'
Elito 30'
Nimely 88'
Wilshere 90+'

Recap: Apologies to all Arsenal fans out there but right now we own them. Twice we've played at their place and we have been the better team through all 180+ minutes of play. Elito is just an unbelievable story, continuing to play above his rating, undoubtedly inspired by his journey with this team from League 2. We move on to the Round of 16.

League Match 24
Fulham - Dagenham (0-3)
Vilna 18'
Monzon 22' (P)
Collins 73'

Recap: Much like Everton didn't forget about us, we did not forget about Fulham's 2-0 victory on our turf early in the season when both their goals came after the 90th minute. We outplayed them from beginning to end this time around and made it count since the early going to close out the month on a great note (undefeated!)

British Premier League Standings
1. Chelsea - 55pts
2. Dagenham - 54pts
3. Liverpool - 51pts
4. Manchester City - 49pts
5. Arsenal - 49pts
...
18. Hull City - 21pts
19. Swansea City - 21pts
20. Wigan Athletic 10pts

Early on we were in disbelief at our great success this season but now we fully embrace what we're doing and we're ready to fight for the league title and perhaps even more. We don't want to leave anything on the table, especially after getting a taste of 1st place for a couple of weeks. It will be tough, but I think we can do it. There are only 14 league games remaining with 3 months to play so stamina shouldn't be an issue. We also will try to play our best guys in the F.A. Cup and we'll definitely need our top players against our next opponent: Liverpool. We were able to bounce them out of the competition last season after a replay but they beat us soundly in the second game of this season.

Now another significant development at this time is the coming and going of the winter transfer window. Significant moves have been made, so here's the recap:

TRANSFERS OUT: Stefan Reichel (CDM, 66 OVR), loaned to Watford for the remainder of the season. Jordan Seabright (GK, 54 OVR), loaned to Podbeskidzie for the remainder of the season. James Collins (ST, 74 OVR), sold to VfB Stuttgart for $6.6 million. Jack Connors (LB, 66 OVR), sold to Birmingham City for $775K.

TRANSFERS IN: Jon Toral (CM, 69 OVR), purchased from Arsenal for $1.7 million. John Jones (CM, 68 OVR), purchased from FC Barcelona for $1.85 million. Francesco De Giorgio (CM, 64 OVR), purchased from Roma for $750K. Jurgen Locadia (ST, ?? OVR), signed to pre-contract for 5 years at $80K wages.

Yes, you read that right: we sold James Collins. For those of you following this CM this is probably shocking but the reality is he was starting to become injury prone (on the shelf twice in the 1st half of this season) and Stuggart was willing to pay nearly twice his value for him. For a money-starved team like us, that's hard to pass. Admittedly the solid performances we've had from Ramiro Caseres played a part here. The sale happened at the beginning of the last day of the transfer window and we worked hard to bring in a replacement but none of those negotiations ended well and in the end we preferred to put money on Locadia coming in next season to fortify our attack. In the meantime we feel we can continue to do well with Caseres-Nimely up front though we definitely take a hit on our depth at striker since Chuba Akpom is the only true striker left on our bench/reserves. Other than that, Connors days with the club were counted once Gavilan was promoted from the academy. We brought in a number of midfielders to fortify our depth at the position and have additional options for a starting CAM, though Ngango continues to be the starter for now and the kid Vilna continues to be the main sub there.

As far as the academy is concerned our scouts are now back from Colombia, Ireland, and Morocco and none of them have been sent back out yet. Here's our youth squad:

• Nathan Kenny (MID, 57-63 OVR, 80-90 POT): 16-year old from Ireland who has our scouts very excited. Will settle in either at CM or RM but has a chance to be a complete midfielder.
• Dean Murphy (DEF/MID, 56-68, 77-94)*: 17-year old from Ireland who is likely to be an LM. He's the latest addition to the academy.
• Sean Foran (DEF/MID, 55-65, 77-91): 15-year old from Ireland still trying to find his niche on the field. The left-footed kid has shown early signs of being a midfielder.
• Davor Alanovic (LB, 52-56, 81-87): 15-year old from Croatia has outstanding potential and mammoth stature at 6'7" and 176lbs. He'll be played at CB and we'll work really hard to develop him into an excellent defender.
• Mario Diaz (LW, 56-60, 76-82): 17-year old from Mexico with a lot of confidence. Our scouts are trying to convince him that he's better off staying in the academy for a year even though he feels he's a better talent at the moment than some of the names on the roster. We don't disagree, but he would have a tough time cracking the B-team right now. We're excited about him though.
• Faruk Bahamdan (CAM, 46-50, 74-82): 16-year old from Morocco who settled into his position early on. He's raw, so he'll need a lot of time in the academy to develop.
• Pablo Escobar (CAM, 46-48, 74-80): 16-year old from Venezuela who needs to remain in the academy for at least a full season. He has recently shown some higher flashes of potential than when previously evaluated.
• Ciaran Kavanagh (???, 42-52, 65-81)*: 15-year old from Ireland still being evaluated by our staff. Projects as either a midfielder or winger as of now.
• Magnus Gerndt (RW, 51-55, 72-78): 16-year old from Sweeden who projects as no more than a role player.
• Cesar Miguel (CDM, 44-46, 72-78)*: 16-year old from Venezuela who needs a good amount of development. Could be a solid role player for us in the future.
• Carlos Alberto (MID/ATT, 50-58, 67-79)*: 17-year old from Colombia who we're hoping will stick at striker since we currently do not have any attackers in the academy.
• Enric Tinlea (CM, 54-58, 71-75): 17-year old from Romania who isn't likely to spend all season in the academy due to his age, but we'll hope that he does.

*** Cristian Alonso (CM, 56) demanded to be called up to the senior team and we granted his wish due to his high potential (84-94). However, the 16-year old playmaker from Venezuela is very raw and had the unfortunate luck of not being claimed on loan in this past transfer window. He possesses a lot of talent in spite of his small stature of 5'5" and we'll do our best to develop him.

Our current roster (* Denotes player graduated from the youth academy):

Spoiler

Starters (4-4-2 diamond wide)
GK - Nicola Leale (77 OVR)
RB - Seok Min Kim (72 OVR)* Has Potential To Be Special
RCB - Luke Wilkinson (77 OVR)
LCB - Marian Sarr (75 OVR)
LB - Oluwafemi Ilesanmi (73 OVR)
CDM - Fernando Monzon (77 OVR)* Has Potential To Be Special
RM - Medy Elito (70 OVR)
LM - Yordy Reyna (78 OVR)
CAM -Axel Ngando (70 OVR)
RS - Ramiro Caseres (70 OVR)
LS - Alex Nimely (73 OVR)

Subs
LB - Jorge Gavilan (63 OVR)*
CDM - Tim Brooks (69 OVR)* Showing Great Potential
CM - Laurenco Vilna (69 OVR)* Has Potential To Be Special
CM - Jon Toral (68 OVR)
CM - John Jones (68 OVR)
RW - Memnos Zindilis (62 OVR)*
ST - Chuba Akpom (64 OVR)

Reserves
GK - Jordan Derbyshire (63 OVR)* An Exciting Prospect
RB - Mode (66 OVR)
CB - Yohan Wachter (65 OVR)
CM - Francesco De Giorgio (64 OVR)
CM - Emilio De Mesquites (61 OVR)*
CM - David Antonio (60 OVR)*
CM - Cristian Alonso (56 OVR)
LM - Kenneth Hansen (60 OVR)*
CAM - Brian Donaldson (61 OVR)*
RW - Jomar Sadami (62 OVR)*
LW - Orestes Sentelidis (57 OVR)*

THAT is all for now!

[texasbum06]

Re: How's Your FIFA 14 Career Mode Going?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Spoiler

Wishing all of you guys Happy Holidays!

Dagenham '17-18 Season
December/January Update

Spoiler

League Match 16
QPR - Dagenham (2-3)
Hoilett 11'
Reyna 64'
Akpom 86'
Elito 89'
Yilmaz 90+'

Recap: Well that was scary. Although QPR was the best team in the Championship last season we had been able to narrowly beat them both times then. This season they're fighting to stay out of relegation while we're battling for the league title, but they still gave us a hell of a fight. Love the resilience the lads showed in this one.

League Match 17
Dagenham - Chelsea (3-2)
Monzon 12' (P)
De Bruyne 45'
Elito 52'
Collins 56'
Schurrle 90'

Recap: Even I was shocked as this game went on because we outplayed the league leaders (going into this game) really throughout. The penalty awarded to us early on was well deserved but when De Bruyne evened it up before the half part of me felt a storm was coming. But WE BROUGHT THE STORM! 2 goals in a 5 minute stretch seemed to knock off the Blue Lions and we closed it out for the victory and overtaking

League Match 18
Arsenal - Dagenham (0-3)
Ngando 30'
Elito 44'
Collins 62'

Recap: It's official y'all, we're a contender for the BPL title. A week after shocking all of England with a victory against Chelsea we walked into Emirates Stadium and slapped around the hosts. It comes as no surprise that Elito and Collins are handling the strings of the best form we've had all season, and arguably the best form the team has had in its 25-year history!

League Match 19
Dagenham - Hull City (2-1)
Reyna 11'
Brady 64'
Caseres 66'

Recap: Don't ask me how we can outplay Chelsea and Arsenal but we suffer to beat a relegation team like Hull City, I have no answers. Luckily Caseres stepped up for Collins who suffered an ankle injury early in the game and we were able to carry on with 3 more points.

League Match 20
Wigan Athletic - Dagenham (2-1)
Nimely 31'
McLean 41'
Sio 85'

Recap: I mentioned in the last update that Wigan always gives us trouble and, well, here they are again. If we are ever able to string the 10+ passes they put together in front of the box before Sio's goal near the end I will be shocked. They just always play us tough and this was a hard defeat because Chelsea is right on our heels.

JAN
League Match 21
Dagenham - Nott'm Forest (1-1)
Giva 57'
Lascelles 58' (OG)

Recap: Oy! I think Nott'm Forest borrowed Real Madrid's players for this one, because they were playing out of their minds! Credit to our guys for fighting in every minute of this game, and a Nimely rocket bounced off the goalkeeper and then off Lascelles who was trying to get out of the way for the ball to continue to go away from the goal. He wasn't quick enough, however, giving us a draw that ultimately was better than a defeat, but Chelsea is now back in 1st place.

F.A. Cup - Round 3
Dagenham - Crewe Alexandra (4-0)
Wilkinson 4'
Nimely 13'
Caseres 45'
Reyna 59'

Recap: I'll be damned if we're going to overlook a team with Max Clayton leading their attack but we shut the kid down and put a whooping on the visitors since early on, convincingly moving on to the next round of this competition. Recall that one of our goals this season is to win one of these cups and we went out too early in the Capital One. However, doing better than expected in the league, it'll be tough to manage to stay competitive in both leagues.

League Match 22
Dagenham - Cardiff City (3-1)
Monzon 33' (P)
Reyna 72'
Zindilis 83'
Jeong 90'

Recap: Cardiff once again did a fine job of protecting their goal, keeping us from displaying our dominance on the scoreboard for much of the game, but eventually we broke through to score 3 times on them again. Really cool moment for the kid Zindilis near the end as he got to score his first goal in a Dagenham uni. He's worked his way to being the 3rd CAM for us and we try to bring him into games whenever possible.

League Match 23
Everton - Dagenham (3-3)
Fellaini 2'
Gibson 51'
Monzon 59' (P)
Viola 65'
Wilkinson 87'
Vilna 90'

Recap: What. A. Game. We had embarrassed Everton back in November to the tune of 4-0 and they surely remembered that, dominating us from early on. But to the guys' credit they never backed down, even when the 0-2 deficit signaled defeat, and even when Viola brought us back down to 2 goals behind just minutes after we had cut their lead. Perseverance all the way, Wilkinson put us back within 1 with a header off a corner kick then Nimely broke through on a breakaway and hit a nice shot saved by the Everton goalie, the rebound knocked to the back of the net by the kid Vilna who raced to the corner with several players right behind him to celebrate a great accomplishment. In the bigger picture Chelsea continues to separate from us but at least we managed to save a point.

F.A. Cup - Round 4
Arsenal - Dagenham (1-3)
Elito 24'
Elito 30'
Nimely 88'
Wilshere 90+'

Recap: Apologies to all Arsenal fans out there but right now we own them. Twice we've played at their place and we have been the better team through all 180+ minutes of play. Elito is just an unbelievable story, continuing to play above his rating, undoubtedly inspired by his journey with this team from League 2. We move on to the Round of 16.

League Match 24
Fulham - Dagenham (0-3)
Vilna 18'
Monzon 22' (P)
Collins 73'

Recap: Much like Everton didn't forget about us, we did not forget about Fulham's 2-0 victory on our turf early in the season when both their goals came after the 90th minute. We outplayed them from beginning to end this time around and made it count since the early going to close out the month on a great note (undefeated!)

British Premier League Standings
1. Chelsea - 55pts
2. Dagenham - 54pts
3. Liverpool - 51pts
4. Manchester City - 49pts
5. Arsenal - 49pts
...
18. Hull City - 21pts
19. Swansea City - 21pts
20. Wigan Athletic 10pts

Spoiler

Early on we were in disbelief at our great success this season but now we fully embrace what we're doing and we're ready to fight for the league title and perhaps even more. We don't want to leave anything on the table, especially after getting a taste of 1st place for a couple of weeks. It will be tough, but I think we can do it. There are only 14 league games remaining with 3 months to play so stamina shouldn't be an issue. We also will try to play our best guys in the F.A. Cup and we'll definitely need our top players against our next opponent: Liverpool. We were able to bounce them out of the competition last season after a replay but they beat us soundly in the second game of this season.

Now another significant development at this time is the coming and going of the winter transfer window. Significant moves have been made, so here's the recap:

TRANSFERS OUT: Stefan Reichel (CDM, 66 OVR), loaned to Watford for the remainder of the season. Jordan Seabright (GK, 54 OVR), loaned to Podbeskidzie for the remainder of the season. James Collins (ST, 74 OVR), sold to VfB Stuttgart for $6.6 million. Jack Connors (LB, 66 OVR), sold to Birmingham City for $775K.

TRANSFERS IN: Jon Toral (CM, 69 OVR), purchased from Arsenal for $1.7 million. John Jones (CM, 68 OVR), purchased from FC Barcelona for $1.85 million. Francesco De Giorgio (CM, 64 OVR), purchased from Roma for $750K. Jurgen Locadia (ST, ?? OVR), signed to pre-contract for 5 years at $80K wages.

Yes, you read that right: we sold James Collins. For those of you following this CM this is probably shocking but the reality is he was starting to become injury prone (on the shelf twice in the 1st half of this season) and Stuggart was willing to pay nearly twice his value for him. For a money-starved team like us, that's hard to pass. Admittedly the solid performances we've had from Ramiro Caseres played a part here. The sale happened at the beginning of the last day of the transfer window and we worked hard to bring in a replacement but none of those negotiations ended well and in the end we preferred to put money on Locadia coming in next season to fortify our attack. In the meantime we feel we can continue to do well with Caseres-Nimely up front though we definitely take a hit on our depth at striker since Chuba Akpom is the only true striker left on our bench/reserves. Other than that, Connors days with the club were counted once Gavilan was promoted from the academy. We brought in a number of midfielders to fortify our depth at the position and have additional options for a starting CAM, though Ngango continues to be the starter for now and the kid Vilna continues to be the main sub there.

As far as the academy is concerned our scouts are now back from Colombia, Ireland, and Morocco and none of them have been sent back out yet. Here's our youth squad:

• Nathan Kenny (MID, 57-63 OVR, 80-90 POT): 16-year old from Ireland who has our scouts very excited. Will settle in either at CM or RM but has a chance to be a complete midfielder.
• Dean Murphy (DEF/MID, 56-68, 77-94)*: 17-year old from Ireland who is likely to be an LM. He's the latest addition to the academy.
• Sean Foran (DEF/MID, 55-65, 77-91): 15-year old from Ireland still trying to find his niche on the field. The left-footed kid has shown early signs of being a midfielder.
• Davor Alanovic (LB, 52-56, 81-87): 15-year old from Croatia has outstanding potential and mammoth stature at 6'7" and 176lbs. He'll be played at CB and we'll work really hard to develop him into an excellent defender.
• Mario Diaz (LW, 56-60, 76-82): 17-year old from Mexico with a lot of confidence. Our scouts are trying to convince him that he's better off staying in the academy for a year even though he feels he's a better talent at the moment than some of the names on the roster. We don't disagree, but he would have a tough time cracking the B-team right now. We're excited about him though.
• Faruk Bahamdan (CAM, 46-50, 74-82): 16-year old from Morocco who settled into his position early on. He's raw, so he'll need a lot of time in the academy to develop.
• Pablo Escobar (CAM, 46-48, 74-80): 16-year old from Venezuela who needs to remain in the academy for at least a full season. He has recently shown some higher flashes of potential than when previously evaluated.
• Ciaran Kavanagh (???, 42-52, 65-81)*: 15-year old from Ireland still being evaluated by our staff. Projects as either a midfielder or winger as of now.
• Magnus Gerndt (RW, 51-55, 72-78): 16-year old from Sweeden who projects as no more than a role player.
• Cesar Miguel (CDM, 44-46, 72-78)*: 16-year old from Venezuela who needs a good amount of development. Could be a solid role player for us in the future.
• Carlos Alberto (MID/ATT, 50-58, 67-79)*: 17-year old from Colombia who we're hoping will stick at striker since we currently do not have any attackers in the academy.
• Enric Tinlea (CM, 54-58, 71-75): 17-year old from Romania who isn't likely to spend all season in the academy due to his age, but we'll hope that he does.

*** Cristian Alonso (CM, 56) demanded to be called up to the senior team and we granted his wish due to his high potential (84-94). However, the 16-year old playmaker from Venezuela is very raw and had the unfortunate luck of not being claimed on loan in this past transfer window. He possesses a lot of talent in spite of his small stature of 5'5" and we'll do our best to develop him.

Our current roster (* Denotes player graduated from the youth academy):

Spoiler

Starters (4-4-2 diamond wide)
GK - Nicola Leale (77 OVR)
RB - Seok Min Kim (72 OVR)* Has Potential To Be Special
RCB - Luke Wilkinson (77 OVR)
LCB - Marian Sarr (75 OVR)
LB - Oluwafemi Ilesanmi (73 OVR)
CDM - Fernando Monzon (77 OVR)* Has Potential To Be Special
RM - Medy Elito (70 OVR)
LM - Yordy Reyna (78 OVR)
CAM -Axel Ngando (70 OVR)
RS - Ramiro Caseres (70 OVR)
LS - Alex Nimely (73 OVR)

Subs
LB - Jorge Gavilan (63 OVR)*
CDM - Tim Brooks (69 OVR)* Showing Great Potential
CM - Laurenco Vilna (69 OVR)* Has Potential To Be Special
CM - Jon Toral (68 OVR)
CM - John Jones (68 OVR)
RW - Memnos Zindilis (62 OVR)*
ST - Chuba Akpom (64 OVR)

Reserves
GK - Jordan Derbyshire (63 OVR)* An Exciting Prospect
RB - Mode (66 OVR)
CB - Yohan Wachter (65 OVR)
CM - Francesco De Giorgio (64 OVR)
CM - Emilio De Mesquites (61 OVR)*
CM - David Antonio (60 OVR)*
CM - Cristian Alonso (56 OVR)
LM - Kenneth Hansen (60 OVR)*
CAM - Brian Donaldson (61 OVR)*
RW - Jomar Sadami (62 OVR)*
LW - Orestes Sentelidis (57 OVR)*

THAT is all for now!

Wow 3 seems to be the magic number with you haha, you scored 3 in a lot of matches this update. Solid transfer window, but man looking at your squad it really speaks to how well you manage this team. To be just a point back from Chelsea and having the success you have in the Premier League since making it up there is truly amazing with the roster you have. You have done a great job of finding the players who play how you want and then utilizing that perfectly. Keep it up man!

[jamiec47]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

TOON TO THE TOP
SEASON 1
PS4

Match 23

Newcastle 2-0 Stoke
Ronaldinho 83 (PEN)
Ronaldinho 90
Ronaldinho's debut and he gave us the lead from the penalty spot, beating the defender with an elastico before being brought down. Earlier in the game he had struck the bar with a free kick. He got his second in stoppage time, beating 3 defenders before striking hard and low in between Butland's legs. What a player!

Match 24

Crystal Palace 1-1 Newcastle
Bolasie 13
Perez 29
Simmed.

Match 25

Hull 0-4 Newcastle
Riviere 29
Ronaldinho 36 (PEN)
Ronaldinho 68
Kampl 74
This was a display of total domination that made me exceptionally happy with the team. Riviere made it 1-0, breaking past the defender before striking hard and low into the bottom corner. Aarons then won a penalty, which Ronaldinho tucked away. He then got his second of the game, the ball played square to him. One touch to take it away from the defender and the bang, back of the net. Kampl got his first goal for the club to complete the annihilation, cutting inside and stroking into the bottom corner at the near post.

FA Cup Last 16

Newcastle 0-2 West Brom
Ideye 13
Gutierrez 48
Our reserves were beaten in this match, Ideye winning a header before Jonas scored a goal to get his own back for the sour way he left our club.

Match 26

Manchester City 0-1 Newcastle
Kompany 51 (OG)
A great win thanks to a goal that needs to be looked at by the dubious goals committee. Riviere struck the ball, and I think it was going in anyway before the deflection of of Kompany but it was given as an own goal. Dzeko had an excellent volley ruled out for offside which meant we held on for 3 points.

Match 27

Newcastle 1-0 Aston Villa
Ronaldinho 52 (PEN)
Another goal for Ronnie, his 5th in 4 games gave us the win. Aarons won the penalty, being dragged down in the box as he advanced to the byline and Ronnie casually tucked in. The Brazilian star had already missed a penalty in this match when Given made an outstanding save. Benteke had a strike ruled out for offside late on.

League Table

1. Manchester United 51
2. Spurs 51
3. West Brom 49
4. Manchester City 48
5. Chelsea 48
6. Newcastle 46
-----
18. QPR 26
19. Burnley 26
20. Southampton 20

Thoughts

This is the perfect time to discuss my new signings, and we'll start with the positives, the people who are straight into the starting lineup. Firstly, Ronaldinho. The most fun player I have ever used, he brings a flair to our lineup and the name itself is big enough to strike fear into our opponents. 5 goals in 4 games is better than I could ever have asked for and I think his flair is rubbing off on one of our youngsters, but I'll get to him later. The shaggy haired wizard on the ball is just incredible. He can play a pass from nothing, be surrounded by players and then be beyond them in the blink of an eye. Outstanding.

Next up, Asmir Begovic. What can I say? He hasn't conceded yet! The West Brom and Crystal Palace games both had Alnwick in goal. He is just incredible. He has made some outstanding saves, namely on his debut to deny Costa from point blank range. Another was against his former club, Moses thundering a shot only to be denied by the big paw of the Bosnia number 1.

Our right midfielder Kevin Kampl has also got flair, and pace and everything. He can beat his man and get the ball in the box for Riviere. Or he'll go the the byline, turn, cut inside and have himself a chance. He links up well with Riviere, and the Frenchman is probably the player he has passed to the most since joining.

Kolo Toure made it straight into the lineup and hasn't looked back. Our centre back pairing of himself and Collocini may not have pace but it has defensive ability in abundance. Any striker goes head to head with Kolo, and I have not doubt the Ivorian will make the tackle and play it out.

Our final 2 signings of the window were Nelson Oliveira and Virgil Van Dijk. We'll start with Virgil. Hasn't played many games but when he has he's been solid. I tried him in defence and didn't see much of him, mainly because Kolo had everything covered. I could probably play just Ronnie, Kolo and Asmir and still with with a clean sheet. When I tried him out of position in defensive midfield, he played very well. He is a good passer and obviously solid defensively. Nelson on the other hand. Well I've had 3 great signings and a couple of decent ones, a bad one was bound to happen. He has not hit the mark. I've tried him off the bench but when he comes on it feels like our attack has got worse. He can't finish, doesn't make good runs and really, both Riviere and Perez are above him in the pecking order now.

As I said before, Ronnie's flair seems to be rubbing off on someone. That someone is Rolando Aarons. The young winger has been feeding off of Ronaldinho. The kid grew up watching him in his prime, he must be loving playing along side him. He makes beautiful runs, latches onto Ronnie's passes, beats the defender and wins a penalty. He is great!

[texasbum06]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

TOON TO THE TOP
SEASON 1
PS4

Spoiler

Match 23

Newcastle 2-0 Stoke
Ronaldinho 83 (PEN)
Ronaldinho 90
Ronaldinho's debut and he gave us the lead from the penalty spot, beating the defender with an elastico before being brought down. Earlier in the game he had struck the bar with a free kick. He got his second in stoppage time, beating 3 defenders before striking hard and low in between Butland's legs. What a player!

Match 24

Crystal Palace 1-1 Newcastle
Bolasie 13
Perez 29
Simmed.

Match 25

Hull 0-4 Newcastle
Riviere 29
Ronaldinho 36 (PEN)
Ronaldinho 68
Kampl 74
This was a display of total domination that made me exceptionally happy with the team. Riviere made it 1-0, breaking past the defender before striking hard and low into the bottom corner. Aarons then won a penalty, which Ronaldinho tucked away. He then got his second of the game, the ball played square to him. One touch to take it away from the defender and the bang, back of the net. Kampl got his first goal for the club to complete the annihilation, cutting inside and stroking into the bottom corner at the near post.

FA Cup Last 16

Newcastle 0-2 West Brom
Ideye 13
Gutierrez 48
Our reserves were beaten in this match, Ideye winning a header before Jonas scored a goal to get his own back for the sour way he left our club.

Match 26

Manchester City 0-1 Newcastle
Kompany 51 (OG)
A great win thanks to a goal that needs to be looked at by the dubious goals committee. Riviere struck the ball, and I think it was going in anyway before the deflection of of Kompany but it was given as an own goal. Dzeko had an excellent volley ruled out for offside which meant we held on for 3 points.

Match 27

Newcastle 1-0 Aston Villa
Ronaldinho 52 (PEN)
Another goal for Ronnie, his 5th in 4 games gave us the win. Aarons won the penalty, being dragged down in the box as he advanced to the byline and Ronnie casually tucked in. The Brazilian star had already missed a penalty in this match when Given made an outstanding save. Benteke had a strike ruled out for offside late on.

League Table

1. Manchester United 51
2. Spurs 51
3. West Brom 49
4. Manchester City 48
5. Chelsea 48
6. Newcastle 46
-----
18. QPR 26
19. Burnley 26
20. Southampton 20

Thoughts

This is the perfect time to discuss my new signings, and we'll start with the positives, the people who are straight into the starting lineup. Firstly, Ronaldinho. The most fun player I have ever used, he brings a flair to our lineup and the name itself is big enough to strike fear into our opponents. 5 goals in 4 games is better than I could ever have asked for and I think his flair is rubbing off on one of our youngsters, but I'll get to him later. The shaggy haired wizard on the ball is just incredible. He can play a pass from nothing, be surrounded by players and then be beyond them in the blink of an eye. Outstanding.

Next up, Asmir Begovic. What can I say? He hasn't conceded yet! The West Brom and Crystal Palace games both had Alnwick in goal. He is just incredible. He has made some outstanding saves, namely on his debut to deny Costa from point blank range. Another was against his former club, Moses thundering a shot only to be denied by the big paw of the Bosnia number 1.

Our right midfielder Kevin Kampl has also got flair, and pace and everything. He can beat his man and get the ball in the box for Riviere. Or he'll go the the byline, turn, cut inside and have himself a chance. He links up well with Riviere, and the Frenchman is probably the player he has passed to the most since joining.

Kolo Toure made it straight into the lineup and hasn't looked back. Our centre back pairing of himself and Collocini may not have pace but it has defensive ability in abundance. Any striker goes head to head with Kolo, and I have not doubt the Ivorian will make the tackle and play it out.

Our final 2 signings of the window were Nelson Oliveira and Virgil Van Dijk. We'll start with Virgil. Hasn't played many games but when he has he's been solid. I tried him in defence and didn't see much of him, mainly because Kolo had everything covered. I could probably play just Ronnie, Kolo and Asmir and still with with a clean sheet. When I tried him out of position in defensive midfield, he played very well. He is a good passer and obviously solid defensively. Nelson on the other hand. Well I've had 3 great signings and a couple of decent ones, a bad one was bound to happen. He has not hit the mark. I've tried him off the bench but when he comes on it feels like our attack has got worse. He can't finish, doesn't make good runs and really, both Riviere and Perez are above him in the pecking order now.

As I said before, Ronnie's flair seems to be rubbing off on someone. That someone is Rolando Aarons. The young winger has been feeding off of Ronaldinho. The kid grew up watching him in his prime, he must be loving playing along side him. He makes beautiful runs, latches onto Ronnie's passes, beats the defender and wins a penalty. He is great!

Good to see you have turned it around after your start. I'd be surprised if you don't at least finish in a Europa League spot. Keep it up! Newcastle careers are always fun to follow, maybe it's because of the Goal! movies haha.

[JAGGER6223]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

Perth Glory
November Results
*Home Team Indicated first


Central Coast Mariners 1-2 Perth Glory
Cernak 72'
Hersi 4', Sidnei 51'


Perth Glory 0-0 Brisbane Roar


Sydney FC 2-3 Perth Glory
Grant 2', Janko 45'
Keogh 22' 47', Hersi 87'


Perth 0-0 Western Sydney Wanderers


Press Conference

Q: 6 games in, 2 wins, 4 draws and no losses. How you feeling about that?
A: Content. It's nice not too lose but our goal is to go into every game and win not too draw.


Q: 3 clean sheets, most in the league so far got too be happy with that?
A: I'm content as well. Football has two parts of it both attacking and defending. When we defend well we don't score when we attack well we don't defend well. We need to join the two together and thats what we are working on at the training ground.


Q: Do you think it's an issue that you aren't scoring at home but you are away? All three 0-0 have occured at NIB Stadium (Home) and you haven't even scored at home.
A: It is a massive problem! Home should be your fortress where you score goals, although we haven't conceded there. We haven't scored there too! Like you said. We are working on that too


Q: Your doing something that many Glory team in the past haven't. Win away. Thoughts?
A: It's very odd isn't it. Many good teams say draw away win at home. It's the opposite for us. But I don't mind. It shows that the team has character. What all managers want from their team. Also, I think its better to start winning away then at home. Because it's harder to win at home then away.


Q: Keogh and Griffiths are playing amazing football at the moment. Keogh has scored 3 goals including a brace against Sydney and Griffiths has given 2 assists playing that deep midfield role. As well as getting back and being an important part of your good defensive setup. Keogh was a signing of yours as well. What are your thoughts on the two?
A: Both players are playing great but it's a team effort. You are noticed when you score but the tackle to get the ball back isn't. Andy and Rostyn are doing their jobs and doing them well. But for now lets look at the team and not the indiviuals.


Q: Last season we saw De Silva break into the team as a 16 year old. we also saw Harold play a good amount of games for the Glory last season however, not having much of an impact same to with Maclaren. We have seen the three come off the bench for small stints this season so far. Will you be using them more this season due to them having an extra year of experience?
A: I will definately use them more throughout the season. They are raw and very talented with a lot of potential. However, at the moment we have a solid starting 11, which is great too have this early in the season, but for players like Danny (De Silva), Chris (Harold) and Jamie (Maclaren) they are left out. You will see them play a good amount of football this season. trust me.

Thankyou.



--------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading feedback is always nice to read

[indiblue]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

@Jamie Nice to see you turn the season around after a tough start. Those signings are pretty beast, especially Kampl and Begovic. Ronny is just icing on the cake. I was actually considering doing my career with them, since they're arguably the biggest of Europe's underachieving clubs, but I decided to leave you to it instead. And you're right, there aren't any French league careers going on. I should fix that, no?

@Keano Those are some nice transfer prospects you've shortlisted. I especially like Schmeichel (think he's too good for Leicester), Ings (too good for Burnley) and Berahino (will get you 10 goals a season).

@Kenny Belated welcome to the forum. You've made a good start with Everton. Always crucial to win those preseason friendlies, I think. Nice start with a few wins as well, I think you're making all the right moves.

@Simppu Nice moves at United, but if I can be honest, I see this going into the same kind of dominance as your Hertha career. Plus, it's weird to see you buying players directly from Liverpool, even if it's just a game.

@Chico I play on 10-minute halves, and it takes me approximately 30 minutes as well, but I skip a couple of the animations, subs and half/full time mostly. I was going for a 4-4-2 flat, but instead I'm now working with a 4-2-3-1 wide with the CAM converted to CF. A lot of my organisational issues were sorted out with custom tactics. Keeping the build-up speed in the high 40s to low 50s with pass distance in the upper 30s helps a lot, with chance creation and build-up both on organised. And yes, French football gets overlooked a lot. I've been watching lots of it the last 2-3 years, and it's a very competitive league with plenty of goals (average around 2.76 per game). They just don't dominate because many of their homegrown players get bought by teams in other countries, but they have arguably the best youth production and development system after Germany. Lyon's academy is especially incredibly. I think something like 40% of their academy graduates go on to play 100 or more games for the first team.

@Tex Exeter in the Premier League... I can see it already. Nice to see you follow on from your successes with Morecambe and Deportivo with a run to the top. I applaud your patience, especially since I've started and then ended about three lower-league careers in the last 48 hours! As for your formation concerns, I completely advocate the 4-4-2 narrow diamond. You can always play wingers/wide mids at CM/CAM. On-field positioning combined with their actual position will make life easy for you. A LW playing LCM will stay central in build-up and defensive phases, but drift wide to make space as you enter the final third. A CAM playing RCM will do the same thing, but make more penetrating runs in the final third (H/M or H/L work rates), or sit in front of the opposition defence to split a pass (M/M, M/H, M/L). It's another big reason why I play wide mids at CM in those formations, or wingers at wide CAM in the 4-2-3-1. I also like Chico's idea of a 5-3-2. For the issue of your LW playing LB, you cannot compromise on certain stats. A wing back must have pace in the 80s, and stamina and crossing in the mid- to upper 70s. Defensive stats, I find, are not so crucial. So long as he's got marking and tackling in the high 50s or low 60s at least, he will be competent enough to defend. Besides, if you play like me, you can just use him as a marker, let the guy cross from wide, and defend with three massive CBs and a CDM. Options are there, for sure.

@Jagger I quit the Parma career because of some personal issues in my real life. When I came back, I just didn't have the interest to pick up where I left off, hence the new career. Good luck with Perth.

@Cruzerr I'm absolutely LOVING this career. Your first post was written so well. It's exactly the kind of thing I try to put out myself, and I have to say you did a much better job with the one post than I have since joining. Extremely gripping to read!

@Rabbit Overachieving much? Get going and win that PL title, no reason why you shouldn't now that you're in such a good position. No pressure, though.

[JAGGER6223]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

@Jamie Nice to see you turn the season around after a tough start. Those signings are pretty beast, especially Kampl and Begovic. Ronny is just icing on the cake. I was actually considering doing my career with them, since they're arguably the biggest of Europe's underachieving clubs, but I decided to leave you to it instead. And you're right, there aren't any French league careers going on. I should fix that, no?

@Keano Those are some nice transfer prospects you've shortlisted. I especially like Schmeichel (think he's too good for Leicester), Ings (too good for Burnley) and Berahino (will get you 10 goals a season).

@Kenny Belated welcome to the forum. You've made a good start with Everton. Always crucial to win those preseason friendlies, I think. Nice start with a few wins as well, I think you're making all the right moves.

@Simppu Nice moves at United, but if I can be honest, I see this going into the same kind of dominance as your Hertha career. Plus, it's weird to see you buying players directly from Liverpool, even if it's just a game.

@Chico I play on 10-minute halves, and it takes me approximately 30 minutes as well, but I skip a couple of the animations, subs and half/full time mostly. I was going for a 4-4-2 flat, but instead I'm now working with a 4-2-3-1 wide with the CAM converted to CF. A lot of my organisational issues were sorted out with custom tactics. Keeping the build-up speed in the high 40s to low 50s with pass distance in the upper 30s helps a lot, with chance creation and build-up both on organised. And yes, French football gets overlooked a lot. I've been watching lots of it the last 2-3 years, and it's a very competitive league with plenty of goals (average around 2.76 per game). They just don't dominate because many of their homegrown players get bought by teams in other countries, but they have arguably the best youth production and development system after Germany. Lyon's academy is especially incredibly. I think something like 40% of their academy graduates go on to play 100 or more games for the first team.

@Tex Exeter in the Premier League... I can see it already. Nice to see you follow on from your successes with Morecambe and Deportivo with a run to the top. I applaud your patience, especially since I've started and then ended about three lower-league careers in the last 48 hours! As for your formation concerns, I completely advocate the 4-4-2 narrow diamond. You can always play wingers/wide mids at CM/CAM. On-field positioning combined with their actual position will make life easy for you. A LW playing LCM will stay central in build-up and defensive phases, but drift wide to make space as you enter the final third. A CAM playing RCM will do the same thing, but make more penetrating runs in the final third (H/M or H/L work rates), or sit in front of the opposition defence to split a pass (M/M, M/H, M/L). It's another big reason why I play wide mids at CM in those formations, or wingers at wide CAM in the 4-2-3-1. I also like Chico's idea of a 5-3-2. For the issue of your LW playing LB, you cannot compromise on certain stats. A wing back must have pace in the 80s, and stamina and crossing in the mid- to upper 70s. Defensive stats, I find, are not so crucial. So long as he's got marking and tackling in the high 50s or low 60s at least, he will be competent enough to defend. Besides, if you play like me, you can just use him as a marker, let the guy cross from wide, and defend with three massive CBs and a CDM. Options are there, for sure.

@Jagger I quit the Parma career because of some personal issues in my real life. When I came back, I just didn't have the interest to pick up where I left off, hence the new career. Good luck with Perth.

@Cruzerr I'm absolutely LOVING this career. Your first post was written so well. It's exactly the kind of thing I try to put out myself, and I have to say you did a much better job with the one post than I have since joining. Extremely gripping to read!

@Rabbit Overachieving much? Get going and win that PL title, no reason why you shouldn't now that you're in such a good position. No pressure, though.

Indi I didn't ask you ask you where the Parma Career Mode was I knew about your personal issues and I hope they are okay.

[JAGGER6223]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

I just did something huge in my Career Mode



BE READY

[indiblue]

Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

Jeu à la Nantaise: Season 1 (2014-15)



Nantes put their faith in young blood

Football Club de Nantes announced that maverick coach Indi Blue, the former assistant at English second-division side Brighton & Hove Albion, has been appointed manager. He has signed a three-year contract, during which time Nantes will hope to revive its fortunes and begin challenging for its ninth French league title. Below is the transcript from Indi's first press meet, which was held with the help of a translator.

Welcome to Nantes, Monsieur Blue. How does it feel to be here?

Merci. It's my first job in charge of a club, and there are not a lot of better opportunities out there. It's an honour to have got this chance. I'm not trying to ingratiate myself to the fans, but the truth is that this is a fantastic club with a rich sporting heritage. On top of that, we have a very ambitious but realistic group of leaders in the boardroom. That makes it easy to match what happens on the pitch with what takes place off it. All said and done, I'm very eager to get on with my job.

Do you feel any pressure after replacing Michel Der Zakarian?

No, not at all. Michel was a great player and manager for this club, and the work he did over the last two seasons will be important going forward. Obviously, some people believe that it's foolish for the board to have let go of someone experienced and proven to hire a newbie, but is it really that much different from giving academy graduates a chance? Everyone keeps saying they want to see clubs giving opportunities to young players. Why can't that apply to coaches, too?

Nantes is one of France's most modest clubs, even more so than Brighton. Will that be a problem?

Absolutely not. I think it's wise to operate within your means, which is probably why the last few seasons have been so good here. We already have some incredible players, and the club is in a very healthy financial position. I'm hoping to bring in one or two more lad for depth and development, but we will look increasingly towards our academy in the years to come. The new training complex for the first team and academy will be ready by next year. It's the board's job to figure out ways of paying for these investments, and it's mine to make sure we don't fall behind as we do that.

You seem very confident. What is the plan for this season?

We have to be realistic when we look at the immediate future. A new coach means a new way of playing, though I plan on adhering to this club's fantastic philosophy of jeu à la Nantaise, the Nantes way of playing attacking football. It's a brilliant thing that can connect us to the past without losing sight of the future, so it's the perfect foundation stone for what I want to achieve here. At the same time, we have to make sure that we are in a position to take advantage of everything the board is preparing for us, so the very first goal is to avoid relegation. Following that, we would like to improve on last season's performance, and perhaps qualify for the Europa League.

How has life in the city been so far?

It's been fantastic. Until I was approached for this job, I didn't know Nantes was such a vibrant place, but I fell in love with the place on my first trip here. It's not what you expect from a city of 600,000 people in the conventional sense. There's plenty of greenery and water in the urban centre, and you have so much natural beauty in and around the city limits. The quality of life here is incredible, with such an extensive and well-run public transportation system. You also have a vibrant nightlife and entertainment culture, so there's no reason I won't enjoy life away from football.