Hey guys and welcome back to an overdue update from my UEC save. Sorry for taking an age, but researching/writing parts one and two of my financial guide meant no time to actually play FM. :( Now that little task is complete, we can continue with my journey across Europe. During the last update, I won the treble with Chelsea and then resigned for pastures green. After just five months on the dole, Bordeaux offered me the vacant managers position. I decided to stop holding out on Lyon and Marseille, so accepted the next best thing.
After taking the reigns of what I thought would be a great club, optimism was high. Then I dug a little deeper, Bordeaux have a lot of debt, the squads average age is dead and my only positive is croissants for breakfast. Honestly I could see myself offloading every single squad member within the next few seasons. January saw no transfer action at all, the clubs owner was as tight as a ducks arse. Anyway enough moaning, I can sort the squad during summer and this is meant to be the easiest league I’ve managed in. Today’s post will reveal my first half season in charge and then take a look at my pre-season transfers. Before I reveal all the goings on during my first half season in charge, lets recap my UEC career to date.
UEC career
2011-2012: Hamburg SV (Germany)
2012-2014: AC Milan (Italy)
2014-2016: At. Madrid (Spain)
2017-2019: Chelsea (England)
2014-2018: Argentina (International)
2020-present: Bordeaux (France)
UEC honours
Bundesliga title — 2012
German Cup — 2012
Serie A title — 2013 & 2014
Italian Cup — 2013 & 2014
La Liga title — 2015 & 2016
Spanish Cup — 2015 & 2016
English Premier League title — 2019
English FA Cup — 2018 & 2019
European Champions League — 2014, 2016 & 2019
Copa America — 2015
Confederations Cup — 2017
World Cup — 2018
After all that I am down to just one last country and two trophies. When the French title and French domestic cup have been secured my Ultimate European Challenge will be over. A wild ride, but there are still a few more bumps in the road I’m sure.
What I’m up against with Bordeaux
Before I reveal my first games in charge, I’d like to offer you a feel of the task in hand. Bordeaux’s previous manager had only managed some disjointed form that led to 11th position within the league. He also watched on as this once great club went crashing out of all cup competitions.
I have never seen such an old squad. Most matches I could struggle to field anyone under the age of 28. Most of you know my 4-5-1 formation requires pace on the wings and upfront. Well Bordeaux have a stock of zimmer frames to help their over 30’s make it time for lunch. As you can probably tell, my start was seriously hindered. Lets move onto the results after my appointment and see if I managed an improvement from my predecessor.
January to end of season — results and table
I wasn’t expecting miracles during season number 1, but a little effort would have been nice. I guess I’ve only myself to blame, after noticing the current squad were not suited to my tactics, I should have changed. But as always I got stubborn and convinced myself they just needed time to settle. WRONG!! :( A glance down these results makes for some horrible form.
A poor start to life in France saw me achieve just two places higher than the last manager. Bordeaux finished season 2019/20 in 9th position. No Europe and definitely no extra cash flow. Lyon and Marseille are the real show boaters of French football. With such talented players, both clubs could challenge in Europe every season.
The squad that made it so difficult
After such a disappointing and worrying start, I was left to evaluate my squad. All the players boxed in red are too old and don’t deserve to wear the shirt. Obviously I want rid ASAP, but the transfer budget could depict how many oldies are offloaded. One thing that must change is the squads general pace, this needs sorting first off.
Pre-season expectations and signings 2020/21
I was pleasantly surprised when the board offered £17.25m for transfers. European qualification is my minimum target, but after seeing my transfers, I’m sure you’ll agree the title isn’t unrealistic. I decided to stretch my budget to the limit and take advantage of additional clauses like payments after X amount of games etc. I know this is bad after just talking about finances, but Bordeaux have a terrible squad and won’t reach Europe unless I strengthen heavily.
An outside chance for the title seems about right really, the bookies were spot on there. We only raised £4.5 million from players leaving, but offloaded some dead weight and freed up loads from the wage bill. Most of this was transferred back into my transfer budget of course. :)
OK, its time to see who I bought to hurdle Bordeaux up the table. 8 new faces for a total of £33.5 million, around £10 million of that is in add on clauses. In a minute we’ll examine my best signings, but here’s the run down of my other transfers. Sampaio was brought to cover in goal, we paid nothing so I was happy with his arrival. Saivet will be known to many, he’s now 29 but still quite good and should provide cover on both wings. San Roman is 25 years old and the best left winger I could find at a reasonable price. The Argentine isn’t amazing but should do well in France. The last of my fringe transfers was Le Gac, brought in from Ajax for £1 million. Extremely well priced and the midfielder will do well under my CM supporting role. OK, now we move onto the real stars. :)
German Vidal (striker) — £10 million from Twente
Getting old by my standards, but the 27 year old is perfect for my poacher role. Excellent physical attributes mean a lot and his dribbling along with finishing made me sign the Argentine.
Simone Testa (central midfield) — £2.7 million from Man City
My new midfield maestro was a real bargain. The Italian is highly rated and worth well more than money bags City had demanded. While the Italian isn’t outstanding in any area, he’s very good across the board. I like this in midfielders and have a good feeling about the 22 year old.
John Bergkamp (right winger) — £9 million from Heerenveen
It’s confession time, my eye was drawn to the name Bergkamp, that is why I originally viewed his attributes. :) But this 24 year old has real class. Another all rounder and his good pace, dribbling and agility count big with me. Again, I have a good feeling and think Bergkamp could take to France like a storm.
Riccardo Usia (DC/CM) — £2.6 million from Spurs
Another bargain from the transfer list. Its weird how I took one look at Usia’s attributes and thought naaah I’m not impressed. Then I took a second look one week later and loved him. This 23 year old can play centre back or central midfield, so I’ll try both and see where Usia plays best.
There they are then, the new Bordeaux and quite a good bunch of lads too. My first test of 2020 comes against Stade Malherbe Caen where I want to start our winning ways. The title will be decided on who maintains form this year, so I want to start strong.
Well that is it for today’s post. Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll be back for the results up until December. Hopefully you don’t mind me skimming over the back end of last season. I’d rather forget it and didn’t want to bore you too much with analysis. Please feel free to ask any questions below and I look forward to your comments as always. :)
Johnny Karp
20 апреля, 2011 at 21:29
Good signings there Darren, it’s difficult to pick a favourite but I’d go for Bergkamp, he will surely be an immense player this season. Prediction: you will win the title! :)
Darren Smith
20 апреля, 2011 at 21:34
Thanks Johnny, I agree that Bergkamp is my best signing. He has real ability and should have the French defence’s running in circles. Lets hope your prediction is right :)
Liam101
20 апреля, 2011 at 22:09
Hey darrren. Some great signings there. how did bordeaux sign paulo henrique?
I hope you can win at least the french cup this year and secure european. I love your story and i want you to win but i dont want it be over haha. Will you continue your newcastle save after you have completed this?
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 11:52
Hey Liam, the Paulo Henrique you see isn’t the real deal…he’s a left winger and a much poorer version of the one you’re thinking of. Seeing my challenge end is a little sad, but we’ve got at least one more season to go mate. :) Then I will be carrying on with my Newcastle save and trying to implement the ‘youth to gold’ system.
Sears
20 апреля, 2011 at 22:35
I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything, but I thought I’d never see the day where I would say, »Darren has endured some poor form» :-D Your results are very similar to mine at Rubin, I’d a decent start but our form had dipped massively and for the same reason: Convincing yourself that your tactics are working when they really warn’t!! Plus I’ve to sell way more of my current squad.I kept tweaking my tactic though and the results have improved a little.
Superb signings tough, German Vidal will rip up the league and surly fire you to an inevitable title. Good luck buddy :-)
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 11:50
lol :) I was well overdue a poor run mate. Must admit I hated every second, but held solice in the summer approaching and a reshape of the squad. Hopefully the new signings will manage to fit into my setup, if so the title is mine…hopefully ;)
Alex
21 апреля, 2011 at 03:56
Hey Darren,
I loved seeing your Bordeaux team do poorly, just kidding! You look to have reshaped the team and you can look to challenge for the top 3 at least. Good luck!
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 11:48
Hey Alex, tbh I was overdue a bad run of form. But now the team is reshaped it will be onwards and upwards.
junior
21 апреля, 2011 at 04:09
hey darren just one question…hw did u get rid of lassana diarra did hes contract run out or did u release him..cuz my board doesnt let me release playaz!!
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 11:48
Hey Junior, Lassana Diarra’s contract ran out. Why don’t you try offering players to a club for free. Other than that you’re stuck because the board won’t pay big fees to release a player.
CsAtlantis
21 апреля, 2011 at 05:20
Hello Darren,
German Vidal is a good finisher, a bit expensive but should be great for your team, Bergkamp has bags of talent, should be worth his price, Riccardo Usai (Usia?) might be a little bit hampered if he plays DC due to his low jumping ability
You can do much better now, I believe a top 3 finish for Champions League football is within your reach this season, good luck!
Can I see Christopher Missilou’s profile? He seems to have been your best regular player last season
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 11:46
Hey mate, while signing Usia I just thought of the quality within France which is well below par…he may well be best suited to a CM role. Hopefully the new team can help guide Bordeaux to a title. :) I’ll provide Missilou’s profile next update.
hils
21 апреля, 2011 at 07:02
Hi Darren,good signings there!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully you will get a champions league spot!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!!!
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 11:44
Thanks Hils.
Kevin
21 апреля, 2011 at 09:37
Hi Darren
Bergkamp, Testa and Vidal all look to be very good players and should aid your ambition to win both league and cup in France. Looking forward to this final chapter of what has been a very entertaining journey. Bon chance mon ami! :)
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 11:44
Thanks Kevin, I agree the new trio should bolster my squad and hopefully help me gain the double quickly. Its been a long journey, quite sad to see the end is near, but I’m excited to manage Newcastle again. :)
Lye
21 апреля, 2011 at 10:22
Hi Darren,
You have shown another great eye for some quality signings. With the right players in place for your tactics, I know you will surely challenge for the title this season. Looking forward to you completing the European challenge. Good luck.
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 11:40
Thanks Lye, the new signings are a perfect match for my tactics. Given a good start we could really win some trophies this year.
Sayam Khan
21 апреля, 2011 at 12:44
Hi Darren, them signings are great and perfect for your tactic. I really like the look of Bergkamp.
Since you have completed the Champions League part of this challenge, will you be trying to win it with Bordeux. And will you quit at the end of season if you win the league and cup?
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 17:53
Thanks Sayam, again Bergkamp is definitely the popular transfer so far. If I win the domestic double this year, I’ll be finishing this save and moving back to Newcastle. Its such a long challenge and I’m so eager to manage the toon army again. :)
Excessive
21 апреля, 2011 at 13:17
Entertaining post as usual mate! Chuckled slightly when you said:
‘the squads average age is dead’ ;).
Anyway, great to see you in French football for your final onslaught of this game, even if I am sad that it is coming to the end! Even though it has, you have done absolutely outstanding and the achievements you have made from a lowly manager at HSV are second to none :).
Bit of average form but after where the last manager left you, it’s understandable. Just hope you can push on to get something this season even if your new recruits haven’t had time to gel yet.
Best of luck mate :)
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 17:51
Thanks Jake, glad you liked the humour…its nice to add little things in just for a laugh ;) I have loved this challenge and managing HSV feels like a decade ago!! The new boys at Bordeaux should hopefully do me well. :)
vaibhavc
21 апреля, 2011 at 13:28
Hey Darren
Your new signings can hopefully get you the title and the cup. Bergkamp seems to be the best of them. Unlucky on last season, I think this season you will do well.
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 17:48
Cheers mate, everyone seems to like Bergkamp. Hopefully he will terrorize opposition defences. Would love a title victory. :)
Jack
21 апреля, 2011 at 14:15
Hey Darren,
Just started reading your story! Such an achievement :) Where is there a copy of your 4-5-1 tactic? I like the new signings as well, I suppose you really have to rely on scouts when you’re this far into the game as practically all the players are regens. Well good look this season, I’ll be following, I’m sure you’ll get extremely close to that league title :)
Darren Smith
21 апреля, 2011 at 17:47
Hi Jack, glad you started reading my story. Its been one hell of a ride and my journey is nearing its end. You can see a copy and also download my tactics here https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/12/fm-2011-newcastle-tactics-4-4-2-and-4-5-1/ Another useful post is on how to use them within the first few seasons while managing a Premier League club. Heres the link for that post https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/12/fm-2011-tactics-guide-how-i-beat-every-club-in-the-premier-league/
Tbh I rarely use my scouts for regens. They do provide the odd gem but I search for them myself…takes an age but very rewarding. :) Look forward to hearing from you mate and hope the tactics posts help.
Joelance
22 апреля, 2011 at 00:42
Darren Smith, FM Legend! I’ve been totally impressed with your journey so far. Need to ask a few questions though.
1) How did you get a job at HSV? I’m assuming you started unemployed.
2) Your 4-5-1 tactics, is that what you use for every game? (i mean outside the EPL, read your post on how to defeat those)
3) Do you resign from a club before applying for other jobs? Or do you just apply for any position available once you’re interested?
You’re going to have a great season you always do!(bar last season, i guess.lol)
Darren Smith
22 апреля, 2011 at 08:56
Hey Joe, thanks for the kind words, I’ll try and answer all your questions mate.
1) I was unemployed for around 6 months, then showed an interest in the HSV job, they sacked the manager and I put in an application. Offered me the job within two days. This challenge requires you start unemployed so that is what I did, but with international footballer as previous experience you can usually get a reasonable 1st job if prepared to wait.
2) I use my 4-5-1 in every game and every country…I make the odd tweak to suit my new players but generally stays the same. That is why I started so badly in France…I was too stubborn to admit my tactic wasn’t working. However I now have the correct players so it should be OK again.
3) I do resign from a club before moving onto another job. This isn’t because it helps getting hired…its because I may get too attached to a season and then turn down a good offer because I don’t want to throw away a sure title etc.
Thanks for the comment Joe, hope these answers were what you needed. :)
Ana Garcia
22 апреля, 2011 at 12:17
Seems you had to endure a tough start but as always your signings are very good.
Am surprised Paulo Henrique isnt that good he has been brilliant for my Coruxo team and thats in la liga, so he should be pretty good in France but I guess he might be quite old.
Anyways best of luck on the last hurdle on your challenege!!
Darren Smith
22 апреля, 2011 at 16:17
Hey Ana, it certainly was a tough six months but the next year should be much easier. Not sure why Henrique is poor for me, think he just hasn’t developed well and is now too old. Thanks Ana
Timmy
22 апреля, 2011 at 15:28
et Bordeaux n’est pas une mauvaise equipe,mais seulement l’equipe moyenne
cette equipe peut-etre le plus durement equipe vous deja la gestion
Vidal est bracconier parfaite,et Testa attributs est similaire a mon joueur prefere,Moussa Sissoko
bonne chance,a la vorte!
(ps:sorry for my bad france,i use Google Translate)
Darren Smith
22 апреля, 2011 at 16:15
To be honest Timmy, my French is non existent so I couldn’t tell if that is good or bad French ;)
daniel
22 апреля, 2011 at 16:09
Hey darren some great signingd there. How do you find all those amazing regens i can never find any in my game then boom arsenal sign a regen with the descrption wonderkid.
Darren Smith
22 апреля, 2011 at 16:13
Hey Daniel, I find my regens through manual searches. Teams in Holland and Greece tend to pick a few great ones up so I check the appropriate clubs like Twente and Herenveen. I also manually check every single club in Brazil and Argentina at least twice a year. Its just a case of divoting tonnes of time to searching the talent yourself.
daniel
22 апреля, 2011 at 23:20
thanks darren ill try find some amazing ones