As July came around, I thought it would be rude not to divulge in some of that young talent that is available in South America. Have my scouts locked in on Brazil and Argentina constantly and as I am trying to get wonderkids that are considered ‘Home Grown’ I had to source them from the best places possible.
Found a couple that took my fancy:
Vitor
Obtained this lad on a free transfer which isn’t bad. Will most likely turn out to be a squad player, but you never know as he has a 4 star potential. Comes in January so hopefully we can nurture him into something half decent and/or make a profit!
Pablo Alvarez
Couple of years till this lad comes, but he has great potential for a 16 year old lad. Couldn’t pass at the chance as Andre Scherer is getting old now, so a £2.5m investment wasn’t all that bad in the long run. Great pace, and a good starting attribute for crossing/tackling too means that with any luck, he will be a starter in the side in 4/5 years time :)
I suppose, you could consider it a lesser version of the Y2G system that was used by Alex in his Academica save, and is trying to be implemented by Darren in his. Obviously, i’m trying not to let go of my ‘Home Grown’ talent that I have personally nurtured at the club as I need them for the rule. But I do buy young, and I often get these kids snapped up for £X amounts more than I paid for them.
At the moment, i’m trying to get rid of all the deadwood at the club. This will hopefully mean that in the next 5 years, I will be running a club mainly on my ‘Home Grown’ youth talent that either comes through the club, or from elsewhere. Currently, its elsewhere as the youth facilities are not up to scratch at all which is a shame. As ever though, Ill do my best to improve them!
I am though, finding it hard to hold onto Adam Lecomte. We are in a better position for holding onto these lads now, but when the likes of Manchester United/Chelsea/Barca come inquiring about them, its a tough ride on the players and for me a like. He has been a massive success since his rather inflated £14.5m switch from OM a couple of seasons ago, and has come on leaps and bounds since then. Upping his asking price to nearly £30million.
Adam Lecomte — Aged 17
Adam Lecomte — Aged 19
Totally influential to our success as a club. Hopefully I can keep hold of him as I can only see him getting better. Also notice the facial expression change.. Hope he doesn’t want to move ;)
The reason for that too is because of this..
Yep, thats right! We have 5* facilities now. Happy days! Investment in this is totally worth it (to me anyway) as I need this setup for the young players I plan on bringing in, so they can hopefully grow to their full potential. Will need to improve the coaching staff too, and currently the youth facilities are getting upgraded so that is a bonus!
Lastly, I just wanted to show you a picture of the finances:
Luckily, all this ‘Y2G(of sorts)’ is paying off and we currently have just over 35 million in the bank. Great to see, and I will do my best to make sure I can squeeze every last profit out of the club. First job, is getting rid of the ‘Deadwood’ and replacing it with the new blood which I am in the process of doing now. This will save me tones on wages!
—
Uruguay now then and a couple of matches that I need to update you on. The first was a match against Columbian only a couple of places behind in 5th:
Only just! A missed penalty in the 89th minute meant we grabbed a vital win at home in the race for automatic World Cup promotion. Hopefully it would improve against bottom side Venezuela?
Didn’t get off to the best of starts, but we fought hard and grabbed a well deserved 3-1 win. Luckily with these 6 points, we managed to strengthen our grip on 3rd while Argentina and Brazil both ran away at the top of the table. With any luck, we should have our place secured by the end of next month. Here is the all important table then:
—
That’s it for this episode. Next one will be in January when you will find out if the BOIS have made the knockout stages of the Champions League, along with the outcome of the domestic cups!
Any questions, or requested screenshots welcome. Don’t be afraid to ask ;)
Till next time then, Hej då :D
CsAtlantis
11 мая, 2011 at 10:13
Signing some good regens there Jake, Vitor could get a massive hike in value with your facilities, looking good there for qualification for the World Cup with Uruguay too
How many games can you remain unbeaten I wonder :P, good luck with the Champions League group!
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 12:28
Thanks CS :)
I hope so, you’ll always make some money from a free transfer, and especially seeing as he is only 17, he can make a few quid! Absolutely, right on target!
Haha, Darren challenged me to get 500 unbeaten. Bit steep but you never know ;)
Johnny Karp
11 мая, 2011 at 12:03
Well done Jake, another successful update both in terms of results and transfers. It’s also nice to see that you are on track of the World Cup with Uruguay, that will be a massive event.
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 12:31
Cheers Johnny, on track with both Varberg and Uruguay so fingers crossed that we can keep the momentum up. Absolutely, never managed an international side up until now, never mind a world cup :D
Darren Smith
11 мая, 2011 at 12:04
Well done Alex, you have enjoyed another successful start to the season. Not as good as previous years but amazing all the same. Liking your version of the Y2G, I created that system as a base for everyone to pick from. Its just a concept and its you guys that make it a real system, adding your own style and opinion. I have changed the system only 6 months after starting because I was too restricted. But the general idea works a gem, it makes you be aware of finances and ridiculous wages. Looking forward to your next post anyway, really hope you make it to the knockouts…ow and great regens there!
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 12:37
Another one that owes me a pint! I’m looking at you Johnny ;). Although, my middle name is Alex, so I’ll let you slide with a shandy ;)
Oh I know you did mate, just using your general ideas like you said. Working out well so far I guess so we should see some positive movement in the financial graph over the next couple of years :).
Fingers crossed!
Johnny Karp
11 мая, 2011 at 12:53
I didn’t forget, don’t worry :)
Alex
11 мая, 2011 at 12:09
Hey Jake,
Brilliant signings and form, I hope you crush Barcelona :D. You can finish 2nd in that group and get past the 1st knockout round and we’ll see from there :).
Also Darren, he’s Jake ;)
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 12:41
I hope so too! More likely that it will turn out like last season though, which I will be chuffed about all the same :)
Luck of the draw in the knockout rounds though, just have to be a little more prepared than last time.
Lye
11 мая, 2011 at 13:15
Hi Jake,
Is Barcelona still as strong in 2025? Most of the players should be regen and you have picked several young and quality ones. Very good run of results. 148 games unbeaten, that’s an amazing record. Everything is well in place with the club and that only signals good. Looking forward to another month of strong results.
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 13:34
Hey Lye :)
Not really, considering how dominant they are currently. Madrid are currently a lot stronger as a side with the players they have at their disposal. Still, they are seeded first so are still among the top 8 in Europe.
With any luck, they can come through development and challenge for a first team spot :)
Darthbane999
11 мая, 2011 at 13:23
Kaka looks like your best signing ever! I also am loving your new young players. Is it me or is it because you won the Europa League that’s why you are attracting better talent? Anyway, great run and it’s something I would love to achieve one day… the day when Columbus rocks the most saltish league in the world… NACL!
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 13:48
You think so DB?
Well hopefully I’ll make a decent profit out of him come the transfer window :). Mine is Adam Lecomte at the moment, even if he was a little overpriced. Probably tied with Bassey.
I don’t think it’s because of that when signing the South Americans, or any youngster for that matter as they are always eager to find a new club. Bigger players though, I have to agree. More and more top quality players are getting offered to me, which I suppose can only be a good thing :).
Thanks mate, good luck with your Columbus save!
vaibhavc
11 мая, 2011 at 13:27
Hey Excessive
That was a very good start to a new campaign, you can continue it. That is an ok draw, what happened last year against Barca? Your new signings are also really good, and Vito for free is a very good deal.
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 13:56
Thanks bud!
Last year we just pipped Barca on goal difference to top the group :).
I know it’s a pain to get to grips with the story having come so far, but your more than welcome to catch up on the forum post: https://footballmanagerstory.com/forum/index.php?topic=94.0
Vito I’m sure will turn out decent, no loss either since he is on a free ;)
hils
11 мая, 2011 at 15:43
Hi Jake,great summer period there!!!!!!!!!! Barcelona again!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 17:08
Thanks Hills!!!!!!!!!!! :D
john
11 мая, 2011 at 16:36
hey great job. excessive you will defo do great thing this year. ohh ya can you post you tactic so i can download them. it seems that they are class. thanks
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 17:12
Thanks mate :).
This is the main one!
League games: http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2011-tactics-training/60554-4-2-2-2-il-devasto.html
Good luck with it pal.
Laxeyman
11 мая, 2011 at 20:23
That’s a great start mate, you’ve found some really good regens, and I’m sure they’ll be good for you. Your unbeaten run is amazing, hopefully you can get to Darren’s challenge of 500 :) Good luck against Barca, I hope you beat them :)
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 22:57
Thanks Laxey, I hope so too!
Will do my best against Barca, going to be tough this time out I think!
Sayam Khan
11 мая, 2011 at 21:18
Unbeaten in 148 games! Wow! what an achievment even if it is in a less known league. I’ve also noticed your training workload is ‘heavy’ does this pay off for you? Or do your players complain? Anyway good luck!
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 22:58
Thanks Sayam :D
They complain a little, but it does the trick for me and they still improve. Some of the younger ones I tend to put in harder routines so they progress further in the younger stages of development.
Ana Garcia
11 мая, 2011 at 21:28
Still going well Jake,
The league is just routine for you now!
It looks a little more tricky in the group stage with both Barca and PSV but am sure you may be able to qualify for the knockout stage.
Uruguay is looking good also and you shuld be able to qualify, fingers crossed!!
As always, good luck! :)
Excessive
11 мая, 2011 at 23:00
Thanks Ana, yeah its going to be a harder group than last year. Hopefully we can pull off the same sort of form in the group stages :)
Kevin
12 мая, 2011 at 09:27
Hey Excessive
You seem to have an abundance of great youngsters and good work in getting those facilities into top notch shape. Good luck in the Champions League as I don’t think you need it the league :)