F.C. Valdelavilla

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HeadCoachFM

5 years • Edited

F.C. Valdelavilla

La Liga fans have long criticized the direct, physical tactical style of the English Premier League, labelling it "long ball." Their preference for a patient, more technical possession-based style has produced some of the most successful teams in recent history, such as Pep Guardiola's Barcelona from 2008-2012. Guardiola has brought elements of that style to the Premier League to great success, so I've decided to do the opposite. I've created F.C. Valdelavilla, an England-based football club set to compete in the Segunda División B (third tier of Spain) in the 2019/20 season.

While I was brainstorming ideas for the name of the club, I came across this small rural hamlet in the northern Soria region of Spain, called Valdelavilla. It's the only region of Spain in which English is the official language, and seems to be some kind of isolated school where English is taught to Spanish citizens. As the only English-speaking region in Spain, I figured it was a fitting place for my new English/Spanish club.

F.C. Valdelavilla is based in London, playing its games at Wembley due to its lack of a stadium. As a result, the academy players that come through the youth intake every year will be English, keeping the DNA of the club pure. The club culture includes signing English players, playing direct football, and developing players using the club's youth system. Sticking to these principles will go a long way in keeping my job secure, so here's how I'll set up the team tactically:

I'll be sticking with the classic 4-4-2 formation, using a modified Wing Play tactic as my primary tactical style and opting for a more direct counter attack against better teams. The players in the image above are from my original save yesterday which was lost after the game crashed, but hopefully I can get most of them back. I'll post an update once I put the squad back together!

HeadCoachFM

5 years • Edited

2019/20 Segunda División B4 Preview

After a long summer of heavy player and staff recruitment, F.C. Valdelavilla looks set for a promotion battle in its debut season! With title odds of 7-1, the media has given us a predicted finish of 5th-place, just 1 shy of the last playoff spot. Hopefully we can do one better and get promoted in our inaugural season.

Tactics

On the first day of this save, I chose the "Wing Play" tactic from the pre-set templates and set a 4-4-2 formation. I then made some slight modifications such as telling the defenders to "Get Stuck In" and the goalkeeper to "Take Long Kicks." I then filled each position with 2-3 options that I felt best fit the direct, physical style of play that I want F.C. Valdelavilla to be known for. I chose a similar tactical set-up for my backup plan, for use against better oppositions, but it's more of a counter-attacking style to soak up more of the pressure and get in behind with long passing. I think once I get to La Liga I'll probably adopt a more modern pressing style of play with elements of the direct crossing and physicality associated with "grassroots" English football, as Klopp has done with Liverpool over the last couple of years. For now, though, we'll stick with the good old-fashioned 4-4-2!

Notable Signings

Anton Ferdinand

Brother of Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, Anton Ferdinand was my first signing of the save, boasting a vast resume with 388 total league appearances for esteemed clubs including Sunderland and West Ham where he consistently played in the Premier League for 8 years before moving to Turkey. His career has since faltered somewhat, failing to reach the same levels he achieved before moving abroad. However, his extensive experience at a very high level should go a long way in helping us achieve our short-term goals this season, with Ferdinand leading the squad as our club captain.

Efe Ambrose

Alongside Ferdinand in the center of the defense is Efe Ambrose, former Celtic and Hibernian mainstay. Ambrose has an impressive Aggression rating at 19, which is exactly the type of defender I was looking at for this squad. At 6'3, Ambrose also boasts impressive physical stats so he'll surely bully the smaller, more agile Spanish strikers both on the ground and in the air. He should make a great partner for the aging Ferdinand as I look to introduce some of the younger options who might partner Ambrose later in the season and beyond.

Ross McCormack

Sticking to the theme of experience, I signed Ross McCormack just days before the deadline after my young Spanish backup striker suffered a long-term hip injury. McCormack was once purchased for £11m, just 2 years before Aston Villa signed him for £12m. That was only 3 years ago, and McCormack's stock has severely fallen following unsuccessful loan spells with Nottingham Forest, Melbourne City, Central Coast Mariners, and Motherwell. He was released by Aston Villa during the summer, so I was able to snap up the former English Championship Golden Boot winner on a free! McCormack will play a false nine role to bridge the gap between the midfield and our relatively slow target man, Manucho.

Manucho

As you can probably tell by now, I've put together quite an old squad, so if our debut season doesn't go to plan then I'll need to do some serious reshuffling next summer. Nevertheless, our imposing 6'3, 183lb Angolan striker Manucho still has the attributes to effectively lead our frontline as a target man, with a Heading attribute of 17 and a Jumping Reach attribute of 16. In the third tier of Spain, these attributes will likely be very effective, and while Manucho has maintained an impressive level of physical fitness, he isn't the quickest striker around so I'll try to position him as far up as possible while feeding him with constant crosses.

James Perch

Another signing with Premier League experience, Perch most recently played for Scunthorpe in League One last season, playing 41 matches and failing to help them avoid relegation. As a result, Perch left on a free transfer after just one season with the club, and he agreed to join F.C. Valdelavilla despite never having played outside of England, with his former clubs including QPR, Wigan, Newcastle, and Nottingham Forest. Perch suffered broken ribs after making a clumsy tackle in a friendly match, so he's been injured for the majority of pre-season and will miss the first couple of weeks of the season, but he has emerged as one of the more influential players in the dressing room already. Hopefully he can make the same kind of impact on the field once he's back from injury!

Jordan Stevens

While there were quite a few older players signed, I wanted my right and left midfielders to possess more pace and as such I signed several young wingers on loan. Jordan Stevens is by far the best of them, having already debuted in the Championship with Leeds last season and 9 times in League Two for Forest Green back in 2017 when he was only 17 years old. Now 19, Stevens is my strongest option in the right midfield, which happens to be his natural position rather than the more common right and left attacking midfield/winger positions. I'm expecting big things from Stevens, so keep an eye on him!

[size=14]Jack Clarke

Another youthful loan signing, Jack Clarke added much-needed depth to my midfield, being able to slot in either the box-to-box role on the left (his better side) or the ball-winning defensive role on the right. Clarke is yet to make his professional debut, so he was eager to join our young club in the depths of Spanish football, where hopefully he'll develop into a successful player.

Ashley Cole

At 38 years old, Ashley Cole has hung up his boots and has now opted to become a manager, beginning his coaching career as F.C. Valdelavilla's U19 manager. I was quite surprised that Cole agreed to join, figuring he'd probably get offered a similar job by his old pal Lampard. However, Cole has signed a 2 year deal and I think he'll do a fantastic job of developing our young English talent while he gains some managerial experience.

Squad Dynamics

Ahead of our first professional game ever, my squad is severely lacking in cohesion, which is understandable considering I put the team together in just 2 months. I'm expecting a very ugly beginning to the season, with a lack of cohesion certain to be made worse by our direct tactical style. As a result, we may need to opt for the more counter-attacking tactic in our early fixtures, but we'll see how the first match goes with our preferred style. In spite of the lack of cohesion, the dressing room atmosphere and level of managerial support is very good which could help jumpstart our team cohesion once we get a few games under our belt. In addition to the good atmosphere, the fact that most of our players and staff speak English has helped ease the cohesion level from "Abysmal" to "Very Poor," which is an improvement, I suppose. Only time will tell.

Staff

In addition to signing Ashley Cole, I put together a predominantly English team of coaches who had similar tactical styles to what I'm trying to achieve. Due to our relatively rich owner, I was able to put together not only the best coaching team, but also the best recruitment and one of the best medical teams in the league. My staff recruitment should go a long way in helping maintain a rigid club culture that'll help us reach La Liga in no time. I'll post the next update once I get to January! Unless something noteworthy happens before then of course, but let me know what you guys think of this save idea or any suggestions you might have![/size]

HeadCoachFM

5 years • Edited

2019/20 Segunda División B4 Mid-Season Review

Despite struggling with cohesion for several months we've managed to reach 5th place halfway through our first season! We have the joint-least amount of losses (2) and the 3rd-best defense in the league, with only 11 goals conceded and a total of 12 clean sheets. This is very encouraging considering we really lacked understanding early on in the campaign. While this has improved greatly, we have struggled to score goals for a while now (only 3 goals in our last 6!) so I'll likely need to bring in a replacement for Manucho during the January window if we're to make a real promotion push.

Standout Performers

Efe Ambrose

Ambrose is the reason for our impressive defensive record, boasting an average rating of 7.11 in the league having started all 19 matches so far. Our club captain and first-ever signing Anton Ferdinand was injured before the beginning of the season, so Ambrose has been playing alongside an inexperienced yet very talented young center back, making his high average rating and our defensive record all the more impressive. Ambrose has also chipped in with 4 very important goals from headers, as well as contributing an assist. I won't be at all surprised if Ambrose wins our club player of the year award!

Ross McCormack

McCormack has turned out to be a great signing, having scored 5 goals and contributed 3 assists in 11(8) appearances. His primary striking partner, Manucho, hasn't played as well as I'd hoped so McCormack's proven to be a very important option up front. However, like Manucho, McCormack's showing signs of aging as his physical attributes have decreased steadily over the past five 6 months. Hopefully he can kick on and finish the season as strong as he's started.

Tactics

As I'd hoped, F.C. Valdelavilla has become known as one of the most physically strong, aggressive, and committed teams in the league. Our lack of cohesion and direct playing style has resulted in a high number of possession losses from long ball situations and a minority possession percentage nearly every game. Despite this, we've managed to achieve a 5th place position halfway through the season due to our successful use of crossing, particularly from set pieces. I noticed early on that most of our headed goals were from dead ball situations, so I set the instruction "Play for Set Pieces" and we've scored an increasing number of goals from corners and free kicks ever since. Hopefully we can continue to exploit these and reach the playoffs when the season ends!

Dynamics

Our team cohesion has increased greatly since the beginning of the season, rising from "Very Poor" to "Average," and it will likely continue to rise provided we keep doing well. The dressing room atmosphere and managerial support levels are good and very good respectively, and we've had very little conflict despite the apparent contrasting personalities in the squad.

mrtepig

5 years

Very interesting idea and a great first half! Hopefully you can end up in the top 4 by season's end.

HeadCoachFM

5 years

2019/20 Segunda División B4 Season Review

After a strong first half of the season in which we amassed 31 points, we only managed to gain a further 21 from our last 19 matches. While I did strengthen the weaker areas of the team in January, our aging squad continued to decline throughout the second half of the season and we ended up finishing in a disappointing position (10th). All things considered, 10th isn't an awful finish for our first ever season as a football club and if we'd started out the season as poorly as we finished then we'd have ended up only 1 point above the relegation zone. Hopefully next season with the right additions we can make a better promotion bid.

January Transfers

Ollie Palmer

Palmer was meant to be a key signing to replace Manucho as the main man up top, but he's struggled to justify the £155,000 fee that I spent on him. Palmer featured in 14 matches in the tail end of the season, starting 11 and managing to score 4 goals in that time. His scoring record may have been a slight improvement on Manucho, but he didn't have the effect that I expected. However, I think our lack of real quality on the wings, particularly on the left, may have contributed to both Palmer and Manucho's offensive struggles. Perhaps next year with the right signings we'll be able to increase the service to Palmer to make him more of an aerial threat.

Stefan O'Connor

Former Newcastle and Arsenal prospect Stefan O'Connor miraculously agreed to join us to replace the aging and injury-prone Anton Ferdinand at the back, who only managed to make 4 appearances total as our captain despite initially being signed as an important player. O'Connor managed to maintain a 7.04 average rating despite our increasingly poor form and lack of fluidity in the second half of the season, making him our most consistent player despite his relatively young age. I expect him to be an important player for us over the next few years as we work our way up the Spanish pyramid.

Youth Intake

The youth intake preview was extremely confusing, with conflicting advice from my head of youth development stating that we have a "terrific group of players" set to become a "real golden generation for the club" while contradicting this point by describing a lack of potential in nearly every position. More than anything else, this just made me doubt my head of youth development's competence.

The actual intake was fairly promising, with one standout player who could already feature in the first team as a breakthrough prospect. The others are unlikely to make it to the first team, especially if we're promoted next season.

Ben Foster, not to be confused with the Watford goalkeeper, is our most promising recruit. At 17 years old, Foster is already good enough to provide backup to our starting central midfielders, primarily operating as a more attacking mezzala or advanced playmaker. While I don't use these roles in my system, Foster certainly has the attributes and work ethic to become a box-to-box midfielder which is what I've started training him as. Foster's personality description regards him as a "mercenary," so if we don't improve next season to get promoted, he likely won't hang around in the Segunda División B4 for much longer if he's really as promising as my youth team believes. For now though, Foster will continue to develop in the U19s under Ashley Cole and his team, with a view to play a small role in the squad next season and later working his way into the first team as we rise up the divisions.

Retirements

Ross McCormack

While McCormack started out the season strong, he struggled to maintain his form during the latter half of the season. After I failed to negotiate a contract extension in which he'd only be a squad player, he announced his decision to retire at 33 years old. McCormack enjoyed a varied career, featuring for numerous clubs in Scotland, England, Australia, and most recently Spain. Throughout his career he amassed 158 goals in 464 league appearances, with a total of £23.47m in transfer fees spent for his services by various clubs over the years. McCormack's now looking to become a coach and due to his good standing with the club it's very likely that I'll attempt to sign him as a U19 coach to work under Ashley Cole. With a few more additions like this to our youth coaching team, they'd make a fantastic 5-a-side team!

Manucho

Along with his striking partner McCormack, Manucho announced his decision to retire a few weeks before the end of the season at the age of 37 years old. When I signed Manucho, his physical traits were still relatively high so I'd hoped he would provide more of a threat than he actually did, particularly in the air. Though he maintained his technical and mental attributes, his legs started to go as the season went on and he only managed to score 8 goals in 32(5) appearances for the club. Like McCormack, Manucho enjoyed a varied career, playing for 12 different clubs including Manchester United, Panathinaikos, Hull City, Real Valladolid, Rayo Vallecano, as well as several other less recognizable clubs. He managed to score 86 goals in 387 total league appearances over the years, so maybe I should've predicted his somewhat disappointing scoring record for us, but I thought I'd be able to get the best out of him particularly in this division. Regardless, Manucho enjoyed a very respectable and long career as a striker and will go down as an important figure in F.C. Valdelavilla's history. See you next season!

HeadCoachFM

5 years • Edited

2020/21 Segunda División B2 Preview

This year we've been put in the Segunda División B2 rather than the Segunda División B4. After another long summer of heavy recruitment, we now look ready to mount a serious title challenge with our title odds set at 5-2 by the press, putting us in the favorite's position for the title. This is a significant improvement on last year, when the Season Preview had us in 5th. Hopefully we can go the distance and win the title to put us in the best possible position for the Promotion Playoffs (apparently in this division winning the title doesn't give you automatic promotion).

Notable Signings

Richie Smallwood

Richie Smallwood was my biggest signing of the transfer window, boasting extensive experience in the English Championship with clubs such as Middlesbrough, Rotherham, and most recently Blackburn. I managed to sign Smallwood on a free and subsequently appointed him as captain ahead of the new season. Last year we were really lacking quality and depth in the midfield, as well as experience, so Smallwood should turn out to be a key signing for us this year. With 18 aggression, 19 bravery, 16 leadership, 16 teamwork, and 18 work rate; Smallwood will hopefully tighten up our midfield and effectively protect our defense as my right-sided ball-winning central midfielder.

David Concha

Another great signing, David Concha was once a bright prospect who broke into the Real Sociedad first team back in the 2016/17 season. After making 8 appearances in La Liga that year, Concha was given a potential of 82 in FIFA 17. It's now clear that he won't quite reach that mark, but he's certainly a great prospect and is already one of the best left wingers in the league at the moment, which is a position we really lacked depth of quality in last season.

Victor Campuzano

Former Espanyol and Castilla prospect Campuzano was another great free transfer I made over the summer window. Campuzano previously played in my division 2 years ago, scoring 10 goals in 33 matches at 21 years old. Now 23, I believe Campuzano can go beyond that mark and hopefully be in the Segunda B4 Golden Boot discussion by the end of the year.

Andy Halliday

Signed to partner Smallwood in the midfield, Andy Halliday provides another experienced option in his prime, with previous playing experience including esteemed clubs such as Rangers and Middlesbrough. Smallwood and Halliday actually played together at Middlesbrough for nearly 5 years, so reviving their partnership could strengthen our midfield significantly.

Will Keane

Former Manchester United academy prospect Will Keane joined on yet another free transfer over the summer, most recently playing for Ipswich in League One last season. At 27 years old, Keane doesn't actually have a lot of first team experience, with only 81 league appearances and 8 goals in his entire career. However, I believe he has all of the right attributes to make a great deep lying forward, linking the midfield to the attack and providing support for Victor Campuzano.

Luke Garbutt

Like Will Keane, Garbutt spent last season with Ipswich in League One on loan from Everton. Everton signed Garbutt for £600,000 from Leeds when he was just 16 years old, clearly rating his future highly. However, Garbutt has struggled to reach the levels expected of him and as such I was able to snap him up on another free transfer. One of the benefits of playing in Spain with this club means that I can approach English clubs' players several months prior to their contracts expiring rather than waiting until June 30th like other English clubs. This gave me a distinct advantage in the months leading up to the opening of the transfer window and I was able to sign 14 first-team players on free transfers on the opening day of the window. This helped our team cohesion greatly in the build-up to the season, and we're now starting with an "Average" level of team cohesion rather than the "Very Poor" we started with last season. Hopefully that means we'll start off strongly!

Notable Departures

Anton Ferdinand

Club captain Anton Ferdinand moved to Scottish Championship club Falkirk after just one year with the club in which he struggled to remain fit for the majority of the season. He only managed to make 4 league appearances for us, suffering from torn knee ligaments prior to the beginning of the season before getting a sports-related hernia which kept him sidelined for a further 6 weeks. Despite his lack of on-field contributions, Ferdinand was instrumental in bringing the dressing room together and improving our team cohesion as a highly influential leader in the squad. Hopefully he can keep his fitness for Falkirk and finish his career strongly!

James Perch

Another highly influential player in the dressing room, James Perch was released at the end of last season after struggling to maintain his strong early season form. As the team began to struggle after the January window, Perch's legs seemed to go and with a lack of pace he wasn't as effective in the supporting wing back role that I like to play with. As such, Perch was released and is still a free agent, with Spanish club Barakaldo C.F. currently showing interest in him. Perhaps I'll bring him back in a staff role sometime in the future!

Tactics

I've changed the tactics ahead of this season due to our lack of a target man, instead opting for an advanced forward + poacher partnership, which I believe will get the most out of our forwards. This will leave a gap between the midfield and our offense as both strikers will operate high up the field, but I think with the right delivery from the wings we'll be able to dominate the slower, more possession-based Spanish clubs with our high intensity pressing and direct style of play. I've used a very high number of tactical instructions which has the potential to backfire if the players feel overloaded with instructions. This often happens in lower divisions, but I believe I have players with enough quality to handle the specific roles and instructions I've assigned.

Other News

Valdelavilla B

I decided to establish a B club to compete in the Third Division after receiving the option in my inbox.

After placing adverts for every position possible, I failed to receive any applications. This is likely because the Third Division of the Spanish pyramid isn't playable, so there's a lack of coaches at that level, especially ones willing to sign a part-time contract with a relatively low wage. As a result, I've put Ashley Cole in charge of both the B team and the U19 team. When I created this database, I forgot to place Valdelavilla's U19s in the U19 league setup, assuming that it would automatically offer participation to us. However, my youth players will be able to play league matches with the B squad, which I suppose will be good experience.

Dressing Room Drama

While I initially intended to keep Ollie Palmer in the fold as a third-choice striker with the possibility of pushing into the starting lineup, he confronted me after signing Campuzano and Keane. I tried to explain that they'd all receive appropriate game time and that competition was healthy, but he wasn't having it and subsequently threatened to complain to teammates and bring down the dressing room atmosphere. As a result, I instantly demoted him to the U19 squad and transfer listed him.

My attempts to isolate him were unsuccessful, resulting in the influential player Stuart Bannigan warning me that Palmer was complaining about my treatment of him. When I spoke to Palmer about the issue, he was even more disrespectful than the first conversation, so I attempted a mutual termination to end the needlessly dramatic saga.

If anything, this further exacerbated the problem, with Palmer making it clear he would happily just turn up to take the paycheck every week rather than finding game-time elsewhere. As a result, Palmer will now spend the 2020/21 season with Valdelavilla B. Have fun in the Third Division you clown!

HeadCoachFM

5 years

Potential Save-Ending Bug

Before the season started, I outlined my goals for the upcoming season to the new squad, selecting the only available option to me which was to win the title of the Segunda División B2. Several players then voiced their displeasure with my lack of ambition, saying that we should be "aiming higher" than winning the title, whatever that means. I shrugged it off as some kind of minor glitch, but it seems it may be more serious.

12 games into the season and we're currently 2 points clear at the top with a vastly superior goal difference, yet the board is "disappointed that the team is currently only on course to win promotion from the Second Division B2 this season." As a result, my current grade is only at a C+ and given that everything is currently going as smoothly as it possibly could, one rough patch might cost me my job. I'm not sure what to do about this, as I can't use the editor to make myself un-sackable because I haven't bought the in-game editor this year. Any suggestions?

HeadCoachFM

5 years

2020/21 Segunda División B2 Mid-Season Review

We're currently 7 points clear at the top halfway through our second season after a very strong start. However, my board remains disappointed with our performance in the league as a result of the previously mentioned bug. If I finish 1st in the league I'll be placed in a playoff against the other group winners, and I think I'll probably be able to keep my job as long as everything else continues to go smoothly. If I'm promoted then hopefully this bug will just stop there so I can progress normally with the rest of the save. Only time will tell!

Standout Performers

Victor Campuzano

It appears I've finally signed a striker who can score goals! Spanish advanced forward Victor Campuzano has scored 11 goals in 16(1) league appearances so far this season, making him the third top scorer in the league at the moment. Amazingly, the current top scorer has a whopping 21 goals in 19 appearances. At that rate Campuzano doesn't really stand a chance for the Golden Boot but our team is working well together and I think we'll end up being promoted this season!

Efe Ambrose

Ambrose has remained a Valdelavilla stalwart at the back this season, holding it down with an average rating of 7.18 from 17 league starts. At 32 years old, Ambrose will likely only feature as a rotation option next year once we're promoted to the second division as his physical attributes will decline as he ages. This process has already started, so I'll begin scouting for a replacement ASAP.

Other News

The Return of James Perch

Former right back James Perch has re-signed for the club in a coaching capacity following his retirement, acting as the only current coach for Valdelavilla B as he works to get his coaching qualifications beyond his current National B license. I had trouble finding coaches for the B club but I think I may have more luck recruiting old players in the future like I did with Perch.

HeadCoachFM

5 years • Edited

2020/21 Segunda División B2 Review

We pretty much walked the title this year, finishing 20 points ahead of the runner-up with a tally of 89 points, a 37 point improvement on last season. We were then seeded for the 1st playoff round which we won, achieving promotion to the Second Division and putting us in the final to compete for champions title.

While we were able to win promotion, we failed to beat Almeria in the final and were not crowned champions of the Segunda División B. I was slightly disappointed, as we were the better team and were hit with quite a few injuries before the game, but my main goal was achieving promotion this season and we managed to do that, so I'm happy.

Standout Performers

Victor Campuzano

Campuzano continued his impressive scoring record in the latter half of the season, finishing with 21 goals in 31(1) league appearances. This wasn't quite enough for the Golden Boot, but his contributions were vital in our title run and he'll likely remain my main man up top next year.

Marcus Barnes

Originally signed as backup, Barnes formed a fantastic partnership with our top scorer, Victor Campuzano, scoring 13 goals and getting 7 assists in 21(1) as a supporting target man. I'll likely keep their partnership going into next season to see if they can achieve similar numbers as they did this year, though Barnes may struggle more than Campuzano with the step up.

Efe Ambrose

Ambrose remained a stalwart in our defense throughout the 2020/21 season despite his slight physical decline as a result of his age, making 31 appearances and maintaining an average rating of 7.32. I extended his contract so he'll provide cover for our center backs next year while I look to bring in a new partner for the much young O'Connor in the center.

Ben Foster

A product of last year's youth intake, Ben Foster managed to break into the first team and hold down a rotation role during the latter half of the season, making 10(7) appearances and amassing 5 goals and 6 assists while maintaining an average rating of 7.24. I think Foster might have the potential to become a La Liga player in the future, so I will likely continue to play him as often as possible to encourage his development.

Luke Garbutt

Garbutt started out the season pretty poorly, and after attempting to lower his squad role he confronted me, saying he would improve his performances to stake a claim for a starting spot. He then went on an incredible run of form, at one point having an average rating of over 8.0 across 5 games, making him one of the most consistent players in our team. He managed to get 6 assists in 25(5) appearances as my left wing back, finishing the season with an average rating of 7.14, a significant improvement on his average rating halfway through the year. If there were a "most-improved" award in this game, he'd be the one to win it!

Youth Intake

Ethan Beck

Our brightest youth prospect is 16 y/o Ethan Beck, one of many right wingers that came through in our youth intake. Beck has enormous potential, possibly even enough to become a future La Liga player. Only time will tell!

Departures

Will Keane

Keane was originally meant to be Campuzano's partner up front, boasting some really impressive attributes that I thought would compliment Campuzano perfectly. However, Keane never really showed much in training and struggled to score consistently, only finishing 5 times in 12(8) appearances. Despite this, I was able to sell him for £275k after picking him up on a free the previous summer, so he turned out to be a good piece of business after all.

Ashley Cole

Ashley Cole was doing well as our U19s manager and Valdelavilla B interim manager, but when contract negotiations began he was adamant about becoming a first team coach. He didn't quite have the coaching attributes I was looking for and wouldn't agree to keep his old job despite my increasing his wage offer so he ended up leaving the club at the end of his contract. He's now the U23 manager at Coventry.

HeadCoachFM

5 years

2021/22 Segunda División Preview

The Season Preview has us predicted to finish in 15th, though for some reason there are 3 teams missing from the table in the preview. With 22 teams in the league total, it's my goal to avoid the drop and attempt to finish in a respectable mid-table position before making a promotion push next year to finally reach La Liga.

Tactics

I've adopted a more counter-attacking style of play due to the significant increase in the quality of the opposition, sitting deeper on defense and attempting to catch them on the break with high intensity direct passing, aiming to get the ball to our forwards as quickly as possible to then shoot on sight. We'll forfeit a large percentage of possession with this style but I believe my defense is organized enough to weather the tiki-taka storm. I've kept the Campuzano-Barnes striker partnership alive after they provided a combined 34 goals last season, with Barnes using his strength and aerial ability to support the more advanced, technical Campuzano.

Notable Signings

Luke Amos

Our biggest signing of the window was former Tottenham prospect Luke Amos, a defensive midfielder who I believe will finally tighten up my midfield after struggling in this area the past 2 seasons. I managed to sign Amos on a free transfer and he's now worth over £500k, so it was a great deal all around.

Jerome Sinclair

I also managed to sign former Liverpool and Watford prospect Jerome Sinclair on a free to provide cover for my frontline after selling my backup strikers at the end of last season. I remember when Sinclair was still a hot prospect at Liverpool (my favorite club); I thought he was going to be a huge player for us after developing him time and time again in past FMs but it never quite worked out for him and he's now 24 years old playing backup in the Segunda División. Regardless, he should prove to be a good backup option as he fits my tactical style perfectly.

Tunji Akinola

Another free transfer, Tunji Akinola joined from West Ham United after being deemed surplus to requirements by manager Danny Cowley. Akinola will partner O'Connor in the center of the defense, with Efe Ambrose operating as first backup. Since joining Akinola has trained very well and has seen an increase in nearly all of his attributes, so I'm excited about his future.

TheLFCFan

5 years

After a tough first season with a disappointing second half, it is good to see you learnt the lesson of having a very old squad and since have looked to bring in a few younger players with not one 30+ year old in your notable signings for the first time! Foster seems to be doing well and hopefully Beck can do the same in the coming years. Good luck for the upcoming season.

HeadCoachFM

5 years

2019-12-30 10:33#264442 TheLFCFan : After a tough first season with a disappointing second half, it is good to see you learnt the lesson of having a very old squad and since have looked to bring in a few younger players with not one 30+ year old in your notable signings for the first time! Foster seems to be doing well and hopefully Beck can do the same in the coming years. Good luck for the upcoming season.

Yeah I definitely put too much trust in the veterans that first year but I figured having some old heads around to help the youngsters develop would be a good way to balance the dressing room. Now it's all about building for the future! Foster and Beck have continued to impress so hopefully I can hang onto them. Thanks for the support!

HeadCoachFM

5 years

2021/22 Segunda División Mid-Season Review

After a precarious start to the season, we managed to pull ourselves out of the relegation zone with an impressive turn of form, currently sitting in 17th halfway through the season. If we can ride this momentum for the rest of the season, I think we'll finish in a more respectable mid-table position.

The direct counter-attacking tactics I set up prior to the season didn't really work out, only managing 1 win from our first 13 matches. As a result, the fans publicly criticized my tactics, making me seriously consider whether the tiki-taka style was the superior playing style.

Spurred on by the fans' outcries, the board called me in for a meeting, giving me an ultimatum to gain 6 points from the following 5 matches in order to keep my job. To make matters worse, my entire starting 11 confronted me in the dressing room to "address the poor atmosphere around the club."

Amazingly, I managed to turn things around after that fateful Granada home loss, gaining 9 points from the 5 matches after the board meeting and continuing our strong run of form to reach the 3rd round of the Spanish Cup (the minimum board expectation) in the midst of a relatively heavy schedule. The dressing room atmosphere is soaring once again, and the board and fans are happy.

To reverse the damage done by the direct counter-attack tactic, I reverted back to our more positive, high-tempo long-ball style of play which gave us much success last season, despite the fact that we're considered one of the weaker sides in the league. This worked much better than I could've imagined and we've climbed out of the relegation zone as a result. I'll likely keep this tactic for the remainder of the season while I work out what went wrong with our backup tactics.

Standout Performer

Victor Campuzano

Campuzano saved my ass time and time again this year, scoring 10 goals and getting 4 assists in 21 starts, with an average rating of 7.22 (the only player on my team with over a 7.00). Surprisingly, no clubs have come calling for him yet but it's only a matter of time at this rate. Hopefully I can hang onto him by offering him a huge new deal during the January window.

Notable Signings

Luke Matheson

One of the weakest areas of my team this season has been in the right back position, rotating between 3 inadequate options with all failing to gain any kind of consistency. As a result, this was the first position I searched for prior to the transfer window opening up. I was delighted to see that Rochdale prospect Luke Matheson was transfer listed, as I remember his goal against Manchester United in the League Cup earlier this year. Without even scouting him I secured his signature for £400k and it seems he'll provide a long-term solution to this problem, potentially even growing into a La Liga-quality player.

Jordan Rossiter

Besides the right back spot, I've struggled to find a reliable box-to-box midfielder for much of this save, but I think Jordan Rossiter might be the answer to that problem. A former Liverpool prospect, Rossiter's got enough potential to help us get to La Liga and perhaps even play a role once we get there. He'll partner former Spurs prospect Luke Amos as my midfield duo, which I believe could finally solve my midfield woes. I managed to sign him for just £27.5k, so even if he flops it was still a fantastic deal.

Gary Madine

I signed the experienced Gary Madine to provide cover up top, operating as a supporting target man just like Marcus Barnes. Madine most recently played in the Championship for Cardiff, so he's certainly still got the quality to do a job for us.

Notable Departures

Luke Bolton

Former Manchester City prospect Luke Bolton was developing well with us, but due to our impressive depth on the right wing as a result of our youth intakes I decided to accept an offer from Cardiff for £775k (including add-ons). With young prospects Ethan Beck and Ben Foster possessing more potential than Bolton, it just made sense to sell him for profit when the offer came in and focus on developing the younger talents for the future.

Justice

5 years

That is quite the turnaround in results. Hopefully you can continue to improve the club and stabilise a position within the league, with a background thought of getting the team promoted again in the (hopefully near) future.

HeadCoachFM

5 years

2021/22 Segunda División Review

We managed to gain 26 points from the last 21 matches, finishing stronger than we started in a respectable mid-table position of 15th. We spent the majority of the season drifting between 15th and 18th, but never really looked like going down in terms of goal difference and quality of play. As such, we finished 8 points ahead of the relegation zone with a significantly better goal difference, giving us a solid platform to make a top-half push next season. Perhaps with the right recruits we could even push for promotion, though I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet.

Standout Performers

Victor Campuzano

Victor Campuzano went from strength to strength this season, finishing with 21 goals and 10 assists in 38(3) league appearances with an average rating of 7.31. I figured he would be able to handle the step up from the Segunda División B2 pretty well but I definitely didn't expect him to be the runner-up for the Golden Boot. I managed to extend his contract for another 4 years and secured a release clause of £8,000,000, so it seems he's here for the long haul.

Marcus Barnes

I wasn't sure Marcus Barnes would be able to handle the step up from the Segunda División B2 as well as Campuzano but given the great success of their striking partnership last season, I decided to give Barnes the chance to prove himself and he did just that! He finished the season with 13 goals and 4 assists in 38 league appearances, with an average rating of 7.08. He started off the season a little slower than Campuzano, as did most of the rest of my team, but he really stepped up for the latter half of the season and I decided to extend his contract with a squad player role. I'll be looking to bring in another target man to compete with Barnes next year but he'll definitely still have a spot in my team for several years to come.

Luke Amos

Luke Amos struggled for much of the first half of the season. I originally signed him to fill the ball-winning central midfielder role, but once I signed Jordan Rossiter I decided to switch Amos to a box-to-box midfielder and he finally started performing. I've achieved very little success with the ball-winning midfielder role since the beginning of the save, so I decided to switch Rossiter's role to a deep-lying defensive playmaker and it seems this partnership works much better. I'll be looking to strengthen my midfield in the summer but Luke Amos will continue to be my starting box-to-box midfielder next year.

Youth Intake

I had another promising youth intake this year, with 17 year-old goalkeeper Phil Robinson standing out as one of our best prospects. Robinson's already attracting interest from Huesca but I'll do everything in my power to hold onto him as he has the potential to be a La Liga player in the future. There were several other prospects who may have the potential to be Segunda División players in the future, so overall a solid youth intake. Looking forward to the next one!

Departures

Ben Foster

I was incredibly disappointed when Real Betis began to show interest in Ben Foster and I was unable to tempt him to sign a new contract with a bigger release clause, so he ended up leaving for just £925,000 in January, mere days after I sold my other right winger Luke Bolton to give Foster more playing time. Foster opted to leave to play in a better division, where he's made just 4 sub appearances. It's only a matter of time before we'll be in La Liga and show him what he's missing!

Ivan Buigues

Long-time goalkeeper Ivan Buigues similarly decided to join a bigger club, signing a pre-contract with Sassuolo back in January. Buigues has been my first-choice keeper since the start of this save, so it'll be sad to see him go. I signed a replacement keeper on a pre-contract shortly thereafter, so it's not the end of the world. Buigues finished the season with 12 clean sheets, conceding 61 goals in 42 appearances with an average rating of 6.83. Considering the relatively large step up from the Segunda División B2, these numbers are pretty solid. Good luck in Italy, Ivan!

Other News

New Contract

Pleased with my efforts this year, the board offered me a new contract immediately following the last game of the season. I obviously accepted, and I'll be earning £6.75k per week for the next 2 years, not bad!

Live and Learn

After Ben Foster slithered away to Real Betis, I immediately began locking down some of our most promising players to new contracts with larger release clauses. I managed to get 17 year-old winger Ethan Beck to sign a contract extension until 2025 with a release clause of £4,500,000. He stepped up to the task when Foster and Bolton left and he'll continue to be a main fixture in our squad for as long as possible, possessing the potential to be a La Liga player in the future. He's also a more natural winger than Foster, who now operates as a backup roaming playmaker in the center of Real Betis' midfield.

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