|
Prologue the First: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi The Middle of Nowhere May 4, 2040 (FADE IN on an OLD CRT TELEVISION)   : What if I told you that there was once a coach who started his career in ignominy. : What if I told you that he was given another chance by a small town club with ancient roots.  : What if I told you that he became the greatest football coach in the world. : What if I told you that they called him the “God King of Wales.”  : What if I told you that he walked away from his club to bring glory to his nation. : What if I told you there were challenges beyond even him. : What if I told you that on the day of his downfall, he vanished, and was never seen again. : This is 30 for 30: The Death of a God-King.(The OLD CRT TELEVISION clicks off. Camera pans back to reveal a dilapidated shack, covered in empty beer cans. A MAN sits with his back to the camera, slunk in a ratty old recliner)  : S'bullshit. All Gulati's fault.(The MAN tenses for a moment, and then sighs) : Ok, not all his fault. Mainly my fault.(The MAN covers his face and weeps, cut to REVERSE SHOT showing a SHADOWED FIGURE behind the MAN in the chair)  : It doesn't have to be this way, you know. : What?! Who's there?(The MAN struggles to his feet, we can see his STAINED AND TATTERED BATHROBE barely covering his aging body) : Everything can be made right, for a price.: Nothing can make this right. I would have to go back in time.: I can help you with that. Terms and conditions will apply, naturally.: … I'm not 100% sure about this.: Close enough for me!(The SHADOWED FIGURE grabs the MAN'S hand, SMASH CUT TO BLACK) A Back Alley in Boston June 26, 2017 (A WOMAN in a too large STAINED AND TATTERED BATHROBE pulls herself from a garbage dumpster. She looks around, and sees the SHADOWED FIGURE)  : What the hell was that?: Exactly what you wanted. A second chance.(the WOMAN looks down at herself, then back to the SHADOWED FIGURE, then back to herself) : And what the hell did you do to me?!: I did say terms and conditions would apply.(The WOMAN stares at the SHADOWED FIGURE and fumes, as his pocket begins to ring. The SHADOWED FIGURE holds up a hand to the WOMAN) : One minute, I need to take this. Hello, sir? : Hey, Lou. How's it going? I told you to come right back with my McDonald's order. What's taking you so long?(The SHADOWED FIGURE blanches, as much as a SHADOWED FIGURE can blanch) : Uh, right nearby sir. Just got caught up telling someone how great you are, sir. Be right there.(The SHADOWED FIGURE looks at the WOMAN, and makes a decision) : Look, you remember how you got your first job? Just start from the beginning again. Here's some clothes. I've gotta run. Have fun!(The SHADOWED FIGURE tosses a SUIT BAG at the WOMAN, and then vanishes in a puff of SULPHURUS SMOKE, leaving the woman CHAGRINED)  : Well. Crap.(The WOMAN looks around, and then steps into a secluded doorway, returning to view a short time later, now dressed)  : At least the clothes fit, kinda. Now where the hell am I?
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2018 20:02
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 8, 2024 01:40 |
|
|
Prologue the Second: Consulting with the Ancestors For those who are completely bewildered by that opening, this is a new Football Manager LP. Some of you may remember my FM14 LP, which never quite got finished because I couldn't even make it out of the group round of the 2030 World Cup as the Americans and that's no way to end what had previously been a legendary career. For those of you who didn't read the old one, you won't realize that I'm plagiarizing myself below: habeasdorkus in 2013 posted:What is Football Manager?  Who The Heck Are We?From time to time I will be asking y'all to make decisions, and the first one is a biggie. Who am I going to coach to glory? I have no real preference, outside of a league that's deep enough to require several promotions to reach the top level and on a continent that has highly regarded continental honors to seek. I also have a game loaded up with every league available and set to playable, if you'd like to inquire about anything, and if your suggestion is a club that isn't usually playable but can be added via workshop/mod, go ahead because I'm already going to be modding this game with facepacks and real competition names. So, make your cases for Knucklehead FC below, the clock begins now and runs until someone makes a recommendation I can't resist and/or Sunday, January 7 at 1pm EST. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Jan 15, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2018 20:05
|
|
|
Dreamsicle posted:If I'm reading this right, and you don't wan't to fully climb the pyramid like the last time, I will suggest Parma or AFC Wimbeldon. If I'm reading it wrong and you don't mind, then Sheffield FC in the 8th tier is my suggestion. They're the first FC ever. I am totally cool with working my way up from the very bottom, sorry about the confusion.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2018 22:46
|
|
|
The story behind FC United of Manchester is amazing, it's the fans who were pissed off at the sale of the club to American owners who decided to literally take their ball and go home. That's a strong choice, especially as they're already a fan trust so board elections will happen on the regular.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 5, 2018 03:17
|
|
|
If there's any sleeping giants out there in lower leagues, I'd certainly be interested in them. One awesome thing about Wrexham was their 19th century bonafides and how we eventually got to bring back the Pyramid. Right now I'm leaning towards either FC United or San Marino. The San Marino Challenge would certainly fit my playing style of recruiting teenagers for the first team. Second question for all y'all: What leagues should I have active so that I can give full reports at the end of each year? Also, I still have the FM14 save, if anyone wants to know what happened to Wrexham and the world after I went Luke Skywalker on them. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 14:04 on Jan 5, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Jan 5, 2018 14:01
|
|
|
Dreamsicle posted:I really like San Marino since we've been in England before San Marino has it. The only reason to go back to the UK is to see how much Brexit fucks with teams, and we'd still be minnows when that happens. Viscardus posted:On an unrelated note, I seem to remember there was a thing in the last thread where you'd give boons to readers that would let them choose one edit to make to the game world. Any chance you'll do that again, perhaps starting with the person who initially suggests the team you end up playing? No particular reason I'm asking, of course. You remember correctly. Request thy boon!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 5, 2018 22:15
|
|
|
Oh dear, they don't give you an automatic Continental Pro training badge anymore? I wouldn't hire myself in a million years with those stats!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 7, 2018 19:09
|
|
|
They completely changed scouting! How am I supposed to get basic reports from having my scouts watch game tape on every single one of the youth academy players across Italy?!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 12, 2018 14:36
|
|
|
Prologue the Third: Over the Rainbow June 26, 2017  Boston June 26, 2017 (THE COACH sits before a public terminal at the BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY, googling frantically) : (perplexedly) What the heck, the only result for Tackleford leads to a danged webcomic? I am definitely not in Kansas anymore.: (cleverly) Well, at least I can get a jump on signing ol' Meteor, he should still be at AIS.: (bemusedly) He doesn't exist either? Wait... What about Joaquin Morales? : (Disconcertedly) No? Huh. But this Lionel Messi hombre certainly seems to bear more than a passing resemblance, though.: (techily) Well, this is frustrating.(A SHADOWED FIGURE appears in a PUFF OF SMOKE behind THE COACH, causing a LIBRARIAN to shush them) : (tediously) I didn't say where you'd get a second chance, now did I? Also, it wouldn't be sporting for you to know where all of the best young players are, would it?: (grumpily) Fine, but how do you expect me to get a job like this? I don't even have a birth certificate.: (coyly) Oh, I have some favors I can call in.(The two vanish in a PUFF OF SMOKE, as a LIBRARIAN shushes them again)  The Offices of San Marino Calcio June 26, 2017 (A SHADOWED FIGURE and THE COACH appear in the office of IL PRESIDENTE, who jumps at the sudden PUFF OF SMOKE)  : (speaking Italianly) Madonna! What are you doing back here, stronzo?!: (imperiously) I told you, I scratch your back, you scratch mine. It's time to pay up. My demand is... that you make this woman your manager.: (confusedly) What? That's it? : That and give her the same rope you would any other manager, and remember that I'll know if you don't.: (interjectingly) Uh, could you all speak American? I really can't understand you?: (musingly) Huh, installing this random puttana will get me fired, but for the sake of my soul, how can I not?: (affrontedly) Hey! I know enough Spanish to know you just called me a bitch! gently caress you, buddy!: (smarmily) Oh, I mean no offense, principessa.: (devilishly) This will be so much fun to watch.(The SHADOWED FIGURE disappears, leaving behind THE COACH and yet another sulfurous PUFF OF SMOKE, somewhere in BOSTON a LIBRARIAN has the urge to shush yet again) : (sighingly) I hate it when he does that.: (agreeingly) Si.
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Jan 15, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 01:00
|
|
|
Yeah, San Marino Calcio are a pro team who play in the Italian leagues despite being from San Marino. All hail the Titani!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 02:26
|
|
|
I'm using a different mod than the straight Serie D only one. I saw the glitch and decided to steer away from it.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 14:33
|
|
|
Chapter the First: Friendly Faces Everywhere June 26, 2017  First things first, let's see what I have to work with. The Club  For a nation that prides itself on being the oldest republic in the world, their Italian league club didn't get started until surprisingly late. It wasn't until 1960 that the forerunner of the Titani was founded, and it remains the only professional club in San Marino.  The short history means that I won't have to do much to become a massive success.  Ugh, let me take back that professional comment. We're semi-pro. This is going to make things harder. Until I can convince the powers that be to take us up to a full time operation we're going to have limited training time and ability to hire. It means that players will take longer to get into playing shape, since instead of training at the club full time they might have a side gig. My left winger could also end up being my Uber driver.  Of course, I'm not exactly a catch right now myself. With no coaching badges and only playing in amateur games, FM18 has seriously nerfed my talents. I put basically everything into Man Management just to maintain a handle on the clubhouse.  Not shabby. We get to use the national team stadium, which isn't all that large but remains in pretty good condition. The local authorities re-lay the pitch without me even needing to ask, bringing it from “poor” to “very good.” I don't especially love the playing surface, though. Some types of synthetic turf can cause additional injury risk as compared to a well maintained grass field.  We're probably going to end up in the red this season, but not by so much that the lump sum payments will cause us any long term concern. €30,000 is also a lot of scratch in the transfer kitty for this level.  I'm glad to see that the club has an affiliation with Cessena, so that I can raid their youth squads for players who are as good or better than ours. The Santarcangelo affiliation is decidedly less interesting, as I'm hoping that we're in Serie C within the next year or two. I immediately axed all our affiliations with amateur clubs in San Marino before taking the screenshot, they're not worth having to play a friendly with every year.  The mod I'm using to make Serie D playabe doesn't appear to have the age requirements that Viscardus mentioned, where I'd need to have a bunch of teens on the pitch at all times. This may or may not make things harder, since I tend to run a lot of youngsters out anyways as I'm a perfect example of prospect-lust that leads to ignoring significantly better players because they're too old at the age of 25. The Back Office Board of Directors  As always, Directorships are available on a first come, first serve basis. The Prez and Managing Director are going to stay as is for now, since the team is privately owned. Until and unless the team is owned by a fan trust, they call the shots. Coaching Staff  First up on my wish list is a better Assistant Manager. Nothing against you, Chris, but I need my right hand to have better scouting chops than you possess.  Telling the players “keep the ball out of the net!” over and over again isn't really the best way to teach them, Donini.  Huh, you're not that bad at your job. A terrible motivator, but otherwise pretty decent for our club status. I'm going to be replacing you and Donini next summer, though, when your contracts run out. Scouting Staff  Well, at least a director of football doesn't do much given how I micromanage transfer policy. Still, those are some awful scouting numbers.  Ugh, and the Head Scout is just as bad. At least there's two open scout positions for me to fill that will allow me to get people with double digit ability and potential ratings. Trainer's Office  Oh, hey, you're competent! You can actually tell the difference between a sprained ankle and a broken one!  You, I'm not so sure about. Senior Squad Goalkeepers  Alioune Fall is the only non-EU player at the club, and one of only a couple who aren't either Sammarinese or Italian. He's got a couple serious faults, specifically his positioning, but for a 19 year old he'd make an adequate backup. Unfortunately he's our starter.  One of the loaners at the club when I arrived, Donini is nowhere near ready for prime time. He's got virtually no command of the penalty area, can't communicate outside of wolf-howls with the rest of the team, and can be beat by a toddler in a one vs one situation. If Fall goes down, we're going to leak goals. Defenders  Di Maio is getting up there in years, but he's a leader in the clubhouse and his physical stats haven't fallen off too badly. He's also 6'3”, so he's going to be able to win a lot of dangerous headers, and he could even be an offensive asset when we get corner kicks.  Di Maio's centerback pairing is another aging player, who is already starting to see his physical stats decline further. He's going to make mistakes, too, with a Concentration 9 and Vision of 7 leading to him getting caught flat footed by attacking players.  Emanuele here is so unknown that after downloading 230,000 pictures of players and coaches, he still doesn't get a portrait. He should be in the U20 squad, but instead he's the only person on the entire club who can play at fullback. Midfielders  Those are some pitiful technical skills. At least he's fast. He's going to end up getting free on counters before running downfield and tripping over his own feet when the opposing fullback gets within 10 yards of him.  Davide “James” Candolfini is a worse version of Bugaro, but at least he's only 19 and can cross the ball worth a drat.  Our first good, young senior team player! Conti at 19 is going to be molded into a box to box midfielder, running around the pitch to break up opposition moves and making passes to set up our attacks. The staff seems to think he's got potential Serie B potential, though I don't especially trust their opinions.  I'm not going to spend much time on Gadda except to say that our midfield is in trouble if he gets a lot of playing time. Worse, he's already 24 so it's unlikely he'll even improve.  This dude played in Serie A way back in 2007 for Messina, he's Made It, if only for 16 games. He's very much so getting up there in age, and will probably fall off a cliff within the next 12 months physically, but right now he's one of the best players in Serie D. He's also the team captain, and I'll be relying on him to crush attacks as they get started in the midfield.  Pestrin's backup is decent for our level, but lacking in the technical skills that would make him anything more than a supporting cast member.  Out on the right wing we find our best player, who could definitely still get a roster spot in Serie B, even if it meant he only played a scant few minutes every month. I'm concerned that our two best players and centerback pairing are nearly ready for the glue factory, though. Worse, I'm going to have to have Ceccarelli play out of position to start the pre-season as he's the only person with any familiarity at right back. He's also played in Serie A, for two seasons and 58 matches with Cesena from 2010 through 2012.  Like Gadda, if Errico gets a lot of time we're going to be in trouble.  Nice, a mid-20s player who isn't complete garbage. Nappello will play in Ceccarelli's usual spot until we have a right back, which should hopefully be within a couple weeks, but if Cecc's physical stats go into a nose dive it's nice to know we have a decent replacement in the wings. Attackers  It figures that our best attacking player has no position to play in the tactics I'm going to be instituting. Zuppardo is going to end up sitting on the bench more than he deserves simply because we're not playing with attacking midfielders.  Finishing 12/Composure 13 is very good for a lower league striker, too bad that he's never going to get open because he's atrocious at moving off the ball.  Ornaldo Zequiri somehow found his way from Albania to San Marino, and at first glance he probably should have stayed closer to home because I don't see a lot of space for him to get playing time. Like Zuppardo, he plays a position we won't be using and while he can fake being a striker he's not going to have much success unless he really improves.  Lastly, we have Tommy Guidi, who's pretty quick and that's about it. Reserve Squads Under 20s Squad  Not much to see in the U-20 squad, only Ghiotti stands a chance of seeing time with the senior team outside of emergency situations. Under 18s Squad  Woah, we've got some legitimate talents on the Under 18 squad! I see at least 7 players who have the potential to stick with us for a few years, and four of these kids could last until Serie B or even to the top flight.  Minelli is the obvious stud of the bunch, a 16 year old with those types of mental stats are hard to come by, and 14 finishing with 11 composure makes him the best striker on the team. He's got work to do, obviously, but he's exactly the sort of player I look for in a LLM game, good enough from a young age to put in work on the senior team and so young that he'll hopefully improve and stay with the club for years even as we advance through the ranks.  No one other than Minelli looks to be ready to step into the first team, but Mazzel is also pretty well developed mentally for a kid. His personality concerns me, I'll have to make sure to keep him away from the video games and working hard on the practice field.  Get back to me when you get your Drippling, Anticipation, Flair, and Off the Ball skills up, kid.  We are extremely short on fullbacks in the senior squad, right now we don't have a single person who can play right back well, so Vannucci is going to see some time with the senior squad until I can remedy that. : Hey, take down a to-do list for me. 1) Find a right back. 2) Find a left back. 3) Find a Center Back. 4) Find a Goalkeeper. 5) Convince the bosses to take us pro. : Si, Signora!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 18:50
|
|
|
Viscardus posted:I didn't really expect that to work, but sure! As a Canadian, I'm tired of my country's national team embarrasssing itself by losing to Central American and Caribbean minnows (even if our good friends the Americans decided to join us this year). I don't remember exactly what goes into talent generation into this game, so I'll just ask that you do whatever you think appropriate to increase Canada's chances of qualifying for a World Cup down the road. Canada now generates slightly better players than the United States. Of course, the US generates a lot more players, so there's more chance to get good ones, but by 2030 Canada should be pushing to make the World Cup.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 19:00
|
|
|
Viscardus posted:
Yes.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 19:54
|
|
|
beru04 posted:And will you be showing off the Dynamics in a future update? Also yes.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 19:59
|
|
|
Captain Foo posted:hi do I need to know anything at all about soccer to be a director It's even better if you don't! It's an honorary position, mainly. Also, you might see yourself refuse one of my requests.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 20:12
|
|
|
Director spots are taken! : Hey, some of you look familiar...
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 20:20
|
|
|
Chapter the Second: Making Herstory June 26, 2017-July 9, 2017 And now I get to actually play Football Manager! Time to check my email inbox!  : Sup, y'all.     He seems nice.   And he gave me this sweet bullet list of strengths and weaknesses!  : Why yes, I will be micromanaging everything.: Si, signora! But you must come to your press conference right away! : I think we both know what is at stake in our relationship and the status of the club.  : I said, won't it be difficult to manage the side until you learn the language.: Oh. Well, how hard could it really be, right? I'm sure everything will be just fine.  : Just look at my own country, our men's team is at best mediocre and our women's team is the best in the history of the world and yet it's the men who get way more money and better training facilities thrown at them. This, despite not even creating as much revenue as the woman's team!  : Oh really.: I mean, it certainly won't make things easier, but I have confidence in myself regardless of what others think about me. : Trust me when I say I know what I'm doing. : What about reports that you've asked the assistant manager to accept mutual termination? : I meant to say “almost everyone will have a chance to prove that they are worthy of being here.” : Have you looked at the squad? I don't have any fullbacks! : Well, almost anything. I don't need to hear their war stories from down at the osteria. The prior manager did not do a very good job finding players who can break into our first team. Bardeggia interests me for a moment seeing as he's from Internazionale's youth system, but a quick look at his stats shows him to be pretty terrible.  That's not a bad salary for a gal with zero experience, and puts me in the top half of the division's earners. Good job at fighting the wage gap, San Marino!  Wait, what's this about scouting packages?  Uh oh. Things have changed from the old days, where I could just order my scouts to dig up tape on pretty much any player out there and give me several scouting reports a day. Now I'm going to have to put out money for scouting packages just to get basic information about who's playing.  The scouting budget is for taking trips outside of the allowed area (currently just Italy) to scout players. I bump it up, because I'm going to want to be able to send my staff to Croatia and Holland to find diamonds in the rough.  Meanwhile, instead of just telling me what their stats are and how good they expect the players to be, the scouts give me a numerical rating. If I want to actually get a good scouting report, I'm going to have to wait for our scout to watch the player over the course of weeks... and since our scouts are pretty terrible I'm going to want to not sign players based upon their gut impression.  For example, my Director of Football is saying this fella here is an excellent signing, but since he only has 10% knowledge, he can't even tell me how fast the guy is. This is going to make finding cheap, good players a lot harder.  On the plus side, players or their agents will now approach us looking for jobs, and I can have them scouted to see if they're worth signing.  Our current pre-season has two matches against our parent clubs, as well as a visit from top tier Spanish club Getafe. I cancel all but the matches against our affiliates as I want to make more money from the pre-season.   We're going to get clobbered by Napoli and Internazionale, the former is a Champions League club and the latter finished 7th last year in Serie A, but we'll also make €15,000 profit from each. That will matter as a small club. Meanwhile Pakostane and fellow Croatian minnow Skabrnja each offer us €16,000 to cross the Adriatic to play them, so that's another decent chunk of change we'll make.  Welcome to the club!  You're a significant improvement in the ways that matter to me over Jidanyi!  He's so good with the kids!  I'm also looking to hire two scouts, but my first approach goes awry.   It's really not great that the best I can do for scouting is a guy who's a 10/10 Judging Ability and Judging potential.  You're probably not wrong here, Visani.  But I'm going to wait a few months before re-upping any contracts.  Especially for kids who are still over a year away from being free agents.  : (bellowingly) WHERE'S MY LIST OF TRANSFER TARGETS!: (put-uponedly) Coming, Signora! I'm very tempted to go for promotion out of the gate, the media has us listed at 4th in the league even before I work my magic. But I can't justify it until I know what the team is going to look like. We aren't winning anything without fullbacks, I can tell you that.   Squad dynamics is a brand new thing in this iteration of the game. I'll be exploring it in much more depth, but suffice to say that it's important. : Signora, it is time for your meeting with the team!San Marino Calcio Clubhouse July 3, 2017 : (reading from a sheet of paper-ly) Grazie, sono il tuo nuovo allenatore. Spero che, insieme, possiamo portare grandezza e gloria a questo club. So che con i tuoi corpi e la mia mente, realizzeremo prodezze per innalzare il cielo. : (queryingly) Wait, did you just read from something you used google translate on?: (indignantly) Of course not! Now, bear with me as my Italian is, how do you say, merda.    That's a solid result for my first team speech, in a foreign language nonetheless, but clearly Pestrin wants to finish his career by winning promotion. He's our captain, but somehow the other players paid zero attention to his complaints.  Oh, that would do it. How does a guy get made team captain when he's completely aloof from the squad? In this picture, yellow indicates “team leaders,” grey for highly influential players, red indicates influential, and blue is everyone else.  Clearly they know I'm special, if they're televising my first match ever. Or there's nothing else on TV, Napoli is a big club, and they want to show us getting our faces melted.  Hmm, Let me see if we can set up some tutoring. Ceccarelli and Pestrin both have excellent mental stats. Let's start with the Captain.    : (moodily) What we have here is a failure to communicate...: (tenatively) Si, Signora?: (irritatedly) Also, why are we paying this grouch €72,000 a year?! That's like 15% of our total wage bill!: (nervously) Uh, Luca Ceccarelli is waiting outside, Signora.    : Now that's how a team leader should act! My very first signing. Of a kid who was on our youth team, who's getting a whole €25 per week. Not the most exciting start.  I should hire a Head of Youth Development, but these guys are losers. Getting Rossi a new badge, though, would be helpful.  Aww, c'mon. It's preaseason! When else would be a better time for training?  They're going to maul us. I feel like the FCS teams that have to face Alabama so that the Red Tide never have to face good competition outside of their own conference.  They're going to maul us in part because we are completely out to lunch when it comes to understanding ANYTHING about the 4-4-2 formation. Which is kinda hard to believe, considering how basic the 4-4-2 is.   At least I have a chance to meet with the players the day before to emphasize our defensive posture, and to set up a contingency plan if we're getting hided.   Nice new match engine. It's definitely closing in on PS2 quality these days.  CAN THEY?  Yeah, pretty easily. They scored twice in the first 10 minutes off of corners, which reminds me that I need to set up something more effective than “everybody go back and try to defend.” We looked dangerous for all of five minutes during the game, but that's to be expected.  Too bad I botched the end of the match teamtalk. I need to remember that for all of his talents, Apuzzo is dreadful at man management.  Cinque took a knock during the second half, and the game now actually tells you how and where the player was hurt! So much better than having to guess whether it's serious enough that you need to pull them ASAP to avoid further injury or it's something they'll be able to play through. That's all for this installment. Next time, we finish the pre-season, actually sign some fullbacks, and get ready to make our mark! Oh, and one last thing...  HAHAHA. GET BENT, QATAR.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2018 23:14
|
|
|
Chapter the Third: Filling Up on Fullbacks July 9, 2017-August 19, 2017 I've been in charge for two weeks, and I still don't have anyone who can play right fullback!  Sure, let's train that dude to use both feet. Speaking of, what's our training look like.  As per usual, the first part of preseason is focused on learning our tactics, and getting into shape.  I'm sure they'll learn just fine with my highly skilled coaching and not being able to speak Italian.  Hey, let me see that Molon guy's CV.  Niiiiiice. So long as I don't expect him to teach the kids anything.  Ok, fine. I won't send one of our starting 11 out there to aggravate their injury for a friendly.  Are y'all even paying attention to these briefings?  Funny story, the game crashed on me while playing against Santarcangelo the first time, so I had to replay this and the Inter Milan friendlies. The results were the same, but we allowed two goals to Pakostane in the original matchup from set pieces, which led to me finally drawing something up. The second time around 16 year old wonderboy Federico Minelli notched a hat trick in 15 minutes, and we cruised to victory.  Man marking tall players with tall players? Placing our defensive midfielder to zonally mark the 6 yard box? What wizardry is this?  New since the last time I played FM is the ability to shout encouragement and general instructions to your players. Back in FM14 shouts only affected team strategy, rather than individual instructions. Those team strategy changes can still be made on the fly, and now I can tell my lazy centerback to pay attention to the game, too.  I am so awesome that two friendlies into my career the players are ready to walk through walls for me.   More money for being sacrificial victims! The first time this friendly was played we lost only 2-0, which I was very proud of.  The mod that allows us to play in Serie D isn't that great. For one thing it has the rules of the division all wrong when it comes to squad selection requirements and substitutes allowed, and for another they have our stadium listed as having 5,500 seats instead of the real life 6,664. I fixed the latter problem, but unfortunately can't fix the former.  That got better in a hurry!  We still don't have a right back. I'm sure that won't make that much of a difference against Inter.  Welcome aboard, Giorgio. Make yourself at home, you silver fox.  I'm sick and tired of waiting for my scouts to give me some idea of how good a player is. Come on trial and let me see how good you really are.  Even the peanut gallery agrees with me.  In past iterations of Football Manager, Trial Day was a great way to find a couple of decent signings. Now I'm pretty sure that it'll take my scouts a decade to actually learn anything about the players. This time around I watch the match along with the Chief Scout, and he doesn't have a single recommended signing afterwards.  We got hammered in this game, but can count ourselves a little unlucky to have lost by 6. 4-1 would have been a more realistic scoreline. Thank goodness we don't play any more Serie A teams, these types of losses aren't great for morale.  In some ways we're really lucky that the game crashed, as the first time we played Inter we lost Pestrin for 3-4 months with a broken rib. I'll take Ceccarelli needing a few days off due to a bruised foot any day.  My first signing!  Caldore is a perfectly acceptable lower league fullback, with decent physical stats, the ability to put in an OK cross, cromulent marking and tackling scores, and ok decision-making and positioning skills. He usually plays left fullback, but since he can also fill in on the right side he's going to play out of position until someone digs up a real right back for me.  We could have gotten a result from this match, but Minelli had a bad day at the office. I'm pleased with the performance, we played a higher division team and hung in against them. Too bad we only got 142 paying customers to show up. That's another reason to rid ourselves of the Santarcangelo link.  What's this? You're contractually obligated to play us!  That's right, you better accept our suggested rescheduling!  The lads might actually know what position they're supposed to be playing by the time the season starts.  So much for getting above our station, we played worse against Serie B Cesena than we did Inter.  My scouts are still coming up dry, and finding nothing useful in the Cesena reserves, so I take their top suggestions...  Invite them to the club...  And let Mario figure out if any of them are worth keeping.  I'd put a tenner on us at those odds, especially since it doesn't account for our upcoming signings.  Yay, now we have three senior team centerbacks.  14 Marking! 14 Positioning! 14 Decisions! He's pretty slow, and he's really short for a central defender, but those are some excellent stats for a Serie D player. Mattia pushes Fantini to the bench, and will pair with Di Maio as my first choice.  I know, I know, but I'm only allowed to have 4 senior team coaches, and one of them is me!  Trust me, when I'm able to step back from personally coaching, I will in a heartbeat.  Especially since the President won't let me improve my skills.     I put out feelers for a couple more players, but apparently I'm not the only one who wants to bring them in.  Cinque and Minelli were on fire during this friendly, with Minelli providing the assists on both of Cinque's goals. We've now reached the end of our preseason matches, and we're looking... fine.   We're not looking match fit, though, despite my allowing the first team to play in reserve matches as well as our six senior team friendlies. It's going to be hard to keep everyone in shape over the course of the season.  Pestrin is still a brat, but he's gelled with the squad and he hasn't been a thorn in my side beyond the initial meeting and refusing to tutor a younger player, so he gets to keep his captaincy. I do swap in Luca Ceccarelli as vice captain instead of Di Maio, largely because Ceccarelli has better leadership stats.  Win me promotion and I shall shower you with enough money to buy a Kia. That you'd have to share.   Alioune Fall is officially returned to being a backup, and the fans are pleased with the signing of Micale.   Di Dio also gets a contract, and we officially have actual fullbacks. Just in time for the season to start.  Porto doesn't make the cut, he'd have been our fourth or fifth centerback, and I'd rather use that spot for a younger, higher ceiling bambini.  I'm sure Pestrin will be willing to tutor Ghiotti, now that he's used to me being the boss.    Manoloooo!   Apuzzo also mentioned that young Davide Candolfini had been slacking in practice, and boy was he ever. A teenager should never see this type of broad based decline in ability.  : (Disappointedly) You better do just that. Meanwhile, this is what our kids should look like, getting first team time has improved him across the board.   More fullbacks! They've gone from a major team weakness to one of our strengths.  There, now anyone who wanted to sign him away from us will have to negotiate a transfer fee.  : (miffedly) What the heck is Football Manager?: (knowledgably) A video game, Signora.: (archly) And people think it can make you into a real manager? Oi. What a weird world. Now we can change up our match training to something that matches our gameday needs.  The club could use some more highly influential players, especially seeing as we lean so heavily on older players for inspiration.  How can Mattia dislike me? He's only been with the club for a week.  This is also puzzling, since you'd think “strong sense of unity between the players” and “lack of cohesion among the players” would be mutually exclusive. My guess is that our cohesion will improve throughout the season as everyone gets familiar with each other.  Speaking of familiarity, it's going to take a bit for our new signings to fit in with the club. But Manolo has friends now!  Still, I should probably switch us from a fitness focus to gelling our team on the pitch.   As the season's kickoff draws nigh, the Titani look very strong. Minelli already rates as a solid striker, while Cinque matches him and Zuppardo provides cover. Our starting midfield is excellent, with Pestrin and Ceccarelli rating among the best players in the entire league and Conti showing plenty of potential. And our defense, which was barren when I was signed on, now sports quality across the entire back line.  We're ready for the season, excepting our woeful lack of match fitness. Thankfully we don't have to worry about fixture congestion with a single game a week scheduled. Our first match is at home in the shadow of Mount Titano taking on Via Pesaro, the oddsmakers favorites to win the league and promotion. Lets show those bookies how wrong they are. 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2018 02:34
|
|
|
Viscardus posted:It also doesn't include the Coppa Italia Serie D, apparently (unless it has a different schedule for it?), so I guess we're only going to have one competition to worry about. Yeah, I don't see the Coppa Italia, which is unfortunate. I should have playtested more before starting. I used the modeling software that comes with the game on a picture of Headey as Cersei to get that model. I kind of love it. It's so, so Football Manager.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2018 04:38
|
|
|
Viscardus posted:For what it's worth, it's not the most interesting competition, since it's just Serie D teams. Considering we'll hopefully only spend one or two seasons in Serie D it shouldn't matter too much. It'll help us keep the first team on the pitch, and we seem to be really strong for the league (the media bumped us from 4th to 2nd right before the season started, probably because we now have a back four). But I'm in this game to win trophies, dangit!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2018 13:22
|
|
|
Prediction Contest! As was tradition in the old LP, I will be asking the readers to make predictions on a certain topic. For the 2017/2018 season I ask... how many goals will wonderkid Federico Minelli score in Serie D this season?  We play 34 Serie D matches in total, home and away against the 17 other clubs in the division. The tiebreaker will be, how many points will we earn in Serie D this season? We get 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss, across 34 games. If you're guessing that we earn more than 102 points, you're not being optimistic, you're being innumerate. The prize? A boon of your asking. Want to make West Nothingshire FC a worldbeater with a billion dollar warchest? Done. Want to turn Arsenal into a steaming pile of rubble? Already done ingame, but you can make it worse. Want to see a little version of yourself at Barcelona winning trophies alongside Messi and with a vehement hatred of Neymar? Can do. I reserve the right to modify boons, but I'll generally try to get as close to it as I can. Entries are open until I post Chapter the Fifth, which will be the October-November update. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Jan 16, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2018 22:46
|
|
|
Chapter the Fourth: Tweetstorms August 19, 2017-October 1, 2017 Actual competitive games! Against opponents that should be about as good as we are! Lets get this show on the road, friendos. But first. Tactical Overview We've trained on three specific styles of play, which the team has gotten increasingly comfortable with through our preseason. 4-4-2 Control  The 4-4-2 is the Toyota Corolla of formations. It's simple, it works, and it's looked down upon primarily because it's boring and functional and doesn't use fancy things like wingbacks or trequartistas. It can be used against every type of opponent, and the strength comes from its inherent flexibility. Need to play a quick hitting counterattack game against a slightly superior opponent? Have your wide midfielders get forward on the wing to send in crosses to your strike pair. Need to batten down the hatches against a much better foe? You can drop 8 men into your penalty area and muck things up real nice. Facing a weaker side? Get your wingers forward constantly, and have your fullbacks advance up the field with overlapping or underlapping runs that carve apart the defense so your strikers can find their way into dangerous areas. Our control formation follows the last of these, and includes playing further up the pitch, chasing opposing players when they get the ball, looking for underlapping runs into open space before the enemy penalty box, and not diving into tackles so that if our efforts at winning possession high up the pitch fails we can still recover and get back down the field to defend. Pestrin and Conti play big roles here, Pestrin breaking up attacks before they can get started, and Conti being responsible for pinging the ball out to the wings or forward to the primary striker Minelli or the deep lying forward Cinque. 4-4-2 Counter  The Counter formation looks very similar in form, but player assignments are changed up. Here, we're playing wider and still trying to get the ball forward into space, but because our defensive line is playing further back we need to use longer passes to get the ball into a good spot for when we win the ball back, catch the other team with too many players forward, and have Minelli and Cinque ready to split the defenders and try to get one on one with the opposing goalkeeper. 4-4-1-1 Defensive  The 4-4-1-1 is for when we're up against it. The main difference is that instead of having a striker merely play a little further back in a deep lying forward role, we use an out and out attacking midfielder to link up whatever attacks we're able to create with the lone striker up top. As a whole we hunker down, absorb pressure, and try to win some points by frustrating the everloving dickens out of our foes on the way to a one-nil upset.  I have no idea what to expect from our first league match. We played about how you'd expect in the preseason, crushing two Croatian minnows while getting a boot in the face from Serie A and Serie B teams. The Titani might entirely live up to their name, or could turn out to be a stunted farce that I have to pull out of an early tailspin.  I've been to weddings with more attendees...  For some reason the U20 and U18 coaches hadn't been scheduling friendlies of their own, so our players haven't worked their way into playing shape. That's also a function of being a semi-pro team, when your day job is sitting at a desk all day crafting #BarillaPastaMemes you're not going to stay in shape the way you would spending all your time at the training field.  The semi-pro nature of the club also means less time for the players to see each other and get comfortable playing together. vs Vis Pesaro, August 19, 2017 Serie D, Group F  Vis Pesaro are tabbed for promotion by whatever degenerates set betting lines on semi-professional soccer matches. If we can win against them we not only get our season off on the right foot, but deal our rivals an early blow. Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Counter Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Di Maio, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Cinque, Minelli Subs: Fall, Vannucci, Fantini, Bisoli, Bugaro, Nappello, Zuppardo Well, I was worrying for no reason. I had to play this match twice as apparently there's a bug that crashes to desktop when you try to upload highlights. So you guys don't get to see Minelli's two goals and Cinque's finisher from our three-nil victory. You also don't get to see the replay, where this time Cinque scored two goals to Minelli's one, and then we almost collapsed at the end when Vis Pesaro scored twice.     If we'd lost this game with that shot map, I would have been very, very disappointed. San Marino 3-2 Vis Pesaro   Signora Maggio and Signore Filipazzo both make true statements. Signore Cavaliere can stuff it.   Oh, it's already starting. Young players flock to me like I'm the dang pied piper. Except I'm not a murderous monster from Grimms Fairytales, just a monster that will use their friendship to ensure they're underpaid for as long as possible on unfair contracts.  : (expansively) I want you to look at me as a father figure, Federico. : (non-plussedly) Uh...: (rear end-coveringly) I meant, as a parental figure. I'm still figuring out the language, yes?  That's unforunate. I send him to our club physician. Team doctor is a new position I have no control over, nor can I see what their stats are, but he appears to be more competent than our physiotherapists.  He'll be fine for next game.   Oh, right, I put a loan offer out for this kid last month. He has sweet glasses, boatloads of pace, and gives us another right back so we're not caught out if Alessandro Di Dio gets hurt or turns out to be a very poor signing.    Now that he's signed to a professional contract hopefully he drops out of school and spends more time training. I'm not very happy with his lack of improvement thus far.  None of these kids are first teamers, but Vannucci is getting time with the senior squad so we'll be missing him on the bench.  Di Maio will be fiiiine. at Agnonese, August 26, 2017 Serie D, Group F  Agnonese are plumped for relegation. If our first match versus Vis Pesaro was any indication of our true talent, we should give them a stropping. Vannucci is getting his debut at left fullback as I want to tire him out before the idiots running the national team get him killed playing a meaningless match against England or something. Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Vanzetta, Mattia, Di Maio, Vannucci, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Cinque, Minelli Subs: Fall, Di Dio, Fantini, Bisoli, Bugaro, Nappello, Zuppardo Federico Minelli scores a beaut of a volley from a great Vanzetta cross in the fifth minute, and it's all Titani, all day. Ceccarellli makes it two-nil before the half, and Minelli nets his second in the 51st minute. There are some clouds in the sky, though, Lorenzo Cinque has to come off with a groin injury in the 62nd minute.     Only two of the Agnonese shots came from dangerous positions, while we could easily have scored more than three. And Minelli isn't just scoring, he's accurate, with five of his six attempts from open play on target. Agnonese 0-3 San Marino  Davide Bisoli is 20 years old and our current heir apparent to Manolo Pestrin in the midfield. He's still got a long, long way to go before he can really take that job over, but his Work Rate of 15 will allow him to make the most of his talents.  Signore Costagliola apparently hates joy.  Crud. That leaves us with Zuppardo as our second striker, and he's much more suited to play out wide.   Signora Barbagallo is a fatalist, apparently.  I realize that we're located in a microstate of 33,000 people, but really? That's it?  Oh geez, how will we ever handle not being able to sign players who currently have a job. (Free agents can still be signed and play for us).  (Like this dude).  I was startled by the tiny numbers here, but FM has all the correct transfers already pre-loaded into the game, so Neymar is in Paris and Romelu Lukaku is in Manchester. Also, I totally thought that was Romelu Lukaku for a moment, and not his brother.  The march of time halts for no man.  Pestrin, for example, is watching his already mediocre physical stats plummet. This is likely his last year if we win promotion.   Our kids are on the other end of the aging curve, and I especially like Ceccoli's mental improvement. vs Vastese, September 2, 2017 Serie D, Group F  Vastese are expected to be a lower half of the table club, and we're at home. I feel pretty good about this one after our first two matches. Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Vanzetta, Mattia, Di Maio, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Zuppardo, Minelli Subs: Fall, Di Dio, Fantini, Bisoli, Bugaro, Nappello, Zeqiri Federico Minelli is a flippin marvel. He scores ten minutes before and after the half, and we never look like losing. He's not perfect, though. When we get a late penalty shout, Minelli can't put it on target to complete his first professional hat-trick.     That shot map tells it all. Vastese didn't get a single shot off from a dangerous spot, while we had six or seven. San Marino 2-0 Vastese   I expected Minelli to be really good from the jump, but I didn't expect five goals in three games and a 75% shot on target rate. Now I'm concerned that he'll get full of himself and start slacking off, hurting his development, or that the league won't challenge him enough and that will hurt his development.  : (deafeningly) I AM NEVER GOING TO LOSE. ALSO, BITE ME, SIGNORE SEGATTA. The Czech's are not exactly known as a footballing power. And while this was happening the Sammarinese Under 18s were losing to Gibraltar. They still probably have a better shot than the US of winning a World Cup someday.  You better be happy with how I'm managing.  We are going to be so broke at the end of the year.   Now we get to do this all over again at the start of November. If Minelli were Sammarinese we'd be in serious trouble.  See? He's been totally fiiiiiine. at Matelica, September 9, 2017 Serie D, Group F  Matelica are sitting in fourth right now and are favorites. For the first time I'm going to break out our counter tactic, and try to surprise the home crowd. Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Counter Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Di Maio, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Zuppardo, Minelli Subs: Fall, Vanzetta, Fantini, Bisoli, Bugaro, Nappello, Zeqiri The match is hard fought all day long, and throughout the whole thing Gianluca Micale looks bored. That's not good when he's being called on to make saves, but our defense holds throughout the match and we largely hold Matellica to long range, low probability shots. Seconds before the first half whistle blows Ceccarelli sends in an excellent cross that finds the waiting head of Zuppardo, who puts his effort on goal only to be deflected by the keeper. The rebound falls right to Minellis waiting feet, and we have the only goal of the game.     You can probably figure out that I told the players to shoot on sight at one point in the match, from all of those shots taken way out somewhere in the orbit of Jupiter. Matelica 0-1 San Marino  Yeah, I think I got overenthused about our hot start, we're not so good that we're going to blow everyone off the pitch.  This version of Football Manager has definitely stepped up the number of minor, nagging injuries players can pick up. I like it, but then I'm the type of person who likes installing Skyrim mods that make you eat at least 2,000 calories of food per game day.   I'm glad you signed with us, but you took your sweet time while we played two matches down a striker.   : (wheedlingly) See, Manolo? It's not that hard to help out your teammates.(PESTRIN puts on his NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES) : (Forgetting that she's younger than Pestrin-ly) Don't put your headphones on when I'm talking to you, young man! We'll make you Sammarinese proper English football fans yet.  : You said he'd be fine! : No, I said there wasn't as much risk. Plus, what type of insane drills were you overseeing on the practice field?:: Look, I'm learning by doing. How was I supposed to know that spin class keepie uppie was a bad idea? Now, give me a moment to talk to Roberto alone.   :: Don't put weight on your sprained knee, you oaf! Signore Ferrero is a fatalist as well, it seems.   : Okay, I get it. No more hot yoga shuttle drills, either.  You're telling me, Signore Grassi. (I think the ingame tweets are my favorite new thing, and y'all should start tweeting about the team.)   Yes, let's see if we can't do something about that.       : (Disappointedly) Shucks. You're one cheap devil.: (Pesteringly) you called?:&: (Simultaneously) NO. They'll be fiiiiiine. at Monticelli, September 16, 2017 Serie D, Group F  Monticelli are not good. They've won once all season and sit near the bottom of the league table. We're away, and we're missing both Ceccarelli and Di Maio, but we should be winning this easily. I say as much to the boys before the game, I don't want them getting sloppy out there. Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Fantini, Caldore, Nappello, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Cognigni, Minelli Subs: Fall, Vannucci, Fantini, Bisoli, Bugaro, Nappello, Zuppardo Monticelli don't seem to realize they're supposed to lose to us. They score on the counter in the 12th minute, and for the rest of the match we're chasing them around the pitch to no real success. A second goal in the 55th minute not only doubles the number of goals we've surrendered all season but leaves us deep in the hole. And then they bury us when Alessandro Conti nudges their midfielder at the very edge of the box and gets called for a penalty. I tell the kids to get stuck in after that, but all I accomplish is earning us three yellow cards in quick succession.     They took their chances with composure and we screwed around and blew it. Their only clear cut chance was the penalty, which was soft but legit. Monticelli 3-0 San Marino : (Hesitatingly) Do you want to see the social media reports from the game now, Signora?: (Unfairly) Do you want to still have a job tomorrow?: (Concernedly) Si, Signora?: (Childishly) Then no, I don't want to see the social media reports. Good lord, someone set up a MASH unit in the shadow of Mount Titano for all our casualties.  : You know I don't place that much faith in your recommendations, but please give me a comprehensive report so I can decide if I want to add yet another loan player to the club. Because from what you've just said to me, this kid is delectable. Fantini and Cognigni will be in the starting lineup, naturally.  Good for you, Mario! Especially since we're only paying you €600 a month. Please tell me you're not going hungry to pay for this. vs Recanatese, September 23, 2017 Serie D, Group F  Recanatese are bottomscrapers, and I want to bounce back quickly from our first loss. I'm stern with the players before the match, demanding that they show me something else after last weeks debacle. Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Vanzetta, Mattia, Fantini, Caldore, Nappello, Pestrin, Conti, Carnicelli, Cognigni, Minelli Subs: Fall, Vannucci, Bisoli, Bugaro, Errico, Cinque The Titani want to avenge their Monticelli mortification. We are imperious throughout the entire first half, and our poor sacrificial vicitms don't even take a shot until the 53rd minute. By that point we're up one-nil thanks to Minelli converting a penalty earned by Cognigni on a jump ball in the first half. The scoreline flatters the visitors at the end of the match, we should have won by much more.     I want the next Football Manager iteration to include xG (eXpected Goals) totals, damnit. This match would be like 3.2-0.3 San Marino 1-0 Recanatese  If you can't appreciate dominance, maybe you should watch something else, Signore Faelli.    Eh, he's definitely cooled off the last few games. I'm worried about his form.  At least the club supporters are happy despite the stumble against Monticelli.  I'm not sure why our 4-4-1-1 tactic is so far behind the 4-4-2 in preparation. We haven't used the formation in a match yet, but we've certainly played with a defensive mentality enough times. Heck, when we go up by two goals in the second half I have a standing order to switch towards a more defensive posture.  This time Cinque joins Fantini in the starting 11 despite still having the ouchies. at Fabriano Cerreto, September 30, 2017 Serie D, Group F  We're facing a club in 15th place that hasn't won in their last four games. We may be away from home, but we should still be winning this. We'll need to if we want to assure our grasp on first place as September ends. Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Caldore, Mattia, Fantini, Vanzetta, Di Dio, Pestrin (c), Bisoli, Carnicelli, Cinque, Minelli Subs: Fall, Vannucci, Conti, Errico, Bugaro, Nappello, Cognigni Like Monticelli before them, Fabriano Cerreto come out ready to play, and immediately discomfit our players. We're entirely unable to retain posesstion, and before twenty minutes are up we're lucky that they haven't scored. I switch us over to a counter attacking style at that point, but their pressure never relents. Despite a couple of breakaways that could have been goals if we'd been luckier, including one by Minelli at the death which went into the side netting, we're still incredibly fortunate that they spurn so many easy chances. Escaping with a nil-nil draw shouldn't feel like such an accomplishment.     For some reason the shot map is missing two of our efforts, but it doesn't change things much. They spent way too much time near our goal for comfort. Fabriano Cerreto 0-0 San Marino  There were 188 people at the game, dude. I highly doubt you were there to see someone taking a nap because the match was so boring. #FakeNews.  :: Cazzo! Our wobble in form aside, this is a fantastic start to the season. We're tied on points for the league lead, even after playing more matches away than at home. Minelli may only have a single penalty from the last three matches, but he's still at seven through seven games and way beyond my highest hopes. So long as Ceccarelli and Di Maio return in good condition I might be making a push for the title come the new year. 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 17, 2018 19:38
|
|
|
Let me know what y'all think should be in the end of match data dump, I realize 3-4 stat heavy images at a time can make you go crosseyed. You're gonna have to deal with all the tweets until I get bored of the conceit, though, I find them hilarious. ETA: Also, the prediction contest is still open until the next update gets published. If you're like Frozen Flame and were completely wrong because you doubted Lil' Feddy, you're allowed to update. Just post a new prediction and note that you're revising. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Jan 17, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Jan 17, 2018 20:54
|
|
|
Still learning Italian.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 17, 2018 21:08
|
|
|
I see that someone taped my goalkeeper training regimen and uploaded it.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 17, 2018 22:22
|
|
|
frankenfreak posted:Isn't telling the lads "this is gonna be easy" exactly the wrong thing to say if you don't want them to get sloppy? At least that how I remember it from a couple of versions back (14, I think). Nah, the actual line is something like "We should be winning this one easily, go out there and give me a good performance" and I followed it up with "I want to see good defense/offense from you" with my individual chats.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2018 13:56
|
|
|
Robotic Folksinger posted:How easy is it to mod in new tweets in the game? I don't know, but if people can figure that out I'm happy to give it a crack. Or send me suggestions to work into matches where they're appropriate.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2018 14:02
|
|
|
sebzilla posted:14 goals, 88 points Now, now, we're not Lazio.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2018 23:48
|
|
|
Chapter the Fifth: Forward March October 1, 2017-November 17, 2017 So, was that hot start just a fluke, or are we really as good as we seem to be?  Yikes, that's not something I want to see from one of our prospects. Feel better soon kid.  It's probably not great that our team captain puts on his noise cancelling headphones whenever I appear, or that Di Maio hobbles towards the nearest exit. But at least I'm making inroads with our most important asset, and I'm not completely without good relations among the over-30 set at the club. I have no idea how I know David Unsworth, though. That's just weird. Rhino's never worked in Italy, and he's currently the caretaker manager of Everton, so I don't know how I could have ticked him off or even how our paths would cross. Maybe we were on the same flight at some point and he got mad at me for snoring.  The budget situation is deeply concerning. It's not like we're in worse shape than the rest of Serie D, we're actually in the strongest financial condition of every team according to the league recordkeepers, but we're going to end up something like a million euros in debt by the end of the season. We desperately need to get promoted, or the wage budget is going to have to be slashed to the bone.  We're spending about €500,000 a year on player salaries, and €113,000 of that goes to Pestrin and Ceccarelli. Unfortunately, they're our team leaders and also two of our very best players, so they're going to be sticking around until the end of the year. We're also spending €57,000 on 37 youth players. I might cull the ones without a future, but only if we can get out of their contracts without paying them anything.   The club just doesn't have much meat to cut, though. Gadda and Errico are surplus to requirements, but combined only account for €32,000 a year. Pretty much everyone else gets into matches on a regular basis, or acts as our primary backup for a first teamer. But if we can't get this righted, I'm going to have a much tougher time climbing the ladder. And it's not like I can hope for any big, one off incomes from cup matches, since we're not even in one this year and the Coppa Italia doesn't have anything like the money attached as the FA Cup.    I hope my wariness about our finances aren't affecting the players, they still have a long way to go before they're a cohesive unit, and the locker room atmosphere has plummeted after getting our noses bloodied in the last couple of weeks. My status is improved, at least. Apparently being mostly successful has started to pay off, even if they're all still confused as to how I became their boss.  : Fine, send him into my office. I don't want Pestrin flipping out on the kid.    : Well, that could have gone worse. And at least he'll get his playing time while Ceccarelli is out. That's a unique formation. I'm guessing they don't do much short passing.  : So what you're telling me is that we're actually seeing fewer injuries, but they're more serious than usual.: Si, Signora.: Cazzo.: Your Italian improves by the day, Signora. The first signs of team cohesion begin to appear as autumn is fully upon us. Carnicelli and Caldore now know each other well enough to play without hesitation, leading to nifty things like perfectly timed overlapping runs and knowing when to track back on defense to help out. vs Pineto October 7, 2017 Serie D/F  Pineto sit 13th on the league table, and we're at home. A win gives us a chance of retaking first place, something I'm very eager to accomplish. Formation: 4-2-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Fantini, Caldore, Nappello, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Cinque, Minelli Subs: Fall, Vanzetta, Errico, Gadda, Bugaro, Zuppardo, Cognini We have the better of our visitors from the word go, but nothing falls in the first half as they stymie us and prevent Cinque and Minelli from getting off dangerous attempts. The entire complexion of the game changes over a five minute period in the second half, however, as Cinque finds net in the 53rd and 57th minutes thanks to fantastic through balls from Minelli and then Minelli caps things with a goal of his own from range in the 58th minute. Pineto can't get either a close range shot or the rebound to fall in the 63rd minute, and by the time they're able to get on the scoreboard, it's far too little, too late. Player of the Match: Federico “Feddy Wap” Minelli     The shot chart makes the match look much closer than it actually was. Pineto had four shots, three from outside of the penalty area, at the point where we went on our scoring spree. San Marino 3-1 Pineto   He's the best.   Cinque isn't chopped liver, either.  : (expansively) I want to congratulate him, tell him to come to my office.: (patiently) Si, Signora.   : (dryly) How astute you are, Signora.: (teeth-grindingly) Humbug. He'll be fiiiiiiiine.  83 is one of the highest recommendations I've gotten so far, and it's from our most competent scout. We wouldn't be able to add him until the January transfer window, and he'd cost us money, but show me his stats!  Oh. He stinks right now. Thanks for getting my hopes up.  Stick the report over in that big file of other ignored reports. I'll check back on him if he improves a bunch.  I am perfect, thank you.  Pestrin is old enough to be Conti's father, but it's one of those good father and son relationships like in Return of the Jedi, and not one of those bad father and son relationships like in Empire Strikes Back.   They'll be fiiiiiiine. Except for Di Maio, obviously. at Campobasso October 14, 2017 Serie D/F  Citia di Campobasso started off their season hopefully, reaching fifth on the table after opening with a win and a draw, but by the time we come to town in mid-October they've collapsed to 15th on the table. Even though it's an away match, I think we can take advantage of their poor form, and send us out to control the match from the start. Formation: 4-4-2 Counter Starting 11: Micale, Vanzetta, Mattia, Fantini, Caldore, Nappello, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Cinque, Minelli. Subs: Fall, Di Dio, Errico, Ceccarelli, Bugaro, Zuppardo, Cognini Arrogantly assuming that we're ready to impose our will on other clubs when we're in their house is not serving the club well, a fairly even first half sees Micale forced to make a very good save in the 5th minute before conceding in the 33rd. Then, just after halftime, Minelli comes up lame after sprinting for the ball just after the half, signalling for me to pull him from the game immediately. As Cognini warms up, the young striker makes one last effort to get forward before he's taken off injured. The defending centerback jumps atop him and earns us a penalty kick, which Cinque converts as Minelli hobbles to the trainer. Cinque then gives us the lead two minutes later with another goal thanks to a well delivered Carnicelli corner, and we sit back to absorb pressure. It's far too early to be time wasting, though, and Vanzetta makes a mindless challenge in our penalty area to gift an equalizer to Campobasso. The match continues on, with Campobasso looking the likelier to score, until the 82nd minute, when one of the Campobasso centerbacks attempts a wild clearance on the edge of the six yard box, and sends it right into his fellow defender, who watches stunned as the ricochet takes it past the keeper and into the net for the winning margin. Player of the Match: Lorenzo Cinque     Campobasso had a chance to knot things up in the 86th minute, but their striker blasted his effort into the streets behind the pitch. Campobasso 2-3 San Marino   He's going to miss 3-4 matches, he's our leading scorer, and he's in the running for best player in Serie D. Heal quickly, wonderboy!  At least Cinque is on form, and back to full health.  Someone tell the entire first team about Signore Gasparro's tweet.  You may have noticed that Pestrin has been eating cards like candy. He never gets more than one a match, but we're only nine games into the season and he's already earned himself a suspension. I've been loathe to talk to him because he doesn't respect me and he might get even worse just to spite me, but if he keeps this up I'm going to have to bite the bullet and sit him down.  Pretty soon no one on the first team is going to be happy with training. But that gives me an idea. If I can convince some of the older players to take on a player/coach role, they won't count towards my coaching staff total and are guaranteed to be better than me at the task.    Excellent.  Anti-excellent.  I've demoted Vannucci to the U20 squad, he's just not developed enough to see the first team often and I want him getting enough playing time to be a rotation option.  Just in time to take over Pestrin's role as the defensive midfielder while he's suspended.  I hope Nappello doesn't get into a snit because our vice captain is now healthy.  That's uncalled for, Signore Coppa.   Bisoli's going to have to go the distance, we just don't have a good replacement for him. vs San Nicolo October 21, 2017 Serie D/F  We're missing Minelli and Pestrin against fourth place San Nicolo. Bisoli is going to have to play a full match despite being injured. I'm still optimistic about our chances. Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Vanzetta, Mattia, Fantini, Caldore, Ceccarelli (c), Bisoli, Conti, Carnicelli, Cognini, Cinque. Subs: Fall, Di Dio, Errico, Gadda, Bugaro, Nappello, Zuppardo My optimism vanishes in the 6th minute when Bisoli scythes down a San Nicolo player with a two footed tackle at midfield. The referee gives him the deserved red card, and we're going to have to play nearly the entire match with only ten men. San Nicolo makes good on their numbers advantage in the 19th minute, and while we hold firm for the rest of the match and deny them any further goals, we are completely unable to launch any successful counter attacks of our own and slump to a goalless defeat, our first in five matches.     Our one half chance was on a Cinque breakaway where he tried to chip the keeper from range but couldn't get the ball to drop on target. San Marino 0–1 San Nicolo  It might have been boring for San Nicolo fans who got tired of seeing their side run rampant, but I was terrified the whole drat time of the match turning into a complete rout.   He cost us points, he let down the team, and he should be ashamed of himself.  1 happy, 1 content, and 22 unhappy with training. Meanwhile, the usual suspects are continuing to show their declining athletic skill, but what's this about Fantini impressing?  That is not what I expect to happen to a 32-year-old. Fantini is earning himself additional playing time even after Di Maio returns. : Signora, Umberto Nappello would like to speak to you again about his lack of playing time.: What? Really? We talked like two weeks ago! : He's being insistent, Signora.: Fine, send him in.   : What is your problem? Hai voluto la bicicletta? Allora, pedala! : Trying to learn idioms now, Signora? Minelli is already cleared to play? He's only missed one match! This is wonderful! at Francavilla Mare October 28, 2017 Serie D/F  Pestrin is back from his suspension, and hopefully he can show Bisoli how to properly harness aggression. Minelli is also in the starting lineup, though there's no way I'm going to let him play the entire match. Francavilla are a top half side, so no attempts from us to push them around on their own turf. Formation: 4-4-2 Counter Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Fantini, Caldore, Nappello, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Cinque, Minelli. Subs: Fall, Vanzetta, Di Maio, Errico, Bugaro, Ceccarelli, Zuppardo. Minelli's knee can't be bothering him that much, in the fifth minute he coolly settles a pass from Conti on the edge of the box, and then rifles the ball between four defenders and the keeper for the opening goal. He doesn't have much more impact on the match before being subbed off in the 54th minute, but his sniper shot means that Francavilla only goes level when Micale misplays a header into a goal just after an hour has passed. We have the last laugh ten minutes later when Carnicelli lofts a perfect ball in front of the charging Cinque, who splits two defenders and gives us the winner on the 75th minute.     Francaville Mara 1-2 San Marino  I wouldn't say that we were fortunate to win. I wouldn't deny that it was a tight match that could have gone either way, however.  None of our first teamers are Sammarinese, thankfully. Or good enough to get called up by the Italian national team.  How are we losing even more money as the season goes on? Our expenses should be stable!  Yes, I played Minelli before he was able to get back to full training. Because I trust the team doctors. Also, the kid missed one match after the initial diagnosis said he'd miss a whole month. That's not soft, Signore Massafra.  Oh ye of little faith, Signora Baccin.  With Fantini's late career resurgence and Di Maio's return to health, I'm dropping the slumping Mattia from the starting eleven until I'm shown something by the youngster.  Best to take it easy on him, though. He's 21 and shouldn't have his dreams crushed. vs Nerostellati Pratola November 4, 2017 Serie D/F  Once more at home, we face a Nerostellati club who've made the three and a half hour drive up the coast of the Adriatic to visit our most Serene Republic. Only 10 of their fans made the trip, and there are twice as many Nerostellati players and staff at the stadium than there are fans. Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Vanzetta, Di Maio, Fantini, Vannucci, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Cinque, Minelli. Subs: Fall, Di Dio, Mattia, Errico, Bisoli, Nappello, Zuppardo The match starts off hot. After Alessandro Conti places his effort at the near post in the sixth minute, the Nerostellati striker gets beyond Mattia and Fantini to even things up seven minutes later, and six minutes after that Fantini blasts the ball 70 meters up the pitch to Cinque, who converts the chance for the third goal in twenty minutes. Things settle down after that, with nothing of note occurring until the 70th minute, when Cinque is once again sprung and notches his brace. The zebra tries to make things interesting by giving our guests a penalty shot with less than ten minutes left, calling Mattia for the penalty from over 50 yards away despite our young centerback being closer to the ball than the player he supposedly fouled, but that's not enough to change the outcome.     San Marino 3-2 Nerostellati Pratola  According to Google Translate, a “muggins” in Italian is “il babbeo.”  Cinque has actually caught Minelli in number of goals scored, both have nine. It makes me much more confident that we can get promoted this season, the two of them are unlikely to go cold at the same time and leave us without a major scoring threat.   Sangiustese were bounced out of Serie C2 due to financial issues back in 2010, and promptly dissolved after a year in the Eccellenza. They re-formed in the seventh division in 2014, and have earned back to back promotions to get them to Serie D, but are now lying in last place and looking like relegation bait, with four points earned from twelve matches, and already 7 points from safety with barely a third of the season completed. Pity them. at Sangiustese November 11, 2017 Serie D/F  Poor Sangiustese has scored 8 goals and allowed thirty thus far. I'm expecting a win against these poor sods, and I make no bones about it to the squad. We should be winning this match, and winning it handily. I'm going with one wrinkle in our starting eleven, with Nappello playing on the left instead of Carnicelli. Carnicelli has been as good as advertised, but he's not our player and Nappello is. Since I'm definitely not sitting Ceccarelli, the only way I can play him and Nappello at the same time is by sending Nappello out on the other wing. Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Fantini, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Nappello, Cinque, Minelli. Subs: Fall, Vanzetta, Di Maio, Errico, Bisoli, Carnicelli, Cognini. Everything goes according to plan. Our captain scores his first of the season on the break during the first half, grumpy Umberto Nappello adds a second off of a perfectly placed Ceccarelli cross just after the half, and we waltz to a dominating victory. I love it when a plan comes together. Player of the Match: Manolo Pestrin     Sanguistese 0-2 San Marino   Manolo's played in Serie A, Signore Ghiozzi. He doesn't have to prove anything to you.  We're slowly cohering and quite happy.  It's not great that Caldore, Di Dio, and Micale haven't found their place in the team after three months. Vanzetta and Carnicelli are both on loan with us, so I'm less concerned about them fitting in so long as they aren't causing any trouble.  I can't complain too much about earning 15 out of 18 points against the weak sisters of the division, the run takes us six points clear of second place Matelica, but I'm offput by how many goals we've leaked during this run and our worsening financial conditions. I hope our ownership has good credit. 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 21, 2018 20:39
|
|
|
Prediction contest is officially closed. Congratulations, none of you have identical entries!
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Jan 21, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Jan 21, 2018 20:40
|
|
|
It's a sad but true fact that y'all can't tell the difference between Matelica, a small town of 10,000 people in the Apennines, and Metallica, a US Metal band. I think we should turn the page on this whole sad affair.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 22, 2018 02:27
|
|
|
PotatoManJack posted:
I plan on doing a midseason interlude going over that stuff and our position at the new year.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 22, 2018 14:49
|
|
|
We can go into administration, which usually means that the club is sold off to someone new and forces significant cuts to the wage and transfer budgets. If we go full Portsmouth we can also get slapped with a penalty to the number of points we earn, for example having our points reduced by 10 at the end of the season, which can make it really hard to avoid relegation. I don't think the game allows for clubs to actually fold, though. Nor does it allow for scandals like Calciopoli where a bunch of teams are caught fixing matches and kicked down a division or more as punishment. I'm pretty sure I could do things with the game that would have similar impacts, though, such as force editing a club into a different league. That might completely screw up the save...
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2018 00:44
|
|
|
We'd also be pulling in significant amounts of TV money from Italy and from the Champions League by that point, so that would be a large part of our income. At Wrexham we did build a stadium that could fit over 60,000 when the town itself had only 64,000 residents, and it sold out with regularity. But at least we had all of North Wales to draw on for supporters.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 24, 2018 14:55
|
|
|
Chapter the Fifth: Objects in the Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear November 17, 2017-January 1, 2018 We're in first place, and have a six point cushion over Vastese and Matelica. The next run of matches will close out the first half of the season, and then see us play our second match versus both Vis Pesaro and Vastese before the new year is rung in and the winter transfer window is opened. I'd like to see us continue to build our lead on the rest of the league, but there'd be nothing wrong with staying six up on our closest competitors either. vs Jesina Serie D/F November 18, 2017  Jesina were supposed to be in a relegation fight, with 200-1 odds against winning the league. Instead, they came out gunning, went to the top, and have only dropped to fourth as we prepare to host them. They still have the best goal differential in the league, pairing a stingy defense with an offense that matches ours for league best. Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Vanzetta, Di Maio, Fantini, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Nappello, Cinque, Minelli Subtitutes: Fall, Di Dio, Mattia, Errico, Bisoli, Carnicelli, Zuppardo Jesina spend the first half frustrating our efforts to work the ball into dangerous areas, and at the half they've kept us to nothing but potshots from range and have had the better chance at scoring despite only taking three shots. Things heat up after the break, as the Jesina right back botches an interception allowing Cinque to collect the ball in the penalty area, and then a Jesina centerback botches his interception on Cinque's pass to Minelli. Minelli is happy to accept the loose ball just outside of the six yard box, and puts it home to give us the lead after an hour of play. We cough up the lead immediately, though, when Caldore misses a header, and Micale is only able to push away the first of two shots from the visiting team's right winger. We then cough up the draw ten minutes further on, getting caught out on a counter attack. It's looking like a dark day in the Most Serene Republic, as we batter Jesina in an attempt to find an equalizer, but time slips away and I watch the referee put the whistle to his lips in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Then, in a flash, Pestrin finds Conti 22 yards out, and as the defense collapses towards the young midfielder, Conti angles a perfect pass to the onrushing Carnicelli, who tags it for the last second equalizer. We escape with a point, and while I grumble about not getting the win, everyone in the locker room is ecstatic over the last second savior.     San Marino 2-2 Jesina   He won't be able to complain about not getting playing time if he's hurt, right?  Our squad depth is terrible, and it doesn't improve with our backups getting hurt.  47% of their shots might be on target, but they've only scored eight times all season.  : I don't have time to deal with this. Send Fantini to my office.: Si, Signora.  : I'm so good at man management. : So good at man management.San Marino Stadium Conference Room November 23, 2017 (The PLAYERS have just completed a THANKSGIVING FEAST, and are sitting back, sated, as the COACH wraps up a STEMWINDER about teamwork) : And again, thank you all for coming. I am grateful to have you all at the club. Now, if you could all help me clear the table? The president sacked the night janitor to save some money.: Si, boss-lady! I am happy to help!(FEDERICO MINELLI bounds to his feet, grabbing a MASSIVE SERVING DISH covered with the remnants of turkey and stuffing before turning towards the kitchen. He fails to see the GRAVY SLICK on the floor from where MANOLO PESTRIN had accidentally dropped a carafe earlier, and crashes to the ground. The MASSIVE SERVING DISH flies into the air, spinning end over end until it lands on MINELLI'S sandaled TOE) : Ah! Il mio dito del piede!  Aaaaaaaaah!   : Sorry, Bert, but you're going to be on the bench for this one. I can't afford you tweaking your injury.at Avezzano Serie D/F November 25, 2017  As noted above, Avezzano get their shots on target, but don't take that many. I plan on burying them in an early deluge, and not letting up. Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Fantini, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Cognigni Subtitutes: Fall, Vanzetta, DiMaio, Gadda, Bisoli, Nappello, Zuppardo One of these days, I'll really learn to not play so aggressively away from home. I have to switch to counter-attacking football after we're run ragged in the first twenty minutes, but we're still caught out in the 34th minute after Fantini is caught ball watching and lets his man slip past him to volley in a shot at the far post. We equalize instantaneously off the restart, with Cinque sending a strong cross to Cognigni, who manages to hammer the crossbar with his header before cleaning up his own rebound. The match is desultory outside of those two minutes of scoring, the only excitement is seeing the ref book Mattia, Pestrin, and Carnicelli for fouls against Avezanno. Player of the Match: Luca Cognigni     Avezzano 1-1 San Marino  We wouldn't have created anything, but Avezzano might have. We're lucky to take a point.  Good, but bad. Matelica are closing in us, we're now just four points up and if they continue to ride the lighting another couple draws could see them slip ahead of us  Minelli could be back anywhere from next week to Christmas, and there's nothing you can do about a broken toe but wait.  After finally getting a chance to be in the first team and scoring his first goal, Cognigni broke his danged leg. He's out for over half a year, essentially ending his San Marino career. Now we're down to Cinque and Zuppardo as our first team strikers. at L'Aquila Serie D/F December 2, 2017  You'd think L'Aquila would be nicknamed the Eagles, right? Nah, they're the Rossoblu. They're also close to the top of the table, and I'm not going to repeat the mistake of last week and running ourselves into a buzzsaw again. Formation: 4-4-2 Counter Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Di Maio, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Carnicelli, Zuppardo, Cinque. Subtitutes: Fall, Vanzetta, Fantini, Gadda, Bisoli, Nappello, Bugaro. We weather a blizzard of shots on this rain soaked, chilly afternoon. As 1,473 Aquila and 11 traveling Sammarenese watch, the home side lashes the ball goalwards again and again, but none start from closer than 15 meters out making them easy meat for an on form Micale. Meanwhile, Conti went off the woodwork from 7 meters out in the second minute, but we don't have another good opportunity until Liborio Zuppardo, filling in for the injured Cognigni and Minelli, bonks his noggin on a Cinque cross in the 80th minute to pull us ahead. We see out the closing flurry, and as 1,473 locals disburse grumpily, 11 travelers dance in the stands above our soaked but victorious squad. Player of the Match: Alessandro Di Dio     L'Aquila 0-1 San Marino  You realize we won the match, Signore Castellano? Si?  Three managers get sacked on the same day, with the news breaking at the same time. Just in time for the holidays!   Our backups are learning traits that minimize their weaknesses.  10 goals in 15 matches is pretty awful. I like our chances.  I'm not going to put Minelli into the starting eleven just yet, but he'll be on the bench if we need a late game offensive boost. vs Castelfidardo Serie D/F December 9, 2017  Ok, now this time I fully expect a win. Castelfidardo are languishing in the relegation zone, while we're still in pole position to earn promotion. Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Di Maio, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Nappello, Zuppardo, Cinque Subtitutes: Fall, Vanzetta, Fantini, Gadda, Bisoli, Carnicelli, Minelli. We don't have to wait long for the fireworks to begin, because Alessandro Conti has come to play. In the eighth minute he lashes in a one-timer from outside of the box to just inside the goalpost, and the rout is on. Twenty minutes later Ceccarelli finds the head of a charging Cinque for the second goal, and Conti notches a brace with a singular second effort before the first half hour is gone. We boss the pitch throughout, and Castelfidardo manage only one shot in the first half. By the time they show some fight at the very end of the match, Cinque has scored again, and Micale ensures the clean sheet until the ref draws the romp to a close. Player of the Match: Alessandro Conti     San Marino 4-0 Castelfidardo  Conti's only two years older than Minelli, and he's been excellent for us in his box to box midfielder role. He's got the quality to be a good piece for us in Serie C.  I finally have work for our Director of Football! Gadda is grumpy about the lack of playing time, and as I have no plans for him there's no reason to make him sit around here eating up space and wages.  Yeah, let's do that.  : Godspeed, young man.  If he's at the higher end of his scouted attributes, he's going to be one of our best players. There's no harm in having him come to the club for a week to see if he's got what it takes to be a Titan.  : Ugh, fine. But I'm not going to stop crocheting while he whines.       : Glad to hear you're going to keep your head down about this. As much as I don't want to rely on loaned players, we've only got three centerbacks and Farabegoli's interested in joining us. Moreover, Mattia has been OK but not great, and Di Maio and Fantini don't work well together:  Farabegoli is likely to come in on a loan once the winter transfer window opens.  Hurrah!   So much for Bugaro keeping things to himself. Who's even picking up the phone to hear a backup winger on a semi-professional team complain? Italian media is desperate for Content.  Yeah, we're broke and I've already had two wingers complain about playing time. Agodirin wasn't nearly good enough to have me open up the checkbook for his services. at Vis Pesaro Serie D/F December 16, 2017  We beat Vis Pesaro for my first professional match, and promptly sent the club rated most likely to win the league into a tailspin from which they're still recovering. Minelli's back in the lineup for the first time in a month, but I don't know how much to expect from him today given that he's just back from a busted toe. Formation: 4-4-2 Counter Starting 11: Micale, Vanzetta, Mattia, Di Maio, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Nappello, Cinque, Minelli. Subtitutes: Fall, Di Dio, Fantini, Bisoli, Bugaro, Carnicelli, Zuppardo. It looks like we're going to beat up on Vis Pesaro for a second time after Nappello sneaks to the back post to find a Ceccarelli cross set on a platter for him in the second minute. But Mattia puts us in a bind with a stupid push against the opposition striker, and after they convert it's all level. We concede for a second time on a corner that is the final play of the first half, and show no gumption in the second half, losing for the first time in eight games.     Vis Pesaro 1-2 San Marino  We had a lead at the very start of a match and they equalized before ten minutes had passed, Signore Abbate. I'd say we just got beat, not that we threw away a lead. Unfortunately, Matelica just won't lose, so we're now a bare point ahead of them on the table.    You're right, Signora Di Gregorio. He's a dingus.  : He's free to leave, if anyone even wants him. That's a clean bill of health for the club. Except for Cognigni, who if he were a horse would have been shot on the racetrack at the time of his injury. vs Olympia Agnonese Serie D/F December 23, 2017  Agnonese are right where we last saw them at the start of the year, a middling club with no chance at promotion and not much fear of relegation. I tell the lads I want to see a much better performance than last time, and Minelli is back in the starting eleven to spark us. Formation: 4-4-2 Control Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Fantini, Caldore, Ceccarelli, Pestrin (c), Conti, Nappello, Cinque, Minelli. Subtitutes: Fall, Vanzetta, Di Maio, Bisoli, Bugaro, Carnicelli, Zuppardo We get wrongfooted at the start, and a miscommunication between Mattia and Fantini allows the Agnonese striker to slip between them for an easy header. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to recover from the misstep, with Minelli showing absolutely zero rust from his time on the shelf as he slaloms through three Agnonese defenders before putting the ball past two more and the keeper besides. It's a fantastic goal, despite having eight men back they can't stop Minelli. Our defense could stand to be better, though, and for the second week in a row we surrender a goal from a corner kick. Minelli puts in work and finds himself rewarded with a wide open shot before the half ends, though, and while we should be doing much better we're still level at the break. The second half is a whole other story. Simone Mattia makes good on his earlier miscommunication with Fantini by punching in a header just two minutes after the restart, and then Federico Minelli scores his first professional hat trick not two minutes later by breaking the keeper's ankles and sending a shot sliding into the netting. Minelli isn't done, though, and he caps his fantastical performance by putting in an excellent cross to Lorenzo Cinque with fifteen minutes left, which pushes us to a season high five goals. Agnonese spoils things slightly in the final minute with yet another goal from the corner, but despite giving up three goals we've won handily. Player of the Match: Federico “Feddy Wap” Minelli     San Marino 5-3 Agnonese   Bombs voyage, as they say in my homeland. I'm not too impressed with our defending.  : Stay away from my wonderkid!  : STAY. AWAY. FROM. MY. WONDERKID. : HE'S MINE, YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM. Pescara is a club currently yo-yoing between Serie A and Serie B. If Minelli develops like I think he can, he'd become one of their best players in a few years. The same goes for Empoli. Our biggest hope is that they decide Feddy is too raw to make a move for, or that my relationship with the kid is strong enough that he doesn't push for a move. I'm almost certainly going to have to give him a better contract, though, one that adds on as many years of team control as possible.  Seriously, Goal.com? You've got a Serie D vertical?   As soon as the clock hits midnight and ushers in 2018, a whole bunch of our players will be free to sign pre-contracts for next season with other teams. We still have some time before that happens, but I need to figure out who to re-sign. Conti for sure, Nappello maybe, and Ceccarelli and Pestrin if I can have them agree to pay cuts.  That's a kick in the teeth. Ceccarelli may be old and slow, but he puts in better crosses than any other player in the league. He'll miss eight games or so, we're lucky that we go from playing once a week to once every two weeks towards the end of the season.  Publically, I agree with Signora Bongiorni. Privately, I share Signore Colanero's concern. at Vastese Serie D/F December 30, 2017  Vastese are sitting in fourth place, and will be tough to beat. We've been giving up goals galore on set pieces, and while we score by the bucketload at home we've been able to notch just one goal each in our last three road trips. Formation: 4-4-2 Counter Starting 11: Micale, Di Dio, Mattia, Di Maio, Caldore, Nappello, Pestrin, Conti, Carnicelli, Cinque, Minelli Subtitutes: Fall, Vanzetta, Fantini, Bisoli, Bugaro, Errico, Zuppardo Roberto Di Maio looks to have put us behind the eight ball in the opening stages of the game. The aging centerback hacked down his man in the box, a blatant penalty that has the ref pointing to the spot with zero second thoughts. But the Vastese penalty taker rockets his attempt off the crossbar, and stands dumbfounded as it bounces right back to him. Di Maio makes amends, charging forward and clearing the ball into the stands, ending the sole clear cut chance Vastese will have all night. We take our chance when it comes in the 67th minute, via a counter attack from a Vastese corner that sees Cinque and Minelli bomb down the field at full speed, leading to Minelli getting to the touchline and finding a wide open Nappello at the far post. Vastese makes a double substitution after the goal, and thus is caught without any subs available when their left back has to come off injured in the 76th minute. We calmly keep the ball away from the shorthanded home side, and get one of our best road wins of the season. Player of the Match: Alessandro Di Dio     Vastese 0-1 San Marino   Our chat at the end of the match was the first time all season I've given the whole squad an atta-boy. We played a tough opponent in their home, and we beat them with excellent defense and timely finishing.  : Make a note to have this jerk detained at the border if he tries to watch another match in San Marino. : Oh c'mon. We'll work this out. If he's willing to take a massive pay cut. : Who runs this motha?: GIRLS. : Who runs the world?: GIRLS. I'm pleased as punch that so many of our players top the leaderboard of our division. Not quite so pleased about Pestrin having already earned 8 yellows, though.   As we ring in the new year, at least one thing hasn't changed. Literally everyone hates the way I run training.  We've got 14 fixtures over the next six months. It's looking like a two club race for promotion to Serie C, with Matelica nipping at our heels. They've been on a tear, going 13 matches without losing and giving up just two goals during that entire three month stretch. If we win, we get breathing room, if we lose, we find ourselves in second place for the first time since September. 
|
|
#
¿
Jan 25, 2018 22:11
|
|
|
Teddybear posted:Between everyone hating training and players getting injured in training, I'm assuming that your training field is the rocky San Marino coastline or something. Is this a normal level of training injuries? Our training facilities are 2 and a half stars, more than adequate for our level. The main problem is this:  The assistant manager brings our tactical training to two stars, but that still leaves me covering all four other areas with my 1 or 2 out of 20 coaching stats. I'm hoping that I'll be able to hire more coaches in the future, so that I can get off the training pitch and move on to what I'm supposed to do, sipping Montepulciano in my office while piloting us to glory. Also, San Marino doesn't have a coastline!  Affi posted:Is it all based on how lovely your trainers are? Part of it is that injuries seem turned up in this version of FM, which makes sense because it's more realistic and most of the injuries have been of the minor, nagging variety. Part of it is that I have intensity set to high to overcome our only having three days to practice a week. And part of it is because I'm having them unicycle while heading the ball back and forth with a partner. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 14:33 on Jan 26, 2018 |
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2018 14:29
|
|
|
Interlude: Progress Reports January 1, 2018 Just over halfway through the season, it's time to see how much our kids have grown, how many steps our old nags have lost, and whether I've become fluent in Italian yet! Finances We start with the real reason everyone plays the game. Financial spreadsheets!   One of the problems with playing in Serie D is that it's an amateur league with 162 clubs spread across 9 divisions. That means no TV deal, and means that we're cut off from a major source of income in pro-soccer. I'm also unsure that we even get paid anything for winning the league, which means that we could be deeply in debt by the time we get promoted to Serie C.  Ick.  Ugh.  At least we get about €200k a year in sponsorship money, which seems to get paid in a lump sum at the start or end of the year.  The reason I keep harping on the finances is that as the club's fiscal condition worsens, the board restricts how much I can pay players. For example, when negotiating a contract extension with Alessandro Conti, I wasn't able to offer any more than €325 a week for a first team player. That's not going to fly with players like Pestrin, who I'd be asking to take a 75% pay cut. Boardroom  I can hire assistant managers for the reserve clubs? Why didn't anyone tell me that!  Who wouldn't be impressed with this performance? More seriously, you're never going to get in much trouble as a manager if you stay within the budget guidelines given by the club owners. Even if they're running the club insolvent, they won't blame you for the spending.Senior Squad Statistics   Key Apps: Appearances Gls: Goals Ast: Assists Chc: Chances Created K Tck: Key Tackles K Hdrs:: Key Headers K Pas: Key Passes Gl Mst: Mistakes leading to a goal. Av Rat: Average Rating Mins: Minutes Played Development Current  Preseason  Huh, all those green arrows indicate that Carnicelli's grown a great deal while on loan with us, but I don't see many actual changes in his attribute scores. Current  Preseason Meanwhile, Conti hasn't seen a lick of improvement despite being 19 years old and getting an absolute ton of first team soccer. Current  Preseason  Di Dio's stats have also been static, though that is somewhat understandable since he's 24. Current  Preseason  And still no change. Current  Preseason  What the heck? Current  Preseason  Seriously. Current  Preseason Federico Minelli, who's turned 17 only after the season started and has played a ton of matches and done really well... hasn't improved a single stat. Current  Preseason The only players seeing significant changes in their attributes are our old players, who are seeing themselves slow down. I really don't know what's going on, but it's a very bad thing that our players aren't improving over the course of the season. I don't know if it's because of the Serie D mod, or because I'm just that bad at training players, but it's very screwed up. Depth Chart   We're not a very deep club, and a few more long term injuries could create serious selection problems and see me resorting to players on our U20 and U18 squads for some games. Team Chemistry  My support amongst the players continues to improve, but the lack of cohesion when we're on the pitch is super frustrating. I haven't shuffled the starting eleven much, and after 20 matches people should be used to each other! Meanwhile, Gianluca Bugaro has to complain to the media about a lack of playing time, because no one in the club gives a drat.  This club doesn't embody the old saying “twenty five players, twenty five taxis.” I'd love for Micale, Caldore, and Di Dio to finally settle in, but seeing literally everyone else being friends means that I can rely upon their relationships to pick each other up when someone is feeling down.   Who would have guessed that Grumpy Manolo Pestrin would end up being one of the happiest players at the club. Want-aways Gadda and Bugaro are the sole sadsacks, and even then they're not actually that out of sorts. U20 and U18 Squads   After seeing how our entire first team has failed to develop, I'm worried what the youth squads look like. Current  Preseason Other than a four point change in Determination, Moretti hasn't shown any improvement. Current  Preseason This is troubling. Current  Preseason Extremely troubling. Has someone hexed us? Current  Preseason  Or have I just gotten really unlucky? At least Vannucci has seen broad-based gains, even if he's one of the very few to have actually improved as a player in the last six months. M*A*S*H Unit   That seems like a hot load of ouch, but when you look at the amount of time missed and the severity of the injuries, it's not so bad.  Minelli having been out for a quarter of the season hasn't hurt us too much, but Ceccarelli is still going to be out for some time and Cognini is crocked for good. Training  The senior team players are not all that pleased with the quality of training provided.  Which is almost entirely based upon the fact that I have no clue what the gently caress I'm doing when it comes to actually improving their abilities, as compared to my obvious skills in the clubhouse and on match day.   Fortunately, our youth setup is much better, with only one main area of training listed below two stars, and 57 of our 60 (!) kids in the U20 and U18 clubs pleased with training. The U20s and U18s train together, something I didn't realize initially and which cost us a couple months of having all our junior coaches pulling in the same direction. Bosslady  Hey, I'm fluent in Italian! I can stop having everyone greet me with “buongiorno Principessa” every morning because now I know what it means! Having lived overseas before, I wish I could become fluent in a new language after six months immersion. Though I guess it could do the trick for someone more adept at picking up languages than I am.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 27, 2018 22:39
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 8, 2024 01:40 |
|
|
I'd just go with 18. I like the Dynamics system so far, and you won't really notice the UI change if you're new to the series.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2018 16:09
|
|