Season 2014/2015!

2013/14 Rolled around and went by, overall, I was dissapointed by the display of the season. No domestic titles and just the 1 UEFA title (Champions League).

English Premier League - 2nd
Liverpool won, and frankly, with about 6 games left I gave up (Needed 6 wins and Liverpool had to drop 6 points, or have 2 Wins and 4 Draws for me to win -- long odds)
But I was happy, since it means I have to develop a better squad for this coming season!

Top League Scorer - Crisitano Ronaldo (20)
Most Assistst - Cristiano Ronaldo (15)

The squad was pretty stable also, with Wesley Sneijder having to play alot to cover Xabi Alonso and Roberto's injuries. Otherwise every main player had over 40 games.
Bojan led with 29 goals in all competitions. And was my best player of the season (7.36 average over the entire season)

Anyhow, onto the "Transfer Window" which I was fairly quiet in most regards.
Transfers In:

Jiang Lihua (Chinese U21 Centre-Back) - £600,000 from Xiamen (China)
This kid was my main target before transfer window opened. He's young and in a couple of years, replacing John Terry whose my Club Captain since July 2008. He can play Left Back, Centre Back and Right Back making him a perfect replacement for Gerard Pique (who went to Barcelona for £6.5 mil during the 2012/13 season.

Michael Ballack (37 years old) - Free from Chelsea.
Ballack is similar to another Free transfer from Chelsea I picked up several years back -- Frank Lampard. Experience, will play 10-20 games a season for me and can tutor the young guys for me.

Oscar Ustari (28 year old Italian Goalkeeper) - Free from Getafe
I chose to take Igor Akinfeev back in 2008 -- something I dont regret. But Ustari was the #2 Goalkeeper on that list, Edwin van der Sar the immortal keeper retired in 2010. Since then i've gone through 3-4 backups until Ustari was released on a free transfer. Quickly snapped him up and at 28, has another 10-12 years in him along with Igor (whose 29).

Callum Forrest (23 year old Scottish Midfielder) - Free from Everton
Everton went into administration and started offloading players, Forrest was one. Already having 77 league games under his belt, buying him was a no-brainer. To replace the aging Frank Lampard (whose 35) would reduce the stress of another young starlet I have trained up Vebjorn Tajet from having to fill the Clubs Vice-Captain (2008-2009) shoes.

Mohamed Sahbani (23 year old Tunisian Defender) - £9.75 mil from FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Watching the 2014 World Cup, I noticed this young stud in a Group game where he setup 3 goals for Tunisia to clinch a group stage win. I scouted Tunisia all the way until the Semi-Finals where they lost to Brazil. This kid has the tools to be great, he will partner Renato (22, Brazil, £20mil from Sporting CP in 2012) as my backup Centre-Back. Current starters Micah Richards (26) and John Terry (33) are up there in age.

Arnold Oliva (22 year old Hondruas Midfielder) - £1.3 mil from Olimpia (Honduras)
Another young talent I scout at the World Cup. Scoring 2 goals in the 5 games I scouted (4 Stage games and the friendly before the WC) and he played very well. He has good creativity and decision skills from midfield. Probably going to one day replace current Vice-Captain Rafael van der Vaart and will make a strong midfield package with Forrest, Tajet and Roberto.

Transfer Out:
Arsenal started the pillaging, signing a backup keeper in Joao Carlos who played only 13 games in 6 years with me. They also signed young starlet Alexandre Pato for £15m and Italian strong forward Okaka for £12m, I play a 4-5-1 and already have 3 world-class striker and picking up Pato and Okaka for free years ago payed off in a £27m profit!!

I also released a whole lot of dead weight that I tried offloading for years and several contracts expired that I chose not to re-sign. This list included;
Kevin Hofland - Dutch International
Igor Korotetskyi - Ukranian U21 Vice-Captain
Paul Palmer - contract expired
Slobodan Rajkovic - Serbian International
Alexandr Filatov - Ukranian youth

I managed to also offload Kevin Doyle who signed for a free in 2009. He played in 8 games and failed to score, being the lone striker in a 4-5-1 means you need to score a lot of goals and Kevin just didn't and I sold him to Middlesbrough (in the Coke-Cola Championship, next league down) for a nice £425,000 profit.

Typically in a given season, I'll keep around 26 players in the first team. During any given point, I try to keep under 20 in the first-team so I can have some rotation players. Playing the 4-5-1 like I do, I need a lot of midfielders which take its toll in patches (normally the Christmas rush and April/May months espically)

Goalkeepers:
Igor Akinfeev - 28 years old - Russian (85 Caps/0 Goals)
Igor has been "the man" since van der Sar retired in 2010. Since then he's put up some impressive numbers such as 19 goals conceeded in 37 appearances in 2011, which included 24 clean sheets! 270 Club games since 2008 with 45 Champions League games under his belt.

Oscar Ustari - 28 years old - Italian (7 Caps/0 Goals)
Ustari was another wonderkid back in 2006 -- I ultimately chose Akinfeev over him since I could only afford 1 guy. A sure superstar, not as good as Akinfeev but provides an excellent stop-gap that will get time playing in domestic competitions.

Remy Riou - 27 years old - French (1 Cap/0 Goal)
Signed as a 3rd keeper in 2008, has been the backup to Igor for over 4 years. Spent several loan spells at clubs and played in many games, 30 with Watford in the EPL, 26 for Anderlecht which had Europa League games as well. Hercules and Angers SCO when they both won promotions to top-flight. 43 games for Wolves, which he was the keeper in the clubs first ever loss (3-4 Loss in the 3rd Round of the Carling Cup)

Centre-Backs:
John Terry - 33 yeards old - English (109 Caps/11 Goals)
The Club and Country captain, Terry is the most capped player for the club. A consumate leader, often stated in his description as "Legendary Centre-Back" has perfect 20/20 in Determination, Tackling, Marking and Decisions. Since 2008 (£40m transfer) playing in 386 games, scoring 8 goals. Also has the most Champions League gaps (73) and has played in at least 37 league games every year since 2008.

Micah Richards - 26 years old - English (67 Caps/0 Goals)
Richards was picked up as a free transfer from Manchester City in 2013, struggled with injuries during the second half of the season, played in 7 league games and nabbed 1 assist. Richards and Terry are the current English back-duo after Rio Ferdinand retires in 2012. Started all 4 World Cup games England played in.

Renato - 22 years old - Brazilian (2 Caps/0 Goals)
A "regen" that I nabbed from Sporting CP (£20m transfer fee) and worth every penny! Having 20/20 in Heading, Decision and high stats in all the vital parts for a Centre-Back/Sweeper. The 2 international caps came in the World Cup, I've been grooming him since 2011 when I bought him. Already played in 111 games since '11 and 21 Champions League games also.

Mohamed Sahbani - 23 years old - Tunisian (25 Caps/0 Goals)
After discovering this wonderkid in the 2014 World Cup, he's been a solid player that will grow in the future. Already under the tutorship of John Terry. Posessing a 20 in Strength and high numbers in Tackling, Marking, Heading. Has good instincts (17 Decisions, 16 Determination, 18 Concentration & 17 Anticipation) and should feature in a number of years along side Renato.

Jian Lihua - 21 year old - Chinese U21 Captain (24 U21 Caps/1 U21 Goal)
Probably going to end up as a Right Back oneday. A random discovery in China led to signing him for only £600,000 just before the season. Currently loaned out to Genk (to gain European citizenship)

Wing-Backs:
Rudiger Littmann - 23 years old - German (10 Caps/0 Goals)
Featured in Germany's 2014 World Cup squad, played 7 games at Right-Back for them. Bought for a tidy £7.5m back in 2011, has played in 52 league games in 2 years after displacing Branislav Ivanovic for the RB position. Still some more development required, as Ivanovic still plays in European football because of his experience; Littmann isn't far off from being a permenant starter.

Stefan Makolli - 22 years old - Finnish (10 Caps/0 Goals)
Played in 8 World Cup games in 2014, was rushed into the squad after AS Roma bought fellow-Finnish wing back Samuli Uotila for £25m. Played 47 games in 2013/14 in all competitions and had 8 assists from Left-Back. Can play Centre-Back and in the Midfielder. Very versitile, enjoys a large range of skills such as Long Throws, Corners and can hit the occasional Free-Kick. New signing Miguel Veloso is fresh on his heels for the Left-Back spot and will have to play very well to start in 30+ league games.

Branislav Ivanovic - 30 years old - Serbian (57 Caps/0 Goals)
Bought from Lokomotiv Moscow in 2008 for £5.5m, Ivanovic was a day 1 starter for the club. Aside from injuries in 2011 and 2013 that saw him miss action (6 months in 2013). Currently the 2nd most capped defender in the club with 291 and 4 shy from 200 league games.

Gareth Bale - 25 years old - Welsh (51 Caps/5 Goals)
Whilst being touted as a future star, he spent 3 of the first 4 season on loan to Rangers, Zaragoza and Everton. Scoring his first club league goal last year in his 4th full season. Was first a backup to Gerard Pique, then later to Samuli Uotila and Stefan Makolli. Still provides a vital link with range of Free-Kick abilities and playing from back to front on the left side of the field.

Defensive Midfielders:
Xabi Alonso - 32 years old - Spanish (114 Caps/10 Goals)
Spain's most capped active player, wealth of experience also. Starter since 2008 when he was bought from Liverpool for £32m, has the "Mental" attributes to be a real box-to-box midfielder. Has 19 Passing matched by 19 Creativity and Work Rate; 18 in Positioning, Decisions, Determination and Anticipation. Is aging, and plays in the Centre of Midfield with Rafael while Roberto plays the in the 'holding midfield' role in the 4-5-1.

Roberto - 26 years old - Brazilian (Uncapped)
Very underrated DM and surprising that hes not made a single Brazilian squad! (they dont play with DMs so not that surprised) was the successor to Owen Hargreaves and Xabi Alonso back there. Really made the position his in 2012 after scoring 2 Champions League goals in an away leg to A.C. Milan which proved to be the dagger in the hearts (Won 2-1 on aggrigate) for the Red side of Milan. During the 2009/10 Season, he was 1 of 3 club players loaned to Porto when they won the Champions League title (others being Philippe Senderos and Johan Djourou) making them one of the few to win the award with 2 teams.

Miguel Veloso - 28 years old - Portuguese (52 Caps/2 Goals)
Free transfer from Sporting CP in 2013 and played 15 league games from a possible 18 last year. Can play Left-Back and Defensive Midfield with great range, great mental awareness and plays smart with good decisions and as a cover Centre-Back can excel also. Rare left-footed player that can play Centre-Back and Defenside Midfield.

Centre Midfielders:
Rafael van der Vaart - 31 years old - Dutch (94 Caps/22 Goals)
Prolific goalscoer and assist man during the 2008-2012 season, however since then; countless injuries and a Inter Milan speculation move saw production drop off. Awarded Vice-Captaincy after being named Holland Captain after Edwin van der Sar's international retirement in 2009. Has a lot of attacking potential and the clubs main Penalty Taker, Free Kick taker and only player with 20/20 in Creativity.

Frank Lampard - 36 years old - English (111 Caps/34 Goals)
Certainly up in the age bracket, clubs 2nd most capped player with 315 games, 211 from league games and scoring 60 goals in the process. Was influential in 2008's League Title, coming 2nd in League Goals and Assists (Torres' scoring 37 goals and van der Vaarts 25 assists were winners) Lampard has proven himself in countless situations that he is worthy of the "Legendary Midfielder" tag that is placed on him.

Wesley Sneijder - 30 years old - Dutch (70 Caps/9 Goals)
The super-sub Sneijder had a shakey start to club football for me, 2008 and 2009 seasons both spent at Lazio and 2010 at Zaragoza and 2011 at Hercules before being called back into the first-team for good in 2012. Playing 93 games since 2008, and 65 games within the past 2 seasons. Sneijder has a commanding presense in the centre of midfield along with Rafael, their combined creativity and playmaking make them very difficult to close down all game.

Vebjorn Tajet - 23 years old - Norwegian (14 Caps/1 Goal)
Bought in 2010 on a free transfer, Tajet spent 2 years at Stoke on loan and another 2 as rotation support for Rafael, Lampard and Xabi Alonso in midfield. Holds the record for youngest player in Norway history (16 years old) and has the ability to play box-to-box with his high defensive stats as well as good attacking ability. Will only continue to get stronger as his age matures and recieves tutorship from Frank Lampard.

Callum Forrest - 23 years old - Scotland (16 Caps/1 Goal)
Recently accquired from Everton for free. Forrest is a star for the future. Incredible Creativity, Passing and Decisions gives him an edge in midfield. Has some physical problems and these over time will improve, has many similar qualities to Rafael van der Vaart as well.

Wingers:
Cristiano Ronaldo - 29 years old - Portuguese (109 Caps/61 Goals)
Probably one of the more known players on the planet. Paying upwards of £60m for him during 2008, Ronaldo has since gone on to win several awards such as UEFA Player of the Year, UEFA and EPL Golden Boots and almost every year in the EPL's Best Eleven. 198 leauge games with 121 goals and over 35 goals in European Football in 62 games is the most by any club player ever in terms of goals and 2nd in games (Terry's 73 leads)

Bojan Krkic - 23 years old - Spanish (26 Caps/21 Goals)
A true master at Left-Winger after moving van der Vaart inside due to Cesc Fabregas' departure to Real Madrid for £25.5m. Spent 2008 and 2009 on season loans, where he enjoyed 3 domestic trophies and many european appearances. Bought from Barcelona for £19.25m in 2010, has played over 130 league games in 4 seasons (35, 34, 33, 31 in each) and scoring 15, 18, 12, 19 goals respectively in the past 4 also.

Giuseppe Rossi - 27 years old - Italian (33 Caps/19 Goals)
Rossi bloomed late in his international career and also his club career. Spending loan spells at Lazio, AS Roma, Fiorentina, Tottenham and Villarreal until finding a semi-frequent home in 2011. Scores goals when out on loan, but for his main club there have been consistency issues. Only 20 goals in 81 games so far, though most are off the bench.

Sindre Rafiq - 23 years old - Norwegian (3 Caps/4 Goals)
Another Everton prospect that I bought (£9m this time) who spent a turbulant season on loan scoring 8 goals in 33 games with 2 assists and 6 man-of-the-match awards. Currently only appeared in 1 league game and 1 champions league game, netting 0 goals or assists. A future star and might replace Ronaldo one day when his (Ronaldo's) time is finally up.

Strikers:
Fernando Torres - 30 years old - Spainish (96 Caps/43 Goals)
Bursted onto the League scene, after stealing him from Liverpool with a £24m move. Scoring 33 goals from 37 goals and 14 assists in 2008 to earn countless awards. Following up with impressive season following including 4x 20+ goal seasons from 7. 2013/14 was a slow year for Torres' having a bad first month and going 10 hours without scoring ended with Bojan/Ronaldo taking the lone-striker role. His best day are probably behind him and a replacement needs to be blooded in soon.

Wilco Smeets - 22 years old - Dutch (28 U21 Caps/20 U21 Goals)
Wilco has everything you need to succeed, 20/20 Pace and great physical and technical abilities. Only 22, with some tutorship from Ronaldo and Torres, the skys the limit. Scores often and in the big games too! 11 League games ane 8 Goals with 2 assists as a sub. 30 combined club games and 21 goals, with 11 goals in 17 European Championship games.


The 4-5-1 Formation - Labelled with the positions

GK - Igor Akinfeev
RB - Rudiger Littmann
CB - Micah Richards
CB - John Terry (C)
LB - Stefan Makolli
DM - Roberto
CM - Xabi Alonso
CM - Rafael van der Vaart (V-C)
RW - Crisitano Ronaldo
LW - Bojan Krkic
FC - Fernando Torres

Subs:
1. Oscar Ustari
2. Miguel Veloso
3. Renato
4. Vebjorn Tajet
5. Callum Forrest
6. Wesley Sneijder
7. Giuseppe Rossi

had to get that out of yuor system van, anyways nice

Madness wrote:

had to get that out of yuor system van, anyways nice

That, and the forums have been dead and I can only conjure so much crap to talk about... This way I keep people coming back for a lookie-loo and maybe inspire someone to do a montage of a RoW storm of some place etc etc.

Plus I enjoy the writing and now Juff gave me a place to express myself -- Im going to take advantage of it, I use to write about Madden Franchises' on the old MaddenMania (now Operation Sports) website so I feel pretty comfortable in this sorta situation.

I'll do monthly reviews (game by game is a bit crazy lol) and do Croatia reports too -- my current national team. Have recaps of players maybe some of you want to see? or clubs, or countries. My database is extremely deep and can access most games from back to around 2012 season.

If I like the player spotlights in draft, I might draft a few articles and see how I like them.

That was an interesting read, probably makes it more interesting now im getting more into my soccer.

I'm looking forward to following your FM journey.

The month started well (check the first post for transfers and the like) as I played my usual friendly with Dublin College United F.C. -- Scottish Amateur League. Since I like to help out the small clubs with some cash. An easy 6-0 win. Then it was onto EPL Games;

09.08.2014 - H - West Ham United
12.08.2014 - A - Sunderland
16.08.2014 - H - Leeds United
20.08.2014 - A - Aston Villa
23.08.2014 - H - Arsenal
29.08.2014 - N - F.C. Barcelona -- European Champions Cup

The start was dissapointing and wasn't characteristic for a squad I manage (I tend to die in the ass around September, lol) with a pair of draws to open the campaign, but aside from the Sunderland game, I've kept 4 clean sheets which included Arsenal in that one.

The European Champions Cup is played between the Champions League Champions (which is me) and the Europa League Champions (which is, Barca) -- this is played at the Stade Louis II, Monaco. This is going to be my feature game.

There have been 3 other instances where F.C. Barcelona and I have faced off. Its my 2 Wins leading their 1. The first two, were in the 2008 UEFA Champions League group stages. First game was at Wembley, a 3-2 Win which shocked the ba-jingles out of me. It was also my first European game, and to taste glory! With a Fernando Torres double in the 80' and 90+3' minute to snatch a victory for the ages.
The return leg at the Camp Nou saw a convincing 0-3 loss, but I had qualified by this stage and was running out a B-team and not shocked I got thumped but there were many players in my B-team who are now my starters (Roberto, Wesley Sneijder, Giuseppe Rossi to name a few!)

In 2012, it was the UEFA Champions League Final! This was being played at Old Trafford (Manchester United's Field) and I ironically played United there less than month before with a 1-0 league win. After trailing 0-2 at half-time, a double sub saw some results. Bojan Krkic, a former Barca youth scored 2 goals before 60' and Torres getting 1 more by that stage. Rafael van der Vaart put away a Penatly at the 82' and dispatched a final blow in the 85' with a counter-attack goal. This Win gave me my FIRST!!! Champions League trophy. Becoming only the 2nd team since 2008 (Arsenal in 2010, won at Wembley) to win the Champions League Final when it's played in the same country as the winner!

Preview:

Barcelona Bench:
Victor Valdes,
Thierry Henry,
Paulo,
Rafael Marquez,
Lubos Krajcik,
Giovanni dos Santos
Carlos Puyol.

London's Bench:
Oscar Ustari,
Mohamed Sahbani,
Renato Ortega,
Gareth Bale,
Callum Forrest,
Roberto,
Giuseppe Rossi


Interviewer: Jean, what is London's key to victory today?
Jean: The key obviously is shutting down their wide-winger play. Messi and Ronaldinho are exceptional world-class players and I put Branislav [Ivanovic] and Miguel [Veloso] at Fullback to disrupt them and create turnover oppotunities and both are very good counter-attack men which will feed the ball to our playmakers Wesley and Rafael [Sneijder & van der Vaart, respectively] and to also create our own wing play with Bojan and Crisitano Ronaldo.

Interviewer: What sort of occasion is this for Miguel Veloso, this is his first major cup tie since coming to the club in the Jan transfer window. What sort of impact will he have?
Jean: Miguel is very versitile, able to play Defensive Midfield and Wing-Back is something which got me to sign him initially. This allows Xabi Alonso to not worry about covering the wide players and focus on their central playmaker. He [Miguel Veloso] has plenty of international experience and he can rely on Crisitano Ronaldo to lead him on the field, his working relationship with John [Terry] is great also since hes played a couple games at Central Defense also.

Interviewer: Giuseppe scored a wonderful goal mid-week in the league game against Arsenal which sealeed that game, will he provide a similar impact from the bench today?
Jean: Giuseppe has had some troubles in the past with goal scoring form, recently he's settled in well and so far has 4 goals from 3 starts and another goal from the 1 appearance off the bench. He's a quality player and bring a different dynamic to what my other wingers Bojan and Ronaldo bring.

Game Highlights
17' - van der Vaart Goal
Torres takes a shot from outside the 6-yard box, ex-Londoner Rubin Suarez Rodriguez charges the ball down. His deflection lands into Rafael's lap and the 31 year old Vice-Captain puts the ball into the back of the net!!!

27' - London 1-0
Barca's first chance came from carefully planned passing, a Barzagli deep ball put Eto'o behind Micah Richards, a short dart from Messi takes a shot from just outside the box. Akinfeev is called into the first save of the day, Terry then punts it into row Z to force a corner. Xabi Alonso picks up the scraps and slams a through ball to Bojan who takes it down the field until hes caught by Suarez Rodriguez for a throw-in.
The ensuing counter-attack by Bojan gave away the first booking (yellow card) to Chauvin of Barcalona, chopping down Bojan mere yards from the penalty box. Bojan snuck a cheeky ball through the legs of Chauvin and left with no choice, took the booking to save his side a possible 2-0 after 29 minutes.

37' - Bojan scores London's second.
A throw-in taken by Ivanovic to Terry who held the ball up to let Ronaldo find some space behind the defense. A brilliant first-touch from Ronaldo sprung Bojan free. With nobody left by the keeper, Bojan showed the fans why London spent near £20 million on buying the youngster with a savage right footed shot.
His celebration was fairly calm, acknowledging the Barca fans and pointing both fingers into the sky.

44' - First London booking
The tussel between Chauvin and Bojan got a little heated, after Bojan was dispossed he grabs Chauvin's jersey which brings him to the ground. The referee slowly walks upto Bojan and awards the free-kick and in the process a yellow card. He'll have to be careful, as Bojan's have a great day so far and doesn't want to drop his side down to 10 players.

Half-time
London 2 - 0 Barcelona
17' (London) van der Vaart Goal
37' (London) Bojan Goal

Posession: London 49% / Barcelona 51%
Fouls: London 4 / Barcelona 14
Free-Kicks: London 16 / Barcelona 5
Corners: London 2 / Barcelona 1

Half-time Performer: Xabi Alonso
A truely stoic performance by the Legendary Midfielder. Completing 19 of 21 passes, with a key defensive header from a corner. Capped his performance with an assist on goal.

The half-time message reported from the sheds was London manager Jean reminding his players that their performance can't drop against a side like Barcelona and noted the danger Messi brings at any stage of the game.

Second Half
48' London's Bojan is coming off and Brazilian Roberto is coming on.
Commentator:
This is an obvious move to protect young Bojan from a second yellow card. Also we will probably see van der Vaart shift onto the Left-Wing and push Xabi Alonso up into midfield to partner Wesley Sneijder whilst Roberto will take up his Defensive Midfielder position.

71' Miguel Veloso protecting the house.
The value of experience just shone through as Miguel Veloso dispatches his 7th interception into the midfield after showing up Ronaldinho again, the delight from John Terry as he see's Veloso shutting down 'King Ronny' gets the travelling Rovers' fans in an uproar. What will Barca do?

76' Further tactical substitutions
Commentator:
Rafael van der Vaart departs the field to a standing ovation from the London fans, his service is duely appreciated, coming on is Callum Forrest in his first European Football for not just London, but his young career. Maybe tonight will be some magical for Forrest as he makes his Continental debut?
The second substitution is Ivanovic who only minutes earlier picked up a booking from the referee, Manager Jean saw this as a great chance to bring on fresh legs Renato Ortega, this will mean Micah Richards can play his preferred Right-Back position and now has the task of shutting down Lionel Messi.

82' Barcelona replies
Commentator:
Barcelona Manager Frank Riijkart has had enough, he calls on his bench and bring Iniesta off for Paulo. Barcelona havn't been their usual threatening selves, large thanks due to Branislav Ivanovic and Miguel Veloso playing like the stone wall John Terry does every game.
Mere minutes ago a striking shot was saved again by Igor Akinfeev, the Russian goalkeeper has been tidy and spotless tonight and it looks like another clean sheet from him tonight!

87' Barca pulls one back
A quick counter, that started with keeper Fedorov saw a flurry of fast-paced passes down the right side. Messi orchistrated a wonderful 1-2 with Chauvin to let Messi slip by Miguel Veloso, a flick inside from Messi put Renato out of position and left the door open for Giovanni dos Santos to snatch a goal to halve the Rovers' lead.
Maybe too much, too late? Another 3+ minutes remain!

90'+3'
Whistle blows, and London have won their 3rd Cup, and 3 of the past 4 going to London.
A.C. Milan has 5 titles and leads London by 2, with wins in 2013, 1994 after starting with a double in 1989/1990 -- ironically the same as London did. Winning in 2011 and 2012 to start with and now again in 2014.

Full-Time
Player of the Match:
Rafael van der Vaart
Scoring the first goal, wreaking havoc in the midfield during the first half.
Completing 18 of 26 passes in his 76 playing minutes. Completed 2 key tackles and intercepting 5 passes from a Barcelona attack that took 87 minutes to score. 3/4 shots on target with a goal in the 17th minute.

Miguel Veloso had a team high 7 interceptions and Xabi Alonso's playmaking setup the van der Vaart goal and earned himself another assist.

London 2 - 1 Barcelona
Shots: London 16 - 11
On Target: London 13 - 7
Possession: Barcelona 52% / 48%
Corners: London 3 - 3 Barcelona
Free-Kicks: London 24 - 14
Fouls: London 12 - 20 Barcelona
Offsides: London 2 - 4 Barcelona
Bookings:
London 2 (Ivanovic, Bojan)
Barcelona 3 (Chauvin, Pasqual, Courteille)

August Review
League Games
0-0 West Ham
2-2 Sunderland (Rossi 69', van der Vaart '90)
2-0 Leeds (van der Vaart 12', Bojan 82')
0-0 Aston Villa
2-0 Arsenal (Rossi 39' 86')
2-1 Barcelona (van der Vaart 17', Bojan 37')

EPL Table:
1st - West Brom (WTF? LOL) 4 Wins, 1 Draw for sole lead at 13 points.
London are 6th, with 2 Wins and 3 Draws from their first 5 games. Has them sitting on 9 points.

Upcoming Fixture - All are considered EPL Games unless otherwise noted.
03.09.2014 - A - Liverpool (EPL Winners last year)
13.09.2014 - H - Manchester City
16.09.2014 - A - Celtic (UEFA Champions League Group Stage)
20.09.2014 - A - Blackburn
27.09.2014 - A - Chelsea
30.09.2014 ----- Carling Cup 3rd Round Draw

Next Post!!!
Player Spotlight?
UEFA Champions League preview

Juff wrote:

That was an interesting read, probably makes it more interesting now im getting more into my soccer.

I'm looking forward to following your FM journey.

I really do enjoy sharing the stories -- I loved the start, had every EPL team release their squads and a bidding frenzy ensued, I targetted only about 17 players at the start and they formed my basic core.

I'm trying to keep this interesting, I don't want to *just post stats* and bring some different elements I see around (like Player spotlights like they have on EPL TV in UK etc)

The player spotlight has me miffed to be honest, I don't know what direction I want it to flow...

hahah your lucky you got away with only a draw against the mighty Hammers!

Sounds like not a bad start to the season, not a great start but no losses is always a good thing.

Juff wrote:

hahah your lucky you got away with only a draw against the mighty Hammers!

Sounds like not a bad start to the season, not a great start but no losses is always a good thing.

A Draw = 2 dropped points
A Loss = 3 dropped.
Sure, its a point, but look at the table from last year? Liverpool had 8 draws on me -- both of us had 25 wins and I had 10 losses (though 3-4 were in the last few games but was still behind by a bit)

Just to compare over the first 5 games...

2007/08: 4 Wins, 1 Draw
2008/09: 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss
2009/10: 2 Wins, 2 Draws, 1 Loss - Loss to Chelsea and opened with a 4-4 Liverpool draw.
2010/11: 5 Wins
2011/12: 4 Wins, 1 Draw
2012/13: 4 Wins, 1 Draw
2013/14: 1 Win, 1 Draws, 3 Losses - Last season
2014/15: 2 Wins, 3 Draws

Minus 2013 when I was missing 7 starters for the first half of the season (World Cup qualifying murdered me) I was running off some impressive starts and in most of those great starts, I won the EPL crown so it doesn't hurt by starting with 5 Wins lol.

If you've been reading, you'll notice I play Celtic F.C. during September. By finishing Top 4 in the EPL, you are given the chance to play in the UCL (UEFA Champions League) -- this results in BIG money. I received £3,000,000 *JUST* by getting into the group stages, thats some good cash.

UCL is the top league across Europe, just how AFC is for Asia. This means top clubs from across Europe try to claim their club as the best in europe. There are 3 qualifying stages, a group stage, then a knockout played by the top 2 teams in each group (8 groups total)


Group A:
Barcelona are definately the favourites. Their squad boasts 4 players with 100+ International Caps and are one of the more successful clubs in european club history. Winning the UCL in 2006, Runners-Up in 2012 and making the knockout stages every year they've been in the UCL.

AS Roma is definately a team to watch for, they're my pick for #2 seed. Theres a pair of ex-London players there, Philippe Mexes a French International Centre-Back with 85 caps under his belt and played over 100 club games during 3 seasons. Samuli Uotila was a promising young Wing-Back until £25.5m offer came my way and my Board of Directors chose to sell against my wishes. Roma in 2010 were Europa League Runners-Up to Valencia.

HSV (Hamburger SV) is a German side with moderate domestic success winning 6 Bundasliga's and arn't strangers to European success, capturing 4 major trophies in their history. Their strong-man in midfield is Nigel de Jong a Dutch international with 23 caps for Holland. I prefer a 3rd place finishing for them, maybe a 2nd place if they manager to sneak into Italy and snatch a win over Roma.

The beauty of UCL football is the "minnows" and every group has one of these, for Group A it's CSKA Sofia and Bulgarian team. A major powerhouse in the Bulgarian league with many domestic titles -- Winning the EURO Vase in 2010. I doubt they'll get a win but a couple of draws are on the cards.


Group B:
London -- Current Champions. 3 Titles in 4 years.
Definative favourites, if not, then a Final 8 contender. The squad is European Hardened. Boasting 5 starters with over 50 games in european competition (just at my club - i dont track stats outside my own club) and only a handful of players without experience (Forrest, Lacriox, Richards, Sahban and Ustari) will definately get playing time during the group stage.

A.C. Milan is a European powerhouse also. Kaka is easily the most dangerous player and he is surrounded with talent from Gattuso and Tiago both who have over 90 international caps. 2007 they won the Club World Championship and 2008 saw 3 more trophies (Club World Championship, UCL and UEFA Champions Cup trophies) Since then, it's been a dorminant beast with several managers failing to impress until 2013 when the 'Red Milan' won the Europa League and Champions Cup in 2013. The deciding game will definately be the last game (December 9, 2014) when Milan host London.

Celtic are a proud Scottish club with proud domestic trophies (several League and League Cup titles) and managed in 2009 to get to the Europa Legue finals, ultimately loosing to Olympique Lyon in the Final. Celtic landed Didier Brogba from Chelsea and his 71 international goals from 90 caps will provide a threat up front that can not be ignored.

AEK Athens has drawn the group of death, a top Greek side domestically with minimal success in Europe. Winning the 2013 EURO Vase has been their only Continental trophy. I dont expect a goal to even come from the side frankly.


Group C
Arsenal are easily the favourites in this easy group. With a 2009 EPL title and 2 more domestic trophies in 2011 and 2014 is a platform grown from their first UCL Trophy in 2010 (After defeating London in the Semi-Finals!) and with plenty of youth across the board they are a possible bogey team. Only 2 players with decent international appearance and both are on the older side of 33. Majority of the squad havn't played a first-team international and most ages are below 25.

Benfica are going to be outside chances at winning the group, they have built a pedigree of making the knockout stages several times and have a vast array of talent on hand, including the incumbant keeper Maarten Stekelenburg who took over from Edwin van der Sar in 2010. Also ex-Arsenal midfielder Alexandre Song plays in Benfica's midfield and will demand a shadow presense in order to close them down.

Fenerbahce SK are a strange team, several players that were in the winning EURO-'08 Turkey national team are in Fenerbahce which will prove to be a strong point. Another team with zero Continental success but they seem poised to take a run at the title this year and Group-C seems to be a good chance to advance.

Dinamo Kiev has few international stars and havn't enjoyed much european success with their last trophy being 1975 when the won the current day Europa League. Their chances are very slim but this group is going to be interesting to see how it shapes up!!


Group D
Real Madrid are easily the favourites in this harder group D. Superstars such as Raul, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and the ex-London wonderkid Cesc Fabregas are some of the more experience veterans. There is a lot of history between London and Real Madrid with 3 Trophies being decided (London won all 3! ha) but with probably the biggest heart-breaker coming in the 2009 UCL Quarter-Finals when a 0-0 draw ended in a 0-1 loss in 119' (120 in ET) and a mere minute from penalty shoot-outs.

Lyon have a solid core of players, Milan Baros of Czech Republic leads up front with Swedish-International Kim Kallstrom's 117 caps leading the team. Europa League Champions in 2009, followed up with a EURO Vase win in 2011 have seen some european success but they will more than likely advance into the knockout stages and chance their arm at maybe knocking off Madrid.

CSKA Moscow sold Igor Akinfeev in 2007 and since then have flounded in european competition -- a curse they will need to pull off by taking out a king of europe and Lyon's talented squad. The home fixtures against Lyon and Madrid are going to be deciding roles.

Boavista Futebol Clube SAD might be a minnow, yet this Portuguese club have some very impressive players such as Hugo Viana, Croatia's Marko Dinjar and goal-poacher Mantorras who has 51 goals in 57 Angolian caps. Unlikely to advance but might sneak above CSKA or Lyon if they slip for 3rd place.

PART TWO COMING...

Van, i dont think its physically possible for me to comprehend how much of a life u dont have hahaha

Group E
Futebol Clube do Porto SAD has favourable ties with London. Their only European hardware came during 2009, when 4 London players were on loan there. One of which joined shortly after (Philippe Senderos) along with other Portuguese stars such as Helder Postiga, Ricard Quaresma who pair with John Arne Riise and Emmanuel Adebayor to form a formidable core of players who are hungry again for european success post Jose Mourinho.

Juventus may be ranked higher, but their squad is relatively depleted. Limited success, which replies on a very old Gianluigi Buffon, Emmanuel Eboue played 2 years for London before being bought by Juve. Despite being one the most decorated clubs in the world (in real life) they have yet to claim more than just 1 trophy (UCL in 2011) maybe this year theyll draw a easy #1 Seed from a group and push into the later-knockout stage.

Shakhtar Donetsk is probably not going to advance, but they can cause potential havok. Darijo Srna is the only Crotian international in the squad, with a further 5 squad members having over 50 international caps. Plenty of Ukranian U21 experiece too, give the platform for a potential run in 2016-2017 season possibly.

RSC Anderlecht might be the #1 team in Beglium consistently, but their translation into european success is all but none. Despite 5 league titles and a further 8 domestic trophies (from a possible 12) there is little to be impressed about, and this year will be more of the same. Probably will go deep in the Europa League but no threat to advance in the UCL.


Group F
Inter Milan are for sure the big dogs in the group. Petr Cech signed in 2013, Ashley Cole in 2010 and recently accquired Steven Gerrard to pair with Samir Nasri, Valon Behrami, Belotti and Chivu. With 7 players over 100 caps, and a further 10 with over 20; Milan are up there with London for most experience squad and most likely to win the title. I would be surprised with they dropped any points.

Valencia are a side with potential to also go deep. This 'Group of Death' boasts another quad with 16 players earning over 20 international caps. David Villa is the sure danger with Silva, Raul Albiol and Craig Cordon providing pitch-wide attacking flair and disrupting defense. Winning the Europa League in the first season (2008) and after hiring Rafa Benitez in 2008, he leads the team to a UEFA Champions Cup trophy in 2009 and another Europa League title in 2010. Since 2010 however, the trophies have dried up and hiring Quique Flores back will help bring stability to the club.

Rangers dont lack in international experience, but their problem is the countries they're from (lol) Mostly Scottish and American, they have experience and talent but not european experience to run deep into UCL stages. ex-London (via-Middlesbrough) Tom Huddleston leads from Centre-Back. Predcition... 3rd place.

Olympiakos SF Piraeus is a another top-Greek team, regular group stage qualifiers also but rarely advance beyond this stage. A few key players with plenty of epxerience who might trouble the likes of Rangers but lack quality to put Valencia or Inter at any trouble.


Group G
Liverpool are hot off their first EPL title ever (Old-Division 1 last title was 1990, so 24 years) and looking to build on previous european titles. Last year, London won 2-0 to claim their 3rd title over Liverpool. After a internal fight in 2009 (One owner was punted while another took sole ownsership) saw a change in attitude with good results flowing from 2010 onwards. The squad is league-experienced but lack international and continental experience which may hurt their chances. Only Michael Owen has significant experience, with 147 English Caps and 90 Goals.

Sevilla are an interesting squad, signing Carlos Tevez from United and stealing 2 ex-London players, Nemanja Vidic (who I stole from United lol) and Xavier Jacobs who is a absolute stud!! and includes Miroslav Klose, Antonio Valencia, Michael Essien and Russian striker Alexandr Kerzhakov. Their only european trophy coming off a 2007 UEFA Champions Cup title and look to run deep into the UCL this year.

Feyenoord have been atop Holland for a number of years, and have had little success in europe. Winning the league title in 2009, 2011, 2014 with 4 Dutch Super Cup wins to cap off a good domestic haul. EURO Vase trophy in 2010 is the best it has been for Feyenoord and they must like their chances after dropping down to the Europa League (3rd and 4th in UCL drops down)

Spartak Moscow. Nothing much to say. Qualified for the UCL Group stage, and wont stay long. I dont think theyll even score a single goal either.


Group H
The last group features some interesting debates. Chelsea are easily favourites here, with strong-man Per Mertesacker and striker Goran Pandev they have a good foundation layed for a good run at UCL football. Plenty of domestic success but hasnt turned into european silverware of late.

Olympique de Marseille are another good domestic side that has has limited continental success. I like their chances of finishing 2nd, maybe even challenge Chelsea for top spot. Yet I dont seem then making it past the Quarter-Finals. This is probably the easiest group of the UCL and rightly so. No trophies among any teams since the game started in 2008.

FC Schalke '04 is another german team with mixed results, being relegated in 2009; then coming back in 2011 and winning the Bundasliga in 2013 for automatic qualification into the group stages. Currently Attacking-Midfielder Ivan Rakitic was bought from Schalke for £10m pounds, something I currently regret doing since hes not panned out.

Galatasaray SK is the other Turkish club, with plenty of the EURO-'08 champion national team, which should prove to be a potential curve ball but in the end I dont see them getting above last place. 2014 saw them finish Runners-Up in the Europa League, and lost to F.C. Barcelona. (If Barca lost, I'd have played Galatasaray in the Champions Cup and not Barca)

Grover wrote:

Van, i dont think its physically possible for me to comprehend how much of a life u dont have hahaha

Young Padawan... Thy shall learnth thee way of 'van helsing-ism' and yee shall profit from tutorship of grand dutchess! haha.

Sure it's a pretty big info load, imagine typing it !! ha
Plus I made it somewhat interesting... lol...

New stuff is interesting, i like how you've gone through and giving your opinions on which sides will do well in the competition, I'd love to see an upset or two from some of the sides such as AEK Athens, and Spartak Moscow, I think it would be great to see one of these sides score, and maybe even pull a draw, be fantastic to see them win a game.

Juff wrote:

New stuff is interesting, i like how you've gone through and giving your opinions on which sides will do well in the competition, I'd love to see an upset or two from some of the sides such as AEK Athens, and Spartak Moscow, I think it would be great to see one of these sides score, and maybe even pull a draw, be fantastic to see them win a game.

I prefer some minnows to win (means I dont face the Arsenal, Liverpool and Barcelona's of the world)

Matchday 1:

Group A
Roma @ Barcelona
--This is a massive game, probably this fixture will decide the group winners, and winning is pretty huge deal in UCL.
Hamburger SV @ CSKA (Sofia)
--HSV can make it thought but beating CSKA is vital (and pulling draws away and not loosing) But Roma/Barca are in the Quarters for me.

Group B
AEK Athens @ A.C.Milan
--Milan is pretty stretched atm, they dont have alot of depth...but I dont like AEK's chance, Celtic have the best chance to grabbing 2nd.
London @ Celtic
--I'll field my #1 team, so I dont see Celtic even getting a shot on goal. UCL qualification is about *not* loosing, but winning and/or draws since a loss pretty much ruins the chance of qualification.

Group C
Benfica @ Arsenal
--This is a interesting matchup, I feel Benfica sneaking away with some points here. Arsenal on paper dont scare me
Fenerbahce @ Dinamo Kiev
--I like Fener here, they have about 4-5 Turkish starters and winning EURO-'08 aint easy.

Group D
Lyon @ Boavista
--This is the most likely "upset" game around, Lyon arn't in great form and Boavista to qualify when 2 years ago, it was a all-Portugal final (FC Porto -v- Sporting CP) is pretty impressive.
Real Mardrid @ CSKA Moscow
--This ain't a match, Real will slaughter them easily. Mardrid are just way too loaded with talent...

Group E
Juventus @ Anderlecht
--I think this might be a draw, Juve are strong with experience but have 2-3 injuries to deal with.
Porto @ Shakhtar
--Porto being in back-to-back Semi-Finals should make it there again this year.

Group F
Olympiakos @ Inter Milan
--Inter at home? Bye bye Olympiakos, lol.
Valencia @ Rangers
--This is another potential upset, Rangers are stronger than most thing and Valencia have struggled in UCL

Group G
Feyenorrd @ Liverpool
--Pretty straight forward, I dont see 'pool giving up a goal.
Spartak Moscow @ Sevilla
--Sevilla should win this with ease. Spartak are like 12th in the Russian Premier League.

Group H
Chelsea @ Marseille
--Chelsea are in poor form, and Marseille could steal a W and really make the path to knockout stage much easier.
Galatasaray @ Schalke
--Fixture home and away will probably decide who comes 2nd.

Why is 1st place, 10x more important than 2nd?
They knockout stages are simple, Group winners go into pool A, the rest into pool B. Then its a simple A -v- B.
If you're a 2nd place team, you could face Barcelona, London, Liverpool, Inter Milan etc. The flip side? Play a 2nd place team, and its possible that Schalke, Juventus or Valencia is your opponent. Thats a big deal.
Of course, Quarters-onwards, its just random draws.

Carling Cup 3rd Round Draw! LIVE!



The excitement of the Carling Cup, as London await their opponent. Winners in 2009 and 2013, along with a Runners-Up to Chelsea in 2012. Arsenal are current holders, Chelsea have come 2nd in 2013 and 2014 after winning in 2012. The favourites are easily Arsenal and Chelsea, with a closely followed London and Liverpool. Liverpool habn't won since 2003 (2005, last final appearance) and will look to return to earl-80s form when they won 4 in a row (1981-1984)


Who will London face?
-Arsenal?
-Manchester United?
-Tottenham?
-Wigan?
-York?

... and London luck out!!!



Who are Wigan?
Wigan have been up and down in the league. 2007/08 (First year played) they were relegated. London getting their biggest League win against Wigan (at the JJB Stadium, Wigan) 6-0!
The return fixture saw London field a B-side that still put a Wigan team to a 3-1 sword. That game saw Fernando Torres hit his 30th EPL goal for that season!

They spent another 2 season down in the Coca-Cola Championship -- 4th in 2008/09 but missing promotion, and 2nd in 2009/10 and gained promotion. Their only season in the EPL (2010/11) had them loose 2-0 to London in both games, and London's 2-0 win in the last game of the season sealed their relegation fate! (I promise I was fielding a C-rate side, I had 8 starters under 20 years old)

The last game was a FA Cup 3rd Round game at Wembley (my home field) where London ran out 4-1 winners. The Carling Cup 3rd round game is scheduled for 24th September 2014 and is going to be played at Wembley again.

Carling Cup 3rd Round Fixtures:

Apart from London, I manage a national team -- Croatia.
In FM, you can (if Club and Country allow it) manage a club and nation at the same time.

Basically, every so often there's an "international break" where a fortnight has multiple international games such as friendlies, qualifiers etc.

I took over in July 2012, and Croatia was 5th in World Cup qualification. My goal was to qualify for the World Cup as they did in 2010. My first game in charge was a 1-0 win over Latvia. Followed were another 5-0 win over Malta and a 0-0 draw with Austria.
The end of the 2012 year saw 2 friendlies, a 3-2 win over Australia and a 4-0 win over Holland. Needless to say, beating Euro-'08 Runners-Up Holland had my teams morale sky-high!
2013 was filled with injuries and missed chances, the first game of the year was a 1-0 loss to Israel, then back to WC qualifiers saw a 0-0 draw with Beglium look like a dissapointment after taking England down 3-1 at home. This feat was massive as I pulled into 2nd place and was in a spot to qualify but later losses to England (in England) of 4-1, Austria 2-1 were not enough to qualify (also recorded wins 1-0 Latvia, 7-1 Malta and 3-1 Belgium)
Friendly draws with Cameroon and Spain of 1-1 felt meek as I made those draws when I sat in 2nd place and expected to get into the World Cup.
To continue my trend of playing "hard" friendlies, saw two more draws with a 1-1 in Portugal and a 0-0 in Mexico (who were 2nd in the 2010 World Cup) which gives me hope to Euro-2014 qualifcation.

This squad will play against FYR Macedonia (Home) and Spain (Away) on 6th and 10th September respectively.
I fully expect a win and a draw as home form will be what gets me into contention and my away form will dictate how far I will go in qualifaction.
Other Group G Fixtures:
Norway @ Cyprus -- I expect Norway to win this one 2-1
Spain @ Moldova -- I can't see Spain loosing, 2-0 win
Macedonia @ Croatia -- Croatia 1-0 winners

This below picture is the squad for those two game.


The starting 11 for the Macedonia game:

Pos	Player	Club	Caps	Goals
GK	Stipe Pletikosa	Chelsea	113	-
WBR	Darijo Srna	Shakhtar	59	9
WBL	Zeljko Jelic	FC Nurnberg	9	0
RCB	Vedran Corluka	A.C. Milan	59	1
LCB	Ognjen Sopic	Espanyol	17	4
CDM	Berislav Madjaric	Paris St-Germaine	29	2
RCM	Vjeran Maretic	F.C. Bayern Munich	15	1
LCM	Danijel Juricic	Levante	23	3
RW	Luka Ajdukovic	Marseille	-	-
LW	Luka Modric	Deportivo	74	9
FC	Stjepan Runje	Racing	11	12

Bench

Player	Club	Caps	Goals
Zeljko Kovac	Maccabi Tel-Aviv	1	-
Anto Vulic	Fenerbahce	17	0
Davor Matos	Feyenoord	3	0
Zoran Bursic	Racing	18	0
Dejan Barisic	Werder Bremen	2	0
Marko Dinjar	Boavista	10	0
Robert Renic	Hamburger SV	14	2

European Championship follows some crazy rules, you have to 'register' players so they can play in the UCL.
There's a "Home Grown" portion that must be follow, 4 players must be 15-21 and trained at London for 5+ years and a further 8 must have trained at London for 3 years.

It's a 25-man Squad, typically I work in 26 man squads so I just drop my emergency GK for this.

Goalkeepers: (2x)
Igor Akinfeev -- Igor will make his 46th UCL start against Celtic, and in 45 games only conceeding 30 goals.
Remy Riou -- Remy is a solid UCL choice, I chose not to take Ustari due to the experience Remy has, 5 UCL starts.

Defenders: (8x)
John Terry -- Terry has 73 starts are Centre-Back, if successful, will play his 80th start in the knockout stages.
Micah Richards -- Will make his London European debut at Celtic, already playing a couple of seasons in Europa League for Man City.
Renato -- Only 22, and already has 21 starts. Was in the starting XI when London won last years UCL title.
Miguel Veloso -- Versitle, can play DM and Left/Centre Back. Making 7 starts in last years UCL campaign.
Branislav Ivanovic -- Very experienced Full-Back, 57 career games with 1 goal.
Stefan Makolli -- Young promising superstar, 22 years old and over 2 season has amassed 11 games in european competition.
Rudiger Littmann -- Wing-Back with loads of talent, 17 career games and only 23.
Gareth Bale -- Experienced Wing-Back, with 41 games. Looking to continue his great European form from seasons ago.

Midfielders: (8x)
Xabi Alonso -- A healthy 51 games and 31 goals, London's attacks will be directed by Xabi this season.
Rafael van der Vaart -- 47 starts in european club competition, the playmaking midfielder will be looking to continue an already supurb season.
Wesley Sneijder -- One of the FC Porto championship side, and last year becoming one of a few players to win 2x UCL titles with 2 teams.
Frank Lampard -- Experience in Europe is a big advantage, and Lampard's 59 games makes his equal 3rd on London's all-time list.
Roberto -- The Brazilian DM has plenty of games under his belt now, and will start his first UCL campaign as a perennial first-teamer.
Vebjorn Tajet -- Another young (23) superstar with 21 games experience, look to play alongside Sneijder this year.
Callum Forrest -- Continues the trend of young, talented midfielders; will debut in all european competitions if he plays.
Ivan Rakitic -- 26 year old Croatian international with 2 games, will look to gain some experience possibly in the later group stage games.

Forwards: (5x)
Bojan Krkic -- Prolific goalscorer, with 35 goals in 49 games; and being 23, will look forward to another stella european season.
Cristiano Ronaldo -- Extended his tally of games to 62 last season, becoming 2nd in London history. His 39 goals are only 4 behind Torres.
Giuseppe Rossi -- His incredible performance this season has earned him a starting role against Celtic, with 3 goals in 2 starts.
Fernando Torres -- London's leading goalscorer in European comps, has slowed in his potency, and might just catch fire during the group stages.
Wilco Smeets -- Talented youngster with a taste for goal, 11 goals in 17 games.

UEFA Champions League Fixtures:
16.09.2014 - A - Celtic F.C.
01.10.2014 - H - A.C. Milan
22.10.2014 - H - AEK Athens
04.11.2014 - A - AEK Athens
26.11.2014 - H - Celtic F.C.
09.12.2014 - A - A.C. Milan

Expectations:
Play 6, Win 5 (1 draw maybe at A.C. Milan)

Also a schedule change:
03.09.2014 - A - Liverpool
***moved to a different date due to international games***
08.10.2014 - A - Liverpool

I really like this, I don't have to play Liverpool after 2 straight games against Arsenal and Barcelona which took a toll on my guys (2-0 over Arsenal and 2-1 over Barcelona) The only harder part is probably the last match against A.C. Milan since I play Manchester United 3 days before and both the United and Milan games are away which is tough travel.

seems you tend to be dominating in this game?

Madness wrote:

seems you tend to be dominating in this game?

I wouldn't say dominating.

I didn't qualify for the World Cup as Croatia. I'm ranked 34th currently (Seriously, Im 20-25 in terms of talent) but I think their ranking system is fucked up. Brazil was 31st after winning their Qualification group to the WC, then after winning it (2014, in Brazil lol) they shoot to 2nd place...

London is pretty iffy, I ain't got a treble (FA Cup, League Title and UCL Title) which means I'm dominating as only about 3-4 clubs ever have done it. Winning the UCL 3/4 years is pretty good but look at the other trophies I've won? Not much else, It's hard to sign 20 world-class players as the team gets pissed if you do.
Every 5 years I do a binge of youth, normally after a U18/U21 World Cup or European Championship; so they train under my starters for 1-2 years then get loaned out for top-flight experience (hence why I have players who won the UCL with Porto that one year) then spend 1-2 years in the rotation as one guy gets older and older.

Perfect example is Frank Lampard, whose 33, signed Callum Forrest (23), and had Vebjorn Tajet for years (whose 23 also), Ivan Rakitic was suppose to be the successor to Lampard but hes not quite panned out and with van der Vaart coming back into the fold, I don't need more Left-sided players such as Rakitic.

Over 30 players:
John Terry, 33
Xabi Alonso, 32
Rafael van der Vaart, 31
Branislav Ivanovic, 30
Wesley Sneijder, 30
Fernando Torres, 30

Under 23 players: (position is directly related to over-30s as their replacement)
Renato, 22
Callum Forrest, 23
Vebjorn Tajet, 23
Rudiger Littmann, 23
Mats Andre Teigen, 20
Wilco Smeets, 22

In 2-3 years, all those guys will be close to 23-25. Given they'll play to 30 before I do the next buying round, then spend 2-3 years developing those it's a pretty good system.

To further illustrate my point, this is my domestic year by year.


This is my domestic cup success (or lack of)
League Cup = Carling Cup


Lastly, European Success...

Believe it Van. I have been following your updates.
I had no idea this game had soooo much depth to it!
You have an incredibly strong Forward section. I don't know much about soccer...
But I'm assuming those epic Goal/Game ratio's can only be good news!
Also.
I would like to know-
What's the 1.3billion Units supposed to represent? Below your name.

Jerms wrote:

Believe it Van. I have been following your updates.
I had no idea this game had soooo much depth to it!
You have an incredibly strong Forward section. I don't know much about soccer...
But I'm assuming those epic Goal/Game ratio's can only be good news!
Also.
I would like to know-
What's the 1.3billion Units supposed to represent? Below your name.

Thank you, I can pull shitloads of stats out too...I keep spreadsheets on just about everything (to do with my club) which is why I can count the UCL games/goals I have etc.

With regards to the 1.3billion units lol, FM runs off a Database (like all games) so each db entry needs a specific number.

There's a name part (Jean)
Then flag is the nationality of the person (Ukraine if you dont know that flag)
The "1394642244" is the "Unique ID" of the db.

You'll see, anything with a 2xxx after it usually means it's randomly generated. Whilst the "108625" for John Terry means hes in the database standard. Most 139xxx are created into the database which explains why London is a 1394631329 and Jean is a 1394642244 beacuse I cerated London into the game and Jean was created from an auto-template inside the database.

The first segment of Player Spotlight!
Frankly, I didn't know where to start. I would've LOVED to do Edwin van der Sar but since I'm in 2014 and he retired in 2010 and hasn't since stayed active in the db (as in came back as a coach like some players.) It looks like London's *only* Club Captain will be first!


John Terry, known in real life as "Mr. Chelsea," he's the current England and Chelsea captain (well no longer England in real life.)

The job of a Centre-Back in a nutshell is to be the last line of defense.
Therefore, a good CB needs Tackling, Marking and Heading from the Technical Attributes. They're pretty self-explainatory.
Notice the Mental, just about everything is good here but some more than others: Anticipation, Concentration, Decisions, Determination, Positioning and Work Rate I value mostly.
Physical is just that, their physical status; Terry's pace is alright (12) and Strength is another good one, Jumping goes well with Heading.

Stats: (as of, End-2014 season)

386	Club Games	Club Record
8	Club Goals
109	English Caps
11	English Goals
257	League Games	Club Record
6	League Goals
56	Domestic Games	Club Record
1	Domestic Goals
73	European Games	Club Record
1	European Goals

Awards

League's Best XI	2008, 2011-2014
UEFA Defender of the Year	2010
UEFA Dream Team	2012, 2014
England Capatin	7.7.2007-Incumbant
London Rover's Captain	7.7.2007-Incumbant

Titles

2008	3.5.2008	English Premier League Title
	3.8.2008	English Community Shield Champions
2009	22.2.2009	Carling Cup Winners
2010	15.5.2010	English FA Cup Winners
	10.7.2010	England World Cup - 3rd Place
	8.8.2010	English Community Shield Champions - 2nd Title
2011	23.4.2011	English Premier League Title - 2nd Title
	18.5.2011	UEFA Europa League Champions
	7.8.2011	English Community Shield Champions - 3rd Title
	2.9.2011	UEFA European Champions Cup
2012	14.4.2012	English Premier League Title - 3rd Title
	23.5.2012	UEFA Champions League Winners
	5.8.2012	English Community Shield Champions - 4th Title
	31.8.2012	UEFA European Champions Cup - 2nd Title
	16.12.2012	FIFA World Club Championship Winners
2013	24.2.2013	Carling Cup Winners
	12.5.2013	English Premier League Title - 4th Title
	4.8.2013	English Community Shield Champions - 5th Title
2014	21.5.2014	UEFA Champions League Winners - 3rd Title
	29.8.2014	UEFA European Champions Cup - 3rd Title

Seems your London Rovers are going well although, I'm sure a couple of those first places were followed by some disappointment, like loosing third round.

I love the edition of PLayer Spotlight, its really well done, I look forward to reading the spotlights to come, It seems John Terry is quite a good player to have in you backs, and a rather good captain with all those caps he must be very experienced, and able to lead the team well.

Juff wrote:

Seems your London Rovers are going well although, I'm sure a couple of those first places were followed by some disappointment, like loosing third round.

I love the edition of PLayer Spotlight, its really well done, I look forward to reading the spotlights to come, It seems John Terry is quite a good player to have in you backs, and a rather good captain with all those caps he must be very experienced, and able to lead the team well.

386 games is alot of games, he averaged 40-50 games a season. He's never missed more than a game or two (worst injury was a bruised chest which kept him out for 8 days) which is fairly consistent. I'm a tough defensive guy, so starting Terry, Vidic and Mexes in 2008 is what got me my title. Since then i've signed some really key players, Renato Ortega is going to be something really special. Micah Richards is another solid player, who can Right-Back also (well hes better at RB) that gives some versitility.

Captains need to have influence, determination, teamwork and work rate. JT's are 18,20,18,18 respectively. I don't look forward to when he retires (maybe in 2-3 years) and by that stage his Pace and Physical Attributes will probably drop off hardcore as older players do. Positioning tends to oversight Pace since players tend to be in the right place at the right time rather than having to play catchup.

I just finished the Macedonia game (surprising result) and preparing for Spain currently. Will post later today what happens.