Never in all my days of playing this game have i put more of an effort into a pre-season yet when i look back at the comings and goings i have made i sit back and wonder if it could have been better.
I thought about having a policy of buying young stars on the up but ultimately i ended up going for seasoned old pros. To put it another way i went for players who are either past their best with old age or players that once set the world alight but have faded - hence the title of the post. The 2 main signings i made fall under this bracket - Riquelme and Mista. Riquelme only a couple of seasons ago was one of the best players in the world at Villareal but has recently been back in his homeland at Boca. Mista was a revelation at Valencia a few years ago but has been unheard of recently at Atletico Madrid. Both have a point to prove - hopefully! I brought in Nedved on a free transfer as i needed cover for my other new signing from Ajax Leonardo. To see all the comings and goings click here. I feel if Riquelme and Mista can bring back the old magic my gamble will pay off.
A big decision i hade to make was telling the board what i though my team could achieve in the coming season. I am realistic to know that i am never going to win the league so opted to tell them a mid-table finish was achievable. For this they gave me a transfer budget of 7 million. By telling them i could win the league they were only giving me an extra 4 million anyway. The league will be mine one day hopefully but not that quick!
The pre-season started with me getting offered the Atletico Madrid job out of the blue. I thought my board would be over the moon with my loyalty but never said a bloody word about it! The only friendlies of note were an incredible 4-4 draw with Recreativo were i was 4-1 down at one point and a 3-1 defeat by Inter Milan. I always like to have at least 1 glamour tie even though there is a good chance of getting beat.
At the point of writing this i have played the first 2 games of the season. I started with a fantastic victory over Osasuna followed by a 2-0 defeat away to Espanyol.
I will update again at Christmas where hopefully i will be comfortably holding my own in the league and Riquelme will be the king of Real Sociedad!
11 comments:
Well I got promoted. I didn't make aby major signings, but I did buy a new striker; Agouda I think his name is (Ghanian international). His stats are pretty ace and he links well with Skoubo, he isn't a profolic goal scorer but he plays a vital role in our game which is what we lacked in. I also got Sánchez on loan from Udinese (need a left winger), and he is very good. Other loan signings include Pedro from Arsenal) and Balotelli (the wonderkid from Inter, yet I don't start him).
5 games in and we are going strongly. A 3-1 victory over Villareal started the season off nicely, followed by a hard earned 1-1 draw at Osasuna. Next came the challenge of Sevilla. They were brushed aside 2-0. Not believing my luck thus far I was looking forward to my next game; Barcelona. However we were thumped 3-0, showing how much more quality we need to dominate this league. Not to be downheartened I looked at my next fixture. Real Madrid. I could see a bad spell approaching us. But we have to get on with it.
But 2 minutes in we are 1-0 up by a vicious deflection. Staring opened mouth at the pc, I started thinking to myself...I am a god of a manager. As I was congratulating myself we got another goal on the break. Our star player from last season (Morten Skoubo) still bagging a goal a game even in La Liga. We managed to hold on to the 2-0, and gained a victory against giants Real Madrid.
Will post my progress here at a later date.
PS: This is by "LewisMead"...but I forgot my password :$
Thats fantastic LewisMead well done. i know what you mean about Scoubo he is a brilliant player for me. Thanks for the update and keep up the good work. Hoping to have my computer back tomorrow.
Good. And thank you for getting me interested in Football Manager again. Skoubo is a god. Agouda isn't doing as well as I would've hoped, scored 1 in 8. He plays well but I won't be able to rely on Skoubo forever. May have to look into bringing one of our young saviours from last season.
I don't know how good he is for you but i'm really exited about Kenan Kodro. He scored an incredible amount of goals in my first season for the under 19s so this season he is out on loan to Eibar. I think he will be a star in a few seasons. Getting a striker to partner Scoubo isn't easy tho.
I don't have this Kendo player. I take it he is on after the patch? I spose he muist be as I don't have any patches on my game.
Also Agouda ended his goal drought, it was in a 5-1 away win against Hercules but maybe that will boost his form. Also definitely try and sign Agouda...I got him for 700k, could've got him for less but was in a hurry to sign before the close of tha transfer window. His stats are amazing and he is already worth 2.5mil in 8 games. Performances are also top notch and he is 23, works very well with Skoubo also. He is the main reason Skoubo is the top scorer in the league.
~LewisMead
Our season continues to be amazing and surprising. Defying the predictions of the media time and time again.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii246/LewisMead/FM08SFD.jpg
(please copy and paste link as html coding didn't work with it :\)
Storming into europe it seems with my first season. I just hope that my team can cut it til the end of the season. Skoubo has proved our star scoring a goal a game (until he was injured for a month), since his injury he has struggled to pick up form; but we continue to get goals from all over the pitch :)
~LewisMead
Thats brilliant mate well done. Hope they can keep it going till the end of the season. I'm itching to get back into it again. Life's a bit hectic just now so struggling to make time. Got my computer back and its working fine so happy about that. Thanks for the regular updates and keep up the good work. M'on the Sociedad!!!
Well the season ended and we came 4th. A massive achievement for us...had we won some of the easier games against lower opposition we could have easily been second. But no time for "if's" or "but's". We're in the Champions League :D:D:D. I think we should make it throught the qualifiers, and I am aiming to go into the Uefa Cup through CL.
I will put some of the players stats up here:
Morten Skoubo: 28 apps; 20 gls
Kwabena Agouda: 32 apps; 16 gls (pretty good for the "playmaker" striker) Agouda also got many assists.
A total of 36 gls from 2 players in 36 appearances. And when you have Xabi Prieto, Sánchez (on loan from Udinese and I can't for the life of me remember his first name :|) and Dalibor Stevanovic bagging goals from all over the pitch we have no real worries.
*Have to continue in another post :\ Post limit is nearly reached.
~LewisMead
My youths have been getting a lot of attention for themselves. Especially a young centre back I pinched for 1k off Lugo. He is now worth over 1 mil and has countless numbers of teams chasing him (including the likes of Barcelona, Arsenal, Juventus). But I know he will be a star...so unless a massive bid comes in he is not leaving :P
Will next update my transfers and first few games =]
~LewisMead
What can i say Lewismead thats fantastic. You have given me something to aim for but to be honest i'll be happy with a mid-table finish for season 2 i think. Scoubo is a legend. I was very close to selling him at the start of the game to Osasuna so i'm glad i never now. If you don't mind me asking what formation are you playing? I won't copy - honest!
I don't mind if you copy :P
I play 4 across the back, 1 defensive midfielder, then 3 across the middle (wingers ;) ) and 2 attackers.
If I feel we can win I wont play a defensive midfielder and will have him in the centre while I have an attacking midfielder. But our formed dropped during the final 8th of the season, so a change may be needed.
Anyway...for now I am putting my Sociedad season on hold. Going to try my hand at bringing Napoli back to the big stage :). But I am sure it wont be too long before I am lured back to RS
~LewisMead
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