Saturday 15 November 2008

Season 1 With Real Sociedad Started!!

Yesterday i officially started the FM2009 Real Sociedad Challenge so here is an update on how i got on.

After being really disappointed by the demo that was released i was more than a little nervous about how the main game would be but i have to admit - I LOVE IT!!!
I considered having a game first with another team to get used to it but then thought "what the hell" and jumped straight into the hotseat of Real Sociedad.

The first thing i checked before anything else was the transfer budget - 80k!! Not good so i immediately analysed the squad to see who i could sell for a quick buck as my assistant said the squad needed strengthened if we were to challenge for the title. I was then thrust into my first press conference which was much more enjoyable than i thought it would be.

I immediatley established i was lacking in the left back department so brought in a loan signing - Ravzan Rat from Shaktar. Next target was a striker as i felt if any of my current strikers got an injury, the backup was very poor and not ready for the big time yet. Out of curiosity i typed "Kovacevic" in the search box not really expecting Darko to be available from Olympiakos. To my amazement he was and for a knockdown 300k! Having sold one of my deadwood Markel to Reading for 1.4 million i snapped up Darko Kovacevic and had my first punch the air moment on FM2009! He has been by far my favourite player on the Football Manager/Championship Manager series of games and to have him again will make the game even more enjoyable - especially since he is still really good!! We have already had a minor disagreement however when i suggested he should try and place his shots in future (just wanted to see what he would say).

For my first friendly i chose to watch the 3D action and was really impressed! We won 7-0 and every goal was completely different. It did slow my computer down slightly so will watch in 2D from now on but watch the goal replays in 3D i think. The highlight of the friendlies was an 11-0 victory!

I played the first league game of the season at home to Huelga and managed a 1-0 victory although we created plenty chances and should have scored more.

As usual i will be trying my hardest to turn (the now 16 year old) Kenan Kodro into a superstar and will post my progress on that throughout the challenge.

Overall i'm quietly confident i can steer the club to promotion and i've decided i'm not gonna play any elaborate tactics, just a simple 4-4-2 just now.

Results
Transfers

13 comments:

Vincent said...

4 injuries already, sure the bug is gone? (as youve said on style :D)

Kova said...

Still to early to tell to be honest Vincent. 4 injury's isn't a massive amount and they do happen in real life so i'm giving it the benefit of the doubt just now.

R69NiX said...

Enjoying reading your blog, that Razavan Rat looks a real quality player, I can see why he's so popular on 09. Good luck on getting Real Sociedad up.

Kova said...

Thanks mate i appreciate it. I think Rat is also popular because he pretty much joins anyone. If i can afford to make the move permanent at the end of the season i will.

joenovo said...

Ok taken the Sociedad job and enjoying the challenge. Played 7 friendlies won 6 drew 1, so optimistic for the season ahead(although the teams i beat were pretty poor).Just about to play my first league game. Got the squad fit and ready to go. Only signed back up keeper in toni prats but 3 loan signings in D.Tristan,D.Kovacevic and leonardo from ajax. Still looking for a dominant cd before the window shuts. With my limited budget this will have to do for now. sold Zubikarai & Gabilondo. Looking at my squad i have decided to play 4 at the back with a def mid. then 2 mid 2 wingers and striker. playing this system simply because of the players i've got. will let u know how i go a couple of months into the season.

Kova said...

Brilliant stuff JoeNovo thanks for the update. You seem to have done really well with your loan signings especially with Leonardo! Kovacevic though should be your best player and score you plenty goals i think. Looking forward to your next update mate.

Anonymous said...

Never seen anything like it before. my sociedad team has drawn all 9 of its opening games. Sitting 16th in the league with the board about too wield the axe. I am creating chances and defending well, most of my team are on 7 or above ratings and morale is good but we just canny win. Playing with wingers and 1 upfront. does anyone think its time to change my tactics or will the dreaded vote of confidence be just around the corner.

Anonymous said...

Never seen anything like it before. my sociedad team has drawn all 9 of its opening games. Sitting 16th in the league with the board about too wield the axe. I am creating chances and defending well, most of my team are on 7 or above ratings and morale is good but we just canny win. Playing with wingers and 1 upfront. does anyone think its time to change my tactics or will the dreaded vote of confidence be just around the corner.

Anonymous said...

My record:

PLD17
W 12
D 3
L2
Scored 31, Conceded 12.

Top of league with 39 points. The table looks like this:

1st. SOCIEDAD 39pts
2nd. Zaragoza 35pts
3rd. Tenerife 32pts (Game in Hand)

It looks like me and those two might be the top 3, but not sure yet. Got a couple of awesome signings coming in Jan, Ismodes and Emana, check em out :D

Kova said...

JoeNovo sorry to see you are going through a rough patch mate if that happened to me i would be changing my tactics for sure. he board should give you more time but if you are still down the bottom at the new year you could be in trouble.

Jack thanks for the update mate well done on getting them top. The challenge now is keeping the swines there!

Anonymous said...

Sorry lads but i've failed the challenge. Sacked the first week of December after playing 16 games. Won only 2, drew 11 lost 3, scored only 6 goals and conceded 8. Knocked out of the cup in round 1. Changed my tactics after 9 games but if anything things got worse. Must have hit the bar in every game. Used the key highlights option but the clock seemed to tick away and never really saw much action. Should of tried to get a couple of good central midfielders although there are a few there its a key area and the guys were pretty poor. Back to the job centre for me. best of luck to the rest of the guys.

Anonymous said...

sorry the above comment is from joenovo

Kova said...

JoeNovo what a nightmare mate sorry to see that. Sounds to me like you had no luck whatsoever cos the signings you made looked really good. There are other challenges on FM Style you can try if you don't fancy giving RS another bash. I'm sure you will bounce back.