HELP! - Football Manager 2010

[rva]

http://www.youtube.com/v/3vnnhS1KHqI

Fast forward to around 3:30.

[Cockney Rebel]

You know, I swear I thought of you guys sooooooooooooooo much when I saw that a few months ago after I got the show off The Box

[rva]

My scouts just uncovered this guy. He already has the preferred moves of "marks opponent tightly" which I require
of all my central defenders, along with "plays short simple passes" and "plays no through balls" which I also train if I can.

Dundee wanted $9 million for him.  I talked them down to $6.5 million, but I probably would have been willing to spend my entire $110 million transfer budget on him. 

[Dan]

That guy is hilarious. I think I want to be his friend. I never realized this damn game has been around that long, tho. Wow.

And the moment I saw Mr Sinclair's basic info I started drooling. Nice find. But seriously - do you actually spend $110 million a year? I don't think I could even spend that much

I've been thinking about my squad and I have come up with some theories. My first problem is the promotions. I'm glad there are no more leagues to advance to b/c I'm tired of getting attached to guys who are really good one year and then can't cut it the next. Like Enza Yamissi. He is a League 1 guy of whom I milked a championship career. He probably shouldn't have played as much as he did last year, and this season he's way above his head AND he's over the hill. But I grew attached to him and it's hard to let him go. Same with Filipenko. My staff say he's a star at championship level but now he's my fourth best defender. But I love the guy. Argh.

Speaking of defenders, the game must have felt sorry for me b/c it sent me a guy named Senah Mango from OM (my parent club that the board forced upon me a year ago) who my staff say is tied with Simplice Terran as my best defender. He's just a loaner for this season but I guess he's making a difference. Wagner is my 3rd best defender but is progressing considerably under Filipenko's tutelage. Which means I'm not sure what to do about the DC position.

My only other signing to mention during this winter window was a Brazilian named Geovanni who was a free transfer to help with the left midfielder spot. He's alright-not much to mention really. I sold Bernardez for $1.3 million so that was cool. And Villa offered me $1 million for Gabor Kiss so I took it. Should have negotiated but oh well. Bettiol has signed on a pre- with a French side so his days are numbered. So sad.

It's really a good thing that you said all I have to do is to stay up b/c otherwise I might have been freaking out right now. We managed to win another FA Cup game (against Derby) and an EPL game (against Burnley) meaning spirits are high and we've climbed back to 17th position. Phew. Still - we need some space away from delegation or else there's going to be a lot of squad discontent.   

[rva]

Well, I should clarify.  All I ever have to do is just stay up, because all I ever promise my board that first year is that I will stave off relegation.
If you told your board you were going to win the title, you might be in a bit of trouble.  You can check your job security in the "confidence" page.

I actually have spent $120 million in a year.  I needed two superstar level players to put me over the top in 2015-16.  But I also sold $86 million in players that year so really the net cost to the club was only $34 million.  This year I spent $28 million, but I'm probably going to generate about $225-250 million from selling players.  So yeah, I would have paid $110 million for Sinclair just because I have so much money it's meaningless.

I think that in a few years Sinclair will look something like this guy, who I just sold to Man City:

[Dan]

Wow. Is that guy the best defender in your game? Did you actually get $92 million for him? Sheesh.

And no, my job security is hovering around the high 50s% as I told my board we'd stay up, but that's it. And since we're in 17th, and the media expects us to get relegated, there are no issues with expectations at the moment. I learned that lesson two seasons ago.

[rva]

Yeah.  Skills-wise, he's probably the best defender in the game but he lacks a certain leadership ability.  So overall, I think Jurgen Nachbaur is the best defender in the game. 

I mean, Jose does have an 16 determination and a 15 influence so it's not like he's a bad leader.  He's good at it, just like he's good at everything else.  But it's like he's so naturally awesome he lacks a bit of grit.

There's a few scattered players in the game who are just a cut above in the "intangibles" category.  And those players in the long-term are more valuable than even a player like "No Way" Jose.  Those are the players you keep around and use as captains.  Jurgen Nachbaur is one of those players. 

He's still an incredibly awesome defender, but just a tad below Jose.  What he does have though, is 18 determination, 17 influence and I'm guessing he is 20 in the hidden "professional" attribute.  As Nachbaur matures, I think he will end up with double 20's.  So because I have Nachbaur, I can sell Jose, buy Bryan Sinclair, have Nachbaur tutor Sinclair, and in a few years he will hopefully be another Jose.  That makes Nachbaur way more valuable in the long run.

So yeah, there's a rare few guys out there where like if you get ahold of a Nachbaur, you are set for life.  Because Nachbaur will tutor someone else and pass on his leadership skills, then that person tutors the next guy, etc.  That's where the old vets come in.  A lot of those guys are a shell of the player they once were, but their mental abilities are unmatched and even increase as their physical skills decline.   For example, Nachbaur in my game already had a natural inclination towards being a leader, but his leadership skills were honed considerably by an aging, but legendary Gabriel Milito who I got on a free.

And every once in a while, if you have the money and you're lucky, you can manage to snag one of those players still in their prime.  And you already have one such player.

[Dan]

Yes, I'm realizing that one of the elements of the game that I've misunderestimated up until this season was the value of the "tutoring" element. My plan for the upcoming offseason will be, I hope, a superstar or two like Jo, and then a bunch of wiley vets to tutor my younger squad. That's kinda it.

And every once in a while, if you have the money and you're lucky, you can manage to snag one of those players still in their prime.  And you already have one such player.

I do? Really? Surely you can't be talking about... hmmm... Filipenko? Or Kvist? Must be Kvist - of course, the other issue is that I don't really have any quality midfielders for him to tutor. Jaap Herbrand is alright - he's just too slow for my likes. Maybe he can tutor Jonjo Shelvey or Gergin Aleksiev? Hmmm....

[rva]

Kvist would be a solid choice for tutor, and you should probably use him.

But there's someone on your team even better.  We're talking truly one of the elite...

[Dan]

In that case I think you're thinking of one of three possibilities, and here's why I'm confused:

Ochoa - yes, he's elite and has a 15 Influence. But he's a keeper, so if he's going to tutor someone it's going to be another keeper. It's not like I can really use that too much. Or can I?
Marquinhos - he has a very low rating for influence and I can't find anyone who's "linked" to him. I'm hoping this is who you're talking about, but I think he needs a few years of experience of his own, first. He's only 23 and although he's good...he's not spectacular. Not yet, anyway. (I'm also concerned that they may have toned him down a notch from whatever version you were playing when he was awesome...unless you've used him in this edition, too)
Robert Lewandowski? - maybe...but he's so far proven to be a pretty crappy mentor. Again - he's good, but he's not superstar level. And I don't think he ever will be, to be fair.



Oh, and as an update - we successfully avoided relegation! After I did that whining we went on a tear and peaked around 12th place. We've fallen since that peak, but there's only one game left in the season and we can't get jumped. I think we're 14th or 15th at the moment. More update soon...

[rva]

[Dan]

Oh. Fair enough.

Actually it's funny b/c I was looking through my keepers' info and all my staff suggest that Velikov would be a good Premier Division keeper. Which is awesome....except not for him when he's stuck behind Ochoa. I did just notice that he hadn't been training with Ochoa so I fixed that straight away. I guess we'll let him blossom under Ochoa for a while? It's hard to get Velikov playing-time b/c Ochoa is by far and away my best player. If I take him out... its like we're just assuming we'll lose. And when the entire Premier League is better than you, there's not much in the way of "lesser competition" to let him play against. I'll figure it out tho.

In related news: Ochoa was named the starting GK in the Premiership's Best Eleven of the Year. Which if that's the best league in the world, and he's the best keeper in the league... well, that's pretty freaking good. He beat out Petr Cech, Tim Howard, and all the rest of those boys. Nicely done, good sir.

I'm quite proud. Or, I guess, you should be since he's your man.

[rva]

I think I finished 13th my first year.  And Ochoa got beaten out by Akinfeev every year in the Best XI so it sounds like you are doing pretty well.

[Dan]

We finished 15th (did I already say that?). $10 million for that? Wow. What do they get at the top of the table?

Fun awards, besides Mr. Ochoa making the Best XI...

In November Ryhor Filipenko came in 2nd for Player of the Month. He struggled the rest of the year, tho.
I won Manager of the Month in February.
Jonjo Shelvey and Peter Otocka finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively, for Young Player of the Year.

Young Player of the Month Awards:
August: 2nd Pl: Wagner, 3rd Pl: Aleksiev
Sept: 3rd Pl: Rafik
Nov: 1st Pl: Otocka
Dec: 1st Pl: Terren, 2nd Pl: Rafik
Jan: 2nd Pl: Rafik


That makes me feel like we've got a lot of young talent.

Working on making some killer signings. "Working" being the operative word. Jo got promoted to the Man City senior squad midway thru the year, so now he's not interested in playing for us. Argh. But Wayne Bridge got demoted...so maybe?


Btw: your boy Tom Harrison there... he outclasses Ochoa, Akinfeev, and every other keeper I looked at. Wow.

[Dan]

How does a release clause work in general?
How does a relegation release clause work?