“We have a problem,” Robert Vittek, the teams technical director, had walked in before he had finished knocking. Coach Schmidt had a mouthful of sandwich, and after giving his senior administrator a look made a motion for him to sit down.
“We have a whole slew of problems,” Schmidt said, wiping his mouth and sitting back. “Which one are you referring to?”
“Rocha says Gomes is not interested in redoing his contract,” Vittek said, slumping in his chair.
“That’s not news,” Schmidt said, a look on his face that was more concern than confusion, “When Gomes signed we told him he could use the club as a stepping stone.”
“Well, someone told someone that Gomes release fee was low, and now teams are sniffing around.”
This time Schmidt sat up.
“I am pretty sure it wasn’t Rocha, he’s got a big enough stable of clients, especially with Fernandes, Dawes and Chiaverra, he’s not hurting for big name talents.”
“One of Gomes…friends perhaps?” Schmidt asked.
“I’d put money on it.”
“OK,” Schmidt said, “I’ll take care of this.”
“Coach, what are you doing here?” Gomes German wasn’t the best, but it was better than Schmidt’s Portugeuse.
“We need to talk, and I prefer to do these things face to face than over a screen. Grab a jacket, it’s supposed to rain.”
“But-” Gomes started to say something when another voice from inside the apartment called out.
“Tell whoever it is to go away, we’re playing FIFA. Unless they are delivering more beer, are they delivering more beer?”
Schmidt raised an eyebrow, a look Gomes knew well enough from the practice pitch, grabbed his jacket and followed his coach down the hall.
The apartment building had a private arboretum, and Coach headed there.
“So, Director Vittek had an interesting call with your agent this morning,” Coach said. “He broached the subject of renegotiating your contract, especially in light of last years performance.”
They were walking around the small pathway.
“Your agent told my Director that you told him you weren’t interested in renegotiating.” Schmidt stopped talking, and turned to face his young striker. For his part, Gomes look genuinely surprised.
“I didn’t tell him that,” Gomes said, holding his hands up. “Coach I swear I didn’t-” he was stopped by Schmidt throwing his hands up in the air, and watched for a few seconds as his head coach began walking away. A few quick steps later he rejoined him.
“Jose, if you tell me you didn’t tell Rocha-“
Jose put a hand on Coaches arm, stopping him from walking. Schmidt turned his head so he could look his player in the face.
“It wasn’t me,” Gomes said. Coach stared at him for a moment, then nodded.
“Fine. But now we have a problem, because we’ve gotten no less than five calls from other teams inquiring about your availability, and with your low release clause number, you know as well as I do several teams are going to easily be able to meet and exceed that.”
Gomes nodded, lowering his arm from Coaches shoulder and turning away.
“This puts me in a bind, Jose.”
“I know Coach,” Gomes said. “What if I went back to my agent-“
“You can’t,” Schmidt replied, shaking his head.
“If you go to Rocha and say you aren’t interested in a move, he’s going to ask you why, because he thinks you already asked for one, and he’s been doing what every good agent does and has been pounding the pavement trying to drum up interest in you, and interest is high. If you go to him and tell him you don’t want to move now, you have to tell him why, and he’s going to know he was taken in by someone, and he won’t be happy with that, and he’s going to drop you as a client, because one,” Coach held a finger up “Trust is a two way street, and it’s been broken, and Two “Coach held up a second finger, “He’s representing about 60 other players, and you would be one less headache for him to deal with.” Coach lowere dhis hand and started walking again. “And then he’s going to tell every other agent out there you might sign with what happened, and they aren’t going to touch you with the proverbail ten foot pole. You’ll end up negotiating for yourself, which will hurt you in the long run, or sign either with some no name agent with no pull to get things done that are good for you, or sign with an agent who’s desperate to use you for his own growth, and that will also not be good for you. I know you like him, he’s a good agent, he’s the best one for your career.” They walked in silence for a minute, then coach stopped walking and looked at Gomes.
“One of your friends does not have your best interests at heart. One fo them called Rocha, and did so well enough that Rocha thought it was you. One fo your friends is sabotaging your career and reputation. I can’t help you fix that problem, I have to figure out who I can sign to replace you when you leave-“
“January,” Gomes said, interrupting Schmidt, who stopped talking.
“I’ll call Rocha, and tell him we talked, and I promised you I would stay until the January window, it’s the least I can do for all you have helped me with, especially in light of recent…events.” Gomes looked around for a moment, then stuck his hand out. “I’ll stay till January, I promise, and I’ll get this sorted out.” Coach looked at his hand, then took its, grasping it firmly and shaking it once.
“Practice Monday, 7AM,” he said, before turning and leaving.
Gomes watched him leave, then pulled out his phone.
“Mauro, it’s Jose. Come to Berlin, now. I don’t care, you work for me right? Then be in Berlin by tomorrow or I fire you and sign with Vitor Nunes.” He hung the phone up before his agent could respond, and walked back inside.
So, a note on the player screenshots. Due to a couple of family situations, I played this season over a period of a couple of weeks. Normally what I do is during the season, I take screenshots of players and events, and then when the season is done move them out of the screenshots folder and into a Season Folder I’ve saved on an external. In the case of season 9, I am missing screenshots from the first half of the season, which means I either did not take them, or took them and then deleted them. I tend towards the former, but these days who knows for sure. However, I do have an end of season 9 save file, so again, I will use those screencaps of the players we signed.
With our defense being the primary source of concern last season, I made it a priority to go out and sign players who could not only help us out now, but help us in the future as well. I’d like to think we were successful, but give it three/four years to see if that’s true.
First in is a player my scout in Africa found last season, but he was unwilling to sign at the time, Christopher Essomba. A Fullback I am retraining to be a wingback, he’s not going to get a ton of first team playing time here this season so I am going to try and loan him out. His above average quickness and Endurance are nice, and while he has good Technique and Movement, I find it curious that he has a Bravery of 18 but only a 9 in heading. Plus his crossing could use some work, but for a young man we signed on a free who is now valued in the 10-13M range. As his playing time here was going to be limited, when AaB came in with the loan offer, I jumped all over it.
Abdelkadr Nasri is an Algerian defensive mid/midfielder who looks to be a very good DLP, and pretty good Regista if he improves in a few areas. Decent Endurance skills, very good Passing skills, good Anticipation and Positioning, he has the potential to be a very good midfield pivot player, and yet another Free signing our scout in North Africa found.
Eesa Quigley is one of those players whose career doesn’t match his potential. The former Villa Youth Candidate had several good loan spells thru out his time at Villa, but could never crack the first team, and left on a Free. I picked him up he’s a quick, pacey player with good agility, decent passing skills and is better than average in the final third. On top of that his crossing is also pretty good, and he is adept at either advanced midfield wing. He may not get much better than what he is now, but what he is now is not that bad, and I have few issues with him starting on either side. He’s not a long term solution, unless his development really takes off in the time he has left, but there’s always a need for solid, capable players, at any position, and I think he fits the bill nicely.
Babacar Fisher is the first player we paid for this offseason. The Lyon product has had a rough time of it, bouncing between the main and 2 squads for the French club, and to be honest his spells on the first team have not been that great, but this is a case of where we are paying for potential, as he is yet another good DM/M(C) with upside. Quick, Agile, with good endurance, above average passing skills, good ball control and positioning, one or two good seasons here and we will have yet another very good midfielder for the future, or another very good midfielder we can move for a lot more money than we signed him for, hopefully.
I needed some solid play at D(R), especially considering the new formation (A 5-2-1-2) I was thinking of switching to. Mengi was just good enough to be frustrating, in that he probably should have been better overall but the game found a way to highlight the mistakes he made more often than not, and Swift was OK, but it left me looking for better, and Getafe had Brayann Pereira listed for a very low fee. He’s an above average D(R) who’s not that aggressive (A quirk I am still trying to figure out), who doesn’t excel at any one area but does all the things a good D(R) Wingback needs to do to be successful, and at this point, I’ll take it, as he’s better than Mengi and Swift.
Joshua Jara is a Jack of All Trades on the defensive backline, primarily a D(C)/D(M) who can play on the wings if required. While not the strongest, his Shooting, Movement, and Ball Control are very good, and he’s quite capable in other areas as well. Another one of those players who if he deicides to play within his abilities, will have a long, solid career in the game. With his versatility I think he will be a bench player more than a starter, but I will also have few issues starting him 10-15 times a season.
Matus Novotny is a player I have kept tabs on for a couple of seasons, the Slovakian international first caught my eye in one of the youth tournament screen flow reports I get, and when he requested a transfer from Anderlecht, and I am not sure why because he had a very good season there, we were able to sign him for a very good fee. While I am not a fan of him dwelling on the ball, I love his Endurance/Agility/Passing/Movement numbers, and his Flair and Technique are also quite good. He is going to be in the midfield mix.
Stephen Dworschak and Julien-Lee Magath are both Youth Players I am taking a flyer on. One is because they are here on Free’s, Two is because my U19 squad is very thin talent wise anyways, and three is because sometimes a longshot pays off. Neither may pay off in this case, but nothing ventured…
Mark Zabukovnik is a player I signed because he can play D(C)/DM/M(C) very well, and if he’s not starting in one of those positions he’s coming off the bench. An older player whose skills are above average, I know what I am getting with him, and what I will get out of him is at least 20-25 games a season as a starter and the rest off the bench, and solid performances. At this point I’ll take solid and reliable over flashy and “Hey, how’d he get past me” any day of the week and twice on game day.
Vladimir Camara is another member of the “How many Midfielders can one team carry” Club here in Berlin. When I was scouting Zabukovnik, my scout found Camara at Leiria, where he was doing well, but wasn’t standing out. He’s going to have the opportunity to clamin on of the starting Midfield spots for his own, and at 1.1M he’s a very good value for money IMO.
On the outs…
Well, the Mile Rodic experiment is over. Yes, on paper his numbers look good, but on the pitch, there’s something going on with his hidden attributes have given him the “Eh, whatever bro” sort of game play. He shoots when he shouldn’t, passes when he should shoot, and hasn’t been able to play his way off the bench. Every time he scored a goal I thought “OK, is this the turning point?” and the answer has been “NO!” Antalyaspor made an offer, I jumped all over it, and to be honest, I am not sure Mile even cared…
Luan Bausenhart never established himself, got lost in the monster that is my backfield personnel, and never did anything to stand out. Last season he had a few opportunities, but it’s clear the Bundesliga is not where his skillset is. Onasbruck signed him, but honestly he will probably be back in the RegionalLiga sooner rather than later, but he will also have a long career there if he wants it.
Mbaye Fall had a great first season for us, and his second season was even better, and it wasn’t even over when other teams started coming in for him. I think he signed with Bournemouth because they offered him playing time right away, but chances are high they are going to get relegated, but then playing in the ECL for a club like Bournemouth is not exactly a burden. For a player we found thru Screen Flow, then scouted and signed on a free, €36M (Going to €40M with some very achievable games played and international appearances) is very good piece of business.
Frederik Ibsen was another player I brought in to try and help solidify the backfield, and he was very instrumental in our getting out of Bundesliga 2, but it’s apparent he’s not cut out for the Bundesliga. He asked for a new contract, and wanted starter status and money, I offered him squad player and he said no, so I listed him and Antalyaspor picked him up, maybe to be Rodic’s chaperone…
I picked up Quevedo on a free. He’s another one of those players whose attributes look pretty good, but they didn’t translate to the field of play. Even his loans spells have been uninspired. One day he was going to be a bench player, the next day Independiente Medillin made an offer, and he accepted it before it was off the fax machine. He wasn’t going to get a lot of playing time here, so it’s a good thing. No really, it is.
Injai had some promise, but the pre injury Injai and posy injury Injai are two different players, and I don’t think he’s going to get any better. His loan spell at Chaves last year was OK (8goals and 4 assists in 23 games as a starter), and I am hoping a loan spell at Braunschweig will get him back on track, he will get more playinng time there than he will here.
Mamim Sanyang had one solid season for us, and thinks he’s entitled to a first team contract and first team money. I think he’s an OK player who’s better suited coming off the bench, and last season he pitched a big enough fit about it I sent him to the II squad, where his performances there were…lacking. Going to Corum FK in Turkey is his redemption chance, and he needs to make the most of it or he’ll be somewhere else sooner rather than later.
Molde came out of nowhere for Hugo Swift when the transfer window was closing, and I am not sure why. He was solid for us last season, but with my lack of player organizational skills he’d be lost in the shuffle. First team playing time somewhere as opposed to bench time here )probably) is a good thing.
So, not the transfer window I expected, and I am also reasonably sure the competition is stronger this year, but the ball is round, and we need to get off to a good start, if only to assuage my neverending fear of being relegated when it’s even a remote mathematical possibility. I also don’t expect to see as many teams have a bad season as we did last year, in fact if we were to get the same number of points but come in a few spots lower I wouldn’t be shocked. But I think we had a decent transfer window, and the scouts are working overtime, because with all the offers I got for Gomes already, he will be leaving in January, and I need someone available replace him.
THE FOOTBALL MANAGER BLOG OF FM_JELLICO 
LOVE IT!!
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Thanks. More adventures to come. 🙂
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