“An unexpected finish from the youthful BFC Dynamo squad sees them playing in the Champions League for the first time, and their path will not be easy. Man City, Napoli, Monaco, Braga, Wolves, Villareal, Olympiacos and Djurgårdens means, Dynamo will have to be extremely good and extremely lucky to go further than the League Phase.”
An Excerpt from Berlin Soccer Post, June, 2034.
“There is a philosophical change underway at BFC Dynamo. While outwardly theclub was…parsimonious shall we say…with spending money on players, behind the scenes it was quietly built up one of the best scouting departments in Germany, if not all of Europe. While finding the proverbial diamonds in the rough, Tenorio, Sountoura, Baffouman, the club has started to sign more established players who look to have a long term career in the scarlet and black, such as Cezar, and Neiva. Should the club stay successful especially with top of the table finishes and continued European Football, it may well cease to be a stepping stone club, and the likes of Mirko Tulli and other good players might be persuaded to stay long term”
An excerpt from Kicker’s “Year in Preview, the 2034/35 season.”
The transfer window was quiet, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t busy behind the scenes. As expected, out good finish last year had several players come and ask for new contracts, several player leave for “bigger” clubs, and several players expected to step up this year, especially with the tactical change to a Brazilian Box inspired 4-2-2-2.
TRANSFER WINDOW:
Out’s:
Alexis Portocarrero and Juan Ayala both caught a case of “We want a new contract that gives us “Star Player Status” even though at best we are “Regular Starters”. This is something I hope is fixed in FM24, because as this save goes on, it’s getting more and more prevalent. I told both players “Nein” and listed them, the fact none of the other complained after they left tells me they thought the same thing of their demands that I did.
Standard came in with an unsolicited offer for Ognjen Vojvodić, who seemed way to eager to leave. I think we have enough young talent to replace him, but losing him was unexpected.
Martim Fernandes was the team players of the year last year, and I was really reluctant to let him go, but he didn’t have a release clause, and Athletico is a bigger club. Again, one of those moves that could hurt us if someone doesn’t step up.
Baffouman, Jaspert, Zappasodi and Vinterburg all went on loan for first team playing time. I thought the transfer window was over, and then with something like four hours left, Chelsea swooped in for Novotny. I don’t remember if they had another player get injured, but here I was looking forward to Novotny being my front pivot man and…nope, of to England. That just means Carlos Tenorioa gets more playing time.
IN’S:
I do not have the original screenshots I took, I believe this is around the time the external I was saving things do decided to yeet itself into the next world, so the screenshots that follow are from the players at the end of the season.
Boris Castillo should be able to step up and claim one of the D(C) spots, and if he can’t the opportunity is there for him to be the D(R) instead. An above average player in most area’s, he still has the potential to get better. He will get a lot of opportunities the season.
I signed Phillip Schulz to be part of the rotation, but chances are he’s going to be a full time starter. I think he fits that ‘savvy veteran’ player mold that every team needs: A guy who knows his capabilities, knows what he’s good at, and plays in such a way that he sets himself up to meet those goals all game. He probably won’t get a lot of highlights, but when you look at his statistics at the end of the year, he’ll be top 5 and you’ll be surprised.
With Vojvodić leaving, I felt I needed a replacement, so I looked in my scouting pool, and Viveros was listed by Bayer. For €2.1 Million. They bought him last year from Porto for €8M, and he had 6/5 in 27 games for them, so either he had a falling out with the coach, or Bayer has some good depth (they don’t), to let a player this good go for that cheap. He will do the job for us I think.
To be honest, I forgot about Renato Arruda. I started this season, then went to Italy on a school trip with my son for 10 days, came back and was in the middle of the transfer window when news popped up that we had signed him.
I don’t remember doing that.
In hindsight, this may not have been the best move. He’s an above average player to be sure, but the lower finishing and concentration plus below average positional skills are making me more than a little wary. I thought he would be a good off the bench option, but after the first games of the season, I am starting to think Olympiacos are getting one over on me.
I’m really looking forward to this season, especially the Champions League games. Yes, we are playing some tough teams, but it will be nice to see how we stack up against them, and to find out how close/far we are to joining that elite level of football.
THE FOOTBALL MANAGER BLOG OF FM_JELLICO 