The Glasses Just Make Me Look Smart…
I’m going to be 100% honest here: In game, I am about 10 seasons ahead of what I am posting. There are a couple reasons for this:
- I started this during the Winter break
- Youth saves are very fast to play thru, especially when the time sink you enjoy, Scouting, isn’t a factor
- I am having fun with it, and sitting down in the AM and logging off in the PM on a weekend realizing you just went thru four full seasons and aren’t exhausted is a good thing. Isn’t it?
That said, I still have no fricking clue how the Promotion/Relegation Groups in Liga I work, so lets see if we can figure this out now:
1st thru 6th Qualify for the Playoff Group.
7th thru 16th go to the Relegation Group.
Half points plus point plus carry the 1 and…..my head hurts. Seriously.
What I have learned is not only can you finish 1st in total points and not win the Liga, you can also finish last in points and not be relegated. For the teams at the very top and very bottom in a year where the points difference between them and their nearest competitor isn’t all that close, it doesn’t matter. 6 teams in the Championship group separated by 10 points? It matters…
This season was going to be brutal. The pundits picked us to finish 15th, and that was optimistic I think. I am pretty sure they are taking into account possible transfers, but without any of those coming in, were stuck with who we have, and who we have is a bunch of mediocre (for this level of football) players, and some potential. What we lack is a Striker, or three. Sburlea started for us last season, and was the very definition of ‘Meh’, and the available options I have aren’t any better. Brădău has the potential, but his personality is really holding back his development, and I think throwing a young, unproven striker into the fray in an effort to tray and stave off relegation is not a good recipe for success.
So I went back to a 4-3-3-0 Strikerless.
The results were about what I expected.
My philosophy in situations like this is as follows:
- Do not play to ‘Not Lose’
- Draws are much better than losses
- If you lose, try to make it close
The first half of the season, we were mostly successful in following that:
In a nutshell, we were losing to the teams who were most likely going to bet us, drawing the teams we had a chance with, and beating the teams we were supposed to beat, with few surprises really.
The draw and win at Craiova was nice, they have a very good squad. UTA Arad, Voluntari. Sepsi OSK are also strong, but the league is Farul Constanţa’s to lose. They are the club we aspire to be in a few years, Excellent Youth Facilities, Excellent Training Facilities, Exceptional Youth Recruitment, and Good Academy Coaching, and because FCSB lost so many players, including their best youth prospect, they aren’t running away with anything like they did the year before. The other good news was that our goal differential was not that bad either, and at the end of the year, we were in 9th place, with 19 points from 4 wins, 7 draws and 4 losses, with a -2 goal differential.
Our biggest issue was lack of offense. Sburlea had definitely fallen off, but young Răzvan Teodorescu, who I believe was in the Youth Intake the year before I joined, was having a solid season despite his Unambitious personality. Darius Niculcea had made the D(R) slot his to lose, and had also improved by quite a bit as well. We went into the break fairly confident we weren’t going to be in a relegation fight.
I am not sure it’s coincidental, but when the League splits in MArch into the two groups, that’s right around the time the Youth Intake happens.
I thought going itno the New Year we may have had a chance to stay midtable, but 6 of our first 8 games were against teams at the top of the table, and it showed. I thought we would eke the draw out against Sepsi OSK, but they got two late goals quick. Winning two games and drawing FCSB was also nice, but we ended up in the Relegation Group, and that wasn’t a surprise.
A Decent Intake?
5 Elite Talents and 5 Good talents are nice, but what I am looking at are positions, and I am very satisfied with this intake. Another potential future keeper, two young choices at Striker, winger options, Midfielder options, this is a solid intake for us. We’re going to look at just the top 10.
The Best
Ciprian Şandru is the 3rd Youth Intake Keeper that has come across as 5 star Potential, and with Nicolae Rotariu (Another good young 5 Star Potential Keeper), that gives us 4 with talent. The question is which one develops first, and while my gut says Alexandru is going to be the best one of the bunch, I am going to rotate the others in as best I can and see how they do. Ciprian is already a solid young keeper, his attributes are a great foundation to build upon, and if his Keeper attributes increase accordingly, he can be a solid keeper at this level.
Radu Chirilă has a lot going for him. Already having good Endurance attributes, his Bravery and Balance are also good, and I suspect that most of his attributes that are in Orange would turn blue, if not for the fact he is Unambitious. Yes, he’s 4 1/2 star potential, but he has to want it, and his personality ensures that getting there is not going to be easy. At All.
Ionuţ Oltean is what I call a ‘Feast and Famine’ Youth. Where he is good, he’s actually pretty good. Where he’s bad, he’s very bad, and there’s not a whole lot in between. Unless his Attacking Attributes improve dramatically the next couple of years thru training and playing time, he’s not going to be a winger, but his lack of height and weight makes him an iffy midfield prospect IMO.
Of this years Intake, I am most happy with Dumitru Hlinca. Already having Excellent fitness, Good Flair and Technique, and with most of his other Passing Attributes already solid, he would be a great Targetman if he could jump and head, but as he can do neither of those, he’s going to be a DLF. His potentail may not be as high as the others, but he will be on the pitch before anyone else, because I need a decent striker up top.
Already 180 pounds and 6′ 6″ at 16, Eduard Nanu is a man among boys. Here’s hoping he’s not one of those player’s who is a “Look Like Tarzan, Play Like Jane!” sort of player. Physically he is already solid, and his Defending Attributes are solid as well, but I can’t help thinking as solid as he is now, he’s not going to get that much better.
The Better(ish)
Eduard Sevaciuc’s PA is based on a world where everything goes perfect. The fact his Physically lacking is something his Attacking and Possession Attributes might help cover up, but his lack of good defending attributes at this point means he would need to work hard to become a serviceable M(C)/DM. His casual personality all but ensures that will never happen.
From and Attribute standpoint, Dafin Ilie (II) and Remi Şurpanu are similar, and where one is lacking the other is good. Ilie has the best potential to be a full time starter IMO, rather he has the best chance because his lack of height, Injury proneness, and Unsporting Personality means he will most likely not get much better than he already is. Physically speaking, Remi is the better of the two, and he’s also better at all three center field positions…but his Personality is also dragging him down as well. I’d feel beetter about these 5 players if the personalities were anything in the middle of the pack, but this Casual/Unambitious/ stuff is just…awful…
Dan Dascălu has a solid foundation to build on. The question is what is he building? I think he could be a winger with about a 110-120 PA, which for this level of football is very good, but his Attacking Attributes would have to improve by leaps and bounds for that to happen. It’s it possible? Yes. Is it probable? I doubt it…
Last but not least, well mostly least, is Cristian Dumitrescu. He is definitely the first instance of “He looked so good from the stands, but on the pitch he’s mid.” I’ve seen. He came in at 3 1/2 stars potential, and now he’s 2-2 1/2. That tells me where he is now, he’s not going to get that much better without some help, and as yet another player with an Unambitious personality, he’s not going to utilize that help.
All told, not the best Intake really. This whole personality range is frustrating, as my current HOYD has a Balanced one, but the past 3 Intakes I’ve had ~15 Unambitious, ~4 Unsporting, a Low Self Belief, a Temperamental, and a Casual…yikes…
We were headed towards the Relegation playoff’s, then we thumped Petrolul 6-3, and drew our next to games to secure 12th place overall. We did just enough in the Relegation group to finish 5th, which put us above FC U Craiova, and they ended up being relegated because they lost in the Playoffs. But in the overall standings, they finished a place higher than us.
A reminder to not take the ‘post season’ lightly.
Although, it could be worse, they could be UTA Arad, who finished 2nd overall but last in the Championship group, meaning they missed out on European football.
Performance wise, as one would expect from our finish, the team was average. No scorers in double digits, not assists in double digits, two of our best young players already out the door, and already some older players I am ready to move on as well.
I coached my 100th game, the board still hasn’t let me go on a coaching course, and while our finances are solid, we have to rent a new stadium to play in because the current one we are renting does not meet league requirements:
Next Season? I expect more of the same. This is that point where the older players I had when I took over the squad are going to start moving, some of them even if they don’t want too. The question is do I have capable replacements for them, and in many cases the answer is “We Shall Find Out.” As long as we don’t stumble, we should be fine.
Should.
THE FOOTBALL MANAGER BLOG OF FM_JELLICO 