FM14 Mr. Manager Dynasty (Ivory Coast/Stade Rennais)

[Milo]

They should remain on their youth contracts until they hit the age minimum for professional contracts. If the age minimum is 17 and you sign a 16 year-old to a professional contract, it's just a pre-agreement and it'll automatically kick in on their 17th birthday. And yes, this prevents teams from swooping in and signing players through compensation.

 

[Milo]

All Sub-Saharan African nations are treated as EU in Ligue 1, at least in terms of FM, so I can get them at 18 without needing a work permit. I just didn't realize the 18 year restriction was in place in the home countries (Nigeria, Ivory Coast,etc). I should have looked more closely, but basically it makes no sense to ever buy a 15/16 year old youth player from one of those countries, when you can just sign most of them to a contract that will become effective when they turn 18 (after their youth contract ends).

I may not be understanding you, but it does make sense in that it secures your signing of them. Once they agree on a deal with you, other teams cannot sign them(nor can their current team.) Also, you will not be paying them while they remain with their current team. Similar to youth contracts, their current deal(with their current team in this case) remains until they turn 18(albeit they might not come immediately at 18, but in some cases, the next available transfer window.)

 

[Travis7401]

I may not be understanding you, but it does make sense in that it secures your signing of them. Once they agree on a deal with you, other teams cannot sign them(nor can their current team.) Also, you will not be paying them while they remain with their current team. Similar to youth contracts, their current deal(with their current team in this case) remains until they turn 18(albeit they might not come immediately at 18, but in some cases, the next available transfer window.)

I've encountered two scenarios: African youth players to whom I can offer contracts, and those to whom I cannot offer contracts.

With the players still on youth contracts (but old enough for professional negotiations?), I have the option to offer them a contract. I agree to the contract with them and they'll arrive in the first transfer window after their 18th Birthday. For these players, I thought that if I made a transfer offer to the club and then signed them to a contract, that they'd show up immediately instead of after their 18th b-day. Nope, they still show up in the first transfer window after their 18th birthday because of their home nation rules. To me this means it makes zero sense to buy these players, since you can just offer them a contract. The transfer will complete at the same time regardless, so paying a transfer fee seems dumb (I dumbed twice, oops).

On the other hand, there are youth prospects with no "offer contract" option available. My assumption is that these dudes already signed pro contracts with their club, and that's why I can't just offer them a contract? This is where it might make sense to make a small transfer offer to lock a player down before he gets better and the team wants a lot more transfer money and he wants higher wages.

 

[DeadMan]

Someone correct if I'm wrong about this, but the other benefit of signing youth players to professional contracts is that it allows the youth players to train with heavier schedules when they aren't on the youth team. So, I tend to sign my youth players to contracts, and then when they turn professional, have them in the reserves to get full training.

 

[Yankee151]

I think both of those posts are correct. I usually just leave my U-19s/20s in the youth team though for training, so they can learn from Benzema and Dempsey.

 

[Milo]

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, don't bother buying them unless their club is willing to take less than the required compensation.

 

[Travis7401]

I still love that Monaco has, apparently, gone full retard and gave me $5 Million for this dude:

I suppose he does have really high potential, but my other 16 year old keeper has the same potential and more balanced looking stats right now.... and current very good 20-22 year old goalies are available on free transfers/expiring contracts

Maybe Monaco knows something I don't know and I'm going to have to play against this super human goalie in 8 years.

 

[Travis7401]

I also just hated his hair, so I had no problem selling him. What is this, 1995? Frosted tips? Furthermore, slicked back frosted tips? I don't even... @Yankee151 may have been right about needing a better regen hairstyle pack.

 

[DeadMan]

I think that 4.5 stars is probably the reason. And goalies can develop a ton from my experience. Honestly, in my youth team, I don't really care about stats at all - only potential. When they get to be 18/19 ish I'll start looking at their stats more carefully to see if they are a fit for what I want.

 

[Yankee151]

I think after playing for so long you realize the necessity. You end up seeing guys looking the exact same, and then with the pack it's like a whole new set of faces and stuff. You can install it mid game, though I think the current guys keep their faces as is? Don't remember if it carries over like that.

 

[Travis7401]

Game 32 - US Quevillaise (A) French Cup - Win 2-1 - Almost a terrible upset.

Stade Rennais, coming 4 goal 2nd half in the last game were expecting to continue looking good against outmatched US Quevillaise, whatever they are. Unfortuntaely, USQ came out hard and pissed and grabbed an early goal before bunkering like some dirty Greeks. Stade Rennais were able to equalize, but the game went into extra time and looked headed for penalties before Zaza, who had come on as a sub, smashed a Soares cross into the net with a flying Ninja kick. Mr. Manager was still pissed at the team for looking so complacent.

 

[Travis7401]

Game 33 - Arles Avignon (A) - Draw 1-1. FUUUUUU

Even though it was an away game, Mr. Manager had this game marked on his calender as a sure win with Arleas Avignon in the relegation zone. You know what happens when you assume? It makes an ASS out of U and ME, Mr. Manager was forced to live trhough one of his favorite corch-isms! Stade Rennais scored early and then really controlled the game well by sitting back and countering while Arles Avignon seemed content to hold possession far away without ever really creating scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, SR sucked at finishing their many good chances from counters.... and in the 86th minute Avignon had literally their first decent chance of the game, but they failed to score on a breakaway that started with one of Pajot's classic "pass to the other team" mistakes. Still, they managed to win a corner and in the ensuing goal-mouth cluster fuck, a rebound bounced to some trog who equalized in the 88th minute.

Dropping 2 points to a relegation candidate is unacceptable if SR want to win the league

 

[Travis7401]

Game 34 - St. Ettiene (H) - Win 1-0 - "Fergie Mr. Manager Time" Winner.

This game had me about ready to smash my monitor. Had 15/1 shots and it looked like it was going to end in a 0-0 draw and we were going to drop points for the second game in a row. Fortunately, the refs decided that "3 extra minutes" really means 5 extra minutes, and Abdoulaye scored on a walk-off corner in the 95th minute. LAWD. Abdoulaye has played really well so far, and this goal made me very happy.

One thing Stade Rennais are REALLY struggling with in the past few games, since Mr. Manager let Diarra go and Makoun left for the African cup of nations, is midfielders winning the ball back and then starting counters. Perreira is really the only player in the midfield who has been consistently intercepting passes or making tackles. Doucoure and Pajot just aren't getting the job done in those holding mid spots (Though Pajot plays better in a playmaker role).

 

[Travis7401]

Game 35 - Montpellier(A) - Loss 1-3 - Stade Rennais Lose to 4th place Montpellier in Frustrating Fashion.

This game was, statistically speaking, very even, and it could have just as easily broken the other way. Montpellier's GK made some nice saves while a comedy of errors lead to a couple of the Montellier goals. In one case, Costil spilled a long shot directly to an opposition player, and in another case, Armand and Costil ran into eachother and both fell down, allowing Montpellier to score. The third goal was a long free kick in which Costil didn't seem to want to move. Definitely his worst game since Mr. Manager arrived. During the last 3 lackluster performances, Stade Rennais were able to eek out a few wins and a draw because they were playing lesser opponents. Against a solid Montpellier team in an away game, a 4th lackluster performance in a row meant a loss. Fortunately for SR, they maintain their current 3 point lead in Ligue 1 as 2nd place PSG also lost on the same day.

Once again, the lack of personnel for a solid devensive midfielder pairing was on display. Perriera played well, but is tired from overwork and Pajot didn't play very well either. It was Mr. Manager's hope that Doucoure would be ready to fill an expanded role, but his play just hasn't been to the true starter level yet. Makoun should be back from the African Cup of Nations in a few weeks (for the rest of the season at least) but Mr. Manager was considering a last minute transfer move to pick up another defensive midfielder.

It also doesn't help that Ntep, Kleber, and Zaza have all suddenly seemed to go cold in the last few games. The opportunities are still available, they just aren't finishing. Hopefully a good old fashioned Mr. Manager ass-chewing will restore their form.

 

[Travis7401]

Transfer Mayhem Continued

In a panic about his defensive midfielder depth, Mr. Manager scoured the transfer list for all available Ball-Winning Defensive Midfielders to plug into his system. At literally the 11th hour, Mr. Manager was able to find a Never-Nude who fit the positional demands, the wage structure, and was also available for a good transfer deal. WELCOME TOBIAS!

A guy with a Teamwork Rating of 18 and a Work Rate of 17 is EXACTLY what Stade Rennais needed for their HARD WORK WORK ball winning midfielder position.

 

[Karl Hungus]

Aggression 17, Decisions 10 in the BWM role? I hope you like cards.

 

[Travis7401]

That's what I bought him for

 

[Yankee151]

Every team needs a van Bommel

 

[Travis7401]

@Reel with some fuck shit.

One of my best friends in 5th grade was an opaque kid named Tobias. How that happen?

 

[Travis7401]

So it turns out I can't fucking register Tobias because I already "confirmed" my registration. Why do they make me confirm my registration the first thing in the morning on Transfer Deadline day? That means nobody purchased on deadline day can play for the rest of the season in league matches. FUUUUU.

 

[Yankee151]

That's weird. Try seeing if you are able to tomorrow. I think you can only confirm once per day

 

[OU11]

Yeah wait until the morning and try

 

[Travis7401]

The problem is that day is the registration deadline, so the next mroing does not good

 

[OU11]

I meant sleep on it and fire up the game in the AM

 

[Travis7401]

Game 37 - Nantes(A) Coupe de la Ligue Semi Final - Loss 1-0

Stade Rennais eliminated in Semi Final of the Coupe de la Ligue to continue horrible run of form. Offensive woes were, once again, the story, as nobody on the Stade Rennais roster seems to be able to kick a soccer ball straight when they get near the opposition net. At least it wasn't in an important competition, but it would have been nice to go to the final or win anyway!

 

[Travis7401]

Game 36 - Toulouse (H) - Win 2-1

Despite continuing their run of shitty form, Stade Rennais were able to eek out a home win against bottom of the table Toulouse. The game was constantly in doubt, as Stade Rennais had a man sent off for a second yellow card and Toulouse started pouring on the pressure. Fortunately, Toulouse also had a man sent off for a second yellow and SR were able to hold on. As of now, they hold on to a tenuous 3 point lead over PSG (with PSG holding the tie breakers). Mr. Manager avoided a 3 game losing streak, which would have been the first of his career.

 

[Travis7401]

Game 38 -RCL (A) - Loss 1 - 0 - Stade Rennais Lose Again, Can't Find The Net.

This was by far the most frustrating game in Mr. Manager's career, as SR lost a game in which they completely dominated. RCL scored with one of their only 2 shots on target. Fittingly, the much maligned "Great @osick87 " got the assist for RCL when he crossed the ball into a guy named le Mong. It was destined to all fall apart in just this fashion. With this loss, PSG took control of the #1 spot as they pulled even on points and own the tie breakers.

Ominous signs at the Stade Rennais facility as Mr. Manager was too upset to even "storm out" of the press conference. He was last seen weeping, clutching his ever-present water bottle against his chest.

 

[Travis7401]

Game 39 - Valenciennes (A) - Loss 1 - 2 - The Charade All Falls Apart, Mr. Manager Confronted Over Drinking

At halftime this game was tied 0-0... then Valenciennes scored in the 50th minute and Mr. Manager started taking huge gulps from his water bottle as he ordered an all out attack. "CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, BOYS" he slurred. The tactic was succesful as Allessandrini managed to tie the game. Mr. Manager, despite having a tied game against a solid opponent, went even more aggressive as he kept the "Overload" tactics and changed to an ultra high defensive line in an attempt to smash through SR's run of poor form. The tactic backfired horribly, as a the momentary hero, Allessiandrini, made a pass straight to a Valenciennes player, leading to a 2 on none break as the SR defenders were outrun. A simple cross in to an unmarked striker, and the game was over.

Noticing Mr. Managers more and more erratic behavior, the assistant coach approached him and asked for a sip from his water bottle. ASS corch insisted and grabbed for the bottle, which spilled. ASSCORCH said "It's vodka!"

(start @ 3:10)


Mr. Manager replied "131 proof, bud, straight up. I'm fucking wasted" and strutted out of the stadium.

 

[osick87]

Good for Kamil

 

[Yankee151]

That's the Mr. Manager we all want to see

 

[Travis7401]

Game 40 - Stade Reims (A) - Draw 0-0 ASS CORCH Leads Team While Mr. Manager Takes The Week Off

The board of directors suggested that Mr. Manager take a week off in order to collect himself, so he could return to coaching the team, sans water bottle. The board promised to be more thorough in dealing with Mr. Manager's drinking/behavior problems when the offseason hits, but for now FOOTBAW is more important. The offensive woes continued for SR in Mr. Manager's absence, as SR was unable to get a single goal. I don't think I mentioned it before, but Kleber has been out injured for several weeks now, so Zaza has started almost every game since the real dry spell started and he's been sucking in the striker role. Mr. Manager vows to give Cheick Diarra more of an opportunity when he returns.

 

[goblue96]

Time for a live blog game to turn this around.

 

[Travis7401]

Game 41 - Marseille (A) French Cup - Win 2-1

Mr. Manager arrived just in time to coach the team in their French Cup match against Marseille. Not giving a single fuck about the cup right now, and wanting to find the hot players on the team, Mr. Manager started a rotated lineup. Never Nude Tobias was able to play, apparently he's only screwed for League games, so at least he provided some depth for the cup matches. The rotation strategy paid off and Cheick Diarra showed that he's deserving of more starting action, as he scored a goal and drew a foul just outside the box that lead to another goal. Some called it a "lucky" win, but SR controlled the game early and did more than enough to hold off Marseilles. Even through the dry spell, SR's defense has been fairly solid, the problem has been the lack of scoring. 2 goals was still not ideal, but at least it was better than recent games. Are things beginning to look up for Mr. Manager and Stade Rennais?

 

[Travis7401]

Time for a live blog game to turn this around.

I'm a few games behind in posting

 

[Travis7401]

Game 42 - Lorient (H) - Win 4-1

This is the game @goblue96 suggested I live blog to break the bad run. It was a great suggestion, but I had already played this game and knew the awesome result. Even the suggestion/thought of a live blog sends football manager foes running in terror, apparently.

With the team gaining some confidence from the Marseilles victory, Mr. Manager decided to get back to basics in order to fully break out of the slump. Last year when the team was floundering as Mr. Manager tried to give them conflicting instructions throughout the game, what broke the team out of the slump was the realization that you can give too many instructions. Mr. Manager simplified the gameplan last year and it paid off. This year it seems to be successful as well.

Mr. Manager started with the standard 4-5-1 formation that was supposed to be the default formation for the team this season, but had grown out of favor as he experimented with various tactics. Mr. Manager also removed all but 3 of the instructions (drop deeper, work ball into box, exploit flanks) in an attempt to let the players dictate the game. Those 3 sets of instructions are standard across all of the formations we use, because they seem to fit the team (we don't have a lot of defensive speed, or good long shooters, but we have good wings). The results were excellent! Stade Rennais controlled the game from the start, picking up 2 goals from set pieces early. They conceded one back, but then they found their open play form as Lorient was forced to become more aggressive, and scored 2 really nice goals. All of the front five players contributed with either a goal or an assist.

Unfortunately, PSG and Lyon both won their games as well, so SR stayed in third (after the games were played).

 

[goblue96]

Just the mention of a live blog leads to victory!

 

[Travis7401]

I've got one more game before the 3/4 season review featuring youth intake!

 

[Travis7401]

Game 43 - EAG (A) - Loss 0-1 - NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND

Ugh, this game was horrible. The defense was still solid (the goal came on a corner where they got a lucky bounce) but SR literally could not hold on to the ball at all. Every time they'd get the ball they'd panic clear it deep or out of bounds, even if there was nobody around them. Still, SR managed to put 2 shots into the net... but both were disallowed due to offside calls. I hate that so much, as one of them happened in the 90th minute and I was already out of my chair with my shirt off when I realized it was disallowed. FUUUUUU.

 

[Travis7401]

YOUTH INTAKE DAY!!

Even though shit is hitting the fan for Stade Rennais, as their Ligue 1 struggles continue, the good news is we had the always exciting youth intake day. The haul wasn't as good as last years in quantity, but there were still several quality players. The Youth prospects actually beat the regular U19 team in the scrimmage, so they'll provide an immediate boost to that squad.

Youth Team vs Youth Candidates Recap:

The game was pretty ugly as both teams conceded a penalty and the U19 team really lost due to an own goal. The best goal of the day came on a puber lobbed through ball to Gwen Pichon, who finished well. He was also the best player for the U19 candidates. The coaches kind of made some strange picks, IMO as the starting team featured a lot of the lower caliber players, lol. The best players were also played somewhat out of position, so you can't really take much from this game, but it was still fun to watch.

Complete overview of Youth Candidates:
Stade Rennais actually received two youth candidates with 5 star potential (Jean-Jacques Malval was upgraded after he signed?). They also have 4 additional players with 4 star potential and 5 players with 3.5 star potential. Probably a higher top end with the two 5 star potential players, but not as much depth as last season which featured a bunch of 4.5 star potential guys. I'm not excited to see that the 5 star "anchorman" CDM is 5'6 and 136 lbs. HMMMMMMM. In fact, all of the players with a lot of potential are tiny. Oh well, at the least I can make a healthy profit selling them!

I've also attached screenshots of the players with 4 star potential or better, showing their attributes (highlighted role based on scout input). None of them really stand out as looking awesome to start with, but Pichon has some decent stats and 18 Determination, which is nice. Jaffre also has a few starter level stats sprinkled in with his 6th strength (not what I want in a CDM). Gonna have to put some HGH in his Wheaties if he's ever going to be a CDM for this team.

 

[goblue96]

Game between U19 and youth candidates, Mr. Manager complains about puber ball. THEY ARE PUBERS! What do you expect them to play?

 

[Travis7401]

1 Year Later: A spotlight on Select Youth Candidates From Last Year's Team.

Djadiri Konate - This dude was the most promising player from last year's intake, and was the first player to crack the senior squad for a little action when all of my strikers were heart. In 2 appearances he had a key pass and a goal (in a coupe de la liga game) and generally played pretty well. I'm saving the youth/reserve stats for the year end review, so you'll have to wait to see how he's done. I trained him all year as "poacher" and he hasn't actually hit his professional birthday yet, so it seems like there are training limits and such... but still he's improved by +1 in most categories (though his determination did go down by 1?). He's grown an inch, put on 5lbs and likes to smile now instead of mean mug.

Kevin Papin - His position appropriate technical stats went up by 1 each, his mental stats mostly stayed the same (I don't think I've set any of these dudes on tutoring yet, as I've been working mostly on the slightly older group). The big change was in the strength category, as he found the squat rack and added +4. A key jump if he wants to be a CDM for me, but he didn't put on as much height/weight as I'd have hoped.

Brian Perrin - Really solid improvements for this dude. His technical/physical stats generally went up by +1 each, but his mental attributes also increased, most notably his determination and decision making. His determination went from 8 to 15, so I must have tutored him. I think all the young CBs but him had good determination already so I had Armand or someone tutor him. I'll check later. With another good year or two development like that, he could be super promising.

@Yankee151 Ambasa - Yankee did not grow any in height, but he did manage to put on 5lbs. He didn't see much positive change at all. He started with some really nice looking stats for a wing player, but his technical and physical attributes barely improved and his mental attributes stayed the same. I guess he needs to focus more directly on certain mental attributes instead of his position, and then I also need to get him tutoring.

Prince Joffrey - He spent the entire first year losing sword fights to little girls, and it shows. He barely improved at all and his determination dropped by 5 points. LAWD. This was my fault for not understanding the tutoring system. I've been letting my mong corches recommend tutors, and I obviously had him tutored by someone with much lower determination. Such is life, Prince Joffrey, but I always knew you were going to be a shithead since I saw your name, shitty smug face, and Lannister hair. Get out of my office and get back to torturing Sansa Stark or something. Spoiler alert, you'll die next
season.

 

[Travis7401]

1 Year Later: A spotlight on Select Youth Candidates From Last Year's Team (Part 2)

Donato Desir De Donno - I love it when random name generators just fart out names like this. This guy kind of has a strange skill set, and I'm already pretty deep at striker so I'm planning on experimenting with him as a "Wide Target Man." He's seen really nice improvement nearly across the board from training in this role. I just need to get him a nice tutor next season from one of the guys with higher determination and he should probably become a nice player.

Mohamed Taleb - My favorite terrorist CDM. He's really improved a lot in his mental and physical stats, and his pertinent technical attributes have also increased +1 each. Nice development, and he's already got solid determination, so I think I'll just have to see if I have a tutor with better teamwork available for him. He's put on a little size in the last year and gained a bunch of strength, but he's still too small/weak for what I'd like to see in that CDM spot.

Jean-Luc Combes -Sold to Monaco for $5 Million. No after pic for now, but I'll keep tabs on him in the future I'm sure.

Joseph Gezaw - Now this magnificent bastard is what I'm Tombout! Look at that size/power combo, and his speed is coming along as well. Unfortunately he's another guy I fucked up with and tutored with a lower determination guy before I understood the system. FUUUUU. Really nice bumps almost across the board for this dude. I can't wait to see the type of beast he turns into! If I can get his troggish mental attributes tuned up even higher, his physical/technical skillset looks like it is going to be beastly.

Brahim Chaoui - Looks like about +1 in most of his stats, so no great improvement, but the good news is I should be set for many years to come between my starter and backup, so he should have plenty of time to develop!

 

[Travis7401]

3/4 Season Review

As you are all aware, this last quarter of the season was rather tumultuous, as we saw SR fall from 1st in Ligue 1 to 3rd and also lose in the Coupe de ligue Semi finals. The quarter actually started off relatively strong, though there was trouble brewing under the surface as SR were compiling injuries and liming through games that they should have been winning handily. Then it all came crashing down as Stade Rennais lost 4/5 games and Mr. Manager's alcoholism was uncovered. There was a brief period where it looked like they may be able to get back on the right course, but then they managed to lose the last game of the quarter against EAG. The worst part about this quarter was the fact that SR dropped a ton of points during a relatively easy part of their league 1 schedule. They were losing to mid table teams and drawing against teams in the relegation zone.

The league table has SR in third place, but tied with second place Lyon on points. Leaders PSG are 6 points clear after making a phenomenal run through the last quarter of the season. There are 3 teams still within 5 points of SR, fighting for the final champions league spot. If things continue to go poorly for SR they could potentially find themselves on the outside looking in for Euro League spots (which is the season goal). It is fair to say that SR need to find their winning ways again down the home stretch with only 9 league games left to play.

Here are the current league leaders in various statistical categories. The only SR player of note is Ntep, who is now 3rd in scoring after a relatively slow 3rd quarter

Here are the Stade Rennais statistics for the senior squad. One of the most notable trends is the general lack of scoring from the striker position.

Players I'm Happy with:
Ntep - His production slowed from his great run in the second quarter, but he was still a leading player for the team and was a key offensive threat.

The Defense - I was worried what would happen after the star player Biyik forced his way out the door, and both Biyik and M'Bengue missing most of the quarter with the African Cup of Nations, but the defense responded really well. Wague and Abdoulaye have plugged right in at the CB spot when neccesary and played like players of starter quality. When M'Bengue was gone and Danze got hurt/suspended for a few games, even the reserve player Folqueier came in and did extremely well at the LB position. He played so well that I started him several more times and used him as a sub as well.

Cheick Diarra - He started the season as a third place striker who I really hoped wouldn't see the field much, but with kleber out due to several niggling injuries and Zaza just playing like shit in general, he became important for the team and he managed to compile a nice record of assisting/scoring. He's only started 8 games, but he has 6 goals and an assist.

Players I'm Unhappy With -
Biyik - Forced his way out mid season because he "wants to play Champions League Soccer." What a dick.

Zaza and Kleber - Both of my strikers were particularly underwhelming in the last quarter, spending most if it either injured or not scoring. Each had one good game I think out of the whole quarter. That's certainly not good enough.

Makoun and M'Bengue - Both were gone for probably 60% of the games in the last quarter on their African Cup of Nations trip. FUUUUUU

Tobias The NeverNude - Signed his contract so late that I couldn't register him. FUUUU.

 

[Travis7401]

Game 44 - Havre Athletic (H) - Win 5-0 - The Wheel Of Fortuna Show!

Kostas Fortuna wanted to show that SR are out of their 3rd quarter slump, and he did so in a big way with 4 goals and an assist. LAWD. This is probably the single best performance of any SR player since Mr. Manager took over. He was everywhere in this game, and every shot he took seemed to score. He even had another goal disallowed.

 

[Travis7401]

Game 45 - Hyeres (A) - Win 6-1 French Cup - On to the Semi-finals!

Mr. Manager seems to have found the "Lugnutt difficulty" button again, as Stade Rennais thrashed their second opponent in a row. Granted it was more expected in this instance, as SR came up aganist a team that plays in the same division as their reserves, but it was still an impressive victory. Cheick Diarra was the main man this day, as he managed to score 3 goals and assist 2 others. Stade Rennais started a heavily rotated lineup and brought on 3 more reserve type players at halftime, so Mr. Manager was very impressed with the play of the young players. Axel Ngando, who has been hurt for months, looked very good in the play maker role and Dembele was slicing through the wings. I should also mention that Ntep was hurt in training this week, but it was a small injury and he should only be out for a week or two. On to the Semi-Finals in the French Cup!

 

[Travis7401]

Game 46 - Marseilles (A) - Win 2-1- Huge Win For Mr. Manager

Going on the road to 6th place Marseilles was the perfect test to see if SR were over their slump, and they responded to the call to action of Mr. Manager's pre game and halftime speeches. Kleber started the scoring off with a classic headed goal from a cross from Makoun, of all people, who started this game in the playmaker role. OM tied the game up in the 67th minute, and Mr. Manager feared that he'd either let this one slip away or at the least drop points the team desperately needed in the final rush for Ligue 1. Fortunately, Abdoulaye was able to get on the end of a Wheel of Fortuna free kick, and the team spun upward to victory. Winning an away match against a quality team is exactly what SR need to do if they hope to hold on to a champions league spot or even make a run at the title as the season winds down. Everyone is back in good spirits in the locker-room, while Mr. Manager's "spirits" are nowhere to be seen. Have SR turned the corner?

Also of note, PSG lost this week allowing SR to and Lyon to pull within 3 points of the leaders.

 

[Travis7401]

Game 47 -Nantes (H) - Win 5-1 - SR Win Again, While Continuing To Make Up Ground In Ligue 1

SR continued their great 4 game run (3 league wins) with an absolute twatting of FC Nantes. Checking the results from elsewhere in Ligue 1, it was revealed that Lyon were only able to manage a draw in their game, moving SR back into the #2 spot, only 3 points behind the league leaders, PSG. In this 3 game league winning streak, SR have also gone a long way to fixing their anemic goal differential, which could matter in the event of a tie on points at the end of the season. In the last 3 league games, they are +10 in GD.

Kleber was the MOTM on this day, picking up 2 goals and 2 assists from the Target Man position. Kleber just came off injury last week and has performed very well in both games. Mr. Manager also started Zaza in the CAM spot and he provided a goal (PK) and 2 asissts. Mr. Manager is pleased to see Zaza and Kleber contributing to scoring, as their scoring/injury woes were a huge factor in SR's slump. The defense continues to perform very well as they have all season. It should be noted that after the 3/4 season review, Mr. Manager decided to change the team training focus from "balanced" to 100% offensive. It might be just a placebo effect, but it really seems to have worked wonders for SR, as their attacking movement certainly has been much better.

 

[Travis7401]

Game 48 -Lille (H) - Win 2-0 -Ugly but still a win!

This game started off well with a nice cross in from FB Soares and a clinical finish of the header by Kleber... then everything got ugly. The game was pretty even and there were a bunch of cards (I was subbing players out trying to avoid a 2nd yellow). It just felt like the type of game that was going to be decided by a dumb penalty... but then a Lille defender decided to take the dumb matters into his own hands and cleared the ball into his own net. There was some more pooping back and forth after that, but really this game was DULL. Mr. Manager used a more counter attacking tactic than normal for a game in Which SR were favored, but that's because the front 3 players of Lille are all speedsters, averaging 15 pace/acceleration across the front. They did seem to be trying a lot of puber long balls, but the deep defensive line and the aerial prowess of Wague combined with the smarts of Armand rendered their attack impotent. Mr. Manager was hailed, rightfully, as a genius by the fans.

Title race note: Lyon won their game to stay 2 points back, but PSG only managed a draw in their game which narrows the gap to 1 game between SR and PSG. Lyon lick their chops as they see SR set to play at PSG next week. With only 5 league games remaining, a #1 vs #2 match is a pretty dang big deal this late in the season. A loss for SR could see them drop back to 3rd place, while a win would vault them into first. SR have had good success in general against PSG during Mr. Manager's reign, but the did lose the home game against PSG 0-3 earlier this season. Due to the importance of this next game it will be LIVE BLOGGED sometimes this weekend. I'll @ you all when I get at PSG.

 

[Travis7401]

LIVE BLOG OF PSG GAME STARTS AT 12:30PM (Eastern) TODAY

@Milo, @NML, @Yankee151, @goblue96, @osick87, @fignuts @chibob @Travis7401SUCKSDICK , @DeadMan @Deadmong

 

[Travis7401]

PSG Game Preview:

Scouting report - PSG will be coming out against me in a 4-1DM-2-2-1 formation, which is by far their best formation. None of the formations I'm prepared to use seem to cause them any problems, and I don't have a 4-4-2 trained well enough to be confident in. Looking at the goal times, my strategy will be to start out in a more defensive shell with counter attacking instructions and just use that through the first half, so long as things don't get out of hand. If I can keep it tied or close until late in the second half, they seem to have a real habit of fading down the stretch and allowing the opposition to score goals in the last 15-30. Of course, that's probably also just the type of stat you see from a team who usually has a big lead.

SR Starting Lineup and Tactics - Geared toward sitting deep and then countering quickly.

Starting lineups for both teams, as predicted PSG come out in their best formation. I'm missing M'Bengue due to suspension and a couple of players due to Injury but still have a good lineup. I'll probably sub on Cheick Diarra at ST in the second half for that SEC speed boost. They've obviously got a great looking team, but I'm glad they aren't starting Lavezzi and Ibra who gave me fits in the first game.

Pre-Match analysis, and I'm not as much of an underdog as I would have predicted.