[FM18] - AS Monaco; A Fountain of Youth

[R-D]

AS Monaco FC

-Les Rouges et Blancs-

For my first FM18 save, and particularly to use just for the beta, we’re taking he reigns of one of Europe’s leading clubs of producing outstanding talent.

Introduction to the team

The man in charge

Firstly, I’d like to introduce the manager who will be taking this team forward; Jean ‘Not Pablo Escobar’ Escobar:

This man boasts tremendous determination and operational resilience, an ability to get the best out of youngsters who will listen to and do his bidding. He’s a master negotiator who will go to any means to make sure he gets what he wants and comes with a fierce reputation of being a bit of a disciplinarian. An ex-goal keeper in his native land, but his poor shot-stopping forced him into retirement.

A quick message from our new man:

A match made in heaven I’m sure.

The first team squad 

Already over the 17/18 transfer window AS Monaco have been a busy side getting stripped of a host of title winning assets. The likes of Bakayoko, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy, all leaving for the cash and stardom of the Premier League, and of course Kylian Mbpappe leaving to rivals PSG for an eyewatering £160m. However, they were able to hang on to some big names such as Thomas Lemar, Fabinho and Sidibe. There’s a strong core of players there, and one I’m sure our man can get the best out of.

With those outs came some ins, notably; Keita Balde, Youri Tielemans Terence Kongolo and Stevan Jovetic.

Let’s look at the first team squad as a whole (note: the star ratings are current ability and judged by my assistant).

Goalkeepers

Danijel Subasic – 32 – Croatian - Distributor

Digeo Benaglio – 33 – Swiss - Shot Stopper

Analysis; an aging pair of GKs, but certainly enough quality and experience to include them in the squad for this season.

Defenders

Djibril Sidibe – 24 – French – Full-back; Physical

Almamy Toure – 21 – Malian – Full-back; Technical

Jorge – 21 – Brazlian – Full-back; Technical

Terence Kongolo – 23 – Dutch – Full-back; Physical

Kamil Glik – 29 – Polish – Central defender; Leader

Jemerson – 24 – Brazlian – Central defender; Physical

Andrea Raggi – 32 – Italian – Central defender; Leader

Anaysis; a very young defence outside of Glik and Raggi, but with the potential to be an absolutely outstanding backline once they start to further develop. A lot of 3.5*+ players once they’ve hit their potential. I think there’s really good depth and quality in there, especially with a lot of players being able to play in numerous positions.

Midfield

Fabinho – 23 – Brazlian – Central midfielder; Physical

Joao Moutinho – 30 – Portuguese – Playmaker; Technical

Youri Tielemans – 20 – Belgian – Playmaker; Technical

Thomas Lemar – 21 – French – Winger; Creative

Keita Balde – 22 – Senegalese – Winger; Physical

Boschilla – 21 – Brazlian – Winger; Technical

Rony Lopes – 21 – Portuguese – Winger; Creative

Soualiho Meite – 23 – Ivorian – Central midfielder; Physical

Rachid Ghezzal – 25 – Algerian – Winger; Physical

Adama Traore – 21 – Malian – Playmaker; Creative

Analysis; this is where the team can really flourish. Again, outside Moutinho, an extremely young midfield, but one which is full of energy, pace, power, creativity and a load of potential to grow. We’ll need to give these guys as much playing time as possible to really see what they can turn in to.

Forwards

Radamel Falcao – 31 – Colombian – Complete forward; Intelligent

Stevan Jovetic – 27 – Complete forward; Technical

Guido Carrillo – 26 – Target Man; Leader

Adama Diakhaby – 20 – Complete forward; Technical

Anaysis; much more experience upfront, and hopefully we can make that count. Falcao will obviously be #1 choice, and looks very capable if you present him with any given opportunity.

Overall, a strong first team squad, with some incredible talents across the pitch and also waiting in the youth teams as well.

Transfers

Transfer budget: £35.65m

Wage budget: £21k p/w remaining

Looking at the line-up I’m not sure where desperately needs to strengthen. I think giving this team at least half a season without any radical changes will show if any investment is needed.

Tactics

A control and a counter tactic will be on the cards. We have the technical and creative ability to break a lot of sides down I reckon, and when teams sit back it will limit counter attacking opportunities. Our likely game-to-game formation is most probably going to be a 4-2-3-1 in this regard.

For a counter-attacking inspired tactic I think we’ll go 4-4-2. This leaves us with 2 dangerous strikers upfront ready to pounce, and pace on the flanks to hit the transitions once in possession. We can stay compact, then hit with incredible speed and attacking flair when the break arises.

For now, these are TBC.

Philosophies and objectives

-          Attacking football; either by dominating possession and chance creation, or through an aggressive counter attacking approach

-          Focus on the youth; given how many prospects Monaco already have, it would be silly to not carry on this tradition and nurture them into the first team squad

-          Sell on hype; we won’t be against selling some of our biggest stars for the right price. The intention is to have a system in place where all players are replaceable given time.

-          Challenge; we should be challenging for the league from the off, and then the focus is on Europe

I think for a day-one write up this’ll do. I haven’t even looked at the backroom staff yet, or gotten used to the new shiny buttons of this years version. So for now, Au Revoir.

[Guest Cannabis]

That's a class opening post @R-D. Excited to see where this leads.

[Stan]

Sensational stuff. Can't wait to see how this progresses. 

[R-D]

Thanks both.

Hopefully I can get a small tactical piece up this eve, and a few more behind the scenes updates (team comparison, staff comparison, dynamics (may do this end of transfer window), affiliates, finances etc.) to paint a bit more of an overall picture of how the club looks.

[The Palace Fan]

Brilliant introduction there. With your track record I cannot imagine it will take you long to create a Monaco side that can be dominant in Europe, especially when the Mbappe money comes through.

[R-D]

2017/18 Transfer window

£35m to spend, and I didn’t feel we needed any major overhauls at this stage of the season. A couple million went on shipping out and bringing in new staff.

Ins:

Angel Correa – Loan (optional future fee: £12.5m) – 22 – Argentinian – Attacking midfield; Creative

The Argentine international was our highest profile signing and has been brought into the squad to add some additional creativity and unpredictability. We’ve opted for a loan initially to see what we can get out of him, but if he performs £12.5m will be a snip.

Correa is going to feature for us in that attacking midfield spot, and should be able to dictate play from higher up the pitch and play in our forward and widemen with pinpoint passes.

Alexandr Golovin - £13.25m – 21 – Russian – Playmaker; Creative

A young and exceptionally talented player who already has a host of caps for Russia, Golovin was picked up for his release clause at £13.25m. In a couple seasons time I think we’ll have a superstar on our hands. Undecided yet whether I want to develop him in a deeper midfield role, or further forward.

Lucas Tousart - £8.5m – 20 – French – Central midfield; Leader

Another young purchase, and one largely for the future, Tousart was brought in from rivals Lyon for a relatively cheap fee considering the potential and current ability of Lucas. He looks a very capable player already and I think he’ll have a part to play this season.

Total expenditure: £21.75m

Outs (main):

Andrea Raggi - £2m – Everton

Adama Traore – Loan; £150k p/m – Genk

Rony Lopes – Loan; £250k p/m – Derby

A small bit of unrest in the squad with the sale of Raggi. At 33 I simply didn’t have space for him in the team with two already great CBs and promising youngsters I’d rather us.

Squad Dynamics

With that unrest, let’s have a look at how the squad dynamics are looking going into the season

Not a lot of surprises here bar maybe Benaglio as an influential player seeing as he was brought in this season. I expect our new signings to start making their way up the ladder.

Tactics

With the transfer window done and dusted, and equally a few games of the season, this is how we’ll be lining up for majority of the season.

A deep 4-2-3-1 utilising one of the new roles in the Segundo Volante – I’ve left the first XI off as we’re got too many injuries for it to be accurate.

Most games we’ll start on Standard – Fluid/Flexible and use the following instructions:

-        More direct passing; I want active forward movement, to supply our forwards movement

-        Play out of defence; not to needlessly bump long

-        Work ball into box; in the hope of reducing the longshots

-        Whipped crosses; to utilise our forwards pace and movement

-        Push higher up; to help with the high press, not to leave too many gaps in midfield

-        Close down much more; high pressing

-        Prevent short GK distribution; reduce the options for the opposition defence

August Results

Trophée des Champions

PSG 1 – 1(p) AS Monaco

The first semi-competitive game of the season, last season’s league and cup winners. It was certainly a testing game to see how strong our inevitable league title challengers would be. Relatively even, although you’d have to concede PSG probably edged it. Neymar caused a ruckus, but they couldn’t find the quality in front of goal.

We did, however, take the lead initially on 34 mins, but conceded within a minute. It stayed that way until the shootout where we won 3-2, PSG missing 3 pens and us 1.

Ligue 1

AS Monaco 2 – 0 Toulouse

Dijon FCO 1 – 0 AS Monaco

FC Metz 0 – 1 AS Monaco

AS Monaco 3 – 0 Olympique de Marseille

Match Focus

Going to focus on the impressive 3-0 win over OM and ignore the 1-0 defeat to Dijon (it was poor, we were poor).

We went into the match vs. OM the much fresher side with OM playing a strong team for their Europa League playoff vs. Fimleikafélag Hafnarf Jardar, or “FH” for short, and the fresh legs certainly paid dividends given the times in which the goals came.

We were on the possession front-foot from the off, and at points within the first 20 mins we had circa 70% of it – however we didn’t do anything with it. Marseille sat deep and compact and looked to use their reserved energy on the break, where they did look dangerous. Before the first half was out, where no real highlights were noteworthy, we were resorting to ambitious long efforts which summed the half up.

Second half, and was surprised to see they didn’t make any changes, and with their players condition drastically degrading, we had a much more express and fruitful half. We pushed higher, we pressed more, and made smarter, more dangerous runs.

The opener came from a simple corner, where Glik rose highest and put us 1 up. From here we controlled to an even greater degree. After 60 mins I brought off two of our attackers in Keita and Jovetic, as they flattered to deceive, and on came big man Carrillo and wide man Ghezzal. Ghezzal especially turned the game around and ended the game with 2 assists, which Carrillo held the ball well and made some key passes.

Lemar put us 2 up and out of sight on 60 mins, with Ghezzal playing the ball across from outiwde a minute after his arrive. Marseille were dead on their feet and I was hoping we’d put a few more past them, but it took until 84^th before Lemar got his 2^nd in similar fashion to his first.

A good win overall against tough competition.

League Table

Not an outrageous position after 4 games, still expect us to be there or there about come end of season. PSG still yet to concede…

Champions League Group Stage

For being first seeds this is incredibly harsh.

[Stan]

@Cannabis has a worse group than you  

What happened away at Dijon?

Similar tactic to mine but you have a deeper player in the AM role (compared to my 2 strikers). How is the Segundo Volante working out for you? I tried it in a couple of my games but i don't think I have the quality in players to make it effective. 

[Guest Cannabis]

Regardless of them playing midweek that's a great result against Marseille. The Dijon defeat doesn't look as bad as it first seemed either when you look at how they've started the season. 

The Champions League group is great too, looks like a walk in the park IMO .

[R-D]

34 minutes ago, Stan said:

@Cannabis has a worse group than you  

What happened away at Dijon?

Similar tactic to mine but you have a deeper player in the AM role (compared to my 2 strikers). How is the Segundo Volante working out for you? I tried it in a couple of my games but i don't think I have the quality in players to make it effective. 

I don't remember ever having a tougher group when seeded first. Hopefully rotation in the league will give us a good chance to field a first XI in those games. We're expected to reach the first knockout round as well.

We just didn't turn up. A couple injuries and under-performers and we were shot out of ideas. Their goal came from a set piece, which was the only way either team was going to score really. Their strikers finished on a 6.1 and 6.2. 

The SV has been very good for me, I love the potential of that role. I've got Fabinho playing it and he's flourishing as my highest average rated player so far. You're right, it does require a specialist to perform it well given how demanding of a role it is physically, mentally and technically.

31 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

Regardless of them playing midweek that's a great result against Marseille. The Dijon defeat doesn't look as bad as it first seemed either when you look at how they've started the season. 

The Champions League group is great too, looks like a walk in the park IMO .

Yeah Dijon flying early doors, second top scorers in the league (10) after EA Guigamp (12). 

[The Palace Fan]

Forgot you had Lemar. Bournemouth legend.

[R-D]

 

2017/18

September to December Results

Ligue 1

 

We have been on outstanding form, winning 12 league games in a row. Absolutely flying. Not many highscoring results, but when your defence is as good as ours you only need 1. Naturally disappointed by the FC Nantes result, especially coming after the biggest win of the season vs. PSG.

League Table

 

No surprise to be sitting pretty at the top, and by a very healthy 10 point margin no less.

Champions League

 

For this group, I’m delighted with how we performed, 5 wins and a draw is unbelievable from us (granted both Spurs games we didn’t deserve a point let alone a win in one of them). Dortmund absolutely pathetic.

Champions League Table

 

Top of the group, and meeting the board’s expectations of qualifying for the first knockout round. Based on these results, I’ll be disappointed not to get through another round.

Coupe de la Ligue

 

Bit of a nothing comp. Supposed to play 6 or 7 of players who featured in previous two games. Played 4 at most, but wanted to rest players and give some rotation/youngsters a chance, and they surprised me and we strolled this match to a full strength looking Marseille.

Hit or Miss

 

So we’re half way through the season and it’s time to look at who my Hit and Miss of the season so far are.

Hit

So coming in as my most impressive player of the half season so far is…

Quote

 

That’s right, the crown jewel of this side, one of my favourite players I’ve used in quite some time; Fabinho. A complete midfielder, has it all and can do it all.

Apps: 25

Goals: 7

Assists: 2

POM: 5

Av. R: 7.43

 

Honourable mentions go to: Tousart (cemented himself in the first team), Sidibe, Jorge, Glik, Jemerson (entire defence is outstanding).

Miss

That brings us onto the Miss of the season so far, and the player spending most of their time in the dunce corner.

Quote

It’s not the first time in his career he’s come under scrutiny for his lack of goals. Radamel Falcao is my Miss of the half season.

Apps: 18

Goals: 7

Assists: 1

POM: 1

Av. R: 6.81

What a cunce.

 

Honourable mentions go to: Jovetic and Correa.

And so that takes us to the January window. The board put extra funds into the coffers, so they’ll be money to burn should we wish to. At the moment my only concern is goals. There’s no reliable forward in the squad, and the attacking mid trio are pitching in but not to the extent needed. If an attacking option becomes available we’ll have a look into it.

Edit: I wanted to have the above bit in spoiler tags, but doesn't look like you can have multiple as they just embed within eachother? 

[The Palace Fan]

Have a day off @R-D you're going to win the champions league in your first season at this rate 

[R-D]

3 hours ago, The Palace Fan said:

Have a day off @R-D you're going to win the champions league in your first season at this rate 

Haha, this Monaco side are really good!

I forgot to mention, but we pulled Atletico Madrid in the first knockout. A classic 4-4-2 side, one I'd expect us to overcome with the bodies in midfield, but oh wait who was the last team we faced at 4-4-2, oh yeah that's right FC Nantes, and that ended well.

Since my public cunce humiliation of Falcao, Jovetic and Correa, Falcao has bagged 3 in 3, Jovetic 2 and an assist in 1, and Correa 5 assists in 4. 

[R-D]

2017/2018

January Results and Transfer Window

Entered the window with little to no ambition of signing anyone unless a real talent was available, plus always good to have a scout of players with 6 months left on their contract, but more on those at a later update. Having said that, we did make a couple of signings to call out.

Martin Odegaard - £8.75m - 19 - Norwegian - Attacking midfield; Creative

One of the most recognised u21s in world football by name and reputation alone. At £8.75m, I think this could be a real bargain. Big wage for someone so young, but I expect him to feature a lot for the squad over the coming years. I did look into bringing Correa in for his £12m fee to get an idea of what his cost would be, and he wanted astronomical wages, so he'll be gone in the summer.

Dayot Upamecano - £12.5m - 19 - French - Central defender; Physical

We've had some issues with CB options for rotation and injuries, and when I saw Upamencano available we snapped at the chance to take him off Redbull Leipzig's hands. He looks brilliant for his age and certainly one capable of staking a claim for a first team spot in the future. 

Total expenditure: £22m

No outs of note.

Ligue 1

Another perfect month where we played 8 matches in total (9 if we're including the Lyon game, which I am). More goals conceded this month, which is expected with rotation and tiredness, but we improved on our goalscoring. Falcao putting in a shift for a change, looking to rid himself of the end of season cunce cap. Odegaard also netting on his debut, where we played the game with 10 men from the 10th minute after a Glik red card. 

League Table

13 points is the gap now. We look unstoppable in the league at present. Real quality in the squad and the depth we have is impressive.

Coupe de France

A competition the board expect us to win. We enter in the 9th round, meaning if we get to the final there's 5 matches between us. Very comfortable. Jovetic finding his level.

Coupe de la Ligue

A competition purely for rotation and youngsters to feature in. Cruised to the final where we'll face PSG. 

[R-D]

Also if anyone's interested, here's how some of the other leagues are faring at the end of Jan.

Premier League

Championship

Bundesliga

Serie A

La Liga

Eredevisie (mon the Gron)

[Bluebird Hewitt]

Serie A is bollocks as Benevento have more than one point. 

[Dan+]

Monaco are far too aesthetically pleasing.

[Dan+]

Would you not bother with Correa then? I want a number ten at Leicester and I'm not sure who to go for. Not had a proper look yet. Got an eye on Ramadan from Stoke.

[Stan]

6 hours ago, Dan said:

Would you not bother with Correa then? I want a number ten at Leicester and I'm not sure who to go for. Not had a proper look yet. Got an eye on Ramadan from Stoke.

Andre Horta. 

[R-D]

11 hours ago, Dan said:

Would you not bother with Correa then? I want a number ten at Leicester and I'm not sure who to go for. Not had a proper look yet. Got an eye on Ramadan from Stoke.

I won’t bother now. For the £12m or whatever he can be got for I think you’d have a great player and one with resell value. However, he wanted £140k p/w plus high bonuses, so binned that idea off. Anything half of that and I’d have gone for it.

Much like last year, go for a hunt through the Portuguese league. Rife with affordable talent.

[The Palace Fan]

I have to ask. Where do you get these awesome graphics from?

[Dan+]

10 hours ago, Stan said:

Andre Horta. 

On loan at Braga as things stand, I want one to come in and start.

I want a number ten and a right back, and possibly a left back. I'm thinking Kovalenko, Arias and possibly Tremoulinas.

[Dan+]

4 hours ago, R-D said:

I won’t bother now. For the £12m or whatever he can be got for I think you’d have a great player and one with resell value. However, he wanted £140k p/w plus high bonuses, so binned that idea off. Anything half of that and I’d have gone for it.

Much like last year, go for a hunt through the Portuguese league. Rife with affordable talent.

Yeah I'm not going for that kind of wages. I'd only pay that to an absolutely top class player. Might be worth a go on loan mind.

[R-D]

2 hours ago, The Palace Fan said:

I have to ask. Where do you get these awesome graphics from?

Which graphics do you mean? The logo and face packs?

8 minutes ago, Dan said:

Yeah I'm not going for that kind of wages. I'd only pay that to an absolutely top class player. Might be worth a go on loan mind.

If it’s first season then definitely give him a try on loan. Can be a bit of an Ozil type (irl ozil). I briefly recall now seeing a news item saying Atletico offered Correa a contract, I don’t think it came into my inbox though, but this could have been what drove the wages up when I went into contract negotiations.

[Dan+]

Just now, R-D said:

Which graphics do you mean? The logo and face packs?

If it’s first season then definitely give him a try on loan. Can be a bit of an Ozil type (irl ozil). I briefly recall now seeing a news item saying Atletico offered Correa a contract, I don’t think it came into my inbox though, but this could have been what drove the wages up when I went into contract negotiations.

I think I'd rather go for someone permanently in all honesty. I've got £24mil to spend, £81k a week free in wages (which if I sell Benalouane, Musa and Ulloa I'm going to nearly treble) and I ultimately want my players to grow in value. I don't want to grow Correa for Atletico. I'll see how much Shakhtar want for Kovalenko and then make another decision.