The Team

I've updated the links on the left to show the team for season 8. All the plyers are 1 year older, as I took the screenshots a day or two before season 8 started last night, but there have been no real changes in ability of the players since then. On the bench I have sede, Neymar, Shea, Donadel, Kjaer and many more, making this perhaps the deepest team I've ever had.

Comings and goings at The Anchor

Out

Pardo - £400,000

When I signed Pardo, I stupidly signed him to only a 1 season contract. With my locks fairly tight, I knew I couldn’t afford to keep him, despite paying £400,000 for him at the start of the season. The young Spaniard had progressed well, ensuring I managed to get what I paid for him as he moved to Cottingley FC, Paul handing back some of the huge wad of cash I’d paid for Guilherme.

Bellomo - £600,000

William Bellomo had been in my youth team for many years. He’d seen the bad times, when my youth side was truly terrible, but he was also part of my all-conquering U21 side from last season. However, for the second time in 2 seasons, he was unhappy and considering leaving his the club at the end of his contract. Rather than risking losing him yet again, I chose to sell him for £600,000 and 15% of any future sale.

Hummels - £1,800,000

Mats Hummels had been a steady fixture at the heart of Beaulieu FC’s defence during the most successful period in the club’s history. It was the towering German who climbed highest at the near post to secure the biggest trophy in club football – the Gold Cup – for The Blues, ensuring his place as a fan’s favourite. Unfortunately, his contract was up at the end of the season and I simply couldn’t justify using a lock on him. An offer of £1,800,000 – significantly above market value at a time when a great number of players are available, both in wage auctions and as free agents, was simply too much to turn down.

Mark McIntosh - £400,000

The young goalkeeper had been with my side for two seasons, but over the course of the last few weeks he’d really kicked on and become a quality player. Unfortunately for the young Englishman, he was never going to be first team while Setaro is around. An offer of £400,000 saw him join Dan the Man’s Stoner Island.

Angulo (loan)

Ibon Angulo has been another ever-present member of my youth side over the last few seasons, and he’s begun to flourish into a quality midfielder. To further aide his development, I’ve loaned him out to fellow AEFA side Stoner Island, where he’s getting senior football and performing well. Fellow academy graduate Marc Matthieu is likely to follow in Angulo’s footsteps and spend a season in the championship next year.



In

Note: Prices below include the extra 10% paid for transfer auctions & private transfers or the 10 x wage fee incurred in wage auctions.

Kjaer - £450,000



With Bellomo and Pardo both turning 22 (and both leaving the club!), I needed to start to replace my youth defence. At 18, Kjaer has brilliant physical stats and a good base distribution of stats, so I’m hopeful he’ll progress into a quality young player. He acquitted himself very well in his senior debut, even managing an assist, so I’m hoping for big things from him.


Shea - £175,000



The versatile American is a former 5 star potential prospect who never really developed into a world class player. I needed backup down the left wing, and with Shea able to play LB, ML and MC and on a low wage, he was a perfect fit. Looking at his career history, it was clear he’d never really been given a fair run in a first team, with most of his appearances being as a substitute. I’m hoping given first team football and a good record, he’ll start to develop into the player he once promised to be.


Neymar - £400,000



This is the second time the little Brazilian has been at Beaulieu FC. He joined the club as part of the ill-fated deal involving Guardado, but was then unfortunately thrown to the dogs when released from his contract. DRM snatched him up and promptly left him on the bench for 4 seasons and his development into quite possibly one of the best strikers in the gameworld went off the rails. Finally, he’s found his way back to Beaulieu FC. Some people will consider it far too late for Neymar to emerge into a world class force to be reckoned with, but I’m hoping to prove people wrong and give Neymar the platform to shine he’s been lacking since the age of 19. Two-footed, with a fair bit of pace and finishing ability, he’s played extremely well so far, with 12 goals and 11 assists from AMC in just 21 games.


Naldo - £825,000



I only sold Hummels knowing that Naldo was available. At 32, Naldo is at the peak of his career, but, while time definitely isn’t on his side, he’s an improvement at centre-back. Utterly dominant in the air, he’s renowned for scoring at set pieces and a bargain considering I’ve got around £700,000 (after wages) spare after the Hummels sale to play around with to look for a young replacement in the coming season.

A season of success for Beaulieu FC

The 7th season in Saunders proved to be the most glorious in Beaulieu FC’s history, with the club lifting no fewer than 7 official trophies and finishing runner up in another 3.

Premiership – 1st
All Evening Cup – Winners
Premiership Cup – Winners
Charity Shield – Winners
Goodwill Cup – Runners up
Gold Cup – Semi-finals
Super Cup – Runners up
Gameworld Cup – 2nd Round

AEFA U21s – 1st
AEFA U20s - 5th
AEFA U19s - 7th
AEFA U18s – 2nd
AEFA Youth Cup – Winners
AEFA U21 KO – Winners
World Youth Cup – Quarter-finals

Team of the Season

GK – Setaro
DR – Longobardi
DL – Candela
DC – Hummels
DC – Caceres
MR – Capitani
ML – Menez
MC – Donadel
AMC – Guilherme
AMC – Kouakou
ST – Pato

Player of the season

Guilherme - the prodigal son returned and played a vital part in this seasons success.

Clean sweep of the U21's!!!

Beaulieu FC managed the tripple crown of the AEFA U21 tournaments..

English manager Matt 'Chat Helper' Bunn's dazzling Beaulieu FC have won the seventeen-club AEFA U21's with four matches still to play.



English manager Matt 'Chat Helper' Bunn's reigning champions Beaulieu FC have won the fifteen-club AEFA U21 KO Cup after their 3-2 win over Italian manager Alessandro Gabelli's reigning champions NewWorld in the Final.



English manager Matt 'Chat Helper' Bunn's reigning champions Beaulieu FC have won the sixteen-club AEFA Youth Cup after their 2-1 win over capable English manager Daz Pigott's reigning champions City Hornets in the Final.

Golden oldies out, Toledo in as Beaulieu FC lose in WYC

Transfers

Two Beaulieu FC stalwarts have departed the club over the last week, after I’d decided now would be the time to let them go. Jorge Martinez had been with the club around a month and had been a very popular figure among the fans. He regularly popped up with goals and assists with a legendary ability in the air. The signing of Moussa Kouakou pushed him to the bench and, at 31, time was definitely against him. An offer of £1.2m – comfortably above his market value – saw the Uruguayan monster leave the anchor for Clueless Crew FC.

The other notable departure saw Frederico Balzaretti leave the club for AEFA Premiership rivals, Soeren’s Milenator Roar. Balzaretti had saw his position taken by the solid performances of wonderkid Vanderson Canela and at 32 was well past his prime in a Beaulieu FC shirt. Soeren desperately needed some experience in his defence, and a deal was swiftly struck that saw the veteran Italian move in exchange for £220,000.

Coming into the first team as a long term player for the centre of midfield is 21 year old star in the making Marcio Toledo. Groomed from one of the top youth academies in the gameworld, the youngster has everything: he’s a brilliant passer of the ball, he’s got a wicked shot on him, he’s quick, strong and good in the air and he’s not afraid to get stuck in. Since joining the club he’s played very well in the centre of a 4-5-1 alongside Donadel and Guilherme, the highlight so far a rasping drive in a 3-1 victory against perennial under-achievers Loftus Road FC. He’s also been dominant in the U21 side as my kids are battling for success on 4 fronts – the U18s, the U21s, the U21 KO Cup and the Youth Cup.



Defeat in the WYC

Even the presence of Toledo couldn’t get my side into the semi-finals of the World Youth Cup. In the quarter finals, we were pitted against West End Academy Specialists – the clue is in the name, they’re a top youth side. That the match was even, that my side only lost 2-1 and that they made it to the last 8 in the world gives a great indication as to just how far my youth side has progressed this season.

The prodigal son returns...

English manager Matt 'Chat Helper' Bunn's dazzling Beaulieu FC have signed world class Brazilian striker Guilherme on a 2 season contract after their part exchange bid worth a total of £3,610,000 was accepted by English manager Paul Stephens's dazzling Cottingley FC.

Spending money has never been so difficult…

After a series of cost-cutting moves, cutting expenditure by 90k a day and selling players, Beaulieu FC are fairly well off financially. Spending that money, as has been promised to the Beaulieu FC faithful, has been almost impossible. This has come from two problems – the premium people put on their own star players and the huge wages that youth players are going for. Having worked so hard to cut down my wages, I have no intention of spending 15-20k on a 16 year old. As this is what all good, young players are going for in wage auctions, I’ve been exploring other avenues of adding to the playing staff. This leads to the second problem – the premium people put on their star players.

It’s not that players are unavailable – I’ve already seen two world class players in their prime who are available for less than market value. The problem is that I have world class players in virtually every position and that any prospective signing has to be an upgrade on the current occupant of that role. This limits the prospective number of eligible players dramatically, especially given the number of players locked into inactive teams, such as Kaka, Rooney and Torres. I tried hard to get Martin Galvan, Adail Viera and John Fleck, all to no avail as the managers decided that the players simply weren’t for sale. After an entire weekend of trying to do deals, I’m closing in on a number of players – hopefully I’ll have news of a deal tonight.

The season so far…

Having said that, Beaulieu FC have made a mockery of having a ‘depleted’ squad. Despite seeing the departures of Wellington (£1.25m), Dani Alves (swap deal for Kouakou), Kipre (400k), Marlon James (200k) and Stamenkovic (140k), the squad is perhaps in its best shape for some time. I’m storming ahead in the league and I’m still in all competitions (except the gameworld cup – damn Pandev!), while I’ve been in the top 5 in the gameworld for months now, slipping one place to 3rd overnight. I’m also doing very well in youth competitions, with my youth ranking rising to a record 5th overall.

Is this the comeback of the season?

In the Gold Cup Last 16 I was drawn against the talented FC Tushinev – at the time ranked 3rd in the world with Beaulieu FC ranked 2nd. The first leg, away, was a fairly even affair, with Tushinev edging proceedings. But Tushinev’s proficiency at corners came to the fore as he scored an incredible 4 corner goals – all from different players – to take a seemingly unassailable 4-0 lead back to The Anchor. What proceeded was the greatest comeback my side have ever managed. Shortly after halftime, Pato scored his 3rd and Beaulieu’s 5th to put my side into the lead on aggregate, and we didn’t stop there. In the 85th minute Marco Donadel slammed home a rebound from just inside the area to take the final score to Beaulieu FC 8 – 0 Tushinev FC, 8 – 4 on aggregate.

Wellington departs...

Since I had Kouakou (only 1 goal in 9 appearances, but 7 assists show he's now running the show) there was no room for Brazillian midfielder Wellington. I think he's peaked at 24, and although he's very good, I was hoping for him to develop into a slightly more potent midfielder.

I struck a deal with Neil Baldwin's Workshop Wednesday (back in the Prem after a season in the championship) which saw the midfield maestro swap sides for £1.25m spread over 4 weeks. This sees Beaulieu Fc's coffers swell to their largest since pre-stadium days, with rumours of a big signing iminent, Beaulieu FC boss Matt Bunn has been keeping quiet.

A legend departs as Beaulieu start the season in style

Transfer News

A week into the season and there has been plenty going on at Beaulieu FC. The biggest news is the departure of a fan favourite and one of the longest serving members of Beaulieu FC. Legendary Brazilian full-back Dani Alves left the club for Alex Leeman’s formerly inactive, newly invigorated Eagle Warriors. The deal saw the legendary Brazilian and £400,000 move to Eagles to secure the signing of prized wonderkid Kouakou. This deal freshens up the squad and dramatically improves the finances at The Anchor, which where looking somewhat depleted after the recent heavy investment in the youth team. The deal brings into question the futures of several players, most notably young Brazilian Wellington, with whom Kouakou is expected to fight for a starting place in season 7. It is widely thought that Beaulieu FC would consider offers for the world class midfielder given his likely place on the bench.






Dani Alves: 1149 Apps, 622 Assists, 143 Goals


The season so far…

The senior team has been going very strongly over the start of the season. 9 wins from 9 games in the league have opened up a gap at the top after this early stage. Qualifying from the group stages of the AEFA Charity Shield, Gold Cup, Premiership Cup and the Goodwill Cup looks likely, with Beaulieu FC undefeated in senior competitions (at least, over two legs) so far this season. Time will tell how the loss of Dani Alves will impact on the results, with tough fixtures against Monobrow City and Noerrebro Park Rangers this evening.

The previous investment in the youth team has paid dividends. The kids have performed admirably in all levels of competition they’re entered into (U21, U20, U19, U18s) in official competitions, but the standout performance so far has been in the U21 Championship friendly competition. Featuring a host of top youth sides, Beaulieu FC are sitting second, only behind West End Academy Specialists – a dominant youth side. The U21 side has been heavily invested in over the last two seasons, and it looks like it may pay dividends with the emergence of a few players who look genuinely capable of moving into the Beaulieu FC first team side in years to come.

The success at both levels has been reflected in Beaulieu FC’s ranking, reaching the top of the senior rankings again, and seeing youth rankings peak at 14 and sitting comfortably in the top 25 over the past few weeks.

Player Progression..

I’m not going to say I think I’ve cracked player progression, because that would jinx my youth team. What I will say is that after 6 seasons I finally have a good understanding of the mechanisms thanks to recent posts by the development team. There have been a couple of recent article on The Fiery Baptist (which were themselves partly gleamed from forum posts by the developers) that talk through player development nicely. If you want to go read all the ins and outs, then look for the link on the right hand side of my blog. To summarise:

-Attributes are displayed as 1-20, but are actually stored and used in the range 1-10,000. This means your players may well be improving, just not enough to go over one of the boundaries in order to trigger a change on the attributes page.

-CA points are relative to position – a striker uses up a lot of CA points to improve finishing, a midfielder less, and a defender virtually nothing.


-Playing in multiple positions costs CA points. On top of this, each position has different weightings – if your defender can also play striker, it’s going to cost him points to learn finishing.

-Physical improvements cost the most CA points.


-Being two-footed is a huge bonus, but also costs CA points.

-The level of football a player isn’t the real driver – the average rating they are achieving is. A player achieving 7.5 in youth is going to progress better than a similar player achieving 6.5 in senior. However, if a player can play well ‘above his level’ then this will cause a bigger improvement.

Having taken all of this (and more) on board I’ve changed a few things about how I play my youth. I’ve stopped playing my kids as substitutes towards the end of matches and started ensuring that most of them are getting decent enough ratings by playing at least half of a match. I’m also giving the kids who are good enough games in senior friendly competitions. This works two ways – those who are good enough get good ratings and let me know they can be relied on. Those who don’t go back to the youth leagues or out on loan for some more experience. Actually taking care with what I’ve been doing with my youth has resulted in 4 coaching reports in 2 days – 4 more than I’ve got in the previous month. I’ve managed to find a couple of people who are keen to take my players into their first teams on loan, and Julien Kipre is already reaping the benefits with a reputation increase combined with a few shiny new stat points. Others such as Serato, Canela and Longobardi are progressing quickly and in the right areas, while even some of my kids are starting to go green, so to speak.

Talking of kids, I have a mixed record when it comes to purchasing very young kids – Marlon James is looking like he’ll be a dud, while the only player to really come through has been Matthieu Marc – I think I’ve found a gem in 16 year old Australian midfielder Coffey. For his age, he has great attributes including explosive pace and great finishing, as well as being two-footed. So far he has 4 goals and 3 assist in 9 games, but 7 of those were from the bench for my U21 side. I’m hoping he may be the first true wonderkid to come through my academy – only time will tell.

Meet the team...

So with season 7 kicking off on Friday evening, I thought I’d go through the team that’s set to grace The Anchor in Beaulieu FC’s attempts to regain the AEFA Premiership crown. You can now find the team, with links to screenshots of their profiles, on the right hand side of this blog. I’m going to try and keep it updated with moderately recent screenshots as time goes by, so you can all see how (badly) my players are progressing! As you can see, there aren’t many changes to the team that finished last season, the only significant addition being Setaro between the sticks. The bench is full of young, talented players including Longobardi (AF500k, RB), Canela (AF500k, LB), Ibon Angulo (AF275k, MC) and Bellomo (AF180k, DC) – all either current or former members of the youth team. All in all, I think the team is looking strong for the next season, although lacking in depth in some positions.