Career The Italian Job (Double Trouble) Season 4

[JamesVilla]

I've been trying for the past few weeks to find something that I can get stuck into, been struggling big time to get into this years game, probably a month or two after it came out.

Couldn't quite figure out a great 1KC tactic, so the next best thing is a Double Trouble. 

The Club 

The club choice was a fairly easy one, a big team, small league. Add that to the fact that the starting squad is actually very good, with some cracking younger players coming through. 

The Players

So, as per the title, both are Italian and quite well known to game. Piccoli & Lucca. Yes, it is abit of a cop out using two of the best young strikers in the game, but hey, want a chance of actually finishing this 😂  

Season 1; 

Transfers

Spoiler

So a fair few deals done. Obviously the two main men, followed by Vignato & Calafori to help try and build a good Italian base for when the ITN job comes up. 

Dodo turned out brilliant, never heard of him, never used him, but if you are after a decent, young RB/WBR, check him out. 

Other players are fairly well known and the reasons behind signing them are probably quite obvious ha. 

Outgoing wise, used as many as I could as P/X to get prices down, Tagliafico went at the end of the season for a price I couldnt turn down really. 

The boys; 

Spoiler

Both had some decent improvements, hoping that continues over the next few seasons. 

Goals wise, got quite few more than I expected. Didn't really test the tactic, just went with it, and had to adjust it throughout the season but think I've got it settled now. 

Swapped them around every few months for penalties and free kicks. Tried to keep the goals as level as possible, but Piccoli edged ahead, he had some great hauls throughout the season, compared to Lucca who struggled for more than 2 a game overall. In reality, I want them as equal goal wise throughout this challenge as I can get. 

Still, first season and already over the 100 goal mark between them, so can't complain at all. 

Competitons & Awards;

 

Spoiler

League won with ease (as expected in all honesty), lost the Super Cup, but not too fussed, I was in the middle of deals going in & out so squad was no where near ready. Flew through the CL group stage but got battered by Man City, so some work to do there going forward. 

Plenty of awards for the lads, not surprising considering the standard in the league. 

Manager;

 

Spoiler

Impressed with just the 1m spend so far, that will go up in season two though ha. 

Over a 3.0 GPG ratio which isnt a bad start to this challenge. 

Totals;

I will be making a table at some point, not had time today, but here is the current total. 

Lucca - 52

Piccoli - 63

Total - 115/1200

[Rob]

Wonderful start

[Titjes]

Great start and good luck mate 😉

[StuartM]

Great start, I sense there could be some big seasons in this one!

[broodje kip]

Nice start there James.

[JamesVilla]

15 hours ago, Rob said:

Wonderful start

 

14 hours ago, Titjes said:

Great start and good luck mate 😉

 

12 hours ago, StuartM said:

Great start, I sense there could be some big seasons in this one!

 

9 hours ago, broodje kip said:

Nice start there James.

Thanks chaps, much appreciated.

[JamesVilla]

Season 2;

Transfers; 

Spoiler

A fair bit of business done. Rovella & Ricci came in to run the midfield and establish that Italian base. Scamacca as a back up striker since Haller was sold. The other incomings are younger players, to bleed into the first team over the next few seasons. Couldn't really turn down Gaya on a free, brilliant player, hoping he can be sold in the next season for a big profit. 

Outgoing wise, few youngsters released that were never going to make it through, a few more promising ones out on loan. 

The Boys; 

Spoiler

Lucca is now looking like a beast, still want to try and get the aerial for both of them up, but the training bar is moving rather slowly so may have to settle for what they are at. 

Goal wise, Piccoli struggled for some reason untill I changed who marks keeper on corners & penalties. Happy with Lucca's return, a solid increase on season 1. 

Competitions & Awards; 

Spoiler

 

Won everything we can. A mental Champions League final, which i'll show in a minute. Few awards for the guys, all goal related obviously. I know they don't mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but always nice to see. 

The Champions League;

We had a fairly easy run to be fair, Liverpool the only big team in the group, and they actually failed to get through some how. Inter Milan/Barcelona the two big guns in the knockout stage. Inter Milan didn't pose too much of a threat, the Barcelona games were tight. Think it was only 1 goal that saw me through. Onto Bayern Munich into the final, and what a final it was; 

A very early red card for Kimmich paved the way. The tactic I use is always going to be leaky at the back, so not surprised I still managed to concede 3 goals, but more impressed with the domination of the game. 9 clear cut chances is one of the highest I've got on this game this year.

Manager & Other; 

Spoiler

Bit more spending, but that has been offset already at the start of season 3. Got offered a few jobs, turned them all down hence the loyalty. Still averaging over 3.0GPG which is good. 

Now, if you want to use Ajax, and use wingers, there is a player at the club you should y keep around and see how he turns out; 

I sent him on loan first season then used him in the second, and he has turned out quality and still only 20. Greens in all the right places for a winger, and I've found left footed wingers are alot harder to come by, so it was worth keeping hold of him. He has already moved Anthony out of the first team spot at LW. 

Totals;

Increase on season 1 which is always the aim, and only 4 goals difference between the two strikers, which is what I wanted. 

Thanks for reading, I know this isn't the most exciting career posted on Vibe so always nice to receive the supportive comments  

[1shotz]

Looking good 👌🏽

[Rob]

Double troubles are notoriously tricky, and you’ve had a brilliant start.

[Superking]

Superb stat in 2 season  for both the strikers 👍👍

[JamesVilla]

18 hours ago, 1shotz said:

Looking good 👌🏽

Thank you mate. 

16 hours ago, Rob said:

Double troubles are notoriously tricky, and you’ve had a brilliant start.

Yeah, they have surprised me with getting 50+ each already, hoping to start hitting 70/80+ each soon. 

2 hours ago, Superking said:

Superb stat in 2 season  for both the strikers 👍👍

Cheers!

[JamesVilla]

Season 3

The updates coming quite quickly at the minute, finding a lot of time to play and averaging a season a day. Might drop off eventually, but enjoying this game for a change ha. 

Transfers;

Spoiler

As I mentioned in a previous update, Rasmussen had displaced Anthony in the first team LW spot, and I found a cracking young regen who was only 16, but already had 14 crossing & dribbling to come in as back up (Casco), so when Real Madrid popped up with a offer, managed to up it to £65m, it was hard to say no. 

Gaya went at the end of the season as Calafori had really developed out on loan, and I always planned to have at least 2/3 quality Italians in my squad to help with the international job. 

Mahoney came in to help mentor Casco, to try and get the crossing up as much as possible, but it didn't really go to plan. All the other incomings were back ups/second team players. 

Think I have found a good affiliate club in Wiesbaden, I always try and get one that is all 'greyed out' as there is a 95% chance any players I send out on loan will play all the time. That is proving the case already in Season 4 with 4/5 young players I have sent there. 

The Boys; 

Spoiler

 

A quality season from Piccoli, hitting the 70 goal mark, Lucca was disappointing, there is no movement in his progress bar after a game now so believe he is 'done' which is a shame considering his aerial is still only 17. 

I did try and alter my set up slightly, trying out some different roles, to try and help level the scores, but nothing worked any better than my original set up. 

Does seem that they take it in turns to be the 'better' striker 😂

Competitions;

Spoiler

Won everything domestic, and managed to bring home the Champions League again. My team is really shaping up to be a world class team right now. 

We lost the European Super Cup, to Manchester City, and it was a tough game to swallow; 

Battered them based on possession, shots, shots on target but sadly their quality and 2 quick goals from Grealish & Gnarby ruined me. Piccoli managed a last minute consolation goal, so 2 for him which isn't too bad. 

Awards;

Spoiler

Considering his slight drop in goals, was surprised to see Lucca selected in the World Best XI over Piccoli, but we all know how flawed that award can be. 

Manager; 

Spoiler

A few more job offers came in and of course were all rejected, hence the 20 loyalty. Spending is bang on equal to selling which is good, means I've got both the training & youth set ups maxed out due to money in the bank. 

Totals; 

A slight drop overall from Season 2, but nothing to be concerned about, especially taking into account Piccoli had his highest return yet. Aslong as I average around the 120 a season mark, I'm happy with the progress of this challenge. 

Once again, thanks for reading & your supportive comments. Much appreciated. 

[broodje kip]

Wtf season 3 already. Some next level of speedrun this.

[JamesVilla]

23 minutes ago, broodje kip said:

Wtf season 3 already. Some next level of speedrun this.

😂 I’ve had a few quiet days at work, and with the recent heat have not done anything really, I was already mid through season 2 when I started posting. 

[Rob]

Always love a speedy career as it’s usually a hint that a career is doing well, as this one is

[JamesVilla]

Season 4

Transfers; 

Spoiler

Mostly regens coming through now, with a few good players on frees to try and sell on in a season or two. 

Outgoing wise, using my trick with the loans to ensure game time for my younger lads. 

Competitions & Awards; 

Spoiler

 

Everything won as per usual now. Plenty of awards for the two main guys too. Nothing else really to comment on, my team is becoming world class, which you would expect after a few seasons. 

International;

We managed to bag the Italy job right at the start of this season, before any games had been played; 

Should be able to help with getting a few extra goals each year, and proves I didn't waste my time developing a couple of Italian players for this moment ha. 

Some glory at International Level; 

Always make me chuckle when you come up against Germany, Holland in the finals of tournaments. Pretty much a certain win & a few goals.

The Boys; 

Spoiler

 A great season by Lucca, his highest return yet, plus with 16 goals for Italy, quite impressive considering he isn't up top alone. 

Piccoli struggled, he had one 'big' injury and a couple of smaller '2 weeks' type ones; 

So all considering, anything near the 60 mark overall I was happy with. 

Squad; 

Because transfers are now just becoming regen hunting, thought I'd drop in a screenshot of how the assists are distributed between the team; 

As you can see, my main wingers (Rasmussen & Vignato) provided majority, with their back ups (Casco, Maswanhise) next in the list. But, actually I was quite surprised to see that it was spread out amongst the midfield too. 

Totals; 

A good increase on last season, but mainly due to the International returns. Happy with over having 5 difference in club goals, and almost half way through this challenge. 

Season 5 is actually completed and ready to write up so will try and get that out over the weekend, if not Monday sometime. 

Once again, thanks for your support and comments, and if there is anything you want to see that will make this abit more fun to read, please let me know. 

 

[Rob]

Sound job. We’re all learning that you don’t sleep and just churn out seasons and write-ups, which is good to know.

DTs are hard and you are making this look piece of pee. Great stuff.

[JamesVilla]

Just now, Rob said:

Sound job. We’re all learning that you don’t sleep and just churn out seasons and write-ups, which is good to know.

DTs are hard and you are making this look piece of pee. Great stuff.

Its been a quiet week at work so finding alot of time in the afternoon/evenings to play, once I've got my A & B team set up, I don't really change much throughout the season so can just power through them in a couple of hours really. Plus, when its going well, its easy to keep playing 😂

[Titjes]

Another fantastic season in the bag mate 😉 

[JamesVilla]

Season 5

Transfers; 

Spoiler

One big name signing coming in, TAA. He isn't as good at this stage as we know he can be, but still an cracking price for someone will will be my first choice RWB for a few years. 

Wirtz on a free was too good to turn down, Nico signed to sell on for a decent profit. Rest of incomings all regens. 

Outgoing wise, Unuvar hadn't developed as I would of liked, and was starting to steal more and more goals from the top two so cashed in. Rest were squad players who got offers for good prices and were replaceable with regens I had already in the squad, or that were coming in this season. 

The Boys;

Piccoli struggled again with a few injuries, I've been lucky that Lucca has only ever had the smaller 1/2 weeks so far; 

Spoiler

Despite the injuries, still impressed with Piccoli's return, Lucca got his best season yet and looks like a beast despite not perfect Aerial. 

International wise, both got a decent amount of goals which helps towards the total. Piccoli seems to be better with the Italian squad than Lucca for some reason, despite same tactic and positions being played. 

Competitions & Awards; 

Spoiler

 

Everything won as per, its still enjoyable playing this game, despite sometimes feeling like abit of grind with how good my squad is now compared to the league especially. 

Awards are as expected, mean nothing but still like to see them being recognized. 

Squad; 

Mostly by wingers and back up wingers (Casco, Simeone) providing the assists, with a good few being chipped in from my LWB & RWB. Those numbers may of dropped slighty as switched them to Man Mark to try and win the ball back quicker to release the faster, more attacking players further up. 

Not many at all coming from my midfield, just 12 so far and that is with Drake only being a back up/second squad player for now. 

Manager; 

Still in profit overall for the challenge, not sure why my discipline is low still, I fine after a poor performance and red cards. Youth policy should raise over the next 2 seasons or so as I start to include 4/5 quality wonderkid regens that I've got out on loan. 

Totals;

Over half way through now, hoping to have it wrapped up in 4 seasons or so. Lucca pulling away slightly with 23 more club goals, still they are both fairly closely matched. 

Thanks for reading, suggestions always welcomed!

[1shotz]

Making it look easy 👌🏽

[LFCTERAS]

What roles train your players ?