The Master League Experiences Thread

[rebelinho]

I created this thread so you guys can post here your experiences with your ML. What team are you using, funny/not-so-funny games you've came across, the transfer window madness, a shitty guy that decided to flourish, anything. I'll start off with my own story.

I'm managing Porto, and after three perfect seasons when I won pretty much everything, and didn't lose a league game, I decided to give Superstar a try. Much better. I have to be much more focused to avoid conceding, and in overall it is a way more rewarding experience.

If I have kept my teams from season 3 it would be a walk in the park but...

This is was my team on July 2017:

Spoiler

And this is it now:

Spoiler

Overall tranfer balance was around -20m€. Sold Esgaio for 8m, Distin for 2m (complete steal, but I didn't like him), Guerreiro for 8m, Bentaleb for 2.5m, Harriott for 1m, Bruma for 7m, Ricardo was traded +10k for Maxwell, Salpingidis I have no idea, Hugo Almeida is yet to go. As for buyings Halilovic was 16m€ (for a bench player... but there were no other options), Gyan 7m, Felipe Melo 8m, Ricardo Costa 2.5m (Bargain of the Season BOTS Award Winner ), Lichtsteiner for 8m, Danny for 7m, Brandt for free.

This is my current lineup:

Spoiler

I play with a WM, 3-2-2-3 formation, which derives to a 3-2-1-4 when using Fischer. Every position has a direct replacement, and each part of the field (defence, midfield and attack) has a player that does every position (respectively Ricardo Costa, Lampard and Gyan).

This team as a lot of potential, but on the present it is a bit hard to control games. They don't impose enough fear on the opposition, and they try to take the game in their hands. Surely by the end of the season it will be better.

To finish: I won the Supertaça de Portugal against Benfica. Talisca played very well. Matchday 3 was against them. Talisca was unplayable. I made one mistake, he got an assist. Nélson Oliveira is a beast, fast and strong dribbling, and he is just too hard to stop. Also, on SS, Gaitan plays a lot more like real life, he seems a rabit on drugs, always moving on and off the ball. Very hard not to lose to them.

 

[4-3-3]

The team I am using is West Bromwich Albion.

Season 1: Got the team to fourth place and a champions league spot. Was playing a 4-4-2 but about half way through the season I changed to a 4-4-2 diamond and the team became more effective. Got knocked out in the first or second game of the F.A. Cup.

Season 2: Had to go through a qualifier to get to the champions league and I did so. Eventually won the premier league and got to the champions league final but lost. Again was knocked out early in the F.A. Cup.

 

[Parkinfed]

I am playing with Wolves with the Master League default players.

Season 1: After losing the first game of the season , the team went on a winning run of 19 games with Minandinho in red hot form. He led the Goalscoring charts, scoring 24 goals in the fist half of the season. Unable to land any of the intended transfer targets due to Financial constraints, I decided to switch my Formation from 4-1-3-2 to a 4-2-3-1 with possession style of play using the wide players more. Although the new formation led to better overall performance of the team, Minandinho seemed to have lost his scoring touch. The team drew a lot more matches and were promoted to the Premeir League winning the league championship by 3 points. Players promoted from the youth team Filtaozinho, Aartmen, Sigenkude and Djaomorac. Nillendner was promoted at the end of the season.

Season 2: To celebrate the promotion to the top tier of English football, I switched the difficulty from Regular to Top Player. Also, 16 year old duo of Toni and Van Buyten were signed for Fees which raised a few Eye brows among supporters, but they proved their worth soon enough with their skills and unhindering efforts for the teams cause. Juan Iturbe was signed on a free transfer during the winter transfer window.
This was an amazing season which included a run to the FA cup final and being runners up for the English League. Such was the competition for places, that the top six teams were divided by just 5 points and Wolves pipped Chelsea to the second place by a solitary goal. Actually, on the final day Chelsea which were league leaders lost their game and Manchester United won theirs, which saw them leapfrog Chelsea to the top spot and Chelsea themselves moved to third position owing to inferior goal difference.

Season 3: Just started season 3, signed Steven Gerrard and Sylvain Distin (both 16).

 

[rebelinho]

First quarter of the fourth season completed (8 games). The last game was against Paços de Ferreira, and after the previous 0-0 draw against Olympiacos for UCL I was mad. It was a frustrating game, and I unloaded everything against Paços. Furious game, ended 3-1 with a stupid goal for them (I failed defending, they scored).

This is the table so far:

Spoiler

Currently on 1st in the UCL group, with 7 points and GD of 7-1=6. Best scorer in the competition is Crjofadin (wtf???) with 5 goals; my top goalscorers are Andersen and Halilovic with 2 efforts each; assists king so far is Bale, with 3.

My best scorer across all competitions is Minandinho, with a goal per game ratio of 1.5 in 10 games.

In the domestic league the best scorer is Minandinho yet again, with 10 goals (and 3 assists) in 7 games; player with most assists in Goretzka with 5.

Good revelations: Lichtsteiner, Brandt and Melo. The first has incredible positioning, very fast and cunning. Loving him so far, might as well gain the first team place against Maicon. The second is very fast and powerful when heading the ball. Good passer, dribbler and great shot from outside the box. Not yet a Schurrle, but might follow his steps. At last Felipe Melo, he's giving me a real headache, 3 top players and just one spot. Gerrard isn't forged to be a CMF, so Neves, Stevie and Felipe Melo all battle for the same place. Neves can play as a CMF too, and it isn't rare for me too use a midfield with Gerrard/Melo + Neves when Goretzka is tired. Lampard is the least used one, at that tells a lot about the quality of this midfield.

Missed chances: Danny and Gyan. Mostly Danny, but Gyan is also suffering from the tough competition. The space in the team is really small, and they have to take every single chance they can. Even Postiga is struggling to find is space. Hugo Almeida is definitely ruled out after he tried to break is contract with the club. Marco Lopes is failing to maintain is outstanding form from last season, not scoring so far and assisting only once in 6 games. Halilovic is closing up to a first team chance.

 

[rebelinho]

Yeyyyyy!!!!!! After this outstanding game (link) and this outstanding performance (link) by Rafa Márquez, I'm proud to announce that...

 

[rebelinho]

Alright, so these are the updates:

After this incredible 5th game that secured the 1st place and the passage to the knockout stage,

Spoiler

Rafa Márquez had his hard work retrieve glorious results. So glorious, that he is shaping up to be the best substitute to Varane in a near future. These are his stats:

Spoiler

A few weeeks passed, the UCL group stage finished with a 0-0 draw to Sassuolo, some more wins to the league, and a player shows that he can withstand the whole team: Viktor Fischer. He is the one who pressures up front, he is the one who scores, who assists, who initiates the plays. He's definitely the most important piece of the puzzle so far.

Next update: The FIFA Club World Cup

 

[rebelinho]

FIFA Club World Cup. Arguably the less credited FIFA competiton. Either way, it crowns the best team in the world. And right now it is FC Porto!

The first game was quite easy, but the final was not. The team played really badly, and a match that could have ended 5-0 went to extra time, after 1-1 in the 90 minutes. During the final half hour Porto played much better, and the match ended 2-1.

Spoiler

During the tournament conversations began with an AMF similar to Fischer: Ángel Correa, from Atlético Madrid. In case you didn't saw these were his stats the previous year. After three weeks of talks the expected news came up:

These were the values agreed:

Spoiler

Next update: Mid-season review and transfer window news

 

[rebelinho]

New year, same stars, new ones starting to shine. FC Porto yet to be defeated in the league, and reaching the mid season allows a more factual opinion.

League table so far:

Spoiler

Goals/Assists rankings:

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FIFA Ballon d'Or finalists and Winner (with 37 years...):

Spoiler

As for FC Porto, Januray brought the much expected new signing Ángel Correa. Despite not having played so far, he surely shows his entusiasm...

At the same time another young prospect shows what he's made of. Hachim Mastour starts to make the cut:

Unfortunately he has failed to prove it, yet.


Next update: UCL knockout stage

 

[matthewjohn85]

you paid 16m for halilovic, so what was his rating when you got him? he's still only 74 in second season for me.

 

[rebelinho]

[MENTION=227051]matthewjohn85[/MENTION]

As you can see in the first post he had an overall of 83

 

[rebelinho]

Before the Champions League, struggles seem to stop FC Porto...

After a rather successful January, in which the team managed to beat their great rival Benfica for an expressive 4-0

Spoiler

and the much expected Mastour flourish,

February kept on the same path...

Spoiler

Highlights to the performances of Ángel Correa and Julian Brandt in this game, as you can see they were fantastic:

Spoiler

Unfortunately it didn't last long, and FC Porto saw themselves withdrawn from Taça de Portugal sooner than expected, as well as facing some difficult league games along the way:

Spoiler

Nevertheless, some players have tried to swim against the tide, and therefore rewarded:

Danny, with his blazing speed and technique, turns games around when he enters the pitch. Played mostly as a sub, takes advantage of tired oppositions defenders to rip them apart, and grabbing a few good displays in the last games. Perhaps another star in the making?

 

[Ali]

So this past season I managed to win the treble, and the International Cup (with England). Now all that's left is to become the no.1 club.

Will Hughes gained a big increase whilst on international duty, he's now my top rated CM at 86.

Quite a few changes to my team this season. Sold Grenier and Insigne, for younger models (Oliver Torres (84) and Icardi (87)), bought a few defenders - Jordi Amat (84) and some guy who's name escapes me (also 84), and also a young striker called Flores (80), who is from some Chilean club... I think. Also bought Matsour (81), who returns to the club after being on loan 3 seasons ago.

Have noticed a few times that even though a player is "still developing" that speed stats can decrease? Understandable if a player is 28, but not if a player is 24 ffs!

 

[matthewjohn85]

So this past season I managed to win the treble, and the International Cup (with England). Now all that's left is to become the no.1 club.

Will Hughes gained a big increase whilst on international duty, he's now my top rated CM at 86.

Quite a few changes to my team this season. Sold Grenier and Insigne, for younger models (Oliver Torres (84) and Icardi (87)), bought a few defenders - Jordi Amat (84) and some guy who's name escapes me (also 84), and also a young striker called Flores (80), who is from some Chilean club... I think. Also bought Matsour (81), who returns to the club after being on loan 3 seasons ago.

Have noticed a few times that even though a player is "still developing" that speed stats can decrease? Understandable if a player is 28, but not if a player is 24 ffs!

Did you get any trophy's or gp for winning competitions? Iv'e just won the europa league in master league but got nothing, not even a trophy?

 

[Ali]

Did you get any trophy's or gp for winning competitions? Iv'e just won the europa league in master league but got nothing, not even a trophy?

If you're talking about PSN trophies then:

Win League
Win Champ League
Win Int. Cup
Win treble (League, league cup, Cham Lge)

 

[matthewjohn85]

If you're talking about PSN trophies then:

Win League
Win Champ League
Win Int. Cup
Win treble (League, league cup, Cham Lge)

thanks

 

[rebelinho]

I'm now officially in vacances, so it's time for an update. A big one...

In the previous episode:

Successful January ends with elimination from Taça de Portugal
Danny showed his talent, but can he prove he's ready?


PART 1: The Good, the Better, and Danny​

UEFA Champions League returned, and Juventus presented itself with the job to eliminate the then champions. Yeah right. Promptly dispatched to the locker room, not even a bull-like Tévez managed to do anything relevant against Porto.

Spoiler

After a small setback in the League,

Spoiler

and a disappointing Danny,

Spoiler

March came in and with it the much waited news: FC Porto is the Portuguese Champion once again!

Spoiler

PART 2: UCL or How to induce heart attacks​

After the "duels" with Juventus a strengthened Cirrhosis Lake FC took its place under the guillotine. Despite what one might think Cirrhosis doesn't do only harm, but also stiffens the neck muscles, this is, the damn guillotine struggled to find its way... After a 1-1 draw in the home game, and a rather good second game, the Alcoholics found their way to goal during injury time, taking the match to Extra Time and the following Penalty Shootout. Fortunately heads rolled solely on the english side.

Spoiler

Shorlty after, a big contestant imposed its size: Barcelona. The home game was terrible, and the 1-3 result left no room for hopes. Facing the catalonian giants on their pitch, for a 3 nil win? Could it be done? See for yourselves:

[youtube]Zz-vFUfIv_s[/youtube]​

Short answer: No. Long answer: Of course no.

Spoiler

PART 3: So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye!​

Following the UCL elimination there wasn't much to do for FC Porto apart from finishing and winning the remaining league games. A fashionable departure to what had been a difficult season.

Spoiler

These are the final records of the season:

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UEFA Champions League ended with a very familiar result...

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and Taça de Portugal was taken by Braga:

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Next episode: Transfer market madness: who will survive?

 

[rebelinho]

In the previous episode:

Last season ended with no UCL title,
but with a great League campain as silver lining


PART 1: Back to the Supercup or The Curious Case of John Terry​

And it's a new season! Yay!

As you know the Transfer windows open on the 22th of June, but it is useless until August. This is, if you want to get rid of players or buy new regens. Porto had other plans in mind, and quickly set them in action.

Spoiler

Funny how he was constantly being battle for last season, and now was a free agent.


Supercup was against Braga, and FC Porto played marvelously. Great offensive possession, effective and quick defending, a dream match. Bu it went to ET thanks to a injury time goal. Nevertheless the cup went to its rightful owner.

Spoiler

[youtube]NdJfona0Jus[/youtube]​

PART 2: "Football Transfers for Dummies", by Morgan Piers​

After considering the performances of the players, both the manager and the board decided that the squad would suffer some changes. Aging players would be allowed to leave if a reasonable offer was made for them, and some yougsters would be transfered due to lack of quality/failure to adapt to the new team.

This was the transfer list:
Maxwell
Lampard
Bruno Fernandes
Halilovic
Adama Traoré
Asamoah Gyan
Hugo Almeida

And these were the potential transfers:
Cillessen - at least 15m€
Varane - at least 35m€
Ricardo Costa - at least 4m€
Schurrle - at least 20m€


The following is a chronological list of what happened, transfer wise, during August. It is so ridiculous it hurts.

Offers Received
Accepted
Adama Traoré: 12m€

Rejected
Helton: 1.5m€
Lichtsteiner: 1.7m€
John Riise: 3.5m€
Viktor Fischer: 6m€

Offers Made and Accepted
Luiz Gustavo (regen): free transfer, 333k€ in wages

Offers Received
Accepted
Rafael Varane: 39m€
Maxwell: 4.3m€
Bruno Fernandes: 23m€

Rejected
Jasper Cillessen: 6.5m€
Leon Goretzka: 27.5m€

Offers Made and Accepted
Tiago (regen): free transfer, 275k€ in wages

Offers Received
Accepted

Rejected
Helton: 2.1m€
Rafa Márquez: 7.2m€
Ricardo Costa: 680k€
Lichtsteiner: 2m€
Maicon: 9.4m€
John Riise: 3m€
Gerrard: 9.3m€
Felipe Melo: 3.3m€
Luiz Gustavo: 2.2m€
Viktor Fischer: 4.5m€
Halilovic: 3.9m€

Offers Made and Accepted
Hulk (regen): free transfer, 575k€ in wages

Offers Received
Accepted

Rejected
Jasper Cillessen: 6.5m€
Ruben Neves: 4.3m€
Leon Goretzka: 16m€
Ángel Correa: 10m€
Julian Brandt: 8.3m€

Offers Made and Accepted
João Miranda (regen): 5.3m€, 919k€ in wages

Offers Received
Accepted
Andre Schurrle: 25.7m€
Hugo Almeida: 2.6m€

Rejected
Helton: 2.1m€
Rafa Márquez: 5.1m€
Ricardo Costa: 824k€
Lichtsteiner: 2.9m€
Maicon: 8.5m€
John Riise: 4.7m€
Gerrard: 9.2m€
Felipe Melo: 4.9m€
Luiz Gustavo: 3.2m€

Offers Made and Accepted
Ezequiel Lavezzi (regen): 9.6m€, 955k€ in wages

Offers Received
Accepted
Frank Lampard: 10.7m€

Rejected
Ruben Neves: 5.6m€

Offers Made and Accepted

Offers Received
Accepted

Rejected
Jasper Cillessen: 6.4m€
Helton: 1.9m€
Rafa Márquez: 6.9m€
Ricardo Costa: 535k€
Lichtsteiner: 2.7m€
Maicon: 8.8m€
John Riise: 4.6m€
Gerrard: 9.4m€
Felipe Melo: 3.9m€
Luiz Gustavo: 3.2m€
Leon Goretzka: 16.8m€

Offers Made and Accepted

Next episode: Starting Primeira Liga

 

[Silver Surfer]

Thought i would share the start of my new ML with you...

Half way through the season with Valencia, just passed the Jan transfer window.
I'm happy with my squad at this point, good mix of experience and youth.

*Oscar is up to 90 OR after development!

3rd in the league and would be happy to finish in the UCL places and push for a title challenge next season.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Results from end of season 1 with Valencia.

Made it to the Europa League final...and won it

Sold Lewandowski for just over 25mill, even though it was to rivals Atletico Madrid I was happy to let him go for that money.

...and loaned out Mastour for some regular game time that I couldn't give him.

Finished 3rd in the league and closed the gap from the 'Big 2' in January to just 1 and 2 points respectively...UCL here we come! :w00t

 

[rebelinho]

[MENTION=228218]Silver Surfer[/MENTION] Nicely done mate, I wouldn't gather such squad but nevertheless it looks good. Congratz on your UEL trophy, and good luck for the big league.

Also, don't you dare to sell Mastour, he's just amazing. Doesn't take much time to get world class either.

I would have tried to squeeze a bit more for Lewandowski, but that's a nice sum for an aging forward.

I might update my own ML in the next few days, I haven't really played PES in the last month but there have been a few games already worth writing about.