Olympique Rouen

[David Grizzle]

I started off without reading this forum or any instructions. I am not a huge token buyer, I limited myself to about the cost of a platform game with whatever free offers I could get above 10 tokens. I use android because my good laptop is being fixed and this one wont even load the game so It's hard to do screen shots, bear with me . I am not sure how my team stacks up with the best of level one. I would GREATLY appreciate feedback from you guys.

I have won the last 12 in league and 16 games unbeaten. I took over after the first 2 games in league/cup. I gradually improved the roster starting with Round 5 and reaching 5 star avg at Round 8 since which I am 15-1-0, 51GF 1GA.

League Standings:




CUP: In the Quarter Finals I rested 9/11 starters for the 2nd leg which led to my only loss since 1/19 (Round 7 of league play). 7 of the 11 starters from that game are no longer on the team due to massive bench overhaul.



Roster: I have 1/7*, 6/6*'s, 4/5*'s, and 9/4*'s with 5 of the latter 9 within a point of 5* status. 7 players total within a point of star increase and 10 within 2 points.


Daniel Lehner ST 22 7*(30) 22MP 21G 8A 7MOM $1.35M (Germany)
Aaron Pugliese CDM 23 6*(29) 9MP 1G 0A 0MOM $1.16M (Italy)
Evgeni Nikolov CM 23 6*(28) 14MP 8G 1A 1MOM $1.18M (Bulgaria)
Josh Olanna RM 24 6*(27) 26MP 5G 14A 2MOM $850K (USA)
Frank O. Nju GK 23 6*(27) 11MP 1GA $1.15M (Cameroon)
Maarten Dorrestijn CB 20 6*(26) 25MP 4G 2A 2MOM $1.76M (Netherlands)**
Avelino G. Guillen CB/LB 23 6*(25) 11MP 2G 0A 0MOM $780K (Uruguay)
Adrian Dubois CAM/RW 20 5*(24) 4MP 1G 0A 0MOM $1.43M (Belgium)
Mykola Vereschyaka RB/RWB 20 5*(23) 23MP 3G 0A 0MOM $1.30M (Ukraine)**
Eduardo Jimenez ST 20 5*(21) 27MP 21G 11A 7MOM $810K (Costa Rica)**
Edmar A. Montagna LM/LW 20 5*(21) 26MP 18G 4A 1MOM $840K (Brazil)**
Bruno Dauwalder CB/CDM 25 4*(19) 15MP 1G 1A 0MOM $240K (Argentina)
Gustavo Gonzales CM 20 4*(19) 19MP 7G 0A 1MOM $590K (Peruvian)
Layton Tyson CAM/LW/RW 26 4*(19) New $190K (Wales)
Arwin Alstad GK 21 4*(19) 0MP $640K (Norway)**
Zdravko Baric LM/LWB 19 4*(19) New $990K (Croatia)**
Aimery Toussaint LB/LWB 19 4*(18) 4MP 0G 0A 0MOM $1.12M (France)**
Shaun Matson CB/LB 20 4*(17) 14MP 2G 0A 1MOM $470K (England)**
Uno Bergstrom ST 18 4*(17) New $1.15M (Sweden)**
Luis Pryor CB/RB 26 4*(15) 0MP $100K (Portugal)

** = above a 100/1 Value/Salary ratio

[David Grizzle]

Update:
Cliniched league title with 2 games left.

Won cup final 4-2 in extra time.

[aeasao]

Congratz to a successful season! There is one thing you might want to keep your eye on the next season on level 2. Playing with only 1 MC might work very well, but could also be bad, especially when you meet midfield packed formation. Have a plan B, for eksample to be able to switch to 4-1-2-1-2 narrow diamond in those matches.

Good luck!

[David Grizzle]

Congratz to a successful season! There is one thing you might want to keep your eye on the next season on level 2. Playing with only 1 MC might work very well, but could also be bad, especially when you meet midfield packed formation. Have a plan B, for eksample to be able to switch to 4-1-2-1-2 narrow diamond in those matches.

Good luck!

I don't keep the same formation every game. I keep the players to switch to a back 3 with or without WB's, always have a good 2nd CM and DCM, have the players to play any of the 4 levels on the wings, good attacking mids, and can go with 1-3 ST without losing quality.

I know a lot of good players here keep very little in the way of a bench and play the same every game but I just like to go by matchup. I get versatile players so that I don't have a ton of guys moving in and out, that way they stay in form and don't lose morale.

I have been fairly lucky that I haven't had many dud signings. Took quite a while to get my main DCM going and the jury is out on one fairly new wing player but most all of them have been consistently above a 7 avg. My Strikers have been excellent (44G 20A between the main 2 in 30/25 games) My two wide MF are my FK and CK specialists and have contributed to around 20G each and my GK allowed all of 2G in the last 17 league games though the cup games were more adventurous.

[David Grizzle]

Another massive roster overhaul during the offseason saw only a handful of players returning for the promotion to level 2.

In the first hours of the transfer window CUSA quickly moved on the top tier of available players with the signings of:
Serbian 18yr old CB Nikola Dimitrijevic 29/5* ($3.67M paid, value $4.37M)
French 18yr old CM Lucas Dubeau 29/5* ($3.43M paid, value $4.05M)
Scottish 18yr old CB Jason Goller 28/5* ($2.99M paid, value $3.43M)
Italian 19yr old GK Emanuele Bergamelli 29/5* ($2.65M paid, value $3.09M)
Chilean 19 yr old LW/AM Sebastian Rocha 28/5* ($2.09M paid, value $2.41M)
Japanese 19 yr old CAM Shunya Kinjo 28/5* ($1.61M paid, value $1.83M)

along with veteran signing of:
Russian 22 yr old RW/AM Alexander Krivopusk 26/5*

[aeasao]

Good work! Veteran at 22, only in Top11 I am very interested in how these new players train - what are their gain when you train them? It is wo nice to find a fast trainer

[David Grizzle]

Anyone over 21 is in the veteran category for me

They are gaining about 110-140 for games. Close to 70 for practice games. What is great is that they are such a big part of my starting 11 that one of them is almost always man of the match so the extra point helps the players I need it to.

I fast trained the young Serbian CB to a 7* as he was the least likely to get those extra points and he is also the most valuable. Going from a 29 to a 35 jumped his value from 4.2M when signed to well over $6M now. Of course if you convert the resources I used to get him there into cash it cost more than it improved his value......It is still nice to have a guy worth double what anyone can buy on the market since day 1 and more like 3-4x more than the top available player at any given moment.

[David Grizzle]

I got too busy to update this properly for season 2 so I will catch up y'all on the last 2 seasons.

In the 2nd season the team moved to Rouen, France and has built a beautiful new stadium which now has seating for 31,000 with a current expansion set to bring it up to the size of Stamford Bridge by mid season. This hard work was done to allow for a top flight football academy to be built with all facilities reaching lvl 7. The first players from the new academy will arrive in time for season 5.


In season 2 Olympique Rouen got a really tough league draw. OR finished in 2nd place with an impressive record of 22-3-1 but fell just short of repeating as league champions.

Our first entry into the Champions League also saw heartbreak as a great run ended with a CL finals loss 2-1 to a slight underdog.

However the season did not end without silverware as the team took home an impressive 2nd straight Cup championship in stunning fashion.

The highlight of the team was the explosion of 19 year old striker Mikkel Sorenson who signed late last season but had seen minimal playing time previously. He won the starting job in the pre season and notched 39 goals, 12 assists, and was MoM 6 times in all competitions.

There was a lot of change over in the roster in the off season. The team invested heavily in young talent and grew the overall team value to a whopping $65M. Here is the roster for season 2.

1. Mikkel Sorenson, 19, ST, Denmark 7*
2. Nikola Dimitrijevic, 18, CB, Serbia 7*
3. Sebastian Rocha, 19, LW/AM, Chile 6* (led the team with 36 assists and 57 goals produced)
4. Wilson Sanchez, 19, ST, Columbia 6* (24G 9A)
5. Raul Mesias, 25, DM/WB, Spain 7* (24G 5A)
6. Omar Cardenes, 18, RW, USA, 6* (19G 9A) The first homegrown prospect in franchise history!!
7. Jason Goller, 18, CB, Scotland 6* (Highest avg rating among defenders)
8. Dor Zilberman, 21, LB, Israel 6* (2G)
9. Francesco Contigiani, 23, LW, Italy 7* (9G 4A)
10. Daniel Lehner, 23, ST, Germany 6* (12G 6A 4MoM) Lost his job to Sanchez part way into the season)
11. Nathaniel Van Praag, 18, GK, Netherlands 6* (Had an up and down year)
12. Aaron Pugliese, 24, DM, Italy (4G 2MoM)
13. Petr Havlik, 21, RB, Czech Rep 6* (RB was a problem all season)
14. Lucas Dubeau, 18, CM, France 6* (2G) Never lived up to huge price tag)
15. A. De Silva Pereira, 18, CM, Brazil, 6* (Also flopped and earned little game time)
16. Shunya Kinjo, 19, AM, Japan (2G 1A)
17. Milos Todorovic, 18, WB, Serbia (2G)


The overall failure to find productive players at CM, RB, and GK were disappointing but didn't stop Les Coqs Gaulois from having a very great season and capturing their 3rd major trophy in 2 seasons.

[David Grizzle]

Season 3 for Olympique Rouen got off to a thud with their first ever loss in a two legged cup tie (either cup or CL) and coming in just the 2nd round of the major tourney. This ended both their hopes of a historic 3rd straight T11 Cup title to start a franchise and the impressive streak of 19 straight wins in 2 leg ties.

This was a massive disappointment but it had the silver lining of allowing the team more time to focus on reclaiming their league crown they narrowly lost in season 2.

Les Coqs Gaulois finished with a massive 76 points in league play dropping points only once (25-1-0) in a stunning draw during round 25. The team racked up a whopping 127 league goals while conceding only 8 times in 26 games. This record earned them their 2nd league title in 3 season with a massive 15 point gap over the 2nd place finishers from the Ukraine.

The Champions League was a case of deja vu with a perfect run ending in a disappointing final loss 0-2 although the opponent was a worthy champion who were slight favorites. OR finished the CL with a record of 12-0-1 while scoring 62 goals and conceding 10.

Once again many changes were made to the roster although the core of the 2nd season team remained intact. Long awaited solutions were found at AM, CM, and RB while GK remained a trouble spot particularly in cup play.


Season 3 roster:

1. Mikkel Sorenson, 20, ST, Denmark 7* (42G 18A 9MoM in 41 App) Was league MVP with a massive 8.28 avg rating
2. Mauro Ezen, 19, AM, Brazil 7* (21G 11A 2MoM in 39 App) Was a revelation at AM (did not do FK/CK)
3. Omar Cardenes, 19, RW, USA 7* (23G 7A 5MoM in 33 App) Our homegrown talent continued to flourish
4. Nikola Dimitrijevic, 19, CB, Serbia 7* (2G 1MoM in 40 App)
5. Agustin Garcia, 18, RB, Peru 7* (4G 1A 4MoM in 27 App) The teams most highly valued player had an incredible debut season
6. Jean Atanga, 24, GK, Cameroon 7* (Had an up and down season over 29 App)
7. Christian Segreste, 19, CM, Mexico 7* (8G 1A 2MoM in 23 App) Another breakout performer at a trouble position
8. Wilson Sanchez, 20, ST, Columbia 7* (43G 20A 4MoM in 40 App) Led the team in scoring with 63 goals produced (FK specialist)
9. Jason Goller, 19, CB, Scotland 7* (3G 1A in a team high 42 App)
10. Dor Zilberman, 22, RB, Israel 6* (6G 1A 2MoM in 41 App)
11. Sebastian Rocha, 20, LW, Chile 6* (23G 34A 8MoM in 40 App) Led the team in Assists (CK specialist)
12. Raul Mesias, 26, DM/WB, Spain 6* (5G 1A in 18 App) Lost his job to Segreste mid season
13. Tierry Henry II, 18, AM/LW, France 6* (5G 4A in 10 App) Came on late as the teams 2nd homegrown player
14. Manolis Karagianis, 18, ST, Greece 6* (1G 2A in 9 App) Was somewhat of a flop
15. Andre Bonifacio, 19, GK, Portugal 6* (Could not perform consistently in 12 App)
16. Luke Kessell, 18, LW, England 6* (4G 2A 2MoM in only 6App) Late season addition was very productive
17. Vitor Reis, 18, CM, Portugal 6* (2G in 4 App) Was a flop for the huge price tag
18. Petr Beran, 19, DM/CB, Czech Rep 6* (1G in 5 App)
19. G. Mion Varella Costa, 19, ST, Brazil 6* (1G 1A in 2 App)
20. Daniel Relano, 18, WB, Spain 6* (1G 1A in 5 App)

[David Grizzle]

As season 4 begins the T11 Cup is more daunting than ever. With an avg team rating of 37.4 coming into the season the cup draw was sure to be a difficult one. However the cup started off well with a 2-0 victory at the Stade de Rouen. The 2 goal advantage is large but also important is the opponents failure to secure the crucial road goal. Leg 2 is set for this evening.

In Transfer news several new additions to the squad came during the transfer window. The record transfer fee for the club was shattered multiple times when new arrivals to lvl 4 became available on day 2 after the usually busy 1st day saw no action at the top end.

Added to the squad were:
Silvano Ibarra, 18, CB, Ecuador (38 rating, $7.5M value, Fee: $6.81M)
Carlos Esteban Biojo, 18, LW, Ecuador (37 rating, $7.3M value, fee: $6.63M)
Paul Pariseau, 18, DM/WB, France (39 rating, $7M value, fee: $6.36M)
Maxence Honore, 18, GK, France (38 rating, $6.5M value, fee: $5.9M)
Arthur Ngan, 18, ST, Cameroon (38 rating, $6.1M value, fee: $5.54M)
Sherom Kasami, 19, RW, Switzerland (38 rating, $6.1M value, fee: $5.54M)
Antonis Lemonis, 19, DM, Greece (39 rating, $6M value, fee: $5.45M)
Samed Boateng, 19, CM, Ghana (38 rating, $5.7M value, fee: $5.83M)

Boatang was the only one of the 8 that had other offers. Other owners at this level continue to be unwilling to spend at the high end of the market but rather build with cheaper veteran players. Olympique Rouen owner David Grizzle contributed over $38M of his own money to help fund the spending spree as he continues to build a foundation for the next several seasons.


To make room on the roster an equal number of sales were made. While most of those leaving the club accomplished little on the pitch there was the departure of one veteran presence that played a leading role for the club for 1 1/2 seasons. Spanish holding midfielder Raul Mesias left the club for a fee of $1.24M in order to get back to playing first team football after losing his spot in the starting 11 part way through last season to Christian Segreste.

For his career Mesias notched 29 goals and assisted on 6 more while winning man of the match honors on 3 occasions. He provided a rare ability to create scoring chances from his deep midfield role and was a leader off the pitch being named vice captain for season 2.

Other sales:
Felipe Mejia, 19, CB, Mexico ($3.61M)
Vitor Reis, 19, CM, Portugal ($4.39M)
G. Mion Varella Costa, 20, ST, Brazil ($3.47M)
Andre Bonifacio, 20, GK, Portugal ($3.12M)
Daniel Relano, 19, DM/WB, Spain ($2.29M)
Dmitry Kutarba, 27, RB, Russia ($1.04M)
Petr Beran, 20, DM/CB, Czech Republic (pending)