In this next installment of Perishing Partizan, we look at how the AI did in its first season in charge, result-wise. We also have a peek at their financial status and the transfers they conducted at the start of the second season.

The previous accomplishments

Partizan had a decent season, by AI standards anyway. The title was pretty much in the bag from day 1, as the squad is miles ahead of the competition in terms of overal quality.

The league table reflects that. 20 points clear of the number two, the best offence and best defence in the league. Yep, Partizan are the convincing champions. However, the main body of the squad is still mine, all the AI added into that mix are some actual strikers and a change of tactics. With the squad I left behind, Partizan were expected to perform like this.

Their true litmus test came on the European stage. Partizan had won a Champions League and reached the final in the season where I departed a few days prior to the final (they lost that one and dammit FM, I wish you could tell AI clubs to wait a few days until after such big finals before approaching you!), so how will the AI do with a squad clearly capable of performing well in Europe?

Apparently, not very well. Third place in a group with Everton, Monaco and Zenit is a poor performance from such a talented group of players. Their Europa League run is much more decent, being brought to a halt by Man Utd in the semi-finals. I still feel that not progressing into the knock-out stages of the Champions League can be deemed a failure.

To add some more insult to injury, the team failed to retain its Serbian Cup title, losing to local rivals OFK in the final. It sums up a sub-par overal performance. The team invested a lot of money in three expensive strikers, but seemed to lack firepower on the critical moments in its most important matches. If there are still people wondering why I play strikerless…

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The last time I blogged about this series, I showed you how Partizan started their post-Guido era with some erratic transfers. Halfway into the season, we look back at how the club has fared in their various competitions, how their signings have done and how they did in the January transfer window.

The financial status

As I mentioned last time, I need FMRTE to view the financial status, due to not actively being in charge of Partizan. This is what their financial status looks like as we wrap up the January transfer window.

Compared to the previous two updates, there have been some changes.

On their total finances, Partizan have spent/lost another 20 million, nearly halving their total budget over the course of 6 months. That’s actually pretty impressive, considering the deals they actually pulled off. Transfer-wise, the team has spent nearly all of its available transfer budget, they have a mere 4 million left to squander. Besides the transfer losses, the club managed to lose around 8 million somehow.

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The last time I blogged about this series, I had shown you the starting setup I had left Partizan with. By now, they have appointed a new manager and have progressed through the first transfer window since my departure. I want to see which transfer moves the AI has made, how it impacted their financial status and basically how the team is doing in general.

The financial status

As I mentioned last time, I need FMRTE to view the financial status, due to not actively being in charge of Partizan. This is what their financial status looks like as we wrap up the first transfer window.

Compared to the starting point, these are the main changes.

On their total finances, Partizan have spent/lost roughly 43 million. Transfer-wise, the team has spent 42,9 million of its available transfer budget. That would mean that outside of the transfers, they haven’t done that bad financially.

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Just to create a bit of perspective here, in this particular save I was in charge of Partizan Belgrade for three silverware-laden seasons. Three titles, three cups and three Champions League wins were testimony to some shrewd business maneuvers, superb scouting and innovative tactical efforts. If you win three Champions League titles in succession, it’s not a matter of flukes or one-season-wonders, it’s structural success. So how long will it take the AI to completely and utterly destroy the setup?

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One of my pet peeves over the past few seasons has been the matter in which the AI conducts its business. Now I do realise this makes me sound like a bit of a hypocrit, since I mentioned several strategies on this blog on how to deceive and trick the Read more…