Beam me up, Scotty - Rangers & Scotland CM Story

Setford one day could become a great goalkeeper. Captain of Ajax II and last three league games (2nd tier) only a single goal against, which is a huge improvement to the first twelve playing rounds.

Hagi was always one of the first players that I'd scout, but this game he came out significantly weaker in my scouting reports. McAtee was mentioned at Ajax this summer, we thought, but in the end Ajax' attention was focused on Carlos Forbs Borges of Man City u21 (unfortunately).

And those results... it could well mean you're three or four points down on Celtic, which in your two horse race could mean a great deal. Four points is like an Old Firm for Free.

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@Danimal5981 wrote:

Setford one day could become a great goalkeeper. Captain of Ajax II and last three league games (2nd tier) only a single goal against, which is a huge improvement to the first twelve playing rounds.

Hagi was always one of the first players that I'd scout, but this game he came out significantly weaker in my scouting reports. McAtee was mentioned at Ajax this summer, we thought, but in the end Ajax' attention was focused on Carlos Forbs Borges of Man City u21 (unfortunately).

And those results... it could well mean you're three or four points down on Celtic, which in your two horse race could mean a great deal. Four points is like an Old Firm for Free.

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Hagi, yes, he's a completely different player now, than he used to be when I signed him in previous editions of FIFA. I remember him having this 85 stamina rating, and he wasn't slow, with his pace around the 75 or so. Now his pace is down around 60, perhaps as a result of his horrendous injury from January 2022 that kept him out for a long time and even saw him removed from the game. So that may also be the reason why things didn't 'click' for him in this save, the same way it used to, when I had him in a few of my previous saves, where he always seems to overperform.

Thanks for the info on Setford, he's not one I was familiar with before, but I tend to target ball-playing keepers these days, and I was almost shocked to see his "kick" skills compared to the rest of his abilities at this point. So I decided to take a chance on him, and with him "showing great potential", he could grow to become a great addition, if I keep him in the lineup.

I agree that four points would be a big gap now, but luckily that is not the case. I know I had three consecutive draws there, but one was against Celtic, so they couldn't really gain on me there. And the other was a cup game. So they gained two points on me, so we're still pretty close.

4 draws in 6 games and still within a victory of Celtic: it could've been worse.

I do notice that the two top teams are now equal on goals scored: that either means you find the net easier, or Celtic has had moe difiiculties.

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@Danimal5981 wrote:

4 draws in 6 games and still within a victory of Celtic: it could've been worse.

I do notice that the two top teams are now equal on goals scored: that either means you find the net easier, or Celtic has had moe difiiculties.

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It's a bit up and down, I think. I didn't score easily in the three consecutive 1-1 games, that's for sure. But then they just flew in during the second halves vs Motherwell and Dundee, the latter in the cup though. So I can't say in general, that I find it easier to score right now.

A defeat for one of the two biggies: that is rare - wow!

Can you clinch the title, or better yet: remain unbeaten in the league and clinch the title - Don't know if that would be a first for Rangers, or at all in Scotland...

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@Danimal5981 wrote:

A defeat for one of the two biggies: that is rare - wow!

Can you clinch the title, or better yet: remain unbeaten in the league and clinch the title - Don't know if that would be a first for Rangers, or at all in Scotland...

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Yes, Celtic losing is very rare indeed. I suppose some flowers to Aberdeen would be in order.

I'd actually envisioned that BOTH could have gone through an unbeaten season, having done it this far into the season. That would have been awesome IMO, to have two unbeaten teams in the league, with something as rare as an undefeated runner-up. I suppose it could still happen, if Celtic go all the way, but it does look like the title is mine to lose at this point.

From what I can tell, an unbeaten season has happened 4 times in Scotland.

1897/98; Celtic, P18, W15, D3.

1898/99; Rangers, P18, W18.

2016/17; Celtic, P38, W34, D4.

2020/21; Rangers, P38, W32, D6.

Once again cancelling each other out, but this season could make Rangers lead in this regard.

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@CO88LER5 wrote:
I think you're going to win the league this time round.

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Maybe. Celtic's recent form certainly suggests it, but there is a derby in match 30, and of course one more in the Championship Round. So it's not written in stone just yet.

Slip up against Hibs, good draw in Spain and another victory against Celtic.  It seems that things are going well on balance.  Presumably, the Hibs result isn't that bad in this context.

You must be favourites to progress against Vallecano in the return leg.

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@CO88LER5 wrote:

Slip up against Hibs, good draw in Spain and another victory against Celtic.  It seems that things are going well on balance.  Presumably, the Hibs result isn't that bad in this context.

You must be favourites to progress against Vallecano in the return leg.

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Well, the draw in Spain WAS in fact the return leg. Having won 2-0 at home, with the first goal against the run of play and the second coming after a sending-off for Rayo. I'll play Spurs next, in the last 8 of the competition.

The Hibernian draw did invite Celtic back in, but beating them in between the two Rayo games was certainly helpful and keeps Celtic 4 points behind.

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@CO88LER5 wrote:
So it was. Dunno how I missed that. It's not so easy to track stuff on this site as it was on the forum, or maybe it's my age...

Spurs is going to be a difficult one.

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Don't worry about it. Keeping track on a couple of saves, providing feedback for the one posting them, sometimes you'll miss a thing or two.

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@CO88LER5 wrote:
I don't understand how this works. How do you get to play St Mirren, if they aren't in the Championship Group? I thought the end of season grouping meant that teams in each group only played each other...?

Presumably, Celtic are top because they have more wins...?

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Glad you asked mate. St.Mirren was match 33, so the final game of the "regular season", before the league was divided in top and bottom groups. So you are on point assuming that the clubs in the top half only play their final five games against other clubs in the top.

Celtic first, I think it's down to alphabetic order, to be honest. I had my doubts last season, where I lead on goal difference, and I couldn't tell if the goal difference counted the full season or only the championship group. Now it seems that only the points are carried over, whilst goals for and against is reset before the final five games.

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@CO88LER5 wrote:
Didn't think you'd beat Tottenham, so well done.

Spurs have a rather unbelievable mix of players - de Bruyne, Shaw, Martinez, Griezmann, Alvarez. It is strange what the game does in these areas.

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Yes, and especially in the big leagues. Now, I currently play in Scotland, and I've previously played in the Danish league too. And my experience from both is, that the teams tend to have much less activity in the transfer windows, so their squads often remain quite recognizable, even 4-5 seasons in. There are pros and * for every league, I think, but the reduced transfer activity is definitely a pro for me, when I start up away from the 'BIG 5'.