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Post by Ben on Dec 17, 2018 19:48:58 GMT
There's no place like home10 seasons in and there hasn't been a single dual-national regen, despite an Argentine manager and a largely Argentine backroom. This would certainly be a surprise on older FM's - so unsure whether this has been a change in play or I have been unlucky to this point. With that, though, this was bound to happen. Just to clarify - my current transfer restrictions now apply to any player who was born in the Centro Region of Portugal (29 cities to be precise) or was born in Buenos Aires, the city that my fictional manager was born in and who played for in my FM18 save. There is my base search but, again, I will be looking for youngsters, those who fit my DNA and potentially undervalued players who can come in and do a job.
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Post by Ben on Dec 18, 2018 20:59:19 GMT
2028/29 Season ReviewWe continue to make steady progress as we continue to massively overachieve given the squad that we have (youngest squad, fourth lowest average wage, eleventh best passing, worst tackling and fourteenth best natural fitness to name a few) but after four seasons in the top flight, we are still a significant way off the top. Sporting have had a mixed year - making the second knockout round of the Europa League in Jose Rafael Vieira's third season at the helm. Last season they recorded a net transfer gain of over £35m and this year just over £5m which shows that they are simply unable to keep their best players - something which a Porto, led by (non-regens) Perr Schuurs, Josh Tymon and, strangely, Chris Mepham and Benfica, with Lucas Torreira can do. We have a tenth of the budget of these massive clubs so any gains that I can make, in the short term, will need to be on the pitch rather than off it. A fantastic run in the Europa League may change my priorities over the coming years - as we've shown that we can mix it with teams of a similar stature to ourselves (CSKA Sofia are current runners up in the Bulgarian league whilst Rennes finished 5th in Ligue Une. Chelsea, sixth in the Premier League last year, were a step too far but we were never really out of the tie and a 2-0 loss away from home sealed our fate - with Chelsea winning the competition. In terms of my team - this is how they have performed this season: The first thing to bring to attention is 53 games with a first team squad of just nineteen players is a really hard thing to manage and this is something I will look to rectify over the summer with a full breakdown of the squad and a couple of more experienced signings, from within my limits, of course. Whilst Andre Folha didn't live up to his first season returns of nearly a goal-a-game, the difficult second season was still relatively fruitful and he continues to lead the line at a young age. It was his youth intake team-mate, Teles who has stepped up to the bar and scored 18 times - often really good individual goals. He is attracting a lot of interest and, in the nature of the save, I am willing to let him go - for the right price. Ideally a move back to Brazil, where Corinthians are interested - would be my ideal bet. I think I can get at least £15m but the kicker is that I would demand 50% of his next sale - which would hopefully be back to Europe to a giant like PSG for a big fee. Tiago Ricardo is the weakest player in the first team based on star rating and had the hardest job replacing record sale Luis Trabulo (who has done absolutely awfully at 15th placed Fulham with a 6.57 AR) but he has done pretty well. He's tiny and his headers won stat is by far the worst of my defensive players - so I need to ensure that a minimal amount of crosses come in from the left flank - but I'm working on closing down those areas on the left to minimise that. Lastly, Francisco Bolas has enjoyed a really good first season in the first team and has cemented himself as a key player, ousting either Vieira (last season's top performer) or Tavares. He's a little lacking defensively but the VOL(s) has suited him really well as he's popped up with some important goals, too. One last piece of news is, this:
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Post by Ben on Dec 18, 2018 22:12:12 GMT
Transfer Dealings - 2029/30 OutgoingsJoao had somewhat stagnated at the club, despite making over 150 appearances for us. At 6'1" tall, he really should be able to head the ball better that he does. In a defence that also has a 5'3" full back in it, having two players who are winning less than 70% of their headers is a real concern for me. Furthermore, the ability on the ball is just not what I want from my defenders. He moves on for £155k and drops down a tier, where he'll probably be able to find his feet. I really had to think hard about this one - Joao Santos was one of the first season regens who I inherited at the start of the game. He has made substantial progress in his attributes and has been really important in our growth to where we are now. However, I feel that we have now outgrown him and, with a slightly formation change that removes the AMC, he is probably not going to feature. With only 30 appearances in the last two years - he's slid down the pecking order and it probably for the best that I allow him to move on and continue his career elsewhere. I also accepted two offers for winger Teles - one from Flamengo and another from Koln. Both of these were north of £16m up front with 50% of the next sale and a loan back for the year - however, quite surprisingly, he rejected both in order to stay. I hope that this means I can keep him for at least another year and hope that then the big boys do come in and I can sell for £30m+. I plan on no other outgoings at this time.
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Post by Ben on Dec 18, 2018 22:43:12 GMT
Transfer Dealings - 2029/30 IncomingsLouro moves from Braga but hails from Esmoriz, some 40km south of Aveiro and joins a relatively weak area of our team - striker. He's got a decent mental base, particularly the hard working side to him and his physicals are in good shape - probably from a successful loan at third tier Lusitanos. He'll remain in the development squad for now but I will look to improve his attacking mental attributes (concentration and anticipation) as well as his first touch and finishing. A rare non-regen and an aging lad. Silva is from neighbouring Coimbra and joins on a free transfer from Chaves. Initially at Benfica as a youth player, Silva moved to Juventus before moving around Serie B with Palermo and Trapani. He moved back to Portugal with Boavista, then Portimonense before Boavista again and then two years at Chaves where he was first choice. He's the wrong side of thirty and does come with a hefty (for us anyway) wage as well as being the third of my four centre backs to be left footed but he does offer a very safe option. As good with his feet as with his head - he'll give me a good short term indicator of how my deep transitional phase will work. Sarue is the first of the Buenos Aires born players to arrive, on a bosman from relegated Operario. Three years ago, they saw something in him and broke their club record to purchase him for £8m. I think they have massively overpaid but he looks like a good player, even if his technical attributes are skewed slightly by his dead ball ability. He's been consistent in his time in the country and did lead the league last year, sadly it was for red cards with four to his name. I imagine he'll get most of his minutes from the bench but I do fancy his as a dark horse to out perform his coach rating. Any further signings will be documented separately as I still search for a replacement for Joao Silva.
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Post by Ben on Dec 20, 2018 20:59:53 GMT
Controlling the midfield(and thus controlling attacking play). I feel that I'm at a key point in this save, albeit not a point that, once rectified, will lead to the end goal but one that can give me the leg up to achieve that. We're a good side to watch and I do enjoy watching the footage, imagining the 2D dots doing what I see on a real life football pitch. On paper, we are weak - very weak and we do not have the depth or ability (due to self imposed transfer restraints) to be able to stick a really strong team on the pitch and make do tactically. Therefore, I need to get the biggest advantage I can. With some decent defenders (I have the screenshots ready for a full depth chart run down) and really good wingers and forwards who pretty much choose their own roles - I'm left with the midfield triumvirate, who are my only real chance to micro-manage on the pitch to make those marginal gains. Firstly - a look at the depth I have: I currently have six first team players who are capable of playing in the central roles of the team - with Bolas being the best (and the youngest) and Sarue being the new signing. In terms of the DNA, the gegenpress style, I would suggest that Magalhaes, Tavares and Vieira are the best fit here - being able to run hard and close down for the 90 minutes. However, when looking at our attacking player, Bolas and once again Vieira would be the best as they can pass a ball much better than the rest. Obviously there are more attributes behind these key indicators that come into play. Next - the roles I can play. I want to be able to rotate between positions and roles depending on who is fit to play, in form and the opposition that we are playing against. Below are those that I would consider viable: I have not included the 3 AMC and 3 DMC versions as I don't feel that these are playable in my style. Porto currently play a 4231 with an AMC (Tahith Chong at the moment in the SS(a) role) so I would probably look at the first formation here - man marking him with a DM(d) or even an A(d). I would rather avoid the DLP or AP slots as I believe that they don't close down much and I don't want to restrict my play, particularly as we look to counter-press in transition and naturally have a lot of pacey players. I would also look to avoid a BWM(s) in these roles as closing down is already high due to our high press and I worry that he'd just be permanently out of position. I would also prefer to leave out the Mez(s) or Mez(a) due to their conflicting runs with the W(s) or IF(a) unless he can effectively swap and move outside as the inside forward moves inside. This leaves the below roles: DM:Defensive Midfield (defend or support) Anchor Man (defend) Half Back (defend) MC:Central Midfield (defend, support or attack) Box to Box Midfielder (support) Carrilero (support) AMC:Attacking Midfield (support or attack) Shadow Striker (attack) We've really got a lot of quite generic roles left that I can adapt to suit the needs of these players. I think they could all work, except for maybe the Car(s) but that is mainly due to the fact that I have never used one before. I am currently experimenting with a CM(s) and a CM(a) with an A(d) behind them but I need to use the pre-season to determine what options can work to give me defensive stability, allow me to play a high press and create chances for us.
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Post by Ben on Dec 20, 2018 21:09:57 GMT
Squad Depth - 2029/30
Goalkeepers: Left Backs: Right Backs: Centre Backs: Central Midfielders: Wingers/Wide Attackers: Forwards:
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Post by kizmarlo on Dec 21, 2018 9:39:24 GMT
Very happy you managed to keep hold of Telles, he looks a real cut-above anything else at the club. Are you still thinking of a big move for him before next season?
Also, it does get said a lot, but the level of detail and analysis you put into your saves is simply (for fear of being too gushy) inspiring. Keep up the great work!
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Post by Ben on Dec 21, 2018 20:43:12 GMT
Very happy you managed to keep hold of Telles, he looks a real cut-above anything else at the club. Are you still thinking of a big move for him before next season? Also, it does get said a lot, but the level of detail and analysis you put into your saves is simply (for fear of being too gushy) inspiring. Keep up the great work! He is amazing, you are right, but far too good for this club and in the nature of the save - he'll probably be off before long. However, it's a well thought through process, as you'd expect! Thanks for the kind words - I'm just writing down my thoughts as it really helps me play the game. A slight change to my updates is that I'll be posting monthly game updates as I look to move to the next step, discussing game by game tactics.
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Post by Ben on Dec 21, 2018 21:10:02 GMT
August 2029A quiet month as we begin our new season and I look into the specifics of in-game play to try and maximise the potential that this side has. We kicked off with a fairly easy away victory at Aves - although we couldn't break them down and in the end turned strikerless (ST off for AMC) to be able to stretch the play. Teles scored a close range header and new signing (more on his later on) Adrian Medina scored a peach of a half volley just minutes after making his debut. Two dropped points at home to Portimonense as we gave up our lead thanks to an 89th minute strike from a free-kick rebound - again we dominated possession but striker Folha seems out of sorts since his blocked transfer to Porto and is now unhappy so I can't talk to him about his performance. We annoyingly allowed ourselves to be hit on the counter in only the third minute away at Porto - with full back Josh Tymon running free from our corner and providing a simple finish for their forward. We responded really well but couldn't get that bit of luck we perhaps needed.
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Post by Ben on Dec 21, 2018 21:19:31 GMT
Player Sale
If Trabulo was the big sale, that's not paled into comparison. This is an absolutely massive sale for any Portuguese club, let alone one who hasn't broken into the big three yet. The £20m initial fee gives us a bank balance of nearly £50m - which, again is fantastic for us - should we find the players who fit our criteria and will help us improve. Dortmund are a massive club, but not quite of the level of Bayern, Barca, Real, PSG or Man Utd (in game!) and have finished second, second and fourth in the three seasons the Bundesliga has been active for. They currently having Breel Embalo as their first choice winger but he is linked heavily with a move to Madrid so I would hope and expect Teles to take that berth. My goal is to see him excel in Germany and move to PSG for £100m - netting me a total of £80m in the deal, something that I'd never be able to initially achieve, especially given his value has stalled at £4m.
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Post by Ben on Dec 21, 2018 22:04:01 GMT
New SigningAdrian Medina joins on loan for a year from Argentine giants River Plate as he was born in Buenos Aires. I initially saw him as a replacement for for Joao Santos but he looks like he could become a really important player for me. His contract expires at the end of the season so I will be able to make a judgement in January on his progress before hopefully picking him up for free. I like his 'DNA attributes' - technique is high, as is workrate, determination and decisions and he's reasonably physical for a wide man. There are no red flags - he's consistent, versatile, enjoys big matches and there is nothing about injuries or competitive streaks - in fact, his cons are about him being a peripheral figure in the dressing room and the fact he can't jump! Despite the loss of Teles - I am still reasonably happy going into the second month of the season with the squad that I have.
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Post by Ben on Dec 22, 2018 21:53:47 GMT
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Post by Ben on Dec 22, 2018 23:13:04 GMT
October 2029
We've bounced back with a bit more green on the board but we are nowhere near our free-flowing selves, scraping by third tier Electrico, albeit with few familiar faces in the first team. Youngsters Pereira and Louro both opened their scoring accounts for me in the win over Rio Ave - our first win in six. We are regularly getting into good positions but are trying one pass too many, or simply cannot hit the target with our shots and every time the ball nears our box, I fear that we will concede. We do have a small squad, and a particularly poor defensive unit heading wise but I do expect us to not panic with every set piece - considering we have put it into our training routine two times per week.
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Post by Ben on Dec 23, 2018 9:17:59 GMT
Vitor Pereira - Player DevelopmentThe heir to the Teles thrown may be on his way to the first team. In Vitor Pereira, I have a similar styled player who is developing really well and is in a position to get some first team minutes. As you saw from my squad depth screen, I was training him as a winger to try and balance out some attribute points - but I'm now moving back to the IF(a) role to maximise the attribute points in his key areas. Interestingly, here is a comparison between he and Teles (Pereira is on the right) at the same age.Below you can see a comparison between March 2028 and November 2029: Whilst he has made some good attribute gains - the key here, for me, is that he has also developed his right foot from 'Right Only' to 'Right' and has also trained from 'Ineffectual' to 'Competent' in the AML position. My coaches initially rated him as 1.5* CA and 3.5* with one star black PA but now rate him as 2* CA and 4* (with one star black CA) which would indicate that there has been a significant rise in CA possible leading to a better chance of reaching that potential he has. Looking at the player that he is now - he has solid IF attributes - he can dribble with good technique, finish and is relatively quick. In addition to that, he brings some good all around physicality to the role, some size which will be great to get on the end of crosses and a decent work rate and stamina that will allow him to press hard for 90 minutes. His player trait of 'Runs with ball through the centre' means that he will naturally find the half space or even central spaces when he picks the ball up - probably meaning that he'll act more as a Raumdeuter than an inside forward, who cuts inside with the ball. His only glaring weakness here is his complete inability to concentrate, something which will hopefully develop over time. His two coach report 'cons' are his crossing and that his current ability is suited for Liga Pro teams, rather than top division teams. Going forward, I'd like him to get a little more agile and use that dribbling and flair to get past people quickly but there is nothing else I want to specifically focus on. I'm excited about his development. EDIT: First game since this post and he pops up in the box, wins the header and scores his second of the season - just as I hoped he would!
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Post by Ben on Dec 23, 2018 9:55:48 GMT
November 2029A much improved month as we now are seeming to find our feat in the league. It did take a late rally to secure victory over Moreirense, who themselves had shocked me with an undeserved 88th minute goal. The Europa League victory against Slovak champions (I haven't heard of them either) was straightforward and it was good to see a few different names on the score sheet. We carried that momentum into the Varzim game but have this habit of not being able to go the full 90 minutes without making a silly mistake - this time being caught square from a long ball over the top and leaving their striker an easy tap in. Despite Cova being one of the weaker teams in the league, I chose a strong side for our cup game and moved our attacking width a bit wider - in an attempt to put pressure on their 3-4-3 shape. The aforementioned Pereira goal highlighted that tactical win and he was joined on the scoresheet with a 30 yard screamer from Magalhaes. I knew a draw against Betis would be enough to send us through but I sent out an attacking team in hopes of being able to top the group (we finish with a game against Werder) and it took another late rally before another late mistake for the game to end in a deserved draw. We seem to have found our scoring boots this month but we are already way off the pace in the league and with Porto already potentially being 14 points ahead after 11 rounds - we have much improving to do if we want to get anywhere near the top of this league and challenge for Champions League places or honours. In other news, our stadium has been delayed again and the move-in date now looks to be the end of January - a long time after the original July date!
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ianf
New Member
Posts: 92
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Post by ianf on Dec 23, 2018 21:52:56 GMT
Massive sale, wow that could really setup your club for taking some big steps forward. Spend wisely 😉
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Post by Ben on Dec 23, 2018 22:26:54 GMT
December 2029We are becoming somewhat draw specialists at the moment - with four straight draws slowing down our progress in the league. We are, at least, getting the most out of our Taca de Portugal campaign with 2 of our 3 games going to extra time, and this one saw Pereira net what is hopefully the first hatrick of his career. A really good win over Benfica where we, probably, didn't deserve a lot, sees us take 4 points from our first round of fixtures against the big three - a solid start. We had already crashed out of the Taca de Liga so made 11 changes and were, as expected, defeated.
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Post by Ben on Dec 23, 2018 22:42:08 GMT
Analysing player development and suitabilityCertainly not a new thing to FM, but I have been more and more interested in the use of Excel for formula and tracking in addition to note taking. I have looked around to find what I'm after but have not been able to really find what fits my needs at the moment, so have spent half an hour or so building my own. I am putting great emphasis on development of players within this save so want another tool to be used in addition to my first instinct to decide how I develop or utilise a player. I could look at the highlighted numbers for each player in the variety of roles and then make my mind up from there - but I've created a percentage rating for each area of the team - goalkeeper, wing back, defender, defensive/supporting/offensive midfielder, wide attacker and forward. I can then take that information and look at a variety of other information, such as height, player traits, potential etc before making a more informed decision. As mentioned - I saw people have used a weighted system so wanted to add my own twist to it - I have weighted it to what is a) important to the role and b) what is important to my playing style. Below are the attributes I have weighted for each of the areas of the pitch, with the red text showing where there is an overlap for my underlying club DNA. I can then copy and paste the attributes for my squad and be given a % of how 'good' they are in that type of role - note: this doesn't give them a preferred role or duty, just an idea of what kind of position they could play, should the rest of their attributes and style fit that. Here is my first team squad when imported: I would argue that something is slightly out as it rates Folha (6 tackling and 9 marking) as one of my best centre backs but the idea is simple - I can compare like for like players - e.g. Nuno Lima is the stronger FB, for my style, than Joaquim Sarabando but this doesn't take into account their traits, height, potential for further growth, wages, happiness etc etc! It also allows me a comparison between my first team and youth team and when a player might be ready to make the step up. Take Vitor Pereira, who I posted about - he's potentially my new IF(a) but actually, he's probably better as a striker. However, he's not as good as Folha nor Silveiro in that role and, as such, I need look to develop him elsewhere. In my U23 - I have some players who are potentially good enough to get some first team minutes - Mendonca, Louro and Guilherme in particular. An area that, as mentioned, it doesn't work with, is how they perform on the pitch. Andre Pinto is highly rate as a defensive midfielder but has simply not impressed in the 30 odd appearances he's made over the last four years and is not pulling up any trees on loan at Cagliari in Serie A. As time goes on, I want to use this to compare players at different points of their development to see if I am developing the right areas of their game and also for the youth intake - as this gives them the greatest time to be retrained, if necessary as well as deciding on whether to actually sign them or not.
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Post by shrewnaldo on Dec 24, 2018 21:34:58 GMT
I saw Forza / FM Analysis / Lee do something similar with an excel formula to help him prioritise key attributes. I really like the thinking that goes into producing a set of key, shared attributes that help develop the club's DNA but I tend to think you lose some of the intuitive interpretation of players' ability - as you've noted above with Folha.
Good work on the huge sale - I tend to do the same with big sell on clauses, always insisting on % of the sale value and not % of the profit.
How are you finding the match engine this year? I've seen a lot of people grumbling about attacking play and I've had my own issues but interested in your take.
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Post by Ben on Dec 24, 2018 22:42:14 GMT
I saw Forza / FM Analysis / Lee do something similar with an excel formula to help him prioritise key attributes. I really like the thinking that goes into producing a set of key, shared attributes that help develop the club's DNA but I tend to think you lose some of the intuitive interpretation of players' ability - as you've noted above with Folha. Good work on the huge sale - I tend to do the same with big sell on clauses, always insisting on % of the sale value and not % of the profit. How are you finding the match engine this year? I've seen a lot of people grumbling about attacking play and I've had my own issues but interested in your take. I once read about the DNA of a club and was immediately sold - then went off to create a set of 8 attributes that were vital in any player within my team. Sadly, that didn't work and the players, whilst good at those 8 things (and, if I recall - aggression, bravery etc were included) were rubbish at the rest but I played them anyway. I'm now looking at it as a) how my players will best benefit the tactical approach I want and b) attributes I like players to have, such as being good decision makers. There is the obvious issue with Folha, as there also is with some players being rated decently at GK due to how high their other attributes are -but I can probably get over that if I can successfully use the tool to get the best out of a couple of players. As for the match engine - not sure what to say! I panic each time the opposition has the ball on the wings and we are continuously being beaten over the top and with shots from range - but I do know we are lacking in ability to stop these, so unsure of where to blame. What are your issues?
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Post by Ben on Dec 24, 2018 22:47:33 GMT
January 2030
A great month with perfect form in the league - seeing us move up to sixth place. We are beginning to look more confident in front of goal, moving the ball patiently until an opportunity arises to make a quick pass or a darting run. I have tried to rotate this month to keep players fresh for our continued run in Europe and that was largely to blame for our cup exit, where I fielded a predominantly youth squad. We are still being beaten too easily - normally through a long ball through the half space or over the top of the defence. I largely play two DM's as some extra cover for my defence but I've also moved the defensive line back to limit the space over the top, even though my centre backs are pretty pacy, well positioned and can anticipate. Next month we face Porto and have both legs of the Europa League knockout tie with Valencia. We have also completed our relocation:
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Post by shrewnaldo on Dec 24, 2018 23:02:51 GMT
As for the match engine - not sure what to say! I panic each time the opposition has the ball on the wings and we are continuously being beaten over the top and with shots from range - but I do know we are lacking in ability to stop these, so unsure of where to blame. What are your issues? Chance creation mostly. Most teams will defend against us and breaking down deep, compact defenses has been a real issue. I've tried sitting off recently but then they just pass the ball around the back 4 and bore the game out. I've found strikers' movement and general interaction with the rest of the team to be really, really poor. Like you, though, I was aware that some of this was caused by the attributes of the players I'm trying to use. I've had the same issues with the national side but really getting success against better opponents using a counter-attacking tactic and leaving two up top.
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Post by Ben on Dec 25, 2018 22:56:16 GMT
Analysing the goals concededI've noted that I'm not really keeping clean sheets at the moment - the goals aren't really costing us too much at the moment but I need to try and sort out the issue. My first job was to identify where we are conceding goals. The below graphic gives me the answer I expected. My initial go to was to reduce the high line and to play wider to try and stop crosses but that hasn't worked - we are still shaky when a through ball is played in the middle of the park and when something comes into the box. What I want to do is to break down the past few goals of these types we have conceded and see if I can try and resolve this issue: Goal 1 - vs. PortoPorto are breaking and the aggressive counter press has meant that both right back and centre back (same circle) have been drawn to the ball. The left back (#41) is way out of position and this leaves an easy cross field ball to their number 9, who slots it away. This classes as a through ball due to it's length but I'm really unsure of what I can do to rectify this, aside from changing corner instructions or making us more efficient at holding the ball in their final third. Goal 2 - vs. Porto I would say that we look solid here and that we've cut out most of the possible passes, as is the style of play we employ. If anything, I would worry that their number 10 is in too much space (this may be a side effect of our 'defend wider' instruction I had added earlier) but the long ball goes between left back and centre back and then their number ten crosses it to the six yard box for a simple tap in for their number 9. Whilst there is a player attempting to block the pass, this could be down to an attribute inbalance as his tackling, anticipation and workrate are relatively low. Goal 3 - vs PortimonenseThe image on the left shows where Djassi picks the ball up and he is not closed down until he releases the ball between the two centre backs into the path of their number 9 who takes it past my keeper and slots it in. It is worth noting that my right back doesn't close the ball, merely getting back into the correct position. Both defensive midfielders DM(d) and Vol(s) chase back but would appear to be too far out of position to be able to do anything in time to stop this. Goal 4 - vs BragaWe are defending so narrow here but I noticed that my DM(d) (#17) had to step out a long way to close their MC, and, for some reason, the Vol(s) is ahead of the play - even though their other MC was not involved in the build up. By the time he stepped out, the player had time to pick the pass and, again, some poor marking from my number 2 allow the player space to finish into the bottom corner. I need to go away and think about this - but my initial thoughts would be to drop back to a 4-1-2-2-1 formation with a DM (to provide stability for when my full backs go forward) and two MCs (to be closer to make the press easier) or moving the two DMs up to the MC strata but keeping one on defend and one on support. I have always favoured DMs and AMs because it means I can have less specialised players - i.e. the DMC doesn't need to be able to pass or finish and the AM doesn't need to be able to tackle. Moving to MCs will mean that they need to be more rounded - but we will see how that goes.
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Post by Ben on Dec 25, 2018 23:18:39 GMT
As for the match engine - not sure what to say! I panic each time the opposition has the ball on the wings and we are continuously being beaten over the top and with shots from range - but I do know we are lacking in ability to stop these, so unsure of where to blame. What are your issues? Chance creation mostly. Most teams will defend against us and breaking down deep, compact defenses has been a real issue. I've tried sitting off recently but then they just pass the ball around the back 4 and bore the game out. I've found strikers' movement and general interaction with the rest of the team to be really, really poor. Like you, though, I was aware that some of this was caused by the attributes of the players I'm trying to use. I've had the same issues with the national side but really getting success against better opponents using a counter-attacking tactic and leaving two up top. I agree with all of this. My current job is to stop us conceding and then try and get us scoring a bit more freely - as we currently really rely on just one player, who seems to score 'just because' he's very good. He very often either scores a 6.4 or an 8.5 with 2 goals - there is no middle ground. We have had it a bit easier as we've been underdogs for the majority of this save and, as such, teams do tend to afford us a bit more time and space.
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Post by Ben on Dec 25, 2018 23:48:41 GMT
Immediate tactical analysisI want to run this over a few games but have a few things from the very next game. We faced Guimaraes, 9th in the league, at home. They are playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, which is the favourite for the majority of the league. New boss Marco Arnautovic prefers a direct attacking approach. I decide to go ahead with my tactical change and move the 2 DMs up to the MC strata. I play a DM(d) on the left and a BBM(s) on the right. The general thinking is that this will close the gap to the midfielders, who are playing these through balls and make it easier to cut off before it comes over the top. I have also moved the GK from a SK(d) to a SK(s) to help with this line. Their first goal comes from this position: For clarity - #6 - our AMC #55 - our BBM(s) #7 - our MC(d) #23 - Marcos Aurelio. Their AMC, probably playing in the AP role as suggested by my scouts. One of their better and inform players. Firstly, I'm unsure as to why the left sided MC is closing down - it would appear that he has passed his man (their #14) on to the AMC and has moved over first. This obviously has given Aurelio more time on the ball. The gap between the lines is not huge (something I always worry about) but he is still able to pick a pass over the top for their number 9 to finish calmly. This is clearly a mismatch - they have a player in this strata and I don't. However, it works both ways. I need to decide whether I want to be pro-active and try and cause threats myself or merely re-active, snuffing out their offensive before giving myself a chance to score. I went on to win the match as they made a stupid change to a 3-5-2 at half time, moving Aurelio back and removing him from the dangerous areas.
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Post by Ben on Dec 26, 2018 0:05:16 GMT
February 2030
A pretty poor month overall with an absolute capitulation against Setubal (we also lost the home leg 3-1). We started by getting beaten on the counter, twice, by Porto despite being very in the game for the majority before a scrappy draw against Chaves. We outplayed Valencia but couldn't beat them and the Guimaraes game ended in a victory when, as mentioned, they made a silly tactical change and I was able to dominate them down the wings. The bad week begain with a trip to Valencia where we didn't get a single shot on target and only attempted two before conceding three crossed goals to Setubal. We've a long way to go if we want to get things correct on the pitch - but the monthly overview and detailed analysis is really helping me learn about our play.
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Post by Ben on Dec 26, 2018 23:33:30 GMT
March 2030 Youth IntakeProbably the weakest intake we have had in the past five years, with no real standout players here. I am aware that the quality of my players has gone up so now a 3.5* player may actually be a very solid player in the top league - but that is definitely a 'could be' given what I can initially see. Below are the better players: Rafael CarvalhoHelder TelesBernando PahiamaI wanted to have a look at how my rating system works with these new players so I have inputted all of their attributes: This pretty much confirms that the players are not really of a high standard as of now and there needs to be much work to improve them. However - it would appear that both Teles (a forward) and Pahiama (a winger) are better suited to central roles, according to this, and I must say that I agree. Carvalho initially would be a choice as a full back because I lack depth there but he's much more suited to a defensive midfielder according to my calculator - so he'll, for now, learn that role. Luis Franco is suited to an offensive midfielder but not that much better than defensive - so I will utilise his height (6') and train him more as a covering player.
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Post by Ben on Dec 27, 2018 0:02:06 GMT
The Old GuardThe trio of Vagner Silveiro, Joao Santos and Jorge Dias have been with me since I first took over some eleven years back. They have played in the team that started in the third tier and all three have played in European competition for me. Joao Santos already moved on during the summer but I now look at the two remaining players and think that their time is soon up. Below are the comparisons in attributes since they generated: Both players are now listed as 2.5* CA with Silveiro 'decent' in this league and Dias good for the tier below but most alarmingly, Dias has played 469 minutes and Silveiro just 210 - not the numbers necessary for players who are in the first team. I am at a point whereby the young replacements are not quite up to scratch and the older players are not able to perform at this level.
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Post by Ben on Dec 27, 2018 11:01:57 GMT
Still unable to keep a clean sheet at the moment - whether down to a screamer, through ball from inside our half or a cross, they are always finding a way to put it in the net, but we played really well. A good point against Sporting, considering that I had little in the way of actual chances as followed up with a great win on the road against Rio Ave. They have become somewhat of a force in the past few years and the nature of this win was a real point in our development. The derby of struggling Feirense was a great morale boosting victory and we backed that up with a solid away performance at another struggling side, Moreirense. 10 points gained as we are hot on the heals of Boavista. The recent drop in league stature means that only the top three get Champions League football which means we have at least another year to wait before that is a possibility.
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Post by Ben on Dec 27, 2018 14:49:14 GMT
April 2030
We started the month with a tactical victory over Varzim - who lined up with a 4222 box formation. Playing wider, emphasising overloads down the flanks and crossing from deeper areas, we caused absolutely havoc and could have had ten goals. Yet another silly loss of concentration means no clean sheet. Our trip to Boavista probably ended any chances of fourth place as we were beaten against the run of player. Relatively easy wins against Operario and Braga, where, again, we concede silly goals, ended the month. It is all to play for as we go into May.
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