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Post by Ben on Aug 10, 2019 14:36:33 GMT
Intake 7 Youth DevelopmentFor comparison - here are the previous intakes: Intake 1 (2030/31) and included Ciavatta, L.Zafferani, Valentini, Zavoli, MuccioliEnd mean technical - 6.69 (0.68 increase) End mean mental - 10.74 (1.52 increase) End mean physical - 11.94 (0.97 increase) Intake 2 (2031/32) and included MuccioliEnd mean technical - 6.03 (0.65 increase) End mean mental - 9.05 (0.60 increase) End mean physical - 11.11 (0.81 increase) Intake 3 (2032/33) and included nobody that has made the first team yet.End mean technical - 6.46 (0.88 increase) End mean mental - 8.79 (0.76 increase) End mean physical - 11.72 (1.33 increase) Intake 4 (2033/34) and included nobody that has made the first team yet.
End mean technical - 6.94 (0.75 increase) End mean mental - 9.04 (0.59 increase) End mean physical - 10.88 (1.2 increase) Intake 5 (2034/35) and included Valentini, Marra and CervelliniEnd mean technical - 7.47 (0.67 increase) End mean mental - 9.73 (0.66 increase) End mean physical - 11.52 (1.23 increase) Intake 6 (2035/36)) and included nobody that has made the first team yet.End mean technical - 7.42 (0.79 increase) End mean mental - 9.69 (0.56 increase) End mean physical - 11.76 (1.07 increase) --- A very interesting intake, in the grand scheme of things. I have changed around the weekly routine a little bit, but only within the realms of the things that I have already tested. What has been different this season is the loaning out of my better players to my feeder club, Taranto in Serie B as well as one to a Serie C side who were top of the league. Normally, I don't like to loan players until they are 18 and I think that this has been confirmed. Rech started the season, on paper, as one of the strongest sixteen year olds I have ever had and played well out on loan to Crotone - a team suitable to his Serie C ability level. He scored three times in 15 games with an AR of 7.22 and was even capped by the full San Marino side, yet has made almost no improvement. Either my backroom team, and myself, are out on his ability level and he's stagnated or something behind his F.Pro personality has inhibited it. At Crotone, he was playing in his preferred position with a manager who has a good score for WWY and a club who have good training facilities. On the other hand, Cervoli has been on loan at Serie B side Taranto and has played poorly (AR of 6.60 in 10 games) yet has made good strides - even though this indicates a year development and he went on loan in January. There is a lot more to be taken from this year of growth and I'll continue to look into it...
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Post by Ben on Aug 10, 2019 16:18:05 GMT
New managerThis is potentially massive. Rafael was initially my U18 manager and then my U20 manager. He is also fantastic at working with youngsters, plays a style similar to my own and lists me among his favoured personnel. Taranto are my feeder club and are a decent Serie B side and I will be looking to utilise that link to develop my players this year.
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Post by Ben on Aug 10, 2019 20:07:10 GMT
Wage expendituresI've just plugged in some wage data to have a look at where trends are and if there is anything that can be saved or spent wiser elsewhere. Firstly - I've taken into account last year's figures for goals and appearances and I have removed certain clauses such as unused substitute fees and any bonuses for winning competitions or being top scorers. I have also added a prediction for games that Hernandez will play next year and, as he's not in the side to score (and doesn't have a goal bonus) have left that column at zero. It's quite alarming to think that I spent £20.5m a year on the basic salary in addition to another £2.5m on appearance fees alone. However, I know that pales into insignificance when you see the basic wages of some of the top earners at Juve, Milan or Napoli for example. In terms of what we are doing - I am relatively happy that I'm keeping appearance fees to no more than about 25% of their basic wage and I am delighted that we are managing to keep the overall demands down.
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Post by Ben on Aug 10, 2019 20:16:34 GMT
Player SaleThis feels like a very strong move for us, here. The first bid for Mirko was around £8m and I've just managed to start a bidding war between Tottenham, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern - to the point where my chairman has felt that the deal is too good. We get £20m up front, which completely wipes out the transfer debt from the Hernandez deal and then also get £2.5m every six months - wiping out the transfer debts for the installments and appearance fees for Samaniego. The best thing is probably this: Mirko isn't actually 'that' good. He's physical and works really hard but, technically, is pretty poor. He has shown that he can pick a pass and create some chances but far too often his first touch let him down and he doesn't offer a lot defensively. He certainly does deserve some credit, 170 games for the club with a disappointing six goals but a part of the team from Serie B until this point. I also cannot begrudge him a chance to sit on the bench in Germany.
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Post by Ben on Aug 11, 2019 8:00:06 GMT
Europa League draw
Our first foray into Europe (which, strangely, we play our home games in a different country as our stadium is being extended) sees us seeded fourth. There are several big teams in the draw this year: Liverpool, Bilbao, Wolfsburg, Marseille, Atalanta and Dortmund. Here is our group: With the final next year being held at Wembley and the reigning champions being rivals Southampton, Bournemouth are a club clearly on a mission. They are a long way away from their current real life standing (although I really like the approach that they are taking) and the lowest that they have finished in the last ten years is 11th, with a high of 5th five years ago - they also reached the semi final of the Europa League that season. In each of the eight years that they have qualified, they have, at worst, qualified for the knockout rounds. Now managed by Slaven Bilic, they field homegrown superstar Ivan Ryan, who is one of the best players in the world - how they have managed to keep hold of him all his career, I do not know. CSKA seem to be sharing their time pretty equally between the Champions League and the Europa League but have only not finished fourth in their CL group once in eight occasions, back in 2019. They have qualified from their group in three of their last six attempts and, as I don't have their league loaded, can only see that they finished third last year. With no manager in place, it's not going to be easy to try and work out how they play and a long trip to Moscow is never great - but I fancy us to be able to beat them, at home at least. SPL runners-up Rangers appear to be the weakest team here - making it past the group stage just once in the last nine years and failing to make the group stages three times. I would expect us to take six points from them.
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Post by Ben on Aug 11, 2019 11:29:28 GMT
Sammarinese tycoon
Guidi played for me during our time in Serie C and Serie B. Folgore are owned by two Frenchmen and have Ricardo Gardener, of Bolton fame, as their manager. They haven't won the league for sixteen years now but now have two players who earn a combined £80k p/w. To put that in context - the world class player I just signed, William Hernandez, earns the same amount as this lad who couldn't get in my team five years back.
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Post by Ben on Aug 11, 2019 20:38:23 GMT
August, September and October 2037A whirlwind start to the season, so much so that I forgot to stop and update after two months. Firstly - the elephant in the room. League champions Juve. Not in the picture as they have picked up one win from their first ten (against us, of course) and sit in the relegation zone. Morale is at an all time low and they are blighted with injuries despite a ridiculously talented squad. As for ourselves - we have started positively, as has been the case for the past few seasons. This season, for the first time ever, we are seeing teams sit back and defend a lot deeper against us. This is really necessitating the development of more succinct and clever tactical changes throughout the game as I continue to learn about the match engine and how little things impact the performances. One thing I want to be able to create, of which I am way off right now, is having different types of players available to me - for example, a really strong and tall striker who can come off the bench to replace a faster, more nimble striker. There hasn't really been any hugely standout performances in the league, scoring four times away at Bologna aside, but we are playing some lovely patient football combined with defensive organisation that has seen us largely secure in open play. We are still struggling from set pieces but I am devoting a fair bit of training time to working on it. The Europa League has seen us take seven points from three games including a resounding victory in Moscow where I took a much weakened squad, knowing three points at home to Catanzaro may be more useful in the long run. As we head into the winter months - I need to maintain some good form through sensible rotation. I am glad the Moscow trip is out of the way as flights to Glasgow and the south coast of England aren't too disruptive to our schedule. I am really happy with this start.
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Post by Ben on Aug 15, 2019 13:36:44 GMT
November/December 2037
Back to bi-monthly updates and, to be fair, we've played our fair share of football anyway. The Europa League Group Stage gives me six more games, plus at least two more now that we have qualified, finishing second, one point behind Bournemouth. We have been rewarded with a tough journey, but hopefully good tie, against Dynamo Kyiv. We would have finished first if I, stupidly, hadn't pressed continue with absolutely no substitutes selected in the home tie against CKSA. Just four days after a tough match against Lecce - we had literally 11 names to use in the game and tired very quickly. Both goals were late and deserved but I know that some fresh legs would have helped solve that threat - considering the ease of our 5-1 away victory. We have struggled a little in the league - I have made a conscious decision to focus on one point instead of none as we try and ride out this tough patch and, in turn, this does further stifle our attacking play. We are still there or thereabouts in the league - with little between fifth and eight but I doubt we will be able to improve on last year's finish as the top three are pulling away. At the other end, Juventus sit 16th with just 17 points from the first round of fixtures, which also included a 7-0 win over Virtus Entella deep in their bad patch. Going forward - we really lack the depth needed to be competitive in two competitions but the idea of marquee signings is not to assist with this - instead to sign one player who will be first choice in both. Therefore, even more focus needs to go on the development of my youth. I was unimpressed with the intake last March so decided against monitoring their progress. I will return to that next season.
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Post by Ben on Aug 15, 2019 20:50:55 GMT
January/February 2038A couple of very busy months (hence the lack of updates around other areas of the club) but one that we have come out of in a really strong position. Firstly - Europe. Dynamo came to town and we absolutely battered them but failed to make the breakthrough until late on in the game. Fortunately, my game plan in snowy Ukraine worked a treat - setting up with a lot more aggressive roles/duties and aiming to get an early goal, meaning they'd need to chase us and leave gaps open. After three minutes, and two goals, I moved to a much more conservative and counter attacking approach and continued to cut them apart. In reality, we could and should have had double figures but this is certainly my biggest away win and a real show of dominance in Europe. A much tougher tie against Benfica comes next. We are also through to the Coppa Italia final - a chance for my first piece of silverware at a national level and the first victory since our Serie B triumph five years ago. Milan, to be fair, played a much rested team and that was evident when we couldn't hold them off in the league. Youth intake up next!
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Post by ttgb on Aug 15, 2019 21:56:38 GMT
A great couple of months.
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Post by Ben on Aug 16, 2019 9:39:59 GMT
2038 Youth IntakeVery poor, once again. We have a few better personalities on show and two of these are more influential players within this cohort, but the quality of them, on the whole is one of the worst I've had. Still not a single player from either NK Zagreb, SMS Lodz or new feeder Defensor. This is clearly an error within the game, yet has happened to me on both of my saves this year. Manuel Tomarchio stands out as one of the better players and has a more favourable media description, too: He's 6'0" at 15 which, considering he should grow over time, gives me a potentially different option up top from Zavoli and Marra, who are both quite small. Also, for his age, he is very physical and will look to build on his strength to make him more of a hold up player. He will still have the dribbling ability and speed to be able to feature in our fast counter attacks but, when we are chasing games, we do miss a player who we can hit a bit more directly to who can bring in other players. He's exceedingly brave, good finisher, can dribble, head and knows how to make a good decision but he does lack technically and doesn't work very hard - two things I do insist upon in my first team. Here is his personality/media handling: SpiritedPressure 15-20, Professionalism 11-17 Determination <18, Leader <19 UnflappableTemperament 15-20, Pressure 15-20 So he'll be reasonably professional and good under pressure with a good temperament. No idea of how ambitious he is but there is a decent set up there for hopefully some good progress to be made. If I can, eventually, get him in a mentoring group with either Samaniego (M.Pro) or Hernandez (Pro), it'll be interesting to see where his personality goes if I can get his professionalism to 18 and above.
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Post by Ben on Aug 17, 2019 12:33:34 GMT
LegendI have had a few players that have spent considerable amounts of time at the club, such as Gianluca Muratori, Roberto Molinari, Marco Casali and Gianluca Casadei - but they have all moved on for small fees when the club has outgrown them. We also have a couple of players, such as Nicola Manca, who was unable to find a new club when we moved to a level too high for him, so retired, and is now back as a coach. However - Stefano is different: He's 31, which means he potentially has another ten years left in him, but he is still a mainstay in the first team and hasn't actually missed a game since 2032. He has made 771 appearances in all competitions, including cup games and internationals and I have every faith that he can go on and make 1000 career appearances as he is just as good for us now as he was in his infancy way back in Serie C. It's the type of player that really makes youth driven saves so good.
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Post by Ben on Aug 17, 2019 18:35:51 GMT
Wonderkid watch
Another one off the production line...
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Post by Ben on Aug 17, 2019 19:29:39 GMT
March/April 2038A tough end to the couple of months as we faced some tough opposition in both the league and Europa League. The plus side saw Inter and Lazio into the semis with Lazio into the final against Hannover 96. Having an Italian winner will free up another spot in the Europa League, which I hope we won't need. The concern for me is that we only have two more league games to sort our form out before facing Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final.
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Post by Ben on Aug 17, 2019 20:23:25 GMT
Marquee signing?In Caicara, I may have found my new marquee signing and another cog in the machine that I am trying to create. As with any of the marquee signings that I am planning - I need to take into account the below factors: - Personality (will he positive improve the team?) Model ProfessionalProfessionalism 20, Temperament 10-20 EvasiveProfessionalism 15-20, Pressure 15-20 ReservedControversy 1-5, Professionalism 15-20 I see all of these as incredibly positive things. He is clearly very professional but also good under pressure and unlikely to cause any kind of controversy when talking to the media/reacting to team talks. This set of personality/media handling is pretty much a perfect combination with maybe on M.Citizen/Evasive/Reserved 'above' it for me. - Hidden attributes (anything that would make him unsuitable?) A look at his scout report will give some answers here: Consistent, versatile, enjoys big matches and adaptable. Add that to his personality and media handing and I think that there is a really good combination here and Caicara is certainly the type of player that I want playing for my team. - Age (is he old enough to not take my time away from developing my own players?) This is a strange one here, and one I want to take some time to think about. He's 28, and that's fine. I want him to play in a role that does require physicality and does require a lot of running - meaning that he's maybe only going to last five or six years and that is fine. I can tie the age in to his playing history, looking at how he became the player he is now and trying to gather any clues about what the future may hold for him. Below is his playing history, which makes for many questions: Firstly, and tied into age - he suffered damaged cruciate ligaments at the end of the 2027 season which a) stalled the development, seeing him only play twice in the 2028 season and then, in early 2029, he tore his calf muscle - ruling him out for much of that season, too. This probably triggered a loan spell to Europe, which wasn't hugely beneficial. Looking at the 2030/31 season for Gil Vicente, they finished 13th in Liga Sagres, going through three managers - with only one of them preferring a formation that would include Caicara in his favoured DM role. Going back to Brazil, he's played at the highest South American standard, winning the Liberdatores in 2033 and Recopa Sudamerica the year after. I don't have the Brazilian leagues loaded so Santos don't have a 'real' manager but I can see that, in whichever role and position he has played, he has done reasonably well. I am aware that, sometimes, the DM role struggles to get high ratings - even in a season with two goals and ten assists. This prompted a move to Everton, who are a mid-table club. He signed in the June of 2035 and, as such, didn't make any appearances in the 2035/36 season. He played a full season and a half under managed Dani Alves - who plays a narrow 4-4-2 diamond - finishing 9th and now on course for another mid-table finish, but has been transfer listed in order to make space in the player registration. To say that I am not concerned about his poor average rating this season would be a lie but I feel that there are some things coming through in the analyst report that discount this: It's hard to take these particularly 'seriously' - Dani Alves likes a different formation, a direct style of attacking football and a style of pressing far less intense than mine. However - it is clear to see that he is reasonably accurate, wins nearly three quarters of all his tackles - over six a game, and doesn't commit too many fouls - a worry when the player is that aggressive. - Sell-on value (am I likely to be inundated with highly profitable bids for him taking away time from making profit on my own players?) At 33, he'll be struggling to make the runs and complete the physical game he does now and, as such, I doubt I'll be able to sell him on for more than the £8.25m he's listed for. - Potential to be a team leader (is he good enough to play enough minutes to reach that level?) Another interesting one - how good is he? This is what has come back from my scouts: He'll be rated higher than Fabre, who is moving on (that is another story) and Nardella. He is clearly a 'good' player - one that I would say is much stronger mentally than physically. He's good at marking, passing, has a good first touch and technique but is a monster from a long shot and from the penalty spot. A big part of the movement that my two DMs make is popping up at the edge of the box and having Caicara here will be absolutely lethal. Combining the good technical attributes with great work rate, decisions, teamwork and leadership means that he'll be a really important figure in my team. I think he's one of those players that wouldn't have a hugely high CA and has been overlooked by AI teams because of that, but might just go on to be a star in my system. What's more - he can even fit in at centre back too when needed and is two-footed, which has been a hugely important thing in the previous two marquee signings I have made. - Determination (will he improve it for the team?) Yep! - Replacement (who is he replacing within the current squad hierarchy?) Julien Fabre has grown out of the rotational option that I wanted and is moving on to pastures new in the summer. I also fear that Vadivelou will be leaving - he's attracting interest from some large clubs and his demands are so high that I just cannot match them. That would leave Caicara and Nardella with returning loanee Cevoli, who has done well at Serie B side Taranto. Only going with three DMs is a risk I took this season but has worked, with all of my DMs able to play in that role, too. - Cost (he is a marquee signing but will he put the financial future of the club at doubt?) Just £8m up front and relatively low wages will be no problem for the club. ---- Thoughts?
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Post by Ben on Aug 17, 2019 20:25:16 GMT
Also, this happened...
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Post by Ben on Aug 17, 2019 20:56:18 GMT
End of Season 2037/38
We've dropped a place but I feel that this season has been a success as we continue to build ourselves into a team that are able to challenge in the higher echelons of the league. With Juventus having the worst season in their existence, I felt that we may see a league that concertinas a little, but that was not the case with the two Milan clubs and an impressive Lazio (who lost the Europa League final 1-0) running away at the top. We yo-yo'ed between fourth and seventh and could have quite easily finished even down in eighth place, had some late results not gone our way. My limited recruitment policy has paid off with two of the top three players ranked by minutes are my marquee signings, with goalkeeper Stefaneli playing every minute. We lacked an out and out goalscorere this year - and I think this is down to some tactical naivety - teams are now sitting back more and we have lost that 'scare factor' of being the underdog quite so much. Never the less, three players in double figures is a share of the goals that we've never had before. Vigernon, falling back behind Samaniego for the past two years - has agreed a move elsewhere for next season. Looking forward to a summer of analysis!
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Post by Ben on Aug 17, 2019 21:31:43 GMT
Player SaleThis is a huge call but one that I think will make us better in the long run. David had two years left on his £40k p/w a deal but wanted upwards of £200k to renew. Accepting 'just' £150k p/w at Leicester shows that his head had been turned and moving on was probably the best thing for him to do. Last season, David scored ten times and assisted six in 36 games with eight MoTM awards at a league rating of 7.49 - he was literally the best midfielder in the league on paper. This year, with just one goal and two assists later, at an average of 6.96, he has underwhelmed somewhat. What is more - with the AM slot locked down by Davide Zafferani, the Frenchman is used as a deeper player and one of the two pivoting DMs. With teams now looking to hit us on the counter, he's a little light defensively and this has been picked on a couple of times by the opponent. The new DM trio of Caicara, Nardella and Cevoli has a lot to live up to but I think we will be stronger moving forward.
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Post by Ben on Aug 18, 2019 8:46:15 GMT
Promise?It might be a pre-season friendly against a Serie D side but Caicara has had four shots, each from 20+ yards, and has scored four times. This could be beautiful...
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Post by Ben on Aug 18, 2019 17:31:36 GMT
First team and tactical developmentAs I head into the new season - I thought I'd recap a little on our playing style and a few ways that I approach matches. Below is my first team squad followed by the 'base' formation that I use. I'm a big believer in flexibility tactically, and, although I am in no way a tactical expert, have enjoyed having a play around with moving certain things - the main one being the position of the playmaker - AM, CM, DM or even AML/AMR when we have the ability to win an individual battle or exploit a pocket of space. One of the things I am most pleased with (and decided to show over personality, value etc) is the experience that I have within this squad. The backline has an average age of over 27 and has an average of over 350 career games to date - something that can so easily be forgotten about when playing a youth driven save. There is youthful exuberance further forward but the key players remain in their primes. For the first time - I'm able to offer some sort of rotational options - Cervellini, Angellini and Canti are good options off the bench and Marra, even with a poor scoring record, does offer an option, albeit a very similar one to Zavoli, from the bench. Three of the four youngsters that make up the rest of my first team have all enjoyed a good season away on loan and that, for me, is a big bonus rather than having them just come from the youth setup. Corbelli is currently filling a hole and may find that he is loaned out. The 4-2-3-1 shape that we employ is pretty standard, by nature, but I feel that I've managed to change and influence a few things with role selection and player development. My key playing ethos has been ball retention and ability to play out from the back where possible but then moving quickly and effectively forward through the lines when the opportunity allows. BPD's and a total of seven players (inc goalkeeper) in the defensive third mean I don't need to use 'play out of defence' as shorter passing and a number of options means we generally keep the ball well. I have added 'lower tempo' here as a way of us controlling the play from deep but this is both complimented and negated by very direct roles further forward - players who only know how to go fast. I also love that all of my wingers are able to play on both sides and, as such, swap wings throughout the game. The BWM(s) role is new this season and is made entirely for the entry of Caicara. In the past, I have used this role as a poor mans Roaming Playmaker, utilising the 'Get further forward' player instruction. Pairing the BWM with a DM(s) should mean that we have a pivot - two sensible supporting players who will also add some steel in front of the defence now we have pushed the mentality up a notch and may be more susceptible to the counter attack. The AP(s) has completely free reign to move into channels but does hold the ball up. I like that as I leave him up for defensive corners and I also think he is pivotal in the sense that there are no attacking options 'behind' him so will bring others into play well. Up top, I've been unsure on roles - currently the PF(a) is my go-to but I have used the CF(a) as well. Zavoli is really good in the box but I do want a little more involvement from him in my build up play - especially as we're going to be facing more and more defensive teams as we continue to grow ourselves. I've also developed some 're-actions' to in-game events that I'm working on, too: - Score a goal: Be more disciplined. The last thing I want to do after scoring is concede so I use this in conjunction with 'praise' or 'demand more' shout as it tends to focus the players. We very rarely concede in the five or ten minutes after we score when this is added. - Chasing the game: Increase tempo. We have pace and physicality so we tend to try and move the ball a little faster. I tend to use this in conjunction with 'get creative' to try and force some openings. - Holding a lead: The goalkeeper no longer takes short kicks, slowing the tempo down as he does that and we look to regroup out of possession. At the end of the game, time wasting will be moved up, also. - Narrow formations: If we are overwhelming favourites, I'll change the wing backs to CWB(s) and focus play down the flanks. This draws the AP(s) out wide and, with some clever play from the IF(s), can create some huge gaps in the defence. ---- I will focus more on Caicara as the season goes on and also look at some specific plans against certain teams and occasions.
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ianf
New Member
Posts: 92
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Post by ianf on Aug 19, 2019 16:43:30 GMT
Great to see you talk through the tactics. Are you getting consistent performances from your AMC? What’s your spread of assists like? Lots of goals from crosses?
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Post by Ben on Aug 19, 2019 20:46:32 GMT
Great to see you talk through the tactics. Are you getting consistent performances from your AMC? What’s your spread of assists like? Lots of goals from crosses? Thanks Ian! My AMC does play really well - he's the cog in our attacking play but sadly, his ratings don't necessarily suggest that: I would say that he is probably the person that makes the pass before the assist rather than the assist, even if they do tend to come from where he plays: I would say that the slight difference between the wings is because of a) the winger being on that side and b) Samaniego, the left back, being a better crosser than Valentini, the right back. We don't score that many from crosses though as it's not an area I have focused on. We are much more likely to bring the ball back, square and across goal than whip it in. Here are the goal types:
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Post by Ben on Aug 19, 2019 21:06:00 GMT
August/September 2038
Despite the large amount of green dots here, I am really not happy with our start. It has taken us until the Kyiv game to put together a solid performance, playing to our strengths and putting the other team to the sword. The wins were a non-negotiable, these teams are not the strongest in the league and beating them is imperative if we want to qualify for Europe again, let alone challenge for the league. Our Europa League group sees us go up against Club Brugge in the other fixture. I expect that we will qualify but a late deflected strike against Dortmund set us off to the worst start. Second place from here is fine.
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Post by Ben on Aug 20, 2019 18:25:52 GMT
October/November 2038If the first two months were poor and unimaginative, these two were the complete opposite, barring a small blip at the end. The game against Milan is one that I can look back on with immense tactical pride - particularly as someone who has never been particularly comfortable with that part of the game. I had a long look at their scouting and analyst reports and came to some conclusions - a) their right footed left back, who plays as an IWB is their best player and important in possession b) they have focused at least 50% of their play down their right hand side in the last three games and their right wing back is particularly attacking c) their attack, whilst slow is still quality. I made a few little personnel changes - playing backup full back and D/AM(L) Lazzari as a left winger on support (mainly due to his better defensive attributes being a better match against a more attacking opposition member), asking to to man mark right wing back Desederio and to also press him intensely as he's not the most comfortable on the ball despite his aggressive mentality, asking right inside forward Lorenzo Zafferani to sit narrower and man mark their IWB at left back, De Keyser and playing a slightly higher than normal defensive line to congest space in the middle for them, not worrying too much about balls over the top. Within 30 minutes, Desederio was sent off for a rash lunge on Lazzari, who had won the ball back from him. From there, we controlled possession - moving our playmaker back to the DM role to counter their move to a 4-2-2-1. In the end, our 16 shots on target to their 0 was a fantastic return, with our players averaging 7.28 to their 6.65 and us having 57% of the ball, cutting them open whenever we wanted. Of course, Caicara also scored two thunderbolts from the edge of the area to top this performance off. This has probably been the best performance, opposition considered, that I have had in my entire career at San Marino. Next time - I will endeavour to screenshot my thoughts and some game play. Likewise, our game against Sampdoria, facing a narrow 4-2-3-1, saw us increase the mentality of the wingbacks to overload their full backs. All three goals came from moves down the flanks, two of which were well crafted pull backs and one expert long range thunderbolt from Caicara. Three great results in the Europa League saw us top our group with exactly the same record as Borussia Dortmund (4-0-1) with 11 for and 1 against. The winner of the group will literally be decided by who can score most. Kyiv come to us and Dortmund go to Belgium. I can't work out the exact shift that is needed but away goals scored will count somewhere in sorting the teams. Hopefully - we can put a hatful past the Ukrainian's and top the group. In our last game of the month - we showed Inter just a little too much time and space on the ball, and they had the upper hand throughout. I think a draw would have been a fair-ish result but we need to be a little more aggressive in our press, even away from home I feel. Never the less, the gap is only three points and we are pulling away well from those below us. It may be very early in the season but I can see this being our best ever finish. Also, another milestone...
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ianf
New Member
Posts: 92
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Post by ianf on Aug 21, 2019 16:14:25 GMT
Love that assist profile!
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Post by Ben on Aug 21, 2019 20:24:38 GMT
Mentoring updateFor clarity, Samaniego has been here 2.5 years, Hernandez 1.5 years and Caicara 0.5 years. There has been no 'visible' change with any of these players (except for Nardella who actually lost Determination). Unfortunately, none of these three have made it to team leaders yet, and this may be where the sweet spot lies. Has the had the impact that I wanted? I can't say for sure but it doesn't look like it...
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Post by Ben on Aug 21, 2019 20:35:34 GMT
December 2038/January 2039We're going to win the league, aren't we? December was a great month - scoring enough goals against Kyiv to secure a place atop the group and a tie against Real Sociedad in the first knockout round, a draw away at Juve where they literally shut up shop from the first minute, showing us respect and, to me, fully announcing us as title contenders before some solid defensive performances against Lazio and Virtus. We rested our side against Sampdoria, much to the annoyance of the board, but, given our league position, we had other things to focus on. I also took a slighted changed squad all the way to China where we lost the oddly-timed Supercoppa against Inter. They too rested players and are a really good side - we cannot rest on any laurels. The remaining four games in January have not seen us at our fluent best but we have managed to pick up points, largely through late goals. These teams are now seeing us as a big side and we are often faced with a very narrow and defensive formation with the lowest block possible - meaning that I am being tested to find creative ways to break through. Our performances haven't been great which means that either a) we are the sign of a true champion elect, winning games at our worst or b) when the tougher run of fixtures comes around, we are going to struggle. Even a total collapse will probably not see us lose thirteen points to Napoli so I envisage second being the worst case scenario here. We are either in for the season of our dreams or an utter heartbreak from February onwards...
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ianf
New Member
Posts: 92
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Post by ianf on Aug 22, 2019 18:50:56 GMT
Juventus have fallen hard!
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Post by Ben on Aug 23, 2019 10:40:21 GMT
There's no need to panic, is there?!
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Post by Ben on Aug 23, 2019 10:48:22 GMT
Juventus have fallen hard! I know - they didn't spend a penny either in the summer and their second manager in two years is now out of the door. They have the infrastructure to return, and with vengeance, but I am quite enjoying their misfortune.
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