The System: Can a true "run-and-gun" team ever prosper in FM?

Throughout the years I have tried many times to have an enjoyable save on FM which is of the journeyman variety, but I always end up getting sidetracked by either the aims of success with a particular club or (as is generally the case) my own mediocrity. As a consequence this year I have mainly tried one-team saves at FC Zwolle and Cadbury Heath, with varying success.

However this is going to be different. So different. I plan on starting a save with so many leagues loaded it'll be like the 1970's again - the decade that the common man discovered cheap package holidays, cheap booze, and cross-dressing - heralding a utopian tactical era of openness that will be so grand Jonathan Wilson will write a book the size of war and peace about it.

But for that I need a system. And that is where Paul Westhead comes in...

Who is Paul Westhead?

Paul Westhead (born February 21, 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the University of Oregon women's team. He has previously been a head coach for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an assistant for two others, and has also coached in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA). He won titles in both the NBA and WNBA, and is also remembered as the coach of the Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team during that school's era of greatest basketball glory. Westhead is known for an unorthodox, run-and-gun style similar to Nellie ball called "The System." He attended Saint Joseph's University.

What is "Run-and Gun?"

Run and gun is a style of basketball which involves a very high pace of play. Run and gun basketball is often thought of as a system of offense but it actually involves a combined offensive and defensive philosophy. Offensively, the team moves the ball forward as quickly as possible and takes the first available shot, often a three-pointer. Westhead's teams tried to shoot the ball in less than seven seconds. The aim is to shoot before the defense is able to get set. Defensively, the team applies constant full-court pressure. Generally, the team is willing to gamble on giving away easy baskets for the sake of maintaining a high tempo. Another common feature of run and gun basketball is frequent substitutions, (sometimes all five players at once) to keep players fresh and to confuse the opposing teams.

The most successful use of the system was by Loyola Marymount in 1990 when they advanced to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, beating the defending champion Michigan 149-115 along the way. The style has been used at some other teams. Coach Westhead tried, rather unsuccessfully, to implement the system in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets in the early 90s. The system has been imitated by other college teams, including Grinnell College.

Teams playing the run and gun basketball style are known for scoring, and giving up, huge numbers of points. While using the system, the Denver Nuggets averaged a league-best 119.9 points per game in 1990-91, and also surrendered an NBA record 130.8 points per game, including 107 points in a single half to the Phoenix Suns, which also remains an NBA record.

Nice Wiki chunks there. But will it work on FM?

I have no idea. I will be posting regular updates in this thread regarding my failures and successes using a tactic derived from what I believe to be the football equivalent of Westhead's "System". I will update soon regarding the actual tactic which I am going to employ because it will have to vary from team to team depending on players and available funds. But it will be an attacking yet rigid philosophy with no room for individualism on the part of anyone but my creator. All players will be designed - and trained - to either provide or score.

Wish me luck guys!

AND SO IT BEGINS

The man:

I have always chosen a pseudonym when playing FM and this year I am going for Mark Hayes. Sunday League Experience is a given.

Screenie

The Database:

Default db has been chosen simply because it offers compatibility with all of my created leagues. But I only chose a few. I mainly wanted to expand Africa a little bit as a continent so Cameroon, Algeria and Libya were added. Kazakhstan were a random late addition I'll admit but the other new countries were added simply to open up Asia and North America a little bit. I've only loaded higher level leagues in big European nations because I don't want to find myself stuck in boring England again this time around after some years at Cadbury Heath in the darkest depths of the various non-league databases. I view it as a sort of progression.

Obviously all of these leagues have no real managers present so to stick to task I am only going to accept offers from bottom level clubs in those nations. I went on holiday and applied for all jobs.

Screenie

I took the bait in spite of the club's terrible finances, and will update tomorrow with further information. This was the first job that I was offered. It felt right to accept given that I am a tactical free-spirit. They are in the Belgian Second Division and are predicted to finish 13th.

Looks interesting. Good luck

Thanks man. Hopefully I can keep this going.

Also, in the face of knowing that we have more than doubled our wage budget I am going to have to sell players. Right now I'm simply not sure if I should get rid of the biggest earners or not because although that would cut us down to size it may just cripple us on the playing field. With this in mind I went cap in hand to the directors and this was the result.

Also, can anybody help me out with working the SI Forums image uploader. I'm having to use an external host because I have no idea how it works.

Shocking having wage bill double the budget!

Mathieu Assou-Ekotto would be a star like his brother Benoit is.

Shocking having wage bill double the budget!

No real stars either. And they haven't been relegated recently. Just shocking financial mismanagement which I am probably going to come a cropper with in the near future .

Mathieu Assou-Ekotto would be a star like his brother Benoit is.

I have to get the journeyman Assou-Ekotto brother... Typical.

This sounds an interesting angle - will be keen to see how you set the team up tactically to make it work!

Thank you. All will be revealed on the tactics front in a few days time, when I've found the time to get the right players in and finish the pre-season.

Good luck in Belgium,will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Looking forward to seeing this develop, good luck!

Good luck in Belgium,will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Looking forward to seeing this develop, good luck!

Cheers guys. I might need all the luck I can get as nobody wants to sign for me and the board won't let me release anyone...

Sorry about the relative lack of activity recently guys. I haven't forgotten but it's just going to be a bit hard over the next month or so to get anything done...