CHALLENGE: Do a Leicester City - within 2 years ! (FM15)

[BallHogging]

Chris Wood - Loaned Out

One of the players from our unwanted list today agreed a season long loan with Burnley as a backup for their 1st team.

Identified as someone I probably wouldn't use much this year it made good business sense to try and send him to another club this season. At only 22 he is still developing, so any game time elsewhere would be beneficial also. 

We managed to have Burnley agree to paying his wages of £20,000 which is quite something because I'm sure Burnley will have a tight ship to manage with their expenditure. We didn't ask for a monthly fee as we didn't want the deal to fall through. And with Burnley being a Premier League club, any experience would set Wood in good stead should we welcome him back into first team plans next year.

Redknapp Rating: "Laaaavly - 8/10

 

[BallHogging]

Leicester vs Wolverhampton Wanderers: Capital One Cup 2nd Round - Tuesday 26th August 2014, 7.30pm 

 

Only two sleeps after the game we'd rather forget we're in action again in the Capital One Cup against Championship side Wolves. Doing well sat in 6th position Wolves will pose a problem for us if we're not focused. With only having 1 full days rest we're going to have to rotate the squad here but that's not too much of a problem for me. I'm happy to be able to choose a team without restrictions as far as player registration is concerned. So today once again we will put various players in the shop window, players who due to their freshness are probably our best bet anyway.

Rumour has it Wolves are going to attack from the off today so I will initially send the players out in our away game formation today. We'll take stock of the opposition's game plan and adjust from there. Some will say we should be posing the question ourselves especially as the home team, and those people would be right. But we're vulnerable right now and would prefer not to compound the negativity around Leicester by getting slapped by nearly neighbours Wolves.

Well this was a lesson to finishing games when you're on top. Because when luck continues to go against you at 89:45 into a game...free kick...sudden scorcher, you need to kill off the opposition sooner. When you go down to 10 men through injury 101 minutes into extra time, you need to kill off the opposition sooner. When at 115 minutes somebody is given an questionable penalty to win the game, you will learn to kill off the opposition sooner. 

Look at the final condition of the players below, it's no wonder there was no fight left in them. But there is no excuse for not winning this game, yet by now.. thoughts that were kept under wraps previously are coming to the fore. I have a feeling that my lack of reputation is causing the players to play half heartedly. And my formational itchings a week or so ago are becoming stronger. 

We controlled this game at 1-0 till around 65 minutes. We had 60% possession, double the passes made, and created further good opportunites. But all of a sudden, despite no real change in approach from Wolves, our passing became really sloppy. Danny Simpson in particular started to just long ball everything even when a short pass was on. My rage on the touchline obviously didn't get through to him. I hadn't told them to change the way they were playing but nothing was sticking. The only person worthy of commendation today was Sastre who showed good range of passing and the ability to shield the ball under pressure before finding the right pass. Such was evident as he picked through the eye of a needle to slot King through to give us the lead. 

Other than this regardless of the others' ratings I would not commend anyone due to the pathetic performance in the last third of the game. We actually had good chances after going down to 10 men, we had good chances despite being knackered in the final 4 or 5 minutes after they scored, but the lack of quality was achingly painful. Vardy who should have been fresh as a second half substitute was terrible in his decision making. Schlupp made a lot of effort and should have scored himself, but afterall wasn't good enough. Adriano laboured. 

I'm embarrassed. The fans are embarrassed. The players aren't. And therein it seems lies my problem.

Upon trudging back to my office at our training ground I had three main things on my mind. Formation, Danny Simpson's abhorrent passing, Absinthe. Yes, it's that bad. 

Final Ratings

Shots

Postscript:  Oh it gets better...Danny Simpson was the man to give away the penalty...and something I haven't seen before...2 players in the squad are "Angry at Danny Simpson for his recent costly mistake", whilst others are "Determined to help Danny Simpson over his recent mistake"!
 

[BallHogging]

Formation In Freefall

 

It's no rest for the wicked as in only a few days we face a strong Arsenal side. It's becoming blatantly evident how important it was for us to get things off to a positive start against Villa. Chelsea away, Arsenal at home, that Wolves game...what a start to the season. 

The local media are simply expecting us to fold again against The Gunners. The game may as well be a non event, an absolute foregone conclusion. But at least we're at home, and I suppose that first and foremost all I can hope for is a better showing. This means being more competitive and to do so I will be changing our approach, a lot.

I decided that I had to better incorporate width into our approach play once more. The main problem wasn't with what the Raumdeuter's were doing with the ball, but more with the ability of those behind our attack to find the wide players, or have the confidence to take that extra moment and pick a pass instead of just hitting and hoping... Danny Simpson. 

Initially our wide approach play wasn't as concerning, as in pre season and against Aston Villa we had used the home variant of our 2 half back formation, which used FB-A's. As I've mentioned, in a previous career I have used this successfully with Manchester Utd, but I have seen the lack of quality at Leicester struggle to apply that approach, coupled with the absolute lack of respect teams show us. We clearly are viewed as the league's whipping boys and so until we change that I am going to have to respect how we are viewed and adapt accordingly. 

The formation trained then for the Arsenal game has the following objectives:

* Re-introduce wide approach play
* Maintain a strong backline
* Maintain an aggressive approach to winning the ball back
* Introduce an outball for clearances under pressure
* Focus those responsible for goals centrally
* Ensure retention of possession via cohesive teamwork
 

Wide Approach Play
To be achieved through use of fullbacks on attack duty. They will be responsible for the transition phase and much of the way in which we move through the opposition midfield and into the final third.

Maintain A Strong Backline
The two halfback formations and our recent usage of three centrebacks have all been toward shoring up our defence to keep us in games longer, giving us more chance to obtain points throughout the season. As a lower team in the Premier League scoring goals can be hard to come by and so over focusing on defence can be a better strategy for taking something away from games. Our new formational flavour of the month makes use of a Libero-A behind two centre backs. Instead of a rigid back three where the space inbetween sometimes gets abused I hope the use of two centre backs will have them tighter together whilst the Libero is free to double up or press as he sees fit. We will remove any DM strata presence as we hope that now the Libero with attack duty will step into that space.

Maintain An Aggressive Press
Having five defensive players can be a sure fire way to allow the opposition easy advancement up the pitch, as attacking opposition players are generally only engaged upon their vicinity to the final third. Now that we will be using the Libero who guarantees an extra presence alongside centrebacks I feel confident in assigning the FB-A's a man marking duty to engage wingers/inside forwards further up the pitch. If we engage them 10 metres earlier we have a chance to push them back. Mistakes should not be as costly defending higher up the pitch, as there is time and pitch in which to recover. Of course, the defensive line overall will need to be higher up to avoid centre forwards distorting our shape. 

Introduce An Outball
There are three reasons for this. 1: Teams have been pressing us high up the pitch, and as our players are not the most composed individuals you'll find, the ball has often been punted upfield to no one. 2: If the goalkeeper isn't confident finding a centre or fullback to distribute to, he kicks long making no attempt to actually find anyone, sometimes straight out of play. 3: Whilst our front four are capable of moving up the pitch together at times, at others they are crowded out and could really do with a focal point ahead of them, a pivot to continue their movement toward the box. Cue a DLF-S with 'dribble less'. 

Central Goal Focus
Our Raumdeuter's have at times found themselves under intense pressure, subsequently losing the ball before they can find a more central teammate. As our width now will partially come from FB-A's there's no need to persist with attacking bodies out wide when those players would really be serving a secondary supporting function to a primary attacker. Now then we use two AM-A's flanking an Enganche. Now primary goalscoring responsility will lie with the DLF-S and overlapping AM-A's.

Possession
In tight spots the team struggled in playing back to go forward again. The new tactic tries to ensure we can use the width of the pitch to retain possession. Out wide: advanced fullbacks to distort the opposition's shape and create alternative openings. Centrally: a box to box midfielder supporting the Enganche in possession, and also the Libero if we truly have to start again.
 

The team and I are aware that regularly changing formation will not lead to improved performances but our performances so far this season have predicated that we must alter our approach. It's better that we change earlier than later. This season could well be one of many experiments in order to settle upon something that gives us the best chance possible of 'doing a Leicester' next year, no matter how small that chance is!

The formation then? Well we can't be releasing that 'intelligence' prior to the match can we! Rats, moles, and leaks and all that!
 

[BallHogging]

Leicester City vs Arsenal - Saturday 30th August 2014, 3pm

 

Games coming thick and fast....for the last time this season, thanks to Danny Simpson!!!! I'll get over it soon honest. Already out of one cup and once our FA Cup hopes are extinguished we'll have rest for days between our fixtures and will be moaning no more. 

And today we get to try our new formation hoping that it leads to a more positive performance.The last couple of weeks has felt very long and arduous and has us feeling our current plight is quite entrenched. But really it is still early days, and it would only take a couple of decent back to back performances to brighten the outlook. Let's hope it starts today!
 

Team News:  New Formation, New Opportunities
So this Libero spot will be an interesting one to allocate. Ideally it should be someone fairly nimble, with good stamina and workrate, positioning also, plus all the usual defensive attributes. Most of what we have at centre back is brutish, so we've gone for something a little square peg round hole. Esteban Cambiasso. His mental attributes are fantastic and so I'm hoping his game intelligence and experience will prove my faith correct. Danny Simpson returns to RB for the first time in a while. Riera to LB, who may have expected more football by this point. He'll have a chance to secure LB for the forseeable. Although would you believe it, unwanted player number whatever...Paul Konchesky has been registered and is on the bench. Seeing as we can't shift him we're going to have to consider using him. Ulloa gets a rare start in our new permanent striker slot. And finally of note, Matty James returns from injury to a spot on the bench. He may start to see football as a box to box, right back, or maybe even that sweeper spot.

What an encouraging first half! 0-0 at the break and we have held our own in possession and dangerous opportunities. We haven't exactly dominated possession but we have had sustained periods where we had Arsenal chasing the ball around the pitch, which pleases me. All of what we aimed for with our new formation has to some extent or another been realised. We obviously need a greater sample size than one half against Arsenal but I'm feeling positive, even if we go on to lose this game.

Ladies and gentleman, let us welcome back the ridiculously bad luck. It seems that the team were napping still after their half time interval. In under 60 seconds Arsenal come out of the blocks with real intensity and Welbeck scores. How to undo 45 minutes of good work in 45 seconds. We continued to battle and create opportunities which validated my feelings about us being onto something with this formation, but this game in particular was gone as of the 73rd minute. Huth sent off for a second bookable offence and we knew it was done if not already. Debuchy added a second only a matter of minutes afterward and we were looking at the clock at 80 minutes wishing it was 90. Come 90 Ledesma decided it was time to put a freekick in the back of the net. It was a lovely strike but there wasn't much reason to get excited. The game was done and we couldn't get the ball back from Arsenal after the restart. 

I told the lads to look at this game as a mini turning point for us, to harbour positivity that we could give Arsenal a close shave and on another day perhaps even done a Sweeney Todd.

Performance wise, Cambiasso excelled at Libero getting our highest individual player rating so far. Huth and Wasilewski performed well under the testing circumstances. Trashorras probed and looked tidy in tight areas (interesting pun possibility). Ulloa helped us up the pitch but made a noticeable difference from goal kicks helping us take control of the ball near halfway. And Matty James got himself a sub appearance at box to box and looked controlled with his aggressive and tidy in possession. 

Final Stats

Final Ratings

Shots

We now have a two week break within which to up the training. It will give us chance to consolidate our learning of our new formation and prepare ourselves as best possible for the next match against fellow strugglers Sunderland who sit only 1 point better off. I would say it's borderline a six-pointer. 

[BallHogging]

When The World's Against You

Just when we're feeling fairly positive about our chances in coming weeks the world just wants to remind us how it has got it in for us. A cluster of sudden injuries arrives just to say 'hello, we're watching, and we could have you at any time. Ta ta.'

Adriano: 2nd Sep - morning after the transfer window closes so our striker on loan Chris Wood cannot be recalled. Double Hernia 2 months.

Trashorras: 2nd Sep -  Sports Hernia 7 weeks

Simao:  2nd Sep, - Flu 1 week

Albrighton: 3rd Sep -  Strained Knee Ligaments 2 months

King: 4th Sep -  Groin Strain 4 weeks

Leicester's Physio Room

 

[BallHogging]

When The World (Adriano) Is Against You

 

Well well well, it doesn't take long does it. Adriano came knocking at my door today and looked a state.

BH: "Good lord, what is wrong Adriano?"

A: "I don't know boss, I'm just feeling down"

BH: "Hmmm, let me see.....hmm.....ah!....  GIRLS!   DRINK!   FE**!   AR**!

I mean..., it really should be that simple! But he told me he's "had some issues settling in the country" to which my instant thoughts were......yes, and?

 ...and he would like to know if there's anything' I could do "to help make things a little easier" for him.

Get to the point you wuss...

..."the only solution I can think of is to leave the club permanently"

 

Really. You've arrived, played two substitute appearances, picked up a two month injury, and now you want to leave the club permanently?! Now I've seen this sort of thing before. Players banging on about being homesick only to leave the club and join another in the same flaming country. So I have minimal empathy for these pathetic individuals. 

I knew Adriano's record when I signed him, I just thought he might appreciate one last hurrah in the eyes of the masses. Maybe he would behave and take pride in himself. Obviously not. Leicester on the bottom of the league are not his idea of a footballing second coming, well third, fourth, fifth. I'm not sure how many chances this man has had. I mean, for goodness sake, the man's on a one season contract and he can't see it out? Doesn't even want to use the medical facilities to recuperate? 

 

It seems that Adriano is up for mutual termination, not literally, that's a bit too far, this ain't Romeo & Juliet. But I'm not going to give him it. The day after the transfer window shuts he gets injured, and then a few days afterward comes to me saying he wants to be released? 

"Get over your injury son and get back to being an important part of this squad."

Ok bit far

[Lenzar]

If you're going to give a player the 96 shirt, you're asking for bad luck!

[BallHogging]

Reader Response

3 hours ago, Lenzar said:

If you're going to give a player the 96 shirt, you're asking for bad luck!

Haha, I'd like to know just how disappointed a player would be if they were given something like that! It's just my method of assigning numbers to give the backup keepers 99 down. I give 1-11 for what I think will be 1st choice, then 12-21 is the 2nd outfield team, 22-31 the third choice in each position, 32-41 most likely for the best youth players, then I jump to the 90's for goalkeepers! 

[BallHogging]

League Table - First Look

 

[BallHogging]

Sunderland Afc vs Leicester City - Saturday, 13th September 2014, 3:00pm. 

 

And finally down to business after our eventful fortnight away from competitive action. We hope that our recent positivity was not a false dawn. The longer we go on not picking up any points the harder it will become to pick the team up from their rock bottom morale. The lads though have been on board with the coaching staff's positivity toward our new formation in training. And there do not seem to be any murmours of discontent toward me and my lack of experience yet. 

Team News 
With Huth suspended Morgan partners Wasilewski today. Simpson somehow retains his place. Konchesky gets a start today, coming back in from the wilderness. I'm hoping he can focus himself after knowing he was not wanted. Defensively he is a sound tackler with good desire for a battle. Away from home this is probably our best bet. Cambiasso continues at Libero. James gets in ahead of Drinkwater at box to box. Trashorras' injury means his usual first team place has gone to the very able Valeron. He is flanked by Mahrez and Kramaric, with Ulloa ahead being the battering ram. 

Well I'm simply disconsolate. This team is just SO bad at passing and doing the right thing to retain possession or create chances it's unreal. Even if someone is square and in space the player on the ball will not find him. Even with everyone told to play for the team and not be greedy, they remain greedy. I am at a loss as to how to even begin to have this group of players improve. 

I've been reminded just how bad man marking is as it seems that the opposition suddenly know you've got your defender man marking someone, so then they decide to break with their centre backs or defensive midfielders instead, players that would never get upfield usually; all whilst your man markers sit relaxing in the other half, perhaps breaking into a shuffle back toward goal. So we either force defend high through man marking and have this problem, or concede territory all because of one lone striker who causes the entire backline to drop back outside the box, to then wait as long as is necessary to allow the opposition support up the pitch. 

I think I'm going to have to give up on intelligent movement, intricate passing, and interesting shapes with this team and simply play something utterly basic. Watching 90 minutes of these players attempting to construct moves is simply unbearable. I actually sit there with my head in my hands just hearing the crowd. A move breaks down every few seconds when it really needn't do!

I have to be careful how obvious my frustration is shown before the cameras because if you look like a dead man walking, you'll soon become one. The game itself was settled inside 4 minutes. Two goals in the middle of the first half and that was that. One a penalty out of not much, and the second related to my man marking complaint. They could have more yes, but after our changes in formation we could have had a goal or two. I made multiple tweaks to the formation throughout the second half and watched closely as moves broke down, as players weren't marked, as the nightmare continued. You'll see the formation we ended with. It really was an improvement but I doubt that we'll stay with this into the future. 

Final Ratings

Shots

[BallHogging]

The Challenge At Hand

 

This may well be a 2 year challenge to attempt to win the league, but the reality staring us right in the face is the need to avoid relegation. Yep, only 4 games into our season and I'm throwing the towel in this season. 

I'm accepting the fact that I'm going to be tweaking the formation on the regular. I've not managed a lowly team before on FM15 and painfully for me I'm learning stark lessons again about what works and what doesn't. Yes each game is different and my tweaks in one game may well work there, but to apply them to another game could be suicide.

I need a base formation yes. I feel like I need to make the attack as simple and structured as possible, walking my players through their goalscoring exploits. No freedom, you pass to him, you to him, he then attempts to get through a brick wall...on his own...and perhaps we score. The frustration is evident. But again, I'm learning where my sacrifices need to be from my usually successful formations. I detest 442, I love football that flows and is generally unreadable. But that requires a certain type of player. I thought I had the foundations of that type of system, but watching 90 minutes of every game at normal speed shows me that the players are failing to realise the system I crave. 

You can expect to see more changes...I'm actually becoming 'The Tinkerman' myself. How fitting. My new objective though is to settle on a formation and approach that is a compromise, a balance of defense and attack, one which we can once found start to look forward to the next season with. If it happens by gameweek 25...then so be it. 

If you're with me, enjoy the ride!
 

Grim Viewing

 

[BallHogging]

The Empire Comes Crashing Down
 

Just to keep up the pressure following our fourth straight defeat three players decide it's time to spit their dummy out. De Laet, Moore and Schlupp all help me to realise one of my errors from pre season. I did not go through the squad contracts and amend players to backup where necessary. It may not have made any difference with these players, who probably all believe they should be first team regulars at Barcelona. But here we are having a fraught meeting with a good chunk of the squad.

Well my patience ran out with each subsequent visit as they came staggered throughout the day. First with De Laet, after pointing out there's lots of football left to play, I backed down and said you'll get some football soon then. Second with Moore, I was a little less welcoming; I pointed out the football left, and followed his response up with the warning 'you need to decide if this is all in the heat of the moment'. Apparently it wasn't and now he wants his wish to leave granted. Finally, Schlupp turns up and I'm even less down for a chat now. I point to the football remaining before following his retort up with 'you're a professional and you need to carry on doing your job.' 

Next person to come in gets shot.  
 

[forzalazio87]

Keep on going mate. The libero idea with Cambiasso is just brilliant. I really wish more people used a libero. Just keep tinkering with the tactics and provide the proper coverage in the midfield and you can do it.  I also hope to see Adriano back and strong in 2 months (maybe he would be a good libero?)

 

anyway just read this too haha http://www.givemesport.com/837649-former-brazil-striker-adriano-is-now-living-in-a-favela-reports  You have to save him mate

[BallHogging]

Reader Response

45 minutes ago, forzalazio87 said:

Keep on going mate. The libero idea with Cambiasso is just brilliant. I really wish more people used a libero. Just keep tinkering with the tactics and provide the proper coverage in the midfield and you can do it.  I also hope to see Adriano back and strong in 2 months (maybe he would be a good libero?)

 

anyway just read this too haha http://www.givemesport.com/837649-former-brazil-striker-adriano-is-now-living-in-a-favela-reports  You have to save him mate

Hey man! That's the key isn't it, the coverage needs to be strong. There's things in the pipeline for that btw  !
Made me laugh with that! If Adriano could just run 10 metres I'd play him anywhere such is the legend, Libero included!
I hear favelas hold quite the party from time to time...maybe that's why he's there, drinking, dancing,  dodging bullets, dealing...things, maybe  . I'll get him on the phone!

[BallHogging]

Leicester City vs Southampton - Saturday, 20th September 2014, 4:15pm

 

And so we're presented with what must be described as a chance to register ourselves on the board...surely we have to be looking at taking points from this game. Nothing much to date should lead us to believe that we can, but it's imperative we do really. 

Team News
We start as we ended the last and give opportunities to the spat out dummy players. De Laet replaces Simpson, which when you see that on paper, you wonder why I haven't done this sooner. Moore gets a chance, just because. Sastre comes back in today for an appearance. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off in looking a decent player. 

Well this game was back and forth throughout. Southampton playing a similar formation to us allowed their wingbacks to bomb on, and boy did they. Clyne and Bertrand flew forward and in to the box as often as they could. They would often get forward late in lots of space as we didn't man mark them. Southampton were direct yes, but with a large dose of comfortably passing the ball around our final third. They probed and probed and really this was a game we shouldn't have won. Yes, you read right, we won, 2-0. 

They had double the shots we did and looked very dangerous switching side to side and coming again and again. So with this in mind I'm not really sure how much we can take from our performance today. Resilient? Yes, but we can't really be secure in thinking our formation is the sole reason we won. 

De Laet after getting his opportunity seemed to be on illegal substances. He flew up and down making tackles and crosses throughout. The first goal for another opportunist...Schlupp, was created by De Laet's run down the wing, into the box, before picking Schlupp opposite wing run at the back post. Nicely done. Then late on as Southampton were looking like they'd surely get back into the game, De Laet once again burst down the right wing overlapping Vardy who played him through. A couple of touches later De Laet had flown past the full back and smashed one into the far post top corner like he was a natural striker. Ridiculous luck but we'll take it. I just wish I could believe that the tactical setup was the main reason for the win. I can't.

Notable performances 
Obviously De Laet.  Schlupp (who is now out for 5 weeks with a twisted ankle by the way) mirrored De Laet's energy on the left. Obviously the defence stood strong and had to cope with all manner of attacks. Again though, today, for the first time ever, luck was with us. 

Overall Stats

Final Ratings

Average Positions

Shots

 

It's there ladies and gentleman...the first victory.

[BoxToBox]

Nice to see you finally on the board, onwards and upwards!

 

Adriano isn't in the favelas any more, btw, he's shipped up in Miami, playing in the American 4th tier for Miami United, along with Cafu's son.

[BallHogging]

Reader Response

19 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

Nice to see you finally on the board, onwards and upwards!

 

Adriano isn't in the favelas any more, btw, he's shipped up in Miami, playing in the American 4th tier for Miami United, along with Cafu's son.

Thanks man. It's a long time in coming!
The article linked by ForzaLazio was dated yesterday and went on to cover the Miami United thing as a failure, indicating he's back in the Favelas now...but it is only GMS journalism   Just checking out his twitter....a10imperador

[BallHogging]

Stoke City vs Leicester City - Sunday, 28th September 2014, 1:30pm
 

We go once again with the same formation and hope, clutching rosary beads and a whole host of other relics in the hope that some combination of these may well lead to some favour amongst the footballing gods, football being our religion 'n' all!

Team News
Other than enforced changes through suspension and injury we decide to go with as unchanged a team as possible. De Laet gets a second straight game after having a moan. Schlupp would have done if he didn't get chopped up. James comes in in place of Sastre to further strengthen the midfield spine alongside Drinkwater.

The Lineups

 

Well this was a game where we played really well. A game I could finally take some real positivity from directly because of the formation/tactic. But unfortunately for us we faced two major problems: Begovic & Crouch. Crouch came on as a second half substitute and where Stoke before were not getting anywhere of real note from their crosses and set pieces, the moment Crouch came on things started to change. From one hopeful punt into the area Crouch got his head to it to hit the cross bar and the ball bounced down for Wollscheid to pop it into a gaping goal. After scoring Stoke sat very deep and left a gargantuan gap between their whole team and Crouch, but that didn't matter at all, as anything aimed in Crouch's direction did not go back to where it came from. Begovic now.., Begovic made some ridiculous saves to prevent us from taking a lead previously and continued to protect his team's lead. And that's the difference that can be made by a great goalkeeper and a real plan b up front. 

Our constant bad luck this season continued as Matty James was injured after we made our 3 subs. Early on Konchesky was partially injured and had to come off at the break. Then on 65 minutes at 0-0 in an effort for renewed impetus up front I changed both Ulloa and Kramaric for the pace of Mahrez and Vardy. As if Stoke scoring after that wasn't bad enough the James injury meant we finished the game with 10 men removing our ability to mount a come back.

So we're disappointed as we had the better of possession, we looked good moving the ball around carefully for once, and we caused some goal mouth scrambles of our own in their box. We really should have been 1-0 up before Crouch got involved. After the goal we had to gradually ramp up the way we chased the game. We ended playing two AF-A's, the DW-S's became W-A's. Our 1 remaining CM-D became a CM-A, and TI's were simply 'get that ball smashed up in that direction'.

Thankfully with 30 seconds to go it paid off! Vardy worked hard along with De Laet to keep the ball on the right wing, which resulted in the ball breaking for Vardy who burst toward the byline and pulled out a strong low cross which Mahrez bundled over the line. I suddenly wanted the ball back asap to have 1 last go! But when they looked like having 1 last go themselves I told the ref to blow his whistle b****, and so he did.  Many positives today, it's just a shame they come without 3 points on the board.

 

Notable Performances
The defensive trio, again. De Laet really looks better than Simpson, to my pleasure.  James & Drinkwater look reliable as two CM-D's.  Mahrez & Vardy may well be my go to substitutes to change a game as I do prefer to open with Ulloa & Kramaric. The physical presence is better with those two and so is the teamwork ethic.  But my story of the day here is 39 year old Valeron. This man made pressure look like a sunny day on a pedalo in Hyde Park or perhaps punting in Cambridge. His ability to spread the play and pick perfect passes was delightful and was a major...a stark contrast to our play using Mahrez in the hole. I cannot say that more strongly. So from now Valeron, Trashorras & Sastre will be our go to players there. 

Final Stats

Final Ratings

Average Positions

Shots

[BoxToBox]

24 minutes ago, BallHogging said:

Reader Response

Thanks man. It's a long time in coming!
The article linked by ForzaLazio was dated yesterday and went on to cover the Miami United thing as a failure, indicating he's back in the Favelas now...but it is only GMS journalism   Just checking out his twitter....a10imperador

Ahhh gees, that's a shame if true, I checked the clubs site too, and he was listed, but it wasn't exactly a top quality site.

[BallHogging]

Team Of The Week - Two Weeks Running: Richie De Laet



23rd September

30th September

 

Also this week:  Knockaert and Simao have been in trouble causing. I told them I'd play them soon. What a wimp I am.

[forzalazio87]

Nice job mate with the results. It's also nice to see Kramaric being given chance especially since hes been shipped off in real life after all his potential. Poor Adriano partying in the favelas!! I'll have to pay attention if there are any news updates regarding him irl. Maybe he's off to the olympics and they ran out of housing?!

[BoxToBox]

Seems like the favela thing with Adriano may be crap, or that he was there visiting friends, posted a picture on Instagram the other day from a(his apparently) mansion with his kids.

 

Now, he just needs to heal up and get Leicester pushing up that table.

[BallHogging]

Leicester City vs Burnley - Saturday, 4th October 2014, 3:00pm

 

I've used the term myself before but this game has officially been billed by the press as the definitive relegation six pointer. It's obvious that this game holds great importance for us even at this early stage of the season. This is the sort of game that needs to be our bread and butter; 3 points thank you very much move on make plans for the future sort of thing. I'm glad therefore to be going into this game on the back of a little bit of feel good after a mini turn around of sorts as far as losing every single game is concerned! I think it goes without saying that we'll stick with the formation that has served us well enough this last couple of weeks. 
 

Team News
This week Moore, in his regular chin wagging with the press of late, decided to announce that he is happy to stay after receiving his one performance recently. This led to 4 of the central defenders requesting a meeting with me to say that I'm weak and they're not happy I backed down to Moore. Talk about drama queens, absolutely ridiculous. After our convo 3 of the little b*****s backed down but 1, Wasilewski wasn't happy with the precedent he felt was being set and also felt Moore wasn't good enough. And therefore he's out today.

I nearly replaced him with Moore just to extract the urine, but I decided better of it with what was at stake here and settled on the strong partnership of Huth, returning from suspension, alongside Captain Morgan. I'm hoping he's not inebriated at all.

Sastre comes in for James who is struggling for fitness. Knockaert, gets his game at left DW-S. Valeron struggling to play 2 games a week now at 39 takes a rest and Ledesma gets a game at Enganche seeing as Trashorras is still just about injured. Simao comes in on the bench. 

Burnley set out in this match to not concede. 451 was every man behind the ball with an attacking mechanism of a one track mind Ings; run for the ball, get it under control, run directly at the net, hope. And for one man he made me nervous. Besides the problem of Ings we were absolutely in full control and did well in possession despite all the bodies behind the ball. A lot of that might have been down to the fact their clearances often went nowhere, or out of play, and so we could try again to build an attack, rather than spend a few minutes without the ball once our play broke down. 75% possession for the first half, but chances hard to come by. In the last 10 minutes of the half Burnley suddenly began to press even harder and commit more men forward once they had won the ball. It was worrying and I was expecting them to change tac after half time, i.e. more attacking, so I was getting annoyed that we weren't able to create clear chances. 0-0 at half time.

As I thought they would, they changed to 442. 1 less body defending, 1 more to punt direct to. What they add in attack far outweighs what they lose at the back, in my opinion. I was expecting a stressful half when thankfully and strangely Ledesma did something different with a free kick. Instead of the usual freekick over the bar or hitting the first man, Ledesma reverse balled it out wide to De Laet, who was surprised himself but managed to get to it before it went out, he crossed it first time onto...yep, you've guessed it, the face of Ulloa and we know how that ends. It was the first time Burnley were scrambling around trying to close people down and it stretched them wide open. Yes.

After this Burnley pressed even hard and it was becoming evident that even playing with two DLF-S's wasn't helping us maintain possession for very long. So I decided to play two Enganches and one DLF-S/DF-D. We had to try and keep possession longer now. I set the TI's to Be More Disciplined, Stick To Positions, Play Narrow, and all my other usual play ultra safe instructions. This became more necessary when Mahrez came on as he just wanted to dribble through anything that was tangible in his path. I tried a few different combinations on the way to these instructions and I was glad when they finally worked and we kept possession. We ended with WM-D's also instead of DW-D's as Knockaert was dribbling too much into danger and Burnley's counters were troublesome despite us having two CM-D's and everyone(almost) behind the ball from set pieces!

We saw the game out without creating many 'other' chances, which you will amusingly see below. There were no chances! We're very happy with the 3 points and the control we enjoyed, but we'll have to improve our chance creation going forward.
 

Notable Performances
* Sastre was busy today and reliable in both passing and defence
* De Laet once again the man. Simpson may as well stay in bed.
* Ulloa battled till the end and constantly gives us the outball and an unselfish ethic
 

Final Statistics

Final Ratings

Average Positions

Shots

Scoring Chances !!

[BallHogging]

What a difference...3 games make

 

Nothing to blow anyone away, but there's something good in our managing to string 3 battling performances together. And here is how the table reads:

[BallHogging]

Team Of The Week - Three Weeks Running

 

On and on it goes! Funeral for Simpson's football career being held at......

 

[BallHogging]

Manchester City vs Leicester City - Saturday, 18th October 2014, 3:00pm

 

All good things come to an end, well, a run of three decent performances on the bounce does when you go to moneybags City. I'm pretty sure that 442 is dead as far as the world's best teams are concerned, but City under Pellegrino, sorry that's a drink... Pellegrini,.. seem to enjoy it. 

Although not groundbreaking we've had a good few weeks and we'd like here to at least battle and show some pride, not get destroyed ten nil. One things for sure, City's strength will over expose the flaws in our formation of late! Can't we just stay in the team hotel huddled together in fear?
 

Team News
Not that it matters! The defence is unchanged, Morgan-Cambiasso-Huth, seems wise. Valeron is fit again and so is Trashorras, which provides me with an interesting decision. Valeron was monumental, instrumental in our good performance against Stoke in the Engance position, but Trashorras has played well in attacking midfield for us also previously and popping up with a goal too. Trashorras has more of an eye for goal. So I decided to forgo a little defensive steel at CM-D for more ability the keep a team move going via accurate passing and vision in tight spots. Therefore to squeeze both the above into the team I've gone with Valeron at CM-D alongside James, and Trashorras at Enganche in case a shooting opportunity arises in that area. Knockaert looked lively and committed in the last game at DW-S, so to really test whether he can perform there despite being an attacking player I'll throw him in the lions den here. Same goes for Mahrez. As he's so greedy I'm struggling to find a place for him in our new formation. The Enganche situation has been explained and I can't see Mahrez being any good defensively at DW. So the only spot remaining then is upfront whether DLF/DF/AF/T, whatever it is I end up playing. But he's diminutive and not up for an aerial battle and still very greedy dribbling off into the sunset instead of playing for the team. To test him in a game I consider lost anyway I play him at left centre forward as a DLF-A.

Would you believe it! 0-0 at half time. We survived 45 minutes against a team worth 450 million...probably. Possession is at 55% in favour of City, which isn't bad at all. And in fact when we had the ball we made good calm use of it in moving up the pitch. I sent the players out to stick to positions and be more disciplined. Essentially I was telling them to not be caught running out of position as against a 442 I felt that we'd be able to maintain a bit of possession with our shape. City were relatively lazy in pressing which suited me down to the ground. But for all the danger City posed in our final third we looked comfortable. All their shots were speculative and the danger of the dribbler Aguero was well shackled, in fact his shots looked a bit desperate. The team performing well, no yellows, no knocks, no shocking performances I sent them out for the second.

I don't know what it is, but there's something about the first few minutes of a second half. Teams seem to be angry that they're not winning and come out all guns blazing. But 1 minute after the restart and City have a penalty. Morgan nudged Dzeko by the byline in the box and that was that. It was apparently a dubious decision...we just can't get the rub of the green. I'm disappointed because we haven't looked like being able to score and were happy in all honesty to keep it at 0-0 and accept it if we didn't create a chance. So 0-1 down from a penalty and I'm thinking that's it. 

We held in there in much the same way as the first half and around the 70 minute mark I made 3 changes for something different, more energy. Nobody was performing badly and that is what was encouraging, that for once my subs were used just to try and change a game as opposed to because someone was dead or playing badly. We brought on Simao, Kramaric & Vardy. Technique and pace. Now imagine my surprise on 79 minutes when Mahrez on his DW-S test popped an early cross into the box and Kramaric ahead of his marker about 12 yards out connected sweetly first time past the very good Joe Hart. I couldn't believe it. I had a sneaky feeling that perhaps we could win this. We'd been that good. I was annoyed that a penalty would take away from us what might have been a ridonculous victory. But task at hand...we defended it out as City went crazy.  

What a great performance and way to continue our run of taking points from games. My team selection today really paid dividends and perhaps we're working towards a hint of consistency, one of our pre-season objectives. Tempering our excitement I do feel that City weirdly did not press as they should, we didn't create a great deal with our possession, and I always tend to do well against 442's. But we're going to roll with the positives for tonight and nurture this new found dressing room spirit. 

Overview

Final Ratings

Average Positions

Shots

[Cannes]

Great result mate, must do wonders for team morale!

Rather odd that Schmeichel received such a meagre score for his performance?

[BallHogging]

Reader Response
 

25 minutes ago, Cannes said:

Great result mate, must do wonders for team morale!

Rather odd that Schmeichel received such a meagre score for his performance?

They were bouncing after that one! Unfortunately Liverpool up next though...and I fear them greatly whoever I am!
It is I suppose, considering how many of their shots they got on target. But that stat surprised me because they didn't really have dangerous shots for Schmeichel to save. It was mainly desperate ones from range or trying to hit through people. Still you expect at least a 7!

[BallHogging]

Leicester City vs Liverpool - Saturday, 25th October 2014, 3:00pm

 

As confidence rises in the camp we entertain today a rather stern test of our new found resolve. Liverpool have just beaten Juventus 4-0 in the Champions League and come with a reputation for attack. I cannot stand playing Liverpool as they attack with everybody in a tough to stick with 3421/3412. Players move everywhere, they all bombard the box, and they have very good players with which to carry out said tactic. Even before the City game I would have told you we have more chance getting a result from that than Liverpool here today. So the most I can hope for again is to be competitive. If something strange happens then so be it, but barring that miracle I just want us to keep within touching distance.
 

Team News
With Valeron unfortunately injured after his Manchester City exploits we're disappointed, he really is that important, at 39. The Spanish Ryan Giggs. So we put Trashorras back into CM-D and place Ledesma at Enganche. He does have good vision and passing ability, he's composed, however he definitely likes a dribble much more than Trashorras and Valeron do, just much less than Mahrez. Simao nearly got given the Enganche today, be he settles for a place on the bench. The only other change is Knockaert having a game as the left DLF-A today. 

Hoping for a miracle part 2, here we go:

Well for 5 or 10 minutes it wasn't too bad, but then as they piled the pressure on things started happening. Sturridge scored on 13 after good work from Coutinho. He drew two defenders central outside the box, right foot reverse balled to left winger Lallana diagonally cutting inside who dribbled to the byline, attracting a horde of defenders over to him, and then passed to Sturridge waiting on the 6 yard box perfectly angled for his left foot to finish. 10 minutes later Balotelli blasted one in from outside the box and generally that was that in my mind. 

Prior to that we hadn't done too bad in possession but Liverpool's strength in attack was too much. But what is interesting is that due to the score on 25 minutes I just decided to go for it. I set the mentality to Attacking, changed CM-D's to CM-S's and watched as we created a lot of chances for the remainder of the game. At the end of the 1st half we had taken 3 shots off target. By the end of the game we'd had 14 shots and made Mignolet pull off some great saves and the Liverpool back line make some goalline saving tackles. 

Changing the CM-D's to CM-S's did open us up to the counter as they press higher up leaving more of a gap behind and also aren't as deep as play moves beyond them. But today the team showed me that they can chase a game hard without necessarily conceding more. On Attacking mentality the Libero Cambiasso got himself very high up the pitch, this was fairly dangerous when play broke down, so that's something to watch.

But in defeat we're feeling ok. The team were relaxed, motivated and confident after the team talk so I hope we can move forward to coming fixtures ready to go again with belief. The media post match mentioned how Liverpool would be 'pleased with the result' but that 'it could have been so different on another day'. They also discussed how 'Poor finishing costs Leicester dear'. So we certainly were competitive. 

Notable Performances
Huth was very strong today in his allround defensive game. I've noticed over time now also that his passing out from the back is rather good as even if it's a more hopeful punt, it always tends to give a striker the chance. Matty James looked good defensively. I spoke previously of my Mahrez musings, how to get him into the team. Well at left DW-S his skillset going forward pretty much matches what a DW-S is told to on PI's. He's too greedy centrally as a striker or enganche, so he may see more at DW. In tandem with this I prefer Knockaert as a DLF-A/S. So that's good news for Mahrez as that clears one from his competition for DW. Ledesma pleased me today at EN. I've noticed that he comes quite deep for the ball, deeper than Valeron and as the stats and his yellow show, he likes a tackle. And finally Schmeichel, he made some amazing triple saves to keep us alive.

Overview

Final Ratings

Average Positions

Scoring Chances

 

[BallHogging]

Rubi Is Not Happy With Me
 

Valladolid manager Rubi decides to get in touch today and make known his displeasure at my loan use of his man Sastre. 

Loaned on a first team regular basis Sastre has seen 3 fixtures from a possible 10. As my first 11 becomes more concrete in my mind Sastre's role in the squad will become more apparent. It may be that he only sees the bench and sub appearances under certain circumstances. It may be that he doesn't see the bench even. My best first 11 is starting to reveal itself and as of now Sastre is a good bench option as an understudy to Valeron/Trashorras. 

I tell Rubi a porky and just wait for our next conversation, although I'll see his number and blank it.

[BallHogging]

Another Long Term Injury

 

We're experiencing a lot of considerable injuries recently. It seems a lot of the squad are fancying two month mid season breaks! Now it's Paul Konchesky's turn to go out for two months. These hernias are prolific. 

 

[BallHogging]

West Bromwich Albion vs Leicester City - Monday, 3rd November 2014, 8:00pm

 

West Brom manager Tony Pulis has been underpressure recently, and for some reason way in advance of this game the media have been asking me what I think about his situation. Is it because we're relegation buddies? Anyway I just ignored the questions Mourinho style. But what it does mean is that West Brom are a team we should be looking to take some points off. Again, this year is about learning about what we're capable of as a team, fine tuning formations, and me learning about the players. I can cope with not yet taking 3 points from the games we probably should be, but the sooner we start the better.

Team News
Not much to speak of here. Drinkwater comes in for the injured James and Knockaert retains his place up front. 

West Brom setting up in the 442 played direct to the strikers everytime they had the ball. I'm not sure why we struggled to deal with Ideye and Anichebe. They're not exactly the world's best, but these direct balls were a problem, picked up by one of them who then runs directly at the defence evading tackle after tackle. 

On 15 minutes Ideye made one of those runs, drew 3 foolish defenders, passed backward to Mulumbu who then found Anichebe pretty much unmarked deep in the box whilst the 3 wanderers tried to reposition themselves. This sort of situation never presented itself in previous games where I said the defence played well. I changed the team to take a 'higher line' hoping that the defence wouldn't give up so much territory. 

We'd been completely controlling the game otherwise in terms of possession and territorial advantage. 65%+ possession was what we held throughout, being incisive was the problem. Knockaert equalised 12 minutes afterward with a good header for a small man. We probed fairly patiently, passing centrally between the DLF-S's, Enganche and Trashorras, who I changed from CM-D to B2B, before going out wide for a cross and the goal. But without a cross hitting its target there didn't look to be too many other ways that we might score a goal. 

 

In the second half West Brom unleashed Hazard junior...Berahino, who simply ran where he wanted, evading with ease. Berahino received the ball wide left, passed infield to Mulumbu who easily found the run of Anichebe drifting between the two central defenders, with Cambiasso sat too deep as Libero. Anichebe used his momentum to gain a yard against the run of Cambiasso and got his shot off. Too close in for Schmeichel to save. It highlighted a defensive issue which I may have to consider fixing. It's confusing that we can go from defensively sound against arguably better attacking teams to loose and amateur against West Brom. I'll be spending some time with that magnetic tactics board again, moving the pins around it whilst hoping for inspiration.

We pushed and pushed and changed some aspects of our approach but couldn't get past Foster. 30 shots for goodness sake. 66% possession. To lose today was a poor show and the team knew it with my long team talk targeting multiple individuals. I risked a backlash and perhaps a greater loss of morale than necessary, but they have to know what I expect from them. It's not enough to play well and not take some spoils home. We're not here to get 40 points if we can have 55 with a little more conviction. We're back into the relegation zone as a result of today, so our next game against QPR becomes all the more important. 

 

Notable Performances  
De Laet again with his marauding dynamic runs and the assist. Drinkwater worked hard with many accurate passes, tackles, and interceptions. Mahrez does seem to be willing to get involved in battle as well as attacking. Knockaert certainly keeps himself busy wherever he plays.

Overall

Team Lambasting

Final Ratings

Average Positions

Scoring Chances

[BallHogging]

On And On It Goes - Trashorras Injured

 

These 2 month type injuries keep coming. Now the important Trashorras is out of action. Looks like I won't be having that conversation with Rubi just yet.

 

[BoxToBox]

These injuries are ridiculous.

[BallHogging]

Reader Response

16 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

These injuries are ridiculous.

 Glad you think so too! There's a few I didn't mention or draw as much attention to. The amount is crazy for players that don't have information about being prone to injury in their report and they all tend to be considerable at 6 to 8 weeks long! Papers will be rummaging up some rumours about our training setup blaming me!

[BoxToBox]

You'll end up like Van Gaal at this rate,  playing your u-18's third choice left back as a midfielder.

[BallHogging]

Leicester City vs Queens Park Rangers - Saturday, 8th November, 3:00pm
 


Another day, another six pointer. Again I was being asked questions about another club's safety, with the media wondering whether I thought QPR could stay up. They're currently sat at 11th in the league table which sounds pretty good, but it is only 3 points off the relegation zones, so I hope that by the end of this game we're able to help QPR on their way toward that. 

Also, another day, another formation! It's not that different this time, but there are a few slight positional tweaks and different player roles. Upon watching over the tapes from the West Brom game I decided I had to make some minor amendments in a few areas:
 

* No Libero  -   L-A is now CD-D: I need to eradicate goals like Anichebe's second, where the Libero is far too deep in the box. Other changes to the formation now mean we won't miss the Libero's upfield presence too much.
* CD-X's now CD-D's  -   To try and stop goals like Anichebe's first where too many players get drawn to one striker.
* Shape reversal in midfield.   The Enganche is gone and now sitting behind the central midfielders is a Regista to protect the defence due to other changes.
* Central midfielders are now both B2B  -  with get further forward. Hopefully they will get to where the EN was, offering double the support to the strikers, double the goal threat, but with the safety of the REG and three static centre backs behind. Also they should drop back and press defensively forming a safe 3 man barrier in front of the defence. 
* DW-S's are now WM-A's  -  We really needed more goal threat than sporadically successful DW crosses to the strikers. The WM-A's are set to dribble less, making them less greedy and more about teamwork and moving into dangerous positions just as the role description says. They will man mark opposition wingers.
* DLF-S's are getting a chance at F9's  -  DLF-A's became DLF-S's to get them back into the play more, but now there's no real pass and move as the DLF-S's don't offer enough goalscoring potential other than running onto crosses. So I've taken a chance on greedy dribble more F9's, who actually drop deeper than DLF-S's but get into the box as the attacking phase progresses. I'm hoping they try and pass a little bit!
 

The team has had the interim days between games to practice the formation as we are still set to maximum match preparation in training.

Team News
Quite a few changes today. With the disappointing injuries to Valeron, Trashorras and even Simao who would have played today, Sastre gets his chance to step into their shoes. I have faith that he'll perform just fine. Now as we're on 3 centrebacks Cambiasso due to his height no longer takes a role in the defence. I wanted 3 old fashioned centre backs. Morgan is out so Moore gets a chance and Wasilewski comes back for the first time since his outburst. They both flank Huth who controls the middle. Cambiasso takes the Regista spot. Knockaert moves back into the left B2B role, with Adriano, back from injury, taking his place. Ulloa has gone quiet for a few games now and not looked great in possession, so Kramaric who has been in the wilderness really, comes in next to the beast. Finally Schwarzer gets a chance to keep them joints moving.  

Pre Match Lineups

Team Instructions

Well the game started stressfully as QPR wouldn't let us out for 12 minutes. We just couldn't get or keep a grip on possession and again people were panicking. QPR set out in a 4411 with Taarabt pulling the strings behind Vargas and with a very defensively sound midfield. Vangioni is a natural at left back, Fer is defensive, Sandro is a destroyer, Isla is a defensive player who can play right back. With this setup QPR held the cojones and pressed us high up the pitch. It was so bad that I couldn't let it continue and so the Tinkerman got to work again. 

Vargas and Taarabt were holding the ball up between them and taking it to the centre of our defence one single man army at a time. This left the outer centre backs presenting me with my age old complaint...waiting too long to engage and effectively gifting the opposition territory. In a rather rash manner on 12 minutes I took a gamble. By the end of the game this gamble was augmented by a few more tweaks before we ended with a reborn Frankenstein.

1: Win the ball back early. Crowd out attackers early.
2: Greater variation in attacking play. Allow direct and long balls. Stretch the opposition
3: Accept lesser control of possession

* Two CB's not three, as CD-C's, close down much less, and hold position.
* Two Registas, close down much more to go roaming wherever necessary, mainly positioned centrally though to absolutely hunt down and dispossess the centrally camping lone striker and hole player.
* B2B's became CM-A's in order to further the distance between them and the Registas who were previously occupying similar positions. As the CB's were CD-C's that separated them from the Registas, dealing with the Regista's occupying centre back territory when passing out from the back.
* F9's became Trequartistas. I simply decided to cut out attempts at tiki taka and release the players. We needed more space/depth between the lines. Space for the CM-A's to run into. I decided we needed more lateral movement in attack, less readable for defenders. 

Well I'm pleased to say it worked. You could say my going to two defenders only was crazy. That relying on WM-A's to man mark wingers out of the game in the oppositions early attacking phase is a recipe for failure. It probably should have been, but it fixed the first 12 minutes where we just were not in the game, and as the home team that's unacceptable. I think this formation is really, just like my home formation at the thread's outset, one for opposing teams that try and operate with a central attacker to get them up the pitch. I just want them taken out of the game as early as possible. Whether this works for other games is another matter, but today it choked QPR. 

Once we'd won the ball back our passing and moving with the amended roles was fantastic. Mahrez opening goal was a poacher's effort, following up on Knockaerts strike from outside the area. The ball retention to get to that point though was admirable. Our 2nd on 54 minutes was created by Sastre who had the superb game I was hoping for. The eventual man of the match calmly played through another man whos star is rising rapidly, De Laet. Bursting in off the wing he took a touch and blasted the ball home. This is becoming his trademark it seems. 

For once we created a ton of opportunities and I found us fun to watch for the first time. I felt we could actually score a few with this style of play. It's crazy that I spent considerable time on the new tactic pre game, only to change it 12 minutes in. I'd rather not keep changing the tactic, but I just keep seeing things which need dealing with. Once one formation gives me some semblance of consistency against a couple of opponents, maybe I'll settle down and stop living the tactic bachelor lifestyle!

Final Stats

Final Ratings

Average Positions

Shots

Scoring Chances

 

[BallHogging]

Reader Response

50 minutes ago, BoxToBox said:

You'll end up like Van Gaal at this rate,  playing your u-18's third choice left back as a midfielder.

Ahhh good god...don't remind me of the snooze fest football!

[BallHogging]

QPR Performance Rewarded

Apart from the strange omission of De Laet we are proud to have two of our cohort recognised in this installment of the Premier League's 'Team of the Week'.

I'm pleased that after pre-empting Sastre's ability to step into the shoes of Valeron and Trashorras that he came good to a great degree. So far the loan signing is looking inspired and is a vindication of Sir Ball Hogger's knowledge of Spanish players. 

As Sir Ball Hogger is capable of a little Spanish himself his preference for technically gifted Spanish players may continue. Like Wenger I believe the English market is simply just too inflated price wise and I will always shop abroad first and foremost. 
 

[forzalazio87]

Man that one game you had 30 shots and still lost..... So frustrating!! Berahino is a tank though, had him in a west ham save a while back and he got 40 goals a season somehow. Your team is playing really well overall, keen to ask what you think of how the libero is working? 

[BallHogging]

Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City - Sunday, 23rd November 2014, 4:00pm



And now to a stern test and in all probability a complete turning over. Tottenham are flying high at the top of the Premier League at present, without losing a single game. So we have little chance here today whilst we are still formulating and fine tuning our approach and the team spirit overall. What I'm hoping for is at least something to show that the formation we're currently settled on is competitive. It's a real risk for me to try it away from home against a good team, but then at the same time it should be the acid test, because if it holds up to some extent or another then perhaps it's one to be settled upon! Also if we're going to lose anyway we may as well use this game to test what we want rather than send the boys out in a 5-5-0 formation trying to defend a 0-0 draw.

Team News
Schwarzer gets another shot in goal today. In these games where I expect us to lose I often decide to put people in the shop window, or give the unhappy people a chance. With Morgan still out Wasilewski and Huth take the centre of defence. James returns to take a spot alongside Cambiasso in our double Regista lineup. Finally Mahrez is struggling for fitness and so Schlupp gets himself a start where we'll be looking for him to impress after his recent spouting about how he should be a getting more first team football at 21.

Good lord, our luck is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure things are sent to try us being as we're the newly promoted. Absolute completely insane. On 5 minutes Adriano has been hit and run by Chiriches. Adriano sat on the floor shakes his head at the bench. Amazing. Just back from a 2 month injury and off you go again. So we bring on Vardy ahead of Ulloa. I thought we'd see if pace and agility could do anything against a very hard pressing Spurs side. Anyway, 3 minutes later, someone commits ruination of Vardy and so Ulloa comes on anyway. 2 substitutes used up inside 10 minutes. Could things get any more stupid?

Yes. Yes they could. In a fast forwarding commentary of the game's events Spurs' answer to Hazard, Lamela, decided to score a hat trick...with his god damn right foot, all 3 of them. What is this sorcery? 

At half time I laid into them...as I usually do, but this time they didn't get all teary eyed, they were up for it apparently. 4 minutes into the second half Wasilewski at the near post nodded a corner in. It's only a set piece goal, which are pretty random, but we'll take it as it gets up back within reach. That is until Kane makes it 3-1 on 55 minutes. As the pinball continues we reply with a well taken move where every part of it had to be perfect when Ulloa finished well after being played through in a fast paced move; fast because Spurs forced us to play it so. 

I'm thinking we're back in with a shout again. We joust for the remainder of the game when on 90+3 into 94 Lamela decides to use that useless right foot again to tap one in. ...Not great defensively, but to be honest Spurs away are tough even for the top teams. In an instant riposte that man Richie De Laet pops up once more to dig Simpson's grave even deeper, with 15 seconds left to go. Played through by Kramaric he used his momentum running onto the ball to burst into the box and put his foot through it and through Lloris. Talking about foot through things, we got our revenge by finishing Fazio (our man Jeffrey [Schlupp] heard a deep voice say 'Finish Him!'... and he took it a bit too literally). Then Wasilewski who likes a clothesline tackle or two decided to apply such to Chadli, who went with whiplash for his early bath. 

A crazy game where we ended with decent possession but couldn't cope with Spurs high press and army of agile attackers. 

Notable Performances
De Laet is having his name mentioned regularly now and he was fantastic again today even without his goal. His value is rather soaring as well. From in the region of 2.5 million to 6.5 now. Simply double it and that's his price! Sastre again in the absence of his hermanos espanoles performed admirably with good work rate and passing. Knockaert is not lazy that's for sure and I think despite his cameo up front that his main use for me will be in the advanced central midfield position where he can contribute to range of phases of play. Schlupp was busy in trying to impress and gets an additional 10 points for ruining man mountain Fazio.

Overall

Final Ratings

Average Positions


 

[BallHogging]

Reader Response
 

50 minutes ago, forzalazio87 said:

Man that one game you had 30 shots and still lost..... So frustrating!! Berahino is a tank though, had him in a west ham save a while back and he got 40 goals a season somehow. Your team is playing really well overall, keen to ask what you think of how the libero is working? 

Plenty of craziness going on in this career. Just look at the injuries! 

As for the Libero I did enjoy it as Cambiasso got forward very nicely. He's a good passer and tackler, with high positioning sense. So he did contribute all over and I was surprised that the team used him quite regularly. For a while it worked well but in searching for my perfect formation there were two reasons I changed it to the recent tactic.

1: Against teams that attack primarily with 1 striker our having 3 centrebacks (or 2 CD + L-A) was overkill, 2 stayed back in a line whilst 1 alone presses. I wanted to hard press and crowd out the striker, or force him into a faster decision and potentially a mistake. Moving to 2 centrebacks and 2 registas in front meant more players engaged central danger players sooner. It also meant once we had the ball there was one extra man higher up the pitch to aid playing out from the back and to keep recycling the attack, as the CB's are rarely used for this and tend to long ball it under pressure anyway.
2: Despite the Libero's good movement around the pitch behind the 2 CM's it became obvious at times that the Libero would drop too deep as play neared our box, it caused a couple of problems, goals conceded, and again the issue of what I consider to be wasted men in possession.

In real life I could make it work, for FM purposes I have to play the system to get what I want, and balance the pros and cons. For example it's obviously dangerous playing with 2 CB's only, but the Registas stop a lot of attacks before they reach the box. They're supported by pressure from the CM-A's who drop nicely enough. And I usually set the WM-A's to man mark opposition wingers, which means as long as the opposition aren't playing too many balls over the top and instead try to play to the winger's feet, we end up marking them out of the game higher up the pitch. It's dangerous as the WM-A's will follow them back, but they aren't the same as full backs. 

The shift is all toward a really high press to stop poorer teams from getting up the pitch so freely. Against the mid to top teams I'll probably tweak things slightly over time. 

But the Libero is something I enjoy. Many say its superseded now by the DM and the offside trap, but as long as the Libero/Sweeper is intelligent they're one and the same to me. When I was playing some 11 aside a little while back I managed to convince the team to play a high line, a Libero and a sweeper keeper as we'd gone down to 10 men. We'd been battered first half trying a 4-4-1 and after we changed we scored within 5 minutes, got ourselves into the game, and the comments were 'who's he, Mourinho?!' Sweeper's not dead! 

[BallHogging]

Mid-Term Managerial Musings
 

All in all we did try hard against Spurs. I'm not happy about conceding 4 goals, I'm not happy about our luck all season. But we showed we can at least make a game of it. So I'm thinking ahead to next season and remembering how important it is for me to identify players that can improve us, come in and hit the ground running. Players that aren't too greedy in certain positions, players that have PPM's suitable to whatever crazy tactic I end up on. 

Now I don't like putting my neck out there, but right now I feel we might be close to the tactic, and so I might begin a pinpoint focus on the types of player I want. 

Therefore I'll be spending some time with the scouting department perusing the records gleaned so far and putting our heads together to come up with a strategy for the rest of the season. Luckily Leicester seem to have quite the player acquisition department!

As a little sneak preview and early insight into our transfer plans here's a brief snippet of our thoughts:

* Trequartista:  A 190cm+ striker, excelling aerially, <30 years of age
* Centreback:  Two 190cm+ players, with pace (Perhaps loan Huth again)
* Centremidfield Attack:  Players with vision and passing ability (current crop are on 1 year contracts and prone to injury)

There could well be more requirements realised later on, but for now these are the first scouting missions.
 

[BallHogging]

Look Who's Back - De Laet Is Back

 

This man is creating somewhat of a name for himself. If he carries on in this vein I'll surely be hearing from some managers interesting in his services.

 

[BallHogging]

Leicester City vs Newcastle United - Saturday, 29th November 2014, 3:00pm

 

Newcastle like Tottenham are on a good run recently having won 3 in a row and not losing at all so far, so the press have them down as clear favourites for this game. They look to approach it without respect for it being their away fixture. 4321 and I expect them to commit multiple men forward. 

Even without their current form Newcastle would be a tough test as they are physical, have agility and technical ability in the right places, it just requires them to be on form all at once for them to be a danger to the top teams. (They wish it was like that in reality!) 

This said though I'm hoping to build on our Spurs game positives and put ourselves in with a chance of taking a point today at least. What I certainly don't want is for the bottom to fall out of everything we're doing and have me staying in my office overnight, lights dimmed, Whiskey bottle open, whilst I hug the tactics board occasionally weeping. Hang on, I said Whiskey, I mean't Gin or Brandy, probably Brandy as that means I won't have to bother mixing it. 
 

Team News
Only a few changes today. Drinkwater replaces James due to better fitness. Ledesma takes left WM-A from Schlupp. And Mahrez gets another shot upfont as Trequartista, taking over from Adriano whos level of natural fitness dictates that at best he can start one game and have 20 minutes at the end of the next.

Deary me. I just want us to start a game solid for once in a while. The cameras focus on me throughout today's game as I find out watching the rerun later on. I need to get myself in hair and makeup from now on. If they see my crows feet, the stress induced black and sullen eyes, and the increasing proneness to outbursts then I might be abetting my own removal. With 3 minutes something on the clock Newcastle have a corner following quite the start. The usual story really of us not being able to get the ball under control for something like 10 minutes. I'm going to have stop these boys' chips in the hours before the game I think. I'll get Moyes' on that. So the corner is powered in but aimed toward the back post side and 8 yards or so out, travelling away from goal. There's no Newcastle player there, just 3 of my players. The ball hits Cambiasso and bounces back towards the back post where suddenly Steven flaming Taylor bundles through to tap home from a yard out. There was no need for that.

The slow start, inability to keep control under pressure, and the general need to now chase the game led me to instructing the team to go direct. The instructions became more and more aggressive in this regard as the game progressed. It was a to and fro game as can be seen by the stats in a moment. We did have the ball in the back of the net but from an offside position. Sastre from 30 yards out put through to Ledesma who finished with aplomb first time but he was clearly a yard or two offside and even whilst it was happening I was waiting for the offside ruling. 

As we continued to chase the game, and to be fair we looked very competitive at 0-1 for the majority of the game. But 76 minutes of committed defending after the first Newcastle goal, they added another to kill the game off on 80 minutes. And it was a bad bad mistake that led to it. Deep in their final third the ball was partially cleared and came to Huth on the half way line. His touch in controlling the ball was terrible. There wasn't really anyone near him, but such is the stature and awkwardness of the man in possession his touch was that bad that he had to chase 10 yards+ after the ball. And when he should of slid through the encroaching Newcastle man, he backed out and was robbed. Ferreyra a late second half substitute for Newcastle sped through on the counter, was played in and finished well but nothing less than what would be expected from the position he was in. He caused real danger on the counter as the lone striker in general, but to score because of this individual error is annoying. 

We had very good chances and I'll use the saying again, 'on a different day' the silly corner goal doesnt happen after which we take some of our chances. They only scored the second with such ease because of Huth and our need to take up an attacking mentality. We just need a little more fortune, but perhaps we have to ante up and realise we have to create it ourself.

Overall, two very poor and silly goals conceded. We constructed attacking moves well but didn't put them away. It's a game we shouldnt have lost and if we repeat it I feel perhaps 6 times out of 10 we're taking 1 or more points.

Notable Performances
Sastre again creating many opportunities and being the one who im happy to see on the ball in a congested midfield under extreme newcastle pressure. De Laet, again very busy with good runs fed by Sastre, could have scored his now trademark goal cutting in diagonally beating someone for pace but just wide of the far post. Wasilewski was good today even if his distribution wasnt.

Overall Stats

Final Ratings

Average Positions

Shots


 

[forzalazio87]

Yeah I see your point with the libero. It's really hard to work into the game, thats why I asked. Still this games look crazy with the amount of shots you are getting. just bad luck at that point . Reminds me of my hopless Lecce side that averages 20 shots a game and 65% possession with hardly any goals.. Excited to see your transfers coming up.. a striker would be nice

[BallHogging]

Crystal Palace vs Leicester City - Tuesday, 2nd December 2014, 7:45pm

 

Sat one point ahead of us having played a game less this match takes on an immediate importance beyond the obvious fact that Palace fixtures this year would be six pointers. The Pre-Match Analysis with Mark Rodgers of FourFourTwo has it that we're favourites here. Listen Mark, on FM15, away from home, you are NEVER favourites.... We're now sat only 1 point above the relegation places and at the least two of the three teams in the bottom 3 shouldn't be there.

Koeman has lost his job only a week or so ago as has Mark Hughes in October. The two teams and their new managers are left trying to pick up the pieces and go again. Southampton are currently searching for their new manager and as for Stoke, have one guess as to whos there! Nigel Pearson...possibly with a vendetta to hunt down and bodybag our Premier League status! 

The game against a flying Newcastle has had us make a few tweaks to our TI's going into the game. I'm instructing the boys to play with freedom as far as choosing when to hit it direct. I'm giving up possession so that we have 90 minutes worth of time to try direct football when needed to get that goal. Everytime I've tried to pass it around at first to control possession and see if we get close to scoring we've conceded and made the whole game harder.

Team News
Morgan comes in for Wasilewski today despite his good game last time out. Huth is really one for the chop today following his recent error but as Wasi is 34 I felt I'll rotate him instead. James in for Drinkwater at Regista, but Drinkwater stays in taking Sastre's CM-A spot as he's struggling for fitness. Same can be said for De Laet, and so he takes a well deserved break with Simpson finally getting himself a chance to start. Mahrez and Ledesma are tired which means Riera gets a rare starting berth at left WM-A, just pipping Schlupp to the opportunity. Schmeichel is back now. And Ulloa comes back in up front. 

Palace as every team seems to, started with a bang and Bolasie was a severe danger. So when Simpson chopped him down with injury, brownie points were being tallied up. As usual, we worked our way into the game, but thankfully this time we didn't concede by the time we did, and Riera receiving the ball wide left played a good pass through to the run of Knockaert who finished superbly after making his way into the box, left side, and shot high to the far post with a sweet strike. He had the pace and the accuracy needed to finish a move like that, a move I've rarely seen finished in many seasons.

After going 1-0 up we looked good for another. Of course we had to defend Palace's dynamic and direct attacks. As expected we gave over majority possession to them, as we had circa 45%. But we were comfortable and if it wasn't for Kramaric missing his chances or choosing the wrong thing in the final third we'd be on our way to a bigger lead. Unfortunately it was wonder goal time again and after a sweeping move across the pitch Ledley received the ball after a cut back, and from 30 yards out he decides to smash curl one into the far top corner. And all of a sudden any feelings of being on top and more dangerous were out the window.

Huth again has been terrible in possession and continued to give the ball away on the halfway line, twice, and at other times looked shaky with the ball at his feet. It's unacceptable and dangerous when he is usually the last line of defence/ball recycling. At half time I laid into them again and individually into Kramaric who just isn't contributing enough for his supposed talent and his cost. I hope it brings a reaction.

 

Well it seems it made a difference as within minutes of kicking off again we're back in front. Ulloa plays a one two with Knockaert and finished across goal nicely. After a few minutes I decide to be Italian. Shut up shop. Contain, play safer, retain possession, no more passing into space and waste time. I felt we'd probably still create from time to time but it was more important now to keep that ball and go back to the sweeper keeper like the filthy cheating team we are. 

I brought Adriano on for the useless Kramaric and it worked well as he held up the ball where Kramaric would have dribbled into a blade of grass, he found one touch passes into the channels to keep an attack going, and took a couple of pot shots himself that forced very good saves from their keeper. He even picked up and injury and played on...beast.

Then as the game wound down to the last 15 I mulled over how to use my final substitute. Half a dozen players were mid 60's on condition so any of them were candidates for replacement. But I decided to take Huth off on 67% and replace him with Wasilewski. I wanted fresh energy in the defensive line for the final 15. Even though they're both as slow as each other the fresh energy for the fight would surely be the safe bet as we tried to see the game out. Moments after we made that sub we made the game safe as Simpson and Ulloa combined nicely to get us into dangerous territory, the ball came to Knockaert outside the box who ran it wide, crossing runs with Riera who went toward the 6 yard box, Knockaert under pressure chipped it to Riera who hook volleyed it in on the turn. Wonderful way to finish the game. We even had time for Adriano to be played clean through, 1 on 1, easy finish...no, half way between the post and the corner flag...10 yards out. Unbelievable. 

For once it's nice that things went as imagined. Play direct from the outset, get a goal, play considered play it safe football afterward, potentially nick another. Apart from the deviation from this with worldy goal no.10,000 suffered this season, our game plan went exactly that...to plan. Despite the amount of shots Palace had we were comfortable and stats alone don't show that. 

 

Notable Performances
Notable for an interesting reason is the fact that Morgan played the full 90 minutes without making a single tackle. He won 75% of his aerial battles and made 16 interceptions, on his way to a rating of 7.1. Drinkwater was involved at the heart of most things today and was steady. simpson completed the destruction of Palace's most dangerous player, Bolasie = well done. Ulloa was successfully busy and unselfish. Adriano was a great variation to our forward play late on. Ledesma also brough a renewed energy to chance creation as fresh legs from the bench. But the real story today is Riera and Knockaert. Their stats speak for themselves in showing how they were involved in every aspect of play and were clinical in creating each others' goals.

Overall Stats

Final Ratings

Crazy Average Positions

Scoring Chances




 

[BallHogging]

League Update - Gameweek 14 - 2nd December 2014

 

Well the result against Palace was a good one, an important one for us to move forward with in our back pockets. With Hull and Swansea up next we would hope to secure some more points and more importantly, as I keep banging on about, consistency. I'm like the Arsene 'mental strength' Wenger of 'consistency'.

There were some other really important fixtures taking place whilst we were battling Palace. Man Utd schooling previously top of the table Tottenham. City seeing off top of the table Arsenal at home who stay top regardless. Liverpool keeping up the fight with Chelsea. And Stoke ensuring there is no longer any gap between them and Soton in possibly a pivotal game of their season.

Fourteen games in for most teams and the league is looking like a real battle at the top. A few surprise packages, and surprising underperformers Liverpool, the team I like to talk up as being obscenely dangerous.

We're happy to be sat in 11th, but it's all so tight from 10th to 20th that it can all change in the blink of an eye. Swansea are the team sitting solely in comfortable mediocrity in 9th. Above them Liverpool and the title chasing pack. It's an interesting table at present. We'll revisit it in a few gameweeks time.

[BallHogging]

Another Injury - Tuesday, 2nd December 2014

 

Once again we're losing someone for a considerable amount of fixtures. Matty James who as you know by now is my first choice to partner Cambiasso at the Regista positions will be sitting out 4 to 5 weeks. It's disappointing because he has repaid my trust in him time and time again with committed performances.

It gives Drinkwater a regular chance. My other option would be to keep with Simpson at my pseudo right wingback role, and then play De Laet next to Cambiasso. I could try Moore instead of Simpson if I want, as I'm pretty sure he'll be knocking on my door moaning again soon. And after last time it might not be a good idea to allow him that opportunity.

 

[BallHogging]

Meanwhile Muskwe - Wednesday, 3rd December 2014

 

My coach Phil Cannon who specialises in youth development and therefore has an eye for promising ones coming through, has come for a chat with me 3 times so far this season to report on the progress of Admiral Muskwe our U18 prospect. 

His attributes have been increasing well all round. It had me thinking perhaps he would benefit from stepping up a level to play with our U21's, but if things are going so well at his present level then I'll leave him there. I don't want to suddenly hear from a coach saying how Admiral his unhappy with his current training load with the U21's. 

He's one to watch though definitely. I went along to the youth coaching sessions to watch him play, and he certainly stands out from his age group. Once he has developed a little further I'll ask our coaching team to give him some specialised training on his first touch and his strength.

Perhaps whilst Adriano is here it might be good to tutor him! If he can't do it on the pitch then maybe he can have a positive effect off it.