burdinho Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Hi all, I've started a new blog and written about my progress over the last ten years at Oxford Utd, and Im now into my 11th season. I've written about LLM and the steps I've taken to build the club up from the bottom. Any comments or feedback very welcome https://hungrylikedewulf.wordpress.com/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdinho Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Welcome to my FM16 blog, and also to my first FM16 blog post. I've been thinking about writing about FM for a while now, as I am a long-term fanatic (and beyond help) like many other people. I should add that I have been inspired by the huge range of content out there, and the wonderful FM community adds so much more to the game itself. For example I have made sporadic posts on Tifo Project, the SI forums and I am a regular listener to The Deep Lying Podcast Background I am currently in 2026 - ten and a half seasons into the game with Oxford at the summit of the English game. In previous versions of FM, I had played as a journeyman manager, offering myself for new jobs when I fancied a change of scenery. However in this game, I thought about doing LLM and building a club from the ground up. I admit that League 2 in England isn't the lowest that I could have gone, but I wanted to choose a club that would allow me a fighting chance of eventually, climbing into the Premier League. I have always had a soft spot for Oxford, and so my choice was made. I've never been one for starting at a top club with large resources because I prefer a harder challenge. I wouldn't claim to be a tactical genius either, but this is simply a side of the game that you can't ignore. As I touched on earlier, the community has so many amazing resources that you can't help but learn and improve and I certainly feel more confident now that my tactics are evolving properly and that I'm able to adapt to certain situations. What can you expect from this blog? Quite simple really - posts about: How I've built the club up and thoughts on LLM Transfer market activity and general recruitment How I've built and developed tactics Match analysis Why the blog name? This is quite simple. I have an amazing regen called Stan Dewulf who is simply the best ever player I've had on any FM game. Take a look for yourselves: I'll talk about Dewulf a great deal as I continue to build up the blog. To summarise, here is the progress that I've made since taking over the club and there is a very pleasing symmetry to it: Part 1: What did I have to start with? Assessing the club So at the start of FM16, Oxford are in L2 with an OK budget and are one of the more favoured sides in the division. But when you start a new job, either at the beginning of the game or if you are hired into a new role, there is literally so much to do and this is the time to stamp your authority and personality on the club. Ultimately, you want to build something and put plans in place to bring that to fruition. At the start of the game, here are a few screens to showcase various aspects of the club: Performance over the last ten years Club overview Club facilities Meet the players And finally the staff: This is probably a good time to talk about the type of club I was looking to build and what my aims were. Some players I know aren't necessarily that fussed about that side of things, but as I touched upon in the opening post, I wanted to do a one club save and build a club from the bottom up. So here were my opening objectives: Take Oxford through the leagues and grow them as much as possible Build the club up through youth. However, this hasn't really been a screaming success; it has happened more through player acquisition than youth development and the latter is something that I am trying to improve. Improve the club infrastructure where I can - you can see from the facilities screens that the club isn't swimming in money, but I've been able to improve the training facilities, youth recruitment and youth facilities since the start of the game. Regarding staff, hire as many technical experts as possible with attributes as close to 20 in their specialism. These do cost money but I was able to hire staff with around 17/18 at the start of the game, so thankfully this was one element I was able to improve very quickly. Develop a squad with very strong mental 'primary' attributes: determination, work rate, bravery, teamwork. Other technical mental attributes, which I call 'secondary' would have to come later, i.e off the ball, vision, leadership and composure because these cost a lot of money! Build an identity featuring an aggressive style of football. Not particularly route one or tiki taka, but somewhere in between. The style has to be more agricultural at lower levels and then you can refine as you hire better players. I have always had a strong preference for fast, direct and aggressive players on the flanks, with a technical 'quarterback' (or 2) who would dictate play and move into the space that my runners had created. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdinho Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Ok so when taking a new club on FM, there is obviously so much to do. But if you have a clear strategy in your mind about what you want to do, that's half the fun. The other half is hoping you get taken over by some filthy rich investors! So when taking over somewhere new, based on the type of club I was looking to build, I look at: Squad mental attributes Squad technical attributes Their contracts Staff Make as many demands as possible with the Board to see what I could get away with Tactics and transfers don't really come into my thinking yet because I focused on sorting the club infrastructure. Training is but a distant pipedream at the moment. As I mentioned in part 1, I wanted to build the club around mentally sound footballers and use that as a basis for a strong platform for the future. There's so much to do, but you have to be realistic about what you can achieve with a lower league budget. A reminder of how many light years we were away from achieving this: The squad personality is "fairly loyal" which really is of no use at all. The squad I have now in 2026 is highly professional and that's been a very conscious decision. So the first step is weeding out all the crap, basically. Kemar Roofe, Callum O'Dowda, Jake Wright, John Lundstram, Alex Mcdonald and Cameron Gayle would be the ones to stay. There were a few more but you get the idea - some hooks to try and at least get some platform. Some of the filler would have to remain, but I wasn't fussed about renewing their contracts. The rest I was able to gleefully agree a mutual contract termination. The kitty was at zero - I was under no illusion that loans and freebies would be all I could achieve in the first two seasons, at the least. Once I knew who I wanted to keep, including those who would be squad players, I sorted out their contracts to keep hold of the highest valued players. This is also a good chance to review each player's squad status. In terms of staff, I wasn't allowed to bring a large entourage into the club but I made sure that I hired the highest possible attributes for the specialisms. Tactics coaching, Defending, GK and Fitness. I made sure that when creating my profile I was 20 for Attacking to save on another wage. So lots to do here - scouting staff and finding an AssMan that would be willing to work in L2. Mental attributes that help to build and develop the squad personality I'm looking for are: Determination Discipline Working with youngsters - as this was an element I was looking to build upon. If hiring from abroad, then Adaptability is also important Sorting out players and staff took hours - but then again it should do if you do it properly. It is really all about trust - who do you trust to carry out your instructions on the field, and which staff do you trust to develop your players in the best possible way. This obviously gets much easier when you rise up the divisions and your budget increases - but at this stage I was forced to compromise a great deal. Finally for this part, the Board. This is tough, at the start of the game with no CV to speak of, your demands are laughed at. It took a title win in my first season to build some relationships with the Board, but all of my initial demands were rejected. The facilities, stadium, youth recruitment and pitch were all in dire need of an upgrade. However this would have to wait until I had more credibility. If you're lucky enough to take over a club with a reputation, then you absolutely must make these demands to get the best facilities you can - they do make a difference. So to summarise - the initial few hours are spent: Reviewing all aspects of the squad and whether they match up to your DNA. Sorting out their contracts, reviewing the filler, and getting rid of the dross. Reviewing the staff - same as above. Trying gainfully to get a helping hand from the Board. In the next part I'll look at recruitment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdinho Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 As mentioned above, I'd identified the style I wanted to play, the players that I had to keep, the ones who I needed for numbers, and the players I had to get rid of. I should add that I also evaluated the staff and scouting network; even though the transfer kitty was zero, scouts do contribute to your player search results so it's definitely worth getting them in if you can. Judging Potential rather than Current ability has always been more important for me; and when allied to determination, you have the ingredients for a good scout. I started by scouring the market for frees and loans, this was my first season: Very uninspiring from first glance, but what I'd identified was a lack of technical players, pace and also physical brute force at the back. This is critical for L2. Satka had the ingredients for a solid L2 defender: Barmby, Trickett-Smith and Jones gave me some technical ability in the centre and out wide: The first window however is very unsatisfying and full of frustration because with LLM, you're often tempted by players just out of reach and those who shut the door in your face. I was looking to play a 4231, 442 and a 41221 system, so I needed pace on the flanks, players who wouldn't baulk at the sight of a football, and solid professionals at the back who wouldn't let me down. I also had Alex Mcdonald and Kemar Roofe to support Barmby and I started to think I would have a chance. To sum up, I was looking for these key attributes: Acceleration and pace Passing, technique or first touch from my creative players Determination, bravery and work rate Solid defensive attributes from my journeyman defenders - ball-playing defenders were not high on the agenda at this stage. I think that a rating of 12-14 is very desirable in L2 but you do have to compromise. As I said, trust is absolutely key but you have to forego your principles somewhat at this level until you rise through the divisions. You have to back your CBs to defend for your life, and equally, back your creative players to supply the ammo to your strikers. At this level, it's a question of how willing you are to accept mediocrity! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdinho Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 OK time for some progress updates and how this theory actually played out in practise. In this part I wanted to update my progress since taking over at Oxford United in L2, at the start of the game in 2016. There's little value in going over each season in granular detail but I thought it would be useful to tell the story of how I got the club to rise up the divisions. League 2 (2015-16) After the process of laying the foundations that I wrote about in parts 1 and 2, and stepping into the labyrinthian world of the modern transfer market (part3) it was time to build a tactics and put the early plans I had made into action. The formations I made were pretty standard. Firstly a 4141 which served me very well, based around a Counter mentality: The aim of this was to keep the team solid, and use the pace on the flanks to break quickly. I played some of my best football with this system, particularly as I began to rise through the leagues. Luckily as highlighted in part 3, it is fairly easy to loan players with pace and I find that tactic works well in the lower leagues. I didn't spend any money until my second season and even then, most of my spend was on loan fees funded by a few sales. The roles in the 4141 were altered somewhat - I often had the right CM as a CM(A) - probably my favourite role and duty in the game. It can be devastating - as my hero Stan Dewulf has come to show. I would then have a winger on each flank with either a Support or Attack duty depending on the situation. At lower levels I didn't want my full-backs progressing too far up the pitch, so they were given FB roles and either Defend or Support depending on the match situation. The second formation has become a favourite of mine throughout the FM series: I believe this system has so many options and although predominantly attacking, this can be tuned up and down depending on the match. Again the CM-A is a key component of this tactic, and when working with the F9 who naturally comes deep, they form a potent combination that can unsettle defences. They are supported on the flanks by a winger or IF, this depends more on the player and how much a threat I believe they can pose. Play is dictated by a DLP in the other CM position; I do prefer a naturally right and left footer if possible in these two positions but that's not always possible. However I've found a great trio in my current season which works really well. Further back in the DM strata, I used a DM-S in the lower leagues but I've really come to love the Half Back role but believe this works better with better technical players. I've been lucky enough to find a superb player in this role in my 2026-27 season. For both systems there were commonalities between the match instructions: I wanted a pressing game, to prevent GK distribution, to work the ball into the box (as I had above average technical players for the division) and look for overlap when I needed more variation. In the 4141 the instructions were more geared around supporting the Counter, but I generally use pretty consistent match instructions. At the lower levels I didn't alter the PIs too much - but I gave my keeper instructions to distribute the ball to the full backs. One of my pet hates in football also in FM is a hopeless kick down the field from a keeper, so I prefer my FBs to offer this short option, whilst trying to force the opposition to kick downfield. Performance on the field I had a really enjoyable season and ended winning the title comfortably, claiming 93 points, 8 points ahead of 2nd. 2. League 1 (2016-2018) My promotion meant that I had something to build on but cash was still very tight. I made a couple of purchases who were very key and everything I was looking to bring into the club particularly in the lower leagues: I was able to make the signings of Barmby and Jones permanent and the eagle-eyed will spot Marcus Rashford in there. He had good pace and finishing ability but I'll admit to being slightly underwhelmed. The two key signings were Carl McHugh, Terry Kennedy...fantastic loans for me were Shenton, Wilson and Darnell Furlong It's worth pointing out again what I needed in terms of personality: Determination Teamwork Bravery Work rate I couldn't believe my luck when I was able to get McHugh for such a good price - I knew that he would serve me well in coming years in terms of tutoring/mentoring. But right now, he ticked all of the above boxes apart from bravery - but I couldn't let that put me off. The other players gave me the technical attributes I was looking for; Shenton is a good creative midfielder in the lower leagues with an aggressive streak; Wilson has pace on the flanks and Terry Kennedy is another rock-solid performer at CB. Performance on the field I set out not to be bullied and so it proved. I ended the season in 5th, using the tactics outlined above. However heartache followed in the play-off final, with an unlucky defeat to Charlton. I was only expected to aim for a mid-table place, but I was happy with the season overall. The following season went much better, and I had more flexibility in the transfer market: The two standout signings there were Nyatanga and Sam Hutchinson. Both wanted relatively high wages, but I was able to get rid a lot of the deadwood in the squad which gave me more options. Nyatanga is a very versatile defender at L1 level and was a better defender than I already had at the club. I like left-footed players because it provides a much better balance particularly in defence and I don't like lower-league players having to use their weaker foot because the results are often not very pretty. I was very pleased with the capture of Hutchinson on a free because I now had versatility at the back as well as players with determination in spades. He could provide cover at RB, CB and at DM. His aggression and bravery were something I particularly liked. So now in my third season, I had amassed what I was looking for, albeit at L1. I was lucky that the Board agreed to upgrade the training facilities, as well as a small stadium expansion - 600 extra seats - I kid you not... Performance on the field With the team settled and able to both scrap and play good football when required, promotion was achieved relatively easy, with a comfortable 2nd place finish. As well as the two tactics outlined above, I was able to introduce a 442 system that gave me more options and potency up front. I still had Roofe, Mcdonald, Barmby and Wilson causing havoc on the flanks, and Danny Hylton, Jordan Bowery and Callum O'Dowda (not as good as in real life) firing the bullets. This was built on a very solid defensive platform and the attacking dynamism combined well the grit, physicality and aggression of McHugh, Hutchinson et al. Onto the Championship in the next post. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdinho Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Above I wrote about getting out of League One at the second attempt. Now the time for the championship had arrived, which is when you finally get to swim with the bigger sharks and the blood-sucking leeches, aka football agents. I wasn't expected to achieve much in my first season at this level; avoid relegation was the Board's target to me. With my core infrastructure in place, and the Board feeling a little more trusting, I was finally able to get the training facilities upgraded from Sunday league to at least Saturday afternoon standard... I also took the chance to refresh the staff; in this league there is much more capacity to attract coaches with 18-20 attributes - I was able to bring in a few of these to give the squad some additional support. My pre-season routine also revolves around sorting contracts as I highlighted in the early part of the blog My first season included the following deals - actually not huge amounts of business: These options gave me some additional flair on the flanks, I was happy with the Willock signing, whilst Tierney gave me some solidarity after the departure of Skarz. As I was progressing through the lower leagues quickly, I also had to ditch more deadwood, and any fee I generally accepted - but I was one season away from being able to spend close to a million pounds. This first season was all about survival, and I achieved it by finishing 17th in a fairly unremarkable season with solid if unspectacular performances. The Board were very happy with this and I felt that I would be able to build on this next season and edge towards the Premier League, albeit next season would ultimately be too soon. Season 2 in the Championship probably remains my favourite in the game because I was able to make some great moves in the market. Again I took the chance to move some staff out, and brought in John Mjallby as my Assistant. I was able to upgrade the training facilities again, whilst adding to the capacity slightly. The pitch was relaid, and I felt confident I could make some inroads into the Division. The time had come to say goodbye to many of my L1/L2 stalwarts, with McDonald, Terry Kennedy and Nyatanga waving fond farewells. Easily the largest bit of business was the sale of Kemar Roofe to Wolves for £1.5m which, added to my second year of increased TV revenue, gave me some clout in the transfer market. Some very key signings were: These five signings really pulled me into the higher echelons of the league. With the signings of Iwobe, Cullen and Clarke, I injected some real pace into the side which made my 4141 Counter really click into place. In fact, it was this season that I fell in love with the Defensive Forward role, which Clarke did brilliantly, despite his average work rate. I regret not being able to bring him back for another season. Grimes also became a club legend and slotted well into CML as a DLP. Puccini was a very capable right back and I was again very solid, improving on my 17th position by ending the season in 10th. Season 3 (2020-21) was when I felt able to challenge with again more cash in the bank following the sale of Lulic to Huddersfield for £1.3m. I should add at this point that Bosmans were my favourite type of transfer. I eagerly awaited the Jan 1st to arrive, when I was able to make offers to players that would add significant value to the club. Again wherever possible, the players fulfilled the attributes I desired, only now I was able to be more demanding of their technical attributes too. I wanted midfielders with pace and vision, wide players with crossing and dribbling ability and defenders who were physical. The Football League is a very long slog and you need on average I would say, 2.5 players per position because a season ending injury is never far away in this game. My best signings were: Minelli was an excellent footballer, whilst Willock signed permanently this time. Marcellan arrived on another Bosman, but this time I had less loans. Again some more sales were important, as I didn't want to be burdened with wages for players unable to contribute at this level. The time had come to make a real impact in this league, in my fourth season. Very disappointingly I ended up one place outside the play-offs despite being 3 points clear at the top of the league at the beginning of March. But the momentum was building and I only needed one more opportunity to reach the promised land. Season 2021-22 was the culmination of some careful planning and luck in the transfer market. I was conscious that I had improved every season in terms of league position, and I felt that I had a genuine chance to make an appearance in the top 6. Here was my business that summer and I felt that every one, bar one or two, would make a significant contribution for the coming season: Once again, a net transfer profit of just under £4m, funded by the £3m sale of Del Fabro - a solid but ultimately no more than adequate defender who is unlikely to be good enough to bring promotion. That represented a £3m profit in twelve months, having signed on a Bosman the previous summer. I was also able to sell Hadzikic, an excellent GK, at a profit but at this stage Juventus were a much more attractive proposition than the soon to be mighty Oxford. Baier, Wozniak, Fusaro and Bentivegna would play a key role this season: All were technically excellent at Championship level in the role and position that they needed to be. I now had a very strong line-up, with Neufville providing great attacking options down the left, supported by Puccini on the other flank. Baier became a club legend in what was a very exciting season. I was able to stay around the top 4 at Christmas, but I had the nagging feeling that I was slipping away again and I needed to provide some fresh impetus. I now felt I had the basis for dictating games and let the opposition worry about my Oxford side. I therefore moved to a 4231 control strategy, which transformed my team overnight.Grimes and Minelli were DLP and CM-s respectively, but I had Bentevigna and Willock on the flanks, woth Fusaro sharing the striking duties. Going into the last 3 games, I was 2 points behind Southampton and West Ham, but managed to win the final 3 games quite handsomely and win the league on goal difference. It had taken seven seasons, but by the end of season 2021-22, Oxford were heading into the Premier League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdinho Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 So I had done it - above is an overview of my four seasons in the English Championship. From being a very small fish when I was promoted into the league to winning the league on goal difference on the final day, the challenge now was the same - to establish myself in a league full of clubs almost infinitely bigger than mine. It was the big league - and time to make some demands to the Board. The stadium was once again upgraded to its maximum capacity of 22,000 and the youth recruitment, youth training facilities and first team training facilities were upgraded another level too. I reviewed my Staff to bring in more specialists and also upgraded my Scouting to give myself more knowledge of world footballers. Scouting had never been a priority really up to now - but this would become one of the competitive advantages that I would use to compete against the better sides and bigger clubs. I want to summarise my progress in the Premiership fairly quickly so I can get into more detail about the modern day, but I'll give an overview of what I was looking for and the tactics I used This pre-season probably gave me the most work in the game - you are now required to also upgrade your mentality and think more strategically and more ruthlessly. When I wrote about trust earlier in the blog, now is the time you're able to bring in players and staff that you trust more, but not completely yet. My resources were a long way from being infinite and I still had to be careful, even though the purse strings had finally been opened. The desirable mental attributes that I wrote about earlier now became essential for any signing but I was able to much more explicit about the technical attributes that I wanted. So now what I was looking for were, over and above the mental attributes: Handling, Composure, Kicking, First Touch and Throwing for my goalkeepers Strength, Tackling, Positioning, Marking and Composure for defenders Acceleration, Pace, Tackling and Positioning for full-backs Passing and Vision for central midfielders Acceleration, Passing, Crossing and Pace for wingers/wide midfielders First touch and Technique for all midfielders and strikers Off the ball, Composure, Finishing for Strikers. So with my requirements finalised, my demands made to the Board and a new contract agreed, here is my first year's transfer activity: There are two absolutely key signings here who remain with the club today. A £600k signing from Man Utd Callum Gribbin, and a goalkeeper Antony Maisonnial. Gribbin has been a highly sought after player since I signed him four years ago, and has superb set piece skills, great passing, is left-footed and high Determination. Maisonnial has been a superb keeper for me despite a few transfer requests and had exactly what I was looking for. The GK position was something I urgently needed to address and I was happy to get this one over the line. My remaining business involved upgrading a lot of the squad but due to a budget of about £20-30m, I had to be selective about what I did. The 48 monthly installments tactic was (and still is) used extensively, and I was aggressive about filling the squad with quality season-long loans (with no recall option) to fill in where gaps remained. As you can see lots of outgoings and a lot of work involved - I recall this pre-season taking about one week to complete! My tactics were quite conservative and I will go into more depth when I get up to speed with the modern day, but Counter was a very important mentality for me because I couldnt yet open up to Dictate The Game (!) in the way I would eventually want to. I was able to end the seaosn in a very satisfying 13th place, with no real threat of relegation. You really do have to take some beatings at this level in your first season, and I was no exception. Season 2023-24 continued in the same vein, with more cash allowing me to upgrade players, rinse and repeat. I did experience and survive a takeover during the season, which I was very relieved about - I hadn't survived a change of ownership in previous versions of FM. However the situation didn't have any major impacts on the game, as the new owners continued the previous regime's levels of investment into the transfer kitty, which was funded mainly by TV money. I ended the season in 8th and I was very happy with this progress over two seasons in the Premiership. Surviving the takeover was a relief as I wanted to continue the good work. This was my transfer activity for the second season: I still have Renouf, van der Struis and Douglas Baggio at the club. Alain Prost was a superb DM but left the following season when Man Utd activated his £33m release clause. These days are certainly a long away from those of Carl McHugh..... So it really was a story of building up the squad sensibly without going too crazy in the market. I was happy with the final league position, as it would give me an even better platform on which to build for the following season. Season 2024-25 was a very satisfying season as I was able to qualify for my first taste of continental football the following season. I ended the season in 5th, and I was frustrated since I led the table by 5 points going into the end of the January transfer window. I was able to negotiate another upgrade to the training facilities at a cost of £44m which brought them up to their current status of "Impressive". Youth recruitment was expanded and I brought in a new Assistant Manager. His stats are decent but I'm looking for an upgrade at the end of the season. Here is my other activity: The main man - Stan Dewulf - was now in the building. As stated at the very outset, he is the best player I've ever managed in the game - simply astonishing attributes and has been the source of many admiring glances across the globe. I have rejected over 20 bids for him; in his current contract he has a release clause of £66m and that's the only way he'll be leaving the club: He simply ticks every box - physical, technical and mental and is the perfect age too. He is the creative heartbeat of the team and luckily he hasn't been hampered by any major long-term injuries to date. Other signings in the window were: Collins was certainly one for the future but has progressed very rapidly. Feberovich was a beast of a player arriving for only £5m, and dovetailed well with Gribbin's set piece ability. Rosania is still with the club and is a very dependable CB, whilst Stolic is a superb DLP and often rotates with Gribbin. At £20m I thought he represented good value and remains with the club. All in all the squad is a million miles from when I took over and it was time to be more aggressive on the pitch. I was now able to beat the bigger sides regularly, although Man Utd to this day remain the only side I have been unable to conquer. Qualification for the Champions League play-off was achieved! Season 2025-26 required more investment in the squad and several of the staff left the club. The Board had given me authority to expand and significantly overhaul the coaching staff, so I set about releasing staff with attributes less than 18 in their respective specialisms. In a major development, the Board announced plans to build a new 28,000 stadium, funded by a rather large loan. My transfer activity: I was very happy with the core of the squad, so Bosman signings were now becoming increasingly rare. I signed Acar, Visser and Troyansky who are now pillars of the club, along with Dewulf. I love Acar's versatility, though I have settled on him playing the Half-Back role. Visser is a superb WB whilst Troyansky has those enviable attributes of finishing power, strength and pace: The season started with the play-off against Porto. However to my abject disappointment I lost the tie on away goals and had to settle for the Europa League. This was satisfactory but obviously the CL would have given me significantly more revenue. In my current season I have promised most of these stars that I will either win the league or qualify for the CL - so the pressure is much greater. I ended the season in 5th place - the first time in my Oxford career that I hadn't improved on my previous season, but of course that run had to end sometime! The Europa League ended in the second knockout round against Bilbao, again on away goals. Time to get to the current season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdinho Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Having finished last season in 5th, I had the foundations to really go on and build the team and squad from here. Now that I've brought the blog up to date, this is where we currently stand in terms of squad and overall club status at 2026-27: Over the Summer I was able to sign 2 solid CBs, Yoon Yoon from South Korea and an Englishman to top up my home-grown quota, Jonah Hodgkinson. I had the nagging doubt that my defence could still use some additional solidarity and that Rosania wasn't quite top notch, and I had sold Timo Gierke to Bayern for £30m, more than doubling my money over 12 months: As of 6/3/27 here is the current league table: Expectations for the current season are to qualify for the CL, compete strongly in the FA Cup and Europa League competitions. Things have been progressing well, although I led the table at Christmas. I remain in the FA Cup with a home tie vs Premiership Crystal Palace in the quarters, and my next game is the second knockout round of the Europa League. With my squad now very deep and exactly what I was looking for. I'll talk about my most recent game, a 3-2 win against Arsenal, perennial top 4 challengers who I had beaten 1-0 away in the reverse fixture. Here are the starting line-ups: The full-backs have support roles, with the penetration intended to come from Johansson the wide-left midfielder, Dewulf and van der Struis who is on a winger support role. Acar is my CM-D intended to break up Arsenal attacks and distribute to Dewulf primarily. Upfront we have Julio Baptista as a Defensive Forward and Troyansky as an AF-A. The first half ends 1-0 to Arsenal despite a fairly comfortable half with some good movement and penetration around the flanks: Arsenal on the left have made fewer key passes and their goal came from a cross, and was well taken. However I didn't feel as though Arsenal were bossing the game; the right hand side of the pitch shows that I created good opportunities particularly down the left (with Johansson on an attack duty) whereas van der Struis was on support. My shots were all on target apart from one and they were all inside the area. I wasn't overly concerned at HT. However the second half started somewhat soporifically, and I became frustrated around the hour when Arsenal scored their second goal on the Counter, and I felt the time had come to make changes. The graphic below shows that I created very little (right-hand side of the pitch) in the early part of the half compared to Arsenal: It was time to go to the new 3142 formation that I had built over the Summer, designed to be more attacking but with some solidarity at the back nonetheless. There are two key players to making this tactic a success - inevitably Dewulf and Acar who was moved to a half-back. From reading the forums and community posts, I sense that the half-back is a very under-used role. It provides defensive protection in the defensive transition, with the player moving into the backline. In the attacking transition however, the half-back steps forward and provides support and creativity to the midfield strata. Dewulf was moved into a CM-A role and duty to provide support and link up with the two strikers. This is the most attacking of the systems that I use and whilst not gung-ho, there is a top-heavy feel to it: Since making the changes, I become more on the front foot with more penetration and key passes made centrally: Resulting in Troyansky pulling one goal back on 70 minutes, followed by these two absolute beauties to turn the match completely around in my favour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZcRrCUrdDw So 9 games left in the season with a major say in three competitions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdinho Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 I wanted to post briefly about my 3142 system, which is designed to give me attacking variations built around the fulcrum of the side, Stan Dewulf. The CM-A role is one of my favourite in the game, with the player given licence to play in the opposition half. A reminder of Dewulf's attributes: He can be played anywhere - but I like him in this system particularly - he is told to simply go and wreak havoc by making late runs into the box. Throughout my time at Oxford I have spent developing player preferred moves or PPMs - and in this system his PPMs are very complementary. "Gets Into Opposition Area" and "Tries Killer Balls" often are ideal - sadly I can't seem to shift. He can also get beyond the DLF Baptista and link up with Troyansky, making the trio work well together. He is also supported on the wide right, meaning that the right flank isn't completely open to opposition counter attacks. On the left, the ML Johansson provides additional penetration, backed up by the DLP Gribbin and the HB Furkan Acar. In a match against Crystal Palace, I was struggling to create much and the game was quite evenly balanced on the hour mark. I had started with my 442 system, but moved to the 3142. Here was the immediate effect of the substitution - Dewulf ghosting beyond the oppo CBs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYhwefRE6OE Here he is in a similar match situation, I was needing a goal against Norwich and needed some more variety to my attack. Troyansky drops deep, creating space for Super Stan and plays a superb ball directly into that area. Dewulf applies the finish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sNqEPKviMA I have received over twenty bids for the player, but I refuse to sell. I simply wouldn't be able to replace him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burdinho Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Season summary: 2026-27 Having finished last season in 5th, I had the foundations to really go on and build the team and squad from here. Now that I've brought the blog up to date, this is where we currently stand in terms of squad and overall club status at 2026-27. Here is the current squad which I am delighted with: My standard and attacking formations for the year are as follows: Whereas the 4141 Counter system is designed to be more cautious whilst still providing attacking options from the flanks and centrally, primarily from Dewulf: Over the Summer I was able to sign 2 solid CBs, Yoon Yoon from South Korea and an Englishman to top up my home-grown quota, Jonah Hodgkinson. I had the nagging doubt that my defence could still use some additional solidarity and that Rosania wasn't quite top notch, and I had sold Timo Gierke to Bayern for £30m, more than doubling my money over 12 months. As of 6/3/27 here is the current league table: Expectations for the current season are to qualify for the CL, compete strongly in the FA Cup and Europa League competitions. Things have been progressing well, although I led the table at Christmas. I remain in the FA Cup with a home tie vs Premiership Crystal Palace in the quarters, and my next game is the second knockout round of the Europa League. With my squad now very deep and exactly what I was looking for. I'll talk about my most recent game, a 3-2 win against Arsenal, perennial top 4 challengers who I had beaten 1-0 away in the reverse fixture. Here are the starting line-ups: The full-backs have support roles, with the penetration intended to come from Johansson the wide-left midfielder, Dewulf and van der Struis who is on a winger support role. Acar is my CM-D intended to break up Arsenal attacks and distribute to Dewulf primarily. Upfront we have Julio Baptista as a Defensive Forward and Troyansky as an AF-A. The first half ends 1-0 to Arsenal despite a fairly comfortable half with some good movement and penetration around the flanks: Arsenal on the left have made fewer key passes and their goal came from a cross, and was well taken. However I didn't feel as though Arsenal were bossing the game; the right hand side of the pitch shows that I created good opportunities particularly down the left (with Johansson on an attack duty) whereas van der Struis was on support. My shots were all on target apart from one and they were all inside the area. I wasn't overly concerned at HT. However the second half started somewhat soporifically, and I became frustrated around the hour when Arsenal scored their second goal on the Counter, and I felt the time had come to make changes. The graphic below shows that I created very little (right-hand side of the pitch) in the early part of the half compared to Arsenal: It was time to go to the new 3142 formation that I had built over the Summer, designed to be more attacking but with some solidarity at the back nonetheless. There are two key players to making this tactic a success - inevitably Dewulf and Acar who was moved to a half-back. From reading the forums and community posts, I sense that the half-back is a very under-used role. It provides defensive protection in the defensive transition, with the player moving into the backline. In the attacking transition however, the half-back steps forward and provides support and creativity to the midfield strata. Dewulf was moved into a CM-A role and duty to provide support and link up with the two strikers. This is the most attacking of the systems that I use and whilst not gung-ho, there is a top-heavy feel to it: Since making the changes, I become more on the front foot with more penetration and key passes made centrally: Resulting in Troyansky pulling one goal back on 70 minutes, followed by these two absolute beauties to turn the match completely around in my favour: Nine games left in the season with a major say in three competitions. So the final results are in - a second place finish in the league: Man Utd had a couple of poor results, but then I outdid them in this department - a couple of awful home performance resulting in defeats to Bradford and Peterborough. Six points in those would have taken me to the title. However it was a different story in the cups, with wins in the Europa and FA Cup: Beating Chelsea 2-0 in the Europa final was very satisfying because, aside from Man Utd, they have been a thorn in my side since getting promoted. I did however manage a league double over them this season so hopefully that particular Indian sign has been laid to rest. The FA Cup Final was a tough match against Championship Cardiff - one of those games of dominance when the ball refuses to go in, but finally my persistence paid off. There was a transfer embargo placed upon me following takeover rumours, but the deal collapsed. Budgets are set for £25m for the following season. However the Dewulf saga rumbles on...he is now determined to leave. Here are his stats at the end of the 26-27 season, with his value standing at £44m: My resolve will be sorely tested over the Summer, with Real and Man Utd sniffing. However I have resolved that he will only leave when his £66m clause is activated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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