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Caixa Futebol Academy: Youth Development & Adapting Tactics


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Season 2027/28: Changing of the Guard

Another strange season. By no means a disaster, but the feeling of melancholy around the Estadio de Luz continued.

As I have said in previous updates, it's difficult to portray using screenshots but we are struggling to reach the same standard as in previous seasons.

My own analysis is:

  • I think we have lost some balance, selling Gedson Fernandes in order to shoehorn in another creative midfielder into the side was a mistake.
  • Possibly a motivation issue, most of the squad has won everything. There have been no reports of issues, but players who looked previously invincible have somehow lost their edge.
  • Perhaps the slightly older legs are struggling to deal with the intensity which we play.

We bounced around through a lot of different formations, but mostly found ourselves using a 4-2-4 variant similar to the set-up employed during our peak a few seasons back.


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We played our best football with Valentim on the left and Alexandre Lisboa forced his way into the XI and was actually our best player.

This also opened the door - albeit with a note of sadness - to move two club legends on to pastures new.


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Despite the feeling of melancholy, we still dominate domestically.


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However in Europe we tripped out of the Champions League in the quarter finals to a last minute goal from Manchester United.


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I have an idea where to go next, the next summer is going to be a massive transfer window. The squad still feels a little bloated and we still a little bit unbalanced, but I think that now we are in striking distance of a fix.

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Edited by Ö-zil to the Arsenal!
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28 goals and 0 conceded is an astonishing number. Do you think this is largely due to the quality of players Portugal has compared to other national teams or more so the system they're playing in? It all seems a little too easy for you @Ö-zil to the Arsenal!:lol:

 

Another question, if you don't mind, how do you tend to balance your youth squads? There isn't always an influx of 11 U19s joining the U23s (for example), so how do you decide between having enough players per position & loaning out players who need to develop? I find myself loaning out too many players and then having an unbalanced squad, but I can't help but feel those players need the game time. My temporary solution has been to sign stop-gap players on relatively small fees for a couple of years.

Edited by milestobudapest
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Great read as always. As you are heading towards a "more interesting" season, I would like to see some in-game tweak (or pre-match preparation) examples, especially when you are playing away against strong sides. I always find it difficult to get satisfying results in such matches without adapting my tactic. For example, I once played a controlling 433 with an attacking mentality in Parc des Princes when managing Man Utd but got torn apart by PSG. However, in your thread PSG has been a victim of your attacking football multiple times.  Could you please share some thoughts on making your tactic and philosophy work against strong opponents? Thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 18/01/2021 at 18:11, robot_skeleton said:

These posts are so great! As you will be rebuilding, can we expect a bit of a tactical post as well, where you highlight what the issues were and how you corrected them?


Yes, precisely. I intend to take a little bit more time on the next post.

So far this thread has covered the upward trajectory of developing a high-potential, young team into a team of world beaters, then enjoying that success. The last two seasons have seen a a bit of stagnation and decline. Partly as a result of earlier success, the squad became a bit bloated with lots of players on big, big contracts and perhaps a degree of complacency crept in. Simultaneously, letting Gedson Fernandes go in order to shoehorn another creative midfield player into the side was a tactical mistake. We lost balance and play became congested.

The Portugal national team played as well as ever at the 2028 European Championship by taking a step back and playing a more pragmatic possession based style and a simple 4-3-3 shape. Now I intend to apply this lesson back to Benfica.


 

On 18/01/2021 at 18:55, milestobudapest said:

28 goals and 0 conceded is an astonishing number. Do you think this is largely due to the quality of players Portugal has compared to other national teams or more so the system they're playing in? It all seems a little too easy for you @Ö-zil to the Arsenal!:lol:

 

Another question, if you don't mind, how do you tend to balance your youth squads? There isn't always an influx of 11 U19s joining the U23s (for example), so how do you decide between having enough players per position & loaning out players who need to develop? I find myself loaning out too many players and then having an unbalanced squad, but I can't help but feel those players need the game time. My temporary solution has been to sign stop-gap players on relatively small fees for a couple of years.


The Portuguese national team is probably the best team in the game at the moment. The entire team is right in it's prime and there's a huge amount of depth. Almost the entire squad is at Benfica, Real Madrid, Bayern, Barcelona, Juventus, PSG, Man Utd or Man City.

As mentioned above, the tactics are a little more pragmatic than previous years. Switching the team mentality to Control instead of Overload made the style a bit more manageable for a squad where the majority now have a decade of top level football in their legs. I noticed an immediate change and really liked that style.

Re your question on young players - yes, most years I find myself signing at least 5-6 young players for the U18s. Our youth intakes are extremely variable, but I don't normally get more than 3-4 players of the required quality. Many of the players in the first team were actually signed at 15-16 from another club.

I also scout South America heavily and look at 17 year olds as they are about to turn 18 (at which point they can sign for us) and bring them in to the B Team. Most of these end up behind the players developed at the club in terms of development but can be developed for a year or two and either reach the first team or be sold.


 

On 20/01/2021 at 03:18, gubei2001 said:

Great read as always. As you are heading towards a "more interesting" season, I would like to see some in-game tweak (or pre-match preparation) examples, especially when you are playing away against strong sides. I always find it difficult to get satisfying results in such matches without adapting my tactic. For example, I once played a controlling 433 with an attacking mentality in Parc des Princes when managing Man Utd but got torn apart by PSG. However, in your thread PSG has been a victim of your attacking football multiple times.  Could you please share some thoughts on making your tactic and philosophy work against strong opponents? Thanks!


Through the majority of the save, I haven't had to make too many game-by-game changes. I have instead preferred to gradually develop a style over a number of years. For example:

  • We started out with a Highly Structured, Control system which suits young, technical players who are perhaps still a little bit raw in their development.
  • We gradually became more Fluid (Very Fluid :D) when players developed their anticipation, vision and decision making to play with more autonomy.
  • We then began increasing the Team Mentality to become more expansive whilst maintaining a possession focused approach.
  • The emergence of Leao as a world class AM caused a shift from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-4 shape.
  • The squad peaked playing Overload and were able to utterly dominate anyone in Europe for quite a number of years.
  • Lately the squad struggled a little more with this intensive style so the Euro 2028 tournament was a successful experiment being a bit more pragmatic and returning to Control mentality.
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Do you think the top sides in Europe changed the way they played against you through the years as you became more and more dominant?  If even the best squads sat in deep defensive blocks that might also explain your intense style becoming slightly less effective?

I only say this because it seems to happen a little to me in a top league after a few seasons of dominance and unless your players' ability continues to rise to meet the challenge, then playing on a lower mentality seems necessary.

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17 hours ago, KingRoyston said:

Do you think the top sides in Europe changed the way they played against you through the years as you became more and more dominant?  If even the best squads sat in deep defensive blocks that might also explain your intense style becoming slightly less effective?

I only say this because it seems to happen a little to me in a top league after a few seasons of dominance and unless your players' ability continues to rise to meet the challenge, then playing on a lower mentality seems necessary.


It's difficult to say. Lots of more pragmatic coaches have risen to the top so it's difficult to say whether they're adapting to our success, or that's just how they play.

  • Mourinho is at PSG.
  • Allegri at Chelsea.
  • Simeone at Barcelona.
  • Massimo Carrera at Man City.

Dortmund actually won the Champions League and Bundesliga last year with Ancelotti playing a reasonably pragmatic, but very well-balanced 4-4-2.

Guardiola has retired and Klopp is at Atletico Madrid, which I think would be a frightening prospect in real life but they don't have a strong enough squad to challenge.

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On 17/01/2021 at 16:16, Ö-zil to the Arsenal! said:

Before I begin, the big pre-Tournament move was the decision to move on Alex Pinto and Joao Felix for big money moves as they approach 30 years old.


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Euro 2028

Simplicity.

After similar frustrations crept into the Portuguese international set up, I decided to dial down the intensity of our play in an attempt to re-gain form.

  • We reduced the team mentality to Control
  • Lined up in a simple 4-3-3 with:
    • Jota, Felix, Embalo front 3.
    • Dantas, Costa and Valentim in an expansive midfield.
    • Alves and Gedson Fernandes providing width.
       

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Despite a recent dry run of form, this is a squad fully in it's prime. Just look at those average caps.. :lol:


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Quite simply, it worked. 28 goals scored, 0 conceded.


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After the sadness of seeing them move on, it's satisfying to see them back to their best. I apologise for the briefness of these posts, I think this 4-3-3 is fairly straight forward to anyone who has read the thread. The next season is going to be more interesting as I have a clearer idea of how to apply some of this back at club level and rebuild, so I wanted to get anyone still following up to speed.

Roll on World Cup 2030 :hammer:

Hi @Ö-zil to the Arsenal!, I've been trying to implement your "Total Football" tactic from the other thread at FM21 Arsenal quite succesful, but I'm trying to rely mostly on Hale End players (recreating your Caixa academy at Hale End:)) in the squad and Mez (s) - BBM(s) isn't working as I wanted, I'm trying to play Smith Rowe at Mez (s), but Mez (At) would suit him better.

Could you please share team instructions screen, and personal instructions from the tactic above?

Edited by Azariiix
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  • 2 weeks later...
13 hours ago, Ö-zil to the Arsenal! said:

 

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This is just incredible. :lol:

As a Liverpool fan, our inability to break teams down coupled with Pep's City looking so dominant has left me massively frustrated. It's also made me get back on FM to try and implement Guardiola's 433. I notice that you used it at the start of your current save when the squad was very young. The last time you showed it (pg 14) it was Highly Structured/Control with a midfield/forward line of DM/D/6, RPM/S/10, MEZ/A/16, W/S/11, SS/A/17, W/S/11. 

Following the move from Highly Structured to Very Fluid, I don't think we saw the "Pep 433" again. Is this because you just had more success/enjoyed the CWB/IF version of the 433 more? Or do you think the Pep 433 is better suited to the Highly Structured team shape regardless of the ability of the playing squad? I'd be really interested to know how you'd set up the Pep 433 you had your current team for example. Or, if I can be selfish, how you'd do it if you were using a natural #9 rather than a Shadow Striker! I've just started with AC Milan (on FM18) and I'd like to be able to implement this style if possible.

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Thank you for the kind words everybody :thup:
 

4 hours ago, ElJefe4 said:

This is just incredible. :lol:

As a Liverpool fan, our inability to break teams down coupled with Pep's City looking so dominant has left me massively frustrated. It's also made me get back on FM to try and implement Guardiola's 433. I notice that you used it at the start of your current save when the squad was very young. The last time you showed it (pg 14) it was Highly Structured/Control with a midfield/forward line of DM/D/6, RPM/S/10, MEZ/A/16, W/S/11, SS/A/17, W/S/11. 

Following the move from Highly Structured to Very Fluid, I don't think we saw the "Pep 433" again. Is this because you just had more success/enjoyed the CWB/IF version of the 433 more? Or do you think the Pep 433 is better suited to the Highly Structured team shape regardless of the ability of the playing squad? I'd be really interested to know how you'd set up the Pep 433 you had your current team for example. Or, if I can be selfish, how you'd do it if you were using a natural #9 rather than a Shadow Striker! I've just started with AC Milan (on FM18) and I'd like to be able to implement this style if possible.


I loved the 'Guardiola' 4-3-3/2-3-5 but I did move away from it fairly early on. As you correctly pointed out, I used it a lot in the early days in order to create a structure which allowed us to dominate games and punch well-above our weight in terms of ability at that time.

Actually despite the later success, I still rate those first two seasons as my greatest ever tactical achievement.

If you look back, you'll see that I used more structured systems when the squad was in development. We had technically gifted players, who were still developing their own decision making and general football intelligence so a structured system - accompanied by a shape which gives them positional superiority and passing triangles everywhere - basically makes the game much more simple for them. I basically see it as telling the players exactly what to do.

As the players developed and became more intelligent, we become more fluid and give more freedom to the players to make their own decisions.

It's more about player development than a particular shape in this case. In fact, fluid shapes are far easier to implement tactically (because they're naturally compact) but you have to have the players to make them work.

The decision of IWB/W vs WB/IF was also that in the earlier years, Grimaldo and Fernandes were far more developed than Embalo and Jota. In the IWB/W system, Grimaldo and Fernandes were given freedom to come inside and help control the game, whilst Emablo and Jota played very simply out wide and getting in crosses. Meanwhile they're picking up lots and lots of minutes and developing fast.

You'll notice we were winning a lot of games 1-0. It was very simple, methodical, machine-like football. I wouldn't play this with a top class team but it's acceptable when you have a bunch of 17 year olds dominating Europe's super clubs :lol:

The switch to WB/IF 4-3-3 was simply that Embalo and Jota developed to become quite threatening in attack and they had a far greater attacking output than the 'Free 8s' (something I have never quite got firing).

Then Leão came in and his ability forced the switch from 4-3-3 to 4-2-4 variants. At the time, I wasn't comfortable but now - particularly with the 3-1-6 attacking shape - this is probably my favoured system.

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5 hours ago, ElJefe4 said:

Or, if I can be selfish, how you'd do it if you were using a natural #9 rather than a Shadow Striker! I've just started with AC Milan (on FM18) and I'd like to be able to implement this style if possible.


On the natural No. 9. I've recently experimented with this with Mbappe at PSG (fancied a challenge :lol:) and played very similarly but pushing the SS(A) for AF(A) and then CF(A) as Mbappe developed.

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7 hours ago, Ö-zil to the Arsenal! said:

Thank you for the kind words everybody :thup:
 


I loved the 'Guardiola' 4-3-3/2-3-5 but I did move away from it fairly early on. As you correctly pointed out, I used it a lot in the early days in order to create a structure which allowed us to dominate games and punch well-above our weight in terms of ability at that time.

Actually despite the later success, I still rate those first two seasons as my greatest ever tactical achievement.

If you look back, you'll see that I used more structured systems when the squad was in development. We had technically gifted players, who were still developing their own decision making and general football intelligence so a structured system - accompanied by a shape which gives them positional superiority and passing triangles everywhere - basically makes the game much more simple for them. I basically see it as telling the players exactly what to do.

As the players developed and became more intelligent, we become more fluid and give more freedom to the players to make their own decisions.

It's more about player development than a particular shape in this case. In fact, fluid shapes are far easier to implement tactically (because they're naturally compact) but you have to have the players to make them work.

The decision of IWB/W vs WB/IF was also that in the earlier years, Grimaldo and Fernandes were far more developed than Embalo and Jota. In the IWB/W system, Grimaldo and Fernandes were given freedom to come inside and help control the game, whilst Emablo and Jota played very simply out wide and getting in crosses. Meanwhile they're picking up lots and lots of minutes and developing fast.

You'll notice we were winning a lot of games 1-0. It was very simple, methodical, machine-like football. I wouldn't play this with a top class team but it's acceptable when you have a bunch of 17 year olds dominating Europe's super clubs :lol:

The switch to WB/IF 4-3-3 was simply that Embalo and Jota developed to become quite threatening in attack and they had a far greater attacking output than the 'Free 8s' (something I have never quite got firing).

Then Leão came in and his ability forced the switch from 4-3-3 to 4-2-4 variants. At the time, I wasn't comfortable but now - particularly with the 3-1-6 attacking shape - this is probably my favoured system.

Yeah I'm a big fan of the system too. As good as rampaging wing backs are, there's something very appealing to me about having a dynamic front 3 supported by a couple of technically excellent, creative, attack minded midfield players. Would love to get the creative output of the 8s to real life David Silva/De Bruyne levels. 

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Was thinking something like this once the team is at the required level to give them greater fluidity/freedom. Mentalities are according to the calculator, but I think the 11 on the DLP might be an error, seems to be 14 in game. 

As much as your preference is to have your playmaker as the deepest midfielder, I was considering having a basic DM(d) at the base and going with an AP(s) or RPM(s) next to a Mez(s) in front of him, in the hope that it might give more creative license to the 8s. I think Ferna-Silva-KdB, for example, would more accurately be described as DM-RPM-Mez, rather than Ferna as a DLP. Literal translations of tactics do not always produce the patterns of play you expect in game though, so I'll have a mess around with this a bit more.

6 hours ago, Ö-zil to the Arsenal! said:


On the natural No. 9. I've recently experimented with this with Mbappe at PSG (fancied a challenge :lol:) and played very similarly but pushing the SS(A) for AF(A) and then CF(A) as Mbappe developed.

That's interesting, I hadn't even considered an Advanced Forward. I knew I needed something more attacking than a F9 as we won't have same threat from the wingers as we would from inside forwards, but I was thinking of going with DLF(A) to begin with as I was worried about him being isolated. A proper spearhead could be the way to go though, forcing the opposition back a bit further, allowing the wingers to really push high and wide and freeing up more room for 8s. 

Edited by ElJefe4
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Building a sustainable, modern 'Super Club'

In addition to tactics and youth player development, an additional dynamic of this save is about building a sustainable modern 'Super Club'.

By sustainable, I mean a club which is able to financially support a world class squad of players without being reliant on selling players every season. I don't mean necessarily having 'Galactico' - Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo esq - contracts, but paying players fairly in comparison to the other top clubs in Europe.

Transfer Revenue

To date, we have generated transfer profits of more than £2.23bn in comparison to our balance of close to £900m. I'm no accountant, but to me this suggests we remain extremely reliant on transfer revenue.


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One caveat is that due to the financial health of the club we are able structure our transfer deals to be paid in 4 instalments - 25% up front and then 25% per year for the next 3 years.

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The idea behind this is a) creating a steady stream of revenue, b) avoiding paying tax on large profits in one particular year and c) spreading our transfer revenue over 4 Financial Fair Play periods, rather than one.

On younger players, if there's no place for them in the squad I am happy to sell them at market rate but include sell on %s. However, this is far more hit and miss. One of the downsides of training professional players is they seem less likely to jump around. Vinicius Jr, Trincão, Xadas and Batista were all sold fairly young but have never moved since. A few newgens have also become world class at other clubs when there was no space for them at Benfica. Most top clubs in Europe have 3-4 ex-Benfica players.

Wages

4-5 years ago, our first wave of success presented us with a choice. When Dantas, Pinto, João Felix, Jota, Embalo etc etc were 24-26 years old and had won multiple Champions Leagues and a World Cup we had to either sell them - disbanding the golden generation, and missing out on their best years - or offer contracts that compete financially with the super clubs of Europe.

We chose the latter - and I am happy with that decision - offering 5-year contracts of £250k p/w plus bonuses to the first team.

During this period, we enjoyed the peak of our success however spending far out-stripped revenue and we had to sell players. Initially we cashed in on some younger players, and then 3-4 years into the 5 year contracts we started selling first team players as they hit 27-29 years old. Club finances, a drop in form and the sentimental component of wanting to give these players a couple of seasons in their prime in La Liga or the Premier League meant this felt like the right thing to do. 

The recent rebuild has enabled us to cut our wage bill to around £3m per week. 


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The Stadium

Benfica has now long been the most reputable club in the world and has built up a fan base to compete with the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool and intend to capitalise on this by building a 116,000 seater stadium (from 80,640 at the moment).


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I have actually never done this before. I have no doubt that this will involve a significant financial outlay, but am interested to see how this builds club finances.


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Sponsorship

I am putting this out there, in case of anybody has any insight on increasing Sponsorship revenue, or even simply how it works.

In the 2028/29 season - as the most reputable club in the world, winning every trophy and a side with multiple World Cup winners and the Balon d'Or holder - Benfica generated £46m in sponsorship revenue.


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This has not increased since 2021.


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In comparison, in 2018/19 at PSG we generated £405m in sponsorship revenue.


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Admittedly this was having won the Champions League and playing a Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Mbappe front line :lol: but still, nearly 10x more than Benfica seems off. Even before these signings, PSG generated £225m, and another £282m the year after.

At PSG I get a lot of messages like this:


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It seems to be that major transfers are a far bigger driver of Sponsorship, Merchandising and TV deals than on the field success.

 

Club Debt

We also still have this club debt which it looks like we will be paying interest on until the end of time :D


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Let me know if anyone's got any ideas, particularly about the Sponsorship/Merchandising revenue :thup:

Finally, here's something for any PSG fans to recompense for having their team beaten in final after final ;)
 

Spoiler

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PSG might not be the best example to compare to in terms of sponsorship income as they have wealthy owners which tend to pay over-inflated prices to them via other companies that they also own. The £89m kit sponsorship deal would probably not happen in a 'normal' market.

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On 22/02/2021 at 09:51, Ö-zil to the Arsenal! said:


On the natural No. 9. I've recently experimented with this with Mbappe at PSG (fancied a challenge :lol:) and played very similarly but pushing the SS(A) for AF(A) and then CF(A) as Mbappe developed.


I do enjoy playing an out and out number 9. Mbappe is starting to look a lot like Brazilian Ronaldo.


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11 hours ago, FJW said:

I would love to see how you play Mbappe, Neymar, Messi & Ronaldo together!


I play them as a front 4. One of the advantages of the 3-1-6 attacking shape is that you have space for 4 out-and-out attackers without compromising on control of possession or defensive structure.


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Messi and Neymar are given free roles, coming inside off their flanks. Ronaldo is a more physical focal point of the attack and Mbappe tears forwards and also holds up the ball for the other 3.


 

10 hours ago, brookie1402 said:

PSG might not be the best example to compare to in terms of sponsorship income as they have wealthy owners which tend to pay over-inflated prices to them via other companies that they also own. The £89m kit sponsorship deal would probably not happen in a 'normal' market.


The PSG example is coincidental, mainly because I wanted to try out playing with Mbappe as an out-and-out centre forward and also wanted one last save with Messi - and quite surprisingly - a first save with Ronaldo.

There should be parallels as the French league is the same reputation as the Portuguese and the clubs - in my saves - have similar reputations. I didn't feel clubs in Spain, England, Germany or even Italy would be fair comparisons.

I understand the comment about the inflated sponsorships, but what about the new european TV deals that kept popping up?

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Flashback: 2026 Champions League Final

Whilst I am on better internet, I wanted to share a few highlights from the 2026 Champions League Final which - in my opinion - was the apex of the original Benfica 'Golden Generation'. Enjoy! :applause:

Tiago Dantas, João Felix, Umaro Embalo, Jota, Gedson Fernandes, Alex Pinto and Florentino Luis; all from the starting academy, all at their peak. Also tactically you can see the idea for the 4-2-4 with a 3-1-6 attacking shape starting to come together.
 

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That’s some lineup with PSG. I thought the front four were great but the central midfield pairing and defense is just as good lol. Curious about what you said earlier in regards to mbappe role. How different was his goal record after you switched from advanced forward to complete forward? And at what point did you decide to make the switch? 4-2-4 is my favorite formation and this year for whatever reason I am having difficulty getting a sole striker to score the majority of the goals. 

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13 hours ago, Ö-zil to the Arsenal! said:


I do enjoy playing an out and out number 9. Mbappe is starting to look a lot like Brazilian Ronaldo.


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I play them as a front 4. One of the advantages of the 3-1-6 attacking shape is that you have space for 4 out-and-out attackers without compromising on control of possession or defensive structure.


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Messi and Neymar are given free roles, coming inside off their flanks. Ronaldo is a more physical focal point of the attack and Mbappe tears forwards and also holds up the ball for the other 3.


 


The PSG example is coincidental, mainly because I wanted to try out playing with Mbappe as an out-and-out centre forward and also wanted one last save with Messi - and quite surprisingly - a first save with Ronaldo.

There should be parallels as the French league is the same reputation as the Portuguese and the clubs - in my saves - have similar reputations. I didn't feel clubs in Spain, England, Germany or even Italy would be fair comparisons.

I understand the comment about the inflated sponsorships, but what about the new european TV deals that kept popping up?

First up, I love the shape that you have here. Strangely, I think it is one that the Manchester United squad on FM18 could work with - Sanchez for Neymar, Lukaku for Ronaldo, Martial for Mbappe and Mata for Messi. Pogba obviously and Matic or Blind in the HB role.

As for the sponsorship, I looked on a save where I was 4 years in at United and I was getting around 240m per year, small increases year on year. I had Dybala and a fair few wonderkids in my ranks, alongside Pogba and Sanchez still. I think it might be something that is baked into PSG - a bit like real life where a random company that totally has no links to the owners whatsoever (honest Mr Fifa) signs a contract that pays Neymars wages for the year. I dont know if FM is that complex at the board level, maybe something to ask the devs?

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What a beautiful 3-1-6 shape and always a pleasure to see Red ******** getting destroyed.

On the other hand, how is Leão only Light-Hearted and his First Touch 14? According to the player attributes, it seems like Lisboa - what a name for a Benfica player - is the main man these days.

 

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On 24/02/2021 at 16:52, kandersson said:

Yeah I hope a new edition of the 424 overload/very fluid will come back at some point :D. Found it particularly inspirational.


I imagine it'll feature again at some point, although not quite now. Control is suiting is well. That additional 5-10% possession per match is really saving the players legs when it comes to pressing. The age profile of the squad and the finances involved with building the new stadium mean we might still have some squad re-shuffling to do and that's easier with more pragmatic tactics. Getting back to Overload is the medium/long term idea though :thup:

 

On 24/02/2021 at 17:26, Pattric_b said:

That’s some lineup with PSG. I thought the front four were great but the central midfield pairing and defense is just as good lol. Curious about what you said earlier in regards to mbappe role. How different was his goal record after you switched from advanced forward to complete forward? And at what point did you decide to make the switch? 4-2-4 is my favorite formation and this year for whatever reason I am having difficulty getting a sole striker to score the majority of the goals. 


Didn't change at all. In fact I barely noticed a difference. All I noticed was that Mbappe became marginally more involved with linkup play.

Yea the double pivot is really great at PSG. Two strong, 6 foot+ midfielders and De Ligt in particular is a rock ahead of the defence.


 

23 hours ago, Garrlor said:

First up, I love the shape that you have here. Strangely, I think it is one that the Manchester United squad on FM18 could work with - Sanchez for Neymar, Lukaku for Ronaldo, Martial for Mbappe and Mata for Messi. Pogba obviously and Matic or Blind in the HB role.

As for the sponsorship, I looked on a save where I was 4 years in at United and I was getting around 240m per year, small increases year on year. I had Dybala and a fair few wonderkids in my ranks, alongside Pogba and Sanchez still. I think it might be something that is baked into PSG - a bit like real life where a random company that totally has no links to the owners whatsoever (honest Mr Fifa) signs a contract that pays Neymars wages for the year. I dont know if FM is that complex at the board level, maybe something to ask the devs?


Yes, I think one of the advantage of the 4-2-4 set up is that is allows you to squeeze in a lot of attackers in a balanced way which other systems don't allow.


 

22 hours ago, axelmuller said:

What a beautiful 3-1-6 shape and always a pleasure to see Red ******** getting destroyed.

On the other hand, how is Leão only Light-Hearted and his First Touch 14? According to the player attributes, it seems like Lisboa - what a name for a Benfica player - is the main man these days.

 


Nah, Lisboa is good but Leão is the top dog at the moment :lol:


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Lisboa is a well-rounded, hard working, intelligent forward who makes everything tick. Leão is an absolutely electric goalscorer who thrives playing off Lisboa. 

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6 hours ago, KingRoyston said:

Wow!!  Those are incredible numbers!!  Not sure I’ve ever had a player with over 50 in a season, let alone 108.

You must have played him almost every game?   So I guess he’s pretty durable also! 


Thank you. It's only recently I have cracked getting 100+ goal seasons. In this instance the team is very much built around Leão. He is playing in a side which is built to dominate ~60% possession in advanced positions and he is given an Attack duty and surrounded by incredibly intelligent, technical, creative players playing in Support duties.

Similar happened with Mbappe playing off Cristiano Ronaldo who was the focal point of the attack, with Messi and Neymar in very creative free roles.

Leão plays every league and Champions League game he's fit for and I do inflate his stats slightly by bringing him on for the last 30 minutes against weaker cup sides who are, by that time, tired.

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2 hours ago, Ö-zil to the Arsenal! said:


Thank you. It's only recently I have cracked getting 100+ goal seasons. In this instance the team is very much built around Leão. He is playing in a side which is built to dominate ~60% possession in advanced positions and he is given an Attack duty and surrounded by incredibly intelligent, technical, creative players playing in Support duties.

Similar happened with Mbappe playing off Cristiano Ronaldo who was the focal point of the attack, with Messi and Neymar in very creative free roles.

Leão plays every league and Champions League game he's fit for and I do inflate his stats slightly by bringing him on for the last 30 minutes against weaker cup sides who are, by that time, tired.

Hi - really enjoyed catching up with this thread in recent weeks. You've basically done precisely what I would love to do with Arsenal in my save - but failed/failing miserably. 

I know you've talked before about still using FM18 and preferring that versions Tactics Creator - but do you think that lovely 3-1-6 possession tactic would directly port to FM21 without being able to set the team as Structured overall. 

Either way, I am going to try and create it myself but welcome any thoughts you may have had...

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3 hours ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Hi - really enjoyed catching up with this thread in recent weeks. You've basically done precisely what I would love to do with Arsenal in my save - but failed/failing miserably. 

I know you've talked before about still using FM18 and preferring that versions Tactics Creator - but do you think that lovely 3-1-6 possession tactic would directly port to FM21 without being able to set the team as Structured overall. 

Either way, I am going to try and create it myself but welcome any thoughts you may have had...


Thank you for the kind words and good luck :thup:

Yes, I actually do think the 3-1-6 attacking shape should work fairly seamlessly in FM2021 as team shape isn't necessarily part of making the system work.

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7 hours ago, BrickCommo23 said:

Hi - really enjoyed catching up with this thread in recent weeks. You've basically done precisely what I would love to do with Arsenal in my save - but failed/failing miserably. 

I know you've talked before about still using FM18 and preferring that versions Tactics Creator - but do you think that lovely 3-1-6 possession tactic would directly port to FM21 without being able to set the team as Structured overall. 

Either way, I am going to try and create it myself but welcome any thoughts you may have had...

Its totally possible. BUT you need to make some changes. You cannot just copy paste the FM18 tactic and play with all Support duties. That won't work anymore. You need to think in terms of logical role pairs and combinations. 

For instance I am able to achieve 3-1-6 shape consistently with Sporting while playing this Brazilian-influenced 4-2-4. I am currently experimenting with a wide playmaker role on the right to create even stronger overload there. But even without that we can get 5-6 players close to opposition box. The trick is having very strong double pivot pair in midfield to hold position and make key passes to the forwards and wingbacks. 

 

 

Brazilian.png

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31 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

Its totally possible. BUT you need to make some changes. You cannot just copy paste the FM18 tactic and play with all Support duties. That won't work anymore. You need to think in terms of logical role pairs and combinations. 

For instance I am able to achieve 3-1-6 shape consistently with Sporting while playing this Brazilian-influenced 4-2-4. I am currently experimenting with a wide playmaker role on the right to create even stronger overload there. But even without that we can get 5-6 players close to opposition box. The trick is having very strong double pivot pair in midfield to hold position and make key passes to the forwards and wingbacks. 

 

 

Brazilian.png

I like the look of that, what are your player instructions on that if I may ask?

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2 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

Nothing special really. Except for close down more on the 4 forwards to replicate the split block. I just want to see how the tactic does with the default roles for now. 

Perfect the split block was exactly what I wanted to know.:thup:

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@Ö-zil to the Arsenal!
That PSG tactic is witchcraft! After taking a look at it the other day, I booted up a new United save just to see what it would be like. Safe to say I am impressed.

Defends like a 4-4-2, attacks like a 3-1-6, it's made Mata into Messi lite. In my 3 pre season games (no mark eastern European side, Gent and Bayern) I won all 3. The best part is, I have conceded 1 shot on target across all 3 games, a Robben long shot late in the second half. I beat a decent Bayern side 2-0 and it should have been more. I am once again sold on 2 strikers!

What I have found is that Mata especially will really come into central areas to hurt teams, with Valencia lurking as the wingback as the width. But then both track back and press amazingly. I just need to get Pogba to stop shooting from all angles.

 

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2029/30 Update

With a bit of time off work to relax and the squad in already in a good place, we have rattled through the 2029/30 season.

A big transfer bid from Chelsea for Ruben Cunha took care of our transfer revenue for the year. Bit of a shame to lose an academy prospect before hitting the first team but when you are able to negotiate £92m for a squad player, it's generally a good idea to take it.


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This deal meant we were able to keep the first team exactly the same.


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O Capitão

The main transfer decision of the summer was the decision to offer a big contract extension to club captain and legend Tiago Dantas which keeps him at the club until 33-years old at a whopping £300k per week.


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The reason for offering the big extension at the point where we have been selling other players is that I think Tiago Dantas might actually get better with age. As a holding Deep-Lying Playmaker Tiago Dantas' physical attributes are nice to have, but far from essential to his all round game. As a consummate professional in a league where we can easily manage his game time, I don't expect his ability levels to fall particularly fast. The idea is that as his physical attributes deteriorate with age but his ability levels remain high, his attributes should start to re-shuffle towards further improving his mental attributes which are far more beneficial for the role he plays.

That, and he's an absolute legend :lol:


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Results

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I always feel bad when I haven't got much to say tactically but it's just a continuation of last season's set up really.


Moving Forward

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The biggest dilemma I face right now is the contractual situation of Tiago Valentim.

We rejected £100m+ offers for him over the past few years but now he is 2-years from the end of his contract but a) we seem unable to renew his contract within the existing wage structure and b) at 28 years old we may need to sell before his value starts falling off.

Ruben Cunha was in line to take over from him, but has now gone to Chelsea so there's a small gap. George Mendieta, Alexis Uribe or Ruben Quiroga look like the most suitable replacements.

Behind them, the club academy is looking absolutely stacked :cool:


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Most likely going to make these decisions after the World Cup.

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@Ö-zil to the Arsenal! I never know which one of the 4 is, but I can never replicate something even close to what you have.

1. Player Quality - doubt it, since I have, for sure, the best players and adequate for the style of play

2. Player Instructions - since I tend to not use any

3. Player traits - since we might have different POV's on this

4. Match Engine - since I play FM21.

But it pains me to admit that I haven't managed to get even close to that type of play.

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17 hours ago, crusadertsar said:

Its totally possible. BUT you need to make some changes. You cannot just copy paste the FM18 tactic and play with all Support duties. That won't work anymore. You need to think in terms of logical role pairs and combinations. 

For instance I am able to achieve 3-1-6 shape consistently with Sporting while playing this Brazilian-influenced 4-2-4. I am currently experimenting with a wide playmaker role on the right to create even stronger overload there. But even without that we can get 5-6 players close to opposition box. The trick is having very strong double pivot pair in midfield to hold position and make key passes to the forwards and wingbacks. 

 

 

Brazilian.png

Thank you. As much as I would love to copy it - I thought that was probably going to be too easy/hopeful.

Will have a play and report back...

 

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@Ö-zil to the Arsenal! I'm interested to hear more about how you approach contracts and transfers:

 - How long before expiry do you typically renew a first team players' contract?

 - If you decide it's time to move a first teamer on, for example Jota - how do you go about getting maximum value for a transfer?   Do you list him, change his squad status, offer to clubs, or just wait it out for an offer to come naturally?  

 

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5 hours ago, KingRoyston said:

@Ö-zil to the Arsenal! I'm interested to hear more about how you approach contracts and transfers:

 - How long before expiry do you typically renew a first team players' contract?

 - If you decide it's time to move a first teamer on, for example Jota - how do you go about getting maximum value for a transfer?   Do you list him, change his squad status, offer to clubs, or just wait it out for an offer to come naturally?  

 


There are a few factors to consider:

  • The player's ability in relation to the rest of the squad.
  • The player's age.
  • The player's demands/interest in staying.
  • The financial state of our club.
  • Interest from other clubs.

As a general rule, when players are young I want them on as long contract as possible. Ideally I would extend every 2-years to allow the club to plan ahead. You can, of course, sell them during that period and will have a stronger negotiating position if they are contracted to you for longer.

As for the Jota example, I actually don't think I did get maximum value for the transfer. He's a multiple time World Cup and Champions League winner and could easily have attracted £100m+. If I wanted maximum value I'd have sold a year or two earlier but sometimes selling a player at the right time for the club can be more valuable than squeezing out that last £15-20m in transfer revenue.

Selling first team players requires planning as I think the most important thing is to get the timing right.

When a player turns 25, I will typically try to make sure he is on a 5-year contract. At that point, I think to myself, at some point within the next 4 years I have to sell this guy or offer an extension. Then I have time to develop his replacement or think about how the tactical system will change and start testing the water in the transfer market. Keeping an eye on which clubs are interested, whether they actually make offers and negotiating them up as much as possible. Often, clubs will chase certain players for 2-3 years before I let them go. 28 years old is a sweet spot to sell in my opinion. You've got a lot out of them at that point, it's a big relief for the wage budget and they still command a very healthy transfer fee.

Most difficult is selling a top player when a youngster has displaced them from the side unexpectedly. In those cases, time is not on your side. You have to move the player on before they become unhappy or the young player stagnates. In those cases you've just got to make the best of it and offer him out. Loans can be a backup if you don't get the fee you want, but I have noticed they're not a great way of increasing a players value.

My best advice would be to focus on the timing more than the fee. Selling a player at the right time can be worth more than the transfer fee itself. For example, compare selling a player at 25 for £100m+ maybe even more, however the replacement is a raw 2-star academy prospect with selling that same player at 28-years old for £60m and his replacement has now played 30-40 league games and maybe a loan and in those extra years you won 2 more Champions Leagues and the guy became a club legend.

Most recently I am having the opposite decision to make. It's that the transfer market is very strong and I have been getting unexpectedly massive offers for players yet to hit the first team. Ruben Cunha went to Chelsea for £92m when he was still some way behind Dantas in the pecking order. I am just facing a similar situation with Leandro Pereira and a £96m bid from Man City at 21 years old. These can mess up your contingency planning and you'll always have that 'what if?' feeling but I generally take them. I am generally happy to replace a squad player with someone from the academy and - if needs be - am happy to play with a smaller squad. That unexpected cash injection was a factor in the decision to take Dantas well into his 30s with a contract extension however does leave some work to do to eventually replace Braima Alves who just turned 28 with 3 years on his contract.

 

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2-1-7 shape is very interesting and one I been thinking about trying now I seen you have success with it. Although I would like to do a 4-2-4 diamond with a dmc and amc. Very risky and difficult to accomplish but with the right players as you have demonstrated, it’s possible. Well done winning every known trophy with essentially the same core for 12 straight years. I’ve just taken over man United in 2030 and the board have demanded I use the youth facilities for players so this thread has been very inspirational and for that reason I’m going to be developing and recruiting complete players through the academy. 

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