FM20 - Travelling slowly on Lorient Express

[Jogo Bonito]

4 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

He looks excellent! Got the personality changed as well I see. Not adding any PPMs to his game?

It's all natural changes so he deserves the credit for it (along with my coaches of course). I haven't put any effort in to learning any PPM and hadn't noticed a personality change until you mentioned it. Should that not now say 'fairly smug' or 'fairly rich' though? 

[karanhsingh]

9 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

It's all natural changes so he deserves the credit for it (along with my coaches of course). I haven't put any effort in to learning any PPM and hadn't noticed a personality change until you mentioned it. Should that not now say 'fairly smug' or 'fairly rich' though? 

  it probably should

[Hootieleece]

Le Fee is a decent player...lol

Hopefully he continues his development on his own...since Jogo seems to be taking a Laissez-Faire approach to player development.

[Jogo Bonito]

He doesn't need Le Grand Fromage messing around with his development 

Seriously though, that's why I pay lots of attention to all my other staff members, from first team down to Under 19 side. I motivate and man-manage plenty, they can do their thing on the technical training side.

[Hootieleece]

I personally like setting the PPM's for my Midfielders...especially the playmakers. 

I love creating Pirlo clones.

even though Palacios is a Messi clone.

[karanhsingh]

5 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Le Fee is a decent player...lol

Hopefully he continues his development on his own...since Jogo seems to be taking a Laissez-Faire approach to player development.

Haha  I like the way you put it 

[karanhsingh]

4 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

I personally like setting the PPM's for my Midfielders...especially the playmakers. 

I love creating Pirlo clones.

even though Palacios is a Messi clone.

Me too. I definitely like having someone in the side who dictates the tempo (of course should be capable of it as well) 

[Jogo Bonito]

@Hootieleece @karanhsingh OK, I buckled under pressure and asked him to learn 'dictate the tempo' PPM. Have not played any more games yet but will see what happens. Miroslav Klose doesn't seem like the right coach to teach a PPM to a central midfield player but in the game his attributes are perfect for the job so let's see how he does.

[karanhsingh]

24 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@Hootieleece @karanhsingh OK, I buckled under pressure and asked him to learn 'dictate the tempo' PPM. Have not played any more games yet but will see what happens. Miroslav Klose doesn't seem like the right coach to teach a PPM to a central midfield player but in the game his attributes are perfect for the job so let's see how he does.

Haha good to hear! Let us know how they get on. 

[Jogo Bonito]

FC Lorient - Season 2021/22

As April came, we had eight league games left and we sat in a lofty 4th position in Ligue 1

We also faced CFR Cluj over two legs in the Quarter Finals of the Europa League 

Whilst the Romanians were seen off easily by a 7-0 aggregate, our first two league games only yielded two points with draws against Reims and Angers

We then lost to soon-to-be relegated AJ Auxerre, before scraping past struggling Brest 1-0 in an all-Brittany affair 

And that teed up a Europa League Semi Final clash with a strong Lille side who sat 2nd in Ligue 1

Truth be told we were not too unhappy to come away from there with a 1-0 deficit, we felt we were definitely still in the tie

Confidence was boosted further as we returned to Ligue 1 action with a 3-2 away win over AS Monaco, who were hot on our heels in the table

But we couldn't break down Lille in the second leg at home, and a 0-0 draw saw us exit the competition at the last four stage by 1-0 on aggregate

To make matters worse our next opponents were PSG, and we cursed over how difficult this run of four fixtures was at this stage of the season

We'd never come close to taking a point off them, and additionally injuries robbed us of our captain Vincent Le Goff and our highest wage earner Enzo Le Fee

For the first time in the entire three years we felt obliged to play a 532 formation, and we could not believe how we managed to nullify them for a 2-0 win

That left us needing two points from the last two fixtures to guarantee 4th, but a coin toss decision to retain the 532 fell flat as OGC Nice hosted us in game 37

The French Riviera outfit brushed us aside comfortably as were left to rue that choice, but we had no complaints about the 2-0 scoreline they deserved on the day

We also had a road trip on the final day as we pitted ourselves against mid-table Strasbourg

 By this time we were 4th just one point ahead of OM who hosted our local Brittany friends from Brest, themselves in a two-way relegation scrap with Nantes

As you can see we didn't manage to win that one either, but after being 2-0 down early on we should at least be pleased about our spirited late point-saver 

But if we thought our final day comeback to rescue a 2-2 draw in Alsace with a goal timed at 38 seconds over the 90+3 permitted time was going to be important, read on

We had checked on OM a couple of times, and knew they were being held 0-0 by a dogged Brest side until the latter stages

But after the whistle blew we saw that OM had scored an 88th minute winner to seal a 1-0 win, and by doing so jumped above us as we finished 5th

Momentarily we were dejected, but actually it made no difference really as both 4th and 5th would go in to the Europa League again next season

Here is a review of our performance in all competitions, and the Ligue 1 weekly performance graph showing 5th was our lowest rank during the season

And here is a summary of our key contributors, team stats, club performance and healthy financial status after competition payments were made

Below are the player stats across all competitions from our 22 men used, most of them played a useful role during the course of the campaign

It was no surprise to see striker Pierre-Yves Hamel win the Player of the Season award from our fans

A special mention should be made for Le Fee and Houboulang Mendes, who both earned Ligue 1 recognition of various forms

And Hamel just pipped Dembele of Lyon to win the Ligue 1 top scorer award with 24 league goals

Here is an overview of his season and where his goals came from

Hamel has been an excellent servant for Lorient, and now has 92 league goals in 177 league games since arriving on a free transfer in the 2015/16 season

But whilst we can look forward to him being a key player again next season, we won't be retaining our club captain Le Goff next year

Our left-back has played 263 league games since arriving in the 2014/15 season, but at 32 he doesn't meet the criteria for a new contract and will be released

Anything else?

There was one change to the backroom staff in April when Nicolas Dyon joined as Under 19 fitness coach

Yet again the board have been generous with the budgets for next season, giving a massive £30 million transfer kitty should we wish to spend anything

Years of frugality also leaves a whopping £132,000 per week surplus on our weekly wage budget, but we don't feel the need to abandon our philosophies

In fact next year we should see even more youth graduates added to the first team squad, they will replace any players sold or released during the summer

Is the future bright and orange?

Neither the Lorient 2 or Under 19 squad won their leagues this year, but they both performed well enough

There are definitely talents within them, and we will do an end of season review of those squads separately 

Edited June 26, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Hootieleece]

Good Season. Coming in 5th in Ligue1 is nothing to sneeze at. Especially with a homegrown youth focused team.

Looks like the future is Sunkist!

[Jogo Bonito]

10 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Good Season. Coming in 5th in Ligue1 is nothing to sneeze at. Especially with a homegrown youth focused team.

Looks like the future is Sunkist!

Haha, Sunkist. That's a name I haven't heard of for years! 

Yes I am happy with 5th (same as last year). Hopefully I can do something braver next season with my first team, I feel like it's time. Of my 22 players, two are being released (Le Goff and Laura) whilst I would be willing to let another two be sold if it can be done (Guiagon and Gueye). I might also allow some of the other signings to go (Fofana, Ndiaye, Kalulu), and replace them with 2nd Team and Under 19 players. None of those five are poor or have performed badly, it's just the easiest way to let the development players have a bigger role in the senior squad.

11 of this 22 were originally at the club. Six were added right at the start as first team members (Dacosta, Tchamba, Ouattara, Camara, Gueye, Laura). Three were signed for the first team since we started (Fofana, Ndiaye, Kalulu) . One was added to Lorient 2 at the start (Guiagon) whilst the other (Voisine) was recruited at the end of season 1 and got promoted from the 2nd Team in his first year.

Edited June 26, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Jogo Bonito]

Two transfer options have come up before pre-season has even started, so it's ask the audience time!

As I am releasing Laura, and considering if it's time to sell Gueye, I have to decide whether to acquire a new young striker as 3rd option, or whether to promote one of my youth strikers that have great attributes but haven't really done much on loan or in my 2nd Team. All four are worth keeping, but apart from maybe Burban none of them has really shown they deserve a chance in the main squad. I am genuinely disappointed by the lack of progress made by the other three.

Burban has probably done enough to get in the squad as 4th option, as he is the only one that has done OK in my 2nd Team when played. He has done this over a couple of seasons and gains extra points as he was an original Lorient development player.

Tapsoba has 'looked like a baller' since he was signed but hasn't really scored in my 2nd Team or when out on loan in the 1st Team at Ligue 2 side Guingamp.

Toure scored 78 goals IIRC in two Under 19 seasons for me, but didn't really do anything in my 2nd Team or on loan  in the 1st Team at Clermont.

Zehi again looked to have all the attributes to prosper but also has hardly scored for my 2nd Team or out on loan in the 1st Team at AC Ajaccio.

Option 1 - Yanis Begraoui (£2.2 million)

I have a deal ready to be confirmed for this guy. He has done OK for Auxerre in Ligue 1 (they were promoted but have just been relegated). He is virtually a younger version of Hamel with great physical stats, decent technically and not bad on mental attributes. Born in IDF region but he was trained in Brittany so it kind of makes sense. IRL his playing style has been likened to Benzema, and I can see a bit of that in him.

Option 2 - Idriss Fares (free)

Or I can sign this guy for free and half the wages. He has been prolific for Lille 2nd Team, but has not been tested at first team level and some of those attributes are quite low.

Other options being looked at were unavailable for free/sensible sums or had not convinced me they would be better than my own young guns. The list includes Yassin Fortune, Exauce Mpembele Boula, Jessim Pellissard, Eddy Ouattara, Elie Youan, Loick Piquionne, Samuel Noireau-Dauriat, El Bilal Toure, Evann Guessand, Janis Antiste, Momo Fanye Toure (brother of my Djibril Toure), Eli Wissa (brother of my Yoane Wissa), Daniel Labila, one time failed transfer target Ibrahim Mandefu, Rossi Bozi, Randal Kolo Muani, Moussa Sylla, Djibril Ouattara, Sekou Mara, El Hadj Coly and Ivann Botella amongst others. The better options are probably the ones highlighted but all have some potential. 

Money aside, I think the Auxerre option is better than the Lille option. And probably better than any of my own. Any thoughts from the panel of experts?

Edited June 27, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[karanhsingh]

Go for Begraoui, it's time to start getting the best players in that you can! Another good season, I feel like you need one or two quality additions to start pushing towards the top 3.

[Jogo Bonito]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Go for Begraoui, it's time to start getting the best players in that you can! Another good season, I feel like you need one or two quality additions to start pushing towards the top 3.

I don't want to stray too far from my 'bring them in young and let them be developed' method, but this one signing might be worth doing. I feel there is something in there to make him worthwhile, but I would say that about all four of the guys already there if I look at them.

[OlivierL]

4 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Go for Begraoui, it's time to start getting the best players in that you can! Another good season, I feel like you need one or two quality additions to start pushing towards the top 3.

i agree ! go for Begraoui , Banlieu till we die !

His finishing is lower but his targetman attributes are good.

Edited June 27, 2020 by OlivierL

[Hootieleece]

The Auxerre option, definitely. Then ppm him till he becomes what you want.

[Jogo Bonito]

Three votes for Begraoui, none for Fares and none for promoting my own young players. 

Cheers guys.

[karanhsingh]

2 hours ago, OlivierL said:

i agree ! go for Begraoui , Banlieu till we die !

His finishing is lower but his targetman attributes are good.

Finishing isn't great yes but he has good physicals, balance, off the ball etc. Should compensate. 

[Jogo Bonito]

39 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Finishing isn't great yes but he has good physicals, balance, off the ball etc. Should compensate. 

I think i am convinced on this deal. I've already cancelled the one for Fares.

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I think i am convinced on this deal. I've already cancelled the one for Fares.

I'm sure it will work out well! 

[Jogo Bonito]

8 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

I'm sure it will work out well! 

I'm confident it will too.

[Jogo Bonito]

The final part of the season 2021/22 review takes a quick look at the players who could be expected to make the future bright for the club

Lorient 2 review

As referenced in the end of season report earlier, our 2nd Team had a good season but could not quite win the league this time

There were no standout players (particularly in attack) but we still had plenty of decent performances in the group

Abdallah, Sarr, Guel and Mouanga probably deserve most praise, but it should be Datro Fofana, Loric and Burban promoted to the main squad ahead of next season 

As mentioned earlier Tapsoba, Toure and Zehi had disappointed in attack and we feel they should be capable of far better goal returns at this level

Under 19 review

As referenced in the end of season report earlier, our Under19 squad had a good season but not claim a third successive title at this level

The best performers were original youth striker Sadjo plus Under 19 team signings Kouadio (last season) and N'Guessan (first season)

Other notable performers were newgens Ndariba and Ashu (the first came through the intake and the second we recruited ahead of last season)

This year we have kept a handful of players from the intake, and we have signed a few more from elsewhere to boost the numbers and keep us strong

Ahead of the fourth season we feel we have enough potential in both the Under 19 group and 2nd Team, and they will be expected to be competitive again next term

The hardest thing is to keep replenishing the Under 19 group, as they naturally have a number of players too old to stay at the end of each season

This also has a knock-on effect with the 2nd Team where we end up with too many of them due to contracts being a minimum of two years at youth level

We end up needing to loan out or cull numbers from the 2nd Team, but right now we do have too many on the books in that band for my liking

Edited June 27, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Hootieleece]

You have some good depth in your youth teams. Are you planning on loaning any out?

[Jogo Bonito]

5 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

You have some good depth in your youth teams. Are you planning on loaning any out?

It's funny you should say that. I've just finished the pre-season ahead of season 4 and had a bit of a clear out with quite a number of Lorient 2 players being sold. I counted up there are only six players out on loan (all from my 2nd Team squad) so it's not too bad. The number of players within the club is easier to manage now.

[karanhsingh]

You have to do that because eventually most of them will not make it for your team. But if you can get them a future elsewhere and make some money off it that's still a very good system to have going on. 

[Jogo Bonito]

8 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

You have to do that because eventually most of them will not make it for your team. But if you can get them a future elsewhere and make some money off it that's still a very good system to have going on. 

Exactly right. Too old for Under 19's, not good enough for 1st Team (now or likely in the future) means too many kicking around in the 2nd Team. Luckily as I don't spend much on them in the first place, any small fee can keep the board 'sell players for profit' requirement in order without being forced to sell my important first team players.

[Jogo Bonito]

Season 2022/23 looms on the horizon, and here is a recap of what has happened during the break

After going to Dakar in Senegal last summer, we opted to have our training camp closer to home in Italy this year

We took 30 players on the three-match tour including some 2nd Team members in order to give them some bonding time with the senior pros

Results were good, although perhaps a little too much rotation cost us against Parma 

This summer we decided to reduce playing staff numbers, as mentioned in earlier posts

Six players were released from our three squads, and this included club captain and first choice left-back Vincent Le Goff (32) after years of great service

The other players were not major losses, Laura had rarely featured last year whilst Kamissoko and Wadji had been demoted to Lorient 2 before last season started

Most of the new signings here were for the Under 19 group, but central defender Felix Nzouango Bikien does go straight in to the 2nd Team squad

But two talented young French prospects will be added to the main squad, in the form of striker Yanis Begraoui and right-winger Alan Virginius

Heading out of the club were a number of other players, and of those only Daouda Gueye had been in the first team squad

The striker had played his part in our rise, but we now had to make some ruthless decisions (he was loaned with 100% wage paid as no buyers emerged)

We also decided to cut our ties with Abdoul Tapsoba and Fabrice Zehi as our high hopes for these two strikers had sadly never been met

On these outgoing deals, we had managed to make good money with profits received on all those signed since we began this journey in the 2019/20 season 

Here are the announcements of the two new first team players, together with their profiles upon joining

So with the new pair added, we now have a first team squad of 23 for next season as profiled below

Promoted from the 2nd Team during the summer are rookie left-back Samuel Loric and winger-cum-forward Datro Fofana

Junior Burban was going to be given that opportunity too, but we would like to see how he performs paired on a weekly basis with Djibril Toure in the development side

Centre-back Julien Laporte takes the armband from the departed captain, with right-back Houboulang Mendes appointed as vice captain

The other major news surrounds Pierre-Yves Hamel who wanted a new contract and his agent came in with demands way over our estimations

But we knew his goals had been vital for us and eventually we met halfway (more than doubling his earnings) as a reward for his regular contributions 

And finally, we are actively trying to move on Parfait Guiagon as he has only been a bit-part player and has no intentions of signing a new deal at the end of the season

First Team Squad (23)

Lorient 2 Squad (26)

Lorient Under 19 Squad (18)

Lorient Players Out On Loan (5)

There was little movement on the staff during the off-season, but here are the ins and outs

And finally, Here are the board's reminders of what they expect us to achieve this season

We are in a very comfortable financial position, with both transfer and wage budgets looking healthy with the season opener just around the corner

Edited June 28, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[karanhsingh]

Sounds like a fairly busy but rewarding summer. I really like the look of both the first team additions (one of course we already knew all about). 

[Jogo Bonito]

On 28/06/2020 at 15:39, karanhsingh said:

Sounds like a fairly busy but rewarding summer. I really like the look of both the first team additions (one of course we already knew all about). 

Thanks, yes I feel much better for reducing the numbers.

The two new additions should do well. Begraoui is likely to be on the bench pushing for starts (he can play target man or advanced forward role so can come on for either of the strikers). He was on fire in pre-season with eight goals including three braces, so I expect him to be a great bench and rotation option. Virginius I spotted in season 1, he is a really well-rated prospect IRL and his attributes seemed excellent even then. Initially they wanted £10 million plus, and he has developed well for his old club since then. I had to bide my time for a few years to finally grab him, but I think it's a bargain fee on both of them.

By the way, we were both right about Ashu being my best youth team talent ahead of last season. His season returns were great and he is now at the top end of the 2nd Team ahead of this campaign. I am pleased I spotted him in his home nation and saw the potential.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Jogo Bonito]

FC Lorient - Season 2022/23

As you can see, we started season four in sparkling summer form, with only a late leveller by OM ruining what would have been a 100% record from the four games of August

All three of the wins had been by three goal margins and when we were scoring at such a rate and keeping it tight at the back, we looked irresistible

The good form continued for the majority of September too, as we won the first four matches of the second month

The highlight there was undoubtedly a 1-0 away win against Roma in the Europa League, as they were clear favourites in the group

However the month ended with our first league loss as OGC Nice beat us at their lovely coastal retreat, and then Plzen claimed a draw to slow our progress in Europe

Unfortunately October was a shocker, as we failed to win any of our three Ligue 1 games and only the win over Czech side Plzen gave any joy whatsoever

Domestically we endured a poor home draw with Amiens and went on to be defeated by a competitive AS Monaco side and league leaders Lyon

Our Italian opponents got revenge against us in the Europa League as Roma left the Tango Arena with a 1-0 win and now head the group with one game to go

After the disappointing home loss to Roma, we need to make sure we take care of business against Zorya when we travel to Ukraine on the last match day in the group

Here is the current Ligue 1 table, and the disappointing graph shows how we have dipped from early table-toppers to a side battling to rise in to those European places

We definitely have a better squad than last season with our three new arrivals, but might have to consider a tactical switch (possibly 532) to get us out of this little rut

Striker Yoane Wissa, play-maker Enzo Le Fee and right-back Houboulang Mendes (before injury) have been the bright spots so far

Nobody has actually disappointed as such, but we do expect more from some of the others as winter approaches

Anything else?

We made one extra youth signing at the end of August with £6,000 being paid to Astres in Cameroon for right-back Alain Enow

The transfer had been agreed before, but he actually joined our Under 19 squad on his 18th birthday

More importantly we made one more first team signing on 22nd October when long-time target Anthony Caci was secured

We were chasing this versatile defender (he can play centre-back or on both defensive sides as full-back or wing-back) before he moved to Rennes last season

After just nine appearances for them, the ex-Strasbourg man was surplus to requirements and we swooped to seal a bargain £2.8 million deal 

You may spot that he is 25 now, but we  relaxed the philosophies slightly having started the quest to sign him when he was only 23 

Heading out of the club on loan were a couple of players too old for the Under 19 side and not good enough for the 2nd Team

And finally, several months of struggle was ended when we eventually managed to sell unwanted midfielder Parfait Guiagon to Africa Sports for £450,000 in early October

We decided to put rookie Samuel Loric back in to the Under 19 group after the arrival of Caci, and now have a senior squad of 22 with lots of versatility

The only other item of minor interest saw the last coaching slot taken up by Siramana Dembele in late September (the Frenchman looks very happy to be coming home)

Is the future bright and orange?

Lorient 2 are 4th in the table after 10 games and doing alright, with striker Junior Burban the pick of the bunch so far (6 goals in 9 games)

Young PSG striker Daniel Labila (who we took an interest in during the summer) is top scorer on 9 goals for the expected table-toppers

Our Under 19 side is 3rd in their league after 14 games, with 17 year old youth intake striker Romain Carre impressing most with 11 goals from 16 appearances

The youngsters here are probably performing slightly better than the 2nd Team, but we remain satisfied about the progress of both 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

we need to make sure we take care of business against Zorya

I'm sure you will, and I'm equally sure Roma will take care of the other tie so you should be fine, regardless. I hope .

In other news, I might just plunder your squad for my Brentford save (one win from automatic promotion behind Fulham; next up Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final!)

[Jogo Bonito]

4 hours ago, warlock said:

I'm sure you will, and I'm equally sure Roma will take care of the other tie so you should be fine, regardless. I hope .

In other news, I might just plunder your squad for my Brentford save (one win from automatic promotion behind Fulham; next up Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final!)

I can accept some plundering in those circumstances if you think there are players worthy of your side? That's an incredibly good season at Brentford - good luck on both fronts.

[Hootieleece]

What is the tactic your using now?

5-3-2 can be devastating defensive tactic (I created a Fluid Counterattack one in an earlier save)... but if you are trying to be a top team wouldn't dominating possession work better? (coming from a newly created possession zealot)

[Jogo Bonito]

1 hour ago, Hootieleece said:

What is the tactic your using now?

5-3-2 can be devastating defensive tactic (I created a Fluid Counterattack one in an earlier save)... but if you are trying to be a top team wouldn't dominating possession work better? (coming from a newly created possession zealot)

We have been using 4312 for about a year now. Season 1 started with 433 and we had a spell with 4213 and a 442 narrow diamond after that (cannot remember any other formations before converting to 4312). Just looking at the desire to keep my two best attackers on the pitch (one can move to AML) and our AMC involved, we need to consider 532 or perhaps revert to 433 for a bit.

• The most important part of the 4312 was that the new tactic had to keep our two strikers paired together as they work really well with each other. One is also natural at AML so can be moved
• When we stopped the original 433 it did mean dropping a winger through no fault of his own. We do now have more wing options than before - one or two of them don't usually make the bench
• 4312 meant that we could be playing four of our six central midfield men (including one as AMC). The width has never been a problem as the full-backs can attack and defend efficiently, and have the stamina to get up and down (and score regularly too)
• We do now have enough central defenders to play three of them at the back (with two versatile defenders on the bench)

Edited July 1, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[karanhsingh]

Nice update, Monaco Roma and Lyon is a tough run so I wouldn't be unduly worried. Unless you think the general game play is also suffering. 

433 is always a stable formation perhaps with one IF and one Winger, always does well for me. 

[Jogo Bonito]

11 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Nice update, Monaco Roma and Lyon is a tough run so I wouldn't be unduly worried. Unless you think the general game play is also suffering. 

433 is always a stable formation perhaps with one IF and one Winger, always does well for me. 

Still pondering on what to do next with the formation, have not played any games since then. If it does end up 433 it would be AML (IF) and AMR (W) as that suits the players I have for those positions.

You're right, three tough games but there has been a drop in form with one win in seven games, quite a difference from the period before. It just needs a little shuffle of the pack to set it off again.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

FC Lorient - Season 2022/23

We entered November 2022 in a season-low league position of 8th, and with some decisions to be made in order to arrest a slump in form

We took some time to think about how we would attempt to freshen up our faltering tactic, and how best to use our 22-man squad

Mid-term squad & tactical analysis

532 would give more of our central defender pool a better chance of playing, and would have been great for our forward-thinking full-backs to play as wing-backs

But it would have meant having several good wingers never getting a look in, and our advanced play-maker (AMC) didn't deserve to be dropped either

433 would have solved the wide attacking issues with some rotation of the plentiful right-wing candidates

But it didn't solve the issues of which defenders would miss out, and the AMC would still have been dropping deeper than preferable

The final decision (for now) was to revert to a previously used 4231 and with it we made some decisions about the playing order for some of our boys

We came to this decision by looking at it in reverse, seeing which four players (or positions of those players) we could generally do without on a match day

We are fortunate to have two great goalkeepers in Nardi and Meslier, but don't usually name a reserve keeper on the bench and one would always be omitted from the 18

The right-back options are very strong, but when Mendes is fit he is an automatic pick as he can defend, attack, run all day and score goals too

Kalulu is a right-back/central defender who is good defensively but not great going forward, and new signing Caci can play literally anywhere in the back-line in a reliable form

Dacosta (the oldest at 27) is the nearest like-for-like replacement for Mendes, but Camara is a right-winger who can easily be re-trained as an attacking right-back

Of this batch we therefore consider Dacosta is the one likely to miss out, which is unlucky for him as he has given great service since the first season

The central defence will usually see Tchamba who is a mega-athlete and has a lovely left-foot, with captain Laporte to the right of him

Laporte's place is under-threat from both Caci and Kalulu (they will succeed him when his contract ends in 2024), but he still has a better average rating then them this season

Voisine is young and as a left-footer he is the first bench replacement for Tchamba if he is unavailable due to injury/fitness, suspension or international duty

The other two will also remain on the bench as we can make use of their versatility to cover all positions with Kalulu as DC/DR and Caci left, right or centre

The left side of defence is simple, with Lecoeuche used as our attacking left-back since Le Goff was released in the summer

His cover will come from Caci who has played left-back and left wing-back plenty of times in his Strasbourg days (Loric from the 2nd Team can also  be promoted if needed) 

In central midfield Le Fee will play whenever he is fit and Youssouf Fofana is the best, strongest and most versatile of the others so is becoming more and more important for us

Abergel has been a great servant for the club and will always put in a shift, but at 29 and 5'7" with just two in the middle he may find that a stretch on his fitness and strength

He'll retain a place on the bench as will Ponceau who is good technically and has great energy, but again he is only 5'7" and a bit lightweight

This pair are able to cover the defensive and attacking needs that a bench requires (Abergel for Fofana and Ponceau for Le Fee) depending on any given game scenarios 

This leaves Ndiaye as the third of the four in our squad that will miss out when everyone is available, which again is harsh as he is reliable and consistent

The advanced play-maker position is one that Brahima Ouattara has nailed down, with Le Fee pushed up if he is ever absent (unless we go with a different tactic on those days)

In a formation with two wide attackers, this means we move Wissa from a striker role back to where he started as an inside forward on the left

The right-wing options means we can have the aforementioned Camara or one of Virginius or Datro Fofana deployed as an attacking outlet staying wide on that side

Datro can also play as a striker and even has the attributes to play a few AMC roles (although not naturally)

As Camara can be used as a winger or attacking full-back he will play or be on the bench, which means that one of the other two will be missing from the 18 if everyone is fit

With Wissa deployed out wide on the left, we feel Hamel is still more than capable of leading the line on his own as he is strong, good in the air, mobile and can finish clinically

The final spot on the bench and ideal lone striker replacement for Hamel is Begraoui, who did well in pre-season and will eventually prove his worth to our team

This would generally mean that Meslier (usually), Dacosta, Ndiaye and one of the right-wingers (probably Virginius or Datro Fofana) will be the four looking to break in to the 18 

On the pitch

With 2022 being a World Cup year, we only had one fixture in November

It was a vital one though, as we needed a result in Ukraine to go through to the next stages of the Europa League

It probably wasn't the ideal time to drop a new tactic, but the below is what we went with

Dacosta actually started at right-back instead of the injured Mendes, and Virginius got the nod on the wing as Datro Fofana was also injured

As you can see below, it went pretty well and we won 4-0 with chances created 32-6 in our favour as we dominated the attacking areas

We knew this result was enough to qualify, but were surprised to see the post-match table showing we had topped the group

Having equal points, goal difference, goals scored and an identical head-to-head record to AS Roma we were left scratching our heads on the sorting order 

But it emerged we won out by virtue of scoring more away goals than them (6-5) which we initially put down to our 90th minute fourth against Zorya

But on closer inspection, we saw that the Italians second in Rome was a 90+2 goal and so that came after ours (and without it our GD was better by the slimmest of margins) 

Anything else?

Not at all, other than accepting an invitation to play Lokomotiva and either Juventus or Lokeren in a friendly tournament hosted by the Belgians during the World Cup break

Is the future bright and orange?

We have absolutely no idea, we have completed our month after just three days

Edited July 3, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[Hootieleece]

Good Luck with the formation change. It is similar to mine except I play Tiki-Taka and use slightly different TI's and Roles.

IS your AMC in any way a goal threat? If so you might want to change the AP-S role to AM-S or A.

Because I have found great success with the DLP pinging balls all around the Pitch with Direct Passing PI and everyone else following the TI Shorter passes. That is how we dominate Key passes!

 

 

 

[OlivierL]

Love the details about squad and formation; I think u should use a support role in the front four positions.

[Jogo Bonito]

1 hour ago, Hootieleece said:

Good Luck with the formation change. It is similar to mine except I play Tiki-Taka and use slightly different TI's and Roles.

IS your AMC in any way a goal threat? If so you might want to change the AP-S role to AM-S or A.

Because I have found great success with the DLP pinging balls all around the Pitch with Direct Passing PI and everyone else following the TI Shorter passes. That is how we dominate Key passes!

The AMC is advanced play-maker (attack) as I want to get the most out of his dribbling ability and flair. He's not (and is not expected to be) a major goal threat, but he chips in well enough. The support roles seem more about passing than dribbling from what I remember.

I'll monitor the DLP as we move on, but have always been quite happy with the transitional play until now.

1 hour ago, OlivierL said:

Love the details about squad and formation; I think u should use a support role in the front four positions.

I'm aware that only 2/11 have defend duties and the front four plus two full-backs are all on attack. I might decide to change one of the three attacking midfielders to support or one of the two behind them to defend but I'll try playing to my own strengths first before deciding if I need to tone it down a bit. Very valid point though.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

we won 4-0 ... we had topped the group

Never in doubt . As to the tactic, they say attack is the best form of defence. If it works, it works .

[Jogo Bonito]

5 minutes ago, warlock said:

Never in doubt . As to the tactic, they say attack is the best form of defence. If it works, it works .

Thanks, it worked but it's just one game so will see how it settles down after the boring World Cup break 

[Hootieleece]

4 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Thanks, it worked but it's just one game so will see how it settles down after the boring World Cup break 

Are you playing any friendlies during the World Cup Break?

It will help with settling players into the new tactic.

[Jogo Bonito]

48 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Are you playing any friendlies during the World Cup Break?

It will help with settling players into the new tactic.

We accepted an invitation to play Lokomotiva and either Juventus or Lokeren in a friendly tournament hosted by the Belgians during the World Cup break. There was a really painful/boring gap of 44 days before that game, but then we had another game a few days later. All was good and we are now edging towards the proper re-start on (believe it or not) 31st December at 8 pm. Why on earth after two months off would they do that 

[Hootieleece]

You know you could have scheduled a few yourself. 

Also the second half of this season will be crazy. (schedule wise) You might want a few more bodies on the first team.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

10 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

You know you could have scheduled a few yourself. 

Also the second half of this season will be crazy. (schedule wise) You might want a few more bodies on the first team.

 

Yes I could have scheduled some, but didn't want to waste the break.

If the schedule is bad, we will promote some youngsters that have been schooled here. I'll rotate the side anyway, but thanks for the heads up.

[Jogo Bonito]

FC Lorient - Season 2022/23

The January transfer window has only been open for five days, but it's been a busy time already

First we turned down an offer of £18.25 million for Mendes without a second thought, luckily he wasn't keen on moving to Wuhan...

But just a couple of days later we had this offer from Man City for Le Fee which was £71.5 million

We would have turned this down too, but the player would probably revolt if we rejected the bid as he wants the move

That's put a brake on our progress as we need to sleep on that one...

 

Edited July 4, 2020 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

2 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

this offer from Man City for Le Fee which was £71.5 million

Ouch! I can see why you want to keep him - he looks brilliant - but that's a serious amount of cash. I'll be interested to see how you deal with it 

[Jogo Bonito]

14 minutes ago, warlock said:

Ouch! I can see why you want to keep him - he looks brilliant - but that's a serious amount of cash. I'll be interested to see how you deal with it 

Yes indeed, a difficult decision! It took me two actual days to decide on a change of formation, then I endured a 44 day World Cup break, now I have had to log off whilst I decide what to do here. Travelling slowly on Lorient Express is a very apt title...