_Ben_ Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 6 minutes ago, brookie1402 said: Sorry Ben, but I agree with this. On the line is in the box. Can imagine your post game interview following that incident being quite true to life of harshly done to managers!. Oh, I agree too! I was just angry that our play had deserved so much more than a very close penalty in the 85th minute that would have given Leeds the win. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 October 2042: International call up Jackson becomes the first English player to receive a full international call up. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 September/October 2042 I know I said I'd do a month at a time, but with only three games, I carried on through... We were handed an absolute hammering at Saints, who are really a top club at the moment. They had 27 shots and each of their players ended with a rating of above 7.0, showing their utter dominance. However, as I showed in the gifs, I feel that their goals were actually soft and the defensive instruction I used, showing them inside, just allowed them a free run at the goal. I've since switched to 'show outside' to keep us a little more narrow and compact, and get men between the ball and the goal - so far, it's helped. We then played out two decent draws, although these are teams that played at the same level as us last year. Leeds amassed 1.51 xG although that included their missed penalty and, realistically, their 2 shots on target meant compared to our six, at an average of 0.16 xG each, showed that we were probably better. We had just under 60% of the ball and controlled the game for long periods - again, not being able to fault our style but we did run out of steam, with 0 xG coming after the 65th minute. The Sheffield United game was polar opposite as I welcomed Cano back from injury and shifted the squad to play with the RMD on the left, rather than the right with Farrar, who led the line in the absence of injured Ferencik. We were outclassed and lucky to come away with a goal, which represented 50% of our SoT. Norwich are a very good side now and I knew we had to be at our best to beat them. We really were not but did record our highest xG for a while, 1.22 from 9 shots, with 5 on target, although we managed to reach the 55 minute mark recording absolutely no offensive threat. We didn't keep the ball well and yet two late goals, with substitute Max Stokes netting his first Premier League goal, gave us our first ever 3 points at this level. I travelled to Stamford Bridge and tried to solidify by dropping my AM down to the CM strata but, post game, was blamed for my tactical ineptitude. However - keeping the champions down to just 2 goals, albeit from 30 shots and 2.81 xG (to our 2 SoT and 0.43 xG) was a good performance as we could have been mauled. We ended October with another poor performance but good win against bottom side Leicester. They went with a really defensive 5-2-3 kind of shape and, despite dominating possession (58% - 42%), the vast majority of that was in our defensive third as we just passed the ball around with no penetration. They amassed 2.02 xG to out 0.74 but 5 SoT is an improvement for us as Farrar took his goals well. Leicester had a late rally but it was an important win that brought us out from the drop zone, even if that may be short lived. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 November 2042: New kits With the revelation that comes with a working again 3D match engine, I tired of the plain red home kit and the plain yellow away kit. So I used the editor to change some colours and plan to try and create an equally garish third kit every year. I am also tempted to dig Photoshop out and try and make some 3D kits for them if I can find a decent tutorial on making them... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 November 2042 I haven't properly managed in the Premier League for many years and, when I have, it's been flash-in-the-pan, one-season stuff to try out some ideas and play with and against players I watch week in week out. And you know what. I hate the Premier League. The amount of money flying about is utterly ridiculous. Completely on a different level. Granted - I managed in Brazil with my last save but before then I've done Spain, Italy, Portugal as well as the smaller leagues like Norway, Austria and Argentina but I'm playing against world class XI's, not just the old top class player. Whilst this demonstrates the pure strength of the league, it really puts my ideology of youth development down the drain - we simply cannot make a change, rest a player or give an academy player minutes as we would get slaughtered. I guess this changes when we are a top 6 side but I don't know if I want to become one of those teams. My playing style may be modelled on a Guardiola-esque pass and move but my player development, financial strictness and slow-build approaches are completely unsuitable for this league. I'm also now getting a really strong feeling that seeing my hometown club in the Premier League, after starting so low down, is just unrealistic. The other clubs, which I don't necessarily follow their league and start at only level three, I get, but this, nope! Maybe my next save, wherever I end up, should not be limited to just one club but where I try and build my 'way' at a number of clubs. --- However... Not a lot better than beating Man Utd. This one is completely for their fans, who I imagine are still adamant that they are the best and biggest team in the world and can have pretty much whoever they want. I mean, this is the case in the game, but still. We didn't really deserve it but, if you can restrict a top side to just 0.71 xG and score yourself, you've done well. Two, quick, counter attacking goals where, for once, our seemingly over defensive style helped us secured the three points and our first clean sheet of the season. Next up, we folded against Villa - creating just 0.14 xG from 2 shots on goal. Two goals in two minutes just before half time wrote us off and, despite how poor Villa were, we just had no plan B. A worrying repeat. Bournemouth had, at the time, the worst defence in the league so I went for it a little more - favouring my 8 in the AMC role and moving to a positive mentality. 1.33 xG later and nothing to show for it, we took a point. At the end of the day - three games into November and four points later is a good thing, even if they didn't come from who I expected them to come from. We then ended the season with another hard earnt draw at home to Spurs. 17th is still the aim. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 December 2042: Youth Intake Preview Smethwick is just north of Redditch so another local-ish lad being touted... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 December 2042: Youngster watch In the first team: As I said - it's been really hard to give non-established youngsters minutes but Ejza has really cemented himself with some decent performances of late. Ben Austin has struggled to cement a first team place but has made the move to being comfortable in the DM role where I think his energy at getting forward will be of use to us. --- Out on loan: Davies and Reece, both at Sunderland, have the potential to feature but are really struggling at the mid-table Championship side with the latter averaging just 6.64. Curran, at relegation fighting Walsall, will be returning to fill a gap left by the moaning Ben Richards but he, to be fair, isn't good enough yet. He'll be training as a right back as I move forward so isn't like for like anyway. Bass has moved to League One Charlton but is running out of time to make a real impression on me, despite making a lot of progress. --- In the academy squad: These lads are ordered by potential, even though I've screenshotted a different view. Luca Box needs to be out on loan as he's made over 100 first team appearances but is not yet good enough for a proper run at the first team squad. Elsewhere, Man City reject Billy Lloyd has yet to demonstrate in training that he is worthy of first team football but really needs it given his age. I'm being peppered with loan deals for the other lads and this is where I wish we'd been entered into competition at age group level as they need it - friendlies are not helping! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 January 2043: New signing update As we enter the second half of the season, it's really important to look back at how my five newcomers have settled in. Here is the overview of that: Alade has been largely poor in both his performances and his training, which is a shame. I may be on the look out for a replacement for him - whether through my academy, as Glasscoe tends to be a first choice, or from the market. Elsewhere, I've been largely happy with the impact that these lads have had. They are certainly growing into the team. --- In terms of any more incomings, the only player I have identified is Brian Cross - although it's going be unlikely that I'm meeting his £110k p/w wage demands at this point... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUFCspeni Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Been a silent follower of this, just jumping in to say you're doing excellently. I agree with you on the Premier League. I hate playing in it, much rather a league where I have to find the "right" signing for my budget, rather than sign a dud and not worry about it because I know I'm getting another £100million anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 4 hours ago, LUFCspeni said: Been a silent follower of this, just jumping in to say you're doing excellently. I agree with you on the Premier League. I hate playing in it, much rather a league where I have to find the "right" signing for my budget, rather than sign a dud and not worry about it because I know I'm getting another £100million anyway. Thank you! It's definitely ticking off a 'I've done it now' box. I was drawn back to England as it's the country I live in, Redditch is where I live and it's the competition I watch thinking I'd have the immersion because I know the teams/players etc but that really isn't the case. English youth is vastly overpriced and the league is on a financial level unknown to me before this. I've been able to sell my cast-offs for millions of pounds - earning nearly £4m for just three games on TV, which is half of my record signing paid for! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 December 2042/January 2043 We're hanging on. As I said, 17th is the aim and we are doing our bit to get as close to that as we can, although I do fear the slight resurgence from Leicester. We started December with a poor showing at home to Palace, in a game where we were, at worst, equal to them. We followed that up by an expected defeat to Liverpool but the slight switch a Positive mentality, combined with 7-men in the MC strata or behind, has given us a bit more firepower and 0.77 xG, whilst not much, is better than I expected against a team of this stature. However, we got it right against Plymouth, 2.4xG and a comfortable win on the road with Ferencik netting his first PL hattrick. A couple of narrow, and hard fought defeats followed before another strong win over a team below us, this time Fulham. We've kind of ticked along in January in a tough run, although Man City may not be classed as tough this season, but finally found our feet against Saints. It was an even game - 1.45 xG to 1.52 xG but one of those where we took our chances and just looked super clinical. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 2043 Youth Intake When you get a Model Citizen, local player, like Adekoya, who is already good enough for the first team, the rest of the intake kind of pales into insignificance... 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 February/March 2043 A tough, tough run. No wins in five leave us on the brink. Our heads just above water. Fortunately, nobody else really wants to win either. However, the Leicester result aside, and more on that shortly, we've been good. Man Utd did restrict us to a laughable 0.02 xG but I really didn't go to Old Trafford to win - so you've got to give credit to the fact that I'm trying to keep a good goal difference, something that's potentially going to make or break the season for a club around where we are. We were (xG wise, anyway) 22 times better than that against Chelsea but two late goals saw us fall to a defeat. It is the Leicester game though, that worries me. I'm left with little choice but to go for a it a bit more against teams around us - as seen with our 3-0 over Plymouth and 4-1 over Fulham and we did create 1.21 xG against Leicester, but they created 2.55 and looked really strong going forward. I need to find the balance between attack and defence and against who and when. Otherwise, we could be in real trouble. -- This is our run in: Bournemouth (H) 12th, Spurs (A) 5th, Palace (A) 11th, Plymouth (H) 20th, Liverpool (A) 2nd, Watford (A) 13th, West Ham (H) 17th I think we get 1 point from the first three, a win at home to Plymouth and then nothing from Liverpool and Watford. This could come down to the last game of the season... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 April 2043: How self sufficient are we? I've been having recurring thoughts about our chances for survival and what will happen, either if we stay up or go down. I want to make this so academy focused but I also know our current limitations based on facilities and reputation and I do enjoy scouting for that right player. I'm planning on building a bit of a depth chart to see how I'm going in terms of suitability for my own DNA, but here is the star reports: First Team: In Austin, I have one of the hottest prospects in English football at the moment and he might join Roberts and Hunter as very solid first team players. Outside of that, these players are decent for this level but, Ferencik as a prime example, has probably reached a 'CA peak' even if he's still frighteningly good on his day. There is, right now, a good base to build a squad around. Backup/younger players Currently, the likes of Stokes, Chance and Curran are in the first team but. probably, aren't good enough at this level. Likewise, Levi France has surpassed the level suitable for him and has performed pretty poor, for him, this season. I need to get the likes of Richards and below access to first team football before they stagnate, as Musah, bottom of the list, has done. Not needed/much younger Sad to say that Abrahamsson, Bennett and Airey have way been usurped and are not only taking up spaces in the first team, but also hefty wages. They've all been important to our growth but, even with academy focus, I'm going to need to move them on to be replaced by younger and better players. ---- There are two options: a) We go down: I will not stand in the way of any non-academy player who wants to leave, promoting from within. b) We stay up: The older, less important academy players will move on and be replaced by younger players from my academy system. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 April 2043: Poached Two in a matter of days... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 2042/43 Final Day: Avoid defeat and we have another year at this level. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifinnem Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Tense day for the fans! Good luck Ben. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 May 2043: Survival Just! Full round up to come 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nottingham Forest Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Good achievement staying up. Especially by winning 4-0. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Nottingham Forest said: Good achievement staying up. Especially by winning 4-0. Thank you! I was fairly confident we'd be able to get a result - at least a draw, given the recent form of West Ham: Because of this, I decided not to live post about it! --- It's certainly been a stressful season for me and one that I've not really enjoyed, if I'm honest. The summer break gives me a chance to look at some of the quality within the squad and go again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 2042/43 End of Season It's a tough, tough league. We have, however, far exceeded expectations and we have been able to cement our status in this league for at least another year. At times, we've been utterly dire and have been completely outplayed by mediocre times yet, at others, we've held our own against some of the biggest teams in the world and have felt robbed of points. --- Rather than the normal scatter plots that always show us as being passive and clinical offensively and busy and impenetrable defensively, I've decided to collate team statistics that I feel are important to our style of play and will track them over however many seasons we are in this league for. The general summary of our play is that we are good with the ball but too cautious to actually be in a position to do anything with us, yet, when we do get the opportunity to shoot, we do it well and are really clinical. Defensively, we allow a lot, probably from being so deep - as the xG to shot comparison would suggest they are from a long way out but clearly our goalkeepers are strong as we don't concede anywhere near as many as we should. I hope that, over the summer, I can have a little re-shuffle and bring in some more creative players to make the most of our good shooting ability when we make those chances. ---- Again, rather than looking at the overview, I want to pick out some things that I feel are important to our style of play and analyse the players based upon that. Firstly, goal actions. For this, I am combining goals and assist per 90: George has 6 goals and 4 assists this season, predominantly from the right wing and, as a substitute (15 starts and 13 sub appearances), there is a clear skew given the amount of minutes he has played. However, he's an important player and, despite being on loan, contributes well to what I want. Vlad is purely a goalscoring machine and only one of his actions is an assist but I think my standout here is Daniel Ejza - 6 goals and 6 assists in his breakout season at the club, let alone in the top flight, is great. Cano has also contributed well but I look a little further down the list at Stokes: 2G, 2A, Coker: 0G, 2A, Nwadike: 2G, 4A and think that they need to do better. It's clear that the latter two, my number 8s, need to be getting further forward - below are heatmaps and average position (overall) from the most recent performances from Nwadike to back that up: Granted, we've played poorly lately but this is not enough for a number eight. He's not getting into advanced areas to link play between defence and attack and, to be fair, even more credit must go to the likes of Cano, Farrar, Ferencik and Ejza who are feeding off scraps. ---- Even though I've mentioned that Nwadike isn't creating the actions that I want - his work on the ball is actually good, as seen below. My idea is to get starting a bit further forward and sacrifice a little bit of cover defensively. This chart compares the passes attempted (x axis) to the chances created (y axis) for our non-defenders). This is where Nwadike and Coker feature better than my wingers who seem to be creating little but, as I mentioned before, making those count. Again, Stokes, is showing that he's probably not good enough to be here and Maddison showing that he really needs to add more to his offensive game - especially when compared with Justin Shields, his DM compatriot. Again - this really needs to be a tactical switch. I like that we keep possession, but, when you look at who has had the most of the ball, you'll see where our possession generally is so we just need to shift everything further up the pitch and back the likes of Miller, Roberts and Lowe to keep the goals out. --- We've added a nice new link, which I will attempt to turn to a youth link when I'm allowed to. Despite Birmingham Legion openly talking to Birmingham City on their Twitter - I really like that there is a nice link between the English and the Alabama Birmingham and, given our own geographical position, thought this was a nice choice. This is also really good news for us as we look to add to our youth academy. --- 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) May 2043: Cutting ties Academy graduates Airey, Musah, Bennett and Abrahamsson all move on and the expiring contracts of Turner, Brough and Stefansson are ended so that I can continue to reshape the future of this squad without the nostalgia and sentiment of players who have done me well in the past but sadly do not have the required ability to do so in the future. EDIT: It's also well over £100k p/w off the wage bill! Edited February 6, 2021 by _Ben_ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nottingham Forest Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Really keen to see how you strengthen. You’ve got an identity so I’d imagine it’ll be slightly difficult to get the players you want. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Enjoying your rise even if it's been frustrating at times. The team metrics you posted really emphasize the quality needed to become a decent Premier League side. Looking forward to what you plan in the summer to improve on what, all things considered, was a great season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 3 hours ago, Nottingham Forest said: Really keen to see how you strengthen. You’ve got an identity so I’d imagine it’ll be slightly difficult to get the players you want. 3 hours ago, tyler16 said: Enjoying your rise even if it's been frustrating at times. The team metrics you posted really emphasize the quality needed to become a decent Premier League side. Looking forward to what you plan in the summer to improve on what, all things considered, was a great season. Thanks, both. In an ideal world - I'd like to sign nobody. But I know we are some way away from that and the deals I've been working on this evening must be considered really positive ones. We need a squad rather than a team, and that's the biggest thing I've found from this summer! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) 2043/44 Summer Transfer Window I feel a lot better this summer: we have a specific transfer ideology and we're now settled at this level, which opens the market for a lot more players. I'll split my signings into first team and youth team. First Team Agostino Milanti. Jack Perry. Darko Risteski. Aliou Mendy I am delighted with both the quality of these deals and the outlay that we have made to sign them. Firstly, German/North Macedonian Risteski joins on a free following the end of his Hoffenheim contract. I, repeatedly, tried to get him to join whilst he was in Germany but he was reluctant to move so I'm happy that I was able to pounce when he was a free agent. He has actually not made a first team appearance in Germany but did perform really well for their II side last year, scoring three times in 34 appearances. He doesn't quite have the technical prowess that I'd really like in a centre back but with Januszewski and Diaz leaving, I needed new faces here. Aliou Mendy joins for just £4m as he is the first of two players I pounced on entering the last year of their deal. I've been watching Mendy for a long time and I think he's a really strong player, even if he did force me into a Squad Status I am unsure I can keep. He's a really good ball winner, which I have prioritised at the expense of some ball playing, as I feel that some tactical changes may leave me a bit more exposed against the bigger sides. The deal to bring free agent Jack Perry was a no-brainer; two Premier League titles, two FA Cups, two Champions Leagues and a £58m move from Man United to Spurs ten years ago. He played 28 times for Leicester last year and, although he failed to score and rated very lowly (6.63), I feel that he's certainly a great option for a couple of years. Mendy came from Ligue 2 side Brest and I also raided another second tier side for Agostino Milianti, this time Pescara. Transfer listed as he wasn't going to sign a new deal and, the dual national (who, surely, can't be far off full international honours) could well be the signing of the summer for just £5.5m. We need to exploit the spaces that these big teams are leaving us and I think this lad could do it. He's reminiscent, to me, of a Domenico Berrardi of old and I can't wait to see what he can do for us. ----- Youth Team Birkir Blaer Ulfarsson. Guillaume Martin A combined outlay of just £240k (Martin was free) for these two youngsters, who will join my youth squad for now. The big Icelander doesn't have a Work Permit but I'm going to keep him here for a year or two before loaning him out as he has four years on his deal. I love his intelligence and he has the makings of a really strong Ball Playing Defender - he's also been noticed at international level, too, which can only help his permit. Martin comes in from Marseille on a free transfer after I was alerted to both his personality and his intelligence levels. Not great in the air but no real weaknesses elsewhere, which is promising. --- I'm quite happy with the strength of the first XI that we've put together - it still has 8 academy graduates too. Now though, we've got the likes of Cano, Perry, Mendy, Shields and Coker as bench options, instead of the likes of Airey and Abrahamsson, sadly, their on sentiment and not quality. Edited February 9, 2021 by _Ben_ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic Youth Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 This has been fun to follow. I’ve been too much lurking when on phone and not enough signing in to comment like you mentioned earlier. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic Youth Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Could you sign Scott Turner as backroom staff? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic Youth Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 It is awesome that you’ve established Redditch in the Prem 😎 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Milianti reminds me of Pedro Neto: left footed, very pacy but strong and stays on feet, knocks ball past opponent, hard shot. Really interested if he makes a difference for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 11 hours ago, Sonic Youth said: This has been fun to follow. I’ve been too much lurking when on phone and not enough signing in to comment like you mentioned earlier. 11 hours ago, Sonic Youth said: Could you sign Scott Turner as backroom staff? 11 hours ago, Sonic Youth said: It is awesome that you’ve established Redditch in the Prem 😎 Thank you so much! I too am in a routine where I read so much on my phone and then forget to comment on it when I come back on. There are four or five threads that I read religiously but never remember to question them. Sadly, Scott Turner isn't interested in being a staff member and, actually, has already retired! I wouldn't say established, yet, but we have had two good transfer windows and I feel that we are making some good moves to a) establishing and b) following the ethos that I want. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 10 hours ago, tyler16 said: Milianti reminds me of Pedro Neto: left footed, very pacy but strong and stays on feet, knocks ball past opponent, hard shot. Really interested if he makes a difference for you. I think he will. One problem we had last year is that we didn't take advantage of teams coming at us and leaving spaces out wide. We didn't focus on any type of counter attack through our style and our players so having some pace will surely help us here. Ferencik, arguably a Championship striker, has shown how deadly he can be with his combination of pace and finishing and I don't think that he will go against our general possession orientated style. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifinnem Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Milianti looks amazing. I love the 20/20 agility and balance. Wow! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 18 minutes ago, ifinnem said: Milianti looks amazing. I love the 20/20 agility and balance. Wow! This was a big draw, I must admit! I've rarely been able to develop a player to an attribute of 20 let alone have experienced some of the less 'expected' attributes at such high values. I think I'd know what 20 Tackling looks like, or 20 Finishing - but I do like this combo! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 July 2043: Squad photo I've realised I've got a little behind on this so wanted to take a few minutes to use the wonderful Chilled Moose faces and update my first team squad. With, hopefully, a relatively settled squad now I can add the one, two or three new players every now and then! Here they are in all their glory: Curran looks like he is playing for his future, which is true, and some say that Risteski and France have yet to be seen in the same room... 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 July 2043: Upgrades As always, I have to demand. This is the same board that won't upgrade my youth facilities and still won't allow me to further myself from a Continental C Licence, in case I then want to move clubs... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 August 2043: Strength of the Premier League... Just need Wolves to complete the five here but Stoke and Derby are also playoff contenders. Shame that the four Midlands Prem teams are the four weakest (in the bookies, at least...) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 (edited) August 2043: Premier League Kick off I'm happy with the line up even though there is only one new signing in the first eleven - Milianti. --- This is the exact thing we need to capitalise on (and did in this move with Ferencik opening his account for the season). Teams throw players forward and there is often a huge hap between the lines. Keeping my wide players higher and wider and introducing the AM to the scenario means we have players spare and can counter attack when necessary. Players like Milianti will thrive in this line up, I hope. Edited February 8, 2021 by _Ben_ 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 September 2043: Milestone Still going strong... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 August/September 2043: A really strong start to the season. We've performed admirably in all of the games, Leeds aside, in what has been a tough task against Champions Man Utd, third place Chelsea and fifth placed Spurs. Blues are the only team we've faced who finished below us (excluding promoted Everton) and we failed to win against them last season (1-1 draw at home and 3-0 loss away) so this is good progress. However, the most pleasing thing is that my game plan is working. I don't class myself as a master tactician, at all, so to see us stretching the game and exploiting the space, particularly when teams are coming at us (look at the timing of three goals vs Spurs, two goals vs Birmingham and one vs Everton) is a great stride forward for us. We are a lot more creative, which is great, but over the next few weeks we do need to focus on our defensive stability as we've kept just one clean sheet this season. The three tactical changes I have made are: Style: Balanced to positive MC: MC(a) moved to AM strata and AP(s) Wingers: AP(s)/AP(a) or AP(s)/RMD(a) moved to W(s)/IF(a) but non-restrictive of the side that they play on now. All of these are offensive changes so I need to counter that by getting the group of players I have to be well drilled at the back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 October 2043: In the first game of October... Let's see how deep this squad really is! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler16 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Milianti is looking like a big hit so far, then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 35 minutes ago, tyler16 said: Milianti is looking like a big hit so far, then? Definitely, as shown by these stats: The dribbling part is not really our style but he eclipses everyone else in our squad (Ejza: 1.26, Coker: 0.73, Ferencik: 0.36, Cano: 0.2) and everything else is look really strong. My problem: He's far too good and I (my scouts) have uncovered a real diamond here. There is no chance this lad will stick around at a club that, realistically, harbours intentions of just not being relegated. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 October 2043: International The Oliver Turton (yeah, I'd not heard of him, either) gave Jackson his first cap, which is a real testament to how he's grown into this league and his role at the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Wow, thankfully you managed to beat West Ham to survive another season in the Premier League Not bad start to the season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic Youth Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Looks like we are all on tenterhooks about the Bournemouth result (us with result, you with injuries). My first reaction when I saw the results was two fold, too much red results and only one Vlad goal. I then had two other wrinkles, Milianti has hit the ground running and not all the red is in the league The results look positive, and the mentality change so far looks promising. Are your other attacking changes allowing your attacking players like Milianti to get into attacking positions to make a difference? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonic Youth Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 16 hours ago, _Ben_ said: October 2043: International The Oliver Turton (yeah, I'd not heard of him, either) gave Jackson his first cap, which is a real testament to how he's grown into this league and his role at the club. Noice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 8 hours ago, Sonic Youth said: Looks like we are all on tenterhooks about the Bournemouth result (us with result, you with injuries). My first reaction when I saw the results was two fold, too much red results and only one Vlad goal. I then had two other wrinkles, Milianti has hit the ground running and not all the red is in the league The results look positive, and the mentality change so far looks promising. Are your other attacking changes allowing your attacking players like Milianti to get into attacking positions to make a difference? We are on a bit of a decline now, as you'll see as I'm now playing my last game in November but things are ok. We've forgotten how to score but have been utterly ravaged by injuries to date and, even though I'm happy with my recruitment, we simply haven't got the depth of squad that can cope with this. Tactically, I'm happy. We're in all of the games and I feel that we're just genuinely lacking some luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 November 2043: Easy money I sold Bass for £4m in the summer so to get nearly £8.5m for a player without a senior appearance nor a huge amount of potential is great! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 October/November 2043 I don't know whether to start with the results, or this graph: That is tracking our injuries year to year and showing that we have been absolutely destroyed by a long list of injuries in the squad and, with the latest injury to Ferencik, I'm having to go strikerless as I don't have a fit, recognised forward in the first team. That being said, we're doing ok. The Norwich, Man City, Arsenal run was tough (yeah, Norwich are a good team now) so, to keep the goal difference down with half a forward line was a decent end result which, in my opinion, hasn't dampened an unbeaten October. We left it very late against Sheffield United but that win is important and,its victories against teams of that level that will keep us up. We had the better share of chances against Bournemouth, creating 2.13 xG to their 1.44 with our 7 shots on target but, with those injuries piling up and 20 mins with 10 men (as I'd used all my substitutes on the injured players), I'm not too unhappy. It was pleasing to end the streak with a good win against Villa, too. We've got a really busy schedule coming up so I'm hoping the threadbare squad can squeeze through it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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