[FM21] Swiss Army Knife

[_Ben_]

February 2026: Replacement

The board decided to sell Gregory Langlois over my head for around €14k, which was very annoying.

Therefore, and thanks to my Portuguese assistant, I was able to spot a scout report for this man, Ricardo Badinca, from Guinea-Bissau. He cost just €250 from Sporting Bissau and is a very decent looking defender. There is poor anticipation and his dribbling could be higher but I cannot rely on 16 year old Elliot Henry as my second choice centre back and there was very little in either the scouted pool nor from offers from the DoF, so I had to intervene. Hopefully Badinca can develop and move on for a decent profit.

[HurkaDurk69]

40 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

February 2026: Replacement

The board decided to sell Gregory Langlois over my head for around €14k, which was very annoying.

Therefore, and thanks to my Portuguese assistant, I was able to spot a scout report for this man, Ricardo Badinca, from Guinea-Bissau. He cost just €250 from Sporting Bissau and is a very decent looking defender. There is poor anticipation and his dribbling could be higher but I cannot rely on 16 year old Elliot Henry as my second choice centre back and there was very little in either the scouted pool nor from offers from the DoF, so I had to intervene. Hopefully Badinca can develop and move on for a decent profit.

In my eyes he is an actual upgrade(though that Anticipaction is shocking) BTW, your attribute "wheel" seems to be broken. Can barely see the description

[Brentmeister]

Hi Ben, great thread as usual.

Just a quick one, how and why are some of your own players attributes hidden?

Thanks mate, keep up the good work.

[_Ben_]

19 hours ago, HurkaDurk69 said:

In my eyes he is an actual upgrade(though that Anticipaction is shocking) BTW, your attribute "wheel" seems to be broken. Can barely see the description

Yes - he is an upgrade in terms of quality, but the strict rules at this level say I need 11 Meyrin trained (0-21 years) players in the 18 man squad and Langlois, despite being unspectacular, was one of those.

Also, yes, I know it's broken. The text is on secondary colour (I didn't notice it at Redditch as we played in red and white) but I'm too engrossed to change it back right now as it involves some fiddling around with the panels.

3 hours ago, Brentmeister said:

Hi Ben, great thread as usual.

Just a quick one, how and why are some of your own players attributes hidden?

Thanks mate, keep up the good work.

It's intentional as I use the skin colours to hide the 'poor' attributes.(those below 7) so that my screen is less cluttered with attributes that aren't good and I can focus on a smaller range.

To do it, you need to set the 'A' value as 1:

I have no idea what the 'A' stands for but it hides them, whatever skin you are using. I could use it to hide them all but that'd be too tough at this point!

[_Ben_]

February 2026: Mentoring

Having a little play to make some notes of just what I can achieve with this.

Oviedo is the key man here and, despite having (in the grand scheme of things - and certainly not at this level) a just above average personality and determination level, he has a few traits that are really suited to an inverted wingback and I really love playing with one of those at the moment.

My scouting team alerted me to Ismail Belahmeur, who I promptly signed as a long term replacement for the Costa Rican. His playing style is conducive of the IWB but I am aware that he'll drastically (5 points potentially) drop in Determination should I let this mentoring run long term. However, at this level, and at the potential reward of those traits, I'm all for it. If he was really (or at least) a bit, Professional, he'd be Driven and not Determined so that must be considered a bonus, too.

Voisin, who also plays at full back would benefit from the traits, professionalism and Determination, too - although that would then rule him out of playing as a right back - not that I do as he's not as physical as I want for that role.

---

The catch here is that I expect Oviedo to retire at the end of the season, so it's a case of how quick can things change?!

[_Ben_]

2026 Youth Intake

At a level where CA matters much more than PA, I have to be happy with Guillot, Martineau, Ajdini and Simonnet as they can all add depth whilst fitting in with the player quota rules.

[_Ben_]

March 2026: Run-in

I've got too engrossed to stop for updates. I think we'll win the league but let's hope we have enough left for the promotion playoff!

[Reiver]

3 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

 

I have no idea what the 'A' stands for but it hides them, whatever skin you are using. I could use it to hide them all but that'd be too tough at this point!

That would be Alpha - basically opacity.

[_Ben_]

2025/26 Season Review

We did it!

I've played many long term saves on FM but I can genuinely say that I don't feel any have felt quite as good as this, given the fact that I normally prefer a 'hands off' approach and actually very rarely play the games or focus on the intricacies around player morale and communication. Who'd have thought that the Swiss fourth tier would be my top achievement!

Absolutely dominant, in every area. We ended the main league phase in dominating style, although I did feel that things were not quite right. For example, we may have beat Lancy 6-2, but our five first half goals came from just 0.90 xG - a real show that we may be clinical, but have not really created the best chances we could. We could have won the league ourselves, but instead, faltered to a 0-0 draw in Lausanne against Vaud but, due to the performance of Echallons in their game, won the league as they didn't pick up full points. Therefore, it was the Chenois game that saw us lift the league title and it was a fitting way to make it with one of our most complete performances to date.

Whilst I am obviously very happy, I do have a slight concern that, in particular, has been highlighted in the playoff phase. We conceded just eleven times in 26 league games but shipped seven goals in the last three games - and what is more is that they were all 'the same goal.' We are really good at being compact and forming a two banks when in defence, but that compactness, with a high-ish line and a goalkeeper who isn't the quickest, along with no pressure on the Route One loving full backs, means that we are susceptible to a long diagonal hoof, and that is how we conceded every one of these goals. I asked my wingers to put pressure on the full backs but, as they tired, this became harder and harder to do. Sometimes I have lamented our profligacy in front of goal - but on these occasions, I needed it.

What is great is to see just how dominant we've been this season. We may have ranked second in goals scored but we conceded over half of what the next best defence shipped, keeping 18 clean sheets. We've got a league high possession percentage (57%) as well as 86% of our passes finding their intended target - another high. With 50% of our shots on target and 16% of all shots converted, we lead the league in offensive stats as well as defensive stats - allowing nearly 50 less shots (152 in total) that the next best team over the course of the season.

An all round wonderful season.

---

What I love even more is that this hasn't been a one man show. Renato Augusto was my 'favourite' player to watch but, since writing this report, he's retired and has become my assistant, continuing this little love affair. He ended with four goals and ten assists but it was he, and fellow (also now retired veteran) Brian Oviedo that lead the team in key passes/90. The amount of pre-assists that Renato had as well as the space he created was fantastic and it was fitting that he netted, and I chose to give him the penalty, in his last career game against Wettswil. Eldar Suljicic was my top scorer and had a hand in 21 goals this season, which is a great return. He has had to make little to no adaptation to be a really key player in my footballing philosophy but he's only just beaten my young revelation Ales Ribic, who continues his wonderful start to his career. At just 16, the young Slovenian has netted twelve times with six more assists from the left wing, creating a team high xG, too. At the back, the pairing of Bytyqi and another academy graduate Henry has been wonderful and kept the new signing Badinca out of the team. He's not been happy but is yet to get into a social group, learn any French or really earn his place - and that is the type of competition I want.

I was able to give a little bit of playing time to the three new graduates, Ajdini, Martineau and Guillot but I feel, with the promotion, they may find their chances somewhat restricted next year.-

---

The summer will see some changes and that is not because I don't believe in this team - merely that the rules loosen slightly. No longer do I need 11 of the 18 to be trained at Meyrin, they only have to be trained in Switzerland so I feel that upgrading on the likes of Rezzonico, Leconte and Voisin is probably a good idea.

I was alerted, via the media, to this:

Now, whilst this would be a great move, I feel that it's completely unrealistic. I told the media that I'm ambitious and this sent the board into a bit of a panic but the real answer is that I won't be moving on, just yet, and certainly not to the top tier, when my only success comes all the way down in the fourth tier.

[_Ben_]

June 2026: Academy Coaching

Nice upgrade to this which should have an immediate knock on to the intake next year.

[tyler16]

Don't go getting too attached to the club now. 

[_Ben_]

On 06/03/2021 at 20:09, tyler16 said:

Don't go getting too attached to the club now. 

It's happening, isn't it?!

I jest. However, when moving on, I think I've ruled myself out of any of the currently big Italian speaking teams as they have this weird thing where they don't have any youth or reserve squads, instead, share a feeder, called Ticino at both U21 and u18 level. Ticino play in the lower leagues and are entirely comprised of promising youngsters from the three clubs:

Lovely idea and, as far as I know, pretty unique too, but not what I want for my own aims.

[_Ben_]

September 2026: Those 'little' bits

A half back in a possession orientated (or at least - 'Play from the back') team making just 12 complete passes is not good enough for me. I didn't think he'd agreed but was left for little else to pull out from his 6.5 rating, except what I'd just watched in the match. Whilst he doesn't agree with it - he's appreciating my style of play and trying to develop it.

If he does - then it's these kind of things that are magical and, I must admit, I've completely glanced over in my quest to complete four billion seasons in a game, for example...

[_Ben_]

October 2026: First Third Update

I'm really happy with this!

This is the tightest league I've played in for a while and the results are ridiculous: Nyonnais beating Solothrun 9-7 away from home, for example! We're in a really good place and have performed pretty well this season. Whilst things aren't quite as free-flowing and easy on the eye as they were last season, a lot of this can be put down to my focus on defensive work in training, rather than offensive. With no historical data against us due to this being our first season in the league - I don't quite have the same focus as I did last season in terms of knowing what I want to work on before I face each side, apart from their league position and early season statistics.

I've taken a slightly deeper look at our performances, particularly defensively. Whilst last season's title winning performance was always going to be top draw defensively, I still feel a little concerned about our backline, where we've only kept one clean sheet in the league. Looking at our goal type concessions, we are allowing big chances right in front our goal, from a variety of types - albeit a slight lean towards crosses and through balls. Initially, my thoughts were that hero of last season, Dario Thurkauf, may be to blame - as, at the end of the day, he needs to command that part of the box. I can't necessarily fault him attribute wise though, and, when looking at the positions of the goal scorers - need to take a look at Bytiqi, Bandinca and Henry. The first two aren't particularly quick, the latter is a snail and the middle one can't anticipate situations. Roll them into one and you'd have a decent defender but this is what I'm working with right here. I still need to work, day in, day out, to drill this defence to keep the goals out.

Offensively, I feel we're a bit weak. Maybe that is a down to the training but there has be some blame laid on two new recruits - Arnaud Bonnet and Kastrijot Ndau. The latter has been exceptionally poor in the MC role and, really worryingly, not a single goal has come from the central midfield pairing this season. Likewise, nothing has come from my defenders, showing just how wasteful we've been with set pieces. Perhaps something that has surprised me is the focus of our play - despite the intention to build largely down the right, that hasn't been the case in the last five games. A lot of that is due to Galeano's dip in form, particularly when he was a key figure last year.

---

My next worry, and, probably the reason that I wont be spending more than maybe another year here is our complete lack of depth, due to reputation and money. Below is the squad comparing minutes and average rating:

I have some very distinct groups here. Firstly, the group of the 'lots of game time/good ratings' are my three key players - Suljcic and Ribic, who both embody my offensive style and Bytyqi, the strongest of my defenders. I also then have the 'lots of game time/poor ratings' group that consists of playmakers Ndau and Casano and IWB Belahmeur - two tough roles to fill at this low level. However, Renato Augusto and Bryan Oviedo filled them very well last year, even if they are now left with big boots to fill. I have a very big drop off in terms of minutes to a group of, essentially, backups and youngsters. Miranda, my other new signing, is yet to find any consistency but is now, at least, getting comfortable with his P/R/D so I'd expect more minutes - especially given Henry and Badinca's low averages, too.

It's a real question of depth, which we don't have, in quality, right now.

---

We're doing well and have started nicely, but my little shortlist of things to do is growing ever longer. I'm very much of the view that I'll take my tactical style and set piece style with me to other clubs, so time on these kind of things isn't wasted and will have impact in both the long and short term.

However, there is this:

Now, I've been told that I was unsuccessful but that is because they've already offered a contract to their new manager by the time I saw the advert. Akdag Turgut has taken Friburg up the leagues and, should this job become available, does look like the perfect jump...

[_Ben_]

October 2026: Interest

We are on...

It's great that this team actually started below Meyrin but three promotions and a head-hunted manager (as they are not in bad form) means that this could be the perfect type of club for me to hone my skills in the second tier.

[_Ben_]

November 2026: Job done...

---

I leave Meyrin with them in 7th place in the third tier after spending 760 days with them, winning an impressive 61% of my 57 matches there. More importantly, I cut my teeth in the Swiss game and began to introduce my playing and development style, that'll be coming with me to Fribourg.

As I said, Fribourg were a tiny team at the start of the game but three promotions has seem then in the Professional game, even if they haven't made the move yet. The city is home to 38,000 people and, unlike Meyrin, is the capital of the Canton with the same name. The town of Fribourg marks the border between the French and German speaking parts of the country so I'd love to be able to learn some German whilst here, hopefully increasing my adaptability further down the line. 

We've made some steps up in teams of the club standings too: now playing at a 10k seater stadium, Stade Universitaire St-Leonard with facilities a similar level to that of Meyrin, but, hopefully with the scope of improvement considering the near €700k in the bank.

I have brought Renato Augusto with me.

---

I'm, obviously, going to take a deep look at the squad and get to know them before doing a lot but below is where we start from, with the aim only to remain at this level.

  

[tyler16]

Love the move. Perfectly realistic but a sizable jump. Also love that you're bringing Renato Augusto along for the ride.

How do the budgets and top players compare to what you had at Meyrin? Hope they're able to stay in the third tier without you!

[Lodi Lemmer]

Here's to continuing your success at the new club!

[_Ben_]

6 hours ago, Lodi Lemmer said:

Here's to continuing your success at the new club!

Thank you!

8 hours ago, tyler16 said:

Love the move. Perfectly realistic but a sizable jump. Also love that you're bringing Renato Augusto along for the ride.

How do the budgets and top players compare to what you had at Meyrin? Hope they're able to stay in the third tier without you!

I agree.

They are essentially the same kind of team, just one level above. Neither of these teams are expected to do a lot this season but, at Fribourg, I also have the potential to go professional and that was just not going to be possible at Meyrin. I'm going to take Renato with me everywhere I go, especially as he's only on a National A Licence and, should he have the potential, he'll grow further too.

I'm still just looking through the players and I'm going to do a full run down of them but the budgets are nice - if a little tight. €60k to spend, €6.5k p/w in wages (about a €2k a week increase) but, unlike at Meyrin, we're not in debt and have €645k in the bank - thanks to a decent payout on promotion. I may be using a chunk of that to bring in one or two of my favourite players from Meyrin though!

I do worry about Meyrin, although they have an eight point cushion over the drop zone. With me playing without a recognised striker, I worry that the AI manager, whoever that may be, will flood the team with strikers who may not fit the DNA that I had brought through. I'll keep an eye on them throughout the save though and hope that they can continue to build.

[_Ben_]

November 2026: What a start...

It just so happened that our first match was on the day I joined. I've just about selected a squad and I guess I can say that we've made a good start!

[_Ben_]

November 2026: Squad Introduction

We managed to record a great win over Chiasso in my first game, stemming the flow of goals conceded too, which was wonderful. But now it's time to have a really deep look at the squad I've inherited:

I'm pleasantly surprised with the squad, actually, and, shockingly, there is complete lack of striking ability, which will fit my preferred shape down to the ground.

In goal, there is the experienced Anthony Mossi, who looks to have been kept busy in is short time at the club so far. He's consistent and makes good decisions but I do have to question whether he's going to be a suitable long term sweeper keeper. We have two other youngsters who can play in goal but I've demoted them to the youth squads.

My defence is predominantly made up of very poor technical players and it appears the previous manager tried to teach them all to play a short passing game and stay back at all times. I guess that Loble is the strongest players I have here. Neither full back particular fills me with confidence but I do like how Heitz could fit in as an inverted player, even if he's no better than what I've previously had in the third tier. 

Dauti looks a good fit for the deepest part of the midfield, my Half Back and wingers Schmidt and Comte are also strong. I don't see much point deviating from the midfield duo, when Hermann is a great fit for a Mezzala and Jimenez has all the makings of a great play maker.

The shadow striker role undoubtedly belongs to our best player and loanee Steenbergen, who is going to be deadly.

---

As you'd expect - Steenbergen is performing amazingly well but there is little quality coming through elsewhere and the form is poor. 

However, we have plenty of time to work with this squad and, despite there not being the highest ceiling (due to them being a lower league club prior to my takeover), I think we can continue to grow.

 

[Sonic Youth]

Oooh nice move 

I like how you saw what was happening, what was available and went for it 

And, nice start too 

[Sonic Youth]

And snuck a post in while I was type a reply 

[Hootieleece]

Make sure to beat Vaduz! Can't have a team that let's the Liechensteiner's beat them!

 

[_Ben_]

1 hour ago, Sonic Youth said:

Oooh nice move 

I like how you saw what was happening, what was available and went for it 

And, nice start too 

Thank - I'm happy with it!

It was an accident, to be fair! I saw that the Neuchatel job was there but when I applied, they told me that they'd already filled it - with the Fribourg manager, so I went there instead!

It's going to be a tough task but, if we can stay up, I think we can make a decent push.

1 hour ago, Hootieleece said:

Make sure to beat Vaduz! Can't have a team that let's the Liechensteiner's beat them!

 

I'll try but Vaduz are a good team - they got relegated last year and are going to push to get back there. Interestingly, I've managed to avoid every Liechtenstein club so far...

[_Ben_]

2026/27 Mid Season

Only three games to the mid-season point but some interesting performances and six points which have done an awful lot to keep us in this division next season.

Our game against Chiasso was promising but I can take little credit. I went with my normal compact 4-1-4-1 but allowed the squad to be picked by the coaches that had worked with them before - as I'd literally not even clicked through all of their profiles to this point. We scored really early but then not a lot happened after that. It was a decent performance, considering the lack of familiarity with my style. We were then sounding beaten by Aarau but they would have been expecting that in a game where I can describe ourselves as very 'Brighton-esque' as we played well but there was just no end goal. We ended the month and the first half of the season with a win but our poorest performance to date and have given now-managerless (and now, I don't think I'd have taken it instead of Fribourg) Yverdon side.

I know it's early days but I want to ensure that we aren't falling into the same traps that we did at Meyrin, where we were a lot more leaky than I'd like us to be. It's a similar situation - then we had 4th tier players in the third tier and this time we have 3rd tier (or worse) players in the 2nd tier so I need to find the problems and solve them, quickly.

Here are the goals that we've conceded, to date:

Aarau's first came from a cross. We've got pressure on the ball and, I'd say that, overall, the defence is situated in quite a decent position. The cross is whipped into a really dangerous position but my right back, Mallo decided that he'd watch the ball and become a covering defender, leaving his man, and the ball, completely. It was left to the really good Aubry to find the net. Mello has good decision making and decent positioning so I think that this is a bit of a mistake rather than an overall issue with our playing style. He's not impressed me overall, to be fair, and silly mistakes like this have not helped!

Aubry turned creator this time as he lofts a ball over the top of Declercq for Ballet to tuck away. My concern here is how easy it was for Ballet to find that space as Declercq just did not follow him. He has pretty poor decisions and isn't the fastest so this may be part of the reason. I have since moved the defensive line up slightly (was standard and now slightly higher) to try and alleviate this or just mean that the player is further from the goal if he breaks through.

The last goal we conceded was a thunderbolt and probably about 0.01 xG so I'm not even going to worry about it!

---

I'm left with a little training worry here. I want to work on getting the style settled and building towards that lovely creative football but we must take it slowly. Firstly, my team's training ratings aren't great so I've opted for lots of 'Team' sessions to get everyone together as a collective group. I have also decided that I much prefer the Tactic block because it works on P/R/D as well as some of those key intelligence attributes I like. I need to spend weeks/months settling with this before pushing on to the more offensive and creative schedules. We've kept two clean sheets so far but still average 2.0 GA/90, which is just not acceptable so need to get the big things sorted first.

There may be some strengthening in the January window but I need to actually build a recruitment team first...

[_Ben_]

December 2026: Getting better

The key to getting the playing style to work is utilising of space and drawing opponents out of their spaces.  Jimenez finally had a little bit of time to pick the lovely ball through to Steenbergen who did, indeed, finish it off for us.

Going forward, I want to return to the bank of five moving forward together between the lines.

[Joe Horn]

Great save as per usual mate, how do you get the ideas for your saves, I'm trying to think of something in a foreign country but I don't know where to go because I tend to bore quickly of certain saves.

[tyler16]

Absolutely loving this, nice change of pace from the Premier League.

Looks like quite a few of the players over-performed their xG prior to you joining. Would be a great accomplishment if you managed to keep them up and continued to consolidate in the second tier for a couple seasons.

Jiminez reminds me of Augusto in a way... just that his legs haven't gone, he never had them to begin with. 

[_Ben_]

5 hours ago, Joe Horn said:

Great save as per usual mate, how do you get the ideas for your saves, I'm trying to think of something in a foreign country but I don't know where to go because I tend to bore quickly of certain saves.

Thank you. I just kind of want to experience every league across FM. I've had some great historical saves:

• Spain: Guadalajara
• England: Redditch
• Italy: Too many to mention to the one that sticks in my memory is Milazzo
• Brazil: Volta Redonda
• Austria: First Vienna
• Portugal: Beira-Mar
• Norway: Lyn
• Argentina: Barracas Central

I kind of just pick a country and then dive in to find out something fun. Once I've found that initial link - I just let it snowball. The 10 team top tiers have sold it for me really in this save.

3 hours ago, tyler16 said:

Absolutely loving this, nice change of pace from the Premier League.

Looks like quite a few of the players over-performed their xG prior to you joining. Would be a great accomplishment if you managed to keep them up and continued to consolidate in the second tier for a couple seasons.

Jiminez reminds me of Augusto in a way... just that his legs haven't gone, he never had them to begin with. 

Thanks - I'm loving playing it and spending a little longer writing down my thoughts, rather than just posting images. So far, I've stayed away from Excel, too, which has made me feel way more connected to the game. I know I talked about tracking of training etc at the start, but I reckon I can do the majority of it in-game, which will only help.

What I particularly love is that second paragraph - 'for a couple of years.' As someone who does love the finer detail, I am really enjoying that I'm not necessarily making a long-term call. If a player isn't quite right for me - that's ok as I won't be burdened by them forever. I also am not fretting over filling out my u18 team and ensuring I tick every single box. Right now, I'm loving the tactical and training side and getting the best out of the players I have at the club right now.

I love Jimenez actually and I really don't know why he wasn't used as much before I signed. He's one of those players who, like Ales Ribic at Meyrin, is really only good in the areas that relate to his role and one of those midfielders who is getting battered on Average Rating (6.63) even though he's doing pretty well:

Add some goals to that and we're talking about a dangerous playmaker.

[SatournFan]

Just finished reading Hometown Heroes and I gotta say - the way you play the game is phenomenal, with that attention to details, the scrupulous youth development, the metagame aspect of it with the Excel spreadsheets, it's all super inspirational. I read Jimbokav's Irchester thread last year, but Hometown Heroes, for me, was even more entertaining. Someday I want to have a save similar to yours (and I probably need to catch up with your earlier campaigns!)

Very much looking forward to seeing how this journey of yours unfolds, good luck in Switzerland!

[Reiver]

Considering that Fribourg, including suburbs, is a 75k town, has s decently sized stadium, and from the 40s to the 90s was mostly a second division team with some years in the first division, I think you have a team that can easily grow at least until a decent top tier team.

[_Ben_]

9 hours ago, SatournFan said:

Just finished reading Hometown Heroes and I gotta say - the way you play the game is phenomenal, with that attention to details, the scrupulous youth development, the metagame aspect of it with the Excel spreadsheets, it's all super inspirational. I read Jimbokav's Irchester thread last year, but Hometown Heroes, for me, was even more entertaining. Someday I want to have a save similar to yours (and I probably need to catch up with your earlier campaigns!)

Very much looking forward to seeing how this journey of yours unfolds, good luck in Switzerland!

Many thanks for your kind words. I hope that I find a sweet spot between game play and telling my ‘story.’ I, too, loved Jimbo’s thread and that was the initial inspiration for my thread, even though I knew the pre-conceived dislike I had for the Premier League. It’s a shame I didn’t finish it but I have to say, I’m loving this Swiss adventure more!

6 hours ago, Reiver said:

Considering that Fribourg, including suburbs, is a 75k town, has s decently sized stadium, and from the 40s to the 90s was mostly a second division team with some years in the first division, I think you have a team that can easily grow at least until a decent top tier team.

You never have and never will fail to inspire me with your footballing knowledge (or good use of Google!) 

I do still intend for this to be short-ish term job with my main goal for them being to turn pro. I say that because of the poor facilities that, moving to a club like Thun or Aarau, for example, have. I would then like to jump to a larger team (but not Basel or Young Boys) and really like to build from there. 

p.s.  Your German save is fantastic - I’ll take some time to digest it all and reply in due course!

[Reiver]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

Many thanks for your kind words. I hope that I find a sweet spot between game play and telling my ‘story.’ I, too, loved Jimbo’s thread and that was the initial inspiration for my thread, even though I knew the pre-conceived dislike I had for the Premier League. It’s a shame I didn’t finish it but I have to say, I’m loving this Swiss adventure more!

You never have and never will fail to inspire me with your footballing knowledge (or good use of Google!) 

I do still intend for this to be short-ish term job with my main goal for them being to turn pro. I say that because of the poor facilities that, moving to a club like Thun or Aarau, for example, have. I would then like to jump to a larger team (but not Basel or Young Boys) and really like to build from there. 

p.s.  Your German save is fantastic - I’ll take some time to digest it all and reply in due course!

Thanks! In this case it was a mixture of both - I knew that Fribourg had been a much bigger team in the past but couldn't remember the details so I googled it out to confirm. I knew about the town cause one of my cousin's lived nearby for a while.

[_Ben_]

2026/27 Window Break Review

The winter break, when just forming a team, isn't always the best thing. In the month that we had off we managed to lose a fair bit of tactical familiarity and it put and end to our little run of good form. I took a well deserved break and allowed my backroom team to give me some options for players who could help improve the team. One thing I'm trying to do in this leg of the journey is rely entirely on scout reports in the scouting centre, so that will be fun...

---

We ended eight players, which is probably two or three more than I'd have liked and would normally bring in during a normal window, yet I feel that we've put ourselves in a good position to get to the end of the season. I have tried to rely on shorter team deals for those players I wanted as backup and squad players in the hope that I can convince the board to turn professional and open up our club to much better players. Here are the signings:

Santiago Galeano is a player I know well and one who I trust to push us forward. He cost €12k, which is a club record, but is literally made for the tactical style I want to employ. Dylan Tutonda steps up from the third tier and looks to be a really solid playmaker and will provide a different option in the Advanced Playmaker slot, particularly making use of his 'Tries Killer Balls' trait. Noah Henchoz (maybe the son of Stephan) brings a little more technical ability to the centre of defence and Muzanga could be a top player on either wing or either of the two central midfield roles. Jacovic, Wolf and ex-FM legend Dongou are good depth options also.

There are two standout deals, for me. The first is the extension of Steenbergen's loan deal until the end of next season and the arrival, via an agent tout, of free agent Guychel Kabaya. The ex-TP Mazembe man has played top level football in the Linafoot and is a current youth international, surely close to the first team slot (currently occupied by my own Anthony Mossi). He's considerably better than his countryman and, in a team who have shipped a lot of goals, is going to be very busy but also essential to our performances over the coming years.

This upheaval comes at a cost, with at least three or four of the players earmarked as first team players who have to learn my playing style and get themselves back into form as well as enter social groups and find their places within the squad hierarchy. As I said, my goal is to convince the board to turn pro this summer and, maybe, skim just the cream off this crop and continue to strengthen as I look to push for a spot in the top half - although the issue comes with the inability to forward plan due to the professional status.

---

Tactically, I've been tinkering with ways to make the midfield trio a bit more versatile by employing a play maker in different areas depending on the numbers and the depth that the opposition play with. I have also looked at an AP(a) on the right wing but I felt that took away a little of that firepower from out wide and in the half space. It's something to work on once we've nailed the defence, although that is more likely to be a player upgrade over time than anything too tactical.

---

I'm targeting 42 points this season (double the total from the 18 game mark), which, in previous years would see us finish 7th, 8th, 9th, 8th, 6th, and 9th - all safe from relegation. Looking at the table, the lowest points a team has scored, and survived, is 33 - set by Stade Lausanne-Ouchy back in 2020/21 but, to reach that, Yverdon will need to score at 1.16 points/game for the remainder of the season, double their current output.

[_Ben_]

January 2027: Problem!

And just why I don't like making too many signings. However, this time I have shot myself in the foot with my inability to know the rules of this league for registration purposes...

A squad of 21 is ok, however, once a player has made more than 1 appearance, they cannot be removed from this registration. Therefore, I'm left with a few no-hopers, who aren't even at the club any more, who played for Fribourg under the old reign who are taking up valuable spaces.

Of my new signings, I had to make a tough call on both quality and depth in the squad area and omit Dongou and Jacovic as neither is under 21, so is exempt from registration. "But what about Kabeya?" I hear you ask...Well...I didn't even see the rules when I registered him when he joined in late December

[_Ben_]

January 2027: Defensive analysis

Just another still has the really made me think:

This is where a lot of our attacks start from.

We are deep but structures in our offensive shape. I have, essentially, got a three man backline in Husic, Dauti and Henchoz here and I like that Jimenez has peeled off, even from the AP(s) slot and is showing for the ball. You can see that Hadiz, the IWB(s), is keeping much narrower than Galeano, the now FB(a) rather than WB(a) and there are clearly two wide players.

I know that Thun have dropped off to be ready for the restart but we have all of our key players in acres of space and, should we possess the quality to move the ball forward relatively quickly, can certainly take advantage of moves like this more often. 

However, and as is all too common with the level of player, Husic choses a long ball to Steenbergen who doesn't win the header and, all of a sudden, we are sitting very deep and not near attacking Thun players.

[keeper#1]

3 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

January 2027: Defensive analysis

Just another still has the really made me think:

This is where a lot of our attacks start from.

We are deep but structures in our offensive shape. I have, essentially, got a three man backline in Husic, Dauti and Henchoz here and I like that Jimenez has peeled off, even from the AP(s) slot and is showing for the ball. You can see that Hadiz, the IWB(s), is keeping much narrower than Galeano, the now FB(a) rather than WB(a) and there are clearly two wide players.

I know that Thun have dropped off to be ready for the restart but we have all of our key players in acres of space and, should we possess the quality to move the ball forward relatively quickly, can certainly take advantage of moves like this more often. 

However, and as is all too common with the level of player, Husic choses a long ball to Steenbergen who doesn't win the header and, all of a sudden, we are sitting very deep and not near attacking Thun players.

I have a similar problem in the Vanarama National League with Farnborough.  Too many balls hoofed up the field the center forward instead of building up patiently through the back.

[_Ben_]

February 2027: More defensive thoughts

Here's a thought I've just had.

As you can see, we are without possession after a relatively quick turnover and Rapperswil are building something. My back four, all highlighted (Galeano, Henchoz, Husic and Hadzic - from right to left) are in a decent shape until Husic is drawn to win the ball, even though my DM is actually right next to him. Now, his decision making (14) is good for this level, but I feel that it's my team tactic of 'Counter pressing' - trying to regain possession quickly after losing it may be the cause of him stepping out so aggressively. In this case, and several more before them, he has not won the first ball and there is a gaping hole in my defence where, even a semi-pro footballer, is good enough to slide a ball through to the striker. I'd bank on this being one of the reasons why 20 goals have been scored by strikers against my teams in the last 34 games.

Therefore...

We are also extremely compact, with our strikerless 4-1-4-1 so we are naturally in a solid defensive shape. The instruction 'Counter' says 'ask players to immediately go on the attack and seek to take advantage of any opportunities left by opponents.' I like this. I'm going to not force us to quickly win the ball back. We have pace and technical prowess with a very fast shadow striker and our game is all about exploiting spaces through overloads and clever interplay and that can happen whilst on the counter.

---

We're making really good strides on the pitch, particularly with our defensive work but are still not quite where I want us to be. It's changes like this that I want to watch for the next ten or so games and then revisit.

[_Ben_]

March 2037: Three Quarter Update

Things are continuing to move along quite nicely here, despite a mixed bag of results.

We started the round off with an unexpected three points at Vaduz where some lovely counter attacking football saw us overturn an early goal form the hosts. However, we couldn't pick up any momentum with a home loss at Will. The next two games, against Thun and Winterthur (then 1st and 2nd) were great and a real demonstration of our progress. We allowed Thun a total of just 0.46 xG and bettered that against Winterthur, as they registered just 0.08 xG from their one, off-target, shot. It must be said that our combined xG over the two games was also less than one but I knew that my first job was to step the flow of goals and, with us conceding 9 (1.0 GA/90) that is a big improvement on where the team was before I was hired (2.2 GA/90). 

We followed that with a poor performance against Neuchatel and the media was then, somehow, touting us for relegation, despite the mess that Yverdon were in. I rebuffed all of those ideas and set about moving to work on our chance creation and conversion for the Rapperswil tie. Then this happened:

We had 66% of the ball and absolutely battered them but, as happens when you are in a bit of a rut, we just didn't have the luck on our side. It was the first goal against Rapperswil that I highlighted for the use of counter pressing pulling us out of shape. The response, against a poor Yverdon side, was fantastic. We outplayed them and, this time, had the luck on our side - running out comfortable winners and ended our little poor run. We followed that up with a good draw against Chiasso and a great performance against Aarau - where we only fell to defeat thanks to an opportunist hoof from the goalkeeper that found a gap and their striker beat the onrushing sweeper keeper, Kabeya.

---

I don't want to be known as Steenbergen FC but he's really wonderful at finishing off our moves. We're still in that nightmare analysis quadrant of Passive but we, at least, are incredibly clinical, which is a bonus.

 

 

[_Ben_]

2027 Youth Intake

We've not got the greatest facilities but a nice Junior Coaching upgrade, taking us to 'Good' was the highlight of the off-field season, and that is shown in the strength of this intake. What cannot be compared though, is the strength of these players compared to others in the league. As noted - we are significantly weaker and have significantly less potential than many of the professional sides at this level, so, whilst this looks good on paper, the realist in me worries just how good it really is.

That being said - the majestically named Vivaldy Ngoy has something about him as does Ilir Lluca. 

[_Ben_]

April 2027: News

This is a little concerning for me as I was hoping to use this summer to be able to recruit players who, over the next two to three years, could be able to lead us to promotion. Now, and unless the board change their mind, I foresee that I'll see out my contract that expires at the end of next season.

I appreciate their logic, as this our first season at this level but they must see that we are able to spend just 10% of what Thun spend annually on wages and the level of player that we can attract is not of the standard of the rest of this league.

[Xander2000]

Very interesting save you've got there. I rarely ever read blogs, but this one has caught my attention. I've had lots of fun in Switzerland as well and I think my next save is either going to be Lausanne-Sport or GC. 

Now regarding your save: What would be your next ideal destination in case the board won't turn the club full-time pro? Are you already looking for other jobs?

[shimera]

2 horas atrás, Xander2000 disse:

Very interesting save you've got there. I rarely ever read blogs, but this one has caught my attention. I've had lots of fun in Switzerland as well and I think my next save is either going to be Lausanne-Sport or GC. 

Now regarding your save: What would be your next ideal destination in case the board won't turn the club full-time pro? Are you already looking for other jobs?

FC Vaduz would be the most popular choice!

[_Ben_]

4 hours ago, Xander2000 said:

Very interesting save you've got there. I rarely ever read blogs, but this one has caught my attention. I've had lots of fun in Switzerland as well and I think my next save is either going to be Lausanne-Sport or GC. 

Now regarding your save: What would be your next ideal destination in case the board won't turn the club full-time pro? Are you already looking for other jobs?

Thank you for your kind words.

I want to complete the season first as the board may change their mind upon completion of a full year at this level. Ideally, I don't want to leave as, in past attempts at journeymen saves, I've just done really short stints at places and moved here there and everywhere but, on the same token, I don't want to force it and I want to be able to find that club that really believes in allowing me to build a legacy. There are some other jobs that are potentially going to be available:

I'm, obviously, not ever going to get that Servette job, nor would I want it, yet but that might start a bit of a merry-go-round for managers. I'd also like to avoid the Aarau job, at the moment, as they have no youth team (another one with multiple youth feeders) and that doesn't fit my style of play.

I am still conscious that I haven't even done three years in management yet so really can't consider myself being a contender for anywhere due to still being very much unproven.

1 hour ago, shimera said:

FC Vaduz would be the most popular choice!

That won't be happening for the foreseeable as they've just appointed Ceccaroni! They are not the team I want to build a legacy with due to the poor nation rating for Liechtenstein but I don't see why I couldn't stop off on the way - seeing as my save has been on the western, French speaking side, to date.

[_Ben_]

2026/27 Season Review

Eight wins, seven draws and six defeats from my 21 games here at Fribourg see us end the season in a very decent 7th place. I end with a positive goal difference, with 21 scored and 19 conceded and actually had the 5th best form over the second half of the season, pulling ahead of Neuchatel, managed by Fribourg legend Akdag Turgut. What is more, we are the only semi-pro team and operating on budgets considerably smaller than everyone else. Without a full season of data behind me, I can't fully say how we are performing under my style, but this is the overview of the season:

(The black kits really help here...)

Busy and impenetrable at the back - probably to be expected for a newly promoted team. However, we have conceded 510 shots this season, a worrying 14.2 per/90 and 29 more than the next worst team, relegated Yverdon. 40% of all of those shots hit the target - compare that to Yverdon (42%), Rapperswil (49%) and Neuchatel (40%) and then Thun (46%) - you can see that we're not doing any worse - i.e. allowing shots from more dangerous places, just allowing a lot of them. As you know, I've been really big on settling the defence and just looking at our goal concession records since I took over shows that things are tightening up but I don't have this data from before taking over to compare.

We're also passive - just 289 shots, working at 8/game. Compare this to Thun (15.4 shots/90) and even Winterthur (who scored a similar amount) - 15.2 shots/90 and you can see that there is something amiss. We are classed as clinical as we have a league high 49% of shots on target and our 17% conversion rate sits 3% above the next best team, Chiasso. My worry is that we've created just 40 (1.1 per/90) clear cut chances, which amounts to just 40% of what the best team, Aarau have done.

We've also risen up in the possession statistics although this is not an accurate representation considering the huge difference in playing style from route one Turgut to my control the ball style. 

Overall, as a team - we've pretty much got what we deserved over the course of the season and I think that my performances, given a whole season, especially a pre-season, may be a stronger showing.

---

A large squad reshape in January has not helped the overall performances of the team but there have been some pleasing performances, both on Average Rating, which always struggles for lower finishing sides, and statistics. Noah Henchoz has been fantastic since joining as has Guychel Kabaya. Serb/Swiss/Congolese Muzunga has really impressed me and settled into the left wing role, performing above average and netting four times with a further one goal created but the biggest on-field impact was probably that of Stefan Wolf. His trait kind of converted the Half Back into a Quarter Back as he launched balls over the top - but these were not risky as the general compactness of our shape means that they were only 25/30 yards and not just punts down field. Four assists and a team high 1.86 key passes/90 show that, even if his Average Rating does not really. 

---

So, as you have seen - the board refused to accept to make us professional, which I agree with, to be fair. However, as much as I'm loving this phase of my career, particularly the very much simplified training module, I don't want to be here forever. The decision to want to move on has been made even easier by this:

The board, namely Magdalena Lauper, has insisted that she makes me play direct and counter attacking football. Whilst we are able to play on the counter, the direct football style is not in agreement with my philosophy to play from the back and work the ball into the box. After just 214 days in charge of Fribourg and a further 12 months on my contract, I feel that I can't sit and shout and get what I want - but I don't, as a manager, want to be forced into choices and styles that don't suit me or the players we have and the squad we are building.

I will say that I am fully committed to the job however, I am watching...

There is potentially a bit of a merry-go-round to come. Basel are after Ricardo Pereira, of Servette, in the top tier, and, given their underperformance, they may look down the leagues for his replacement. I have also declared a bit of interest, and annoyed the board, in the Wil job; the team led by Brunello Iacopeta who finished just one place above us. Yet fully pro and in the top tier just five years back. It is also worth noting that sorry Meyrin had a torrid end to the season and now want their third manager in less than a year.

It'll be an interesting summer...

 

[tyler16]

Continuing to love this. 

Seems like a logical end point at Fribourg whether that's this offseason or next.

[_Ben_]

June and July 2027: Transfer business

With the blow that we had both not been allowed to turn pro and that we must adapt our style to meet that of the owners, I set about strengthening the side in what might be my last window/half season/full season (delete as appropriate). Obviously, the board may go back on their initial demands and allow us to go pro, opening up a whole new avenue of the save and keeping me here for the next years. Either way - I didn't want to do the club a disservice should I leave by both ignoring areas to strengthen and, on the other hand, splashing cash that we shouldn't to just get short term success.

Every signing this summer has followed my realism approach, whereby they have been recommended to me by my analysis and recruitment team or brought to my attention by an agent - with the majority of these from agents I have or am working with. Whilst it was not my intention to necessarily do this, every player was also a free agent so, prior to signing, was on trial and has appeared in some of our early pre-season fixtures.

I went into the window with the following thoughts, backed up by some statistical evidence:

Improving the defensive organisation

• We allowed the most shots and eighth most shots on target.
• We registered the second highest xGA (46.48) across the season.
• We had the eighth leakiest defence

Improving the defensive aspect of transitional play

• Just 0.26 key passes/90 on average for defenders
• Defenders averaging 81% pass completion - 3% down on non-defenders.

Improve the potency of attack

• We averaged 40.7 passes per shot over the course of the season with 82.8 per shot on target (compare this to 59 per SoT for Chiasso and 61.9 per SoT for Winterthur).
• We ranked lowest in clear cut chances created (35 compared to 94 from Aarau)
• Last in the league with 106 crosses completed (2.9 per game) which is just an 11% completion rate from the 963 we have attempted.

---

With that in mind, this is what I did:

---

Defence

Alan Garcia was alerted to me by his agent in what may feel like a slightly cheaty move as he's just shown up since I've added some leagues (although I have extended my scouting knowledge so this does make it feel a bit more realistic that he's now showing up). He last 'played' for Spanish third tier side Ejea back in 2021 so is vastly inexperienced despite his age. He's a good player in all three phases of the game and is certainly an upgrade on Galeano, as well as being able to fit in as a winger, too.  I returned to Meyrin again to sign Ricardino Badinca for €4k. He's a good defensive option, even if I don't see him usurping Noah Henchoz at the heart of the defence. His ball playing ability is lacking somewhat but the fact that he can use two feet does offset that slightly. Stefano Brembilla was actually on loan at Meyrin in my first season there and was fantastic in the fourth tier for me, so I am hoping that he can replicate that for me. His signing is probably the 'most important' as it has prompted me to mirror my shape and have a more attacking wing back on the left, focusing play down that side instead. Bruno Morgado joins from Neuchatel to provide ample backup for him. My last defensive signing was Haydon Roberts, offered to me by his agent after release from Brighton. He's a classy centre back, far too good for this level, particularly part time. He'll bring both a solid presence as well as a transitional play starter, given his ball playing ability and trait.

A much changed, and much strengthened area of the squad now and, with Guychel Kabaya behind them - this back five should be capable of not only stopping the ball going in but also starting our attacks with it. I see Garcia playing 80%+ of games and Roberts will slot in next to Henchoz in the back line with Brembilla being first choice, unless he is needed to fill in on the left wing.

Midfield

Alphons Schumacher brings some pace and directness to either wing following his release from Saint Gallen. Amazingly, his attributes align perfectly with how I want to play now I've mirrored my tactic, an inverted winger on the left and a regular winger on the right. I'd like him to work a little harder but plenty of interaction, particularly in any poor games, may be able to help with that. Izer Aliu and Lirik Vishi are pretty interchangeable midfielders and are comfortably upgrades on what I had previously. I would say that his traits make Aliu more suited to a runner, such as a Mezzala whereas the range of traits Vishi has really shone through in his trial games as he switched the ball effortlessly from the left hand side half-space out to the right winger on numerous occasions.

We've not gone any further than really like for like upgrades here but I'm hoping that a pace and, in particular, player trait upgrade may make a good difference to our attacking play. I think the fact that Aliu gets forward whenever possible will allow more bodies in the box for progressive passing and to be on the end of crosses, too.

Forwards

Michael Reck is an important signing because he's my only u21 signing, and, as such, doesn't need to be registered. He was released by Wolfsburg's II team and is a decent option in the Shadow Striker role. His personality, for right now, is not an issue as he may be able to bring the club some money if he wants to move on to bigger and better things. I would say that Reck has to earn his space in the team and it won't be easy to displace player of the year Steenbergen but I do, at least, now have a slightly different option here.

---

I am very much against massive squad overhauls, ripping teams apart every season but I have now really put my stamp on this team and I really think it can, over time, grow into something quite special. Whether this is a base of a team that can take us up under my tutelage or can form something that another manager can work with, I do not know. However - it was a fun window and another area I've paid more attention to than ever really before. 

Here is the Fribourg squad for the 2027/28 Challenge League season:

Edited March 12, 2021 by _Ben_

[_Ben_]

July 2027: Tactical tinkering

This. Just this small change. But, potentially, able to cause lots of problems. The more I've watched them play, the more I'm finding similarities between the Mezzala and Shadow Striker role, just with one starting out much deeper. I've never been a huge fan of the 'swap position with' as it seems they do 10 mins on, 10 mins off rather than that fluid interchange I'd really like. However, swapping the AM and the MC role is leading to transitional shapes that look like this:

Whether I caught them on the changeover or not, I don't know but Steenbergen is dropping deeper and Aliu is (more aggressively than his role as an MC would dictate) is pushing forward. This movement has completely bamboozled the left centre back, allowing a quick one-two between the in-space Aliu and Schumacher who is released and goes on to score.

[_Ben_]

2 hours ago, tyler16 said:

Continuing to love this. 

Seems like a logical end point at Fribourg whether that's this offseason or next.

I agree!

I think I owe the board another year as they've backed me on what I've asked for (minus the pro bit, of course) and I don't want to get a reputation as a manager who just flitters between clubs. Plus, we've started rather well...

However...

There has been some press speculation, which is mirrored in the board room, about their dissatisfaction towards my lack of direct football. I've told the press that I'm after the results and will stick with the style that attracted my employees to me in the first place, ignoring a sudden and drastic change that they decided to put in place.