[FM21] Swiss Army Knife

[john1]

I think you have made a fair point about plucking a youngster and developing them  Kind of Wenger mode  

[Sonic Youth]

3 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

My thought process...

1. Is this a realistic move in a career that I've tried to ensure a sense of realism? 
2. Is this the player that will help us move to the next step in Europe?
3. Does this fit the model of recruitment I've used to date?

I can't honestly answer anything other than 'no' to all of those three questions therefore I've pulled the plug. I'll still keep an eye on him, in case he becomes available for much less but, in my eyes, I'll feel much more content about plucking a youngster from obscurity and developing them into something like that.

I guess if the transfer was for the German club talked about earlier, more likely to fit with this player.

If it was the CB at Bayern Munich, more likely and same nationality, and already know by the club. Not sure if he’d want to either yet.

[_Ben_]

April 2037 (Part 1)

Cut this month in two in order to focus some more attention on the Europa League run.

We started with a solid win over Servette, who, as I alluded to at the start of the season, create some really good chances and are certainly underperforming. Considering that they and Lausanne produced the most interesting data, I'd have hoped they both could have made Europe this season.

Now - the focus of much of my play, at the moment, is on game management and I realise that this isn't an incredibly exciting this to write about. However, we set out our stall against Sociedad with two things in mind. The first was to prevent their goalkeeper, Alfredo, from playing out from the back. Jose Gaya, their manager, likes to build from the back and, with several playmakers, such as Enrique Martin, in front of him - I felt that this was quite an easy thing to focus on. We upped our pressing, stopped the short distribution and set opposition instructions to go in hard on him and show him onto his weaker foot.

This bit of pressure led to a scrambled clearance and a chance for us, that, although we didn't put away, was a definite show of intent.

The next was to control the output of Javier Quintanilla, arguably their best player. To do this, I enlisted Valentin Ionesi to man mark him and force him outside onto his weaker left foot, reducing the impact of his Inside Forward role. The second leg was a great example of this as we limited him to just 13 passes (1 progressive) in the first half. He did break through and score a really good goal, but, overall, we kept him incredibly quiet - allowing us to progress with ease, actually.

We face Liverpool in the semi final, who, under Pep Guardiola, are running away with the league:

It's going to be a really tough test, but, with us at home in the first leg, I'll be going for it and hoping we can then keep it tight at Anfield. I'll be digging into their scout and analyst report to try and find as many weaknesses as I can in order to pull off what could be the greatest upset in our history!

---

I also took a leaf out of the work that @Matt_1979 and @MattyLewis11 were talking about - player pressures. I have recently switched to a higher pressure system, as has been discussed at length over the past page or so - so wanted to create some pretty early data so I can compare at a later date.

I also wanted to play with a bubble chart on Excel as I felt that this was a great bit of data to do it. For reference, the DA/90 - defensive actions per 90 - are taken from a total of tackles, interceptions and fouls, divided by the total amount of minutes played. The mean of the Pressing Attributes comes from Natural Fitness, Determination, Team Work, Work Rate, Acceleration and Stamina. It's interesting to note that Natural Fitness and Determination are part of my core DNA and Work Rate is something that I do develop when going through the training and development phase. Lastly, the bubble sizes shows their total amount of defensive actions, with, as you'd expect, a bigger bubble for a higher value.

Here is the outcome:

I think that this shows just how much we're going to miss Zakharov when he leaves. He plays the most but is incredibly suited to press and outperforms everyone else. It also shows up a worry for Carlos Perez - who is significantly below other centre backs (Osememe, Addai-Mandela and Adilovic) in both DA/90 and attributes. With Osememe wanting a new deal, Adilovic unsettled and, as such, training really badly - I really don't want to add another player to this concerning area.

I guess this is just something to think about rather than a huge panic right now.

 

[john1]

Any replacement lined up for Zakharov?

Edited August 31, 2021 by john1

[MattyLewis11]

3 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

April 2037 (Part 1)

Cut this month in two in order to focus some more attention on the Europa League run.

We started with a solid win over Servette, who, as I alluded to at the start of the season, create some really good chances and are certainly underperforming. Considering that they and Lausanne produced the most interesting data, I'd have hoped they both could have made Europe this season.

Now - the focus of much of my play, at the moment, is on game management and I realise that this isn't an incredibly exciting this to write about. However, we set out our stall against Sociedad with two things in mind. The first was to prevent their goalkeeper, Alfredo, from playing out from the back. Jose Gaya, their manager, likes to build from the back and, with several playmakers, such as Enrique Martin, in front of him - I felt that this was quite an easy thing to focus on. We upped our pressing, stopped the short distribution and set opposition instructions to go in hard on him and show him onto his weaker foot.

This bit of pressure led to a scrambled clearance and a chance for us, that, although we didn't put away, was a definite show of intent.

The next was to control the output of Javier Quintanilla, arguably their best player. To do this, I enlisted Valentin Ionesi to man mark him and force him outside onto his weaker left foot, reducing the impact of his Inside Forward role. The second leg was a great example of this as we limited him to just 13 passes (1 progressive) in the first half. He did break through and score a really good goal, but, overall, we kept him incredibly quiet - allowing us to progress with ease, actually.

We face Liverpool in the semi final, who, under Pep Guardiola, are running away with the league:

It's going to be a really tough test, but, with us at home in the first leg, I'll be going for it and hoping we can then keep it tight at Anfield. I'll be digging into their scout and analyst report to try and find as many weaknesses as I can in order to pull off what could be the greatest upset in our history!

---

I also took a leaf out of the work that @Matt_1979 and @MattyLewis11 were talking about - player pressures. I have recently switched to a higher pressure system, as has been discussed at length over the past page or so - so wanted to create some pretty early data so I can compare at a later date.

I also wanted to play with a bubble chart on Excel as I felt that this was a great bit of data to do it. For reference, the DA/90 - defensive actions per 90 - are taken from a total of tackles, interceptions and fouls, divided by the total amount of minutes played. The mean of the Pressing Attributes comes from Natural Fitness, Determination, Team Work, Work Rate, Acceleration and Stamina. It's interesting to note that Natural Fitness and Determination are part of my core DNA and Work Rate is something that I do develop when going through the training and development phase. Lastly, the bubble sizes shows their total amount of defensive actions, with, as you'd expect, a bigger bubble for a higher value.

Here is the outcome:

I think that this shows just how much we're going to miss Zakharov when he leaves. He plays the most but is incredibly suited to press and outperforms everyone else. It also shows up a worry for Carlos Perez - who is significantly below other centre backs (Osememe, Addai-Mandela and Adilovic) in both DA/90 and attributes. With Osememe wanting a new deal, Adilovic unsettled and, as such, training really badly - I really don't want to add another player to this concerning area.

I guess this is just something to think about rather than a huge panic right now.

 

Ah a thing of beauty that Viz! 

I appreciate you also taking the baton off me and progressing the player pressures conversation. 

We need to make this a regular occurrence. 

[Matt_1979]

4 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

April 2037 (Part 1)

Cut this month in two in order to focus some more attention on the Europa League run.

We started with a solid win over Servette, who, as I alluded to at the start of the season, create some really good chances and are certainly underperforming. Considering that they and Lausanne produced the most interesting data, I'd have hoped they both could have made Europe this season.

Now - the focus of much of my play, at the moment, is on game management and I realise that this isn't an incredibly exciting this to write about. However, we set out our stall against Sociedad with two things in mind. The first was to prevent their goalkeeper, Alfredo, from playing out from the back. Jose Gaya, their manager, likes to build from the back and, with several playmakers, such as Enrique Martin, in front of him - I felt that this was quite an easy thing to focus on. We upped our pressing, stopped the short distribution and set opposition instructions to go in hard on him and show him onto his weaker foot.

This bit of pressure led to a scrambled clearance and a chance for us, that, although we didn't put away, was a definite show of intent.

The next was to control the output of Javier Quintanilla, arguably their best player. To do this, I enlisted Valentin Ionesi to man mark him and force him outside onto his weaker left foot, reducing the impact of his Inside Forward role. The second leg was a great example of this as we limited him to just 13 passes (1 progressive) in the first half. He did break through and score a really good goal, but, overall, we kept him incredibly quiet - allowing us to progress with ease, actually.

We face Liverpool in the semi final, who, under Pep Guardiola, are running away with the league:

It's going to be a really tough test, but, with us at home in the first leg, I'll be going for it and hoping we can then keep it tight at Anfield. I'll be digging into their scout and analyst report to try and find as many weaknesses as I can in order to pull off what could be the greatest upset in our history!

---

I also took a leaf out of the work that @Matt_1979 and @MattyLewis11 were talking about - player pressures. I have recently switched to a higher pressure system, as has been discussed at length over the past page or so - so wanted to create some pretty early data so I can compare at a later date.

I also wanted to play with a bubble chart on Excel as I felt that this was a great bit of data to do it. For reference, the DA/90 - defensive actions per 90 - are taken from a total of tackles, interceptions and fouls, divided by the total amount of minutes played. The mean of the Pressing Attributes comes from Natural Fitness, Determination, Team Work, Work Rate, Acceleration and Stamina. It's interesting to note that Natural Fitness and Determination are part of my core DNA and Work Rate is something that I do develop when going through the training and development phase. Lastly, the bubble sizes shows their total amount of defensive actions, with, as you'd expect, a bigger bubble for a higher value.

Here is the outcome:

I think that this shows just how much we're going to miss Zakharov when he leaves. He plays the most but is incredibly suited to press and outperforms everyone else. It also shows up a worry for Carlos Perez - who is significantly below other centre backs (Osememe, Addai-Mandela and Adilovic) in both DA/90 and attributes. With Osememe wanting a new deal, Adilovic unsettled and, as such, training really badly - I really don't want to add another player to this concerning area.

I guess this is just something to think about rather than a huge panic right now.

 

Excellent work. 
If you want to get a better reflection you can include the tackle attempts instead of successful tackles as that’s also a defensive action. Problem is FM doesn’t give that start but it’s easy enough to work out from the successful tackles %. 

[_Ben_]

1 hour ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Ah a thing of beauty that Viz! 

I appreciate you also taking the baton off me and progressing the player pressures conversation. 

We need to make this a regular occurrence. 

 

36 minutes ago, Matt_1979 said:

Excellent work. 
If you want to get a better reflection you can include the tackle attempts instead of successful tackles as that’s also a defensive action. Problem is FM doesn’t give that start but it’s easy enough to work out from the successful tackles %. 

Thanks both. 

I'm definitely enjoying read your threads and following closely for ideas I can use in my own save. I completely missed that I'd not taken into account those missed tackles. I wish that there was further depth in that area, such as easy access to ball recoveries and the like - but I'm hoping for that next season!

[ifinnem]

Unless I’m missing something the chart doesn’t show Perez behind the other CBs in actions per 90 but rather he is pretty much on par with them around 3 isn’t he? He does rate lower for pressing attributes but that seems less important for CB anyway. 

[Sonic Youth]

16 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

April 2037 (Part 1)

Cut this month in two in order to focus some more attention on the Europa League run.

We started with a solid win over Servette, who, as I alluded to at the start of the season, create some really good chances and are certainly underperforming. Considering that they and Lausanne produced the most interesting data, I'd have hoped they both could have made Europe this season.

Now - the focus of much of my play, at the moment, is on game management and I realise that this isn't an incredibly exciting this to write about. However, we set out our stall against Sociedad with two things in mind. The first was to prevent their goalkeeper, Alfredo, from playing out from the back. Jose Gaya, their manager, likes to build from the back and, with several playmakers, such as Enrique Martin, in front of him - I felt that this was quite an easy thing to focus on. We upped our pressing, stopped the short distribution and set opposition instructions to go in hard on him and show him onto his weaker foot.

This bit of pressure led to a scrambled clearance and a chance for us, that, although we didn't put away, was a definite show of intent.

The next was to control the output of Javier Quintanilla, arguably their best player. To do this, I enlisted Valentin Ionesi to man mark him and force him outside onto his weaker left foot, reducing the impact of his Inside Forward role. The second leg was a great example of this as we limited him to just 13 passes (1 progressive) in the first half. He did break through and score a really good goal, but, overall, we kept him incredibly quiet - allowing us to progress with ease, actually.

We face Liverpool in the semi final, who, under Pep Guardiola, are running away with the league:

It's going to be a really tough test, but, with us at home in the first leg, I'll be going for it and hoping we can then keep it tight at Anfield. I'll be digging into their scout and analyst report to try and find as many weaknesses as I can in order to pull off what could be the greatest upset in our history!

---

I also took a leaf out of the work that @Matt_1979 and @MattyLewis11 were talking about - player pressures. I have recently switched to a higher pressure system, as has been discussed at length over the past page or so - so wanted to create some pretty early data so I can compare at a later date.

I also wanted to play with a bubble chart on Excel as I felt that this was a great bit of data to do it. For reference, the DA/90 - defensive actions per 90 - are taken from a total of tackles, interceptions and fouls, divided by the total amount of minutes played. The mean of the Pressing Attributes comes from Natural Fitness, Determination, Team Work, Work Rate, Acceleration and Stamina. It's interesting to note that Natural Fitness and Determination are part of my core DNA and Work Rate is something that I do develop when going through the training and development phase. Lastly, the bubble sizes shows their total amount of defensive actions, with, as you'd expect, a bigger bubble for a higher value.

Here is the outcome:

I think that this shows just how much we're going to miss Zakharov when he leaves. He plays the most but is incredibly suited to press and outperforms everyone else. It also shows up a worry for Carlos Perez - who is significantly below other centre backs (Osememe, Addai-Mandela and Adilovic) in both DA/90 and attributes. With Osememe wanting a new deal, Adilovic unsettled and, as such, training really badly - I really don't want to add another player to this concerning area.

I guess this is just something to think about rather than a huge panic right now.

 

This really interesting!

Firstly, congrats on getting past Real Sociedad and drawing Liverpool. Xciting tie!

The graph is another interesting part, where correct me if I’m viewing this oddly, your midfield is fairly low as a defensive unit? Is it possible to then show an attacking pressures graph to see who performs most attacking actions/attacking mean pressing attributes (is that such a thing?/something) ?

[_Ben_]

12 hours ago, ifinnem said:

Unless I’m missing something the chart doesn’t show Perez behind the other CBs in actions per 90 but rather he is pretty much on par with them around 3 isn’t he? He does rate lower for pressing attributes but that seems less important for CB anyway. 

Absolutely! I think I was so drawn into seeing him as an outlier, I mis-interpreted his data. Here is a slightly different take on that data:

The successful actions are tackles and interceptions per 90 whereas the unsuccessful ones are tackles which were not won (calculated from the Tackle Success %) and fouls conceded, again per 90.

This one digs into that success rate a bit more and shows that, whilst he's broadly in line, although bottom of successful defensive actions - he does also have the highest number of unsuccessful ones, too.

3 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

The graph is another interesting part, where correct me if I’m viewing this oddly, your midfield is fairly low as a defensive unit? Is it possible to then show an attacking pressures graph to see who performs most attacking actions/attacking mean pressing attributes (is that such a thing?/something) ?

I just think that my midfield don't have to defend that much! An advanced playmaker and mezzala are also not roles that would normally warrant that, which is why I always ensure I have a DM behind them and that my wide players press higher up, too.

Unless I was to analyse every player individually, per game, I don't think I can separate defensive and offensive pressures, sadly. It's also the case with headers - I can't differentiate between a headed clearance and a header in the penalty area from an offensive corner without calculating that on a single person basis over the season!

[_Ben_]

3 hours ago, john1 said:

Any replacement lined up for Zakharov?

No, not really...

I have three players that I'm looking at. I've amalgamated them into a bit of a mish-mash screenshot:

I have purposely removed positions and clubs because I want to solely look at the attributes I want for my wing-back and these three players all play in different positions - which is why I'm not looking at statistics right now. I know that Silgahi isn't completely scouted yet but I like what I see from the initial stuff. I'd love to hear what people think about these players and how they'd potentially fit in that roaming full back kind of role!

Furthermore, I do have Alexandre Teixeira in the u21 squad, but he doesn't feel ready right now.

Here is another reason why I'll miss him:

I'm really struggling to find a new long-throw taker, too!

 

[Sonic Youth]

That throw-in and goal is amazing!

Tough to choose between those three, with Dan hard to decide upon yet.

[Sonic Youth]

2 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

I just think that my midfield don't have to defend that much! An advanced playmaker and mezzala are also not roles that would normally warrant that, which is why I always ensure I have a DM behind them and that my wide players press higher up, too.

I think that bears up in your graph as well, the DM and wide players. It also highlighted, though it didn’t need it more, how important Zakharov is in your system. It will be interesting to see if he performs as well away from Luzern or not.

2 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Unless I was to analyse every player individually, per game, I don't think I can separate defensive and offensive pressures, sadly. It's also the case with headers - I can't differentiate between a headed clearance and a header in the penalty area from an offensive corner without calculating that on a single person basis over the season!

Way too much work then to do that 

I guess how many defensive actions performed v’s offensive actions might be a way to show where their energies are going. Though even that feels subjective. Plus it’s not about pressing pressures precisely.

2 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Absolutely! I think I was so drawn into seeing him as an outlier, I mis-interpreted his data. Here is a slightly different take on that data:

The successful actions are tackles and interceptions per 90 whereas the unsuccessful ones are tackles which were not won (calculated from the Tackle Success %) and fouls conceded, again per 90.

This one digs into that success rate a bit more and shows that, whilst he's broadly in line, although bottom of successful defensive actions - he does also have the highest number of unsuccessful ones, too.

I guess this graph coupled with the bubble graph gives a multifaceted picture to the question of press participation and successful actions.

[Sonic Youth]

2 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Here is another reason why I'll miss him:

I'm really struggling to find a new long-throw taker, too!

I seem to recall you mentioning something about long throws when signing him 

Did he used to do long throws up the centre of the pitch that created fast breaks?

[_Ben_]

2 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

That throw-in and goal is amazing!

Tough to choose between those three, with Dan hard to decide upon yet.

I was drawn to Dan because of his really strong average rating and the fact that he's going to be considerably cheaper than the other two at, maybe, a couple of million as he's still in Romania.

2 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

I seem to recall you mentioning something about long throws when signing him 

Did he used to do long throws up the centre of the pitch that created fast breaks?

He does. I alternate the right sided throw ins between short and quick but always use long on the left.

2 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Way too much work then to do that 

I guess how many defensive actions performed v’s offensive actions might be a way to show where their energies are going. Though even that feels subjective. Plus it’s not about pressing pressures precisely.

Definitely a new-found area of interest that I'm hoping FM22 does something about!

[_Ben_]

April 2037 (Part 2)

Six in a row!

We started with a good win over YB - but struggled to break them down with a heavily rotated and slightly unfit first team. Wanting to give Milosevic a run out, to keep his legs fresh, was a great idea as he bagged two late on to complete a professional performance - although a goal conceded from a corner in injury time did take a little of the shine off. I again played quite a rested side against Lausanne and they gave me a good game as they were certainly up for the cup! Twice they pegged us back through some good moves and, despite being down to ten men, I couldn't find a way through. I saved the big-guns til late, again, and this time it was a combo between Zahkarov and Gonzalez that netted us the winner. I then saw off a tame Aarau side with a performance just about good enough to do what I needed!

It's all about the Liverpool tie though...

I prepared by trying to make the most of our set-piece ability, knowing that the smallest margins matter at this stage and then focused on team work, tactical familiarity and defensive shape. I hadn't put in an Attacking Movement block due to time constraints but also because keeping tight here is my first aim.

Looking through their team report, I noticed a few things:

• Their shape (particularly the DCR being a BPD) indicated that the Mezzala and Inside Forward would probably lead to an overload on the right/right hand half space. This is not great as Zakharov doesn't really do defending. They will almost certainly use that shape, too.
• The take a lot of shots, but not that many hit the target. Also, they concede quite a high xGA/90 for a table topping side.
• As expected - goals from the half space and crosses from the right wing.
• In their last game (loss at home to Leeds) they had an interesting passing network - looking like their natural ball playing side is the left with their left wing back being quite creative, linking up with the attacking mid (#20) who has often bypassed the forward (#9). They are also typical Guardiola-esque in possession recycling styles.

The game itself was a wonderful spectacle!

Looking at the xG story, you can see that I did what I said I'd do - and went full send for the first ten minutes. No worries about their style of dangers, instead, getting stuck in, pressing up high and trying to put them on the back foot early on. Inside 90 seconds we were ahead, as a through-ball from Zakharov found Milosevic who did what he did best and finished. I made a pact to myself to hit them hard for ten minutes and, even though we had a dream lead, I kept on it and we won a penalty as Milosevic was fouled as he entered the box. I made a call to pick Ole Berendt, even though he fears these big ties, so I took another risk to give him the penalty, hoping that a goal, and the subsequent rating boost, would settle him. It did.

Not long after this, I moved to sit and protect the lead. I changed Zakharov to a WB(d) and, looking at the stats, you can see how that impacted his usual pressing game. Far less time on the ball and interceptions, instead marshalling the offensive prowess that Liverpool had. 

At 2-0 up and with Liverpool offering some threat in the first half, I wanted to ensure that we were tight but still able to hit them on the counter. I moved my other defender to a BPD(d), instructed us to play out of the defence and reduced our LoE - hoping that we could stifle the play but then still be able to beat them over the top. Later in the second half and, once again, we broke the high line and Milosevic made it three and then completed his hat-trick with, you guessed it, another through ball. Allowing that freedom for my defenders and insisting on them having good ball playing ability has hugely helped here. Liverpool did net a consolation after a mix up whereby we didn't pick up their corner taker but, by the 87th minute, they were out of the game and, maybe, the tie.

I know I have won two competitive games by more than 10 goals in this save but I am struggling to think of a time whereby, tactically, at least, we got it so spot on! One foot in the final but we need to be hugely careful at Anfield. I'll get into the details on that in a smaller May post, too.

----

Away from the pitch, Valdemar Freire is both developing his attributes well and developing well as a person. He's now Driven and is working hard under the tutelage of Gonzalez. I also like his trait (passed on from Berendt) as it will further than space on the right for the Mez(a) and WM(s) to get into.

[_Ben_]

May 2037

One for all you stats nerds out there... @MattyLewis11 and @Matt_1979 I am in particular looking at you...

There appears to be some previously-assumed-hidden stats that you can actually see. Please ignore me if you know how to do this but you were both talking about pressures and there may be some useful data here for you.

In League > Stats > Team Overview you see the overviews but there are tonnes of stats that appear, which - when you click on the right arrow, below, don't appear in the Team Detailed section:

Now, some don't work - like the xG per shot:

But here is a selection of things I've found that I will certainly look at using:

 

Edited September 1, 2021 by _Ben_

[Matt_1979]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

May 2037

One for all you stats nerds out there... @MattyLewis11 and @Matt_1979 I am in particular looking at you...

There appears to be some previously-assumed-hidden stats that you can actually see. Please ignore me if you know how to do this but you were both talking about pressures and there may be some useful data here for you.

In League > Stats > Team Overview you see the overviews but there are tonnes of stats that appear, which - when you click on the right arrow, below, don't appear in the Team Detailed section:

Now, some don't work - like the xG per shot:

But here is a selection of things I've found that I will certainly look at using:

 

Some ones there, especially the possession won per game. 

Some, like blocks and clearances per game will depend on tactics. But would definitely be useful as a year on year comparison. 
 

will check them out 

[john1]

What a win over Liverpool  Hopefully you can steady the ship in 2nd leg!

[MattyLewis11]

17 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

May 2037

One for all you stats nerds out there... @MattyLewis11 and @Matt_1979 I am in particular looking at you...

There appears to be some previously-assumed-hidden stats that you can actually see. Please ignore me if you know how to do this but you were both talking about pressures and there may be some useful data here for you.

In League > Stats > Team Overview you see the overviews but there are tonnes of stats that appear, which - when you click on the right arrow, below, don't appear in the Team Detailed section:

Now, some don't work - like the xG per shot:

But here is a selection of things I've found that I will certainly look at using:

 

Yes mate, I think I read somewhere back maybe in December on the forum that someone made a plug in which could pull off the data for all of these in accessible metrics which have no option to filter within the usual view.

 

This was a while back but will see if I can dig it out for you 👍

[Tajerio]

On 01/09/2021 at 05:29, _Ben_ said:

No, not really...

I have three players that I'm looking at. I've amalgamated them into a bit of a mish-mash screenshot:

I have purposely removed positions and clubs because I want to solely look at the attributes I want for my wing-back and these three players all play in different positions - which is why I'm not looking at statistics right now. I know that Silgahi isn't completely scouted yet but I like what I see from the initial stuff. I'd love to hear what people think about these players and how they'd potentially fit in that roaming full back kind of role!

 

I like Joksimović the most for a marauding offensive wing-back. Those 17s for Composure and Off the Ball really speak to me for any attacking role. Granted, he's not the quickest, but he's also got the best Natural Fitness + Stamina combo out of those three. He'll be able to eat up a lot of minutes for you.

[13th Man]

Really nice breakdown of the Liverpool game! Love that kind of tactical thinking/game time switching - there’s nothing more satisfying than when it just clicks and you watch it all go according to plan.

[_Ben_]

8 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Really nice breakdown of the Liverpool game! Love that kind of tactical thinking/game time switching - there’s nothing more satisfying than when it just clicks and you watch it all go according to plan.

 

On 02/09/2021 at 15:30, john1 said:

What a win over Liverpool  Hopefully you can steady the ship in 2nd leg!

Thanks! I really enjoyed the Liverpool game - it, for me, is a show of just how far I've come with learning about the tactical part of this game. I can't help but to think back to a few years back whereby it'd just be Instant Result as I just focused on player development.

[_Ben_]

On 01/09/2021 at 23:24, Matt_1979 said:

Some ones there, especially the possession won per game. 

Some, like blocks and clearances per game will depend on tactics. But would definitely be useful as a year on year comparison. 
 

will check them out 

Definitely. This, to me, is something that SI often drip feed into the game before being more useful a few iterations on - so I can hope!

On 02/09/2021 at 15:36, MattyLewis11 said:

Yes mate, I think I read somewhere back maybe in December on the forum that someone made a plug in which could pull off the data for all of these in accessible metrics which have no option to filter within the usual view.

 

This was a while back but will see if I can dig it out for you 👍

Let me know!

[_Ben_]

On 02/09/2021 at 16:46, Tajerio said:

I like Joksimović the most for a marauding offensive wing-back. Those 17s for Composure and Off the Ball really speak to me for any attacking role. Granted, he's not the quickest, but he's also got the best Natural Fitness + Stamina combo out of those three. He'll be able to eat up a lot of minutes for you.

 

I like him the best, too.

Here are my players, sorted my the pace that you talk about:

I would be sacrificing a little bit of speed, yes, but I don't really have anyone that is absolutely rapid (minus Joao Roberto, but he's probably too one-dimensional) so it shouldn't be too much of a shock to my system.

I too liked the Off the Ball as well as his Work Rate, Dribbling, Agility and Natural Fitness. But, then again, he is Red Star's star striker...

Nothing better than a bit of re-training!

[_Ben_]

May 2037 (Part 1)

Europa League final?!

We set out our stall very differently this time - opting for the defensive cover of Hedegaard on the right hand side of midfield over Joachim Magola, deputising for the injured Marta. I also moved Ionesi back to the right back position after his stellar performances against Sociedad. In terms of tactical changes, we moved to Positive (from Attacking) and moved the DL to Standard (from Higher). I didn't want to get pegged back in our own half but also I know a Guardiola team and this one is lethal at exploiting space in behind us. To help this, Zakharov moved back for a FB(a) from a WB(a) - not the hugest attacking change but, at least, he'd be starting from a deeper position.

The xG story tells you that we weren't in the game and, to be fair, we didn't really look like scoring, with just three shots registered all game. But that isn't the whole story - the game was largely played in the middle third with their centre back and right back amassing a combined 186 passes as we squeezed them and blocked openings as they looked to build from the back. On a player note - there is again concern over the performances of Ole Berendt, who mustered just four progressive passes and non in an area I'd like. Whilst I've talked, at length, about the loss of Zakharov, I am really less concerned about this Dane moving on as he's just not been able to do it on the biggest stage.

We're off to Barcelona, the Estadio Cornelia-El Prat to face Arsenal in the final. I cannot wait.

Just a few days later, we picked up some silverware in what is hopefully going to be a wonderful triple (with the league already won) by beating YB in the final. It wasn't anywhere near as easy as it has been in the league but we did enough to avenge our final defeat last year against our own U21 team!

The remainder of the league was done with little attention paid to it. A highly rotated squad lost to Lausanne, which, of course, is annoying, as we were really poor and disjointed in our play but it also meant that they pushed ahead of Basel in the league. Whilst Basel would probably fair better in Europe - I have been really impressed with the statistics that this Lausanne side have been creating. We lost our 27-game unbeaten run but I'm over it! We wrapped up the season with a nice win over St. Gallen, which saw us break the record for goals scored in a single league season:

---

I've just got one game left of this season before I wrap up the season but it's the biggest of my career to date:

The board sent me a nice email and I'm really going to sink myself into the build up to this game.

[_Ben_]

May 2037 (Part 2)

Arsenal. Europa League Final. Let's do this!

The lead up to the game was fairly vanilla - we just recovered from the St. Gallen game and practiced what we needed to, with some extra focus on those marginal gains in set plays and those dreaded penalties.

---

Next up - the scout report...

Firstly, Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League:

They are not in the greatest form but are obviously a top team, albeit considerably behind Liverpool, which gives me hope.

• They'll play a 4-2-3-1 and it appears that their right back will be the weak link, as their first choice, Antonio Marcos, appears to be injured.
• That right back slot looks an area to target, too, as they concede most of their goals from there as well.
• They too favour the right hand side but are far more balanced than Liverpool - as they look to score from crosses from the two wingers.
• If I can push their wingers inside, I don't feel that they'll cause too much from outside the box. Esteban Martinez is their best winger but, given his poor Left foot and poor Finishing, he's going to pushed inside.
• Possession is largely down the flanks and they are far more spread out than Pep's side, although don't tend to move the ball particularly aggressively, using quite short passing.
• Overall attribute wise sees us just below their level, but there is nothing too significant here.
• Thaer Al-Kurdi looks like a top defender and I'll be pressing him to reduce his ball playing abilities.
• Giacomo Aniello is fast and will look to hurt us if he can get in behind. They don't seem to play to his strengths though playing short and crossing it into the box, rather than going over the top.
• Damiano Zocco is their #10 and he's pretty nippy, but, if I can get him on his right foot and get in hard (poor Bravery), I think I can take control. He's also back in training after an injury, and injury prone,  and his Morale isn't amazing - a perfect chance to get into him quickly! Look at his comparison with Neascu:
  • Bravery - 9 to 19
  • Aggression - 7 to 17
  • Strength - 11 to 16
  • Then add in Marking (16), Tackling (16), Positioning (15), Decisions (17) for Neascu. If I can get him tight, and in there before he moves (Pace - 17 to 14 and Acceleration - 16 to 11), I have  a chance.  
• Pablo is Temperamental and not hugely Determined, so he's another one to get in hard on straight away. He's a top class playmaker otherwise and will be a threat from free-kicks, so I need to look at the tackling from my defensive players.

---

Lastly, my tactics:

We've moved back to Positive (from Attacking) although I will amend this for the first ten minutes. I have also moved Bednarek to a DM(d) to man-mark their AM and, again, dropped Zakharov back to a FB(a) for a bit of support. Ionesi gets the nod, again, as he's superior defensively. In terms of the opposition (of which I'm shocked to see many of the players I noted on the scout report not starting), I am mainly looking to move their wingers inside and press their defensive and midfield line a little bit more.

Part 3 of this month will be the match!

Edited September 4, 2021 by _Ben_

[john1]

Fantastic depth into Arsenal and your setting up tactic is brilliant  

[Sonic Youth]

Looking forward to the match, and it’s great to see Luzern in a European final 

[_Ben_]

May 2037 (Part 3)

I had planned to do a live update of this thread for the game but, as the game started, I found myself getting completely engrossed with each spell of play, watching the players and looking at how their attribute combinations and player traits have influenced them and how my instructions worked. Anyway, we won and that is a wonderful thing!

As the game started, I was a bit taken aback by the line up Arsenal had put out. They hadn't played Zocco, but Victor Riquelme posed different problems - far braver, match fit and, importantly, a two-footed playmaker. Likewise, Pablo didn't start but Dupont would surely offer something different yet equally as dangerous.

My plan, however, remained the same. The overall Arsenal heat map shows that favouritism of the wider areas but I worked hard to push both wingers inside and onto their weaker feet, limiting their touches near the byline and, impressively, cutting off their crosses, of which they have depended on for much of their success. I also made the move, based on Al-Kurdi's passing ability, to press less and that is really clear in our interceptions as we allowed the centre backs and goalkeeper loads of the ball and allowed them to make passes, instead, focusing our efforts at cutting out the passing of the further forward playmakers. This was achieved with Marian Neascu, who marked Riquelme out of the game, allowing him to make just four progressive passes, a rank of ninth in his own squad.

The overall match statistics, below, show the power of those individual strategies:

Giving them the lions share of the ball (646 passes to our 311) but only 11% of it in their offensive third. They barely had access to our goal with just a spattering of low xG shots:

Whereas we averaged 0.11xG per shot and got ourselves into the box, creating a clear cut chance (greater than 0.30xG) which Gonzlez tucked away. Stefan Milosevic (who else) scored our other goal with a 0.17xG as we pretty much put into play our perfect strategy!

---

I am delighted for the squad, the club and the team as we add Luzern's first ever bit of European silverware and will open up another Europa League slot for the league! The summer will be a challenge with two big departures but, given where we are in the FM cycle, I'm looking forward to getting another couple of seasons in here before FM22 stuff starts!

[MattyLewis11]

Congratulations on lifting the Europa, do you have any ideas in relation to your FM22 save? I am doing Sturm Graz and also considering a Liga MX save later down the line. 

[Sonic Youth]

That’s awesome how you won, not just that you won 

When I saw the result at the top, I was like noooo! Then I wanted to know how and found the game sounded pretty exciting for you 

[Hootieleece]

Great Win! Who was Arsenal's Manager?

[_Ben_]

2 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Congratulations on lifting the Europa, do you have any ideas in relation to your FM22 save? I am doing Sturm Graz and also considering a Liga MX save later down the line. 

Thank you!

Interesting ideas - Mexico is definitely underplayed in FM and produces some great (albeit expensive) newgens. I had thought about Austria too, after I had some success years back with First Vienna and I am loving the small league currently but it just feels a little too close to Switzerland. My current thoughts are Russia as I've been enjoying some geopolitical stuff on it at the moment and the fact that it's so vast and encompasses so much might make a nice addition to the thread. This year, I jumped straight in on the beta but I want to wait until some lower leagues are added as well as all the realism fixes and stuff, too.

2 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

That’s awesome how you won, not just that you won 

When I saw the result at the top, I was like noooo! Then I wanted to know how and found the game sounded pretty exciting for you 

As soon as I didn't do it live, I knew that I'd just start with the result. However, as has been the case on this save, I've got so in depth with the how, as you say! Glad you enjoyed.

2 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Great Win! Who was Arsenal's Manager?

Thanks!

Here are the Arsenal managers:

Both Arteta and Zidane brought some cup success but nothing in the league. It is ex-Roma boss Lupini, though, who has taken them to the next level with consecutive leagues in 33/34 and 34/35, although a 6th and a 5th placed finish will surely put some pressure on him, given how strong his side is.

[13th Man]

Awesome win against Arsenal! Excellent tactical tweaks to beat both English teams. Fun to see the way your analytics meet up with my style of old fashioned visualizations when it comes to attacking and defending space and players. This is a post I could wrap my head around…

More importantly - really good work!

[_Ben_]

7 minutes ago, 13th Man said:

Awesome win against Arsenal! Excellent tactical tweaks to beat both English teams. Fun to see the way your analytics meet up with my style of old fashioned visualizations when it comes to attacking and defending space and players. This is a post I could wrap my head around…

More importantly - really good work!

Thank you so much.

It just felt right making those tweaks and it's really been an extension of how I play this game. I spend way more time watching the games now and then even more looking at the analytical data, trying to tie up those thoughts in my head - "he seems to be making dangerous runs, I need to stop that" etc etc. I love it!

[_Ben_]

May 2037 (Part 4)

The season wrap up in what has been the busiest month (for big games and posts!)

A wonderful league campaign where we smashed the goals record and, despite being pushed for three quarters of the season by them, finished well clear of surprise runners-up Sion. It was joy for the club, as a whole, as our u21 squad finished second in their league. We've witnessed some shocks in our domestic cup, but the Aktiv Cup (the cup of Liechtenstein, for those unaware!) was not won by Vaduz this year, so Eschen/Mauren, of the fourth tier, experience life in the Conference League.

With our sixth league title in a row, I don't want to spend much time actually analysing the team as, clearly, our statistical data is going to be far superior to everyone else in the league. I also haven't collected this year on year (in raw numerical form, at least) so can't really compare how our change in tactical approach has impacted our actual game play this year.

Therefore, I'll just focus on the players...

---

I spent quite a long time looking at my defenders throughout the season, looking at defensive actions. The standout weak-link there was Perez, although he has come out of the overall game play with the second highest average rating - although this is likely to be because he (4G and 1A) and Osememe (7G and 1A) have been involved in considerably more goals than the other centre backs. It's an area that, right now, I'm not unhappy with but one where there may be some movement, especially for Ionesi.

With Hedegaards underperformance (more on that later), Valentin spent a considerable chunk of time at right back, as seen here:

Now, I'm less concerned about his average rating and more interested in the fact that he is making more defensive actions there than any of the centre backs. Whilst not a great comparison, he's clearly been effective when we need to defend - often in those bigger European ties. Some food for thought!

Elsewhere, Goran Adilovic missed a big chunk of the season after becoming unhappy about a move to West Ham being blocked. This was poor from him but, after apologising, has made his way back into the team. On paper, he's the most suited to the role, attribute wise, but needs to sort his performances out next season or he won't be here much longer.

A big area of concern here, if you look at AR alone, however, I am not too unhappy. Bocaly, stepping in from January, played well and got himself three assists and a goal - something that I had mentioned when I talked about him coming into the first team. In a direct comparison with Hedegaard, he was less useful with the ball but much more solid defensively - but that is maybe to be expected as the Dane is probably more of a converted midfielder. Neascu has shown his quality by marking Riquelme out of the game in the Europa League final, among other jobs and has rotated well with Bednarek, who, to be fair, didn't quite have the debut season I was expecting.

I'm going to think about what I do with Hedegaard as, on paper, he's the perfect type of player for the IWB role but really hasn't set the world alight. Maybe it's the role. Maybe it's first season syndrome. I will have a think.

Toni has turned into a world class playmaker and I'm so lucky to have him. This is a nice settled area as Zhao Qi will take over from Berendt who will be moving on this summer, as previously stated. He was great in the league but literally went missing in Europe - with his 6.9 against Arsenal by far being his best performance:

We can't have such a key role being held by a player who dreads these big matches. He's not the best player in the team but can be the heartbeat and we all know what happens if that doesn't work!

Elsewhere, I am concerned about the lack of impact Apollonio has had. Niggly injuries and not much off the bench worries me, to the point where I think I'm going to play the market for a backup for him. I've been monitoring some players over the season and want to weigh up my options next month, whilst the mid-season holiday is in full swing.

Nikita has genuinely become one of my favourite players and has been amazing this season. 21 goal contributions from LEFT BACK is insane. Davies has been a great backup but, at nearly 37, won't be around much longer. Magola and Marta have rotated brilliantly and have been used in different situations - contributing to 40 goals between them. I have plans afoot for a replacement for my mercurial Russian and I'm hoping I can stretch another year out of Davies, but I'm not too confident.

 

There is not a lot else I can say about Stefan that hasn't been said or seen in his GIF goals. He's been amazing and, considering it's his first season in the country, even better. Freire is developing really well and was the best of the 'January promotions' - really putting himself in the reckoning as second striker, ahead of Costa, who's now here on the basis of versatility and sentimental reasons. I expect nothing to change here.

---

There are few plans for the summer, just a left back and centre mid needed but some other things to consider!

Time for the players to get a well-earned break.

 

 

[_Ben_]

June 2037 (Part 1)

So, some initial transfer target thoughts - baring in mind that I still have the problem at left back to fix...

Right Back

I've considered Bjarne's role in the team a lot this year. He's just not really performed, either with the eye test or statistically. As a big believer in youth progress and development through the club, I am thinking about using Alain Kongnyuy, an academy graduate, to replace him. Bocaly, after coming into the team in January, performed arguably better and Valentin Ionesi is also able to cover here, too. Looking at the comparison between Alain and Patrick Bocaly - you can see that I have two quite defensive full backs, but two who aren't too bad at passing (that's around the league average for a defender) but this is in line with Ionesi - who has performed best here.

I am thinking long and hard about this role and this move but I think that the IWB(s) experiment is probably over, given the suitability for Hedegaard to play there and I will likely look at a new direction for this position and either move Bjarne on or change him to play elsewhere.

----

Mezzala

I think the word Moneyball was thrown around earlier in the thread and I think that this man hits that nail on the head! Nick Jones, who I'm just finishing scouting, plays for Portimonense, who finished thirteenth in their domestic league, hardly pulling up any trees, yet this man is standing out as one of the top young offensive players in Europe and is available for a cut price fee of under €1m due to the significant debt his club find themselves in. They are playing a wonderful game though and have a load of American's in their squad, all signed for peanuts.

The analyst report of him is promising so it's now a case of finishing off the scouting as he looks to be an upgrade when compared with Apollonio, certainly in the short term.

---

Playmaker

This one is a little left field but I couldn't help be impressed with what I am seeing. Valentin Vallejos, of Estudiantes La Plata of Argentina but currently on loan in Colombia. I was drawn his Analyst report, which paints a really great picture of him but, when comparing him with u21 midfielders across the whole continent, it's even better. There are few players who are creating as many chances, moving with the ball, scoring and also contributing so well defensively - especially for someone of his stature. I know that the Colombian Premier League is very different from the Raiffeisen Super League, but, these are great stats and I'm sure there'd be some sell on opportunities, if not - considering that he'll cost around €4m-€5m.

Now, I haven't finished his scout report yet and there may be some massive red flags, but, combine the above with the below little bit of news regarding his nationality: 

Of him being one of those rare Argentine/Swiss dual nationals (thanks to the editor here for letting me see all players in the database), I think he's potentially going to be a great deal for us. It's not an area I need that re-enforcement but three players capable of playing as the playmaker (Qi, Kabashi and Vallejos) would be great. I'd also love it if he could be tempted into playing for Switzerland, too.

[_Ben_]

June 2037 (Part 2)

Something has changed...

But look at the ridiculous knock-on effect that it has had:

There is no way in the world that Bednarek and Perez are worth over €30m but clearly that is what the reputation system does...

---

You can, obviously, see that I have been busy in the market with Jones, Vallejos and Joksimovic arriving for a combined €14m. I also added youngsters Kraft, Lopes and the really promising Pintaric to the youth team - finding out that signing young Austrian based players does not actually incur a compensation fee.

These signings are really laying out the vision for the club here.

Jones comes in as an ample replacement for Apollonio, who needs a loan to get first team football and overcome the complacency that has wormed it's way into his game. The young American literally has the perfect set of traits for the Mezzala role, where I believe he played previously and will become, hopefully, a valued backup. As Swiss players, most of the squad speak English but Alphonso Davies, as a natural English speaker, can always help him out. Vallejos, as mentioned, is the second kind of moneyball deal here and, despite the poor passing (probably attributing to the relatively poor pass completion % that I was warned of), he's the real deal. Bags of potential and just oozing with that South American flair meaning that I definitely see some traits coming to his game, too. For now, he's great competition in that midfield role. Wonderkid Joksimovic comes in to become my new left back. It's a deal I've been looking at for a good while now and, being honest, it's only a few attributes for that role that really need developing:

He'll train as a WB(a), working on his Defensive Positioning and be part of the Defensive Unit. I do worry that this drastic change may not please him, but I hope he can produce in the same way that Zakharov has done for the last two years.

In terms of out-goings, I decided to move Hedegaard on before this ridiculous value boost so only got €8m for him, but that does represent €3.2m in profit. Obviously, Zakharov and Berendt will be joining them two but I now feel that I have a really strong squad with plenty of options now.

I'll obviously be scouring the release lists come the 1st July for any experience, as I did with Alphonso Davies, but I don't expect much else from here.

[Matt_1979]

Great content! Congrats on the cup win vs Arsenal!!

[karanhsingh]

Absolutely amazing stuff, I just caught up with this. Congratulations on the cup win over Arsenal! Love the level of detail and the tactical tinkering.

Btw the charts you have been posting are not in the default game are they?

[sherifdinn_]

Just done with the Redditch save, nice to see you continued. I've also wanted to manage a team in the odd country (Romania, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland) so nice to see this. Hopefuly i'll gain some insight on the region.

[Guimy]

Took me a while to read through it all, excellent stuff!

[_Ben_]

On 06/09/2021 at 21:21, Matt_1979 said:

Great content! Congrats on the cup win vs Arsenal!!

Thank you! I've thoroughly enjoyed this save - probably the one I've learnt the most from, too.

On 07/09/2021 at 08:13, karanhsingh said:

Absolutely amazing stuff, I just caught up with this. Congratulations on the cup win over Arsenal! Love the level of detail and the tactical tinkering.

Btw the charts you have been posting are not in the default game are they?

Thanks! Really got into the tactical analysis/tweaking in this one, too.

The charts are made in Excel but all the data is easily pulled out and there is nothing I have to do manually.

On 09/09/2021 at 20:03, sherifdinn_ said:

Just done with the Redditch save, nice to see you continued. I've also wanted to manage a team in the odd country (Romania, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland) so nice to see this. Hopefuly i'll gain some insight on the region.

Thanks! I think I'm done with anything long term now in the big leagues (definitely the Premier League) so it's all about these smaller, unusual leagues now.

9 hours ago, Guimy said:

Took me a while to read through it all, excellent stuff!

High praise from Mr Strikerless himself! How are you Guido? The Dugout was a long time ago now I think back!

[Matt_1979]

11 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

Thank you! I've thoroughly enjoyed this save - probably the one I've learnt the most from, too.

Thanks! Really got into the tactical analysis/tweaking in this one, too.

The charts are made in Excel but all the data is easily pulled out and there is nothing I have to do manually.

Thanks! I think I'm done with anything long term now in the big leagues (definitely the Premier League) so it's all about these smaller, unusual leagues now.

High praise from Mr Strikerless himself! How are you Guido? The Dugout was a long time ago now I think back!

The Dugout was awesome. 

[_Ben_]

July 2037

It's been a while! Life has got in the way so just a brief update as I look to get back into the game for what will probably be my last season on FM21 due to more perceived time constraints and the announcement of the new game...

We had quite a successful pre-season, gaining match fitness and working on a few tactical and partnership ideas but there was little to really write home about. The league season started well, with a comfortable win over newly promoted Thun, although a silly goal concession just before half-time took the shine off the score line somewhat. Nick Jones marked his debut with a lovely delicate chip over the keeper after coming on as a late substitute, breaking the lines well and converting - something which I will need to see more of as I look to ease the burden on Toni Gonzalez, who, himself, was a delight to watch. Albert Vegas, however, was less easily pleased, or maybe has just, himself, perfected a compact 4-1-4-1 shape that is lethal on the counter, full of young, exciting prospects looking to take their league domination into continental football:

Our blushes were spared against Sion by Stefan as we put out an absolutely shoddy performance, lacking any kind of forward-thinking fluidity and defensive stability, going 2-1 down before half time and thanking Stefano Herzog for a penalty save that kept us in the game. Escaping with a 2-2 when we were never in the game is a relief and one we need to address as we move on!

---

Just a quick update on Zoran Joksimovic, the striker-cum-full back that I brought in over the summer. He's started pre-season in fine form with three assists and a goal (plus a missed penalty) but the match stats, and I could have taken any of his three appearances to demonstrate this, show the potential he has to be a great player in this role:

Getting into some really good areas and utilising good technical skills (Passing: 14, Crossing: 13, Technique: 15) along with some strong mentals (Composure: 17, Decisions: 14, Off the Ball: 18) tells me that he's going to be a really dangerous, and slightly different to Zakharov, prospect down this side. He's got pace, but not as much, so won't be relying on that - more so getting into better areas and making things happen. Plus, his natural striking instincts are going to massively help as we create those overloads in dangerous areas. I still feel that I am only scraping the surface of really utilising attributes to their fullest, regardless of player positions.

The only big loss here is the lack of a Long Throw specialist, but I'm going to try and recruit someone else who can fill that role from elsewhere on the pitch.

 

[Sonic Youth]

15 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

High praise from Mr Strikerless himself! How are you Guido? The Dugout was a long time ago now I think back!

Guimy is Guido from the Dugout?

[_Ben_]

(Early) September 2037

I turned on my laptop and fancied a little analytical work this evening, despite being rather tired from actually having to hold down a real life job and not play FM all day.

So I did...

Now - we're rather good but not unbeatable, yet three goals conceded in just two games marks a change from our normal defensive solidarity. I wanted to know why. Below are the players who have played for me in the two games:

A reasonably settled backline with Osemene, Perez and Ionesi being here for a good while and Addai-Mandela coming through the ranks, joining the first team in January. Obviously, Joksimovic is a new player and is completely new to his position, which, I believe, reduces his Decision making somewhat. However, when I isolate their KPIs from the two matches, I get some interesting results:

Because it's such a small data collection, I did this manually - using the match analysis to single out things like Defensive Area (and penalty area) as well as Progressive/Forward passes - this means that I can get a more accurate version of Total Defensive Actions than before because things like 'Gained Possession' don't appear to exist outside of the match analysis tool.

What this looks like is that we don't actually do a lot of defending. I knew that because of what I see in the highlights but this really enforces that. We don't really tackle (nor have I wanted that, and it's pleasing to see that Interceptions > Tackles in two of the players) and we are certainly pretty good at stopping shots coming in as we aren't making many blocks, potentially a sign of real last ditch defending. Slightly on a tangent, but I couldn't help it, is to look at the number of times we gain possession and then move forward with it in almost all players except Carlos Perez, who appears to be reluctant to move the ball forward when he wins it - certainly something to explore within his skill set. I'm concerned at the heading numbers from Addai-Mandela yet it appears that three quarters of those headers he does win are key - talk about saving them for an important occasion!

I wondered if we'd faced a particularly tall group of opposing players and this was maybe why we'd struggled with those numbers, but that wasn't really the case:

Collard didn't feature for Thun as Ocompo and Cuellar (from that list) did, with Borie and Avdic in the Sion tie.

----

So I guess I need to look at the goals:

The left is against Thun and then first and second against Sion are next.

Now, the first Thun goal, the lowest of the xG, came from a flick on from Cuellar that Osemene misjudged.

Whilst the volley was emphatic, I do wonder whether he could have been that little bit tighter. I want to see whether this was poor play by Friday or good play by Eduardo, so here are some comparative attributes, in the sense that I think one could match the other (certainly not gospel, just thinking out loud!):

• Ocampo OtB 14 vs Osemene Positioning
• Ocampo Strength 9 vs 13 Osemene Strength
• Ocampo Anticipation 12 vs 13 Osemene Strength
• Ocampo Agility 14 vs 15 Osemene Marking

Certainly in the favour of my centre back. However, given Ocampo another eight of those, this'd be the only one he'd net from this exact same position. I can't complain too much!

---

The first Sion goal came from a through ball, at an xG of 0.23, meaning that one in every 4 from here, roughly, would go in.

I feel like the defensive ability of Joksimovic (Marking 8, Positioning 10, Tackling 8) plus the reduced Decisions (is 14 - but that is, presumably, whilst in his favoured role) means that he's just allowed Bognar to move through and put the ball away. My concern does, however, come from the three players moving towards him! We are a little bit disorganised here and that is something I can't accept defensively. Not a mistake, per se, but something that will hopefully reduce over time as he becomes more settled. Certainly I feel that it is worth persisting with considering what he gives us going forward.

This is 6'2" Borie beating a man of the same height (comparative attributes - Heading 14 vs 12 and Jumping Reach 15 vs 17) in Addai-Mandela to the ball. Now, my concern again here comes from the fact that EAM, the right sided centre back, with no man marking instructions, is there challenging for that in the right half space, where Perez occupies. What it did was leave a huge gap for Avdic (high Agility, Stamina and Determination, good Off the Ball and Anticipation) to sneak in. Again, I must ask questions of Ionesi's Positioning (15 and normally a strength combined with 15 Decisions) but it was a well taken goal.

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What are my thoughts then?

Well, it appears we are doing pretty well as individuals in most areas except maybe aerial challenges but we are just lacking a little organisation and drilling defensively. Nothing has changed tactically over the summer but there is obviously a refresh time in the tactical familiarity and maybe we just haven't found it quite yet.

I'm sure it'll be a great season and there'll be many more goals scored than conceded but it's nice to dig into trying to find out why!

 

[Hootieleece]

Just checking in.....I am continuing my Slovak Save (without posting) as a journeyman save and I have endded up in France 2030 as Estac Troyes, but scheduled a trip to Switzerland for Summer Camp and I played Luzern and Thun in Friendlies.

 

 

 

[Guimy]

On 11/09/2021 at 23:20, _Ben_ said:

High praise from Mr Strikerless himself! How are you Guido? The Dugout was a long time ago now I think back!

It's been far too long  I did catch you on FM Now, but I admit to being far from a regular sight there. I do know a few of the old guard are still knocking around, even besides FM Now. Cheeky Deeky is still blogging, though irregularly. Forza has branched out into real football and Shrewnaldo is an irregular blogger.