FM21: BODØ / GLIMT - We will make the northerners proud.

[Sonic Youth]

Good effort against Atalanta there. Took hope into the second leg which is a good improvement.

League form is great, and can see that lasting the distance, especially with Sesko’s nice start to his career with you.

[SixPointer]

Going up again GPG is no easy task! Especially like I said before the timing of the game in the Norwegian calendar. New striker looks as if you made a good choice after Tjaland couldn’t be brought in 

[MattyLewis11]

13 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Good effort against Atalanta there. Took hope into the second leg which is a good improvement.

League form is great, and can see that lasting the distance, especially with Sesko’s nice start to his career with you.

Absolutely, well chuffed to have been in with a shout after 135 minutes which goes to show how far we have progressed. 

Very happy with the initial progress of Sesko and need to get him learning a few traits to help him have a greater impact. 

10 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Going up again GPG is no easy task! Especially like I said before the timing of the game in the Norwegian calendar. New striker looks as if you made a good choice after Tjaland couldn’t be brought in 

Yeah mate the calendar is a challenge, it's a real problem and one which I feel will have a big impact on our progress in Europe each and every season. So hard to get the players anywhere near match fit after 2 months off. 

[MattyLewis11]

April 2022

We kicked off April with a trip to Trondheim to play last season's runners up in Rosenborg, a full strength eleven were selected for what has historically been a fixture which we have dominated (3W, 2D, 0L). Rosenborg got off to a good start through Holse who provided a few pin-point crosses, only for their striker Rigoberto Rivas to miss the target. The game was an a limbo with both sides finding it hard to create any chances of significant xG value. Tounekti and Saltnes were hauled off at the break opting to bring on Adingra, in the hope that his pace would pose a different threat to the opposition. The introduction of Fet was also made to counter the attacking threat of the opposition (Emil Ceide) as Fet has a better pace, acceleration and agility, the view was for the CAR to be able to occupy the vacant space down the flank quicker. 

Adingra rewarded us with a goal on the 51st minute only for ex-player Victor Boniface  (sold £1.5m in the last window) to carry out the usual act of scoring against a former team, the game finished 1-1. 

Taking a look at the xG story you will note that after we scored Rosenborg's reaction was immense, Boniface in all honesty should have scored in the 70th minute if it were not for an excellent block from Edvard Tagseth, denying a shot with an xG of 0.48. We can count ourselves lucky to have not succumb to defeat, this was not a case of two points dropped, more like a point gained! 

The following game was to be played against newly promoted Fredrikstad, we made a few minor tweaks to the starting line-up bringing in Hoibraten for Lode and introduced Elvind Helgesen to the starting eleven after the youngster impressed last season whilst on loan at Kristiansund. 

Olav Oby scored within the first minute to raise a few eyebrows, Sesko levelling the score line after dispatching a penalty on the 29th minute. Normality was resumed on the 64th minute through Donnum. 

The Poacher

In the game against Milde I opted to change Sesko's role from a DLF to a Poacher, my thoughts behind this change were to attempt to utilise his goal-scoring ability to our advantage, having him focus his attention and energy purely around converting chances rather than being involved in the build up play. 

As you can see from the above the shot maps for both roles are fairly similar, both showing that the majority of strikes taking place from within the box...you could argue that those form the role of a poacher come closer to goal (most taking place from the penalty spot or closer).

Of course this change could have a negative impact for Sesko, who has four assists to his name to date, showing he can facilitate duel roles within the team.

The outcome was rewarded with Sesko scoring a hat-trick, walking away with the match-ball for the third time this season! 

The result has us joint top after seven games, kudos to Odds who not only are joint on points but are also winning by a similar margin, Kristiansund (arguably the most consistent side over the two seasons, also find themselves only three points off the pace).

Could this be the season where others push us harder in the Eliteserien? Only time will tell.

We have progressed in the cup after victories against minnows, the schedule for May has a mixed bag of fixtures, all eyes on that final game of the month!  

 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by MattyLewis11

[Sonic Youth]

There’s something Odd about that table 

Also, Sesko’s got a hatful of goals now 

[MattyLewis11]

29 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

There’s something Odd about that table 

Also, Sesko’s got a hatful of goals now 

Check the pun! 

He really has hit the ground running, 14 goals and four assists in all competitions! (9G,4A in the Eliteserien).

This however has left me with a massive problem (A good one) which surrounds Erik Botheim.

Erik has been limited to only 242 minutes of football this season (2 starts, 4 bench), historically he has made 23 appearances (11 starts, 12 bench) in 2020 and 18 appearances (14 starts, 4 bench) in 2021. 

Given the fact that Junker will be our main man to lead the line for European fixtures, Botheim will need to take his chances from the bench. 

At 18 Sesko shouldn't be playing 90 minutes week in week out as this will no doubt impact his ability to maximise his potential ability, therefore I will be looking to the Slovenian to only play 70 minutes per fixture going forward in order to not burn him out! 

 

[deltablue]

On 12/08/2021 at 07:20, MattyLewis11 said:

Yeah mate the calendar is a challenge, it's a real problem and one which I feel will have a big impact on our progress in Europe each and every season. So hard to get the players anywhere near match fit after 2 months off. 

I've had the opposite experience in the past at AIK where we seemed at our weakest in the group stages and our best in the knockouts due to being fresher. Then again maybe that was before match sharpness was a thing in the game.

[smplfc123]

Great start again to the league, but it's good to see Odds and Kristiansund keeping up with you to ensure the league is still competitive. 

Sesko proving to be an excellent signing!

[MattyLewis11]

Ok it's official, I have simply forgotten who Albert Braut Tjaland is...17 goals in his last 8 games! Sesko is absolutely dominating the Eliteserien!

Looking at his stats so far he is clocking up the following on the pitch;

• 17 goals (1st)
• 57 minutes per goal (1st)
• 10.01 xG (1st)
• 65 shots (1st)
• 34 shots on target (1st)
• 5 assists (1st)

The guy is a machine, all credit goes to RB Salzburg....they certainly know how to make a striker! I am going to create a special visual for this guy come end of season! 

 

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Ok it's official, I have simply forgotten who Albert Braut Tjaland is...17 goals in his last 8 games! Sesko is absolutely dominating the Eliteserien!

Looking at his stats so far he is clocking up the following on the pitch;

• 17 goals (1st)
• 57 minutes per goal (1st)
• 10.01 xG (1st)
• 65 shots (1st)
• 34 shots on target (1st)
• 5 assists (1st)

The guy is a machine, all credit goes to RB Salzburg....they certainly know how to make a striker! I am going to create a special visual for this guy come end of season! 

 

Looks like a great find! 

[MattyLewis11]

It's that time of the year when all of the major leagues are set to return back for their pre-season, this can mean only one thing...it's time for the new co-efficient rankings!

As you can see from the above the reputation of the Eliteserien has risen, we now are playing our football in the top 20 leagues in Europe! Yes we are a long way from one of our objectives (top 10) however this movement takes us above the Allsvenskan and now six places off the highest ranking Nordic league, the 3F Superliga (Denmark).

Our performances have seen us rocket up the club rankings, we move up a casual 208 places and now are a top 100 club! 

Norwegian football on the whole has secured a top 10 ranking in the national co-efficient, this has secured Norwegian football direct access to the UCL third round of qualification (champions) and an additional place in the second round of qualifying for the Eliteserien runner-up!

A place is also distributed to the Europa League third round of qualifying, stripping a place from the UECL.

 

 

[MattyLewis11]

Qualification starts all over again, this time we face International Turku of Finland in the opening round, the game is scheduled for the following month! (July)

[john1]

2 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Qualification starts all over again, this time we face International Turku of Finland in the opening round, the game is scheduled for the following month! (July)

Should go through without breaking a single sweat  

[Sonic Youth]

That’s going to improve the league, those coefficient jumps!

[smplfc123]

Congratulations on the Competition and Club ranking improvements! A fine reward for an excellent career so far!

[_Ben_]

18 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Our performances have seen us rocket up the club rankings, we move up a casual 208 places and now are a top 100 club! 

Some great moves! How did Lech get on in Europe? I’m going to presume a pretty deep run in the Conference League?

[MattyLewis11]

On 15/08/2021 at 02:55, Sonic Youth said:

That’s going to improve the league, those coefficient jumps!

Let's hope so, that's the goal!

On 15/08/2021 at 13:23, smplfc123 said:

Congratulations on the Competition and Club ranking improvements! A fine reward for an excellent career so far!

Appreciated mate, I am glad you are enjoying the save...thanks for sharing it with me!

 

On 15/08/2021 at 13:40, _Ben_ said:

Some great moves! How did Lech get on in Europe? I’m going to presume a pretty deep run in the Conference League?

Lech made it through to the UECL second knock-out round where they ran Villarreal very close to the wire...losing 4-3 over the two legs! 

[MattyLewis11]

The halfway point - June 2022

With new signing Benjamin Sesko looking likely to have already secured the Eliteserien golden boot, scoring 23 goals from his 14 appearances. You would expect for Glimt to hold the usual comfortable position at the top of the Eliteserien, in reality this year we are far from it! 

We haven't made any significant changes to our playing style, which last season felt fluid within the ME and carved teams apart, this season consistent performers from last year (Tounekti, Donnum and even Berg) are having less of an impact.

Has the AI worked out how to keep these individuals shackled down or has the movement of our lone striker from a DLF to a Poacher had a significant detrimental impact on our creativity?

You will see from the league table that arguably this year we do not only have a title rival but Odds could also be considered within the mix.

The results from June add fuel to the fire, we experienced defeat twice (league and cup) with both defeats coming against these challengers.

Given the fact that we will now be heavily involved in fixtures, this is the point of the season which will prioritise UCL qualification over the league games which could significantly harm our chances of a third straight title.

The question is do I look to dip into the transfer market to secure the signing of Odin Thiago Holm or Luka Ilic (contract expiring) with a view to switching the formation to a 4-2-3-1 or is it a case of switching back to a DLF and reducing the impact of goal-scoring machine Sesko?!

Thoughts are welcomed! 

 

[Matt_1979]

5 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

The halfway point - June 2022

With new signing Benjamin Sesko looking likely to have already secured the Eliteserien golden boot, scoring 23 goals from his 14 appearances. You would expect for Glimt to hold the usual comfortable position at the top of the Eliteserien, in reality this year we are far from it! 

We haven't made any significant changes to our playing style, which last season felt fluid within the ME and carved teams apart, this season consistent performers from last year (Tounekti, Donnum and even Berg) are having less of an impact.

Has the AI worked out how to keep these individuals shackled down or has the movement of our lone striker from a DLF to a Poacher had a significant detrimental impact on our creativity?

You will see from the league table that arguably this year we do not only have a title rival but Odds could also be considered within the mix.

The results from June add fuel to the fire, we experienced defeat twice (league and cup) with both defeats coming against these challengers.

Given the fact that we will now be heavily involved in fixtures, this is the point of the season which will prioritise UCL qualification over the league games which could significantly harm our chances of a third straight title.

The question is do I look to dip into the transfer market to secure the signing of Odin Thiago Holm or Luka Ilic (contract expiring) with a view to switching the formation to a 4-2-3-1 or is it a case of switching back to a DLF and reducing the impact of goal-scoring machine Sesko?!

Thoughts are welcomed! 

 

Odin Thiago Holm!!! It’s about time one of us owned him!!! And you know Real Madrid will pay £20m in a season or so!! Haha

Regarding the striker situation: whenever I’ve switched from a DLF to a AF I’ve noticed a possession drop of about 5%. I would expect a Poacher would even less involved in creating chances than an AF so I makes sense your teams’ creativity would be effected.

 

 

 

[SixPointer]

On 17/08/2021 at 16:28, MattyLewis11 said:

The halfway point - June 2022

With new signing Benjamin Sesko looking likely to have already secured the Eliteserien golden boot, scoring 23 goals from his 14 appearances. You would expect for Glimt to hold the usual comfortable position at the top of the Eliteserien, in reality this year we are far from it! 

We haven't made any significant changes to our playing style, which last season felt fluid within the ME and carved teams apart, this season consistent performers from last year (Tounekti, Donnum and even Berg) are having less of an impact.

Has the AI worked out how to keep these individuals shackled down or has the movement of our lone striker from a DLF to a Poacher had a significant detrimental impact on our creativity?

You will see from the league table that arguably this year we do not only have a title rival but Odds could also be considered within the mix.

The results from June add fuel to the fire, we experienced defeat twice (league and cup) with both defeats coming against these challengers.

Given the fact that we will now be heavily involved in fixtures, this is the point of the season which will prioritise UCL qualification over the league games which could significantly harm our chances of a third straight title.

The question is do I look to dip into the transfer market to secure the signing of Odin Thiago Holm or Luka Ilic (contract expiring) with a view to switching the formation to a 4-2-3-1 or is it a case of switching back to a DLF and reducing the impact of goal-scoring machine Sesko?!

Thoughts are welcomed! 

 

Odin turned into an incredible talent in my Odd save. And is tipped for the top here in Norway. Him and Ronnigen Jorgensen are hugely talented CM’s

[MattyLewis11]

 

The joys of scouting Brazil, both are available for free due to their contracts expiring in less than six months.....zero risk additions! 

[MattyLewis11]

July 2022

For those of you who have been following this save from it's creation (thanking you kindly) you will know that to-date we have only lost the single Eliteserien game in the two historic seasons. Looking at the below image you will see that July 2022 has been our worst month on the pitch in terms of results, losing as many games in the calendar month as we have spanning over two years! 

The result against Arendal was a freak result which went completely against the grain, our 23 shots compared to their 2 tell the initial story of how the 90 minutes were played out. Despite heavily dominating the shooting head to head we only had one more shot on target than the opposition. 

Conducting an analysis of the shot map of the game after switching to an attacking mentality, you will see that a large proportion of shots came from outside of the box. Whilst changing the mentality of the team has it's advantages, attacking being a shift towards chance creation which sees players look to roam from their positions in order to increase the volume of chance creation. You will note that a large proportion of these chances come from positions with a lower quality which is often the case. In reflection I should have probably kept the mentality the same, trusting our structure/patient approach to break down Arendal. 

The defeat against Rosenborg again went against the xG story which we finished on 2.35 compared to their 1.35 (0.77 coming from Holse's penalty). 

With three months remaining in the Eliteserien we have a battle on our hands and the final month of October could be detrimental in terms of who lifts the trophy as we face both Odds and Kristiansund in a 13 day period. 

Taking a little delve into the in-game analytics screen you can see that a large proportion of goals conceded are coming from within the box from placed shots, if you can remember at the start of season two I switched our DLP to operate in a support duty over defend with the hope of providing Berg a better platform to impact the game.

Now that the squad has been strengthened through the acquisition of Edvard Tagseth and Odin Thiago Holm (£5 million) I feel that it is right to switch Berg back to a defensive duty to provide an increase in defensive solidity given the fact that Holm will be our main creative outlet.

He will be deployed in the role of a CM, however I have opted to include the following player instructions as I look for him to have a greater influence in the opponents half given the fact he has excellent attributes in Dribbling (13), Flair (14), Off the Ball (13) and traits such as Killer balls and Runs with the ball through the centre. 

 

UCL Qualification

We were dealt a blow prior to our UCL campaign as Nimes submitted a bid for Kasper Junker of £2.2 million rising to £2.7, the striker wanted to leave and handed in a transfer request of the back of my pleads for him to stay! This left us without our key man (glad I spent so long on the striker analysis!) which could become a problem when/if we reach the group stage!

As you can see qualification has gone smoothly, next up we face Viktoria Plzen with the winners likely to draw Rangers! 

 

[SixPointer]

32 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

 

 

 

 

He will be deployed in the role of a CM, however I have opted to include the following player instructions as I look for him to have a greater influence in the opponents half given the fact he has excellent attributes in Dribbling (13), Flair (14), Off the Ball (13) and traits such as Killer balls and Runs with the ball through the centre. 

 

 

I find adding more direct passes gives them that edge coupled with the killer ball trait, if your really looking for him to be the one with defensive splitting passes or the switch of play. Just an idea to play around with. 

[Matt_1979]

In the previous update when you said Odd were a threat I looked at the points and was sceptical but they’re absolutely turned it on!!

Odin should be a beast!! Can’t wait to see how he does and if he can make the step up in European competition. 

[MattyLewis11]

46 minutes ago, Matt_1979 said:

In the previous update when you said Odd were a threat I looked at the points and was sceptical but they’re absolutely turned it on!!

Odin should be a beast!! Can’t wait to see how he does and if he can make the step up in European competition. 

Lets hope so as he cost us a fair old chunk of monies! 

[MattyLewis11]

How to blow £13 million the Glimt way! 

As with any save there are the highs and the lows, well this guys is definitely one of those low points, one which will see us play Thursday night football in the UEL.

After losing our first leg fixture in the UCL Playoff First Leg to Rangers we faced an uphill task of securing qualification., however Donnum and Saltnes truned the tie on it's head with early goals. 

Rangers scored to level the tie and lead on away goals before Berg scored what looked to be the winner almost immediately after....until Morelos spoiled the party with what turned out to be a crucial goal in the 84th minute.

If only the latest UEFA abolition of the away goals rule which will apply from 2021/22 could be applied in game! (on a personal note I would like to state I am not a fan of this decision) 

I am hoping that this result will help us to secure more victories on the continent, helping to boost our co-efficient! However the significant loss revenue through prize money will no doubt haver an impact on the club.

The draw in itself has turned out promising on paper, Tottenham are the highest ranking co-efficient in this years competition and no doubt will be a real tough opponent, where as FCK and IFK are both teams which I should be able to defeat. We will go into the group with an expectation to qualify through second place and I am going to target a 11 point finish. 

Eliteserien

After the shock of two defeats spanning July we bounced back to a more familiar form in August, a few tweaks to the tactic to cater for Holm along with a few tweaks seems to be working out with both Donnum and Tounekti coming out of hiding.

Sesko is not a DLF (despite his 12 assists)....he must be used as a poacher, he has shown his ability to score goals and this from now on will be his ONLY focus within the team. Finally after 10 hours without hitting the back of the net the Slovenian scores.

Looking at the form table we will no doubt be in for an exciting ride, Odds are title favourites when taking their form into consideration, they are 10 games without defeat and have three out of their last five games at home whilst we have three away games! 

Edited August 20, 2021 by MattyLewis11

[SixPointer]

Odd in the second game of the run in could prove pivotal for either side. Then kirstiansund on the second last game could yet throw it the opposite way however Rosenberg last game of the season for Odd will be no easy feat regardless of the Norwegian kings current form they always give you a game. 

Edited August 20, 2021 by SixPointer

[MattyLewis11]

Glimt vs Odds

As with any big match it is time to lean upon the Analysts in order to attempt to secure a marginal gain. 

Drawing information from the Team Report it is clear that Odds will look to threaten us aerially and with such a large percentage of their goals coming from down the right we will change the duty of Bjorkan from CWB (a) to CWB (s) in order to provide a balance in terms of adding in a few more defensive responsibilities. 

We will also look to re-group rather than counter-press to ensure we have as many bodies behind the ball in a organised defensive shape.

Looking at their trends in conceding goals they seem to be susceptible to through balls, could this be where Holm operating between the lines could be fundamental to our success?

I have scheduled the following routine for training, we will adopt a defensive focus throughout the week with Friday providing a focus on aerial threats and transitioning to defence after losing possesion. I have still kept in ball retention work and chance creation to ensure we are sharp in relation to these aspects of the game. 

Looking at the below stat pack highlights how reliant we have been on Sesko this season, whilst Odds have a few players which I will need to focus on keeping quiet! 

One key stat from the above that I haver noted is that Odds are yet to lose a game when they have scored first, we have both won the majority of games when the first goal is scored...this puts a MASSIVE emphasis on the first scorer! 

[_Ben_]

23 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

One key stat from the above that I haver noted is that Odds are yet to lose a game when they have scored first, we have both won the majority of games when the first goal is scored...this puts a MASSIVE emphasis on the first scorer! 

Discussion question (post is awesome but the same can be said for every other one!):

You know how vital scoring first in this game is. How do you change things (tactically, preparation wise etc etc) to do this?

I have my thoughts on this but I’ve never truly made a proper attempt at benefitting from situations like this so I’m interested how others do!

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Glimt vs Odds

As with any big match it is time to lean upon the Analysts in order to attempt to secure a marginal gain. 

Drawing information from the Team Report it is clear that Odds will look to threaten us aerially and with such a large percentage of their goals coming from down the right we will change the duty of Bjorkan from CWB (a) to CWB (s) in order to provide a balance in terms of adding in a few more defensive responsibilities. 

We will also look to re-group rather than counter-press to ensure we have as many bodies behind the ball in a organised defensive shape.

Looking at their trends in conceding goals they seem to be susceptible to through balls, could this be where Holm operating between the lines could be fundamental to our success?

I have scheduled the following routine for training, we will adopt a defensive focus throughout the week with Friday providing a focus on aerial threats and transitioning to defence after losing possesion. I have still kept in ball retention work and chance creation to ensure we are sharp in relation to these aspects of the game. 

Looking at the below stat pack highlights how reliant we have been on Sesko this season, whilst Odds have a few players which I will need to focus on keeping quiet! 

One key stat from the above that I haver noted is that Odds are yet to lose a game when they have scored first, we have both won the majority of games when the first goal is scored...this puts a MASSIVE emphasis on the first scorer! 

Love the thinking. When I see their conceding from through balls. I add pass into space and drop my my line of engagement. To further exploit the space they are already vulnerable in 

Edited August 20, 2021 by SixPointer

[MattyLewis11]

4 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Discussion question (post is awesome but the same can be said for every other one!):

You know how vital scoring first in this game is. How do you change things (tactically, preparation wise etc etc) to do this?

I have my thoughts on this but I’ve never truly made a proper attempt at benefitting from situations like this so I’m interested how others do!

An excellent discussion point, for me the best team to visualise when looking to achieve the objective is Liverpool playing at home.

Every opponent will have no doubt discussed the need to nullify the Kop when travelling to Anfield, the crowd have an expectation of their team and expect two things;

1. Pressure/Passion
2. Tempo

These two characteristics I feel are what make it so daunting for the opponent and why it is essential for the first milestone to be pass 15 minutes without conceding, for this purpose we are calling these characteristics match intensity!

How do I think this can be replicated in FM, a tough question...however I am willing to give it a dabble! 

Training

Now there is no way that a weeks training will prepare a team to play with intensity, however like with most things FM there is no doubt that what is applied in training does transmit onto the field.

Therefore I feel there is a need to really push players physically from time to time in relation to the intensity of the training.

For those of you that weren't aware training is actually given a percentile in relation to alignment of match intensity, you will note from the above image that this orange session is 75% of match intensity and therefore there is a need to slog players for a lack of better words, if you want them to blow teams away on the pitch. 

In possession 

Taking us back to Liverpool and Anfield, it is often common to see the TV pan to the faces of the opposition in these early stages, these images often tell a story;

1. opposition on the back foot, trying to stay with the game
2. opposition frantically using time when the ball is out of play to communicate/get oxygen

How can we replicate this...well the first port of call has to be to adjust the Tempo to extremely high, this will force our team to play the ball around quickly and decisively, using the appraoch to unsettle the opponent. secondly by setting time wasting to 'never' we hopefully get the ball back into play as quickly as possible, reducing the recovery time and forcing the opposition to play under stress, with stress comes errors and hopefully an early goal.

Of course, the width of the pitch could also be maximised to again increase the amount of ground the opponent would need to cover and therefore aid the above.

I wouldn't suggest in making any changes to player instructions as these will impact familiarity which in turn can have a negative impact, of course the am of this approach is to secure the early goal...once this has been achieved it would probably be of benefit to change the tactic back to the familiar set-up as we don't want to burn out too early! 

I hope I have done some justice @_Ben_ I also like the point you made @SixPointer in relation to the specific analyst report point surrounding lowering the line of engagement, this would be something which we could look to use after the initial 15 minutes, as we will be wanting to have the high press initially to choke the life out of the opponent if they do win possession early on!  

 

 

[SixPointer]

15 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

An excellent discussion point, for me the best team to visualise when looking to achieve the objective is Liverpool playing at home.

Every opponent will have no doubt discussed the need to nullify the Kop when travelling to Anfield, the crowd have an expectation of their team and expect two things;

1. Pressure/Passion
2. Tempo

These two characteristics I feel are what make it so daunting for the opponent and why it is essential for the first milestone to be pass 15 minutes without conceding, for this purpose we are calling these characteristics match intensity!

How do I think this can be replicated in FM, a tough question...however I am willing to give it a dabble! 

Training

Now there is no way that a weeks training will prepare a team to play with intensity, however like with most things FM there is no doubt that what is applied in training does transmit onto the field.

Therefore I feel there is a need to really push players physically from time to time in relation to the intensity of the training.

For those of you that weren't aware training is actually given a percentile in relation to alignment of match intensity, you will note from the above image that this orange session is 75% of match intensity and therefore there is a need to slog players for a lack of better words, if you want them to blow teams away on the pitch. 

In possession 

Taking us back to Liverpool and Anfield, it is often common to see the TV pan to the faces of the opposition in these early stages, these images often tell a story;

1. opposition on the back foot, trying to stay with the game
2. opposition frantically using time when the ball is out of play to communicate/get oxygen

How can we replicate this...well the first port of call has to be to adjust the Tempo to extremely high, this will force our team to play the ball around quickly and decisively, using the appraoch to unsettle the opponent. secondly by setting time wasting to 'never' we hopefully get the ball back into play as quickly as possible, reducing the recovery time and forcing the opposition to play under stress, with stress comes errors and hopefully an early goal.

Of course, the width of the pitch could also be maximised to again increase the amount of ground the opponent would need to cover and therefore aid the above.

I wouldn't suggest in making any changes to player instructions as these will impact familiarity which in turn can have a negative impact, of course the am of this approach is to secure the early goal...once this has been achieved it would probably be of benefit to change the tactic back to the familiar set-up as we don't want to burn out too early! 

I hope I have done some justice @_Ben_ I also like the point you made @SixPointer in relation to the specific analyst report point surrounding lowering the line of engagement, this would be something which we could look to use after the initial 15 minutes, as we will be wanting to have the high press initially to choke the life out of the opponent if they do win possession early on!  

 

 

Really like how you’ve took something real life and applied it to the game and it actually makes fantastic sense. Something I’ve never ever thought of personally but something I definitely will consider in the future. Goal times is something I’ve never really paid much attention to. I do a lot of analysis and use it for each game but this is an untapped area for me! 

[MattyLewis11]

Well it worked...

Taking a snippet from the timeline within the team analysis page you will see how our passing combinations were more efficient than Odds during the initial stage, this resulted us gaining an upper hand and allowed us to force Odds back within a very low block.

This is highlighted in their average position without the ball after the initial 15 minutes, I will provide my average position without the ball for contextual purposes below.

I could continue with adding more snippets from the analysis page, however realise that many of you unlike myself have a life and on Friday night this will be the very least of things of interest! 

 

[_Ben_]

5 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Glimt vs Odds

As with any big match it is time to lean upon the Analysts in order to attempt to secure a marginal gain. 

Drawing information from the Team Report it is clear that Odds will look to threaten us aerially and with such a large percentage of their goals coming from down the right we will change the duty of Bjorkan from CWB (a) to CWB (s) in order to provide a balance in terms of adding in a few more defensive responsibilities. 

Firstly...

I saw this when I was away from my game and thought it was a strange screen then, when I loaded FM, I realised that I have never allocated a scout for my next opposition. I used the analyst but that only told me the style. So - thanks for helping me cover my massive mishap there!

34 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

An excellent discussion point, for me the best team to visualise when looking to achieve the objective is Liverpool playing at home.

A wonderful reply, as @SixPointer said - so thanks for the insight.

I love that you are sticking to your guns with your style but making subtle changes that could have a big impact. We often score early and late in games - we're naturally attacking and I can fire the team up from the start and we are also fit and (I feel) use our five substitutes well but I've never really got my head around how I can make the most of these situations. Are Match Plans something you've ever delved into? They can automatically make those changes in the game situations but I've also read that they do silly things like give control of subs to the assistant...

12 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Taking a snippet from the timeline within the team analysis page you will see how our passing combinations were more efficient than Odds during the initial stage, this resulted us gaining an upper hand and allowed us to force Odds back within a very low block.

I'm suffering the same fate as Odds at the moment. We are so flat and stationery that we just get ahead of the ball and struggle to create those passing lanes that you have done.

Looks like a really satisfying way to tactically overcome them!

[SixPointer]

46 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Well it worked...

Taking a snippet from the timeline within the team analysis page you will see how our passing combinations were more efficient than Odds during the initial stage, this resulted us gaining an upper hand and allowed us to force Odds back within a very low block.

This is highlighted in their average position without the ball after the initial 15 minutes, I will provide my average position without the ball for contextual purposes below.

I could continue with adding more snippets from the analysis page, however realise that many of you unlike myself have a life and on Friday night this will be the very least of things of interest! 

 

I am working 12 hours nightshift and I want all the snippets 🤣 love the analysis 

[Matt_1979]

1 hour ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Well it worked...

Taking a snippet from the timeline within the team analysis page you will see how our passing combinations were more efficient than Odds during the initial stage, this resulted us gaining an upper hand and allowed us to force Odds back within a very low block.

This is highlighted in their average position without the ball after the initial 15 minutes, I will provide my average position without the ball for contextual purposes below.

I could continue with adding more snippets from the analysis page, however realise that many of you unlike myself have a life and on Friday night this will be the very least of things of interest! 

 

Dude, put the result at the end and keep us in suspense!!!!

[Sonic Youth]

That’s the way to beat the Odds!

Ahem. Moving on…

Loved the analysis, planning, and that it worked as expected proving your points. It also help with the league table 

 

[SixPointer]

53 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

That’s the way to beat the Odds!

Ahem. Moving on…

Loved the analysis, planning, and that it worked as expected proving your points. It also help with the league table 

 

There is always one Oddball looking to make a pun. 🤣
 

i had so many on the odd save early this year fantastic club for the pun!

[Sonic Youth]

43 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

There is always one Oddball looking to make a pun. 🤣
 

i had so many on the odd save early this year fantastic club for the pun!

Eh! I see what you did there 

I’ll look into that story then 

[Sonic Youth]

6 hours ago, SixPointer said:

I am working 12 hours nightshift and I want all the snippets 🤣 love the analysis 

This!

7 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

I could continue with adding more snippets from the analysis page, however realise that many of you unlike myself have a life and on Friday night this will be the very least of things of interest! 

My State has stay-at-home and also curfew rules on it at present 

Plus, can read it over coffee on Saturday morning 

[Sonic Youth]

5 hours ago, Matt_1979 said:

Dude, put the result at the end and keep us in suspense!!!!

I’d like that too, only when there is a cliffhanger type of event.

Otherwise I don’t mind this approach, as it says what happens, then explains why/what and then what can be done/was done in the future.

Plus, it’s a differing way to write up their save than others on this forum.

[Pavi]

Great thread! I am currently on a save with Vålerenga in Norway as well.

Keep up the good work!

[MattyLewis11]

Closing off season three

Thanks for such a positive response from @_Ben_ @SixPointer @Sonic Youth @Matt_1979 @Pavi and @Crazy_Ivan in relation to the post and the breakdown of the prep leading up to the Odds game, tonight's update we will find out if all the hard work paid off! 

As previously stated October was a tough month, the challenge of facing both title contenders so close to the end of the season could always have the potential to upset the apple cart. 

Fortunately for my ever growing reputation in Norway, this was not going to be the case..in fact the time spent on writing how to replicate match intensity ended up serving me very well.

 

As you can see from the above, we had a 100% record across the final month and more importantly the tactic 'clicked' our rejuvenated poacher walking away with the match ball in all three of the final games...who would have thought adding a little more width to the play would have had such an extreme return!  

Taking a look at the end of season analysis both Odds and Kristiansund performed significantly better than their performances merited. Odds were the main beneficiary picking up 17 more points which enabled them to keep up their title hopes! 

For the first season of this save we really had a fight on our hands, making the FM experience a little more enjoyable (even those few squeaky bum times). I wanted to take a look at our historical performances in the Eliteserien, it's always nice to see how your side are progressing/deteriorating once you have a few seasons worth of data. I would advise each and everyone of you to save your games by season which enables you the opportunity to dip into older saves to pull of end of season stats/metrics which I find great to drill down on.

This time though, something very light-hearted. 

As you can see, we have a few trends...despite this season being our worst return in terms of points it actually has been our best for expected points! We are scoring more goals and accumulating a better xG and in return are paying the price of being a little more open at the back. (picture Guardiola back in his Barcelona days, happy to sacrifice defensive solidity knowing that he will outscore you)

I could have taken this a little deeper and probably will do by looking at our amount of shots to work out xG per shot etc, however I just wanted to provide a little visual which shows that we are progressing as a team, providing me assurance as this season felt much tougher! 

UEFA Europa League

Failure to qualify for the UCL really hurt us as a club, as you can see our competition prize money is significantly down from last season, the UCL is so important for this saves objectives as it allows us to be a little more frivolous when delving in the transfer market aiding our rivals.

we cant complain too much, we finished top of our group in the UEL, nearly claiming a 100% record along the way! 

The big surprise was that Jose Mourinho's Tottenham failed to make it out of the group! 

Record Breaker

Despite only scoring an E in the end of season analysis, the signing of Benjamin Sesko has helped to project the club to new heights. His first season in Norway has not just been a success, he has simply had the breakout season to rule them all.

Breaking six club records along the way Benjamin has been worth every penny of the £1.3 million pound deal, I don't think its been since FM19 (Dortmund) that I have had a striker to score more than 30 league goals. His 49 goals in all competitions is such an amazing achievement, remember he had a goal drought which seen him go 900+ minutes without a goal! 

A worthy winner of the two big end of season awards. 

 

The Forward Look

Receiving additional backing by the board, we have secured a grant to extend the capacity at Aspmyra, once completed the new 10,690 capacity will see us ranked 7th in terms of capacity (previously 11th). This decision is definitely the right one as our average attendance for the season was 6,849 which is 96% of the current maximum capacity! 

Entering season four we again have the threat of losing some of our players;

• Bjorkan is wanted by Club Brugge and Guangzhou
• Berg is wanted by Guangzhou
• Tagseth is wanted by Guangzhou
• Donnum is wanted by Guangzhou
• Tounekti is wanted by Guangzhou
• Botheim is wanted by Molde and Odds
• Nerdal is wanted by NAC and Odds
• Sesko is wanted by Club Brugge and GZ City

Can you spot the trend?!?!?

I do not have any transfer targets for the fourth season, I need to look into the scout reports for a back-up goalkeeper and explore the possibility/need for depth...so that is a good point to leave this post and a nice starting point leading into season four! 

[john1]

Looks so easy winning your group in Europa League No surprise to see Spurs didn't get through  

[SixPointer]

Magic season mate. Sublime striker stats as well. The best I’ve seen in Norway since I signed haaland for Aalsund  in FM17/18 my claim to fame 🤣. 
 

The Chinese teams are a pain in the backside for Norwegian talent. I lost ronnigen Jorgensen to super league did make good money but was the board who took it. 
 

between you and @_Ben_ it makes me want to show readers more how I play the game rather with broader analysis of how and why I do things. Rather than the story telling parts I done. A suppose a good mix would be nice. And I’ve always covered my tactics in decent depth and also done a few big tactical posts on the tactics section. But now feel like it’s team to take my writing into another level of analysis. Although I doubt I can match use pair for your own made statistical drawings. 
 

KUTGW and MON THE ARCTIC

[MattyLewis11]

As per usual in my act of haste I forgot to provide you guys with an update in relation to the position of our 'Wall of Fame' 

The 'Wall of Fame' is populating nicely, we now have had ten players make their international debuts wearing the All Yellow of Glimt. 2022 has been the most successful year, this coincides with the build up to the World Cup, managers clearly looking to give all potentials a run out for their respective national sides.

3 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Magic season mate. Sublime striker stats as well. The best I’ve seen in Norway since I signed haaland for Aalsund  in FM17/18 my claim to fame 🤣. 
 

The Chinese teams are a pain in the backside for Norwegian talent. I lost ronnigen Jorgensen to super league did make good money but was the board who took it. 
 

between you and @_Ben_ it makes me want to show readers more how I play the game rather with broader analysis of how and why I do things. Rather than the story telling parts I done. A suppose a good mix would be nice. And I’ve always covered my tactics in decent depth and also done a few big tactical posts on the tactics section. But now feel like it’s team to take my writing into another level of analysis. Although I doubt I can match use pair for your own made statistical drawings. 
 

KUTGW and MON THE ARCTIC

Appreciate the kind words @SixPointer I feel providing an analysis approach helps the reader to do exactly what you have stated, get inside my head to understand how/why I have made certain decisions in relation to the save. 

 

 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

As per usual in my act of haste I forgot to provide you guys with an update in relation to the position of our 'Wall of Fame' 

The 'Wall of Fame' is populating nicely, we now have had ten players make their international debuts wearing the All Yellow of Glimt. 2022 has been the most successful year, this coincides with the build up to the World Cup, managers clearly looking to give all potentials a run out for their respective national sides.

Appreciate the kind words @SixPointer I feel providing an analysis approach helps the reader to do exactly what you have stated, get inside my head to understand how/why I have made certain decisions in relation to the save. 

 

 

Your posts have been the biggest change to how I play the game and I have been here since the very first iteration of the game.

The Monchi method, the statistical analysis it's all been a game changer for me.  

[ShaunG95]

Love how well Sesko has done! Just signed him on my Shrewsbury save a fair few years in but he's out on loan getting a work permit first. What's he looking like attribute-wise now? Surely he has progressed a lot after that remarkable season.

[MattyLewis11]

8 hours ago, Crazy_Ivan said:

Your posts have been the biggest change to how I play the game and I have been here since the very first iteration of the game.

The Monchi method, the statistical analysis it's all been a game changer for me.  

Aw mate, this honestly is so very kind of you! Like most of us I write because I enjoy it and hope that others read...so to know that you not only enjoy my content but also find it of value means so much to me. 

[KlaaZ]

Back from holiday, very pleased to see you finally picked up Holm. Hope he shines for you like he did for me! Also happy to see Kobenhavn go through instead of Tottenham.