FM22: ¡Viva el Betis manque pierda!

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Good start. A very tricky group to navigate in Europe - best of luck!

[SixPointer]

Nice start matty! System seems to be working how you want it to. 
 

amazing to see the legend Joaquin still providing the goods!

[SteinkelssonFM]

12 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

Nice start matty! System seems to be working how you want it to. 
 

amazing to see the legend Joaquin still providing the goods!

Absolutely mind-blown by his performance in the first fixture. As for the system, yes it is surprisingly going very well we are third in La Liga standings for possession. 

  I would have to caveat that by saying we haven't had the toughest run of fixtures to date! 

 

1 hour ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

Good start. A very tricky group to navigate in Europe - best of luck!

Horrible draw, going to be exceptionally tough to progress from the group! I think the most important thing will be to secure two victories against Maccabi which will draw down c£1m in prize money (£538k per win) which we can start to write off some of the debt which surrounds the club. 

[SixPointer]

When playing possession it’s striking that fine balance of still being a threat and a having plays to break down parked buses. I find they come into play once the AI works out you like the ball so hit it hard before you start seeing ten men behind the ball 

[SteinkelssonFM]

September 2021

After being eased into management with Betis, September was set to be the month where Steinkelsson's early run of form would be tested. Four games over a ten day period ending with a trip to Madrid would certainly show me where any cracks are within the squad in terms of both depth and ability. 

Osasuna - Rodri opened the scoring in the eighth minute , rising at the far post from a Camarasa corner to head home. Despite huffing and puffing for the remainder of the first-half Betis could not carve open a clear cut chance. The second half seen the introduction of Canales and Jose from the bench for Tello and Juanmi as I looked to push for that all important second goal. 

On the 54th minute Manu Sanchez made my task easier by going in two-footed on Bellerin and received a straight red for his stupidity. Jose came close to scoring for Betis with a well hit long-range drive which was acrobatically tipped by Sergio Herrera, unfortunately the ball fell back into the six-yard box and Iglesias was the first to react, tapping into an empty net.

The result was put beyond doubt after 67 minutes after a clumsy push in the box from Osasuna provided Jose with the opportunity to open his account for his new club, he didn’t let himself down. 

Alaves - Despite the home side not yet securing a victory in La Liga, the team from the Basque region had faced both Atletico Madrid and travelled to the Nou Camp in what has been a tough opening to the 2021/22 season. Alaves had only lost to Osasuna in their other defeat by a single goal (Penalty) and had picked up their solitary point after a late goal (their only of the season) from Tomas Pina.

I switched the deep double pivot to a double CM pairing for this fixture in an attempt to have more bodies in the attacking third to help recycle possession in what was a congested area thanks to Alaves’ 4-1-4-1 formation. 

The result was secured 2-1 with a brace from Borja, the above shot-map shows just how effective the striker is at getting off shots within the box. Borja accumulated 12 shots in this game, twice as many as Alaves themselves. 

His 7.33 shots per 90 has the Spaniard ranked in second place in La Liga behind Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad who is taking 7.7 shots per 90. Both strikers are in a rich vein of form with eight goals each. Borja is however outperforming Isak in terms of his his xG which sees the Betis man have 4.74 whilst the Swede has 5.37, meaning that his luck going into the two big matches might run out.

 

Atletico Madrid - How do I go about summing up this game, lets start with a little head to head; 

Any guesses as to which team was Betis? Bravo, yes we were Team B and we lost the game 3-2. 

The above show the starting position of Luis Suarez for each of his three goals, the Uruguayan with his 17 off the ball and 17 anticipation left me a reminder NEVER to play against Atletico without a CB on cover and  to not use a higher defensive line. 

After the game I felt gutted to not even return home without a point to show for what was a very strong performance away from home against a title contender. Our next fixture in just four days time was high flying Barcelona who had yet to suffer defeat. This would show the real character of my team, can we bounce back or will another defeat send us on the downward spiral, time will tell.

 

Barcelona - I opted to partner Ruiz with Pezzella in the centre of defence for this game, yes Bartra had an absolute torrid time against Suarez and that did contribute to my decision. However, the Argentinian offers more in terms of an aerial presence which I wanted to utilise after setting up the good old near post corner routine from FM21. 

Pezzella didn't score but he managed to win 14 headers across the match (the most on the park), including one key header. 

You will note that the Argentinian won aerial duels across all areas of the pitch, he was effective in the defensive third and his key header  stopped Memphis Depay from connecting with a Jordi Alba free-kick at the far post. He was also effective in the cente of the pitch, rising to win the ball and ensure that possession could be recycled and the pressure maintained on Barcelona. His force was also felt in the attacking third with six headers stemming from our 11 corners from the match. He finished the game with an average rating of 7.6 and in all honesty probably should have added a goal to the 3-1 victory.

Goals from Borja, Rodri and Lainez were enough to secure the three points, Barcelona only had three shots compared to our 28! They did lose Busquets just before the break to another two-footed challenge! Anyone else seeing lots of red cards on their saves?

Borja has now taken his La Liga scoring to double figures which has drawn the attentions of Manchester United. 

Europa League

I couldn't have asked for a better start in Europe, the result against Maccabi was expected but we always knew that Lazio would be a challenge. The Biancoceleste are sitting third in Serie a after six games (4W, 1D, 1L) and after Pedro opened the scoring very early on I thought we were going to be in for a hiding. The character of the side shone through and I think the goal scored by Borja just before the break provided the team with a belief that they could kick on and secure the win. 

Rodri picked up an injury in the match which is going to hurt the side a little, the youngster has been providing rotation for Joaquin, who at 40 can not be playing week in week out. Cristian Tello will now be asked to feature more and Rober who is currently playing with Betis Deportivo could potentially make his debut for Betis after impressing with an average score of 7.43 with the B Team. 

I have used @_Ben_ views which he uses to highlight key metrics for each playing block (Goalkeepers, Defenders, Defensive Midfielders etc.) I will look to talk over these during my next update to analyse performances in relation to outputs and then set my baselines for key roles as covered by @Matt_1979 who labelled this as 'Role Values'.

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2021 by SteinkelssonFM

[Matt_1979]

1 hour ago, MattyLewis11 said:

September 2021

After being eased into management with Betis, September was set to be the month where Steinkelsson's early run of form would be tested. Four games over a ten day period ending with a trip to Madrid would certainly show me where any cracks are within the squad in terms of both depth and ability. 

Osasuna - Rodri opened the scoring in the eighth minute , rising at the far post from a Camarasa corner to head home. Despite huffing and puffing for the remainder of the first-half Betis could not carve open a clear cut chance. The second half seen the introduction of Canales and Jose from the bench for Tello and Juanmi as I looked to push for that all important second goal. 

On the 54th minute Manu Sanchez made my task easier by going in two-footed on Bellerin and received a straight red for his stupidity. Jose came close to scoring for Betis with a well hit long-range drive which was acrobatically tipped by Sergio Herrera, unfortunately the ball fell back into the six-yard box and Iglesias was the first to react, tapping into an empty net.

The result was put beyond doubt after 67 minutes after a clumsy push in the box from Osasuna provided Jose with the opportunity to open his account for his new club, he didn’t let himself down. 

Alaves - Despite the home side not yet securing a victory in La Liga, the team from the Basque region had faced both Atletico Madrid and travelled to the Nou Camp in what has been a tough opening to the 2021/22 season. Alaves had only lost to Osasuna in their other defeat by a single goal (Penalty) and had picked up their solitary point after a late goal (their only of the season) from Tomas Pina.

I switched the deep double pivot to a double CM pairing for this fixture in an attempt to have more bodies in the attacking third to help recycle possession in what was a congested area thanks to Alaves’ 4-1-4-1 formation. 

The result was secured 2-1 with a brace from Borja, the above shot-map shows just how effective the striker is at getting off shots within the box. Borja accumulated 12 shots in this game, twice as many as Alaves themselves. 

His 7.33 shots per 90 has the Spaniard ranked in second place in La Liga behind Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad who is taking 7.7 shots per 90. Both strikers are in a rich vein of form with eight goals each. Borja is however outperforming Isak in terms of his his xG which sees the Betis man have 4.74 whilst the Swede has 5.37, meaning that his luck going into the two big matches might run out.

 

Atletico Madrid - How do I go about summing up this game, lets start with a little head to head; 

Any guesses as to which team was Betis? Bravo, yes we were Team B and we lost the game 3-2. 

The above show the starting position of Luis Suarez for each of his three goals, the Uruguayan with his 17 off the ball and 17 anticipation left me a reminder NEVER to play against Atletico without a CB on cover and  to not use a higher defensive line. 

After the game I felt gutted to not even return home without a point to show for what was a very strong performance away from home against a title contender. Our next fixture in just four days time was high flying Barcelona who had yet to suffer defeat. This would show the real character of my team, can we bounce back or will another defeat send us on the downward spiral, time will tell.

 

Barcelona - I opted to partner Ruiz with Pezzella in the centre of defence for this game, yes Bartra had an absolute torrid time against Suarez and that did contribute to my decision. However, the Argentinian offers more in terms of an aerial presence which I wanted to utilise after setting up the good old near post corner routine from FM21. 

Pezzella didn't score but he managed to win 14 headers across the match (the most on the park), including one key header. 

You will note that the Argentinian won aerial duels across all areas of the pitch, he was effective in the defensive third and his key header  stopped Memphis Depay from connecting with a Jordi Alba free-kick at the far post. He was also effective in the cente of the pitch, rising to win the ball and ensure that possession could be recycled and the pressure maintained on Barcelona. His force was also felt in the attacking third with six headers stemming from our 11 corners from the match. He finished the game with an average rating of 7.6 and in all honesty probably should have added a goal to the 3-1 victory.

Goals from Borja, Rodri and Lainez were enough to secure the three points, Barcelona only had three shots compared to our 28! They did lose Busquets just before the break to another two-footed challenge! Anyone else seeing lots of red cards on their saves?

Borja has now taken his La Liga scoring to double figures which has drawn the attentions of Manchester United. 

Europa League

I couldn't have asked for a better start in Europe, the result against Maccabi was expected but we always knew that Lazio would be a challenge. The Biancoceleste are sitting third in Serie a after six games (4W, 1D, 1L) and after Pedro opened the scoring very early on I thought we were going to be in for a hiding. The character of the side shone through and I think the goal scored by Borja just before the break provided the team with a belief that they could kick on and secure the win. 

Rodri picked up an injury in the match which is going to hurt the side a little, the youngster has been providing rotation for Joaquin, who at 40 can not be playing week in week out. Cristian Tello will now be asked to feature more and Rober who is currently playing with Betis Deportivo could potentially make his debut for Betis after impressing with an average score of 7.43 with the B Team. 

I have used @_Ben_ views which he uses to highlight key metrics for each playing block (Goalkeepers, Defenders, Defensive Midfielders etc.) I will look to talk over these during my next update to analyse performances in relation to outputs and then set my baselines for key roles as covered by @Matt_1979 who labelled this as 'Role Values'.

 

 

 

Another terrific update 👏👏👏

and a great result vs Barca!

Edited November 14, 2021 by Matt_1979

[karanhsingh]

I remember Rober being a wonderkid a few editions ago... seems like this is going well overall particularly in Europe

[SteinkelssonFM]

I must admit I am a little surprised by the start which we have made, although from here there is only one way which the save can go! 

Rober is the best player in terms of potential that Betis have on their books in relation to the development squads @karanhsingh we could already have the next Joaquin at the club. However, as with any player with significant potential he will need to be nurtured and not thrown into the deep end. 

I need to wait a few more weeks until approaching the board in terms of requesting for additional coaches - these as you will know can play a key role in the development of players.

 

 

[SixPointer]

Fantastic result against Barcelona especially bouncing back from a tough one to take against athletico. Hit the ground running in Europe also 

[13th Man]

Great start, especially in Europe.  I'm especially happy to see you beat Lazio as they were a team which caused me a lot of problems in my last save with Livorno (plus they're rivals).

Well done giving good info and key stats/data to help show your thinking and the results without over doing it!

[SteinkelssonFM]

As with most of my content @13th Man the writing will deviate away from the results are delve deeper into areas which interest me. I am really pleased with the start we have made to the save. The Barcelona result @SixPointer really was a perfect performance.

 

[13th Man]

Just now, MattyLewis11 said:

the writing will deviate away from the results

Ha!  I actually meant the results of your tactics and thinking, not 'results' as in scoreline. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

Well either way, I appreciate you following along...clearly I had a little too much time on my hands this evening as I wanted to produce a table to show how each region of Spain are performing in La Liga. 

High flying Celta Vigo (4th place) being the only representative from Galicia top the table (not sure if there is a better way of displaying this data other than using the mean).

 

Maheta Molango will be happy to see Pablo Ortells Mallorca sitting at the bottom of the table, the side from the Balearic Islands  currently sit two places outside of the relegation zone. 

[Muttley84]

2 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

not sure if there is a better way of displaying this data other than using the mean)

Given the sample size is to small for using t-test or other statistical analysis, I would think better indicators would be:

- simple just sum up the points of each region.

- another way would be to rank down on classes of no. of teams ranking from the up down. First you would arrange regions with 4 teams, then 3, then 2 and last 1.

- complicated way would be to find a formula for the score of the region, something like: 1st team with 100% points + 2nd team with 50% points + 3rd team at 25% points + ...

But I figure the most relevant would be to rank the average positions of the first 3/4/5 teams in each region, including lower leagues also. So you will have places 1-20 for La Liga, 21-44 for Segunda... etc.

Sorry for rambling this much, keep up the good work, I ll be a silent reader 😁

[Tommo_]

Really enjoying this Matty, looking forward to more.

[robterrace]

16 hours ago, Muttley84 said:

Given the sample size is to small for using t-test or other statistical analysis, I would think better indicators would be:

- complicated way would be to find a formula for the score of the region, something like: 1st team with 100% points + 2nd team with 50% points + 3rd team at 25% points + ...

But I figure the most relevant would be to rank the average positions of the first 3/4/5 teams in each region, including lower leagues also. So you will have places 1-20 for La Liga, 21-44 for Segunda... etc.

Sorry for rambling this much, keep up the good work, I ll be a silent reader 😁

The first one would definitely work, just not 100% sure how well the result would reflect things.

[DefinitelyTaylor]

I hope you continue to have too much time on your hands if it produces little tables like that!  A very good start - especially the result against Barcelona. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

21 hours ago, Muttley84 said:

Given the sample size is to small for using t-test or other statistical analysis, I would think better indicators would be:

- simple just sum up the points of each region.

- another way would be to rank down on classes of no. of teams ranking from the up down. First you would arrange regions with 4 teams, then 3, then 2 and last 1.

- complicated way would be to find a formula for the score of the region, something like: 1st team with 100% points + 2nd team with 50% points + 3rd team at 25% points + ...

But I figure the most relevant would be to rank the average positions of the first 3/4/5 teams in each region, including lower leagues also. So you will have places 1-20 for La Liga, 21-44 for Segunda... etc.

Sorry for rambling this much, keep up the good work, I ll be a silent reader 😁

Appreciate you taking the time to comment, the reason I have opted to share my content on this forum is to engage with fellow likeminded individuals I don't think a sum of points for each region would be fair given the fact that they have different numbers of clubs, like @robterrace stated. I do feel that all your other methods have potential although I 'm afraid there are most likely beyond my skill-set.

@DefinitelyTaylor I am glad you enjoyed my little visual - I agree the start has been fantastic. I am mid-way through writing my next post - warning its a long one! 

[john1]

Loving the visual depth of analyst  Superb win over Barcelona!

[DefinitelyTaylor]

39 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

@DefinitelyTaylor I am glad you enjoyed my little visual - I agree the start has been fantastic. I am mid-way through writing my next post - warning its a long one! 

The longer, the better! I know the quality will remain as high as ever.

[SteinkelssonFM]

FM22: Viva el Betis — Role value & KPI’s

After reading my good friends @Matt_1979 blog surrounding role values and squad management it would be rude of me to not incorporate his well branded model into my save with Betis.

Below is the main tactic which I have used to date, along with the values which I have attached to each player role (Key Players, Regular starters, Role Players). The roles which I am going to explore are the key roles, these are fundamental to the success of the tactic and require specific individuals to play in for the tactic to work with maximum efficiency.

Keeping this in mind, we will look to establish some KPI’s for these key roles, which will aid squad selection and also recruitment. In order to establish these baselines I will attempt to combine attributes, statistics through per 90 metrics and the Data Hub.

Real Betis Role Values

Key players

Left-sided Central Defender (Defend) — the main job of the Central Defender is to stop the opposing attackers from playing and to clear the ball from danger when required. With a defend duty the Central Defender will stay in line with his defensive partner and look to break up attacks, mark opposing forwards and prevent the ball from getting into the box.

As previously discussed this role demands a left-footed player as this will ensure that our team is well balanced. The individual must have good composure to help the team maintain possession as this role plays an important part in opening up the left-side of the pitch and access to the Advanced Playmaker.

Attribute comparison

The below comparison shows that there isn’t too much difference between the quartet, Pezzella is the best out and out Centre Back (Defend) at the club. The Argentinian is the tallest which is reflected in his 10.4 headers won per game.

Given the fact that Ruiz is the only left-footed centre back at my disposal he is the best option to play on the left-side of the defensive duo. When looking at the defensive statistics below you will also note that he has managed to rack up the most passes completed per 90 (75, joint with Pezzella) and completes the most amount of tackles per 90 (1.19). Suprisingly his interceptions per 90 is a long way off the figures achieved by both Bartra and Pezzella, I wonder how much this is effected by his lower anticipation attribute?

Using the data hub, you will see form the below that Ruiz is performing above average in relation defenders in La Liga when comparing passes attempted p/90 vs passes completed. He is showing his ability at retaining possession and helping the team to build from the back.

Establishing a KPI for the left-sided centre back I feel that 95% pass completion would be a very good KPI and 63 passes and above. There is a need for a volume passes despite not operating as a Ball Playing Defender to work with the double pivot to by-pass the press.

The player comparison with a focus on statistics clearly shows that Pezzella should partner Ruiz at the spine of the team as he is outperforming Bartra against every metric other than distance covered. Considering Bartra is on £105k per week compared to Pezzella’s £36.5k the Spaniard isn’t quite providing more bang for the buck!

 

Wing Back (Attack) — the wing back aims to overlap down the flank to provide wide support for attacks, run at his man and get crosses in from the byline.

The role holds a significant value to the tactic as it will provide much needed attacking width and ideally produce an overload down the right-flank, doubling up with the Winger forcing the oppositions defensive unit to stick (hold position and deal with the cross) or twist (engage in a defensive duel leaving space for the Shadow Striker to interrogate.

The individual will need to have strong dribbling attributes as the role offers an outlet in the transition through progressive carriers along with the need to have a good delivery due to the hard-coded cross more often.

Attribute comparison

Both players have a very similar profile with respect to their attribute radar and averages in respect to the both key and preferred attributes. Bellerin and Sabaly both also have the same traits Gets Forward Whenever Possible and Knocks Ball Past Opponent. However, when taking into consideration their outputs Bellerin leads the line in terms of dribbles per game and cross completion rate.

However, when taking into consideration their outputs Bellerin leads the line in terms of dribbles per game and cross completion rate.

He is performing above average in relation to both crosses attempted per 90 and his cross completion rate which are two fundamental metrics for this role. In terms of KPI’s I will note that I will be looking for players who can produce 10+ crosses per game and have a success rate of above 22%.

Using the above scatter graph individuals such as Fran Garcia, Jose Gaya and Javi Galan would fit the bill in terms of their current outputs.

When taking a look into the other key function of the attacking wing-back (dribbling), you will again note that Bellerin is a volume dribbler. Yes, I am fully aware that the tactic played by each manager will impact the outputs but for the purpose of this post I am going to state that my KPI is 5 dribbles per 90 minutes.

Bellerin has a tendency to lose possession, you can’t always have your cake and eat it and when adopting high risk/reward roles there is always going to be some negatives to off-set the positives.

With this benchmark in mind this would highlight individuals such as Yannick Carrasco, Sergio Dest and Javi Galan as individuals who are performing with similar levels of outputs as Bellerin.

*note to self; look at Galan

 

The Segundo Volante (Attack) is different from the Deep Lying Playmaker in that their role is primarily a defensive one, with an attack duty the Segudo Volante will get further forward and frequently look to arrive late in the opposition’s penalty area as well as attempting more shots on goal.

The reason why I switched the original tactic from having two DM’s to a DM and SV pairing was to provide a better linkage between the team, I felt the SV would be more effective at doing so due to Get Further Forward player instruction, therefore making the team work.

You can see in the above a good example of how the SV can operate (justifying my change), as Bellerin drives forward with the ball the winger makes a diagonal run to pin the left-backs position and stop him engaging in a defensive duel. The DLF also starts to advance up the pitch which causes the oppositions DM to track his run.

As play advances the opposition react with three players moving to cover the danger. By them doing this, it opens up space for my segundo volante to run into and exploit.

The Segundo Volante also has the ability to take the ball from deep and look to advance it, either via long passes or with dribbling runs forwards, as the attacking quartet stretched the defense and looked to find space.

Attribute comparison

Guido has been my main SV to-date, However, after breaking down the Key attributes average there really isn’t much difference between him and Victor.

This lead me into comparing the players outputs and again I have been foiled, Camarasa could potentially become my new SV, this would provide me the opportunity to move the more mobile Guido into the DM role.

The scatter-graph looking at tackling adds more fuel to the fire! Just look at Carvalho’s position. Given the fact that the Defensive Midfielders role is to protect the back-line from breaking attackers Carvalho certainly isn’t doing that through tackling.

In terms of KPI’s due to the role’s main focus being defensive, I think a tackle won ratio of over 68% is going to be my baseline. The secondary role of the SV in my system is to be the link in the middle of the park and for that reason passing completion is also key, I think most of you would agree with me that for a player who isn’t expected to play defence splitting passes 90% is the figure should be acceptable for a professional.

 

Advanced Playmaker (Attack) — the Advanced Playmaker will look to run at the defensive line from deeper positions, aiming to craft out crossing or through ball opportunities as he moves into the final third.

This position/role is one which I am going to conduct a little more experiments with prior to analysing in detail. To date I have the PI set to sit narrower in order to replicate the average position which Betis play in real life.

As the main responsibility of the playmaker is to create opportunities in the final third the plan is to collect progressive pass and key pass data over the next ten games before making judgement.

 

Shadow Striker (Attack) — The Shadow Striker operates as one of the team’s main goal-scoring threats. Usually coupled with another forward in support, the Shadow Striker aggressively pushes up into goal-scoring positions as the ball moves into the final third and looks to close down opposing defenders when out of possession.

In Nabil Fekir, Betis have the perfect Shadow Striker. The Frenchman has already proven his worth to the team with 10 goal contributions (five goals, five assists) to date.

He is second in La Liga charts for key passes and has completed 17 dribbles thanks to his trait Runs With Ball Through Centre.

In terms of KPI I am opting to go for xG per 90 for this role due as I feel the player in this role should be looking to take some of the goal-scoring burden away from his fellow Forward.

Fekir has a xG per 90 of 0.375 and I feel that the basline should be around the 0.35 value with a high importance on the ability to also have a high key pass output. (If he isn’t scoring, he will be supplying).

 

Apologies for the length of the boy, I guess I got a little carried away with writing up this one. Serious kudos again goes to @throwingcopperfm for inspiring me on this piece.

[Tommo_]

Love that update and nice to see some thought process behind the plan. 

Fekir looks like he's hit the ground running.

What's the situation with your DLF? I noticed he had changed from PF, how's Borja doing? 

 

[RogerC]

Great write up man, always so satisfying to read, hehe. When you compare attributes with the Key/preferable/overall, what attributes do you select? The ones highlighted automatically by the game for each role? 

Everything is so nicely laid out and clear!

 

On 15/11/2021 at 19:38, MattyLewis11 said:

Well either way, I appreciate you following along...clearly I had a little too much time on my hands this evening as I wanted to produce a table to show how each region of Spain are performing in La Liga. 

High flying Celta Vigo (4th place) being the only representative from Galicia top the table (not sure if there is a better way of displaying this data other than using the mean).

 

Maheta Molango will be happy to see Pablo Ortells Mallorca sitting at the bottom of the table, the side from the Balearic Islands  currently sit two places outside of the relegation zone. 

I had to try out the weights method suggested by Muttley84. Took 5 mins, here is the difference it makes, changing the % will change the outcome but I think halving the % for each added team works well enough. The weighted avg tightens things up quite a bit, if you ignore the Celta 'outlier' you have 3 regions in with 1 point difference and the fourth not far way.

The formula is the following:

=sumproduct(points array;% array)/sum(% array)

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by RogerC

[SteinkelssonFM]

Amazing thanks for the help with this @RogerC I have just been playing around with the formula and can now use this going forward. 

Appreciate you levelling up my Excel skills. 

As for the attributes, yes, I just averaged the ones which are highlighted in game for the role for both key and preffered. 

This has proven that there is witch craft going on under the hood as players who are in theory better at the role aren't managing to perform as well on the pitch. This is where if I had the editor I could look at some of the hidden attributes which no doubt would identify the reasons behind this. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

1 hour ago, Tommo_ said:

Love that update and nice to see some thought process behind the plan. 

Fekir looks like he's hit the ground running.

What's the situation with your DLF? I noticed he had changed from PF, how's Borja doing? 

 

My thoughts behind the DLF and the PF was that I wanted to create a yo-yo effect. As the DLF drops deeper, he in theory will pull a defender with him which creates a gap for the SS to exploit. 

Borja has been a real talisman for the side, he is a goal scoring machine which is why Manchester United are sniffing around. He is however massively outperforming his xG which means that he has been lucky...I am going to call it clinical haha 

[Chris_ANZFM]

Wow, wow, wow. First off my apologies, missed a couple of updates but I’m sure you can imagine my excitement realising I had a little binge to enjoy. 
 

An excellent start on the pitch! That Atletico result is one of those FM games I guess but the Barca result is quite excellent. 
 

The most recent post with your KPIs etc is simply fascinating and precisely the type of writing that drew me in in the first place with Nice! 
 

Really enjoying this one so far man!

[Matt_1979]

4 hours ago, RogerC said:

Great write up man, always so satisfying to read, hehe. When you compare attributes with the Key/preferable/overall, what attributes do you select? The ones highlighted automatically by the game for each role? 

Everything is so nicely laid out and clear!

 

I had to try out the weights method suggested by Muttley84. Took 5 mins, here is the difference it makes, changing the % will change the outcome but I think halving the % for each added team works well enough. The weighted avg tightens things up quite a bit, if you ignore the Celta 'outlier' you have 3 regions in with 1 point difference and the fourth not far way.

The formula is the following:

=sumproduct(points array;% array)/sum(% array)

 

I love stats and analytics but I must admit as soon as someone mentions the word "weighted" my brain explodes.

[SteinkelssonFM]

4 hours ago, Matt_1979 said:

I love stats and analytics but I must admit as soon as someone mentions the word "weighted" my brain explodes.

Likewise my friend, however I now the power and I aim to use it lol 

[Hootieleece]

I like stats for barstool arguments, but one does need to have context or the stats and analysis is worthless. 

That being said...if I ever figure out the Datapod I will join the revolution!

 

[CynicalApex]

Betis have a pretty solid squad irl and have been doing very well for themselves this season. 

Good to see them getting love on FM too. 

[SixPointer]

14 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

FM22: Viva el Betis — Role value & KPI’s

After reading my good friends @Matt_1979 blog surrounding role values and squad management it would be rude of me to not incorporate his well branded model into my save with Betis.

Below is the main tactic which I have used to date, along with the values which I have attached to each player role (Key Players, Regular starters, Role Players). The roles which I am going to explore are the key roles, these are fundamental to the success of the tactic and require specific individuals to play in for the tactic to work with maximum efficiency.

Keeping this in mind, we will look to establish some KPI’s for these key roles, which will aid squad selection and also recruitment. In order to establish these baselines I will attempt to combine attributes, statistics through per 90 metrics and the Data Hub.

Real Betis Role Values

Key players

Left-sided Central Defender (Defend) — the main job of the Central Defender is to stop the opposing attackers from playing and to clear the ball from danger when required. With a defend duty the Central Defender will stay in line with his defensive partner and look to break up attacks, mark opposing forwards and prevent the ball from getting into the box.

As previously discussed this role demands a left-footed player as this will ensure that our team is well balanced. The individual must have good composure to help the team maintain possession as this role plays an important part in opening up the left-side of the pitch and access to the Advanced Playmaker.

Attribute comparison

The below comparison shows that there isn’t too much difference between the quartet, Pezzella is the best out and out Centre Back (Defend) at the club. The Argentinian is the tallest which is reflected in his 10.4 headers won per game.

Given the fact that Ruiz is the only left-footed centre back at my disposal he is the best option to play on the left-side of the defensive duo. When looking at the defensive statistics below you will also note that he has managed to rack up the most passes completed per 90 (75, joint with Pezzella) and completes the most amount of tackles per 90 (1.19). Suprisingly his interceptions per 90 is a long way off the figures achieved by both Bartra and Pezzella, I wonder how much this is effected by his lower anticipation attribute?

Using the data hub, you will see form the below that Ruiz is performing above average in relation defenders in La Liga when comparing passes attempted p/90 vs passes completed. He is showing his ability at retaining possession and helping the team to build from the back.

Establishing a KPI for the left-sided centre back I feel that 95% pass completion would be a very good KPI and 63 passes and above. There is a need for a volume passes despite not operating as a Ball Playing Defender to work with the double pivot to by-pass the press.

The player comparison with a focus on statistics clearly shows that Pezzella should partner Ruiz at the spine of the team as he is outperforming Bartra against every metric other than distance covered. Considering Bartra is on £105k per week compared to Pezzella’s £36.5k the Spaniard isn’t quite providing more bang for the buck!

 

Wing Back (Attack) — the wing back aims to overlap down the flank to provide wide support for attacks, run at his man and get crosses in from the byline.

The role holds a significant value to the tactic as it will provide much needed attacking width and ideally produce an overload down the right-flank, doubling up with the Winger forcing the oppositions defensive unit to stick (hold position and deal with the cross) or twist (engage in a defensive duel leaving space for the Shadow Striker to interrogate.

The individual will need to have strong dribbling attributes as the role offers an outlet in the transition through progressive carriers along with the need to have a good delivery due to the hard-coded cross more often.

Attribute comparison

Both players have a very similar profile with respect to their attribute radar and averages in respect to the both key and preferred attributes. Bellerin and Sabaly both also have the same traits Gets Forward Whenever Possible and Knocks Ball Past Opponent. However, when taking into consideration their outputs Bellerin leads the line in terms of dribbles per game and cross completion rate.

However, when taking into consideration their outputs Bellerin leads the line in terms of dribbles per game and cross completion rate.

He is performing above average in relation to both crosses attempted per 90 and his cross completion rate which are two fundamental metrics for this role. In terms of KPI’s I will note that I will be looking for players who can produce 10+ crosses per game and have a success rate of above 22%.

Using the above scatter graph individuals such as Fran Garcia, Jose Gaya and Javi Galan would fit the bill in terms of their current outputs.

When taking a look into the other key function of the attacking wing-back (dribbling), you will again note that Bellerin is a volume dribbler. Yes, I am fully aware that the tactic played by each manager will impact the outputs but for the purpose of this post I am going to state that my KPI is 5 dribbles per 90 minutes.

Bellerin has a tendency to lose possession, you can’t always have your cake and eat it and when adopting high risk/reward roles there is always going to be some negatives to off-set the positives.

With this benchmark in mind this would highlight individuals such as Yannick Carrasco, Sergio Dest and Javi Galan as individuals who are performing with similar levels of outputs as Bellerin.

*note to self; look at Galan

 

The Segundo Volante (Attack) is different from the Deep Lying Playmaker in that their role is primarily a defensive one, with an attack duty the Segudo Volante will get further forward and frequently look to arrive late in the opposition’s penalty area as well as attempting more shots on goal.

The reason why I switched the original tactic from having two DM’s to a DM and SV pairing was to provide a better linkage between the team, I felt the SV would be more effective at doing so due to Get Further Forward player instruction, therefore making the team work.

You can see in the above a good example of how the SV can operate (justifying my change), as Bellerin drives forward with the ball the winger makes a diagonal run to pin the left-backs position and stop him engaging in a defensive duel. The DLF also starts to advance up the pitch which causes the oppositions DM to track his run.

As play advances the opposition react with three players moving to cover the danger. By them doing this, it opens up space for my segundo volante to run into and exploit.

The Segundo Volante also has the ability to take the ball from deep and look to advance it, either via long passes or with dribbling runs forwards, as the attacking quartet stretched the defense and looked to find space.

Attribute comparison

Guido has been my main SV to-date, However, after breaking down the Key attributes average there really isn’t much difference between him and Victor.

This lead me into comparing the players outputs and again I have been foiled, Camarasa could potentially become my new SV, this would provide me the opportunity to move the more mobile Guido into the DM role.

The scatter-graph looking at tackling adds more fuel to the fire! Just look at Carvalho’s position. Given the fact that the Defensive Midfielders role is to protect the back-line from breaking attackers Carvalho certainly isn’t doing that through tackling.

In terms of KPI’s due to the role’s main focus being defensive, I think a tackle won ratio of over 68% is going to be my baseline. The secondary role of the SV in my system is to be the link in the middle of the park and for that reason passing completion is also key, I think most of you would agree with me that for a player who isn’t expected to play defence splitting passes 90% is the figure should be acceptable for a professional.

 

Advanced Playmaker (Attack) — the Advanced Playmaker will look to run at the defensive line from deeper positions, aiming to craft out crossing or through ball opportunities as he moves into the final third.

This position/role is one which I am going to conduct a little more experiments with prior to analysing in detail. To date I have the PI set to sit narrower in order to replicate the average position which Betis play in real life.

As the main responsibility of the playmaker is to create opportunities in the final third the plan is to collect progressive pass and key pass data over the next ten games before making judgement.

 

Shadow Striker (Attack) — The Shadow Striker operates as one of the team’s main goal-scoring threats. Usually coupled with another forward in support, the Shadow Striker aggressively pushes up into goal-scoring positions as the ball moves into the final third and looks to close down opposing defenders when out of possession.

In Nabil Fekir, Betis have the perfect Shadow Striker. The Frenchman has already proven his worth to the team with 10 goal contributions (five goals, five assists) to date.

He is second in La Liga charts for key passes and has completed 17 dribbles thanks to his trait Runs With Ball Through Centre.

In terms of KPI I am opting to go for xG per 90 for this role due as I feel the player in this role should be looking to take some of the goal-scoring burden away from his fellow Forward.

Fekir has a xG per 90 of 0.375 and I feel that the basline should be around the 0.35 value with a high importance on the ability to also have a high key pass output. (If he isn’t scoring, he will be supplying).

 

Apologies for the length of the boy, I guess I got a little carried away with writing up this one. Serious kudos again goes to @throwingcopperfm for inspiring me on this piece.

Great write up. Loving the switch to the SV a role I’ve never used. That and your SS give you some serious central punch!

[SteinkelssonFM]

21 hours ago, Chris_ANZFM said:

Wow, wow, wow. First off my apologies, missed a couple of updates but I’m sure you can imagine my excitement realising I had a little binge to enjoy. 
 

An excellent start on the pitch! That Atletico result is one of those FM games I guess but the Barca result is quite excellent. 
 

The most recent post with your KPIs etc is simply fascinating and precisely the type of writing that drew me in in the first place with Nice! 
 

Really enjoying this one so far man!

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the post mate and that my style of writing is appealing to you! Always nice to get positive feedback. 

 

10 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

I like stats for barstool arguments, but one does need to have context or the stats and analysis is worthless. 

That being said...if I ever figure out the Datapod I will join the revolution!

 

Get involved my friend, if there is anything you want to ask please feel free to message me. 

10 hours ago, CynicalApex said:

Betis have a pretty solid squad irl and have been doing very well for themselves this season. 

Good to see them getting love on FM too. 

Yes they have been doing well IRL both in La Liga and the UEL. 

I am thoroughly enjoying my save with them at present, apologies for not flying through the save, I do play at quite a slow pace! 

[Tommo_]

23 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

My thoughts behind the DLF and the PF was that I wanted to create a yo-yo effect. As the DLF drops deeper, he in theory will pull a defender with him which creates a gap for the SS to exploit. 

Borja has been a real talisman for the side, he is a goal scoring machine which is why Manchester United are sniffing around. He is however massively outperforming his xG which means that he has been lucky...I am going to call it clinical haha 

Makes perfect sense, nice one and glad Borja is doing well for you. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

October 2021

Another month of the season has progressed and we are still impressing, yes the green streak has calmed down a little, but with two tricky away games (Villarreal and Celta Vigo) and Real Sociedad at home we are certainly on track.

I wanted to conduct a light-touch analysis on these games, as you will see from the below shot maps in both the Villarreal and Real Sociedad games we were under our 17 shots per game average. The Celta shot-map has a greater resemblance to what has become the norm. 

Funny enough all three sides play with the 4-3-3 DM Wide formation a.k.a. 'Top Down', which I covered in more detail in a blog from last year FM21:CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRIO IN A THREE MAN MIDFIELD  

Note the clear cut chances for/against standing at ZERO - not a match for the neutral! In both matches we had significantly low possession compared to usual 47% (Villarreal) and 40% (Sociedad) probably due to the following reasons.

1. There are three midfielders behind the first-line of pressure, meaning midfield overload not easy, especially with the DM always shielding the back-four.

2. The wingers can fall back to help the full-back and additional support from the right/left central midfielder means the wide areas are also well-covered (key considering a large percentage of our assists come from wide. 

This means we will experiment with a formation change in order to make marginal gains vs the 4-3-3 DM wide, for this I am going to take a leaf out of my managers book (Tuchel) and call on the 3-3-2-2.

On each of the flanks, you would be able to observe how despite the side centre-back, wing-back, wide attacking-midfielder and striker being positioned close to each other, they all occupy different vertical lanes, one of the key concepts from Juego de Posicion football philosophy . This creates multiple diagonal angles which aid ball progression and in theory should use the numerical superiority in the wide areas.

Rather than play through the press, by focusing play down both flanks there is an emphasis to play around it, the above team instructions will hopefully force the players to adhere to this style of play rather than looking to build play through the congested middle of the park.

The big boys are sitting comfortably at the top of the table with a nice little cushion between ourselves and the chasing pack. However, looking at the form table below we will do well to hold this down at the mid-way point.

The individual player stats make some nice viewing as we can boast that we currently have the top scorer (can we hit the objective of having a 'Pichichi' winner in our first season?). We also have the top three players in La Liga based on average ratings. 

November on paper could see a few more comprehensive victories, along with qualification to the knock-out stages of the UEL. 

 

[Continum]

Great stuff. Easy to follow updates. I've pushed the follow button!

[DefinitelyTaylor]

I've probably echoed this a few times previously but with each update, I feel more and more inept when it comes to studying the analytical side of the game. Certainly need to improve and you're a good base to start from - tremendous analysis and excellent posts as per.  

[SteinkelssonFM]

13 hours ago, Continum said:

Great stuff. Easy to follow updates. I've pushed the follow button!

Appreciated, thanks very much! 

 

11 hours ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

I've probably echoed this a few times previously but with each update, I feel more and more inept when it comes to studying the analytical side of the game. Certainly need to improve and you're a good base to start from - tremendous analysis and excellent posts as per.  

It's the side of FM which I enjoy the most, which is why I guess my posts are less about the results and more about what I feel has impacted them. Again, thanks for your kind words! 

[RogerC]

On 19/11/2021 at 00:34, DefinitelyTaylor said:

I've probably echoed this a few times previously but with each update, I feel more and more inept when it comes to studying the analytical side of the game. Certainly need to improve and you're a good base to start from - tremendous analysis and excellent posts as per.  

Absolutely the same feeling I have.

[SteinkelssonFM]

November 2021

We close off another month of the opening season and God help us if Borja picks up an injury! The Spaniard scored 66% of the Betis goals across the month of November and now has scored 49% of all our goals this season in the league! 

He surely is the number one candidate to pick up the POTS and I will have to take a deeper dive into his season later in the thread. 

It's not only our attack (Borja) which has been impressive, you will note that we only conceded in two of the five matches, keeping a clean sheet has been something which has become a bit of a familiarity for Betis under Steinkelsson, the side from Andalucía have done so eight times in 17 games. 

Looking at the defensive performance on the whole, what draws my attention is that opposition aren't creating chances against us, which is highlighted in the 0.64 xG against value. The tackles and, clearances and blocks are all significantly lower than the La Liga average due to Betis having the fourth highest average possession in the league at 54%, leading the charts is Real Sociedad on 56%.

Taking the two goals scored by Anthony Lozano of Cadiz and looking at the linked events, there is a similarity in the directness of the key pass leading to the Honduran getting off his shot, both are straight (easiest ball to defend) and both come from within Cadiz' own half. 

Looking at the overall assists against 33% of goals have come from the opposition exploiting our higher defensive line. This is an area which I may look to tweak.

However, looking at our possession gained we are winning the majority of ball just before the final third and in my opinion dropping to a standard line of engagement could have a negative effect on what we have already described as a decent xG against. 

Could I look to instead change one of the central defenders to a cover role, this could be of use considering our aggressive approach with the cover dropping a little deeper to sweep up through balls behind the defensive line.

The one issue I have with this is that the highest pace for ANY central defender at the club is Edgar (13) who has only secured 474 minutes of football until this point, of which 307 has been from the centre of defence and the remaining 167 as a DM (looking to utilise his height to break up play).

I would be keen to for people to post their thoughts surrounding this little dilemma which I have going on inside my head! 

The below fixtures will take us up to the Christmas break and the opening of the January transfer window, we will certainly be looking to offload both Aitor Ruibal and Martin Montoya, both who didn't make the cut for the initial squad selection. The sale of these two individuals will hopefully generate a few million pounds of which we will most likely invest in U19s to bolster the second team unless any very cheap deals can be made. 

I can not wait for the Derby! What a way to end the year! 

 

 

 

 

[RogerC]

1 hour ago, MattyLewis11 said:

The one issue I have with this is that the highest pace for ANY central defender at the club is Edgar (13) who has only secured 474 minutes of football until this point, of which 307 has been from the centre of defence and the remaining 167 as a DM (looking to utilise his height to break up play).

I would be keen to for people to post their thoughts surrounding this little dilemma which I have going on inside my head! 

For the last man covering I would certainly go for the better overall defender (beyond those 3 attributes) which by the look of it, it is Pezella. Physically they're pretty similar but mentally he is quite superior (aggression, anticipation, bravery, decisions, concentration, positioning...). Pezella, Édgar.

I don't think 1 point in pace would make any difference. Someone else can probably give you better reasoning but these are my thoughts! Nice update, want more!

Edited November 21, 2021 by RogerC

[SteinkelssonFM]

Yes @RogerC Pezzella is our best defender as per the earlier post, he has also partnered Ruiz the most out of the other options which is music to my ears. 

Do you think the option to trial a cover rather than dropping the defensive line makes sense? 

[RogerC]

38 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Yes @RogerC Pezzella is our best defender as per the earlier post, he has also partnered Ruiz the most out of the other options which is music to my ears. 

Do you think the option to trial a cover rather than dropping the defensive line makes sense? 

I would certainly try the cover option between the two, it's not like things are going badly anyway, it may even be some over-analyzing hehe. Seeing as it is only 4 assists from the opponent's half I would investigate further the other two which are not in the post.

From what you just posted I can see one of them is directly from the GK going long, are any of the other two also like that? Or from open-play like the other example?

I checked your first posts and can see you are using the prevent GK short distribution, are you still using this TI? You may want to try removing that instruction in hopes of freeing the GK to play short and then press the defense and not allow an 'easy' GK long range pass.

As for the rest of goals, I would analyze who and how is assisting but then again, 4 goals are such short sample... Could be isolated cases hehe

Just some random ideas

Edited November 21, 2021 by RogerC

[SixPointer]

Personally I’m having a bit of a issue with my high line. What I noticed was my man marking scheme on the striker was causing me bother. As it was breaking my line as the one CB would go with him instead of stepping up.

The only thing I don’t like about not having a flat line when playing high is the offside trap becomes null and void. So I would check if your catching your opponent offside a lot if not then cover is an option. If you are catching them then potentially a cover duty could start playing everyone onside. 
pezzella Defo has the ability to play it with his great mentals even if he’s a touch on the slower side he will read the game and see it first before needing his pace.

 

[13th Man]

I think that if you’re doing well with the high line you should keep it. Those over the top balls can be infuriating, but they come with the territory and are worth it.  It’s not something that can be broken down or quantified with stats (though maybe it can?), but the question is whether you have a better chance of getting more points by controlling space with your high line, or by preventing the opposition from getting goals over the top.

Another thought - when I’m getting threatened over the top from deep, I often try to press the backline/holding midfielders more and/or up my LOE. (I usually go high DL with a standard LOE as my base, so sometimes I go to a high LOE against direct sides.) It might lead to more possession for them, but if I’m the better team and I know they aren’t quality passers, I’d rather have them pass around a bit than have the time to pick out an accurate ball in behind.

Like @SixPointersaid as well, I’d avoid the cover CB, personally as the offside trap can nullify a lot of that over the top threat. I’d also recommend making  sure you don’t tightly mark forwards who threaten in behind…as a forward I’d love it when CBs would mark me tightly as I knew I could either push off to come short or turn them and run in behind knowing I’d have a step on them. I find this true in FM as well!

Edited November 22, 2021 by 13th Man

[SteinkelssonFM]

@RogerC @SixPointer @13th Man thanks for sharing your input, I think I could be over-analysing this a little (can't believe I just said that) as with anything in FM for every action there is a reaction. I guess the long/through balls are a by product of deploying a higher defensive line, which is deffo working as proven by the low xG against. I think you guys are right in stating that by deploying a cover we may actually invite more pressure on ourselves due to his natural positioning being slightly behind the first line of the block. 

Saying that, I think I still may try this out over a span of a few games to see if it looks/feels any different (can't help myself) along with also introducing another variable to the mix;

 

If I can get the xG against per game down to sub .5 that will make me happy! 

 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

I think the boys above have pretty much nailed it and elaborated far better than I ever could. If it’s not broken, stick with it. Else, twist… would be my very basic view! 

[Chris_ANZFM]

I too would agree Pezzella is the one to pick. I feel the combination of positioning and anticipation could well make up for the lack of pace. 
 

I’ve not had any experience with playing an offside trap but I’ve not had too many issues with the cover role while playing a high line yet. As others have suggested some of those balls over the top are inevitable playing that system. 

[Hootieleece]

I went a different route to nullify the Over the Top balls. I lowered the defensive line to standard and lowered the line of engagement. This invites pressure and puts a lot of play in your half unless you have good tacklers. 

I have been able to shave about .5 gls conceded by doing it.

It is just another way to look at it and not use the offside trap.

 

If you want the high line, use the offside trap. Unless your Cover CB has blistering pace. Also, Cover CB's work better without Marking the Forward. Think about tightly marking his suppliers!   like @13th Man says.

 

[SteinkelssonFM]

December 2021

Another month of the save completed and I must say the Betis experience is already drawing parallels with my first season of FM21 with OGC Nice. 

Some excellent results across December keep us firmly in the race for Champions League qualification, we couldn't be happier with the result in our first Seville derby and once again the big game players of Betis managed to wipe the floor with one of the Spanish 'Super Clubs'. 

Real Madrid

We played this game with an exceptional level of intensity (despite not changing any TI), players passed the ball around with more zip than usual and were for the majority winners of most of the second balls. The above visual shows that our right flank, Madrid's left was the favourable side to attack. This is to no surprise given that Hazard operated down this flank for Madrid and Bellerin for Betis. Hazard with 66 dribbles to-date is leading the charts for his team in relation to that metric whilst Bellerin (88) also boasts being top of the pile for Betis. 

Looking at the above visual (touches) you will see that we were able to bring Bellerin into play more than Madrid did through Hazard, the Spanaird also producing four key passes to Hazards ZERO. Pezzella scored two goals in this match, got to love the near-post corner routine! 

Espanyol

So against Espanyol we showed our resilience and grit by securing a point after going 2-0 down, the above shot-map shows that Espanyol scored both goals from a combined xG of 0.09! 

Maybe it is time to let Claudio Bravo go, at 38 years old the player rotated into the starting eleven showed why he has slipped down the ranking to Rui Silva. Bravo has Agility (11), Reflexes (11).

Sevilla

A day out from the derby and we get hit with this gem in our inbox! Surely this day in age it is possible for a player to take the field with a gashed upper leg! This had me shook and meant that top-flapper Bravo would have to ready to play in our biggest game of the season to-date.

Watching the derby with the usual extended highlights (that's how I roll) it took Sevilla 36 minutes to get their first clip, by which point I had already mustered up six shots.

Analysing the keepers post game Bravo in my opinion had to make the harder saves as Bounou managed to hold all five of his whilst Bravo parried two and tipped one. 

We finished the game with an xG of 1.21 compared to their 0.8, the rightful winners on the day! 

There is something about Stability 

Leaders lead not only on the pitch but within every day life from within a football club, for that reason at the age 0f 40 and 35 I have opted to offer both Joaquin and Guardado contract extensions with the hope that the continuation of the team leaders from within the club will ensure that stability is maintained and results on the pitch will continue. Also how could I not offer Joaquin a new contract, I don't want to be the man who makes him hang up his boots, that decision is for him to make and if he is willing to continue to play I certainly wont stop him.

 

Transfers

Despite making 7 appearances for Sevilla in 2018/19 the opportunity to sign Gnagnon on a free transfer was a no brainer, especially when he only requested £5.25k per week (my lowest paid member of the squad).

Fernano Llorente is also on trial with the club, at 36 years of age he could be the ideal alternative to Borja (short-term) I do not enjoy the January transfer window and will only dip into it if needs must.

Ruibal was not a part of my La Liga squad and the £5 million offered by RB Leipzig was happily accepted, we wish Aitor well after being with the club since 2014/15, making 30 league appearances and scoring two goals for the club.

I am sure January will cause some tense moments with no fewer than eight from the 15 players who have accumulated over 1,000 minutes of football having that little/annoying Wnt sign next to their name. 

UEL

I guess from this point on I had better start showing a little love to our European adventure which to date has been without turbulence! 

[13th Man]

10 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Surely this day in age it is possible for a player to take the field with a gashed upper leg!

Right??? There’s a few injuries that are infuriating - gashed leg? Shin splints? I often played with worse and didn’t have world class physios to take care of me. Those ones should just make them orange and maybe make them less effective/less fit, but they should be able to play!
Also, of course, great results, Madrid yes, but especially coming back from 2-0 down!