[FM22] Why does it always Rennes on me?

[Scott_]

Hi all, 

I'm Scott, a Cardiff City fan now-based in the South West of England. I've been an avid FM'er since I got a Championship Manager 2001/02 demo in a box of cereal as a child. Some years later, I was a frequent poster on now-defunct The Dugout under the guise of Forrest Gump, later simply FG. I used to love the engagement across the board, as well as sharing my save exploits with others in the community. 

In fact, seeing the likes of @_Ben_ and @Shrewnaldo, two people whose career updates I always enjoyed, posting about their saves here made me want to jump back into the community and share my current FM22 save. 

I've had a love, hate relationship with Football Manager the last few years. As an almost thirty year old, real life does sometimes get in the way and limits my FM time. As such, I've struggled to settle into saves. 

I think one of the issues I've had has been that I stopped setting boundaries for my saves - or perhaps goals - and ended up spending too much money and almost immediately falling out of love with the save. 

I'm confident, however, that I've settled upon a save for FM22 after much deliberation and various ideas being tested. 

The Search For a Club

As I mentioned above, I tested out countless ideas for saves. I managed Cardiff, my hometown team, for two seasons, before heading to Argentina, South Korea and even concocting a five-team network of clubs bought out by Nike before deciding managing five clubs would be a bit much. 

Instead my search for a club took my France, a nation that I've enjoyed managing in in previous iterations of FM. In fact, a save I posted about on The Dugout with Olympique de Marseille is one of my favourite ever saves. 

I set myself three goals - or boundaries - to help me pick a team in France. 

Sustainable - The club will not spend above it's means. We will look to make smart investments and generate a return on those investments via player sales. 

Self-Sufficient - We want to prioritise youth development in order to ensure we have our own pipeline of talent, rather than relying on external recruitment. 

Remove the Luck From Recruitment - I really enjoyed @MattyLewis11's article on Monchi's recruitment model (read it here) and want to implement a similar structure to my side. 

After analysing a few teams in both Ligue 1 and 2, I settled on a side that had a great based to build from. They have two of the most talented young players in world football, they have enough money to make the right investments and provide enough of a challenge to become the "best of the rest" in the league before taking on the challenge of toppling PSG. 

I also started the save in February 2022 and my chosen club is underperforming in the bottom half of the table.

I am the new manager of Stade Rennais. And this is where our story begins...

Edited January 5, 2022 by Scott_

[Scott_]

Squad Analysis

If I'm going to be able to fulfil my goal of recruiting smartly and taking the luck out of transfer, I need to establish the base for my squad. 

Another shout out to @MattyLewis11 here who's squad analysis for his Nice save last season helped my establish where I need to understand my squad on FM22.

Current First Team Squad 

Of players in the first team, nine players currently hold a 4* potential rating or higher. There are five players have potential ratings higher than 4*, including wingers Kamaldeen Sulemana and Jeremy Doku.

It's worth noting, however, that only one player listed here is a defender, meaning that our strength very much lies in attack. 

Defence

Comparing our defence to the rest of Ligue 1, it's evident that our strengths lie in acceleration and positioning. This means that we should be able to play a higher line of engagement. 

Rather worryingly, though, is our strength, which is the lowest average in the league. Our heading, pace and jumping are all particularly low too.

Looking at our current defenders, there is a need for a new right-back and centre-half. 

Our first-choice left-back is 21-year-old Adrien Truffert. A wing-back, he has good attributes for going forward, but his heading and jumping are poor. He'll play out the rest of this season as our first choice left-back, but he may need a loan move to aid his development.

At CB, Nayef Aguerd is our left-footed option and counters Truffert’s poor heading. This is his strength. He is, however, a slower player. 

Loïc Badé - 21 years old - is our right-sided centre-back. He’s fairly well-rounded, without any stand-out attributes. He has four-star-potential. The club did pay £15.75m in the summer and I'm not sure he's worth that much. 

Young right-back Lorenz Assignon should be sent out on loan to see how he develops, leaving 30-year-old Hamari Traore as our only right-back. He is fast, and well rounded, but we should look for a young option to replace him in a couple of years.

Action Points: Identify a left-sided centre-halve with good heading and strength. Also sign a new right-back to phase Traore out in a couple of years. 

Midfield

In midfield, we are truly lacking defensive options. We do, however, have good technical ability. Our passing is good and our work rate is high. We also make good decisions. 

Our main defensive option Baptiste Santamaria has great work-rate and stamina - he’s a workhorse - but he isn’t actually that good defensively. His positioning is poor (10) and tackling average (12). He's a solid box to box midfield.

Benjamin Bourigeaud works hard and passes the ball well. He’d be a good option to progress the ball up the pitch.

Lovro Majer is a young star in the #10 position. He dribbles well and has great creativity. He is slow and lacks strength, however.

Out-wide Kamaldeen Sulemana and Jeremy Doku are two young stars, but it’s hard to see how they fit into our future together. For now, the place is Doku’s as we manage Sulemana’s development.

Martin Terrier is a good versatile option as depth, being able to play on the left, in the hole and up front.

Junior Kadile is our only real option on the right, but at 19 shouldn’t be rushed.

Action Points: Defensive options should be our priority. They’ll also need to show a bit of creativity. We should consider short term option on the right-wing while Kadile develops.

Strikers

Our striking options have good pace, but below-average acceleration. Our off-the-ball and finishing are below average, however.

Gaëtan Laborde is our main option up top. He’s a great option in the air and is also good off the ball. He lacks a bit of pace, but certainly isn’t slow.

Serhou Guirassy is our back up striker and possesses great pace. His composure is low, however.

Matthis Abline and Metehan Güçlü are both young and should be sent out on loan.

Action Points: Action: No immediate action, but I’m not sure that our long-term leading man is in the squad currently, unless Abline or Güçlü develop well. 

The Squad's Mental Profile

By analysing our projected starting eleven’s mental attributes, we’re able to spot weaknesses in our squad mentally. 

While we have a high work-rate and determination, our lack of leadership is a concern. I would also question our starting 11's positioning. 

I want to get an understanding of the type of player developed in France. To do this, I have analysed the French national teams profile. 

You’ll notice that there is correlation between some of our areas of strength and those of the French national side. Both are strong in anticipation, determination, team work and work rate.

Final Thoughts

I found this to be a really useful exercise in understanding my squad. My usual process for the start of an FM save is to sort the players by potential rating, look at the high potential ones' profile and attributes and then kind of disregard the rest of the players. By doing it this way, I am able to really identify both the Rennes squad's strengths and weaknesses, while also getting a good understanding of the mental profile of the players. 

The lack of leadership is definitely a concern, that is something I'll need to address. On the whole, though, I'm pleased that the squad has above average work rate, determination and team work. These are three attributes I value and are important for my tactical philosophy. 

As mentioned in the opening post, I started this save in February 2022. I did this to help me resist splurging money on transfers and to make me stick with the current squad for the rest of the season. 

It means that I'll have to wait until the summer transfer window to address any concerns I have, such as the need for a LCB and a more defence-minded midfielder. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

@Scott_welcome back to the forum, it is nice to see that you have found some of my historic content of use and also that you are from the south-west...cider drinker?

I had an excellent time in Ligue 1 and will be keen to see how you get on using data to aid recruitment and attempting to de-thrown PSG, if you read any of my OGC NIce pieces you will note that I did not achieve this feat. 

Wishing you the best of luck...following your journey. 

[Shrewnaldo]

Hi @Scott_, I remember your days as FG back on TD very well. Will definitely be following this - really good club to pick 

[_Ben_]

23 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Hi @Scott_, I remember your days as FG back on TD very well. Will definitely be following this - really good club to pick 

I also echo this! There's been a few old faces that have come over to these boards. The quality of written posts was always a strength back then and your threads were no exception. Already enjoying the dive into the attribute comparisons between the teams.

[karanhsingh]

Nice - good luck with this!

[smplfc123]

Great intro. And as a fellow Welshman now living across the border, I will be following with interest.

[Scott_]

Stade Rennais FC - Season 1 

Sorry for the delay in updates, folks. Life has been busy, but I've been slowly playing along on FM and have lots to update you on. As I mentioned in my opening post, I started my first season after the January transfer window. In this post, I'll update you on the rest of that first season. 

Results

As you can see from the screenshot above, we struggled for consistency in the second half of the season. Four losses in the league isn't too bad, especially when you consider they came up against PSG, Monaco, Marseille and Lyon. What really stopped us progressing throughout the second half of the season was the number of draws. Five draws, including a number in games we should've won, including Troyes, Reims and Strasbourg.

We also went out of the Europa Conference League to West Ham, losing both the home tie and the away one. I'm not too disappointed with this as they're a good side and we couldn't really figure out how to set up properly against them (or other stronger teams for that matter!). 

Ligue 1 Final League Table 2021/22

We finished in 10th in the end, which was a disappointing season overall. We're a young side, though, and have plenty of work to do to build experience and find the right style of play for Ligue 1. 

We were predicted to finish 7th, but only finished 10th. This means that next season we will not be playing European football.

31 of our points came at home, with 22 coming away from home. We drew 7 and lost 7 away from home, suggesting this is an area we need to work on.

Edited January 15, 2022 by Scott_

[Scott_]

Team Analysis - Season 1 

I've analysed various areas of the team to try and understand where we can improve next year. 

Our xG suggests that we should’ve finished higher (5th) which tells us that our strikers were not clinical enough. 

Our attacking efficiency scatter graph shows that we were fairly aggressive in our shooting, but our conversion rate could be improved. PSG are complete standouts in this area. 

Defensively we face a below average number of shots, but our opponent’s conversion rate was average. If we can reduce the opponent conversion rate slightly, we will see more success. 

Our team defending shows that we won more tackles than the league average, but our blocks, tackling and clearances were all well below league average.

 

[Scott_]

Stade Rennais FC -  2022/23 Season Preview 

After finishing 10th in Ligue 1 last year - a big disappointment for the club - we're predicted to finish 3rd this year by the media. The board, by comparison, want us to finish in the top half of Ligue 1. 

Transfers In

As mentioned in my introductory post, I want to sign young players that I can develop and sell for a profit. I'll also look to use data to make informed transfer decisions, where possible. 

We started our summer business just before the season ended, bringing in former academy product Joris Gnagnon in on a free transfer. The centre of defence is an area I wanted to improve this summer and Gnagnon wasn't the last addition. Joining him is 23-year-old Anel Ahmedhodžić who joins us from Malmo for £2.7mil. On the left, Fredrik Bjørkan comes in from Bodo/Glimt for £1.9mil. His addition allows me to give Adrien Truffert the opportunity to get first team football on loan in Ligue 2. 

A main aim throughout the summer was to find a long-term successor to Hamari Traoré, who has just turned 30. I scouted all summer but couldn't find the right player so in came Neco Williams on a season long loan from Liverpool. I can sign him permanently for £1.2mil, but I doubt I'll do that unless he really impresses. 

In midfield, I took advantage of some surprising additions to the transfer list. 22-year-old Maxence Caqueret joins from Lyon following his transfer listing for £6.5mil. He provides us with a better defensive option in the centre of the park, something I identified that we were missing during my analysis. 

The signing of the summer was no doubt Ryan Gravenberch, the Ajax wonderkid was transfer-listed for just £10.25mil. With no other clubs interested, I couldn't resist snapping him up. 

In goal, Alex Meret joined for £3.6mil from Napoli, while Lukas Nmecha was identified via some in-depth data analysis and comparisons to be our future striker. He joins for £5mil. 

I also made a series of investments in young players who will either go out on loan, or get some experience in and around the first team. Fabio Carvalho and Thijme Verheijen join on a free transfers from Fulham and VVV-Venlo, respectively. Karim Konaté joined from ASEC Mimosas in the Ivory Coast for £250k, while Nicolo Fagioli and Willem Geubbels joined from Juve and Monaco for £700k each. 

Finally, late in the window, I snapped up Francisco Conceição, who was transfer listed at Porto. He cost be £5mil, but I had one eye on the future of the right-wing, an area we don't have too many options.

Transfers Out

Left-back Birger Meling (£2.5mil) and midfielder Flavien Tait (£5mil) both joined Fulham, while Doğan Alemdar followed them to London joining Crystal Palace for £1.7mil.  James Léa Siliki was off to Spain, joining Huesca for £2mil. 

The big departure came up front. With Nmecha through the door, I knew I wanted to offload either Serhou Guirassy or Gaëtan Laborde. I received a £25mil offer from Leeds for the latter, which I initially accepted. I then decided that he would be the better option to lead our line and, with a good season, I may be able to get more for him. It was Guirassy that left the club in the end, joining RB Salzburg for £10mil. 

Matthis Abline, Lesley Ugochukwu, Franck Rivollier, Thijme Verheijen, Willem Geubbels, Nicolò Fagioli, Karim Konaté, Yann Gboho, Adrien Truffert and Francisco Conceição all went out on loan for the season.

Late on in the window, I made the decision to loan out the highly-rated Kamaldeen Sulemana. He's a real bright prospect and will no doubt be a big part of our future, but at just 20-years-old - and struggling in pre-season - I decided that he needed to play games. He joins Ligue 2 side Le Havre on loan.

Tactics

I decided that I wanted my sides to play counter-attacking football. Be hard to beat, cover more ground than other teams and hit them when they are vulnerable with pace. I created three variations of tactics; one for home games, one for away games and one for the big teams. 

Pre-Season Friendlies

To say our pre-season was a success was an understatement. I wanted to get a large amount of games in so that I could test each variation of the tactic at least twice each. 

The only struggles we saw were against two of the bigger teams - a draw against Leverkusen and a narrow loss to Milan. It was encouraging though and we kept them so tight in those games. The game against FC Metz was a great example of the type of football I want us to play. They had just one shot on target against us as we really put them to the sword. 

 

[karanhsingh]

That's a lot of transfers! But some great ones. Konate develops really well. I just got Gnagnon for my Paris side as well. 

[Shrewnaldo]

Ooft, those are some good deals. Gravenberch and Carvalho in particular. As karan mentions, it's a lot of transfers at one time. Any thoughts on speeding up the cohesion process? 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Excellent business. I am mightily impressed with some of those recruits. Best of luck for the season ahead!