[FM23] Age of Empires

[rich ruzzian]

November was a nice run. Competing for the CL spots. 

[_Ben_]

19 hours ago, rich ruzzian said:

November was a nice run. Competing for the CL spots. 

Yes. This is where I'd wanted to be, I think. CL this year and then maybe two years of squad depth building before we are really ready for a shot at the title. Four years from mid table to title seems like a decent turnaround for me, with the added bonus of all the behind the scenes stuff, too.

[_Ben_]

December 2030

Pisa vs Atalanta | Milan vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Roma | Olympiakos vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Salernitana | SPAL vs Atalanta

The month started with a list of slight tactical tweaks:

• Positive mentality instead of Balanced as I feel that we're just not committing enough forward when we build up. I have three players - CWB(a) CM(a) and IW(a) that I want to be behind the striker as we attack quickly and efficiently.
• Overload left so that I can further increase that shift on the left. It brings the mentality of the WM(s) down so that the overloads are more common and useful. So much of my build up play is built around clever off the ball movement, seizing opportunities and gaps within the defensive and transitional areas.
• Change in passing length because positive football and long(er) ball football has been quite problematic in the past. Plus, I think we need more of the ball. It's becoming too easy for teams to sit back and keep the ball and stop us from doing anything, also, meaning that when they lose it, they're more likely to be in a strong defensive shape. By going a little less direct, we'll keep the ball for longer, I hope.
• Attacking width to get the four players mentioned above inside the width of the box and, therefore, just more of an attacking threat.
• Pressing Forward because I don't feel that the CF(a) is conducive to either Camello, Zenga or Costa and hasn't quite got the best from them. I'm unsure whether this will or not, but it's a start in the process.

Cremonesi's debut goal was the highlight in a pretty dull performance, using the old shape up until my half time brainwave, which I've detailed above. I won't hide the fact that I was hoping to put four or five past a poor Pisa side but the defensive side remains strong as we keep another clean sheet and I need to remember that I am still playing a 21 year old, with a year of Serie A experience under his belt, as my main striker against a host of world class opposition, albeit none of whom were on show in this tie.

Our first defeat of the season followed against Milan as the lack of incision showed again. Defensively, we are absolutely solid and rarely concede but, even with the implementation of the changes - above - we barely caused Milan's defence a problem. Slightly better against Roma as we deserved a win but not the most clinical of finishing as I very quickly decided that Zenga's role should return to the AF(a), the one that I used when he made his breakthrough: why change something that wasn't broken?!

I made some more tweaks against Olympiakos, moving our block from Low to Medium. I feel that we need to, as time goes on, become a little less cautious without the ball and need to get ourselves further away from the goal. I still like the idea of the instruction to Stand Off as it means we'll likely press less, even from the mid block. Again, I think we need to have more of the ball and that possession needs to be with my most creative players as close to the goal as I can get it, whilst still being able to manipulate defences that are becoming even more cautious in order to create space for good chances. To be perfectly honest, we did almost none of that and relied on scoring with our only shot on target in the last kick of the game to return with three points. I'm thinking that I'm going to have to get a lot more in depth with my tactical thoughts and analysis in order to overcome this issue: I felt that we were only in second gear earlier in the season but now I'm questioning whether this style will allow to get out of that gear.

Within all of the tactical moans, it's easy to forget that these things take time to embed and different opposition react differently to things - which is something I've lost from my write ups as I've been re-acquainting myself with the game over the past few days. Fortunately, we started strongly: just sixteen seconds on the clock as Zenga tapped in from close range directly from kick off. I think that, overall, our shooting was poor - too many long shots hurried without thinking, something I tend to attribute with one of two things: a) mentality and b) not working the ball into the box. The latter will slow down our counter attacking play and I don't really want that so the talk about Balanced/Positive continues. Our pass map was somewhat strange as well, with the pass combinations on the right hand side surely a sign we were trying to keep the ball better by recycling across the defensive area. Alberto Moleiro's lung busting run doubled our lead and, with ninety-four minutes between goals, we sealed a decent win but, even in that there are concerns that I have. These concerns are arising now I know I want and, to be honest, need, perfection in order to progress. Michael Fusari's header win rate at sits 51% and overall defensive stats low despite really strong attributes.

I've been plagued with low average ratings for my defenders and I've always put it down to lack of tackle attempts across games, almost blaming the game system for this. However, I think that his poor header rate is to blame somewhat. Yet, when I look at his header attempts, the picture is so different:

• One header lost on the half way line vs Salernitana from a goal kick
• One defensive header lost on the edge of the area from a long ball vs Olympiakos
• One defensive header lost inside the area from a cross vs Roma
• Six header attempts lost from attacking corners, either on the near or the far post vs Roma.

Yes, 51% is a horrific number for a centre back, but, at six foot tall, he's not tiny, and the issue is actually coming from our poor attacking corners - where he's losing out in the opposition. Granted, three games is a small sample size but I know that I need to look in more depth at what data I'm collecting and building a skin to showcase, before I jump to too many conclusions.

SPAL had lost two in a row and we had a great record against them, according to the next opponent report so I knew that starting well would hopefully get us the confidence that I craved in our play. I went with the 4-2-2-2 shape to start, hoping that the two up top could disrupt their two defenders and using a more offensive left sided midfielder (Gavi in a role not entirely suited to him) would put pressure on the aggressive left back. It worked as the Spaniard laid a ball on to Christian Pilenga, who swung in a cross that Sottil converted in the sixth minute. Normal tactical service was resumed and I was treated to one of the clearest views of the 3-3-3-1 shape in transition, despite the difficulty in actually telling the difference between the kits. In typical fashion, Fusari lept like a salmon to meet a deep free kick and his header looped over their keeper and in to the back of the net to double our lead on twelve mins - making me somewhat relieved that I hadn't had chance to review the set pieces. I think that the mid-block is pretty sensible and the Stand Off means we don't have to employ a stupidly high defensive line to stay compact but also means we can spring into transition with a turnover, such as this one in which Gavi's - who later earnt player of the week - through ball was tucked away by Zenga for our third. Gavi then added our fourth as he was left with the simplest of tap ins after Carvalho's thirty-yard free kick left the bar shaking and the keeper helpless. 2.10xG in the first half and four goals, as well as, importantly, a dressing room that was happy with it. We eased off a little in the second half but not after hitting the post twice through Fusari and Sottil, which leads me to this quite astonishing image:

10% of our shots have hit the woodwork this season - a total of forty-eight shots. I ran some numbers and wanted to compare to real life. I'm in December and we're in April now and the team in the Premier League with the most woodwork shots is Villa, with 18 and the overall total is just 3% so we're either really, really unlucky or something is somewhat off here. If we keep making chances, surely this'll even itself out as we head into the new year!

---

With January approaching and some data to back up the kind of role I have in the DM slot, I can use this to help identify a target to replace Lucas Torreira, who'll be leaving us at the end of the season.

Pilenga has, on the whole, been solid since his €9.5m move from Sampdoria so I don't need a replacement for him, just someone who can rotate with him as necessary and, ideally, someone who can play another role, too. The biggest shock for me though is that I'd always believed I needed an aggressive, ball winner in the HB(d) role, but this lad has just proved me wrong:

• Interceptions - 0.17 per 90
• Clearances - 0.48 per 90
• Blocks - 0/36 per 90
• Tackles won - 1.38 per 90 at 66% success
• Pressures completed - 2.82 per 90

Instead, Pilenga has acted like a very deep playmaker, recycling the ball when we do have it, showing his reliability in possession within the transitional area of the game. What this also tells me is that my tactical style may be slightly off in order to get the best from the players I have. Right now, Pilenga forms one of the back three and that makes the passing actions that he's clearly pretty good at, much further away from their goal and much safer. He's not in the team as a conventional ball winner and, in some way, I think that his offensive prowess is somewhat wasted. Therefore, I decided to hastily arrange a friendly against AlbinoLeffe in order to try out a slightly different shape:

There are several changes that I feel will help us in the longer run being more potent offensively and also working out how to get the best of the DM as well as identifying another player to fill that role. Firstly, the plan is to change the players within the back three when I transition - moving the IWB(s) to a FB(s) with two instructions - Sit Narrower and Run Wide with the ball. Amey isn't the best at Dribbling or Crossing but the latter instruction, in my mind, will help spread us across each vertical area of the pitch and provide support out wide once Lanzo cuts in. Defensively, Amey will sit in and make a three and, to assist that, I've moved the CB(d) on the right to a BPD(c) to create better vertical passing options as he'll sit slightly behind. This means that now, the HB(d) can move to - for now - a DM(d) and I won't need the CAR(s) in front for extra defensive cover, moving him to a CM(s) initially. The thoughts are that I will have less players in that defensive area, maybe now shifting from a 3-3-3-1 to a 3-4-2-1 in possession and, as such, moving my ball players higher up the pitch. Michael Fusari is also interesting here: as a ball playing CB, he was somewhat underused in a system that often saw the ball move from Pilenga, to him, to the left wing back but now, with the freedom of three more conventional defenders, he can step up knowing that Pilenga is ahead of him to look for now, rather than alongside him.

The match, as you'd expect, was easy as we ran out 6-0 winners thanks to a Costa hattrick, but the morphing between a 3-2-4-, 2-3-2-3 and even a 3-5-2 certainly is interesting. With Amey taking that much talked about Ben White/Tomiyasu role, we've got some different options to use. Our overall positions and pass map are interesting to say the least but I need to know that this is against both a weaker side and a team playing a 5-3-2, so it'll naturally play differently against a one striker formation. However, it's that one striker formation that interests me the most - we'll have one less defender when we transition in a 2-3-2-3 shape, meaning that we're not losing numerical advantage and have more players in a more advanced area. Feels like a win/win for me here.

Putting that all together, I think that a more creative DM can now be utilised in this system as I won't need the physical side of a faux defender in him should I wish to continue with this system. With interest in Torreira, and a promise that I'd sell him during the transfer window, I do need to move relatively fast to source a replacement. This then links into the bigger picture that I have, creating a squad that is capable of competing at the top of Serie A:

My squad depth is as follows:

Those in red are leaving at the end of the season and, in my mind, to compete across Serie A and the Champions League, I need two top quality players for each area, with a bonus if they can play in secondary roles, too. In Vlad Monea, I have a centre back who has proven nothing at this level and surely will not be part of the long term plans. Then, I must consider the bias I have towards the academy - are Speranza, Ferrigno, Ragatzu, Costa and Ferraroli good enough to play to second fiddle? I already have strong representation of home grown players: Fusari and Zenga are first team players and Lanzo would be if Sottil wasn't consistently doing very well, so I don't need to hang on for registration purposes despite the desperate desire to create the academy pathway that leads right to the top.

My collation of data is going to be very important across this year to compare with last years and to, ideally, create some outputs that are within my style and measurable for the players hoping to come into the club.

---

We end the calendar year in a really strong position, above the expectations of the board and in line with my demands of Champions League football coming back to Bergamo next year. We're still not quite where I want us, offensively, as we sit behind the top teams in teams of goals scored but that is, to some extent, made better by our fantastic defensive record, which has also seen Carnesecchi voted the best Goalkeeper in the world. I'm still awaiting the resurgence of Napoli and Roma but I feel that we've put enough of a gap between us and fifth to secure these aims.

---

A busy January but one with with many winnable games. We also face APOEL in the last game of the month at home but, by then, I hope to have qualification wrapped up and the ability to play with a very rested team. I do have a couple of things that need to be worked on over January:

• Set pieces with particular focus on the ability to load and reload them against different opponents based on their defensive set ups.
• Implementation of the new system, thoroughly understanding how it can be used against different opposition.
• Acquisition of a new DM and potentially a new CB, if there if sufficient interest in Vlad Monea.
• Identification of a shortlist of players who could potentially fill the voids left with the summer departures of Moleiro and Camello.

---

Forza La Dea!

[Justified]

Don't want to hijack the thread at all but just on the subject again about the Tactical Periodisation, I think I've settled on something I like. Just want a bit of opinion as it's modelled on yours Ben but I like where I've landed. It's all based on my preferred way of playing with Sub and Sub Sub exercises.

For transparency, in possession I play out of defence and have a higher tempo. In transition I counter-press and distribute to the backline and I have a high block out of defence.

So if we work from the Match Day, we have a complete rest the day after. The day after that is active recovery and I keep Play out from the back every week because regardless of how we set up, we always transition to attack in that way from the goalkeeper. I might not always have PooD selected however we always distribute to the defence. Team Bonding I kept there as well as I like it as a sort of Mental Fatigue restorer.

After that we start our countdown to the match. Tuesday (or MD-4 as it's called) we have Resistance and Defending Engaged training as Sub principle and the Transition - Press is the sub-sub principal of this day. Theoretically if I am setting up more cautious tactic (drop counter-press) I will change it to Defending Disengaged. The reason why I'd keep Transition-Press is because I play with a split press in a 4-3-3 so the point of that is the forward line press so the rest of the team find position. On Wednesday I've kept the same as Ben has but swapped in Attacking as my philosophy is to score goals. I think that slot can be anything you want to focus on depending on what your tactic is lacking or if you think you need to focus on something specific for the next game.

Thursday we start tailing off, I have Tactical training and Attacking Direct as Sub principles here as this day is about mental and movement speed. So things like Off the Ball, Decisions and Anticipation are highly rated here. Attacking direct as this is a unit exercise and that unit is always looking forwards. Chance Creation is my sub-sub here because we're pressing high up so when we win the ball we need to be able to create those chances. If, for example, I played more direct I'd definitely swap this out for Ball Distribution because we need to be more precise with longer passes.

Friday is the activation day so only focus on the next match. I really like Teamwork as a match prep when a high pressing side. Set Pieces could go in here as well depending on situation.

Let me know what you think. I'm happy with how it works and is very tweakable to the style you wish to implement in the match ahead. I've even managed to create a Week 1 pre-season version of this as well which the team enjoyed.

[coach vahid]

Il y a 14 heures, Justified a dit :

Don't want to hijack the thread at all but just on the subject again about the Tactical Periodisation, I think I've settled on something I like. Just want a bit of opinion as it's modelled on yours Ben but I like where I've landed. It's all based on my preferred way of playing with Sub and Sub Sub exercises.

For transparency, in possession I play out of defence and have a higher tempo. In transition I counter-press and distribute to the backline and I have a high block out of defence.

So if we work from the Match Day, we have a complete rest the day after. The day after that is active recovery and I keep Play out from the back every week because regardless of how we set up, we always transition to attack in that way from the goalkeeper. I might not always have PooD selected however we always distribute to the defence. Team Bonding I kept there as well as I like it as a sort of Mental Fatigue restorer.

After that we start our countdown to the match. Tuesday (or MD-4 as it's called) we have Resistance and Defending Engaged training as Sub principle and the Transition - Press is the sub-sub principal of this day. Theoretically if I am setting up more cautious tactic (drop counter-press) I will change it to Defending Disengaged. The reason why I'd keep Transition-Press is because I play with a split press in a 4-3-3 so the point of that is the forward line press so the rest of the team find position. On Wednesday I've kept the same as Ben has but swapped in Attacking as my philosophy is to score goals. I think that slot can be anything you want to focus on depending on what your tactic is lacking or if you think you need to focus on something specific for the next game.

Thursday we start tailing off, I have Tactical training and Attacking Direct as Sub principles here as this day is about mental and movement speed. So things like Off the Ball, Decisions and Anticipation are highly rated here. Attacking direct as this is a unit exercise and that unit is always looking forwards. Chance Creation is my sub-sub here because we're pressing high up so when we win the ball we need to be able to create those chances. If, for example, I played more direct I'd definitely swap this out for Ball Distribution because we need to be more precise with longer passes.

Friday is the activation day so only focus on the next match. I really like Teamwork as a match prep when a high pressing side. Set Pieces could go in here as well depending on situation.

Let me know what you think. I'm happy with how it works and is very tweakable to the style you wish to implement in the match ahead. I've even managed to create a Week 1 pre-season version of this as well which the team enjoyed.

I would like to see also your pre-season version, if it's possible.

Great Idea.

[Justified]

8 hours ago, coach vahid said:

I would like to see also your pre-season version, if it's possible.

Great Idea.

Let me open a thread in the training and tactics forum this evening. I don't want to derail Ben's excellent thread. I have changed a few things from the above as I was playing through the season so I will post my findings there as well.

[Sonic Youth]

Good start to the season, and now approaching midseason, feel the best is still to come.

It feels your focus on youth can only be as good as your scouting network and the youth players coming through your academy. I guess the other aspects are the coaching staff and training set. Though if you’re planning on aiming for the challenging for the Serie A title in four seasons time, the next few windows become crucial for investing in youth players to be an integral part of that challenge. Otherwise buying ready made experienced players is the way to go.

Looking forward to seeing the gap between fourth and fifth increase 

[Sonic Youth]

9 hours ago, Justified said:

Let me open a thread in the training and tactics forum this evening. I don't want to derail Ben's excellent thread. I have changed a few things from the above as I was playing through the season so I will post my findings there as well.

Link please when created.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Sonic Youth
Half sentence

[_Ben_]

12 hours ago, Justified said:

Let me open a thread in the training and tactics forum this evening. I don't want to derail Ben's excellent thread. I have changed a few things from the above as I was playing through the season so I will post my findings there as well.

Thank you for posting this. It's really interesting and I would certainly value the discourse around this ideology. We're not too dissimilar in systems, really and I like how your tactical thoughts flow through into your training, really emphasising the link between the two. My questions, which I'll ask again in the new thread - would be around whether you run this on cycles of attacking/defending/transition weeks and how you then adapt for two matches.

3 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Good start to the season, and now approaching midseason, feel the best is still to come.

It feels your focus on youth can only be as good as your scouting network and the youth players coming through your academy. I guess the other aspects are the coaching staff and training set. Though if you’re planning on aiming for the challenging for the Serie A title in four seasons time, the next few windows become crucial for investing in youth players to be an integral part of that challenge. Otherwise buying ready made experienced players is the way to go.

Looking forward to seeing the gap between fourth and fifth increase 

I'm feeling closer to the tactical understanding and then it's a case of, as you say, getting the training and coaches up to scratch. That way, they'll improve what we have as best as they can and I can see where the gaps then lie. I must admit to being a perfectionist and, as such, find recruiting really tough as it pains me to make the wrong deals! 

We're not amazingly well off so I'd absolutely suggest that your idea about buying young and developing, seeing this as a longer term plan, is the way I'll be going. 

[Sonic Youth]

5 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

I'm feeling closer to the tactical understanding and then it's a case of, as you say, getting the training and coaches up to scratch. That way, they'll improve what we have as best as they can and I can see where the gaps then lie. I must admit to being a perfectionist and, as such, find recruiting really tough as it pains me to make the wrong deals! 

We're not amazingly well off so I'd absolutely suggest that your idea about buying young and developing, seeing this as a longer term plan, is the way I'll be going. 

The tactical discussions you document in your threads are great. When you’ve got as clear a direction you want to take your play in, makes it interesting how you fill out your squad internally and externally. How you search for the right player has always been interesting to read about.

Buying young and developing is what you’ve been talking about since joining Atalanta. Something about using who comes through the youth academy (fingers crossed for someone stellar in next one or two) and looking for promising youngsters who have been overlooked but are statistically outliers. Four seasons of development with who you currently have plus who you get in the next few transfer windows will make your ambitions for Serie A title interesting to read about 

[_Ben_]

January 2031

Atalanta vs Fiorentina | Bologna vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Lecce | Atalanta vs WSG Tirol | Atalanta vs Parma | Atalanta vs APOEL

I'm going to try and make a real concerted effort to look at our tactical development, in particular focusing on how it can be adapted against certain sides. Our pre-match report against Fiorentina warned me that they're a decent team but I want to try and work out exactly what I need to do to be successful. I, therefore, dug into their player stats and was immediately taken aback by the performances of Luka Ivanusec, who is primarily utilised as a Shadow Striker. He's in a bit of a rut right now so I had to go back a couple of months to get footage of their victory against Hammarby in the Conference league to see how he works. Positionally, he seems to have free reign, touching the ball all over the opponents half. It seems to be his dribbling stats - nearly 2.00 per 90 in Serie A that are the cause of problems for the opposition so I need to get him onto his right foot where possible and will probably instruct Pilenga to man mark him. Okoli headed us into the lead early on from a corner before Zenga had the ball in the net, rightly adjudged to be offside but I saw a strong and organised start. Just after twenty minutes in, Sottil rose highest to nod a Pellegrini cross against the bar (again!) before tucking home the rebound. Fiorentina were reduced to ten men inside half an hour thanks to a reckless challenge, which led to the sacrifice of their AMC and, after all my pre-match work, the moving on Ivanusec to a wide midfielder berth. I'm never too sure on how to adapt against ten men but, during my thinking process, Pellegrini broke and fed through Zenga who increased our lead to three, giving me the comfort that our counter attacking may be good against a reduced number of opposition. It was nearly four when Zenga forced a great save from Rizzo, in their goal but it stayed that way as we reached half time, restricting our opponents to one attempt, off target, with an xG of 0.07. The perfect start. The second half started quietly but I did enjoy watching Amey push forward as Pellegrini had the intelligence to sit back, despite their roles indicating this should be the opposite. Out of nowhere, Rizzo made a rash decision to not come for a blocked Ederson shot and Zenga snuck in to nod in his second and our fourth. We turned a fantastically compact shape into a well worked overload as Zenga bundled his his third, completing a hattrick. Jota's second yellow reduced the visitors to nine men as we utilised the opportunity to provide two youngsters their debut.  I'm not jumping to conclusions but this was amazing. Concise, efficient, quick in the build up and ruthless in front goal. The 3.79xG is a season high for us and we could have had many more. Yet, at the other end, no shots on target and just 0.12xGA conceded shows that the changes haven't come at the expense of stability. Granted, an hour was played against ten men but we often gift possession, and, more importantly, threat of possession up to the bigger teams and in this one, we did not. 

Before the Bologna tie, I had a little tweak of the set pieces, firstly ensuring that all corners are aimed at Caleb Okoli, who, at 6'2", is significantly better in the air than Fusari. Previous to this, the side of the corner was the decider for who was my main aerial threat. Also, I use short throw ins as I don't have a specialist and, a such, see them as an ideal opportunity to get the ball back into play, quickly, to a teammate. As such, I've amended the routines for left and right to ensure that, if there is a turnover from them, our defence is set and solid to collect any counter threats. I have, therefore, had to use slightly odd choices of takers - utilising the WM(s) on the left and the DM(d) on the right, so that I can keep the IW(a) ahead of play. Set pieces are such a great example of those marginal gains that we need to get to the very top.

Within three minutes, I was rewarded with my efforts as a corner from the right - which'd normally be aimed at Fusari, was nodded in - with help of the post - from Caleb Okoli. Against the run of play, our defences were breached on the twenty minute mark though as a cross came in, near the penalty spot but in that corridor of uncertainty. Carnesecchi, normally so robust in his decision making, came for it, but was beaten by Terceros, who had the easiest of tap ins. Only three minutes later and we were back ahead as Fusari drove into space and played Carvalho through, who finished supremely. We played out the second half quite nicely, our game plan to slow the game down a notch every so often, disrupting the flow with substitutions, worked well and actually ended the game with more possession than our opposition. Not quite as clear cut as the Fiore tie, but, with 62% of their total xG coming from one shot - their goal - and, against eleven men for the entire game, it was bound to look quite different on paper. An off day for Zenga as he struggled against two physical centre backs in Lucumi and Sierralta as well as the more obvious issue that Lanzo is left footed and this limited the crossing ability that Sottil - out injured - does have. I've asked myself the question in regards to Lanzo moving in field to the CM(a) role a couple of times but as every game goes by, I feel it's becoming more and more likely.

Lecce came to town next and we were denied, wrongly, by an offside flag as Zenga was called out from this shot by Lanzo. Unfortunately, his tales of woe continued as he missed a penalty but redeemed himself as he scored a lovely goal in his last kick of the game. My overall game plan was to keep their star striker Milanovic quiet, through pushing their wide men either outside of inside, depending on the game situation, which was performed really well. I watched, quite intently, what they did and amended our instructions every fifteen minutes or so. I'm not savvy enough - yet - to pick up the trigger to an opposition play but I felt that these constant changes meant that they were unsure of what to do. The big Serb touched the ball just once in our penalty area, creating a 0.11xG chance. Another example of really focused tactical work paying off for us as our wonderful run continues.

A strange game as Tirol as we dominated, which was to be expected, but struggled to really penetrate their defence, which was - usually - seven men strong. Daniele Ragatzu opened the scoring with a lovely curled effort: his first goal for the senior side. The disjointedness of the game was to be expected as I utilised a very rotated squad and started the game with a number of players lacking match sharpness. However, it's a good three points and a further €630k into the coffers.

My main thoughts - pre Parma - were to see how their 4-1-2-2-1 shape would play out against our faux three man defence. The answer was pretty emphatic! We controlled the game from the start and used some really clever in game tweaks, as posted here by the wonderful @FMStag, put them to the sword time and time again. Fusari opened the scoring as we have made the most of the corner routine changes with Okoli knocking the ball down for his centre back partner to tuck away before Pellegrini's run to the byline and whipped cross was converted by Marzio Zenga. In an almost identical situation, Gavi's cross down left - where we used the focus to put pressure on their right centre back Amoran, on a booking - was nodded in by Lanzo who'd got free. With four current academy players: De Zerbi, Pacifico, Cremonesi and Wieczorek on the pitch along side Ragatzu and Fusari,  there was a real sense of pride when this thunderbolt, befitting of any man, let alone a 16 year old on debut, gave us our fourth, becoming - by some way - our youngest ever scorer. The first touch reminded me a little of that famous Peter Crouch volley, although the strike was more power than loop.

A completely rotated side was put out against APOEL, who lined up in a 3-4-1-2 shape - another new thing for me to navigate. We opened the scoring early thanks to a Moleiro free kick, picking up the slack from Carvalho, who he replaced. An Ederson header and a lovely goal from Daniele Ragatzu, squaring his defender up before cutting in and bending a shot into the corner put us three up and home and dry by the half hour mark. Second half goals from the really promising Cremonesi and Ferrigno saw us record a comfortably victory and secure qualification to the knockout rounds.

We are sitting in a very healthy position in the league and have won seven in a row, conceding just once in that time. However, I know that this is unlikely to continue - at this level anyway - and there are three teams around me who are very, very good and able to capitalise on the slightest of slip ups. However, even with the visits of Juve and Milan and the trip to Inter, we still have built up a solid gap over Fiorentina, SPAL and Lazio - the chasing pack. This will, hopefully, see us securing Champions League football next year, which is on schedule, even if the way that we're going about it does feel slightly ahead of it. Next year, I envisage that Roma will be better and the likes of Lazio and Napoli may pull something out of the bag, too. I must also be wary of whoever comes up because Udinese last year and SPAL this year have upset the apple cart, somewhat, after spending the previous year in Serie B!

February has six ties as we start our Coppa Italia campaign in a double header against a relatively poor Cagliari side. However, as the month goes on (excluding Genoa  (A) - not pictured), the fixtures get harder and I'd certainly take two points from the last two games below.

---

One of the reasons that this month has taken so long to process is because it's the transfer window and, being brutally honest, I did not prepare myself enough for it as I was carried away on a tactical wave. I drew up shortlists for defensive midfield, right wing (as a precaution in case I move/moved Lanzo inside), central midfield and striker. In my chronic indecisiveness and huge over thinking process, I decided that, really, none of the players fitted what I wanted. To replace Camello, I'd looked at Matias Arezzo, a man who has consistently scored well in La Liga - hitting the twenty league goal mark twice in a struggling Granada side but felt that €14m was too much for a man of his calibre. I identified a trio of Argentine wingers: Luka Romero, Benjamin Dominguez and Lucas Roman but, with two thirds of them left footers - the same issue that I already face sometimes with Lanzo from wide right, they didn't really tick that box either. Plus, the combination of Sottil and Lanzo has legs in it and it didn't justify these deals. I do quite like the look of Polish playmaker Maciej Wasniowski and may return to him in the summer but it's unlikely that I'll return to any of the DM/FB hybrid players apart from maybe Juan Salazar, but he is nursing a long term injury.

However, two transfers have been made this window. Full player profiles can be found by clicking on the thumbnail:

 

Another bargain signing from Argentina - the young half-Polish striker is a fantastic finisher and is really quick off the mark, making him potentially a great shout for an Advanced Forward role within the team. Whilst his temperament may be somewhat questionable, the potential in him meant that the €70k deal, initiated by the transfer committee was not usurped and the youngster is added to the U20 team but is likely to go out on loan this season. Dougie is a well known face to me - as both a Villa man and also a man who I nearly brought to the club last summer, he's now joined as a short term option from Sporting for just €1.3m. Lucas Torreira was hugely declining and had already signed a pre-contract to move to Espanyol, so I allowed him to move now - knowing that I'm getting a better player whose wages (see Lucas vs Douglas) are comparable. With the move away from the Half Back and the exploration that the role isn't actually a ball winner, I wanted to try out a more creative player and Douglas Luiz provides me with that: his trait of Tries to play way out of trouble is really quite exciting for allowing us to bait that press and play through it. He's not going to be around forever - turning 33 this season but does give me a relatively low risk exploration before I commit to a long term option, almost providing a get out clause for my confusion as the month has progressed.

Not quite the month I really wanted but I think I've navigated it relatively well - keeping the team together and upgrading one weak area, and, even if it's not a long term solution, it'll provide an answer to some tactical questions I have.

---

Forza La Dea!

[GIMN]

The Dougie transfer feels like one of those rumours that runs on over multiple windows to the point that no-one believes you are actually interested anymore.

A great month on the pitch, and really interesting reading into the tactical tweaks.  This is purely anecdotal, but I've noticed that whenever I tweak my corner routines I tend to score from one the next game.  Perhaps there's a hidden incentive added to try and make us consider changing things up more often.

[_Ben_]

18 hours ago, GIMN said:

The Dougie transfer feels like one of those rumours that runs on over multiple windows to the point that no-one believes you are actually interested anymore.

A great month on the pitch, and really interesting reading into the tactical tweaks.  This is purely anecdotal, but I've noticed that whenever I tweak my corner routines I tend to score from one the next game.  Perhaps there's a hidden incentive added to try and make us consider changing things up more often.

Yeah - it was one of those that just never went away. I'm glad I didn't pay the €8m that Sporting did though. He's settling in ok but not quite the deal that'll take us to the next level!

[_Ben_]

February 2031

Atalanta vs Udinese | Atalanta vs Cagliari | Cagliari vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Lazio |

Inter vs Atalanta | Inter vs Atalanta | Genoa vs Atalanta |

---

There was one last deal was struck on deadline day:

 

I think this makes really good financial sense. Sergio Camello had already agreed to leave the club on a free at the end of his contract in June, but I was able to get €2.5m to sell him now to Valencia and rid his €55k p/w wages from the club. To replace him, I spent €4.1m (€2.1m upfront and two further payments of €1m) on Moise Kean, meaning a net spend of just €1.6m for a player who'd have walked away for no financial gain to the club in a matter of months. Furthermore, in his clear drive to play first team football, the Italian cut his wages by more than half and is now earning less than the player he is replacing. Then, further still, I think I have a better player - as you can see from their comparison. Just like the Douglas Luiz/Torreira swap, this isn't a long term deal: Busio, Drzewiecki, Wieczorek and Costa are the youngsters at the club with a really bright future but it does fill a hole in the short term, with a proven goalscorer as you can see by looking at Kean's history. I believe that Kean's motivations would centre around a recall to the national team and I think the ability is there to do that, but, of course, he's not guaranteed a berth within the squad, given the quality we already have in Marzio Zenga.

---

A little bit of a messy update month due to the fact I've been rebuilding parts of the Statman skin alongside playing and that's taken away some of the depth of the writing and real tactical battles. The below message was present around mid month, after the demolition of Udinese and Cagliari, twice. The fact that, at that point, we'd conceded just once all calendar year meant that I've learnt about the delusion of the fans here!

As the month progressed, the fixtures got tougher and we tasted defeat for the first time in 2031, with a hard-to-take ET loss against Inter. However, I can take much solace from the fact that this was a much rested team as my focus right now is on securing the league position that we deserve rather than a cup. I am, however, aware that a couple of players have asked, in contract renewals, to challenge for domestic cups in the next season, so there will likely be a change of direction for us there where, hopefully, we can avoid Inter at a relatively early stage. The two draws in the league cost us the chance to move to the top of the table but we are keeping pace with Milan and pulling away from Juve as they lost to the table toppers and were held at the end of the month by the impressive SPAL. Marzio Zenga' six goals were enough to earn him Serie A player of the month and for me open negotiations on a new €65k p/w deal that will tie the hotshot down for at least another four years.

Still sitting in a really strong position but I cannot help but be drawn in by the financial strength of the mid-table teams and just how things can change in a season - Daniele De Rossi cannot get a tune out of Udinese and Lecce's two great finishes - seventh and sixth - don't appear to be being built upon. Unai Emery is trying to pull Napoli back out of their three year slump - fifth, ninth and twelfth may be improved upon, but not by much, whilst Ivan Jovicevic must be under pressure after Roma finished runners up last year and will be going through a period of transition over the summer with Bryan Cristante, Benjamin Pavard, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Donny van de Beek, Youri Tielemans, Federico Chiesa and Tammy Abraham all over thirty-three and still key players.

March is busy, but that's what's to be expected at this time of the year. We have drawn Stuttgart in the first knockout round of the Europa league (see Head to Head visual) and then sandwich a tough tie against Napoli in there. By far the toughest tie though will be at the end of the month when we welcome Juventus to Bergamo, in a game that may go as far as deciding second and third place this season.

---

Around mid-month, my Spanish midfielder Gavi was injured and that gave me a great chance to give Daniele Ragatzu some game time to help him develop, despite the fact he's already pretty good (see Ragatzu vs Gavi comparison). It's little moves like this - allowing youngsters to take the place of injured or out of form players - that brings me great joy. Marzio Zenga has cemented his place and, to be fair, had a big say in the sale of Sergio Camello after coming in and playing well in a period of injury absence for the Spaniard. It then also really drives home the point of long term progression through the squad, to ensure that I have players who are ready to take over when required.

In terms of players who are ready for that next step, my backroom staff believe that I have two:

I've been working with Andrea (no relation to Luca) to convert him into a solid ball playing defender and his current performances at U20 level have been really solid as he looks to have the potential to be a really good player. WIth Tommaso next to him in the more traditional centre back role, I think that this two could be a really strong pairing for me in the future. Both are currently good enough for Serie B level and I will look to send them out on loan in the summer with the aim of them coming back to the club to be re-evaluated in the summer of 2032. 

The same process is also being undertook with my current loanees. With SPAL performing really well in Serie A this season, I may have a ready made next step for the likes of De Zerbi and Bisio, the two players who have impressed me the most. The young Argentine forward needs to become more consistent as I find that when he does not score, his average rating is pretty low and he's not involved in the play, but, at 18, he's clearly a natural finisher. I think that Filippo Fontana - despite several awards (as one of the only U19 starters in Serie A it's kind of by default) - would also benefit from another season out on loan but may look to see if a top flight loan at a club that are in the top half of their league may be beneficial to give him the goalscoring and creating opportunities that he needs to get to that next level.  I'm happy for the likes of Cisse and Memaj to stay in Serie B but I have already decided against keeping Florian Deiner, who'll join Lazio on a free. The decision between the contract renewal and then having to keep him another six months to get any profit on him was evened out by the fact he's really not suited to our style of football. However, for every Diener, I'm hoping to have someone like Angelo Scopece, who's market value of between €8m and €11m will be complete profit for a player who has really been poor out on loan - even more annoying given that I'll be needing to bring in further replacement at left back in the shorter term.

But, if I can keep Pellegrini going for another couple of years, I may already have the solution at the club, along with a host of other promising players:

I feel that we are already reaping the benefits of the intense focus on the youth sides with a number of candidates who are developing quite nicely. I'm keen to dig into and address the dip in Alberto's progress, although the positive move has been since he was promoted to the U20 squad and is now an integral part of Kaka's squad that are demolishing the league. I'm keen to analyse the overall improvements of these players but I'm aware that the three eighteen year olds are now likely going to need to move out on loan to get some first team football. There is no hard and fast rule about eighteen year old's having to play first team football but I certainly feel maybe 75% of aspiring top flight players will be playing some level of first team football by that age justifies my thoughts. My concern is though, given the level that they are currently at, that they'll be relying on solely football for their development as there are very few clubs in Serie C - the appropriate level for them - who have really strong training facilities that can assist them. However, with a few months left until the end of this season, I can really dig into the three players who now need it the most:

• Giacomo Perugini. I look at his attribute set and think that he's probably most suited to a striker to accommodate the poor passing and dribbling, so he's training as a striker now with a focus on his Attacking Movement. I want to use the PF(d) schedule because that does not focus on his FInishing but, instead, looks to work more on his Mental and Physical areas.
• Giovanni Giovagnoli will be on a AP(a) with a Quickness focus and in Attacking Unit as he's actually a player I quite like and the role that is somewhat of a weakness within the first team. With Ederson in his thirties, I will need to supplement the CM area, which is currently a BBM(s) but is one of those roles that is quite variable within my style but, more often than not, does transfer to a more defensive role. Giovanni already had quite a nice defensive base and I want to develop the attacking area, including the removal of that trait.
• Emmanuel Adesina will be on a NFB(d) schedule with a Ball Control focus.

The Nigerian-born Italian Adesina is another string to my young player bow, as he was signed in the summer from Cesena and will either make the first team or, hopefully, bring in some profit on the €140k I spent on him. Below are the four players who I have signed, with assistant from the board, who are in charge of finding and initiating these bids - with the final say by me - so far in my tenure at Atalanta.

• Emmanuel Adesina - €140k from Cesena
• Federico Bisio - €74k from Tiro Federal
• Sebastian Drzewiecki - €70k from Juv. Antoniana
• Antonio Piacentino - €16k from Sudtirol

I currently have a recruitment focus on players valued at less than half a million pounds and eighteen years old or under in hope to continue finding gems from academies that are less well known about or players who can become sellable assets. I remain honest in that I will spend big when/if the time is right but, by trying to build a squad from the bottom up - around sixty to seventy players - I cannot solely rely on what the youth academy brings and I, therefore, do need those players to make up the numbers. It wouldn't be realistic to have thirty to forty wonderkids in the youth side, costing hundreds of millions of Euros, but, having players who I hope will go on to forge a career somewhere in professional football is, to me.

Next month does see that intake come through so I'll hopefully then be able to fully field two strong youth teams as well as a select bunch of players on loan: either developing their skills to be kept or sold or to be proving their point in the last year of their contracts.

---

Forza La Dea!

[Jtomsett11]

I really enjoy every part of your analysis and save,  but the squad building parts are my favourite. It's an area I've always enjoyed, but I think seeing how you go about trying to find those bargains in the less recognised academies that I can learn from as I'm great once my team are well established but rely a little on pot luck of my scouts finding good young players when I'm growing a side. Good to see you up at the top end of the table too, it seems to me you're not a million miles off challenging for the title although you've set your aspirations at top 4.

[_Ben_]

9 hours ago, Jtomsett11 said:

I really enjoy every part of your analysis and save,  but the squad building parts are my favourite. It's an area I've always enjoyed, but I think seeing how you go about trying to find those bargains in the less recognised academies that I can learn from as I'm great once my team are well established but rely a little on pot luck of my scouts finding good young players when I'm growing a side. Good to see you up at the top end of the table too, it seems to me you're not a million miles off challenging for the title although you've set your aspirations at top 4.

Thank you. I appreciate this as your threads have always been something I've looked to for squad building inspiration. I have just written, pretty extensively, about first team squad building in this month's update that I'm about to post.

The bargain hunting is something that, to me, feels really low risk but whilst I'm doing it, allows me to look at and take in the wider game world. I often find myself just looking at random players then looking at their career trajectories and clicking on other clubs - so it's kind of a win/win there, too. 

[_Ben_]

March 2031

Atalanta vs Hellas Verona | Stuttgart vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Napoli | Atalanta vs Stuttgart |  Brescia vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Juventus |

When I get to this part of the season, I tend to become tactically-distracted and spend a lot more time thinking about the future of the club. However, I do feel like I've done better than usual in that sense this season but the players have really struggled with the tough runs after thirteen games in the two months before this one. We started strongly against Verona despite being starved of possession, controlling much of the play and territory and keeping them quiet for long periods of time. Francesco Lanzo impressed from the right wing. Heading to Germany, my plan was to keep it a little tighter than normal against Stuttgart's 4-4-2 shape, so I moved the CWB(a) back to a WB(s) and looked to stop the flow of play through their two central playmakers. A big chance for the hosts was all that separated us at half time and I was happily heading for the draw when substitute Kean popped up, rounded the keeper and finishing coolly, giving us the edge half way through the tie. We looked somewhat shakier defensively though and, adding that to the mid-week fatigue, succumbed to a defeat at home to Napoli. Despite a significant proportion of their xG being from the penalty spot, we were poor and lost lots of duels as well as not being able to find Zenga is any kind of dangerous spaces. We bounded back though as I took in the Europa League nights in Bergamo and Marzio Zenga's ninth minute goal, below, epitomised how I like to play:

Possibly a little risky with the shot and possibly, I like a little more support around him but the verticality within the play is brilliant.

The month ended with a great win away at bottom side Brescia before we were unlucky to not complete a league double over Juve as they held us to a nil nil draw. The draw, as you can see below, has really put Milan back into the driving seat as we head into the final two months: they are four ahead with a game in hand although they do have to visit Bergamo before the end of the season. Inter have - on the back of both us and Juve dropping points - close the gap back to us but my job now is to secure a second placed finish, holding off the charges. I live in hope that the summer sees some changes - Tata Martino has already declared that he'll likely leave AC Milan with Venezuelan Giovanni Savarese - fresh from a World Cup win with USA - being tipped to take over. Both Conte and Simeone go into the final year of their deals this summer so finishing above them would certainly put pressure on them as their clubs consider renewals.

Elsewhere, that mid-table bottom is still ridiculous as Emery's Napoli and Jovicevic's Roma are on hot streaks, applying some pressure to Fiore and SPAL who I hope - somewhat selfishly for my own loan plans next season - do not run out of steam. At the bottom, it's any three from four and I've already got my scouts looking at any players who are good enough to stay at this level.

Another busy month as the reward four own German conquering is a double header against Newcastle. The other ties are Lecce vs Betis, Olympiakos (under De Zerbi) vs Dortmund and Nice vs Villareal but I feel that I've done quite well to face off against Thomas Tuchel's side. Despite a whole host of high paid players - Darwin Nunez, Trincao, Frattesi, Lamptey, Moussa Diaby, Ilaix Moriba, Dani Olmo, Slonina, Julian Alvarez and Tyrell Malacia to name but a few, they are sitting in eleventh in the league - drawing against Forrest and Norwich and losing to Burnley last month as well as losing the Carabao Cup final to Chelsea this month. Elsewhere, we face Sassuolo, Pisa, Milan and (not pictured) Salernitana in the league but that comes after a return from international duty in which we have provided the most players from a single club for the Italian national team: high praise indeed.

---

I must thank  @cmason84 for an amazing couple of blog posts that are right up my street in terms of signing player and squad building and I've taken a lot of inspiration from this - creating almost identical charts for my own team in preparation for the summer and beyond. My team has some specialists - Wisdom Amey, for example, cannot really play as both a CWB(a) and a FB(s) on the right, which currently limits me in my job to be able to mirror my shape when needed. This, for me, adds that extra layer of complexity to the squad building process - I need a left back who can both be a conservative full back with defensive ability as well as a flying wing back who can cross and assist. It also highlights areas where, from my match experience, I don't have that and don't trust the players. However, elsewhere in the team, I have players who can do multiple roles - Sottil can play on both sides and as a central winger and that allows him flexibility in terms of achieving his desired minutes. However, the positional element really needs to sit alongside the financial and playing time elements that I've highlighted above.

In terms of wages, I do have concerns around the wages that we are currently paying Wisdom Amey and that it may lead to some unsettled thoughts. I'm sure that he'll want to be on a level playing field with the likes of Ederson and Okoli soon but his role will hopefully soon become somewhat changeable, resulting in a reduction of minutes (or, more likely) more competition for minutes as a centre back and therefore, I am loathed to spend too much on it. Likewise, Gavi's wages are low, although I do have another year left with Barca's €67k p/w contribution. However, he'll then be pushing twenty eight and, with the minutes of Ragatzu increasing, he could be prime to sell for a significant profit on the €14m I paid for him.  As I was creating this, I made the move to offer a new deal for Marzio Zenga. I generally dislike 'Important Player' for a striker given that I often rotate based on scoring form but his record and overall time on the pitch has earned this. I also feel that there is justificant for a new deal for Francesco Lanzo, given that he is almost matching Sottil in terms of minutes but has nowhere near parity in terms of pay.

However, I think there is going to be some movement in the summer based on playing time happiness. Vlad Monea is unhappy with minutes and is earning more than the other backup, a keeper. The other centre back, Ferrigno, is not best pleased but both of those players are aware that two key players and high earners sit in front of them. I like stability but, should this come to a bigger issue, I may end up wheeling and dealing with older centre backs who can also play other roles and allowing these two to move on. Luciano Costa is also unhappy with his playing time but that is largely down to my promise of a Squad Player, which will almost certainly not be fulfilled with the new deal for Zenga and the arrival of Kean. I have a surplus of strikers coming through the youth sides so I must admit to not exactly being at a loss if the Italian does not accept the playing time drop I will give to him at the end of the season. I believe that I have the balance pretty spot on with the wide midfielders, who rotate across those positions, with only some slight over playing of Sottil and Lanzo but that is fine.

Lastly, an old favourite of mine is the age vs minutes comparison:

In the short term, I need to source a replacement for Douglas Luiz - the oldest member of the first team squad and somewhat of a stop-gap signing but, longer term, the likes of Moise Kean, Riccardo Sottil, Luca Pellegrini and Ederson will need replacing. I am quite safe in the knowledge that they'll save us around €300k p/w in salary commitments but they're all important to the team so I need to decide whether this is slowly done, hoping that I can squeeze quality out of each of them for as long as possible or done quickly and then hope that the bounce can take us to the next level. There are four players in the squad: Zenga, Pilenga, Amey and Fusari, who are all relatively young but playing a lot for us and I would really like to build the club around them as we grow together. The other four players who are of real interest to me are Monea, Ferrigno, Costa and Speranza, who now cannot really be classed as youngsters but are not contributing a good amount of minutes - leading me to a number of questions: is it lack of quality? The role they play? The quality ahead of them? Are they happy as backups? Can I source better like-for-like players?

I think that this little bit of procrastination gives me quite a clear idea for the summer now:

• Push on with identification of more flexible players - a RB that can play as a CWB(a) and a FB(s) and a CM that can play as a BBM(s), CAR(s) and BWM(s). This is not a role search, more me having the knowledge that their attributes fit the bill in these areas.
• Identify a player who can sign between June 2031 and June 2032 to replace Douglas Luiz, who will, more than likely, leave at the end of his deal, knowing that €42k p/w of his wages will be offset by this departure.
• As I am reluctant to change too much during the season, I want to explore any issues that come with the changing of playing time roles for Costa, Speranzo, Rodriguez and Ferrigno.
• Look at the possibility of selling Monea. I kept him in January, breaking a promise, so I am sure that there is little between us that would make him want to stay!
• Consider improving Amey's contract, knowing that ~€50k p/w will be freed up from the departure of Moleiro and De Zerbi - the likely replacement - will not be earning anywhere near that much.

I am also aware that any unplanned sales will have to fetch more than their incoming replacements as, overall, we are not a profitable club, with the books suggesting we could make a loss of around €20m this season.

With the way that things are going on the pitch, we look to be all but guaranteed the Champions League bounty next year but that will mean wage increases internally as well as externally, with players seeing us as more of a big player in the transfer market. Part of the reason why my intentions are to take this slowly is so that I can build in the wiggle room needed to manoeuvre around these issues and to also enjoy the ride!

---

My HoYD Palmieri will be sorely missed when he retires, given what he has done in his time at the club over the last seven years. I would certainly not be looking at a team sheet with the likes of Fusari, Ferrigno, Ferraroli, Ragatzu, Speranza, Costa, Zenga and Lanzo in if it wasn't for the hard work and relationship building that he was a part of since these players were young. However, I cannot dwell on the past and need to draw up a conclusive shortlist for his replacement. The advert has drawn three men to my attention, so far:

    

Full profile is accessible by clicking on the thumbnail.

Todd Saldana, current at CF Montreal is of interest to me because of his scouting knowledge and excellent ability at judging the potential of youngsters, however, I am concerned about his formation and styles and that he wouldn't contribute, in any way, to the coaching ability within my setup - instead I see him as more of a suit and tie coach, calling the shots from afar. Gustavo Grossi is similar in that he holds no coaching badges but is somewhat better on the training pitch but both fits in with my Argentine ethos and comes from a club with an outstanding track record of producing quality youngsters. Sevillano's strengths do lie within his coaching but, again, I'm not a fan of his preferred formation or style and he's failed to hold down a job for any kind of period of time of late to justify that quality to me. The advert will continue and I will look to make a decision in the summer, although that'll go against the grain of using the board to assist because I can't present them a shortlist like I would do with players.

However, Francesco did provide me one last surprise as he winds down to retirement:

Full intake can be viewed by clicking the image above.

This is pretty sensational, given the size of the club that we are. I've had a group of players that include five poached players, four potentially elite level players and two Argentines with a whole host of potentially decent players that can be used to bulk up my youth sides. I've picked six of my favourite, below:

   

  

Nazareno is incredibly well rounded going forward but will need to develop a little defensively so I feel a WB(s) schedule will find that perfect match as I intend to use him primarily as an offensive weapon but also, hopefully, a player who could come in when I want to mirror my shape. His fellow Argentine Rios also needs to brush up on his defensive skills a little and is also a little slow for my liking right now. However, he'll surely develop that naturally as he ages. I like Cavalli and will be looking to develop his abilities as an out and out scorer to complement the already well developed creative side that he has as I feel that all of my other forwards do lack that. Pierno could become the conductor if he improves his Dribbling ability although I do feel that his Finishing is slightly wasted from that deep - he's certainly an interesting prospect. Markic looks to be a shoe-in as an Inverted Winger type player but, as he's already natural as an AMR, I'll use the IF(a) schedule there to get the most of his physicality as well as an Attacking Movement focus to develop his game intelligence. Lastly, Guariniello is a more classic advanced forward in his style and will just look to grow in those areas.

--

Forza La Dea!

[rich ruzzian]

THat intake is really exciting! Really interested to see how those boys will turn out. 

[Sonic Youth]

Such perfect timing for an exciting intake. It’s unfortunate timing that your  HoYD is retiring.

Let’s see if Milan stumble!

[SixPointer]

On 01/05/2023 at 22:41, _Ben_ said:

March 2031

Atalanta vs Hellas Verona | Stuttgart vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Napoli | Atalanta vs Stuttgart |  Brescia vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Juventus |

When I get to this part of the season, I tend to become tactically-distracted and spend a lot more time thinking about the future of the club. However, I do feel like I've done better than usual in that sense this season but the players have really struggled with the tough runs after thirteen games in the two months before this one. We started strongly against Verona despite being starved of possession, controlling much of the play and territory and keeping them quiet for long periods of time. Francesco Lanzo impressed from the right wing. Heading to Germany, my plan was to keep it a little tighter than normal against Stuttgart's 4-4-2 shape, so I moved the CWB(a) back to a WB(s) and looked to stop the flow of play through their two central playmakers. A big chance for the hosts was all that separated us at half time and I was happily heading for the draw when substitute Kean popped up, rounded the keeper and finishing coolly, giving us the edge half way through the tie. We looked somewhat shakier defensively though and, adding that to the mid-week fatigue, succumbed to a defeat at home to Napoli. Despite a significant proportion of their xG being from the penalty spot, we were poor and lost lots of duels as well as not being able to find Zenga is any kind of dangerous spaces. We bounded back though as I took in the Europa League nights in Bergamo and Marzio Zenga's ninth minute goal, below, epitomised how I like to play:

Possibly a little risky with the shot and possibly, I like a little more support around him but the verticality within the play is brilliant.

The month ended with a great win away at bottom side Brescia before we were unlucky to not complete a league double over Juve as they held us to a nil nil draw. The draw, as you can see below, has really put Milan back into the driving seat as we head into the final two months: they are four ahead with a game in hand although they do have to visit Bergamo before the end of the season. Inter have - on the back of both us and Juve dropping points - close the gap back to us but my job now is to secure a second placed finish, holding off the charges. I live in hope that the summer sees some changes - Tata Martino has already declared that he'll likely leave AC Milan with Venezuelan Giovanni Savarese - fresh from a World Cup win with USA - being tipped to take over. Both Conte and Simeone go into the final year of their deals this summer so finishing above them would certainly put pressure on them as their clubs consider renewals.

Elsewhere, that mid-table bottom is still ridiculous as Emery's Napoli and Jovicevic's Roma are on hot streaks, applying some pressure to Fiore and SPAL who I hope - somewhat selfishly for my own loan plans next season - do not run out of steam. At the bottom, it's any three from four and I've already got my scouts looking at any players who are good enough to stay at this level.

Another busy month as the reward four own German conquering is a double header against Newcastle. The other ties are Lecce vs Betis, Olympiakos (under De Zerbi) vs Dortmund and Nice vs Villareal but I feel that I've done quite well to face off against Thomas Tuchel's side. Despite a whole host of high paid players - Darwin Nunez, Trincao, Frattesi, Lamptey, Moussa Diaby, Ilaix Moriba, Dani Olmo, Slonina, Julian Alvarez and Tyrell Malacia to name but a few, they are sitting in eleventh in the league - drawing against Forrest and Norwich and losing to Burnley last month as well as losing the Carabao Cup final to Chelsea this month. Elsewhere, we face Sassuolo, Pisa, Milan and (not pictured) Salernitana in the league but that comes after a return from international duty in which we have provided the most players from a single club for the Italian national team: high praise indeed.

---

I must thank  @cmason84 for an amazing couple of blog posts that are right up my street in terms of signing player and squad building and I've taken a lot of inspiration from this - creating almost identical charts for my own team in preparation for the summer and beyond. My team has some specialists - Wisdom Amey, for example, cannot really play as both a CWB(a) and a FB(s) on the right, which currently limits me in my job to be able to mirror my shape when needed. This, for me, adds that extra layer of complexity to the squad building process - I need a left back who can both be a conservative full back with defensive ability as well as a flying wing back who can cross and assist. It also highlights areas where, from my match experience, I don't have that and don't trust the players. However, elsewhere in the team, I have players who can do multiple roles - Sottil can play on both sides and as a central winger and that allows him flexibility in terms of achieving his desired minutes. However, the positional element really needs to sit alongside the financial and playing time elements that I've highlighted above.

In terms of wages, I do have concerns around the wages that we are currently paying Wisdom Amey and that it may lead to some unsettled thoughts. I'm sure that he'll want to be on a level playing field with the likes of Ederson and Okoli soon but his role will hopefully soon become somewhat changeable, resulting in a reduction of minutes (or, more likely) more competition for minutes as a centre back and therefore, I am loathed to spend too much on it. Likewise, Gavi's wages are low, although I do have another year left with Barca's €67k p/w contribution. However, he'll then be pushing twenty eight and, with the minutes of Ragatzu increasing, he could be prime to sell for a significant profit on the €14m I paid for him.  As I was creating this, I made the move to offer a new deal for Marzio Zenga. I generally dislike 'Important Player' for a striker given that I often rotate based on scoring form but his record and overall time on the pitch has earned this. I also feel that there is justificant for a new deal for Francesco Lanzo, given that he is almost matching Sottil in terms of minutes but has nowhere near parity in terms of pay.

However, I think there is going to be some movement in the summer based on playing time happiness. Vlad Monea is unhappy with minutes and is earning more than the other backup, a keeper. The other centre back, Ferrigno, is not best pleased but both of those players are aware that two key players and high earners sit in front of them. I like stability but, should this come to a bigger issue, I may end up wheeling and dealing with older centre backs who can also play other roles and allowing these two to move on. Luciano Costa is also unhappy with his playing time but that is largely down to my promise of a Squad Player, which will almost certainly not be fulfilled with the new deal for Zenga and the arrival of Kean. I have a surplus of strikers coming through the youth sides so I must admit to not exactly being at a loss if the Italian does not accept the playing time drop I will give to him at the end of the season. I believe that I have the balance pretty spot on with the wide midfielders, who rotate across those positions, with only some slight over playing of Sottil and Lanzo but that is fine.

Lastly, an old favourite of mine is the age vs minutes comparison:

In the short term, I need to source a replacement for Douglas Luiz - the oldest member of the first team squad and somewhat of a stop-gap signing but, longer term, the likes of Moise Kean, Riccardo Sottil, Luca Pellegrini and Ederson will need replacing. I am quite safe in the knowledge that they'll save us around €300k p/w in salary commitments but they're all important to the team so I need to decide whether this is slowly done, hoping that I can squeeze quality out of each of them for as long as possible or done quickly and then hope that the bounce can take us to the next level. There are four players in the squad: Zenga, Pilenga, Amey and Fusari, who are all relatively young but playing a lot for us and I would really like to build the club around them as we grow together. The other four players who are of real interest to me are Monea, Ferrigno, Costa and Speranza, who now cannot really be classed as youngsters but are not contributing a good amount of minutes - leading me to a number of questions: is it lack of quality? The role they play? The quality ahead of them? Are they happy as backups? Can I source better like-for-like players?

I think that this little bit of procrastination gives me quite a clear idea for the summer now:

• Push on with identification of more flexible players - a RB that can play as a CWB(a) and a FB(s) and a CM that can play as a BBM(s), CAR(s) and BWM(s). This is not a role search, more me having the knowledge that their attributes fit the bill in these areas.
• Identify a player who can sign between June 2031 and June 2032 to replace Douglas Luiz, who will, more than likely, leave at the end of his deal, knowing that €42k p/w of his wages will be offset by this departure.
• As I am reluctant to change too much during the season, I want to explore any issues that come with the changing of playing time roles for Costa, Speranzo, Rodriguez and Ferrigno.
• Look at the possibility of selling Monea. I kept him in January, breaking a promise, so I am sure that there is little between us that would make him want to stay!
• Consider improving Amey's contract, knowing that ~€50k p/w will be freed up from the departure of Moleiro and De Zerbi - the likely replacement - will not be earning anywhere near that much.

I am also aware that any unplanned sales will have to fetch more than their incoming replacements as, overall, we are not a profitable club, with the books suggesting we could make a loss of around €20m this season.

With the way that things are going on the pitch, we look to be all but guaranteed the Champions League bounty next year but that will mean wage increases internally as well as externally, with players seeing us as more of a big player in the transfer market. Part of the reason why my intentions are to take this slowly is so that I can build in the wiggle room needed to manoeuvre around these issues and to also enjoy the ride!

---

My HoYD Palmieri will be sorely missed when he retires, given what he has done in his time at the club over the last seven years. I would certainly not be looking at a team sheet with the likes of Fusari, Ferrigno, Ferraroli, Ragatzu, Speranza, Costa, Zenga and Lanzo in if it wasn't for the hard work and relationship building that he was a part of since these players were young. However, I cannot dwell on the past and need to draw up a conclusive shortlist for his replacement. The advert has drawn three men to my attention, so far:

    

Full profile is accessible by clicking on the thumbnail.

Todd Saldana, current at CF Montreal is of interest to me because of his scouting knowledge and excellent ability at judging the potential of youngsters, however, I am concerned about his formation and styles and that he wouldn't contribute, in any way, to the coaching ability within my setup - instead I see him as more of a suit and tie coach, calling the shots from afar. Gustavo Grossi is similar in that he holds no coaching badges but is somewhat better on the training pitch but both fits in with my Argentine ethos and comes from a club with an outstanding track record of producing quality youngsters. Sevillano's strengths do lie within his coaching but, again, I'm not a fan of his preferred formation or style and he's failed to hold down a job for any kind of period of time of late to justify that quality to me. The advert will continue and I will look to make a decision in the summer, although that'll go against the grain of using the board to assist because I can't present them a shortlist like I would do with players.

However, Francesco did provide me one last surprise as he winds down to retirement:

Full intake can be viewed by clicking the image above.

This is pretty sensational, given the size of the club that we are. I've had a group of players that include five poached players, four potentially elite level players and two Argentines with a whole host of potentially decent players that can be used to bulk up my youth sides. I've picked six of my favourite, below:

   

  

Nazareno is incredibly well rounded going forward but will need to develop a little defensively so I feel a WB(s) schedule will find that perfect match as I intend to use him primarily as an offensive weapon but also, hopefully, a player who could come in when I want to mirror my shape. His fellow Argentine Rios also needs to brush up on his defensive skills a little and is also a little slow for my liking right now. However, he'll surely develop that naturally as he ages. I like Cavalli and will be looking to develop his abilities as an out and out scorer to complement the already well developed creative side that he has as I feel that all of my other forwards do lack that. Pierno could become the conductor if he improves his Dribbling ability although I do feel that his Finishing is slightly wasted from that deep - he's certainly an interesting prospect. Markic looks to be a shoe-in as an Inverted Winger type player but, as he's already natural as an AMR, I'll use the IF(a) schedule there to get the most of his physicality as well as an Attacking Movement focus to develop his game intelligence. Lastly, Guariniello is a more classic advanced forward in his style and will just look to grow in those areas.

--

Forza La Dea!

As always leading the way with transfer statistical analysis I can only dream of this level!

[_Ben_]

23 hours ago, rich ruzzian said:

THat intake is really exciting! Really interested to see how those boys will turn out. 

10 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Such perfect timing for an exciting intake. It’s unfortunate timing that your  HoYD is retiring.

Let’s see if Milan stumble!

I know! I'm really excited to see what I can build and we're definitely entering that planning for a dynasty kind of time...

I don't think Milan will lose it from here but stranger things have happened!

---

9 hours ago, SixPointer said:

As always leading the way with transfer statistical analysis I can only dream of this level!

Thanks! You know that the depth of tactical writing has been hugely inspired by you, though. I love squad building and I quite like Microsoft Excel so it's seemingly a nice match but bring both together.

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

I know! I'm really excited to see what I can build and we're definitely entering that planning for a dynasty kind of time...

I don't think Milan will lose it from here but stranger things have happened!

---

Thanks! You know that the depth of tactical writing has been hugely inspired by you, though. I love squad building and I quite like Microsoft Excel so it's seemingly a nice match but bring both together.

Im hoping for a tactically laden post before the weekend. The 12 hours should finish today and allow me some much needed FM life!

[SteinkelssonFM]

On 27/04/2023 at 18:08, _Ben_ said:

I'm going to try and make a real concerted effort to look at our tactical development, in particular focusing on how it can be adapted against certain sides.

Really like this approach, I think it's an area which I would like to dabble in on my save. I think it could be the difference in a good, and a great team.

Also, I think it would also go along way in helping me become a better FM manager, looking to neutralise threats and identify areas to target. Bravo 👏

[Sonic Youth]

On 04/05/2023 at 19:39, MattyLewis11 said:

Really like this approach, I think it's an area which I would like to dabble in on my save. I think it could be the difference in a good, and a great team.

Also, I think it would also go along way in helping me become a better FM manager, looking to neutralise threats and identify areas to target. Bravo 👏

Lately when I’ve been hearing talk about Guardiola, it’s been about how he’s adapting his style to incorporate Real Madrid’s approach where they only dominate in parts of games and manage the game for the rest (not explaining it well). It’s that feeling of inevitability that they’ll get a result no matter the situation. Kind of reminds me of Ben’s approach lately, though with less possession. Not a case of dominating, but of moments in games making a difference. Trying not to burn the team out long term.

[_Ben_]

April 2023

Sassuolo vs Atalanta | Newcastle vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Pisa | Atalanta vs Newcastle | Atalanta vs Milan | Salernitana vs Atalanta

I've lost myself in the realms of both real life and skinning - as you can see by the player profiles below - so this entire month has been played out over a couple of weeks and I've really not been able to retain any knowledge of the games, bar a wonderful second leg turnaround against Newcastle. The draw with Milan, despite them being held by Udinese in their last fixture of the month, still leaves them potentially five ahead if they are to win their game in hand.

Fixtures are coming thick and fast and the three away games - Fiore, Roma and Lecce will not be easy. Milan do have to play 'away' at Inter and also face Cagliari, Roma, Lecce, Lazio and Verona so there is a chance. I was able to send four players away on holiday for a week, deeming them unavailable for the Salernitana tie but returning them to a much better position, fitness wise, for the tough run in.

---

Following the posts above around youth development and deliberate squad building, I also need to be aware of the role that other clubs play in my squad building - something which I very often overlook. All of the below players  are wanted by other clubs as I've chosen to exclude Monea (agreed move to Valencia) and Moleiro (leaving on a free). Maintaining a positive set of relationships within the squad and ensuring that my players aren't unhappy is key to what I try to achieve with my squad building and will allow me to maintain a squad that, whilst not necessarily being the most gifted or highest paid, operates really well.

I am able to split the players into two quite distinct groups. All thumbnails can be clicked on to reveal a full profile:

Not for sale:

   

I have six players who I really want to keep hold of, for different reasons. However, the first two are because they are, on paper, the best players I have at the club. Caleb is currently my top earner and the only player on more than €105k p/w, which puts pressure on any renewals given the financial situation we are currently in. Furthermore, he's three years into the deal he signed as an extension was used to ensure he still has three years left. The interest comes from Bournemouth and PSG and I am confident that I can fend off interest from the former, but the latter will be more difficult. I need to watch this one closely. Fusari is just a year into his four year deal but, with Real Madrid as his suitors, I could be forced into a new deal to ensure he is not unsettled. Pilenga's new contract demands are somewhat extreme, considering that he was only signed a year ago but there are two reasons why this may be a sensible move:

• He's not an established high performer so his sell on value is considerably lower than his performance value, so there's little sense in allowing West Ham to make a bid, especially if that in anyway disrupts him.
• The Champions League will bring an extra €13m, at least, next season, which, if I'm sensible in the transfer market, I can afford to utilise most of this on contract renewals.

Pilenga has played a lot of football this year and it would make sense to continue to build that midfield around him.

    

Sottil and Pellegrini are two of my older players and, as such, offer little in terms of sell on value compared with performance and squad dynamic value. Pellegrini's minutes this season mean that I'm not in the correct position to suddenly replace Luca as it'd leave me with a new full back and an inexperienced one in Jonny Rodriguez. Lastly in this category is Francesco Lanzo, who, like Pilenga, does not offer a good price for me considering that he is not established. Lanzo's deal demands, however, are quite high and, whilst we have the aforementioned Champions League money, means that it'd put playing-time pressure on Sottil, who, at present, is doing nothing to suggest he should get less minutes.

Sell at the right price:

  

May be an odd one but Gavi's shared contract means that next summer he'll be the top earning player at the club, yet share a considerable amount of minutes in the midfield. With the riches of tycoon-owned-Bournemouth, Newcastle, Real Madrid and Man City interested, now could be a good time to cash in and re-invest the money elsewhere in the squad. I think that a deal worth around €50m could be enough for me to fold here. Also, with the form of Ragatzu, I would feel less concerned about the potential sale.

There is, however, another player that could cause a potential issue:

Given the agent relationship and the high demands within his contract, it is unlikely that he'll ever renew here. I really don't want to lose him and Gavi in the same window but also I know that he's far too valuable to lose on a free in 2034, so, really, I have until the summer of 2033 to sell before his value starts to decrease significantly. I am fortunate, right now, that there is no interest in him and, by 2033, he'll be 30 and, potentially, less investible for other teams. By then, I may be able to play that card with his agent and agree a much lower wage.

---

 

I'm working on two deals for the summer, with one already over the line and one pretty close. I am concerned that the backup players are not good enough to fill in when the time is right, so have brought in two players - both no more than rotational options for their own sides - to progress this. You can see the full profiles of both Bruno and Ciammaglichella by clicking their thumbnail but the former, the Inter wingback, has put up some decent stats from a somewhat limited amount of game time, although that has partially been due to injury and secondly due to being behind Denzel Dumfries in the WBR role. The whole idea here is marginal gains - statistically better than Speranza, positionally able to play in that aggressive RB role if I do look to mirror the shape but, with good aerial ability, tackling ability and positioning, also able to play in the FB(s) role, as an able backup to Wisdom Amey. Furthermore, I should be able to recoup some, if not all, of the €8m fee I've agreed with Bruno in the sale of Speranza, which is all profit as the Uruguayan is an academy graduate. Again - feed the team or feed the bank, the ideology of the academy model. Secondly, Aaron is a bit of a project but a step up as a backup for Douglas Luiz. Not playing a a DM for Lazio but statistically doing a decent job of progressing the ball from a more positive position on the pitch, so I think he'll be able to do so with more targets ahead of him. The scout report released his traits and I think that his ability to Dictate the Tempo from deep will be good, given that he rates highly for pass completion and key passes. I cannot foresee that a sale of Douglas Luiz will go anyway to offset the potential €9m deal so therefore I will look to sell another academy player - Angelo Scopece - to fund this. Essentially free money again, he's never played for the first team and has failed to live up to my expectations in Serie B after coming through the academy.

Unless any of the above players are sold - most likely to be Gavi - I doubt that there'll be a lot of action this summer. We're not hugely financially sustainable so these things need to be well thought out.

---

Forza La Dea!

Edited May 13, 2023 by _Ben_

[_Ben_]

(Early) May 2031

Atalanta vs Real Betis | Atalanta vs SPAL | Real Betis vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Bologna

I've cut the month in half given the outcome of the Betis ties but, so far, it's been somewhat binary in terms of the scorelines. We've looked decent going forward but a lot of my approach this month has been one of rotation, early in the game, and ensuring that we are not dropping points at this key time of the season. Under the lights against Betis, we were thoroughly professional as Marzio Zenga netted late in the first half, triggering a far more cautious approach with a whole lot of man marking and defensive set piece crowding in the second. Taking the lead into the second leg was imperative to me but restricting them to 0.12xG with no shots on target was even better. I knew that they had to take the game to us and do something that they hadn't done in the first leg. Zenga, again, was on the scoresheet as we overcame SPAL as he tucked in a Lanzo cross as my slightly rotated side saw off the challenge of the newly promoted side, who still haven't run out of gas. Once again, the key was to allow them the ball in non dangerous areas to retain a bit of freshness but ensure that the three points were picked up and, again, 0.18xGa is a huge success in that area. In Spain with a strong line up, I must say that I was confident and, once again, the game plan worked well - lots of sideways passes in front of our defensive line with little penetration. Once Skhiri was sent off in the sixty-fourth minute, it was essentially game over for the hosts. Marzio Zenga's rating and overall game was poor as he was caught offside for what felt like five hundred times. However, it's a team game and our passage into the final was complete where we'll face Nice, currently fourth in Ligue Une. Out of all of the teams I've faced on this run, they're probably the most in form and have, themselves, overcome Villarreal and Dortmund to get to the final but on paper: with Sofiane Diop, Perr Schuurs, Ryan Sessegnon and James Maddison in their team, feel somewhat weaker than ourselves. More rotation for the Bologna game as Luciano Costa netted his fourth, finishing really nicely from a Ragatzu through ball just after the half time break. During the game, I tried out, for the first time, the mirrored tactic, moving the CWB(a) to the right hand side. However, it was soon very clear that Wisdom Amey is not the man for it and, the purchase of Andrea Bruno, a considerably more rounded wing back, will only be of benefit to me next season. The tie also saw a record broken as Nazareno Diaz become the youngest ever player after impressing at U18 level - surpassing the man, Antonio Pacifico, he could be sharing the left back berth with in years to come.

The thoughts about Marzio Zenga and his love for being offside got me thinking. He has the trait to beat the offside trap and is lightning off the mark with very, very good decision making and off the ball ability but, given the high risk nature of our offensive play, does get caught offside a lot. Therefore, I quickly compared all strikers in the Top 7 leagues with over 1000 minutes and looked at where he lies, leaving the name tags on some of the more 'famous' ones. Marko Milovanovic is an incredible player and, at 6'5" with the trait that Zenga has, is a true all around forward that plays on the last man and bullies defenders, possibly somewhat likened to a quite well known Norwegian forward. Youssoufa Moukoko, now of Liverpool, is also a pacy, as is Frenchman Mbappé, so I can't help but feel that Marzio's next steps are to cut down on those bad decisions and work on timing things just a little better. Once he's in behind though, wow...

---

Realistically, it's game over for our title chances - Milan have got this far and have not given a thing away and I just can't see that changing now. However, second place is a fantastic finish, putting us as the 'best of the rest' some three years early. Juve and Inter have faded pretty quickly and have both exited Europe: Porto and Man Utd leaving victorious across two legs. The fact that, on paper, we're probably on par with Fiore, Roma, Lazio and Napoli, yet are sitting - pretty comfortably - in with the big three, is amazing. Three cup finals - Fiorentina, Lecce and Roma and a literal cup final to come.

This season has been wondrous. My attentions though - realistically - are on Cardiff and not the league. The Europa League is a competition I hope to never participate in again. I  want to leave it with a bang. Plus - it gets another Italian side in Europe...

Forza La Dea!

[SixPointer]

Fantastic season! Well ahead of time as well. European trophy would be the icing on the cake!

[rich ruzzian]

wow what a season. Well ahead of all the other topclubs in Serie A. Winning the EuroLeague would be the icing on the cake just like @SixPointer already said. 

[Sonic Youth]

A fun end to the season you are having by the looks of things. Transfers, squad planning, European cup runs and title challenges!

It will be nice to see Atlanta raise the Europa Cup 

[_Ben_]

On 15/05/2023 at 05:21, SixPointer said:

Fantastic season! Well ahead of time as well. European trophy would be the icing on the cake!

On 15/05/2023 at 08:46, rich ruzzian said:

wow what a season. Well ahead of all the other topclubs in Serie A. Winning the EuroLeague would be the icing on the cake just like @SixPointer already said. 

15 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

A fun end to the season you are having by the looks of things. Transfers, squad planning, European cup runs and title challenges!

It will be nice to see Atlanta raise the Europa Cup 

Just writing up the end of the month now but I must agree - this season has been fantastic. Way ahead of what I expected. I'm also really excited for how safe and planned the summer might be!

[_Ben_]

(Late) May 2031

Fiorentina vs Atalanta | Atalanta vs Nice | Lecce vs Atalanta | Roma vs Atalanta |

I risked a lot against Fiorentina - a relatively strong squad just three days before the Nice tie. Fortunately, it paid off and the demonstration of the whole 'switch them off' approach worked really well. Two up inside the first half, Zenga - again - and Okoli from a corner gave us the buffer we needed before we sat back and, unlike a couple of ties earlier in the month, controlled a bit more of the ball. This was a conscious effort, knowing that Fiorentina are, by default, much more creative and, in their 4-2-3-1, as opposed to the more standard 4-3-3 of Bologna and SPAL, have more men in dangerous areas. A Milan win sealed the title as our record of 1D, 1L against them meant that any head to head record would come out in their favour.

I named a strong XI against Nice, with plenty of internal arguing about who gets the nod between Sottil - the veteran and serial winner - and Lanzo - the impressive youngster with the former getting the nod. Vitaly Mykolenko, their left back led the Nice standings for Red Cards and, at 31, isn't getting any younger - so I saw the potential of a raw, pacey youngster causing him havoc late on in the game. Nice were without elite winger Sofiane Diop, so opted for full back Sessegnon on the left wing - a one-footed winger with a poacher, Arthur Cabral, ahead of him. With Amey and Okoli occupying those slots for me, I felt confident.

I had intended to update this post live as the game played but, in all honesty, I was lost in the beauty of football. End to end, with a series of brilliant defensive actions stopping a peppering of shots on both goals but, in the end, we did enough. Sottil's rasping drive opened the scoring and Zenga nodded in a beautifully weighted cross by Gavi to put us two to the good before half time. Once again, it was then all about control - and control in the sense of letting them have the ball in areas that I felt didn't worry us. Their highest pass combination - seventeen - came between midfielder Berg and defender Guiliano as I purposely stepped off both, knowing that they were only going backwards and forwards to each other. Just after the hour mark, I brought on Lanzo and he tormented the Ukrainian full back, leaving him with a 6.50 Rating and a Runners Up medal. We're still not doing everything right: Ederson loves to shoot from long range and I've just accepted that it's part of his game and our corners were abysmal, beating the opponent at an atrocious rate but we won.

From the depths of Turkish football to the top of the Europa League. It feels good!

Furthermore, €8.4m, €5.45m and €3.45m offsets the €12.25m paid out for winning the competition, leaving us slightly in profit for our great run. 

We ended the season with a highly polished performance against Lecce and a point against Roma - my one hundredth game in charge of La Dea -  in a game that we dominated, thus bringing the season to a close with us in second place, on ninety points.

As we chase our first ever Scudetto, I feel calmed that this points tally would have won us every Serie A bar the 2028/29 season, where Juve scored 93 points, finishing eight ahead of Roma in second. It also secures our second best finish since 2022, but a record that sees us twenty points better off and also sixteen points better off than last season, scoring twenty five more goals and conceding six. As a team, we were awarded the Serie A Team of The Year, an honour not bestowed to a non-league winner for six years, since third placed Roma won it. The best attack and best defence in the league, with a 20-goal scorer and two players inside the top ten creators, with another one also creating high quality chances. Of our eleven goals conceded, only Inter scored more than one against us all season as Marco Carnesecchi recorded a league high 28 clean sheets, one shy of the record set by Andre Onana - of Inter - back in 2023/24. Once again, Dusan Vlahovic was imperious in front of goal but Marzio Zenga, our very own academy graduate, scored in seventeen ties, smashing all kinds of records with his 25 league goals and beating his own tally by fifteen from last year.

Three pizza charts. Three stories. Gavi - Creator. Fabio Carvalho - Progressor. Marzio Zenga - Finisher. Our triumvirate. 

  

The summer potentially sees a big change in Serie A: Tato Martino is out of contract at AC Milan and both Conte - of Juve - and Simeone - of Inter - are within the final twelve months of their deals. Unai Emery stopped the rot at Napoli but was pipped, on head to head record, to Europe by newbies SPAL, who may struggle net year. Mid-table mediocrity was secured for Sassuolo, now under the reign of Miguel Veloso and Lecce tailed off, leaving star man Marko Milovanovic surely scratching his head about where his future lies. It's curtains for Pisa, Brescia and Parma as they drop into Serie B with Sampdoria and Chievo the two guaranteed promoted sides. Federico Bisio's league high 29 goals were in vain for Crotone as they missed the playoffs that feature Catania, Palermo, Empoli and Pescara, whilst the loan trio at Modena now face a relegation playout.

----

I head into the summer with some work to do - not so much strengthening, but somewhat of a book balancing operation.

I've, therefore, already been active and have completed these deals, seeing us bring in just shy of €16m, all profit. This will virtually cover the signings of Bruno and Ciammaglichella but not the wage increases, although Champions League money will see us, hopefully, become more profitable next year. I must say that an interesting summer lies ahead - given that I've already planned incomings and outgoings and have plans for the players within my squad who are attracting interest.

Forza La Dea!

[SixPointer]

Great season! Congratulations on the Europa league Ben. Just the start of what could be a real dynasty 

[keeper#1]

Congrats on the Europa League!

[Sonic Youth]

Europa League Champions! Congrats. Ticks that competition off of your list.

Milan are interesting statistically, as Leah was their top scorer with 15 goals with Keke’s 0.47 expected goals/90 sneaking onto the list, while only Tonali showed up on the assists side with 0.29 expected assists/90. Considering they scored 75 and conceded only 13, second GA and third GF, what were they doing to win so much?

I also liked how the top four positions defeat columns reflected their league positions 

Transfers look under control, especially when coupled with the possibility of outgoings balancing the incomings. I guess it comes down to if a special player becomes available for the right price and reasonable wages that doesn’t disrupt the team. Not that it necessarily matters if one doesn’t occur either.

Feels like all that’s left is to start next season.

[_Ben_]

On 19/05/2023 at 17:51, SixPointer said:

Great season! Congratulations on the Europa league Ben. Just the start of what could be a real dynasty 

23 hours ago, keeper#1 said:

Congrats on the Europa League!

12 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Europa League Champions! Congrats. Ticks that competition off of your list.

Milan are interesting statistically, as Leah was their top scorer with 15 goals with Keke’s 0.47 expected goals/90 sneaking onto the list, while only Tonali showed up on the assists side with 0.29 expected assists/90. Considering they scored 75 and conceded only 13, second GA and third GF, what were they doing to win so much?

I also liked how the top four positions defeat columns reflected their league positions 

Transfers look under control, especially when coupled with the possibility of outgoings balancing the incomings. I guess it comes down to if a special player becomes available for the right price and reasonable wages that doesn’t disrupt the team. Not that it necessarily matters if one doesn’t occur either.

Feels like all that’s left is to start next season.

Thanks all! It's been a tough season but I'm really happy with the progression from last year and the succession plan I have in place already. In terms of 'special players' - Matheus Reis is a player who I have a vested interest in but just can't see me fighting off the big boys, although, some of those big boys may be less interested if they manage to unsettle either Gavi or Carvalho.

[_Ben_]

June 2031

Very quiet. But necessary!

Three returning players, leaving me with a headache over their future at the club. All players' full profile is viewable by clicking the thumbnail below.

  

Bisio and De Zerbi have both fared relatively well in Serie B but neither have Serie A experience, whilst Fontana, when compared with Luciano Costa, looks decent but hasn't consistently had the opportunity to perform, meaning that, another year out on loan may benefit and allow me then to further increase the potential sale value of Costa.

July will see a couple of new players enter the club and a return to thinking about the long term futures of the youngsters. The below news message also forces me into a situation whereby any young signings must be EU national or, already established and, due to that, probably very pricy.

Forza La Dea!

 

[lfds89]

Em 20/05/2023 em 17:58, _Ben_ disse:

 

July will see a couple of new players enter the club and a return to thinking about the long term futures of the youngsters. The below news message also forces me into a situation whereby any young signings must be EU national or, already established and, due to that, probably very pricy.

Forza La Dea!

 

Either I'm tired or the wording in the rule is super confusing

[Sonic Youth]

1 + maybe one? Not a lot of wiggle room with foreign signings.

I like Fontana and he just about looks ready to be integrated into the first team. Costa’s main difference to me is that he isn’t the aerial threat that Fontana is, and that he’s already a squad player who has proven his greater consistency. What age was Zenga when you bought him into the first team?

Reis would be a top signing, though looks a non-EU signing though.

[_Ben_]

8 hours ago, lfds89 said:

Either I'm tired or the wording in the rule is super confusing

8 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

1 + maybe one? Not a lot of wiggle room with foreign signings.

Oh, absolutely!

There is a clear reason why I like to keep my signings mainly Italian but also have more staff looking for South Americans with EU passports than most other teams.

8 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

I like Fontana and he just about looks ready to be integrated into the first team. Costa’s main difference to me is that he isn’t the aerial threat that Fontana is, and that he’s already a squad player who has proven his greater consistency. What age was Zenga when you bought him into the first team?

I agree but I just don't quite feel sure that he's ready. He scored ten times at 19-years old last year in Serie A, which is great and puts him on the same trajectory that Zenga took, as he was about that old, too. He just was quite inconsistent with his form and that has potentially made me explore another plan with Luciano Costa. Pre-season will be the real acid test on this one, though.

8 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Reis would be a top signing, though looks a non-EU signing though.

Ajax want in excess of €100m though. He'll surely go on to be an elite player but shows that I do still need to scout at the source as even Eredivisie sides can charge big bucks now.

[danielgear]

Great season Ben, just caught up with it. Going well, is this the end club or do you feel like there’s still another step?

[_Ben_]

On 25/05/2023 at 15:57, danielgear said:

Great season Ben, just caught up with it. Going well, is this the end club or do you feel like there’s still another step?

Thanks Dan! I've enjoyed a little break from the game and skinning this week but back, rejuvenated now. There is another step, yes, but it's definitely sideways/backwards. To complete the little narrative here, I want to move back to Argentina, either to River - where the playable Barreto came from or, basically, anywhere but Boca given that rivalry...

That won't come though until the dynasty has been built here at Atalanta!

[_Ben_]

July 2031

A nice gentle reminder of what playing games of football is as we warm ourselves up for the Super Cup curtain raiser against PSG.

----

July is, arguably, my favourite game month of the year. Whilst I have now really taken to the tactical adaptations and in-game management, I simply cannot hide my love for the squad building element that I think FM does a great job of allowing me to immerse myself in. With a relatively settled first team, I only had two new players to welcome and, given the skin that I've developed, had seen neither full sets of attributes before.

To note - all player thumbnails in this post are hyperlinked to show you a full screenshot of their profile.

 

Andrea could be an absolute superstar and I think I've done really well with this one. When compared with Amey, he's going to hopefully provide me with a slightly better end product: both his Dribbling and Crossing are better and he's got much more Flair, too. I'm also impressed that he's quite solid defensively; an upgrade in terms of Positioning ability and Marking. He's considerably less physical than Wisdom but I truly believe that, at €8m - essentially working out as €1.5m when subtracting the sale of academy player Speranza- he's a great asset to the team and a step up on the Uruguayan who we had before.  I like Aaron but I'm a little less sold on him. When compared with Pilenga, he's pretty well matched defensively and has the aerial advantage too. There is also the element of his forward-thinking play that, as expected, is better than Cristian's. The issue comes - and I already knew this - around his versatility to develop a new position at twenty-six years old. I do have the experience of Douglas Luiz to rely on and the potential situation that he impresses me so much that he becomes an eventual successor to Ederson in the BBM/CAR role but this one certainly feels more like a risk.

I also was able to strengthen the youth side with three players that outgoing Head of Youth Development, Franco Palmieri, pre-arranged:

   

Diego, at €150k from Empoli, feels like a bit of a second striker and really not the type of player I necessarily use at the moment. There is a thought in my mind that, eventually, a False Nine type of player could be useful to help unlock deeper, crowded defences that an AF(a) cannot penetrate so I'll see how he goes. Eros, another Empoli purchase, this time for €250k, is a classy ball player and is quite unusual for a playmaker in his build. Yuri cost €170k from Spezia and is another creator, but I do like the complete two-footedness and the combination of Flair and Vision that he has. With the poor ball carrying ability and, similarly to Martino, tall-ish stature, I think that a move to the Wide Playmaker role may be on the cards for him.

In my only staffing change this summer, I brought in a new HoYD - Jose Manuel Sevillano - after I was most impressed with him out of those that I'd shortlisted. I like the fact that he's worked in the Basque region - well known for its talent acquisition and development and has overseen the role at it's two biggest clubs: Athletic and Real Sociedad. Jose's ability to spot a talent at a young age and work with them is second to none and I'm delighted to have him on board. I immediately gave him the freedom to sign some youngsters and he, along with Spanish scout Guillermo Amor have been very busy, identifying four youngsters for a combined €275k.

   

Mba is already a senior international, whilst Uria is a two-footed defender, Moreira fits the bill in terms of what I like in my AF role and Cesar looks like quite a nippy ball carrier who, if used centrally, could be a threat. I have no idea if any of these will go on to make the first team but the potential to reimburse the spend is almost guaranteed and there could be a good chance of bringing in some profit a few years down the line, given the world class facilities and coaches that they'll have access to here.

---

With little focus on the first team right now, it does allow me to look ahead at those players whose contracts are expiring in twelve months time:

  

Riccardo is the only one of these three who holds any sale value, so I see no need to move them on at this point. 

At left back, Luca performs - arguably - the hardest and most complete job of all of my players, contributing in every phase of the game and, as such, I do feel that I could and maybe should make this position available for the best player in my team. In a years time, I have my doubts that Rodriguez will be ready to be that man and certainly Pacifico won't be ready. I have, therefore, had a look round and players like Joao Roberto would be perfect: a complete ball player being retrained to do a bit of defending is probably my best option to get this top, top player but, unfortunately, my interest has alerted Man City, who are now lodging a bid. Move on to the next target, I imagine. Hopefully, the Douglas Luiz situation will be a smooth one, where Aaron Ciammiglechella steps into the role across the season and leaves me with two solid, senior options. Sottil's role is up for grabs and, after a brief look at Luciano Costa as a the IW(a), I may have found an option - at least whilst Moise Kean is still around and I further explore the roles that Fontana and Bisio can play at the club. 

I'm in no rush to make a decision on these three; it's likely that, as the weakest member of the squad, Dougie will leave but I have no qualms about keeping Luca and Riccardo on if a) their demands are not too high and b) the coaches aren't indicating drastic degradation. I think that keeping them both injury free this season will be more important than ever.

It then also allows me to think about those who will be in the last year of their deal this time next summer:

Costa, Ferrigno and Ferraroli are playing for, essentially, the rest of their careers, here. Don't impress this season and it'll likely be a mediocre move - a profit sale - in order to see me strengthen their roles with a non-homegrown player. Do what is expected and I'll have saved €50m+.

---

The next group of players that I need to explore is those that are close to first team football - whether it be at my club or elsewhere. There's two very separate categories within that though: those who have had experience and those who have not.

  

The three returning loanees, who I explored in the update last month, will all be heading out on loan again. Whilst Filippo Fontana did gain experience at Serie A level, the other two didn't, so moves to SPAL - my feeder club - are ideal for the both of them, as they impressed at different ends of Serie B last year. Fontana opted for a move back to Udinese, which is fine as he's used to Daniele De Rossi, the style of play and the facilities on offer for him. With Moise Kean turning 32 this season, I think that this will be a really important season for both strikers - as at least one will come back into the fold and, given the potential retraining ability of Costa, both could feature next year behind Zenga in what would be a very exciting front line. I'm not entirely decided on the future for De Zerbi and where he fits into the plans: Carvalho is the first choice in the central winger role that he plays, or, at least, I want him to play, but he's not good enough at present to usurp him or to fill the role that he may leave if is sold. I don't really have a true backup in that role and, as such, a full season at Serie A may leave him wanting more than that next year. Hopefully, he'll be able to give me that headache.

  

The next group are three players who, I feel, will really need to impress in order to get into the first team. I like Cisse the most out of any of them and he's joined Serie A Salernitana under the guidance of a good youth developer, Lionel Scaloni, whose three at the back shape will continue to aid the potential aerial-issue in Cisse's game. We are currently one centre back light but have been really fortunate with injuries last season but there may be a case, this season, where I do need to recall him. Memaj, his team mate last year at Modena, had the choice of Belgian clubs before settling on Cercle Brugge. He's the oldest of all of these players and, in my opinion, the least likely to get a chance with me. I am hoping though that this spell will allow me to enhance his value and bring in more profit next summer. Lastly, Drzewiecki, off the back of a torrid time himself at Cercle Brugge, moves to Vizela - a top tier club in Portugal predicted to finish mid-table, who currently have Nelson Verissmo, once of Benfica's first team and a regular throughout their reserve and youth sides, at the helm. He needs opportunities for first team football and hopefully, he can then develop his personality. Right now, he's way down the pecking order but, as a €70k signing, he's virtually all profit for me.

 

The last group is comprised of players looking to take their first steps in the adult game and, this time around, it's only two members of staff: my starting centre back pairing from the U20 squad. Whilst this'll leave a significant hole for manager Kaka to fill, both players are really promising and definitely deserve the opportunities they'll get. Andrea De Zerbi completed a slightly risky move to Jupiler League side Sint-Truiden, who will play in the UECL this coming year. It's always tough for a young man to move abroad so I'll see how he copes early on in his spell. Tommaso has the choice of top half Serie B clubs, all of whom occupied the playoff spots last year, before choosing Palermo in a much safer deal.

---

Lastly, I need to ascertain who merits a contract extension and, furthermore, the amount of free money I may be able to gain by moving some of these players on. So, whilst the players are not of the same standard, their immediate future is arguably more important in terms of any financial predictions I can make for next summer.

  

Young winger Miserocchi opted for Palermo, whilst Cremonesi moved to Crotone. These two are likely to be the most reputable and I do, therefore, have reseverations about the above players being able to bring in any kind of money, more than €2-€3m. However, they're not going to spend any further time out on loan and will, instead, remain a part of my setup this season. It feels a bit counter productive but clubs aren't willing to take a hit on their wages and the clubs at the correct level for them have poor training and youth facilities. My intention with these, more than ever, is to get them into the spotlight - giving them chances to make the senior team bench and train with the first team if they are doing well - raising their reputation, training performances and, overall, ability, which could lead to a suitable buyer being found.

These dealings leave me with the following U20 squad, U18 squad and loaned players. I know I'll get called out in the press for my loan farm but this, to me, is so much more than that as I've got pretty specific plans for each and every player away from the club and have chosen their destination carefully. Furthermore, the first team squad depth is starting to look stronger now, as well, although I feel that I could be a centre back and centre mid light following the departures of Monea and Moleiro, who haven't actually been replaced. With a month until the window closes, I will keep my eyes open but wouldn't expect anything particularly rash.

I feel that we are in a strong position to ascend to this dynastical paradise that I dream of.

[danielgear]

13 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Thanks Dan! I've enjoyed a little break from the game and skinning this week but back, rejuvenated now. There is another step, yes, but it's definitely sideways/backwards. To complete the little narrative here, I want to move back to Argentina, either to River - where the playable Barreto came from or, basically, anywhere but Boca given that rivalry...

That won't come though until the dynasty has been built here at Atalanta!

Ah I think I remember you mentioning that before, would be a nice way to end the save. 

[Swaban]

I have had this thread on my reading list for a while, however the fact that it had almost 600 replies has stopped me doing so, as I knew it would be a while before I managed to get through it all. I finally started reading through this morning & ended up reading the entire thread in a single sitting. Are my eyes stinging? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. 

This thread has been an unreal journey & I've thoroughly enjoyed every step of it. Good luck on the rest of it!

[_Ben_]

On 27/05/2023 at 09:01, danielgear said:

Ah I think I remember you mentioning that before, would be a nice way to end the save. 

I haven't quite put roots down yet but hope to do that at Atalanta:

In real world time, we'll likely to be somewhere towards the end of this release and, probably, something fresh like a new league will help. I could stop at the MLS along the way too, maybe - but don't want to oversell what I have time for.

On 28/05/2023 at 07:17, Swaban said:

I have had this thread on my reading list for a while, however the fact that it had almost 600 replies has stopped me doing so, as I knew it would be a while before I managed to get through it all. I finally started reading through this morning & ended up reading the entire thread in a single sitting. Are my eyes stinging? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. 

This thread has been an unreal journey & I've thoroughly enjoyed every step of it. Good luck on the rest of it!

Thank you for the kind words! I think you've put yourself through nearly 200,000 words written by me about a football game that I, only, am playing! However, I wouldn't love posting so much if I didn't read interactions like this - I really appreciate the time you spent investing yourself.

[_Ben_]

August 2031 (Part 1)

You can't win them all...

Our season started with the Uefa Super Cup, where we faced off against Champions League winners PSG and their star-studded line up: Giovanni Reyna, Benjamin Sesko, Ruben Neves, Gabriel Jesus and Khephren Thuram alongside original starlets Hakimi, Nuno Mendes and Mbappe. An average wage of just over €150k p/w is triple of what we have and, at times, this expensively assembled squad looked superior. Initially, I felt that the physicality of Wisdom Amey would be enough to stop Kylian - a man with 112 international goals to his name - but, it just wasn't to be. We started slowly and a diagonal ball beat my full back allowing the winger to score with a lovely volley. We clawed our way back without ever really asserting ourselves on the game, before slipping two behind not being able to deal with PSG's aerial presence at a corner. However, to make things interesting, we did strike right back with a simple finish from Zenga that somewhat evened out the xG story. That is how it ended.

No shame in losing this one and a reminder that we're not the best team in Europe and will face some very tough tests this coming season. We'll also be doing that without one of the three players who I relied so heavily upon last year...

In the grand scheme of things, I couldn't not say yes to this offer for Gabi, whose screenshot can be accessed by clicking the above image. I had always mithered about the fact that, in twelve months time, I'd be paying him an extra €67k p/w on top of the €40k in his contract, which, surely, would not be enough for a player of his calibre. Remembering that I paid just €14m for him, to turn this into a potential €81m in the space of eighteen months must be considered good business. The future fees on the deal, particularly the €9m next summer, will go a long way to help me secure my first-team-squad targets and build a team whilst maintaining a tight hold on budgets, something that has not been adhered to in Greece, when looking at AEK's spending power.

Again, not to sit and sulk for too long, I quickly replaced him with a player who I am really excited about.

Joao Roberto, whose, again, profile can be accessed by clicking the above thumbnail, joins for €9m from Santos, as I quickly moved to activate his release clause. The youngster holds a Spanish passport, too, which really helps me get over the stringent registration rules and vindicates the time I've spent putting in the work devising scouting focuses for my team. His strong performances across the season, primarily in the Advanced Playmaker role for Santos makes me feel that he's an immediate replacement for the outgoing Gavi and I'm not losing much, if any, quality whilst doing so. However, my long term strategy for this lad is to actually use him as a wing back. Retraining midfielders to this role is not something new to me - I successfully re-trained Batuhan Kaya whilst at Trabzonspor, although that was for an Inverted Wingback due to his creative outlet, whereas this one will utilise his technical ability a bit more. The best part of this though, for me, is how he fits into the jigsaw. An immediate replacement and extra body in the midfield, he can play there whilst learning his new role and awaiting the return of De Zerbi - who'll come back from his loan and foray into Europe - will hopefully step into the Mez(a) role and allow Pellegrini to leave at the end of his deal.

---

Two games to come in August and I really think we need six points from them:

Forza La Dea!

[SixPointer]

Sensational business with Gavi! To turnover that sort of money so quickly is incredible. Also the way the deal is structured has such a realistic feel to it. 

[Lestri]

Just got up to date. What an adventure! Can't wait to see how the manager landscape ends up at the end of the season. Could be some very big fry to land!

[_Ben_]

On 30/05/2023 at 19:24, SixPointer said:

Sensational business with Gavi! To turnover that sort of money so quickly is incredible. Also the way the deal is structured has such a realistic feel to it. 

Thanks! I knew it was a short term deal in the sense that signing someone from Barca would likely mean a wage allowance that I couldn’t justify. However, I’ve spent the money wisely, have a ready made replacement and a new focus to find or create the new Gavi. 
 

11 hours ago, Lestri said:

Just got up to date. What an adventure! Can't wait to see how the manager landscape ends up at the end of the season. Could be some very big fry to land!

Thank you! I’ve loved it and always had a soft spot for Italy, which has helped. I think we will certainly be there or thereabouts this season, which is still a year or two ahead of my plan. 

[_Ben_]

August 2031 (Part 2)

Another one of those months. I've had the screenshots prepared and some of the words written for some time but, as has happened several times across the save, I've got lost in the world of skinning. For those who don't venture in that area of the board and for context around my future updates., this is what I've come up with. 

The full profile remains pretty similar to before but I've experimented with creating descriptors of the attributes to give a really realistic feel to how I assess the opponent. In my own players, I can click on an area of the pitch and see the key attributes for that area, which will help me with player development and the like. It's how I write about my players, particularly youngsters, and feel that this is a strong step towards finishing the bulk of my skinning work for this year.

---

Laser sharp focus, once again. Serie A has got stronger, if anything. The transfers being made appear to be precise and well thought out, if a little on the old side. Just one managerial change as Tata Martino's deal ends and he moves upstairs (never seen this before) and Milan poach Vincenzo Montella from Italy, where he leaves with an 83% win ratio from his thirty-six games but does have a World Cup final defeat, on penalties to the USA, on his CV as well as a UEFA Nations League final defeat, also on penalties - to the Netherlands. A good manager, or a man who can't motivate his side when it matters most? Time will tell. Serie A's top four look pretty much set in stone but, with Inter's Simeone and Juve's Conte entering the last year of their deals, there is surely pressure on them to leave their mark before they, with it being European Championship year, enter the managerial merry-go-round. 

Despite being the third youngest manager in the league, I do have the pedigree from winning previous league titles but there are some big hitting managers here too: Ruud van Nistelrooy at Lazio, Unai Emery at Napoli, Gerardo Seoane at Lecce, Andrea Stramaccioni at Bologna and Lionel Scaloni at Salernitana. Thirty-nine year old Isco, winner of promotion in his first year Sampdoria, joins Pietro Orru of Pescara and Jodi Ferrari of Chievo Verona - back in the top flight after their latest financially induced rebuild - as managers without experience here. 

But, with the correct choices and playing to our strengths, I am confident. We're competing on three fronts, again, although European competition is tougher than last year but I feel that the squad is probably stronger and more suited to my style, despite the loss of Gavi, and the transitional process is well underway with talent being identified and coming through the ranks.

 

Two very strong games to start the season off - you can see the full reports by clicking on the thumbnails above. Both results were expected and very necessary to get us off to the start that we need. I'm happy that we've only conceded 0.11xGA from those two games, with Carnesecchi being worked just once across the two ties, especially after some slightly dodgy keeping against PSG, where we looked uncharacteristically wobbly. With three goals from my centre backs, it's clear that the pre-season work on set pieces have paid off, too.

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With us being 34th in Europe, I must say that this is a really tough set of fixtures but absolutely what I expected when we qualified for Europe's premier competition. I'll be targeting wins against Basel and Rennes, both at home as well as Red Star - although a journey to Serbia is never going to be easy, nor is a trip to Holland to face PSV, who are now managed by my successor at Genclerbirligi - Erol Bulut. Arsenal, favourites to win the competition and 2030 winners will be a real acid test of where we are; Luis Enrique has a strong squad with Saka, Salibia, Tomiyasi, Smith Rowe, Odegaard and Martinelli remaining but has complimented them with the likes of Caicedo, Camavinga, Raspadori, Musah and Buonanotte.

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The transfer window closed, leaving us with some strong dealings and a reasonable position with our wage bill. The deadline also means that the loan dealings will stop for now - with a sense of evaluation coming in based on who the HoYD, in his  HoYD report, has recommended for first team action. For now, we have the squad that I've assembled to take us through to January and that's fine as I feel we've got a relatively kind start with only Inter being a really difficult tie this month, aside from Villareal in the Champions League.

Forza La Dea!