[FM23] THE CROWN OF ARAGON

[SteinkelssonFM]

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For those of you who have followed me for a little while you would have noted that my FM22 journey began in Spain with Real Betis, this save like many others spanning across the FM cycle was cut short as a new idea popped into my head leading to another nicely polished introductory blog.

It is for this reason that I felt the need to return to Spain to pursue a long-term save with Villarreal CF, albeit with a little twist (I will cover this later in the blog, need to keep you guys reading). 

Villarreal is a city of 50,000 inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast. It is a modern peaceful and welcoming place with a mild climate and hospitable people, that bases its economy on ceramics and agriculture. Although the pride of the city, and the main reason for recognition worldwide is undoubtably its great football team Villareal cf.

WHY VILLARREAL CLUB DE FUTBOL?

La Liga has always been the land of the giants. Superclubs Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are the three clubs who have dominated the league for the best part of twenty years. In fact no other club outside of the big three have been crowned the Spanish Champion since 2003/04, Rafael Benítez’ Valencia. 

Villarreal have been a real force within the continental game over the past few years; in 2020/21 the club secured its first major European trophy beating Manchester United on penalties to win the UEFA Europa League. 

The following year the club achieved the unthinkable securing passage from their Champions League group containing Atalanta, Manchester United, and Young Boys, before defeating Juventus (4:1) over two legs in the last 16 and Bayern Munich (2:1) in the Quarter Finals, eventually losing out to Liverpool in the Semi’s. 

In my opinion there are few clubs that can find the necessary ingredients to build a successful and progressive club, which is both stable and attracts a core of both local and varied fans to drive it onwards.

There are few better examples in the current European game than that of Villarreal CF, based in the Spanish province of Castellón.

Despite the club punching significantly above its weight in Europe, The Yellow Submarine haven’t finished in the top four in the domestic game since 2015/16. It is this inability to fight on all fronts which is the attraction to take the side on as my FM23 challenge.

CLUB HISTORY

After moving between regional leagues, like most teams in the province the club's destiny changed completely in 1997 with the new President Fernando Roig. 

Roig intentions were clear he promised to take the club to the elite of Spanish football. In that same season and to the surprise to those living in the area, the yellow submarine this feat was achieved, making a dream come true.

Thus the golden age began, for a club that in just over a decade went from being a humble regional side to an example of a football club regarded as a model of excellence. 

FERNANDO ROIG

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Often the catalyst for small clubs enjoying a rapid rise in fortune is financial investment. Cash is injected into a club and optimism and expectations soar accordingly. This investment is often short-term, and new owners can become frustrated at a perceived lack of success or a return on their investment.

 

Villarreal have a passionate President in Fernando Roig who has been the driver behind the clubs transformation. The renowned local businessman who made his fortunes primarily as the owner and president of Pamesa Ceramica completed his takeover of the club for the cost of a million euros today.

He immediately outlined his vision to not only be a major force in LaLiga, but also in Europe. The Stadium would be modernised, a football complex would be built and a cantera would be created to produce outstanding young talent to make transition into the first team.

ESTADIO DE LA CERAMICA

 

The Estadio de la Cerámica, the Villarreal CF stadium covered with glossy, yellow porcelain stoneware is yet another depiction of the club’s commitment to the region and its prominent industries. 

The stadium has a capacity of 22,000 which is just under double of the population of Vila-real which is just over 50,000 people. It is midway through a renovation which has cost €35 million and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.

ENDAVANT

The club slogan, ‘Endavant,’ is a Valencian word which is best translated as ‘keep moving forward’ and is used by fans as a ‘come on!’ to support the Yellows. This word epitomises what Villarreal is all about; a never-say-die attitude to ‘keep moving forward’ no matter what. This communal spirit has guided Villarreal to promote the sport, aid the local community, and enhance the economy of the Castellón province.

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THE CANTERA

There are many factors to the club’s success, but one of the most common answers when this question is brought up is that the Villarreal academy is the driving force of their achievements.

Average age of recruitment, by club

This is reflected in the above data taken from CIES Football Observatory which was on the ‘recruitment policies of big-5 league clubs from an age perspective’. 

As you can see Villarreal are the third highest when sorting the data for transfers over the age of 30. They have a pipeline of talent which seems to be readily available from within, the challenge is for Roig to secure the long-term futures of these players as they transition into the first team and beyond. (I will cover where I think the club sits in La Liga’s pecking order below). 

Inspired by Scouted Football

The recruitment strategy is amplified in the above visualisation, academy products such as Pau Torres, Alfonso Pedraza, Yeremy Pino are bolstered by smart signings of older players such as Dani Parejo, Francis Coquelin and Raul Albiol, with the view of providing experience. 

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Italian clubs see older players as a luxury to be savoured. Their experience is viewed as an intangible, essential for team building.

In addition to a strong academy programme within Spain, Villarreal CF has international academies in over 20 locations across the world. Academies have been established in the United States, South Korea, Japan, China, Australia, Sweden, Puerto Rico, and Canada. 

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HIERARCHY OF WEALTH PYRAMID

Drawing from some historical content inspired by from reading The European Game: The Secrets of European Football Success, I will again quickly dip into the ‘Hierarchy of Wealth’ pyramid to paint the picture of where I believe Villarreal sit (Mid-tier Achievers) in comparison to the rest of the clubs within La Liga. (for a detailed read please click here)

La Liga Mid-tier Achievers

Mid-tier Achievers — The mid-tier achievers, these clubs have shown their ability to secure signings from super-clubs, often individuals who are surplus to requirements — offering a second home and the chance to re-build their reputations. Great examples of this over the past few years are the likes of Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham to Villarreal), and Paco Alcacer (Dortmund to Villarreal).

Other players have used Villarreal to build their reputation prior to making the next step up the pyramid e.g. Samu Castillejo using Villarreal to springboard his services to AC Milan. Other examples are Pablo Fornals (West Ham), Pervis Estupinan (Brighton) and Eric Bailly (Manchester United).

Whilst individuals like Juan Román Riquelme used the club to stabilise their careers after being sold by Barcelona.

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PAU ‘THE KING’ TORRES

Torres arrived at the club as a five-year-old and has passed through all the age categories, to the point where he is now one of the first names on the team sheet each week.

Villarreal know, though, that they can’t rely on a Pau Torres emerging from Vila-real every year. There’s a need to look further afield when scouting the talent for the future. 

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We want to try and reach young players early. We’re in a province of 300,000 people, so we have to bring in players from further afield. We have a network of scouts across Spain, in all the automatous communities.

Pau Torres, the first born, raised, instructed, starter and international player for Villarreal from cradle to the Spanish national team.

Now for the twist and the link to the save title ‘The Crown of Aragon’.

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THE CROWN OF ARAGON

After opting to play the main save with Villarreal I opted to carry out a little background research to help me to educate myself more on the club. A quick ‘Google’ search, followed by some light reading had me spiralling down into the rabbit hole.

The town was founded with royal status by King James I of Aragon in 1274 during his campaign to regain Muslim territory in present-day Valencia during the Reconquista.

King James I was the King of Aragon from 1213 to 1276, his reign was the longest of any Iberian monarch, one which saw the Crown of Aragon expand in three directions: Languedoc to the north, the Balearic Islands to the southeast and Valencia to the south.

At the height of its power, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of present day Spain, parts of what is now southern France, and a Mediterranean empire which included the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Malta, Southern Italy and parts of Greece.

With the popularity of the ‘Regionnaire’ save increasing in FM, I thought that ‘The Crown of Aragon’ would provide a great sub-story to the save as I will be looking to prioritise signing players born under the cities within the Crown of Aragon at the point when Villarreal was founded. 

Player Search using Place of Birth

As you can see there is a healthy talent pool to choose from, at least 1000 players. 

Currently there are only six players within the First Team from within the region, this equates to 23%. I will look to build a side whose core is from within the realms of the Crown of Aragon. (51%)

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SAVE OBJECTIVES

Like any long-term save I have sat down and thought hard about some objectives for the save. Like most of you who will be reading this, playing FM for me just isn’t enough and therefore the following objectives will add an additional challenge, hopefully aiding longevity.

1. Secure Villarreal a top four finish and a return to Europe’s top club competition the UCL.

Quote

‘If you want football’s finest fruit, you grow your own.’ The job of a manager should be to blood new players into the first team every season.

2. Promote a minimum of two youth players into the first team each season to continue to showcase the Cantera.

3. Prioritise recruitment from within the Crown of Aragon to build a core of players born from within this region.

4. Win the Pichichi.

6. Develop a new club legend. (I will cover more on this in the next post which will cover what I want to achieve from a tactical perspective).

7. Win La Liga and move the team into the category of Major Achievers under the ‘Hierarchy of Wealth’. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by MattyLewis11

[SixPointer]

Beautiful intro matty! Well presented and very factual as always. 

[Deisler26]

Nice work. Good luck with this

[04texag]

Great opening thread, really enjoyed it and excited to see how this comes along for you.  

[GIMN]

Looking forward to this, and a nice twist to the region-based approach.  Do you envision this as a one-club career, or are there plans to invade the southern shores of Italy, too?

[RogerC]

Following!! Will you only sign players from the cities you have in that table? There are many smaller cities/towns that I've seen players come out from!! (at least Catalunya, where I'm from) If you want I can help you expand it a bit!

[Tommo_]

Following this...nice start!

[tjt65]

What an intro. Looking forward to this one.

[_Ben_]

Really excited to see how this pans out - more so now Emery has taken over at Villa so you're essentially using a group of players assembled by him.

[Emozil]

Brilliant intro. Will you be sticking to the same tactical principles as Emery or moving on to a new style of football?

[SteinkelssonFM]

@SixPointer @Deisler26 @04texag @Tommo_ @tjt65 

Thanks for taking the time to comment guys, I am overwhelmed at how the introduction post has been received and am keen to get the save up and running when the 'official' game is released.

On 26/10/2022 at 08:16, GIMN said:

Do you envision this as a one-club career, or are there plans to invade the southern shores of Italy, too?

I think initially the plan is for this to be a one club career, I have set the bar pretty high in relation to the objectives and can't see those being achieved in the short-term.

20 hours ago, RogerC said:

Will you only sign players from the cities you have in that table? There are many smaller cities/towns that I've seen players come out from!! (at least Catalunya, where I'm from) If you want I can help you expand it a bit!

In short the recruitment strategy is only to favour players from within the realms, I set the objective to attempt to have a squad dynamic which is made up with a majority of players so that I can still look to bring in individuals outside of the player search filter.

Thanks for reaching out in the discord mate, I appreciate the additional smaller cities that went under the radar, which you provided. 

15 hours ago, Emozil said:

Will you be sticking to the same tactical principles as Emery or moving on to a new style of football?

My next post covers my tactical approach to the save and a few objectives that I want to adhere to in terms of a playing style. I am aiming to get that one completed over the weekend  

17 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

more so now Emery has taken over at Villa so you're essentially using a group of players assembled by him.

You are correct, it is clear from looking at the recruitment over the past few years that Emery has been painting his masterpiece, on-boarding individuals (often 30+) who are extremely coachable due to his attention to detail with the regards to expectations on the pitch. This is quite apparent when looking at the coach reports to identify those hidden attributes (more to follow). 

[04texag]

21 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

my tactical approach to the save

Personally excited to see the direction you go here. I too am working on a long term Villareal Juego de Posicion save.

[danielgear]

Am following with interest 

[ManUtd1]

I'm ready for this.  #FrodoLives

 

[SteinkelssonFM]

 

 

 

After reading the excellent ‘Football Manager Playbook’ by Cleon Hobson from ‘View from The Touchline’. I wanted to dedicate my second post to a tactical piece setting out how I want my team to play.

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The initial duty of any new coach is to decide upon a ‘game model’ — a way of playing — that he wants his team to follow. 

This will act as an aid when breaking down team/individual performances across the save, enabling me to have a clear understanding of not only the systems strengths and weaknesses, but the roles of the individuals within the system. 

This will ensure that I can utilise the in-game data to carry out targeted analysis with the view to impact and add value.

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THE GAME MODEL

THE SHAPE

I have made the decision to replicate Manuel Pellegrini's Villarreal side from 2007/08. The Chilean nicked named ‘The Engineer’ often disguised a 4–2–2–2 under a 4–4–2, Pellegrini has been one manager who has been able to use the formation which is also known as ‘The Magic Rectangle’ to the maximum effect in club football, providing me with my tactical ideology. 

The main idea of the magic rectangle is to exploit deficiencies in the oppositions space between defence and attack, while maintaining a balance with ideally six players active during any phase of play.

The shape has natural central overloads — both in and out of possession and provides a strong structural foundation. This is formed by the double pivot, who always keep a rectangular shape with their centre-backs (this is where the ‘magic rectangle’ comes from).

The attacking width is provided by the fullbacks, whilst the dual 10s have positional attacking freedom to provide support to the two attackers.

OUT OF POSSESSION RESPONSIBILITIES 

Without the ball, Pellegrini’s back four played a high line, emphasizing the offside trap. Pellegrini’s teams adopted more of a South American approach to pressing waiting for the opponent to cross the line of engagement rather than engaging the opponent high up the pitch.

Looking at the ‘Comparison’ tab under the ‘Squad Planner’ it provides me with confidence that my side will be able to play with a much higher defensive line. This is due to the defence being above the league average for both acceleration and pace, which means we shouldn’t get caught out by those route-one balls over the top too frequently.

In Pellegrini’s system the attacking midfielders sat wider, so as to track the opposition’s full backs. This created a compact block with short distances between the lines and players within each line. The block defended as a unit, shifting side to side and not allowing the opposition any time or space on the ball.

Again, looking at the initial data feels me with confidence as the defensive unit are strong headers of the ball and have good positional awareness and the ability to mark players well, this will be essential in maximising the effectiveness of the low block. 

IN POSSESSION RESPONSIBILITES

The full-backs provide the teams attacking width, often moving ahead of the double pivot. The centre-backs use the double pivot to build from the back, whilst also breaking lines with passes into the attacking midfielders.

The double pivot supports attacks underneath the ball, and provides cover inside and behind the advanced full-backs. One of the players in the double pivot may drop into the back line after the full-backs have pushed forward to create a back three. Alternatively, one of them may provide a delayed forward run to join the attack. 

The attacking midfielders have multi-functional responsibilities and for that reason they need to be all round good midfielders with good technical skill and the ability to receive the ball between the lines and create half-space overloads with the full-back, number 6 and striker.

The strikers need not be specialist, but they need to have excellent passing ability, one of the forwards will need to drop back on attack, allowing for the attacking midfielders to overlap as well as support the main striker. 

STRENGHTS 

As stated earlier in the blog the 4–2–2–2 shape can help create central overloads in dangerous positions around the opposition’s central midfielders, leading to frequent progress through the centre of the pitch.

Also, when playing against a back four, both opposing centre-backs are occupied by the two centre-forwards, discouraging them from stepping into midfield to compete for the ball, which can help the two attacking midfielders receive in higher positions.

The presence of a double pivot enables the full-backs to attack simultaneously without the need for complex rotations or positional changes to add numbers in central midfield.

WEAKNESSES 

The 4–2–2–2 lacks natural width in attack, it is reliant on the fullbacks to support the attack and provide width. This in turn means that we can be vulnerable to being hit on the counter if our opponents can accurately switch play to a flank due to them being left open much of the time.

The flank is also another area which can be exploited by the opposition, we can potentially find ourselves overloaded and opponents targeting this area for progression and chance creation.

To counter this I have instructed for both wide players to ‘Mark Specific Positions’ the opponents fullbacks to offer an increased defensive presence and replicate the 4–4–2 without the ball.

Disciplined defensive midfielders are also required if we are to maintain a structural balance within the team. 

THE TACTIC

Understanding both the strengths and weaknesses of any tactic is essential, especially when conducting the ‘eye test’ when analysing performance within the match engine.

From the above, we now have a foundation of understanding in terms of what we should expect from each player within the system. We can use this understanding to analyse performance and carry out data analysis for key metrics to establish baseline outputs. (more on this later in the save)

THE CAPABILITES OF THE PLAYERS ALREADY AT THE CLUB

A good tip which I picked up from a good friend @TheFMAcademy1 is on Squad Analysis and the ability to understand some of the pro’s and con’s surrounding your playing group. 

As you can see from the above, I like to be able to identify who are the players within the squad that are consistent and big game players, along with those who have personalities suitable for mentoring.

Running over the Villarreal squad was worthwhile, providing me with a few key headline takeaways.

1. Big Game Players — over 50% of the squad have been identified as enjoying the big occasions on the field.
2. Consistency is Key — over 75% of the squad are consistent players which means we shouldn’t see too many spikes in performance on the pitch.
3. Rotation is Essential — nearly 33% of the squad are susceptible to injuries, which means there must be an emphasis on squad rotation.

DEVELOPING THE NEW CLUB LEGEND

One of the save objectives was to develop a new club legend, the individual cherry picked from the current playing squad is 19-year-old Spaniard Yeremy Pino.

Why Yeremy? 

First and foremost, looking back at the 2007/08 season Santi Cazorla was the sides most creative midfielder under Pellegrini. The Spaniard contributed with a goal or assist roughly every 180 minutes. Looking at the below player profiles (Santi’s taken from 08/09), you will see a similarity when comparing attributes. 

Using the ‘Statman’ skin which @_Ben_ from the SI Forum created, both players have a similar profile (Cazorla’s 2008/09 profile) when comparing their attributes under his grouped attributes. This provides me with enough hope to pursue this objective, knowing I am not trying to fit a square peg into a round whole.

 

Why the Wide Playmaker role?

The role has some hidden player instructions associated with it which makes it more appealing that that of the Inverted Winger. These instructions are ‘Collect the ball more, use more creative freedom and focus play. Basically any playmaker role within the game instructs a players teammates to pass to him more. 

If we want Yeremy to have a significant creative impact in the game, he will need the ball to do so. 

The Wide Playmaker role often drifts inside to find space from which to play the killer ball and create chances. Coming in from the wing will also allow the playmaker to escape the congestion of the centre of the midfield and can often lead to the playmaker being unmarked. This is reflected in the hard-coded player instructions ‘Sit Narrower’ and ‘roam From Position’.

Yeremy at 19 also has no ‘Player Traits’ he offers me a clean slate to develop him into the finished article. (Expect his development to feature, Cuts Inside, Like Ball Played to Feet and maybe Tries Killer Balls Often.) 

I also think that Yeremy can offer an additional dynamic to the role, his agility, dribbling, flair and first touch could lead to him playing a little more direct at times rather than circulate the ball like a traditional playmaker. 

I am already envisaging Yeremy picking the ball up in pockets of space, driving at goal, beating a man and then picking a pass after he has left the oppositions defensive unit in tatters. Wishful thinking? Time will tell on that one I guess.

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Patiently waiting for release date, I promise some football will follow, along with the usual analysis and documentation of my thoughts. 

I will be looking to implement a training schedule which is bespoke for the game model (Tactical Periodization) which I will document over the next few days prior to main event. 

Edited October 29, 2022 by MattyLewis11

[Shrewnaldo]

Big fan of the Pellegrini 4-2-2-2 and attempts to recreate it in FM (in fact, I still have this in my bookmarks which you may enjoy). Will be most interested in that Pino role and how narrow he plays before receiving the ball. I had a bit of success with Southampton on FM19 or 20 with a similar sort of shape but using APs from the AML and AMR position. It's really the only way I could get them to come narrow and look for the ball, rather than stay wide then come inside with the ball. Very frustrating.

Interested in your selection for the double pivot too - particularly the HB. Did Pellegrini have one of the holding midfielders drop back into a 3? I genuinely can't recall. I think I remember Senna being the more adventurous of the two, but it's a bit of a struggle beyond that.

[SteinkelssonFM]

Thanks for the link @Shrewnaldo I am keen to see how this plays out when I start the save. I too had reservations in relation to the wide midfield roles but opted on starting from wide rather than narrow as my initial thoughts were that it would be easier to get them to move from out to in rather than vice-versa. I also opted for the midfield strata over the AM one to make the transition into the 442 easier when without the ball.

I don't think Senna did do this, watched a few games the other day but feel the need to offer a little more protection due to the match engine, again time will tell if my thoughts on paper are what is needed for the game itself.

[Matty Aqua]

Big write up @MattyLewis11 seems you have found a save to get stuck into this year!, will be following along!.

[Skywalk3r83]

Nice 😃😃

[SteinkelssonFM]

Training 

Drawing inspiration from the following video from Tifo Football and the article by Ridi Dauti which can be found on Spielverlagerung. I have adapted a training schedule using Tactical Periodisation.

Tactical Periodisation is a football training methodology which since its creation is one of the modest widely used methodologies worldwide, I am sure most of the readers within the forum would have stumbled across this methodology before, if not I would suggest spending some time in the above links or watching this YouTube video which I made back in 2021.

Each training week is built around a cycle which leads up to the game with the peak of physical activity occurring usually three days from match day. this schedule is built on components which stem from the below four moments of the game.

Attacking Organisation: the moment where a team is in possession of the ball, and the opponent is in their organised defensive shape

Defensive Transition: the moment where a team has just lost the ball and is not yet organized defensively. This moment lasts until the team becomes organized defensively. The counterattack is part of this moment, if the opponent takes advantage of the situation while the team is unbalanced.

Defensive Organization: the moment where a team is not in possession but is in their organized defensive shape. This moment can start anywhere on the field and lasts until the team regains possession.

Attacking Transition: the moment where a team has just regained possession and the opponent is not yet in their organized defensive shape. This moment lasts until the opponent becomes organized defensively. Not every attacking transition moment is a counterattack, but rather, the counterattack is part of this moment, a team can choose to explore this option or decide to take the ball out of pressure and start an organized attack.

*Remember this schedule is built around your game model so in order to apply this in FM you will need to have a tactic and clear understanding of how you want your team to play in order to maximise its effect. I will now talk you through my implementation using the game model identified within the last blog. I will be creating two schedules, one for playing weaker sides and the other for playing stronger sides as the dynamics of these games will change significantly.

 

The key sessions which I feel the training must include are as follows.

In Possession

1. Play from the back - this session is focused on developing technical play from defensive areas.

2. Ball Distribution - specific work on distributing and keeping the ball effectively.

3. Possession - a session focused on ball possession. 

4. Ball Retention

All four of the above have a clear focus, keeping the ball, this is something which is a core pillar in my tactical philosophy so these are staple for both schedules. Here is where we switch things up.

4. Attacking Patient - a session dedicated to a patient attacking approach. This fits well with the 'Team Instruction'  of 'Work Ball Into Box'. Against weaker sides we will likely be attacking against an organised defensive unit and therefore we must practice being patient, moving the ball around waiting for the right opportunity to play a smart pass which hopefully leads to a clear cut chance. Supporting this session is one on 'Chance Creation' 

However, against stronger sides this switches to...

5. Attacking Overlap - a session focused on attacking overlapping play in wide areas. Given the fact we will likely see less of the ball during these matches we want to focus on creating those overloads in wide areas to look to exploit the opposition. I was tempted to throw an 'Attacking Direct' in this slot but I felt it deviated too far away from our game model. This is supported with 'Chance Conversion' as we want to make sure we put away our chances, which are likely to be limited.

 

In Transition

1. Transition Press - specific work on transitioning from defence to attacking through pressing the opponent. This will be the focus when playing weaker sides, as you can see from the 'Team Instructions' we have counter press selected so this is a close fit. We will be looking to be dominant in the transitional phase and look to win back possession quickly through pressing.

However, against stronger sides this will switch to...

2. Transition Restrict - a session focusing on restricting the space in which the opposition can play. I want the team to limit the stronger sides ability to progress the ball, hopefully giving ourselves the time to get into the 442 defensive block, making us harder to break down.

 

Out of Possession

1. Defending Engaged - one for the weaker side, the view is to engage the opponent when not in possession linking with the above view to press. We want to be more aggressive here without the ball. 

2. Defending Disengaged - one for the stronger opponent, this session focuses on maintaining defensive shape out of possession. The view to make sure we are well drilled in our defensive block with correct positioning, anticipation and teamwork.

 

 

 

Both schedules have duplicated session in a Friday, these may be removed to work on specifics which I identify from watching the games. For example we may need to work on the set piece therefore this can be added in. 

Edited October 30, 2022 by MattyLewis11

[Dereka]

On 29/10/2022 at 19:11, MattyLewis11 said:

 

Why the Wide Playmaker role?

The role has some hidden player instructions associated with it which makes it more appealing that that of the Inverted Winger. These instructions are ‘Collect the ball more, use more creative freedom and focus play. Basically any playmaker role within the game instructs a players teammates to pass to him more. 

If we want Yeremy to have a significant creative impact in the game, he will need the ball to do so. 

I like your thinking!

I see you instruct Pino to mark the DL. Do you have experience using this? I'd be concerned this (1) drains his energy a bit more; (2) gives you less compactness when defending/pressing on the other side of the pitch and (3) might mess up some defensive set pieces. But those are all assumptions so I'm curious to read what you experience

[vara]

fantastic stuff!!

the training detail is brilliant, certainly not an area that you see highlighted often and your use of it/reasoning to do so is top drawer!

[SteinkelssonFM]

7 hours ago, Dereka said:

I see you instruct Pino to mark the DL. Do you have experience using this?

I have instructed both wide midfielders to mark the opponents DR/DL, this is something which I have experience using from FM21 with my save with Gornik Zabrze. I found that it helped with maintaining a compact 442 shape in defence. I think having a higher defensive line and mid block helps with these player instructions as I can imagine if we were looking to press with a higher line of engagement it could well lead to dog-legs within the initial block and make it easier to gain access to the back-line.

If you would like to read over the theory @cocoadavid did a lovely post on it last year with A guide to defending like a real 442.

[SixPointer]

On 30/10/2022 at 18:53, MattyLewis11 said:

Training 

Drawing inspiration from the following video from Tifo Football and the article by Ridi Dauti which can be found on Spielverlagerung. I have adapted a training schedule using Tactical Periodisation.

Tactical Periodisation is a football training methodology which since its creation is one of the modest widely used methodologies worldwide, I am sure most of the readers within the forum would have stumbled across this methodology before, if not I would suggest spending some time in the above links or watching this YouTube video which I made back in 2021.

Each training week is built around a cycle which leads up to the game with the peak of physical activity occurring usually three days from match day. this schedule is built on components which stem from the below four moments of the game.

Attacking Organisation: the moment where a team is in possession of the ball, and the opponent is in their organised defensive shape

Defensive Transition: the moment where a team has just lost the ball and is not yet organized defensively. This moment lasts until the team becomes organized defensively. The counterattack is part of this moment, if the opponent takes advantage of the situation while the team is unbalanced.

Defensive Organization: the moment where a team is not in possession but is in their organized defensive shape. This moment can start anywhere on the field and lasts until the team regains possession.

Attacking Transition: the moment where a team has just regained possession and the opponent is not yet in their organized defensive shape. This moment lasts until the opponent becomes organized defensively. Not every attacking transition moment is a counterattack, but rather, the counterattack is part of this moment, a team can choose to explore this option or decide to take the ball out of pressure and start an organized attack.

*Remember this schedule is built around your game model so in order to apply this in FM you will need to have a tactic and clear understanding of how you want your team to play in order to maximise its effect. I will now talk you through my implementation using the game model identified within the last blog. I will be creating two schedules, one for playing weaker sides and the other for playing stronger sides as the dynamics of these games will change significantly.

 

The key sessions which I feel the training must include are as follows.

In Possession

1. Play from the back - this session is focused on developing technical play from defensive areas.

2. Ball Distribution - specific work on distributing and keeping the ball effectively.

3. Possession - a session focused on ball possession. 

4. Ball Retention

All four of the above have a clear focus, keeping the ball, this is something which is a core pillar in my tactical philosophy so these are staple for both schedules. Here is where we switch things up.

4. Attacking Patient - a session dedicated to a patient attacking approach. This fits well with the 'Team Instruction'  of 'Work Ball Into Box'. Against weaker sides we will likely be attacking against an organised defensive unit and therefore we must practice being patient, moving the ball around waiting for the right opportunity to play a smart pass which hopefully leads to a clear cut chance. Supporting this session is one on 'Chance Creation' 

However, against stronger sides this switches to...

5. Attacking Overlap - a session focused on attacking overlapping play in wide areas. Given the fact we will likely see less of the ball during these matches we want to focus on creating those overloads in wide areas to look to exploit the opposition. I was tempted to throw an 'Attacking Direct' in this slot but I felt it deviated too far away from our game model. This is supported with 'Chance Conversion' as we want to make sure we put away our chances, which are likely to be limited.

 

In Transition

1. Transition Press - specific work on transitioning from defence to attacking through pressing the opponent. This will be the focus when playing weaker sides, as you can see from the 'Team Instructions' we have counter press selected so this is a close fit. We will be looking to be dominant in the transitional phase and look to win back possession quickly through pressing.

However, against stronger sides this will switch to...

2. Transition Restrict - a session focusing on restricting the space in which the opposition can play. I want the team to limit the stronger sides ability to progress the ball, hopefully giving ourselves the time to get into the 442 defensive block, making us harder to break down.

 

Out of Possession

1. Defending Engaged - one for the weaker side, the view is to engage the opponent when not in possession linking with the above view to press. We want to be more aggressive here without the ball. 

2. Defending Disengaged - one for the stronger opponent, this session focuses on maintaining defensive shape out of possession. The view to make sure we are well drilled in our defensive block with correct positioning, anticipation and teamwork.

 

 

 

Both schedules have duplicated session in a Friday, these may be removed to work on specifics which I identify from watching the games. For example we may need to work on the set piece therefore this can be added in. 

Lovely explanation of the tactical periodisation matty! I had just commented on another post of someone else doing it as well. Everyone is starting to get to grips with it and I had success to an extent last year. But I can’t help feel SI could do a little more to improve our ability to apply it in game. 
 

As really only match prep activities have a real knock on effect to the very next fixture a lot of the stuff we think we are Improving for the fixture are actually aimed at attribute growth. Rather than a marginal gain in the next match. 
 

love it tho and keen to see how you apply it and always good to have people to bounce ideas off

[Deisler26]

Fabulous tactical work as ever

[SteinkelssonFM]

Tableau 

So we are now only a few more days away from the full release. I can't wait to get stuck into this save, especially after reading so many quality threads both in here and over on Twitter. 

Given the amount of time I have had on my hands I thought I would carry out a bit of work on Tableau to help provide you guys with a brief overview of the type of players which I have available to my disposal at the club, based purely on their attribute profiles.

This piece has been created using a visualisation which I found in FMStag's save with Védelem, it focuses on players 'Attacking Value' and 'Defensive Value' by comparing how both play off against each.

Attacking Value = Dribbling, Finishing, First touch, Passing, Technique, Composure, Decisions, Flair, Off the Ball, Vision, Agility and Balance.

Defensive Value = Heading, Marking, Tackling, Aggression, Anticipation, Bravery, Concentration, Positioning, Jumping and Strength.  

 

 

Analysis:

1. Pau Torres is the strongest defender in the squad

2. Arnaut Danjuma is the strongest attacker in the squad. He is below average for his defensive value, this may lead me to play him as the Advanced Forward, instead of the Inverted Winger due to my need for the role to have an impact without the ball.

3. Etienne Capoue - the fact that the 34 year old is the most rounded of all players within my squad could be the decisive factor on him getting the green light to play in the role of the Segundo Volante. 

4. Kiko Femenia on paper is the player who offers the least when comparing the attribute values, a bit of a strange one considering he only recently joined the club from Watford (£850k).

 

Of course all of the above won't necessarily lead to these individuals producing the good on the pitch, which is why I will use this visualisation as a refence point as we progress through the season to see if there is a correlation between attributes 'on paper' and impact on the pitch.

 

I also carried out an analysis of the outfield squad's attributes, looking to find the average ratings for all players to see which attributes can be tagged as our DNA. You will be pleased to know that the highest averages fell under the following attributes.

1. Technical = First Touch (14), Passing (14) and, Technique (14) 

2. Mental = Work rate (14)

3. Physical = Natural Fitness (14), Pace (14) and, Stamina (14)

The above makes for great reading when considering out game model covered earlier, we clearly have the individuals who are comfortable on the ball. This paired what is often referred to on the rugby pitch as one of the non-negotiables (Work rate) and Natural Fitness and Stamina informs me that we have the ability to play for the 90 minutes. We are a fit side which will help us get up and down the pitch and hopefully be able to exploit opponents who fatigue quicker. 

There is no substitute for Pace, never has a truer word been said, I am a winger so not biased at all. 

If I look to place a greater emphasis on these core attributes when considering recruitment later in the save, this will again provide me with a benchmark. Another good reason for carrying out this type of analysis is that it can be used for helping to build a custom skin which can add more value to your save.

If we know that for us 'Excellent' attributes are 14 then this can be altered within the 'Custom Skin Colour' to reflect. Dropping the threshold down from 16 to 15 makes it easier to see players with attributes above Villarreal's best. Our average attribute score across all averages was 12, therefore I have opted to set the good baseline to 12. 

[04texag]

38 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Tableau 

So we are now only a few more days away from the full release. I can't wait to get stuck into this save, especially after reading so many quality threads both in here and over on Twitter. 

Given the amount of time I have had on my hands I thought I would carry out a bit of work on Tableau to help provide you guys with a brief overview of the type of players which I have available to my disposal at the club, based purely on their attribute profiles.

This piece has been created using a visualisation which I found in FMStag's save with Védelem, it focuses on players 'Attacking Value' and 'Defensive Value' by comparing how both play off against each.

Attacking Value = Dribbling, Finishing, First touch, Passing, Technique, Composure, Decisions, Flair, Off the Ball, Vision, Agility and Balance.

Defensive Value = Heading, Marking, Tackling, Aggression, Anticipation, Bravery, Concentration, Positioning, Jumping and Strength.  

 

 

Analysis:

1. Pau Torres is the strongest defender in the squad

2. Arnaut Danjuma is the strongest attacker in the squad. He is below average for his defensive value, this may lead me to play him as the Advanced Forward, instead of the Inverted Winger due to my need for the role to have an impact without the ball.

3. Etienne Capoue - the fact that the 34 year old is the most rounded of all players within my squad could be the decisive factor on him getting the green light to play in the role of the Segundo Volante. 

4. Kiko Femenia on paper is the player who offers the least when comparing the attribute values, a bit of a strange one considering he only recently joined the club from Watford (£850k).

 

Of course all of the above won't necessarily lead to these individuals producing the good on the pitch, which is why I will use this visualisation as a refence point as we progress through the season to see if there is a correlation between attributes 'on paper' and impact on the pitch.

 

I also carried out an analysis of the outfield squad's attributes, looking to find the average ratings for all players to see which attributes can be tagged as our DNA. You will be pleased to know that the highest averages fell under the following attributes.

1. Technical = First Touch (14), Passing (14) and, Technique (14) 

2. Mental = Work rate (14)

3. Physical = Natural Fitness (14), Pace (14) and, Stamina (14)

The above makes for great reading when considering out game model covered earlier, we clearly have the individuals who are comfortable on the ball. This paired what is often referred to on the rugby pitch as one of the non-negotiables (Work rate) and Natural Fitness and Stamina informs me that we have the ability to play for the 90 minutes. We are a fit side which will help us get up and down the pitch and hopefully be able to exploit opponents who fatigue quicker. 

There is no substitute for Pace, never has a truer word been said, I am a winger so not biased at all. 

If I look to place a greater emphasis on these core attributes when considering recruitment later in the save, this will again provide me with a benchmark. Another good reason for carrying out this type of analysis is that it can be used for helping to build a custom skin which can add more value to your save.

If we know that for us 'Excellent' attributes are 14 then this can be altered within the 'Custom Skin Colour' to reflect. Dropping the threshold down from 16 to 15 makes it easier to see players with attributes above Villarreal's best. Our average attribute score across all averages was 12, therefore I have opted to set the good baseline to 12. 

Um wait a second, loads mind blown gif, how did you put these together? I really love these visuals!

 

[Deisler26]

54 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Tableau 

So we are now only a few more days away from the full release. I can't wait to get stuck into this save, especially after reading so many quality threads both in here and over on Twitter. 

Given the amount of time I have had on my hands I thought I would carry out a bit of work on Tableau to help provide you guys with a brief overview of the type of players which I have available to my disposal at the club, based purely on their attribute profiles.

This piece has been created using a visualisation which I found in FMStag's save with Védelem, it focuses on players 'Attacking Value' and 'Defensive Value' by comparing how both play off against each.

Attacking Value = Dribbling, Finishing, First touch, Passing, Technique, Composure, Decisions, Flair, Off the Ball, Vision, Agility and Balance.

Defensive Value = Heading, Marking, Tackling, Aggression, Anticipation, Bravery, Concentration, Positioning, Jumping and Strength.  

 

 

Analysis:

1. Pau Torres is the strongest defender in the squad

2. Arnaut Danjuma is the strongest attacker in the squad. He is below average for his defensive value, this may lead me to play him as the Advanced Forward, instead of the Inverted Winger due to my need for the role to have an impact without the ball.

3. Etienne Capoue - the fact that the 34 year old is the most rounded of all players within my squad could be the decisive factor on him getting the green light to play in the role of the Segundo Volante. 

4. Kiko Femenia on paper is the player who offers the least when comparing the attribute values, a bit of a strange one considering he only recently joined the club from Watford (£850k).

 

Of course all of the above won't necessarily lead to these individuals producing the good on the pitch, which is why I will use this visualisation as a refence point as we progress through the season to see if there is a correlation between attributes 'on paper' and impact on the pitch.

 

I also carried out an analysis of the outfield squad's attributes, looking to find the average ratings for all players to see which attributes can be tagged as our DNA. You will be pleased to know that the highest averages fell under the following attributes.

1. Technical = First Touch (14), Passing (14) and, Technique (14) 

2. Mental = Work rate (14)

3. Physical = Natural Fitness (14), Pace (14) and, Stamina (14)

The above makes for great reading when considering out game model covered earlier, we clearly have the individuals who are comfortable on the ball. This paired what is often referred to on the rugby pitch as one of the non-negotiables (Work rate) and Natural Fitness and Stamina informs me that we have the ability to play for the 90 minutes. We are a fit side which will help us get up and down the pitch and hopefully be able to exploit opponents who fatigue quicker. 

There is no substitute for Pace, never has a truer word been said, I am a winger so not biased at all. 

If I look to place a greater emphasis on these core attributes when considering recruitment later in the save, this will again provide me with a benchmark. Another good reason for carrying out this type of analysis is that it can be used for helping to build a custom skin which can add more value to your save.

If we know that for us 'Excellent' attributes are 14 then this can be altered within the 'Custom Skin Colour' to reflect. Dropping the threshold down from 16 to 15 makes it easier to see players with attributes above Villarreal's best. Our average attribute score across all averages was 12, therefore I have opted to set the good baseline to 12. 

These are magnificent visuals!

[Matt_1979]

BOOM!! I need to come here more often as missed this altogether. Excellent stuff as usual from the main man. 👏

[SteinkelssonFM]

@04texag @Deisler26I am not 100% sure if you have stumbled across any of my previous blogs? 

I created on called How to create a squad profile using Tableau, the method behind the madness in this piece can be followed to get you to grips with Tableau

Happy for you to have a read and if you get stuck with anything, please feel free to drop me a DM on here or via Twitter @SteinkelssonFM

21 hours ago, Matt_1979 said:

I need to come here more often as missed this altogether.

Believe it or not mate, we are open 24/7 365! Good to have you on board. 

[04texag]

5 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

@04texag @Deisler26I am not 100% sure if you have stumbled across any of my previous blogs? 

I created on called How to create a squad profile using Tableau, the method behind the madness in this piece can be followed to get you to grips with Tableau

Happy for you to have a read and if you get stuck with anything, please feel free to drop me a DM on here or via Twitter @SteinkelssonFM

Believe it or not mate, we are open 24/7 365! Good to have you on board. 

Awesome, thanks!

[Deisler26]

27 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

@04texag @Deisler26I am not 100% sure if you have stumbled across any of my previous blogs? 

I created on called How to create a squad profile using Tableau, the method behind the madness in this piece can be followed to get you to grips with Tableau

Happy for you to have a read and if you get stuck with anything, please feel free to drop me a DM on here or via Twitter @SteinkelssonFM

Believe it or not mate, we are open 24/7 365! Good to have you on board. 

Ooh, thanks buddy!

[SteinkelssonFM]

The journey begins, after waiting for the Sortitoutsi 'Real Name Fix' we are finally in position to start what I hope will be an epic journey with Villarreal.

I opted for a fairly decent sized database which consists of approximately 121,000 players - I intend this save to go pretty deep and wanted to make sure that the playing experience was a little more realistic than simply running with a few of the major leagues from the continent.

 

Training Camp (Geneva, Switzerland) 

The first month in charge would see us travel to Switzerland for the annual pre-season training camp, as you can see from the map below the trip is a short flight from Valencia to Geneva. I doubt the squad will be travelling on EasyJet of KLM. However, if there were a simple 'Google' search shows us that the trip costs from £102 for what is a two hour journey. 

I manually set up four fixtures (Olympique de Geneve, Old Boys, Lausanne and Etoile Carouge) to span the 11 days (all Swiss opponents, of course). We want to make sure everyone has enough game time to ensure we can hit the ground running come the start of the season. 

I have no intent on covering these or any of my pre-season fixtures in a lot of detail, I will mostly be looking to see if the tactic is playing how it should in terms of both strengths and weaknesses. The idea is to see how the players operate within the match engine, no detail to outputs or performances will be taken into consideration due to the frequent changes of playing staff.

 

Pre-Season Friendlies

Seven games played, 21 goals scored and two conceded...not a bad start. However as stated above I am not reading too much into these games due to the increased rotation of playing staff. The one surprise from pre-season was the form of Fer Nino , the 21 year old scored six goals along with picking up three player of the match awards. Scouted Football published a nice interview with the player earlier this month if you would like to read a little more on the player. 

Looking at some of the feedback from within the 'Data Hub' over the last five matches we have some nice takeaways. A large proportion of the goals have come from positions close to the penalty spot, this highlights our ability to work the ball into the box. You can see from the next visualisation  the 'Magic Rectangle' is paying dividends, helping us to remain compact in the central area, which in turn is leading to us regaining possession well in the middle of the pitch.

Finally, we are limiting the number of touches which the opposition are having in our penalty area, I am putting this down to the effective block. 

 

Tactical Tweaks

Believe it or not, I have ended up making a few tweaks to the tactic at this very early stage. Two of which have stemmed from overthinking, with no analysis of the match engine and the other one a little more informed.

1)  Space - I have opted to swap my striker positions over, having the Advanced Forward play in front of the Wide Playmaker. My thoughts behind this are that doing so will help to provide the playmaker with a little more space to operate and hopefully become more effective. As you can see from the above, the DLP often comes deep into the space where the playmaker operates, whilst this can help with build up play it limits a vertical option for the playmaker. 

The Advanced Forward will most likely be our teams biggest goal threat, moving him in front of the playmaker will not only occupy defenders but provide the playmaker with an easier pass to him, providing a better supply line.

2) Shape - @Shrewnaldo will be pleased to see that I have also changed the midfield partnership from a Half Back to a Defensive Midfielder (currently on Defend) as our average position with the ball wasn't what I intended with the Half Back. This is due to the Half Back role which sees the player drop deeper than a standard defensive midfielder in possession, this caused us to not maintain that rectangle shape, forcing the defenders wider, which IMO is too risky if we lost possession from within the build up phase of play.

 

In other news, Pau Torres commits his future to the club by signing a new five-year contract extension, the Spaniard will be paid an additional 1k  per year, along with pocketing £2.2 million through a loyalty bonus. The contract includes a minimum fee release clause which sits at £84m, an increase of 55%. 

We have five fixtures still to play across August, like with previous threads I will look to provide monthly updates and try to capture my though processes on paper along the way,

 

Edited November 9, 2022 by MattyLewis11

[Matt_1979]

33 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

The one surprise from pre-season was the form of Fer Nino , the 21 year old scored six goals along with picking up three player of the match awards. Scouted Football published a nice interview with the player earlier this month if you would like to read a little more on the player. 

Nice. He developed well in FM22. I had him on loan for a while at Girona.

 

Good update

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, MattyLewis11 said:

The journey begins, after waiting for the Sortitoutsi 'Real Name Fix' we are finally in position to start what I hope will be an epic journey with Villarreal.

I opted for a fairly decent sized database which consists of approximately 121,000 players - I intend this save to go pretty deep and wanted to make sure that the playing experience was a little more realistic than simply running with a few of the major leagues from the continent.

 

Training Camp (Geneva, Switzerland) 

The first month in charge would see us travel to Switzerland for the annual pre-season training camp, as you can see from the map below the trip is a short flight from Valencia to Geneva. I doubt the squad will be travelling on EasyJet of KLM. However, if there were a simple 'Google' search shows us that the trip costs from £102 for what is a two hour journey. 

I manually set up four fixtures (Olympique de Geneve, Old Boys, Lausanne and Etoile Carouge) to span the 11 days (all Swiss opponents, of course). We want to make sure everyone has enough game time to ensure we can hit the ground running come the start of the season. 

I have no intent on covering these or any of my pre-season fixtures in a lot of detail, I will mostly be looking to see if the tactic is playing how it should in terms of both strengths and weaknesses. The idea is to see how the players operate within the match engine, no detail to outputs or performances will be taken into consideration due to the frequent changes of playing staff.

 

Pre-Season Friendlies

Seven games played, 21 goals scored and two conceded...not a bad start. However as stated above I am not reading too much into these games due to the increased rotation of playing staff. The one surprise from pre-season was the form of Fer Nino , the 21 year old scored six goals along with picking up three player of the match awards. Scouted Football published a nice interview with the player earlier this month if you would like to read a little more on the player. 

Looking at some of the feedback from within the 'Data Hub' over the last five matches we have some nice takeaways. A large proportion of the goals have come from positions close to the penalty spot, this highlights our ability to work the ball into the box. You can see from the next visualisation  the 'Magic Rectangle' is paying dividends, helping us to remain compact in the central area, which in turn is leading to us regaining possession well in the middle of the pitch.

Finally, we are limiting the number of touches which the opposition are having in our penalty area, I am putting this down to the effective block. 

 

Tactical Tweaks

Believe it or not, I have ended up making a few tweaks to the tactic at this very early stage. Two of which have stemmed from overthinking, with no analysis of the match engine and the other one a little more informed. The contract includes a minimum fee release clause which sits at £84m, an increase of 55%. 

1)  Space - I have opted to swap my striker positions over, having the Advanced Forward play in front of the Wide Playmaker. My thoughts behind this are that doing so will help to provide the playmaker with a little more space to operate and hopefully become more effective. As you can see from the above, the DLP often comes deep into the space where the playmaker operates, whilst this can help with build up play it limits a vertical option for the playmaker. 

The Advanced Forward will most likely be our teams biggest goal threat, moving him in front of the playmaker will not only occupy defenders but provide the playmaker with an easier pass to him, providing a better supply line.

2) Shape - @Shrewnaldo will be pleased to see that I have also changed the midfield partnership from a Half Back to a Defensive Midfielder (currently on Defend) as our average position with the ball wasn't what I intended with the Half Back. This is due to the Half Back role which sees the player drop deeper than a standard defensive midfielder in possession, this caused us to not maintain that rectangle shape, forcing the defenders wider, which IMO is too risky if we lost possession from within the build up phase of play.

 

In other news, Pau Torres commits his future to the club by signing a new five-year contract extension, the Spaniard will be paid an additional 1k  per year, along with pocketing £2.2 million through a loyalty bonus. 

We have five fixtures still to play across August, like with previous threads I will look to provide monthly updates and try to capture my though processes on paper along the way,

 

Love the thinking behind making more space for the WP. sometimes it’s nice for overloads having two players coming into the same space but I think you have it spot on here, the combination of the roles works perfect now. The af stretching the defence will cause havoc for anyone coming to press the wp. 

[Shrewnaldo]

Aye, the DM(D) totally makes sense to me - provide that double pivot in front of the centre backs and, like you say, keep the DCs narrow

By the way, I think you added the release clause info to the wrong paragraph :-) 

[SteinkelssonFM]

August 2022

The wait is finally over, my first squad selection  which included the shock inclusion of Fer Niño after the youngsters impressive pre-season form. 

Real Valladolid 0-3 Villarreal 

The Yellow Submarine kicked off the La Liga season with an away victory over newly promoted Real Valladolid, the result was never in doubt as shown by the xG match story. The focus of our play was mainly down the right as highlighted within the heat map with Juan Foyth and Yeremy Pino combining well.  Foyth was actually our most creative player, racking up a total of five key passes whilst Pino topped the progressive passes charts with eight. Defensively, our centre-backs weren't really tested, this is really highlighted in the aerial challenges  analysis, showing only two of the total headers (won/lost) were inside our box.

• 612 passes completed to 394
• 13 key passes to 5 
• 110 high intensity sprints to 71 

I think the above peppering of some take away statistics goes to show you how we dominated the ball. 

Fer Nino rewarded me for putting faith in him by putting on an attacking display from the top drawer, a goal and assist was more than enough to see him pick up the 'Player of the Match' award. 

---

Next up, our first game at home, although fixtures will not be held at the Estadio de La Ceramica until 31/12/2002 as it is currently going through a £30m renovation, (funded from last seasosn's Champions League success).

The number of seats will remain the same, However the following new features will be added.

• A state-of-the-art array of photovoltaic panels will be constructed on a new roof, meaning it will be self-sufficient and beneficial for the environment.
• A new stand will be built in the corner, this will see the ground completely closed off.
• Two new 21x7m scoreboards, as well as a new sound system, LED lighting and an installation of the highly-popular Sky-cam
• A function room will be set up, whilst remodelling of the Entrelineas Restaurant will also be carried out.

---

Villarreal 1-0 Wolfsberger

The result was secured in the UEFA Europa Conference League fourth round qualifier, the goal was scored by Pau Torres from a corner. However, the performance wasn't a continuation of the last game, particularly in the attacking third as we should have scored more goals.

Jose Luis Morales was the main culprit, the striker left the field with an accumulated xG of 0.8, of which two chances were worth 0.35 (hit the post) and 0.31 (into row z).

Defensively we did well limiting the Austrian side to one half chance , the result means that we still have a job to do in the reverse fixture. 

MOTM: Samuel Chukwueze (0.74 expected assists, 2 clear cut chances)

---

Wolfsberger 0-2 Villarreal

A rotated squad was fielded for the second leg, opting to play the majority of players who had a lighter match load, leaving some heavy artillery on the bench if needed.

A narrow first leg win was indeed followed up by an away victory at the Vorwärtsstadion. The match, despite the result was again a close encounter, although goals from Fer Niño both early on and in the dying seconds made the result flatter ourselves.

Wolfsberger managed to have six attempts on goal in our penalty area, totalling 0.5 xG. This equates to each shot averaging 0.08 xG per shot, highlighting our ability to limit them to low chance scoring opportunities.

MOTM: Fer Niño (two goals, 100% shots on target 3/3) 

---

UEFA Europa Conference League Draw

As I look to sink my teeth into this save the game throws up a little gem to help me buy in, a draw which places us in the same group as OGC Nice (still to this day the FM save which I am most attached to) and Hajduk Split (a strong contender for a save in FM23, a side which I watched a few fixtures with over the summer and will be no pushover). We have a tough group, but one which I can not wait to test ourselves in. 

---

Cadiz 0-1 Villarreal 

A fixture that I was almost certain would end up with us being FM'ed, our shot map tells the story. We completely dominated the ball and territory in this fixture and  had already racked up 10 shots  before Pau Torres scored with a back post header (yes another set piece goal). However, I cant really complain it was not like we were taking pot shots from all over the gaff as only four attempts were from outside of the box.

The key pass analysis also shows that we were effective at creating shooting opportunities from all over the field, maybe the 'patient attacking' training is paying off. 

The pass map is a good example of how many combinations this tactic enables, this is one of the bonuses of implementing the double pivot. 

MOTM: Dani Parejo (111 passes completed, 92% pass accuracy, one clear cut chance created).

---

The league table at the end of August is starting to take shape, currently there are eight teams who remain undefeated. We have two games in hand (one postponed to play European qualifiers). Barcelona and Real Madrid are leading the XG table and both are currently outperforming their figures, we find ourselves in 8th place and underperforming by one goal. We do have the best expected gaols against figure, although given that the sample size for us and the others is small this data doesn't hold too much value at present.

September is a busy month which in which I am going to target four points in the league and four points in Europe, we have some tough fixtures and I think a victories over Rayo Vallecano and Omonoia could be the only ones which we secure in the calendar month. 

[Deisler26]

Sexy times are a-comin'

[HowzatFM]

Very nice thread! Seems that Pellegrini and Emery both opted similar tactics. Helps you implement the tactics with the squad built by Emery! 
 

As a Villa fan the tactical framework has been a good read as looking to implement some similar ideas. Especially the ‘box’ midfield

Edited November 11, 2022 by HowzatFM

[SteinkelssonFM]

September 2022

Villarreal 2-0 Rayo Vallecano

Yeremy Pino put in an exceptional performance, showing just how effective he can be in the role of the Wide Playmaker, the Spaniard played six key passes (five from open play). The introduction of substitute Nicolas Jackson  paid dividends as the Gambian was benefactor on three occasions, thanks to his pace (16) and acceleration (16). In all honesty the Gambian could have walked away with the match ball, he had one goal disallowed and also hit the woodwork.

Kudos must also be given to Gerónimo Rulli who manged to somehow keep out Randy Nteka on multiple occasions, the Argentinian manged to pull of four saves (three held, one parried). We have manged to keep five clean sheets in a row, 

MOTM: Yeremy Pino (1 goal, 1 assist, six key passes). 

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Derbi de la Comunitat

For basically the entire 20th Century, Valencia had things almost all their own way in their region of Spain. While city rivals Levante have become a more regular top flight fixture in recent years, regional neighbours Villarreal have been the team to emerge as their main 21st Century rivals in the Valencian Community, eclipsing the likes of Elche, Hércules and CD Castellón.

The Yellow Submarine have risen from virtually nowhere, admittedly with the help of some significant financial backing, to take the fight to Valencia, regularly finishing above and beating their big city neighbours. They’ve even started pinching their players with Dani Parejo, arguably Valencia’s best player at the time, moving to the Ceramica in 2020. At the time of writing, Villarreal are unquestionably now the strongest side in this part of Spain, even winning their first major trophy in 2021 with a memorable Europa League triumph.

If you have a spare 15 minutes I urge you to watch this documentary from the Copa 90 Stories series Derby Days - Battle of the Brothers as it will provide you with all the history and insight from the fans surrounding the derby.

* I thought the above screen was a nice little new touch within the game.

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Valencia 1-1 Villarreal

This was always going to be a MASSIVE game with Valencia also boasting a 100% record. Their attack is spearheaded by Edinson Cavani (four goals in four games), whilst their defence also has yet to concede a goal. 

Rotation went out the window as for the first time I fielded what I believe to be my strongest eleven, excluding Fer Nino who was unavailable due to being away with Spain U21.

The below stats go a little way to show you just how dominant Valencia were. 

• 2.61 to 0.91 xG
• 3 clear cut chances to 1
• 579 passes completed to 483

Rulli played an absolute blinder saving six of the seven shots he faced, including denying Cavani from the penalty spot.

MOTM: Gerard Moreno (1 goal)

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I wanted to gain a deeper understanding as to what Gattuso's side did to deny us from playing our usual possession based game.

I opted to compare the performance with that of Rayo Vallecano given that both teams operate in the 4-2-3-1 formation. The one statistic which jumped out significantly was the increased amount of passes which were intercepted by Valencia. As you can see there was a 5% difference, an increase of 200%. 

A large proportion of these interceptions were on the peripherals of the final third. Valencia through the likes of Gabriel Paulista (10 interceptions), Mouctar Diakhaby (5) and Thierry Rendall Correia (5) were capable of denying us progression and therefore in turn denied us of as many touches closer to the opponents goal than seen before.

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Villarreal 1-1 OGC Nice

With only three days separating this fixture and the La Liga match against Club Atlético de Madrid, it was important to field a side which could compete despite not being at full strength.

A midfield partnership of Team Leaders, Dani Parejo and Manu Trigueros paired up with Jorge Cuenca and Aïssa Mandi at the base of the rectangle, opting to prefer age and experience (excluding Cuenca) for this tie.

Both teams shared a similar level of dominance in the opening game of the group stage. We opened the scoring after Samuel Chukwueze was fouled inside the box, Parejo converting the penalty.

However, looking at the xG story it was us, the home side which should have opened the campaign with all three points. Aaron Ramsey continued his form of bad luck picking up an injury within the first 15 minutes, this was unfortunate for us as Ross Barkley replaced him and scored the equaliser. 

We had 14 attempts on goal and generated an expected goal figure of 2.33. 

MOTM: Ross Barkley

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Villarreal 0-0 Atletico Madrid

We used the intelligence gathered from one of the opening pieces to aid squad selection, the criteria 'Big Game Players'. (trying to make those marginal gains)

This was a game which had me biting a few of my nails as we all know Diego Simeone likes his side to suffer, before delivering the killer blow. The final bit of white within the match momentum was that moment where Atletico had three corners back to back, despite having Marcos Llorente sent off in the 71st minute for a second yellow.

Looking at the xG story you will see a massive spike in the second half, here Jan Oblak showed that he is world class to make an excellent double save from Yeremy Pino (0.36) and Nicolas Jackson (0.24) 

It could be argued that the conversion rate was disappointing as we manged to create six shooting opportunities from inside the opponents box compared to their one. 

However, when looking at xG per shot that simply was not the case...Atletico xG per shot 0.05, our xG per shot 0.07

Pau Torres picks up an honourable mention, the defender won 16 headers in an aerial dominant performance. 

MOTM: Gerónimo Rulli 

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We are now three matches without victory, this is a game which we can/should win and I will be looking for the team to deliver as we travel to Cyprus.

Omonoia 1-3 Villarreal

Veni, vidi, vici is not quite the phrase I would use for the result over Omonoia. We secured the three points and picked up a nice pay check of $431k along the way.

After Samuel Chukwueze opened the scoring in the second minute and dominating the match momentum, it took two late goals from Arnaut Danjuma and Fer Nino to secure the result.

Nino and Nicolas Jackson had goals disallowed for marginal offsides, which should have provided us with that feel good factor result. 

MOTM: José Luis Morales (1 assist)

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OGC Nice secured a 1-0 victory over Hajduk Split in the other group game, the decisive goal was scored by Nicolas Pépé from the penalty spot.

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Taking a moment to look at our strikers outputs, currently only Fer Nino is having an impact on the pitch. The youngster (the surprise package) has  an xG per shot of 0.2 whilst EVERYONE else is under 0.07. The Spaniard also leads the way in terms of his conversion rate 20% which when compared to the likes of Robert Lewandowski (34%) shows there is significant room for improvement. We need to become more clinical in front of goal, especially if we are going to continue to pick up more decisive victories.

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Athletic 2-1 Villarreal

All good things must come to an end, we were outplayed by Athletic Club who picked up the deserved win. We were second best to every action on the pitch today, conceding in the second minute to Raul Garcia certainly didn't help our case.

Gerard Moreno pulled one back for us before our opponents shut us out in the second half and also restored the lead through Iker Muniain. 

MOTM: Arnaut Danjuma (4 key passes, 1 assist)

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we close the month is 9th place, with a game in hand, which could see us rise to as high as joint third. Things as they stand are pretty tight, only three teams remain unbeaten, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manuel Pellegrini's Real Betis. Elche are the only side yet to secure a victory. We still have the best defence in the league. However our plus five goal difference is no match for the super powers who are on +15 and +14.

October is one hell of a busy month, we play eight games in total which the thought alone scares me. Time to pick the squads wisely.

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On 10/11/2022 at 18:05, Deisler26 said:

Sexy times are a-comin

Think you may have been my Achilles heel. 

1 hour ago, HowzatFM said:

Seems that Pellegrini and Emery both opted similar tactics.

I couldn't agree more, I think the Fernando Roig  has a good handle on his recruitment policy and picked a coach which he knew could continue to build on the success that Pellegrini brought to the club without too many  drastic changes. 

I think you will see more of the same from Quique Setien, their latest appointment...I just don't think they have the depth to compete on all fronts. 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Fantastic read as usual, Matty. Apologies as I have been a bit of a silent reader up to now! A few things to iron out, but results against Atletico and Valencia suggest that you can have a successful campaign, all-in-all.

[GIMN]

A solid start to the season.  Won against the teams you'd be expected to, and picked up points from difficult games against Valencia and Atletico.  How is the team shaping up tactically?  Are you consistently getting that narrow 4-2-2-2 shape and seeing those central overloads you wanted?

[SteinkelssonFM]

21 hours ago, DefinitelyTaylor said:

A few things to iron out, but results against Atletico and Valencia suggest that you can have a successful campaign, all-in-all.

I couldn't agree more, those results showed me that we have the defensive stability that is needed to ensure we have a strong campaign. However, my gut feeling is that a few tactical tweaks need to be made to ensure we become more effective in the final third. I will need to play a few more games before making any tweaks but this is something which I will be focusing on.

21 hours ago, GIMN said:

Are you consistently getting that narrow 4-2-2-2 shape and seeing those central overloads you wanted?

The shape in relation to the in possession is exactly what is expected. However, we often are looking to play an early pass through the wide playmaker (in the half space) over the top for the AF to run onto. Whilst this has created quite a few chances I think it could have something to do with a lack of a shorter pass due to the DM being on 'Defend' which as you will know comes with the 'Hold Position' maybe switching this to a support duty will provide a better passing option and reduce the need to play the riskier pass on a heightened frequency.

[13th Man]

I’ve always vaguely liked the 4-2-2-2 and Villarreal, but never actually sunk my teeth into either - so I’ll continue to just generally get a taste with your thread!

Nice idea and I like the simple, realistic, and not overly restrictive goals! Seems to be you’ve had a sometimes disappointing but pretty solid start to the save in that first run of games. A few tweaks, some more tactical familiarity and you’ll be on your way.

[Hootieleece]

Subbed.  Still stuck in my annual journeyman save. Haven't really thought about a career for this forum this year (busy at day job. High School Teacher) but will follow this with great interest.

[Matty Aqua]

On 12/11/2022 at 10:28, MattyLewis11 said:

 

 

Nice start, well written too!. What squad views are you using for looking at stats etc like the striker image above?

I really liked the analysis on Gattuso and the Rayo Vallecano! - definitely feel I learn a thing or two reading through this!

[SteinkelssonFM]

October 2022

Villarreal 5-0 Sevilla

Yes, you are reading the score line correct, we managed to put Sevilla to the sword thanks to first-half goals from Yeremy Pino and Giovani Lo Celso. 

Fer Niño was introduced on the 69th minute, the Spaniard exploding onto the scene, scoring a hat trick, our first of the save. 

We did make one of the above tactical tweaks, the change of the Defensive Midfielder (Defend) to a Ball Winning Midfielder (Support), with the view to provide a little more support in the progression phase of play.

The comparison  shows how the two roles differ in the attacking half, with support duty selected there are more passes made deeper in the progressive phase of play.

MOTM: Fer Niño Hat trick, 100% shots on target (3/3), xG 1.4 

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Hajduk Split 1-5 Villarreal

A few days before the trip to Croatia we were notified that Gerard Moreno had suffered a twisted knee in training and wouldn't be available for 7-10 days, this injury would likely rule the striker out of both fixtures against Hajduk. 

For the second game in a row we have managed to score five goals. What's more impressive is that the last six shots taken for Fer Niño have resulted in the ball hitting the back of the net.

Assists have been diluted across the team ((Deep Lying Forward 3, Wide Playmaker 2, Full-Back2 (both left and right), Advanced Forward 1, Segundo Volante 1) which is again another plus point, highlighting a diverse supply-line. 

Alberto Moreno featured from the bench, securing his first minutes since damaging his cruciate ligaments for the second time back in March 2022. 

MOTM: Fer Niño Hat trick, 100% shots on target (3/3), xG 0.8, 1 assist 

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Villarreal 3-1 Hajduk Split

We enjoyed another dominant performance against Hajduk, who appeared distinctly average even though we decided to field a rotated side. (Femenia, Mandi, Cuenca, Morlanes, Baena, Morales).

The victory has ensured that we qualify from the group stage with two games in hand, OGC Nice hold the exact same points as us, matching us result for result. We face them in the final group game, which looks like it will decide who tops the group and secures passage to the Round of 16 and £560k. 

MOTM: Fer Niño the striker made it 7 shots and 7 goals before ending an impressive run of form in front of goal. 

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Espanyol 1-2 Villarreal

Winning ugly was certainly the phrase for todays result. A goal from Fer Nino and Dani Parejo was enough to see us come from behind to beat Espanyol, after Marin Braithwaite opened the scoring for the home side.

Espanyol will no doubt will be questioning their bad luck, they outplayed us and had the majority of attacking momentum. Looking at the oppositions 'Shot Map' you can see how many attempts they had within the box, Espanyol averaged an xG per shot of 0.08, they failed to create any clear cut chances which had to have been their downfall.

Our defensive partnership of Torres and Albiol lost only 7 aerial duels from 52, if it wasn't for such a dominant performance from the duo we would have likely succumb to defeat, which on reflection was absolutely the fair result.

MOTM: Dani Parejo (1goal, 1 assist) 

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Celta 2-2 Villarreal

The game against Celta was always going to be tough due to Eduardo Coudet's side great home form (only lost once to Sevilla).

The home team set up in a 4-4-2 and liked to build play from the back. This is evident in their pass combinations which shows a high proportion of passes made across the back line. 

Both teams failed to hold leads for over 5 minutes and in reflection the draw was the fair result.

MOTM: Fer Niño (1 goal)

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Villarreal 2-1 Osasuna

We dominated the home game against Osasuna, this is reflected in both the match momentum and xG visualisation. We had more possession (593 passes completed vs 289) and created significantly more shooting opportunities, although the 0.10 average xG per shot value is a tiny bit low for my liking. Maybe we were a little trigger happy which reflects in only creating one clear cut chance. 

It was in this game that I opted to play Gerard Moreno as a Complete Forward on Support duty as after 11 games in the Deep Lying Forward role he had only scored two goals and contributed with one assist. 

MOTM: Arnaut Danjuma (2 assists, 4 key passes, xA 0.6)

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Villarreal 3-1 Omonoia

Now this is what I am talking about, check out the Shot Map of our 25 shots. Unlike the above we averaged an xG per shot of 0.21, crediting our ability to carve out high quality shooting opportunities, this can be seen in our clear cut chances. 

The score line absolutely did not do us justice today as we accumulated an xG of 5.33, the highest to date on the save. 

Alex Baena with five key passes from Inverted Winger making an impact in the left-side half-space. 

MOTM: Alex Baena

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Elche 1-3 Villarreal

What a way to end the month, 25 goals scored and only eight conceded, the tactical tweaks look to be paying off nicely...although I am not going to write too much about them at the minute as I would like to see us play a few more league games.

Three goals in three games from Gerard Moreno has made me opt to make his switch from DLF to CF concrete as it is likely to remove some of the goalscoring burden from Fer Nino.

The five game analysis also makes for a good read, showing our dominance in central areas along with the importance of Pau Torres. 

MOTM: Étienne Capoue

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Some detailed stats takeaways.

• 7th highest possession (4% off second placed Barcelona)
• Second best discipline (10 yellows)
• Only performing over xG by 0.49
• 2nd highest non-penalty xG

Sevilla are in a bit of a crisis, Jorge Sampaoli's team have been highlighted as having the worst defensive record in La Liga in relation to statistical outputs, with them sitting in ninth place it could not be long before the Argentinian is out of a job. 

Three games left to play until we break for the World Cup, January will separate the men from the boys with fixtures against three of the top four. 

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7 hours ago, Matty Aqua said:

What squad views are you using for looking at stats etc

I am using the megapack which FM Stag kindly put together for us all, what a gentleman! 

 

15 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

will follow this with great interest

Glad to have you along for the ride my friend, I have good feelings about this save and am already emotionally invested...as we know, this is key for longevity! 

 

19 hours ago, 13th Man said:

A few tweaks, some more tactical familiarity and you’ll be on your way.

I will look to delve a little more deeper into the tactical side of the game in a few more posts, I will look to carry out a bit of an analysis into some of the key roles and also provide a comparison surrounding players and outputs. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

November 2022

Three games is all that separates me from the World Cup, two of which are played at home against 16th placed Mallorca and 18th placed Girona. Hopefully, we can secure six points which would take us up to seven games without loss. 

I don't want to talk too much yet about end of season expectations as there is far too much football to be played. However, I will say that I am pleasantly surprised with our defensive efficiency which has us above average in terms of both shots faced per game and opposition conversion rate.

OGC NICE 1-1 Villarreal

OGC Nice may have slightly edged this one, the home side were a little more clinical in relation to their shooting on the night. However, they seen less of the ball and finished the game on the back foot...not ideal for the home fans, who would expect Lucien Favre's side to have given it a late surge to secure the victory.

Gaëtan Laborde opened the scoring for Les Aiglons, only for Dani Parejo to maintain his 100% strike record from the penalty spot (3/3) after a Jean-Clair Todibo mistake.

MOTM: Gaëtan Laborde (1 goal) 

We qualify for the 'Round of 16' thanks to the UEFA Europa Conference League rules which favoured our goal difference over OGC Nice, as previously reported this outcome has secured us an additional £560k income, along with a further £99k in unallocated match prize money. 

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Villarreal 6-1 Girona

You know one of those games where everything seems to click within the 'ME', this was it. We scored some beautiful goals, ones that were fluid in terms of the build up included some excellent off the ball movement and short, sharp interchanges.

•  20 key passes to nine
• 10 clear cut chances to two

The stand-out of the day was our Trequartista, showing his ability to not only progress the ball through passing/dribbling but with some lovely 45 degree passes which split the defence like a hot knife through butter. 

MOTM: Yeremy Pino (1 goal, 1 assist, 5 key passes, 4 dribbles made, 3 clear cut chances)

Thanks for the inspo @_Ben_

The above shows the shape which were are often in when in possession of the ball. We have zone 14 on lock down, with our four most advanced players positioned on each corner. Behind them we have a flat line of four, the wing-backs having sole responsibility of the flanks, whilst the 'Magic Rectangle' provides the solid foundation/protection to ensure there are two bodies available to recycle possession/protect direct access to the central defence.  

The central overloads are causing opposition problems @GIMN which is highlighted in Girona's visualisation without the ball, forcing their fullbacks to play narrow to deal with the additional bodies which we have within zone 14.

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Villarreal 3-0 Mallorca

We secured four wins in a row in La Liga after shutting Mallorca out of the game for the majority of the match. goals were scored from all areas of the pitch (Defence, Midfield, Attack). 

MOTM: Pau Torres 

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Focus on Fer

The game against Mallorca was Fer Nino's first game drawing a blank after 14 goal contributions (13 goals and 1 assist) in the last eight games. Below are his per 90 statistics.

The striker is the perfect example to highlight just why 'Start Ratings' aren't the be all and end all of scout reports, at three starts the Spaniard is in the form of his life. He has 16 goals to his name and boasts an average xG per shot rating of 0.20. 

I wanted to see just how good this was by comparing him against the leading scorers from the top five competitions, the results are as follows. 

La Liga - Robert Lewandowski 0.19 

Serie A - Lautaro Martínez 0.11

Ligue 1 - Wissam Ben Yedder 0.11

Premier League - Roberto Firmino 0.08 

Bundesliga - Tiago Tomas 0.07 

Now I would be a fool to kid myself and believe the following a) Fer Niño is as good as Lewandowski, he clearly isn't anywhere near the calibre of player which is clear from the attribute analysis. b) the players form will continue throughout the duration of the season..not many players can outscore their expected goals when factoring in a large sample size. 

What the data does show me is that Nino is not a volume shooter, he is taking his shots only when in good goal scoring positions, now whether that is a great ability to read the game or is more luck than judgement only time will tell. 

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We are performing well against one of the supporters expectations, 'finish above Valencia in the league'. We currently find ourselves in second place, a point clear of Atletico Madrid and two clear of Barcelona, whilst Valencia are five points adrift in sixth place. 

 

[albertluque]

I love when people go into such detail with their saves.

[SixPointer]

Superb progress matty! I have to make a very bold statement….. I love the way present your updates and how you pack them with info but don’t go over the score. I would definitely say it’s my favourite style of writing on the CU forum. 😎