[FM23] The Chronic Fatigue Diaries - Liverpool

[dirkgently1066]

Back again?

Yes that's right, after my annual insistence of 'I don't need this year's version, I'll just stick with the version I have,' I inevitably caved and decided to dive in to FM23.

Now, if you're new around here I should probably forewarn you; this thread might be a little different from some of the other career updates. You might even find it a bit self indulgent and annoying. Sure, they'll be some pretty screenshots and some boasting about trophies but I like to focus on a slightly different aspect of FM, specifically how I manage my game time against the backdrop of anxiety. 

For you hardy souls who have stuck with me from FM14 onwards, some exciting news. This year, I'm going to adding the context of chronic fatigue!

"Chronic Fawhonow?" you ask. That's right, whilst our old pal anxiety is still on the scene, his chum ME has decided to move in too. Well, it adds a bit of challenge to the save I suppose.

False Start

Oh yeah, the other thing I should probably tell you is that I have this really annoying tendency to start a save and then ditch it for the most petty of reasons, almost always having nothing to do with actual results. I took this art form to new heights in FM22, regularly booting up, only to find that a couple of the youth team players who have random stats were only rated 3 stars by my coach rather than 3.5 stars, and so turning off. Or trouncing all and sundry in pre-season then quitting before the first league game because I decided that I wanted to implement a new playing style, which apparently meant that I must cleanse my PC and start over. Or my own personal favourite, where I would work myself up, get dead excited about a new plan I had concocted then go to bed and after waking up in the morning, having a complete change of mind and starting over.

For context, I racked up 40+ seasons on FM20, my playing time totalling a whopping 2,341.9 hours, the most I had ever spent on a single version of the game. For FM22, my best career was just 10 seasons and yet I managed to accrue 'playing' time of 2,374.7 hours. Yes that's right, I quite literally spent more time restarting saves over and over again on FM22 than I did actually playing a 4 decade career on FM20

Oh, such fun.

That was partly the motivation for buying FM23. I figured that by starting fresh on new territory, all the FM22 demons could be laid to rest. Still, the anxiety-riddled, OCDish part of my brain insisted on perfection before we even got going. I was determined that I would only hit 'Play' on Steam when I was ready to commit, which meant downloading kits and logos etc and checking, double checking and triple checking everything before I booted up.

Demon satisfied, it was only then time to start. At which point of course the next anxiety trigger kicks in. What formation and style will I use?

I won't spend time on some of the circular thinking documented in my other threads. Instead, let's cut to the chase. To ensure a clean start, and to ensure compatibility with the  current squad, I opted for the 433 Gegenpress tactic that had served me well at the outset of FM20. It wasn't perfect and would likely need tweaking at some point but it gave me a familiar base.

Things started off well as Salah bagged 4 against our under 21s. Thing is though, Luis Diaz played really badly, with a rating of just 6.3. So after one pre-season game, I ditched it, switching out the inside forwards for inverted wingers and the mezzala for a playmaker. We saw immediate improvement in the next game, thrashing a bunch of hapless local minnows, the change of role not bothering Salah as he helped himself to another hat full of goals. Mission accomplished.

The first sign of trouble came shortly thereafter with news of a broken leg for Salah, putting him out for 4 months. Immediately I thought of restarting but I was determined not to. I carried on then and, perhaps not surprisingly given our star man was out, our form was up and down. Into the latter part of the season, we were second in the league, chasing down Man City. With Salah back fit, things were looking good. Right up until Nunez broke his leg, putting him out for 4 months.

Long story short, we somehow won the league but our form was patchy at best. Tactically, I had stuck with the 433 but had jumped all over the place, from Gegenpress to my own style and eventually ending the season using Tiki Taka. None of them convinced, our goal output well down on normal and player ratings across the board much lower than I would expect. Trent in particular seemed nerfed, barely getting above a coach rating of 3, even though his output remained decent. Something needed to change.

Harking back to FM20, for season 2 I changed direction completely and employed an aggressive 424. it was brilliant! We dished teams left and right, including smacking 8 past Spurs as we took a dominant lead in the league. My key players were performing and I was confident that I had found the way forward.

You know what happened, don't you? Our form fell off a cliff and in an attempt to turn things around, I lost all tactical discipline. I lurched hopelessly between formations and styles, losing any sense of what my FM identity was and to rub it in, our form showed no improvement.

I'm not proud to tell you my friends that I deleted the save.

Wait, so that's it?

Well, not quite. But that can wait for the next instalment. See, I told you it was self indulgent and annoying.

[Sonic Youth]

Won the league and still deleted the save  

Haaland’s not available this time round and Mpappe is going to be expensive. Are you targeting an area for transfers?

[dirkgently1066]

Round 2

Right, enough of that nonsense. Although there is an irony that I'm going to wax lyrical on a save that hasn't yet got as far as the one I ditched.

Second time around, I was resolute in opting to stick with my FM20 433. Here it is;

Nothing especially clever. Essentially, I took the 433 Gegenpress base and switched some roles to better represent what I thought the FM20 Liverpool team looked like. With Thiago now in the ranks, the mezzala should arguably now be an advanced playmaker but it is a role I have often been frustrated with. Plus, I don't want to base part of the tactic around a guy who is 31.

With a transfer budget of c£40m, we have some funds to play with but not enough to go and solve that well documented midfield problem. With his signing announced just before new Year, I decided to bring in Cody Gakpo in a deal that will ultimately be worth £48.5m. I was a little hesitant as he is only rated 3 stars but to my surprise, he worked very well on the abandoned save above and so I knew he was a solid investment.

 The season started strongly as we whacked Man City 5-0 in the Charity Shield, helped along by Ruben Dias getting his marching orders just after half time, although we were already 2 up by that point. We followed that up with an opening day win at Goodison, sticking in 3 without reply, before thrashing Leicester for 4 and Villa for 7, either side of a drab 0-0 at Leeds.

Our first defeat would come in October as Real bested us 1-3 in Spain. This was followed by a tough trip to City, who also beat us, ensuring that most horrible of stains on the fixture schedule - consecutive losses. City would again beat us in the League Cup 2 months later. Still, this would be our only league defeat until May when, having already secured the league title and on the verge of setting a new undefeated milestone for the club, we succumbed to a 0-2 defeat at Arsenal.

With Real avenged 3-2 at home, we would sweep all else before us, ending the season as winners of the league, champions league, FA Cup and charity shield, only the Milk Cup eluding us. We would end the league campaign with 29 wins, 7 draws and 2 defeats, scoring 111 and conceding 29 with a total of 94 points, 9 clear of second placed City.

Funnily enough, player performance was broadly at a par with that abandoned first season. Take a look at this;

As you can see, the ratings aren't much different. Nunez and Salah were more proficient but then that what happens when you don't break your leg. Indeed Trent's numbers are actually way down, registering just 14 assists vs 23. It just felt different though. We always seemed more in control of games and, whilst we had some sticky moments away from home - reflected by those 7 draws - I always felt that we were in a position to win games. There was the odd mid-match tweak but overall, I was happy to stick rather than twist. And just look at those stats for Elliott!

Not a bad season, right? Plenty of reasons to cheer? Oh my dear naive friends, if only that were so. This is going to sound like a humble brag but in truth, it is little more than black and white thinking and perfectionism. 

7 draws? 2 defeats? Mate, I've had multiple unbeaten seasons. I'm used to racking up minimum 100 points each season. This is garbage!

It isn't of course. We have to bring some balanced thinking. FM23 is a new match engine that I am finding my way round and the squad - the same core of players from FM20 - are now that much older. Plus of course, City are that much stronger. As @Sonic Youthnotes, Haaland was my go to signing on previous versions and Mbappe was the cherry on top of the cake. Other teams have improved too and the struggles of real life Liverpool highlight that nothing can be taken for granted.

Let's be pleased then with what we have achieved and turn our thoughts to what comes next. Watching the match highlights, there are still some tactical gaps I am keen to fill but I am wary of changing anything radically. Plus, experience has shown me that a second season with a tactic can often be more fruitful as the players step into a pair of shoes that they are already comfortable with.

Next Instalment

Join me as we consider potential transfer targets and get our heads around the squad planner.

[Sonic Youth]

Nice season, with a top result in the ECL final 

I think that’s the best I’ve seen Nunez used.

Elliot’s stats as you mentioned are definitely eye catching and it feels like your play went through the middle more than the wings (a possible reason for TAA’s assists being down).

I guess the lack of broken legs makes a difference 

[dirkgently1066]

Season 2

Another successful season for the mighty Reds as we retain both our Premier League and Champions League crowns.

In some ways, season 2 would be more challenging than the first and yet in others, it was decidedly smoother sailing.

Things didn't get off to the best of starts. City beat us 1-2 in the Charity Shield and then our first league game of the season was at - you guessed it - the Etihad. This time we went down 0-2, not helped by Van Dijk getting his marching orders after just 4 minutes following a pretty shocking two footed lunge. I basically just tried to shut up shop and hold on after that and so took a two goal defeat as a reasonable result.

Still, it was a defeat. Immediately I was haunted by memories of my FM20 save, season 2 being the first of my unbeaten league campaigns as we racked up a total of 80+ games undefeated. Had I done something wrong?

Thoughts of tactical change had been nagging at me but I decided to stick for now and we were rewarded with a 5-1 thumping of Inter to secure our first UEFA Super Cup. We then racked up 12 straight league wins, eventually coming a cropper at Arsenal. This though would be our only defeat until May when, title secured, we seemed to rather give up against Chelsea and let them thwack us 2-5.

Despite our form, the league remained a tight contest. We were top and for some reason City had 2 games in hand which, if they won, would bring them within a couple of points of us. After our opening day defeat, all eyes turned to Anfield where a win would see us put City back in their place. Frustratingly though, we allowed a 2 goal lead become a 2-2 draw with a last minute equalizer, keeping City in with a shout. Ultimately though they couldn't live with our pace and with 99 points, we finished 7 points clear.

There was more fun to come in the Champions League. A silly group stage loss to Benfica aside, we breezed through to the quarter finals and PSG. Given our form, I dismissed any notion of changing up our tactics and promptly got walloped 0-3 in Paris. I wasn't concerned though, knowing that we had the firepower to overcome almost anyone at home. Lo and behold, we were 4-0 up within 30 minutes with Salah and Nunez each scoring a brace. An Mbappe goal before half time brought the tie level before Salah struck again for his hattrick for 5-4. Phew. Except...

Straight after half time, Mbappe notched again to level the tie. Salah unbelievably struck his 4th but Mbappe hit back and we would go to extra time. Piling forward, Cody Gakpo would be the hero, scoring a 114th winner to make it 7-3 on the night and 7-6 on aggregate!

In the semi, Real Madrid tried their best to emulate these antics. We went 2-0 up in Spain before a Vinicius Junior hattrick game them a slender advantage. This time the return leg was more straightforward as Jota, Van Dijk and Salah helped us to a 3-1 second leg win. After all that, the final was a bit of a damp squib, our old pals Inter going down to 10-men early on as we saw out a simple 2-0 win.

The only real blot on the landscape was in the FA Cup. We were scheduled to face Ipswich just before that league game at City and so I rested the entire first team. We still had a pretty decent team out but Ipswich did us good and proper, securing a 2-3 win to dump us out in just the 4th round.

Player Performance

Much like the first season, ratings were okay but distinctly down on previous versions of FM. Nunez again led the scoring charts but his output was down, his performances dipping to the point that his coach rating routinely dropped from 4 to 3 (before promptly going back up to 4 again after spanking 4 in one game). Harvey Elliott again had an impressive season, mostly from the bench or as a back up, and heading into season 3, I'll be looking at how I can get him into the starting line up.

Our major purchase was in midfield where I sought a long-term replacement for Henderson. I wanted Bellngham but baulked at his £101m release clause. He remains on the radar but I plumped for Camavinga who at £68m, offers a solid investment and the capability of playing in a couple of positions. With Brighton getting relegated, I added Caicedo for a bargain £36.5m, who joins us next season.

The disappointment remains Trent at right back. Ratings generally seem much more sensitive in this match engine, defenders regularly receiving ratings of 6.4 or lower, presumably because of some loose passes or missed interceptions. Still, both Tsimikas and Robertson at left back managed to score in the low 7s and so even accepting somewhat lower ratings generally, his under performance stands out.

It became a bit of an obsession during the season and the main driver of me thinking about tactical changes. Could I give him an attacking duty perhaps, or switch him to a CWB role. Trouble is, I don't want to destabilise my formation just to accommodate one player. Even Trent.

My friends, it even reached the point where I considered restarting, trying again with another tactical style or formation that would allow our prize asset to flourish. He'll now have a rating of 6.90 on his permanent record, worse than the previous season. Aren't I supposed to be making him better? Was it my fault? Had I ruined him and therefore the save? And where would Gerrard play? (no wait, that's a different hang up).

I don't have the answer to these questions but I am forcing myself to live with this uncomfortable feeling. What if I never get the best out of him? What if I win the league and champions league every year for a decade, win the World Cup as England and Trent plays every game with ratings no better than 7. Does it matter? Does one somehow cancel out the other? I don't think so, however much the all or nothing part of my brain would like to think so.

Next Up

I really will get round to talking about squad planning, mainly because it is the thing that causes me the most anxiety. Plus I have a couple of top quality regens that have come through the youth academy.