[FM23] Bees of Brentford: A Taste of Honey

[Dong21]

21 hours ago, warlock said:

Good to have you around, mate. Any chance of a new save for you, or are you on indefinite FM leave?

I’m traveling quite a lot with work over the next two months, so indefinite leave for now sadly - I am missing playing! Hopefully in the summer I’ll be able to get a save started. 

[ShaunG95]

On 25/04/2023 at 01:09, warlock said:

Transfers in

Having outlined the needs and wants, obviously my first signing fitted in neither category. Although I was happy enough with our midfield, we were 'blessed' with a disproportionate number of ball-winning midfielders and were rather short on creativity. I had my eye on Lorient's Enzo Le Fee all season but had no immediate plans to sign him. Then a news report raised the prospect of him signing for either Man Utd or Newcastle, which rather tipped my hand. He was signed for £6m:

As a replacement - and upgrade - at CB I had been tracking Dinamo Zagreb's Josip Sutalo. He's good in the air and tough in the tackle, with good physicals and mentals - I was sure he was a player that would be worth the investment. He was duly signed for £15m.

With lingering uncertainty over the future of Toney, and unable to re-sign Fer Nino, I was looking for a player who offered much of what those two strikers provided us. I found him in another youngster from eastern Europe, Augsberg's Croation striker Dion Drena Beljo. Ideally, I'd like a little more pace but, according to the scouts and coaches, he has plenty of room to grow:

And finally - so I thought - we needed a replacement for the departed Wissa, although I'd already decided that we would play Keane Lewis-Potter at AML so what was needed was a backup to Brian Mbeumo at AMR. In came Portuguese youngster Francisco Conceicao, signed from Ajax for £11.25m:

Having spoken a couple of days ago about my fears of relying on 3 players covering both AML and AMR while Mbeumo is out until early 2024, my hand was forced when Conceicao suffered a back injury just before the first game of the season and was expected to miss the opening month so I felt I had no option but to bring another covering player. I eventually found him - I hope - in Matías Soulé, a 20-year-old Argentinian who joined on a season-long loan from Juventus. He's "not far off first-team level" and should provide long-term cover.

 

Some really good signings here, Sutalo and Le Fee have been good squad players on my Everton save and Beljo is a dependable 'meta' forward on the game.

[Jogo Bonito]

Tiredness may have seen you a drop a few places, but still holding an excellent position near the top of the table. And the European adventure could be going much worse too!

[warlock]

Back to the game after a brief break to celebrate my 67th birthday 

November 2023

Although an easier month on paper - just 5 games and an international break - in reality it was another tough one as we hit yet another injury crisis. AMR Mbeumo is still out, and likely to remain so until January, and we played much of November without his backup, Francisco Conceição, who pulled a thigh muscle in our opening match against Newcastle. In the same game AML Mikkel Damsgaard suffered an ankle ligament injury, which left us with just Lewis-Potter and on-loan youngster Mattias Soule to cover both positions. We also had CB Ethan Pinnock out for the month after he suffered a sports hernia on the last day of October, and then first-choice RB Costinha suffered a spinal injury in training midway through November, meaning he will miss most of the remainder of the season.

On the pitch we entertained league leaders Newcastle at the Community Stadium and I expected a tough game, which was duly delivered:

DaSilva put as in front just before half-time, and we extended our lead midway through the second half via Le Fee, at which point we were looking very comfortable . But Newcastle responded well and we couldn't hold them off as they scored twice in the last 20 minutes to grab a share of the points.

Next came a trip to Italy in the Champions League:

Despite beating them by the same score in October, we never looked like repeating that performance.

Three days later we made the trip to Merseyside to face a struggling Everton in what looked like our easiest game of the month. And for the first 30 minutes it played out that way and we took a 3-0 lead in at half-time:

Whether fatigue or complacency, we allowed Everton back into the game as Calvert-Lewin scored after 63 minutes, and ten minutes later former Bees man Neil Maupay grabbed their second. In the end we were hanging on and I was pleased to head home with 3pts, as we anticipated a visit from Spurs, who were just below us in the league:

A slender victory was well-deserved, and Toney's first-half winner took him to 13 goals from 15 starts for the season. The game also dealt a double blow to Spurs, who lost Harry Kane - perhaps for the rest of the season - with a torn achilles tendon.

To end the month we faced AJax in the Champions League, where a result would either see us qualify for the knockout stages of the competition or drop down into the Europa League:

The game got off to a remarkable start when, after 3 minutes, Dusan Tadic threw himself over in the area for the dodgiest of penalties, stood up to take it himself - only to be denied by a brilliant save from David Raya. And the 'keeper continued to keep the Dutchmen at bay for the remainder of the game, earning himself a well-deserved PoM award. We were forced to play a much-rotated team, including youngsters Beljo, Conceição and RB Fin Stevens who all did themselves proud, ending the game with ratings of 7.5, 7.5 and 7.2, respectively. 

On the whole, a very pleasing month:

But there's no easing up... December looks difficult with 8 games in 4 weeks as we travel to Dortmund for our final Champions League group game, face Man City in the Carabao Cup quarter-final, and Liverpool in the league. Thoughts also turn to the January transfer window - I have £23m in the pot and board instructions to spend it all. Costinha's long-term injury combined with Rico Henry's disappointing performances make a new fullback a priority. On the up side, Raya seems to have eliminated most of the mad moments from his game so hopefully no replacement will be needed there, and Mbeumo should return from his injury. Ideally, I'd like to invest in two or three 18-year-olds to began addressing the home-grown player problem.

Edited May 3, 2023 by warlock
Surplus pictures

[Jogo Bonito]

32 minutes ago, warlock said:

Back to the game after a brief break to celebrate my 67th birthday 

Belated congratulations young man, hope you had a great celebration.

Back with a bang too, excellent results there and really looking strong! Any targets for the full back positions? I hope you keep Henry in the squad at least.

[rich ruzzian]

With such a busy schedule it is nice to know you already are going to play the next round in the Champions League. 

Congratz with your birthday! 

[KlaaZ]

Curious to see how Beljo will perform for you! I signed him with Kaiserslautern on FM22 and although he was my best striker by far and had the ability of a good Bundesliga player, I couldn't really get him to score double digits.

[warlock]

7 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

hope you had a great celebration

I did 

6 hours ago, rich ruzzian said:

it is nice to know you already are going to play the next round in the Champions League.

Yes, takes the pressure off in a tough game against Dortmund. I doubt we'll get much further than the Round of 16, but the financial payoff has been fantastic!

5 hours ago, KlaaZ said:

Curious to see how Beljo will perform for you!

So far he's doing fine:

With Toney in such excellent form, he's going to have to patient, but  pretty much every time I've called on him he's responded with a good game. Five goals and an assist from 6 starts and 10 sub appearances is a return I'm very happy with.

[SteinkelssonFM]

Belated birthday wishes, Ivan Toney doing what he does best, scoring goals and leading many individual stats. 

Right in the mixer in the league and a nice challenging UCL tie awaits. 

[SixPointer]

Another save to catch up on now I have some time!! Nice to see Toney leading the charge to the UCL!

[karanhsingh]

Happy birthday! Here's wishing I'm still playing FM as well when I'm 67

[warlock]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Here's wishing I'm still playing FM as well when I'm 67

Well, it doesn't take a lot of strength or flexibility 

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

Well, it doesn't take a lot of strength or flexibility 

Yes, can totally see it happen! 

[SixPointer]

16 hours ago, warlock said:

Well, it doesn't take a lot of strength or flexibility 

Amen to that!

[warlock]

December 2023

We ended November sitting in 4th place in the Premier League and already qualified for the Round of 16 of the Champions League but December had the potential to knock us off course as we faced 8 games in 4 weeks in three competitions: six league games, our final CL group game away at Dortmund, and a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Man City. And we opened the month with a derby match against Fulham:

A pretty dominant performance delivered a comfortable victory with Toney and Dasilva bagging the goals, and our star striker picking up the PoM award. It was good to see our fullbacks making the assists.

Next up the trip to Germany:

Having lost to the Germans in the home fixture I had no illusions about this one, and we looked to be heading for a spanking when the home side jumped into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes. Credit to our boys, we fought our way back to level the scores before half-time. Unfortunately, Dortmund had too much quality and they thoroughly controlled the second half, adding another two goals - and rather rubbing salt in our wounds.

Back to league duty and a trip to a Bournemouth side hovering just above the relegation places:

Our third game in a week produced a tired performance and we were utterly second-best in the first half, mustering just 6 shots with only one on target. Fatigue or not, harsh language was deployed in the interval and had the desired effect. With Mbeumo still not fit and Damsgaard completely shattered, before the game I promoted 21-year-old Miles Peart-Harris to the bench. He came on for the ineffective KLP midway through the second half and immediately repaid my faith by setting up Beljo for the equaliser. Two points dropped or one saved? Either is better than a defeat in a tight race at the top of the league.

We then enjoyed a precious week off between fixtures and looked like a different team when Norwich came to the Community Stadium:

We bossed the first half but failed to find a breakthrough; at the interval I told the lads to keep doing their thing and we'd be rewarded. And we were - Pinnock converted a Damsgaard corner, before the Dane delivered a through ball that Toney tucked away. Finally, KLP - not noted for his aerial ability at just 5'7" - found space in the box to head home a cross from LB Henry.

Then came our Carabao Cup quarter-final against Man City. It's a measure of our season that we were one place ahead of them in the league, and we have enjoyed some excellent results against them in the save, notably in last season's Carabao Cup semi-final. I was cautiously optimistic for this one:

With the exception of possession, the stats show my optimism was not misplaced and we were definitely unlucky to be 2-0 down at half-time. Enzo gave us hope just inside the hour mark but we failed to make the most of our chances (Toney had a rare off day and finished with a 6.3 rating). But I have a feeling I'll be glad to be out of this competition, saving us two extra fixtures in the new year.

Just 3 days later we were back in action with an away trip to Blackburn in what should have been the easiest game of the month. Newly-promoted Rovers had failed to win a single game so far, but this isn't my first FM rodeo and I was bitterly disappointed but not surprised at the result:

We were forced to play a much-rotated side but that was no excuse for a thoroughly lethargic performance. Had Beljo's offside attempt stood it might have changed the course of the game but Rovers had two efforts of their own chalked off and in the end we were lucky to escape further embarrassment.

My mood was far from festive as we celebrated Christmas, knowing that a trip to league leaders Liverpool awaited us on Boxing Day. Inexplicably, I decided this was the right time for a tactical switch . The original thinking was to drop a CM to DM in a double pivot, with Enzo or Jensen sitting just ahead of them. But the more I looked at it, the more I hated that huge hole in the middle of the pitch. So, throwing caution to the winds, I deployed Enzo in his best position at AMC, and the lads delivered a Christmas miracle:

A stunning 3-0 victory against the leaders? Unbelievable, Jeff! But thoroughly deserved. With the exception of a missing Mo Salah, this was a full-strength Liverpool side, and the cherry on the Christmas cake was provided by youngster MPH who, on for Enzo after 80 minutes, converted a Fin Stevens cross to seal the deal. Having just posted yesterday on @Jogo Bonito's career thread about how I hadn't been able to get a 4231 working this year, no-one was more surprised than me.

For our final game of 2023 we entertained Leeds who were pushing for a spot among the European qualification places. Naturally, I stuck with the new tactic but almost immediately came unstuck. Leeds took the kick-off and we couldn't get a touch in the opening two minutes as they worked it back and forth before carving open our defence and driving it home. But we responded well, and goals from Toney and Sutalo gave us the lead before half-time. Soon after the restart, Leeds LB Bjorkan pulled down Toney in the box and our striker converted the spot kick to extend our lead. Leeds pulled one back 5 minutes from time but we were able to see out the game from there.

A month of incredible lows and highs but despite the latter we were unable to improve our league position. However, we sit 6pts ahead of Man City and just 2pts behind leaders Liverpool:

Our position is built on Ivan Toney's goals but also on an excellent defensive unit that has conceded the fewest goals in the campaign.

In other news, we were notified of our reward for qualifying in the Champions League - a tie against Bayern Munich. The Germans are comfortably en route to another Bundesliga title but have lost one game so... not invincible! Meanwhile, it's time to spend some money.

[rich ruzzian]

Close battle halfway for the title. 
Prerry unlucky with the champiosn league draw. 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, rich ruzzian said:

Prettt unlucky with the champions league draw

Yeah, but to be fair I'm not sure there was an easy draw available:

We're hanging out with some pretty ritzy company 

Edited May 9, 2023 by warlock

[warlock]

Some recent news...

Confirmation that GK David Raya has put aside his frailties from last season:

Recognition for Mathias Jensen:

Damsgaard and Norgaard were also named in the Danish Team of the Year.

 

[karanhsingh]

Excellent stuff!! I must take some defensive tips from you, because my team has 2 clean sheets in the last 5 months 

[KlaaZ]

4 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Excellent stuff!! I must take some defensive tips from you, because my team has 2 clean sheets in the last 5 months 

Second this 😅😅

[john1]

Tough CL draw!

[Jogo Bonito]

Very impressive work continuing here. Toney has been superb for you, and I have to ask what are the odds on keeping him for the duration of this save?!?

Interested to see the 4231 delivering. Keep up the great work.

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

what are the odds on keeping him

An excellent question . During the summer window there was a lot of interest but the few bids that arrived were all lowball offers. All were rejected and the man himself never raised a murmur.

So far this window (I'm about halfway through January) there's a lot of rumoured interest:

But no bids so far. And Ivan loves me:

So I'm cautiously confident of hanging on to him for now. But that could change quickly if we fail to qualify for Europe again. 

[karanhsingh]

Have you thought of giving him a new contract?

[warlock]

8 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Have you thought of giving him a new contract?

He signed a new deal in the summer - 3yrs at £80k a week, making him our top earner by quite a margin. I don't have the budget to improve on that for a good while. An actual bid came in from Juventus but Ivan said he wasn't interested in the move so it was rejected out of hand. I have a sense that he's not interested in a move overseas but a serious bid from Liverpool or Arsenal might lead to a conversation about how much I'd accept for him.

I'm just about to go into deadline day, so we'll see what happens. Fingers crossed!

[karanhsingh]

Fair enough, although if 80k is your highest wage by a margin for a premier league club you seem to be running a very financially disciplined outfit!

[warlock]

11 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

a very financially disciplined outfit!

Tight-fisted, we are . Ivan is our only star player; then a group of 6 important players on c.£45-50k; and regular starters on £30-40k. Total player wages around £57m a year, among the lowest in the league:

As contracts come up for renewal I'm sure those numbers will increase, and new signings already want more than the existing squad members.

[Jogo Bonito]

It's good that Toney seems content there and hopefully he can be the main man for some years to come. I fully support your sensible financial controls, a man after my own heart.

[warlock]

January 2024

Another tough month to start the new year - "only" 6 games, but 3 of those were against the best teams in the league in Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool. We began with a visit to Aston Villa - who have been something of a bogie team so far - and sticking with the 4231 we emerged with a narrow victory, Toney bagging a brace. 

Next a home game against Arsenal that resulted in a hard-fought draw. Pinnock gave us an early lead before Saka equalised just before half-time. After the break Toney put us back in front but we couldn't hold on and Saka got a second 10 minutes from time.

A week later we made our entrance to this year's FA Cup with a home tie against Championship side Sheffield United. Although a 5-2 scoreline looks convincing, the game was anything but. The Blades jumped into an early two-goal lead before Beljo pulled one back after 36 minutes. In the second half we appeared to assert some much-needed control with Sutalo giving us the lead inside the hour. But it was only visitors' aggressive push for an equaliser that allowed us to polish the victory with 3 goals in the final 10 minutes as Sutalo grabbed his second and CB Leinhart picked up a brace.

We then travelled to Manchester to take on City, who had strengthened an already-ridiculous squad with the £111m signing of Real Madrid forward Rodrygo. We were still in the 4231 shape and the plan was to keep it tight and try to hit them on the break. In the first half we managed the first part of the plan but not the second. But just after the break we left Foden unmarked at the back post and he converted the simplest of chances, and we were still unable to make inroads on the City defence. But in the final minute of normal time KLP found MPH in the box and the youngster rounded the City keeper and tucked away a last-gasp equaliser.

Next up, league leaders Liverpool came to the Brentford Community Stadium and we looked to be on for a flying start when Toney was brought down in the box in the 3rd minute. Sadly he was unable to convert the penalty, putting a tame effort into the hands of the keeper. But we kept up the pressure, enjoying a slight majority of possession and the better chances and got our eventual reward when Norgaard gave us the lead on the hour. Unfortunately, we couldn't hold on and Liverpool scored an equaliser inside the final 15 minutes.

It was after this match that I decided to revert to the 433, perhaps a surprising decision since the 4231 had delivered a run of 7 games without defeat, including games against the toughest of opponents. However, the defensive solidity that had been the hallmark of our season was now a distant memory - in those 7 games were failed to keep a clean sheet after the famous Boxing Day win over Liverpool. Moreover, we had conceded an unthinkable 10 goals in the most recent 6 games. The tactical switch seemed fully justified in theory, but...

For our final game of the month we travelled to the south coast to face Brighton, another tough opponent but having lost their most recent two games. And the change in approach paid immediate dividends as Pinnock gave us the lead inside the opening minute. Unfortunately, we then proceeded to fall apart, unable to cope with wonderkid striker Evan Ferguson who produced an equaliser after 22 minutes and the winner within a minute of the interval. I can only hope this was nothing more than a bit of confusion in the squad following the tactical tinkering.

Despite our heroics in the big games we earned just 6pts from a possible 15 and inevitably slipped a little in the table:

I'll go through transfers in the next post - there's quite a lot to talk about and it's getting late here.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

Despite a few draws that is still a very good season so far. Toney still doing well too. Unless he is one of 'those transfers' you refer to...

[warlock]

5 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Toney still doing well too. Unless he is one of 'those transfers' you refer to...

No... transfer window closed and Ivan is still with us, although his form has definitely dropped off as the month went on. Perhaps distracted by the transfer interest, but I'm hoping he'll be back to his best in February.

I'm also very aware of our reliance on Ivan - when he has a bad game, or gets wrapped up by the AI defence, we simply don't perform. I think we need another goal threat but all of our other strong performers are predominantly creators and not scorers, even though Damsgaard and KLP have chipped in with a few goals this season. The natural choice would be Mbeumo but he seems way off his best since returning from a long injury. Some pondering required.

[SixPointer]

On 12/05/2023 at 02:03, warlock said:

January 2024

Another tough month to start the new year - "only" 6 games, but 3 of those were against the best teams in the league in Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool. We began with a visit to Aston Villa - who have been something of a bogie team so far - and sticking with the 4231 we emerged with a narrow victory, Toney bagging a brace. 

Next a home game against Arsenal that resulted in a hard-fought draw. Pinnock gave us an early lead before Saka equalised just before half-time. After the break Toney put us back in front but we couldn't hold on and Saka got a second 10 minutes from time.

A week later we made our entrance to this year's FA Cup with a home tie against Championship side Sheffield United. Although a 5-2 scoreline looks convincing, the game was anything but. The Blades jumped into an early two-goal lead before Beljo pulled one back after 36 minutes. In the second half we appeared to assert some much-needed control with Sutalo giving us the lead inside the hour. But it was only visitors' aggressive push for an equaliser that allowed us to polish the victory with 3 goals in the final 10 minutes as Sutalo grabbed his second and CB Leinhart picked up a brace.

We then travelled to Manchester to take on City, who had strengthened an already-ridiculous squad with the £111m signing of Real Madrid forward Rodrygo. We were still in the 4231 shape and the plan was to keep it tight and try to hit them on the break. In the first half we managed the first part of the plan but not the second. But just after the break we left Foden unmarked at the back post and he converted the simplest of chances, and we were still unable to make inroads on the City defence. But in the final minute of normal time KLP found MPH in the box and the youngster rounded the City keeper and tucked away a last-gasp equaliser.

Next up, league leaders Liverpool came to the Brentford Community Stadium and we looked to be on for a flying start when Toney was brought down in the box in the 3rd minute. Sadly he was unable to convert the penalty, putting a tame effort into the hands of the keeper. But we kept up the pressure, enjoying a slight majority of possession and the better chances and got our eventual reward when Norgaard gave us the lead on the hour. Unfortunately, we couldn't hold on and Liverpool scored an equaliser inside the final 15 minutes.

It was after this match that I decided to revert to the 433, perhaps a surprising decision since the 4231 had delivered a run of 7 games without defeat, including games against the toughest of opponents. However, the defensive solidity that had been the hallmark of our season was now a distant memory - in those 7 games were failed to keep a clean sheet after the famous Boxing Day win over Liverpool. Moreover, we had conceded an unthinkable 10 goals in the most recent 6 games. The tactical switch seemed fully justified in theory, but...

For our final game of the month we travelled to the south coast to face Brighton, another tough opponent but having lost their most recent two games. And the change in approach paid immediate dividends as Pinnock gave us the lead inside the opening minute. Unfortunately, we then proceeded to fall apart, unable to cope with wonderkid striker Evan Ferguson who produced an equaliser after 22 minutes and the winner within a minute of the interval. I can only hope this was nothing more than a bit of confusion in the squad following the tactical tinkering.

Despite our heroics in the big games we earned just 6pts from a possible 15 and inevitably slipped a little in the table:

I'll go through transfers in the next post - there's quite a lot to talk about and it's getting late here.

 

Very tough run of games in all fairness! I expect you to bounce back next month 

[Jogo Bonito]

9 hours ago, warlock said:

No... transfer window closed and Ivan is still with us, although his form has definitely dropped off as the month went on. Perhaps distracted by the transfer interest, but I'm hoping he'll be back to his best in February.

I'm also very aware of our reliance on Ivan - when he has a bad game, or gets wrapped up by the AI defence, we simply don't perform. I think we need another goal threat but all of our other strong performers are predominantly creators and not scorers, even though Damsgaard and KLP have chipped in with a few goals this season. The natural choice would be Mbeumo but he seems way off his best since returning from a long injury. Some pondering required.

Good to hear Toney remains, he will surely return to top form. Agree on the worries about relying so heavily on one source, but it's working well so far (more often than not).

[Jogo Bonito]

I wanted to ask about Philipp Lienhart. I have had him on my shortlist at Stuttgart since starting there, and he will be out of contract in 2024. He seems a steady performer and would be capable at Bundesliga level, right?

[warlock]

1 minute ago, Jogo Bonito said:

He seems a steady performer

That's a good appraisal, He's not spectacular but pretty dependable and should be more so in the Bundesliga. He's very right-sided though, if that's a consideration. As a free signing I don't see how you could go wrong.

[warlock]

January 2024 - transfers

Although the team as a whole were doing well in the first half of the season, there were individual areas, if not of concern, then at least giving me pause for thought. The most obvious was our wide forwards - AMR Mbeumo has missed almost the entirety of the season so far, returning only for a couple of sub appearances in late January. Before his return he had come to me to request a move away to play for "a bigger club". Obviously no-one was going to bid before he'd established himself after such a long layoff but he may engineer a move in the summer.

In his absence, we played Keane Lewis-Potter most often on the right and Damsgaard as first-choice at AML but couldn't ask them to play every game. Our other natural at AMR, Conceição, had done very well after signing a year ago but struggled to make an impact this season and is spectacularly ineffective at AML. In turn that meant we had to play Enzo at AML to give Damsgaard a breather, but I prefer his creativity in central midfield, hence the promotion of Miles Peart-Harris to the first-team squad. While I have no doubt about the long-term ability of the group, It all felt rather makeshift and I decided to make a new AMR my top target.

The player selected was 18-year-old Swedish wonderkid Roony Bardghji:

With his contract ticking down at FC Kobenhaven, he was signed for the bargain price of £8.75m. Already rated as our best AMR, including Mbeumo, he looks set to be a star for the club for years to come. We did have to agree a minimum fee release clause but at £72m, which I'm hoping will keep the sharks at bay for quite a while. Provided he stays long enough, he'll also qualify as homegrown at club.

Most of the above discussion applies equally to the right fullback position. First choice Costinha suffered a spinal injury in November and is unlikely to return before the beginning of April. While backup Fin Stevens continues to develop he's still a way short of the finished article, meaning we've had to play Kristoffer Ajer here more often than not. He's pretty good at it, too, but he's also one of our two best CBs (alongside Sutalo) and there have been times when we've missed him in central defence. So a new RB was deemed a priority and we turned again to Portugal to find our man:

At 19 years of age he's another one for the future. His technicals need some improvement, but mental and physical attributes are already impressive, as is that 5-star potential. Another bargain, I think, at £5.25m. Sadly, I think he's too old to become homegrown, but sometimes you can't tick all the boxes.

With our two most pressing requirements addressed, I could turn my attention to a longer-term need - that lack of homegrown players in the squad for registration in European competitions. Obviously this will take at least 3 years to solve but with spare transfer budget (and a board instruction to spend it all) I'd had the scouting team lining up some suitable targets. Sadly, most were not interested in moving clubs at this point in their careers and for others the unlikely granting of a work permit was another major stumbling block. But we did find one candidate who skated those issues:

Not quite ready for prime time, but my scouts and coaches are convinced he'll make the grade and for a measly £2m it seemed like a no-brainer. I'm always looking for midfield creativity, and he also feels like the archetypal Brentford signing.

And that concluded our business - I didn't manage to spend all of the money, but the remaining £4.5m gives us the option to make a move or two before the end of the season if we can identify the right players. Top of my list of wants, with a view to that homegrown issue, are a young CB and a young striker. In the absence of an academy I need to establish a conveyor belt founded on signing 18-year-old prospects. I could, of course, hit up the board for investment in the youth setup but I'm keen to keep to the Brentford philosophy (while acknowledging that European registration problems are not an issue for the current IRL club management).

[Blarney]

On 11/05/2023 at 19:03, warlock said:

January 2024

Another tough month to start the new year - "only" 6 games, but 3 of those were against the best teams in the league in Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool. We began with a visit to Aston Villa - who have been something of a bogie team so far - and sticking with the 4231 we emerged with a narrow victory, Toney bagging a brace. 

Next a home game against Arsenal that resulted in a hard-fought draw. Pinnock gave us an early lead before Saka equalised just before half-time. After the break Toney put us back in front but we couldn't hold on and Saka got a second 10 minutes from time.

A week later we made our entrance to this year's FA Cup with a home tie against Championship side Sheffield United. Although a 5-2 scoreline looks convincing, the game was anything but. The Blades jumped into an early two-goal lead before Beljo pulled one back after 36 minutes. In the second half we appeared to assert some much-needed control with Sutalo giving us the lead inside the hour. But it was only visitors' aggressive push for an equaliser that allowed us to polish the victory with 3 goals in the final 10 minutes as Sutalo grabbed his second and CB Leinhart picked up a brace.

We then travelled to Manchester to take on City, who had strengthened an already-ridiculous squad with the £111m signing of Real Madrid forward Rodrygo. We were still in the 4231 shape and the plan was to keep it tight and try to hit them on the break. In the first half we managed the first part of the plan but not the second. But just after the break we left Foden unmarked at the back post and he converted the simplest of chances, and we were still unable to make inroads on the City defence. But in the final minute of normal time KLP found MPH in the box and the youngster rounded the City keeper and tucked away a last-gasp equaliser.

Next up, league leaders Liverpool came to the Brentford Community Stadium and we looked to be on for a flying start when Toney was brought down in the box in the 3rd minute. Sadly he was unable to convert the penalty, putting a tame effort into the hands of the keeper. But we kept up the pressure, enjoying a slight majority of possession and the better chances and got our eventual reward when Norgaard gave us the lead on the hour. Unfortunately, we couldn't hold on and Liverpool scored an equaliser inside the final 15 minutes.

It was after this match that I decided to revert to the 433, perhaps a surprising decision since the 4231 had delivered a run of 7 games without defeat, including games against the toughest of opponents. However, the defensive solidity that had been the hallmark of our season was now a distant memory - in those 7 games were failed to keep a clean sheet after the famous Boxing Day win over Liverpool. Moreover, we had conceded an unthinkable 10 goals in the most recent 6 games. The tactical switch seemed fully justified in theory, but...

For our final game of the month we travelled to the south coast to face Brighton, another tough opponent but having lost their most recent two games. And the change in approach paid immediate dividends as Pinnock gave us the lead inside the opening minute. Unfortunately, we then proceeded to fall apart, unable to cope with wonderkid striker Evan Ferguson who produced an equaliser after 22 minutes and the winner within a minute of the interval. I can only hope this was nothing more than a bit of confusion in the squad following the tactical tinkering.

Despite our heroics in the big games we earned just 6pts from a possible 15 and inevitably slipped a little in the table:

I'll go through transfers in the next post - there's quite a lot to talk about and it's getting late here.

 

Definitely a tough month but a draw is better than a loss and it didn't cost you much in the standings.  Still holding very strong there.

[karanhsingh]

Great signings! Roony also seems like a typical Brentford transfer especially as he's Scandinavian. 

[warlock]

10 hours ago, Blarney said:

Still holding very strong there

7 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Great signings!

Thanks, both. 

[SixPointer]

Roony is a baller. One of the big ones to come out of FM23. If Jobe can be half the player his brother is your onto a real bargain. 

[Jogo Bonito]

On 14/05/2023 at 00:55, warlock said:

That's a good appraisal, He's not spectacular but pretty dependable and should be more so in the Bundesliga. He's very right-sided though, if that's a consideration. As a free signing I don't see how you could go wrong.

He signed a new contract before the transfer window so it didn't happen. Good signings there, Roony and Jobe. I really hope the latter will continue his development and turn in to a valuable asset, but both seem very realistic Brentford signings.

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

He signed a new contract

Ah, too bad. He's currently my most reliable CB and outperforming Sutalo at the moment.

Roony is doing fine, and Jobe is currently impressing in the u23s - I have high hopes for both of them.

[warlock]

February & March, 2024

A twofer this update - February was a brisk 4-game month and I was enjoying the save so much I'd played a couple of games in March before I realised.

First news is the arrival of the obligatory Brentford injury crisis 

Regular readers will remember we had to play youngster Fin Stevens and Kristoffer Ajer in rotation at RB because of a long-term spinal injury to first-choice Costinha. In the January window I brought in hot prospect Goncalo Esteves to ease the burden. So the news that the new signing suffered a torn abdominal muscle barely a month after arriving was a big blow, an injury that would keep him out for the rest of February and March. To add insult to injury, Ajer then twisted an ankle at the beginning of March so he would miss the rest of the month.

Happily we do have some flexibility in the squad, with Aaron Hickey, backup to Rico Henry at LB, able to play on the right, and DM Vitaly Janelt able to cover at LB. But Janelt was in recovery from his own twisted ankle so it required some careful rotation and fitness management to work our way through a tricky couple of months.

On the pitch, February started with a bang as we travelled to Old Trafford to take on second-placed Man Utd in the FA Cup 4th round, a game I fully expected us to lose, only hoping to avoid a morale-sapping spanking. The lads had other ideas:

We opened the scoring in the fifth minute as Leinhart converted a Damsgaard corner, and then Toney extended the lead midway through the first half. United had the better chances but couldn't finish and in the end resorted to trying to kick us off the pitch.

A week later Chelsea made the short trip to Brentford. The media was obsessed with our excellent record against our west London rivals but they are different proposition now under the  management of Zinedine Zidane; after a poor start to the season, they are now pushing for European qualification.

I feared the worst when Sterling gave the visitors a 16th minute lead, but Roony bagged an equaliser just after half an hour. The game was an even contest and a share of the points was a fair result.

Next came the highly-anticipated return fixture against Blackburn, the worst team in the league who had stunned the Bees faithful by grabbing an unlikely victory at Ewood Park back in December. I was determined that there would be no repeat of that performance - theirs or ours - and we duly saw them off with a 2-0 win:

We ended the month with an historic occasion as Brentford made their debut in the knock-out stages of the Champions League against the might of Bayern Munich. Unfortunately, we seemed awestruck by the event and the opposition and Bayern jumped into an early lead when Sane hit a tame effort towards goal, Pinnock stuck out a foot, and the ball deflected past Reya to give the visitors a lead in the 12th minute. We managed to hold our own for the remainder of the half until in the last minute of added time Cody Gakpo extended the visitors' lead and that was that. Overall, we matched the Germans for much of the game according to the stats but, in truth, we never looked like getting anything from this one:

As in February, we opened March with an FA Cup tie, a trip across London to Millwall for the fifth round and returned home with a comfortable 3-0 win. A week later we were travelling again, this time to Norwich in the league. The Canaries are having a torrid season and their last victory was back in November against fellow strugglers Bournemouth and we duly thumped them 4-0. The match was notable for the performance of Brian Mbeumo who has been poor since returning from a long-term injury. I decided to give him a game up front and was rewarded with a magnificent first-half hat-trick. Sadly, he hasn't shown anything like that quality since.

The home draw against Bournemouth was a disappointment in light of our continued push for another season of European football, but we returned to winning ways in a tough derby match against neighbours Fulham. Then it was our Champions League return match against Bayern:

With the home side having to wait until the 83rd minute for the winner it might look as though we gave them a game. In reality, they could afford to sit on their 2-0 first-leg margin and we never looked like getting back into the tie. Once again the Bees seemed overawed by the opposition (and who could blame them?) but it's a learning process and this was invaluable experience for a young squad.

And we managed to end the month on a high with an FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton. Having lost to the Seagulls at the end of January I was far from optimistic about a return to the south coast, and what transpired was a game for the ages, a classic end-to-end cup match:

 

In truth, it was a game between Brentford and Brighton's Japanese AML Kaoru Mitoma - every time we scored it seemed Mitoma was there to grab an equaliser until Toney grabbed our third goal just before half time. When he converted a penalty to give us a 4-2 lead with 20 minutes remaining I thought we'd done enough. But Brighton threw everything at us and when Mitoma completed his hat-trick in added time, the result remained in some doubt. The final whistle came as a relief!

It remains incredibly close at the top of the Premier League. We're in 5th place but with games in hand over all of the teams above us. It seems unlikely that Aston Villa can close the gap from 7th so we could, theoretically, finish anywhere between 1st and 6th. More realistically, I'm hoping for a repeat of last season's 3rd place finish. We have winnable games remaining but also face away trips to Spurs and Newcastle and a home match against Man Utd to end the season.

We're now in the two-week international break so I'm hoping that will give our recent and currently injured the opportunity to recover, while praying that players on international duty will avoid mishaps. 

Edited May 17, 2023 by warlock

[warlock]

April 2024

With the end of the season looming, we still had plenty to play for - European qualification in the league and an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea. But we began the month with a trip to Tottenham. Spurs were languishing in mid-table and Antonio Conte had been sacked as manager in March. But they had appointed HoYD Dean Rastrick as caretaker manager and his first game had produced an unlikely away win at Old Trafford, so I was less-than-confident about this one:

Toney gave us an early lead and we remained in control throughout the first half as Spurs picked up a succession of yellow cards, and I was confident of our chances after Harry Kane was stretchered off. Unfortunately, he was replaced by Richarlison who played the role of supersub when he grabbed an equaliser midway through the second half.

Next we faced a home game against a resurgent West Ham side, and it seemed like we'd be up against it when Soucek gave the vistors the lead after just 7 minutes:

If our finishing had been better we'd have won the game comfortably. In the event, two first-half goals from Norgaard and Toney proved just enough as the Hammers had a late equaliser ruled out for offside.

Despite the international break at the end of March, the squad was looking tired, lacking energy and ideas while we produced a series of scrappy, unconvincing performances. A week after West Ham we faced another home game against Everton, who were battling just above the relegation zone but on an improved run under new manager David Wagner.:

We got off to the best possible start when Roony opened the scoring after just 6 minutes. But we were unable to build on that and allowed the Toffees to equalise early in the second half. It took an Ivan Toney strike in added time to give us a late, late victory.

Next came a break from league duties as we enjoyed the latest in a succession of Wembley appearances, facing Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final. I mentioned last time that Chelsea are now a very different proposition under their latest manager, Zinedine Zidane. Going into this one, the Blues had not lost since the beginning of January and were fresh off a 3-0 spanking of Newcastle. Their form combined with our flagging performances to produce what felt like a foregone conclusion:

We manged to keep it close through the first half but two minutes after the restart Chelsea produced the defining moment of quality to take the lead. Beljo had an effort rule out for offside late on, and fluffed an even better chance in added time when he mis-hit a clear opportunity straight into the arms of the Chelsea keeper.

To conclude the month we made the long trip to Newcastle. The media pointed out that the Geordies were 17th in the league form table but we were not much better, and so it went:

A single moment of quality from Isak midway through the first half was enough to ensure another defeat that was only made worse by our lacklustre performance. Only RB Costinha, returning from injury, performed to anything like the required standard with a rating of 7.0 - everyone else was much worse.

So despite the chance to push for a table-topping position with games in hand, we ended the month little better than we started:

On the bright side, a 3rd place finish is still on the cards as we have a game in hand over Man Utd, and face them on the last matchday of the season. And while our form is far from convincing, the same can be said of all of the Top 6 teams as we've all dropped points in the last month. Of far greater concern is our own form as we arrive at the end of a tough season. Toney and Norgaard continue to perform at a very high level, and the return of Costinha from injury at RB is a major plus, but too many of our regulars are struggling. The previously-great Lienhart is our worst performer for the last 5 games, while Hickey, Sutalo, Beljo, and Lewis-Potter have had very poor seasons. We need an upsurge in form in May if we're not to suffer a major disappointment this season.

 

[karanhsingh]

Your Toney is definitely faring better than the IRL one now 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Your Toney is definitely faring better than the IRL one now 

Mmm... at least he won't face a ban in this universe. I know rules is rules, but the punishment seems harsh in a league that takes a huge amount of gambling money 

[karanhsingh]

6 minutes ago, warlock said:

Mmm... at least he won't face a ban in this universe. I know rules is rules, but the punishment seems harsh in a league that takes a huge amount of gambling money 

Totally agree with you

[warlock]

May 2024 - end of season

At the end of April I suggested we needed an upturn in form if we were to achieve a Top 3 finish or, indeed, any kind of European qualification. But did we improve?

First up a trip to Southampton. The Saints were above the relegation battle but still needed to pick up points to secure their safety, so a tough game was on the cards:

And a tough game duly followed as both sides seemed to take a "safety first approach". Had Roony's first-half strike been allowed to stand it might have opened up the game but we had rely on a rare late goal from Frank Onyeka to bag all three points.

Three days later Leicester came to the Community Stadium. With the Foxes firmly cemented in mid-table this was a game we should have won:

To be fair, the lads put in a decent performance but Leicester created the better chances and took them with aplomb. At the final whistle I feared we'd blown our season but it transpired that, yet again, most of the top teams were struggling as Liverpool could only draw at home to Brighton, Man City scraped a 3-3 draw against Southampton, Man Utd miraculously lost to lowly Norwich, although both Arsenal and Newcastle grabbed wins.

For our penultimate game of the season we travelled north to Watford in what - news to me! - the media billed as a derby grudge match. Regardless, it was a must-win game for Brentford and we demonstrated clear superiority over the relegation battlers:

Of more concern were injuries to Roony and Toney - while the latter suffered torn hand ligaments and would return for the final match, Roony incurred a torn calf muscle and will be out until the start of next season. In a final piece of mockery from the medical gods, Pinnock, Ajer and Norgaard then picked up muscle strains in training, leaving the first two out for a month and the latter questionable for the season closer.

So we went into our home tie against Man Utd with only two fit CBs, our best central midfielder lacking fitness, and one of our key creators missing. And the situation was this: we were 3rd, 1pt ahead of Arsenal and 3pts ahead of United. A win would clinch 3rd, a loss would drop us down to 5th as United had a much superior goal difference, and an Arsenal win would give them 3rd spot regardless of other results.

It wasn't pretty, but that man Toney gave us a first-half lead and we looked fairly comfortable at the break. But United also needed to secure European football and came at us until our former star Christian Eriksen bagged their equaliser. Happily for us though, United seemed content with a point and noticeably began lingering over goal kicks and set-pieces. It wasn't until after the final whistle that the news arrived that Arsenal had been held to a draw by Brighton and third places was ours. Champions League again!

We were immediately rewarded by the board with a huge transfer budget:

Toney's goal against United gave him a total of 30 for the season across all competitions, and second place in the PL scorers list:

I remain confident of retaining the services of Toney and Raya, much less confident of keeping Damsgaard who I've agreed to sell if we get an offer of £69m. Mbeumo still wants his "bigger club" move but for now there's no apparent interest. Others showing as 'wanted' include Lewis-Potter and Lienhart. Then there are questions about other squad players - CMs Jensen and Janelt have had a poor season, and Rico Henry has not impressed. Much plotting and planning required this summer while we bask in the glow of another very good season of over-performance.

And for the second year in a row:

Yay me!

Edited May 18, 2023 by warlock

[karanhsingh]

That's brilliant! Well done mate. Great finish. 

Look forward to seeing how you spend over the summer. 

[warlock]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

That's brilliant!

Thanks mate.

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Look forward to seeing how you spend over the summer

Yeah, me too