[FM23-24] How Is Our Trophy Case Still Empty - Crystal Palace

[keeper#1]

Summer 2027 Transfer Window - Here Come the Kids

For the most part, this transfer window was focused on bringing in younger players who could help establish some depth at the club since the last few youth intakes have not been great.  Looking for players who are about to outgrow their current club but still need the development time before they break into our senior team.

Transfers In

Out of this group of incoming transfers, only one Xavi Simons is expected to be a game-in/game-out contributor to the first team.  He is one of the best midfielders in the world and he was willing to come to Palace.  He came over at the "bargain price" of 39.5 million pounds which was his minimum release clause at PSV.  Only two other signings, left-back Matic Kosnik and right-back Enoch Mastoras will be on the senior team but they are expected to play more of a rotational role than a starter's role.  The other six players will either rejoin their original clubs on a loan-back deal or go out on loan to another club to develop their game.  Ryan Green goes back to Fulham while Pabio Prati remains in Argentina with Velez and Fabio stays in Brazil with Flamengo.  On the flip side,  Phil Jeffrey goes on loan to affiliate club Ipswich Town while Gerald Libbrecht goes on loan to Stuttgart and Charlie Byrne makes the biggest move from Newcastle to loanee at Levski Sofia.

Transfer Out

A combination of young players and veterans depart the club.  The two biggest losses will be Moussa Dembele, who provided a lot of key goals for the club over the last few seasons moves on to defending league champion West Ham.  Rotational goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic moves to the Middle East and Al-Sadd.  We also lost a couple of rotational pieces in center back Max Kilman and center midfielder Hayden Hackney.  Mitja Ilenic could never make that breakthrough into the first team that I hoped so he moves on to Lille in a net loss.  A couple of academy players who would likely never seen the senior team were sent out to smaller clubs in England for a pure profit.

Great early start to the campaign.

[Hootieleece]

Xavi Simons is a gem of a player, but I think Alex Scott is a similar player.

Good work bringing in the young talent.

 

[keeper#1]

5 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Xavi Simons is a gem of a player, but I think Alex Scott is a similar player.

Good work bringing in the young talent.

 

They are very similar players but Simons can play a more variety of roles while Scott has a better knack for scoring.

[Jogo Bonito]

Simons is a great signing, good value there too. Nice start to the 27/28 season too. Welcome back.

[keeper#1]

Season 2027-28 Update 1 - How Is It Midseason Already?

A preview for later in the post.  We've changed some things up, tactically, we've become a little too predictable and teams are sitting back against us.  It's become harder for us to break through their lines.  We've gone a little more direct to get into the offensive zone before they have a chance to set up and bunker down.

The first two months of the season were rough.  We were getting beaten in the same way that we were beating teams - they were sucking us into the offensive zone, winning the ball, and hitting us on the counterattack.  It was tough to watch.  Getting beaten at our game.  What did we do?  First, we tried to tinker with the roles in the formation but that had limited success and only caused us to have more disjointed performances.  Then, I completely changed up how we use the 4-3-3 formation.

We've shored things up down the middle by turning the base of the triangle into the play-making point of the formation.  From there, the player has four options.  The least desirable option is to the ball-winning midfielder on the left side but he has a shorter option next to him in the supporting fullback.  The right side of the formation is more attacking with an inverted winger running the inside channel on the right, an attacking fullback overlapping down that side, the supporting central midfield has a "get further forward" instruction to push him a bit further up the field but not as far as he was getting as an central midfielder with an attacking mentality.  We also have the center forward playing a more supporting role and coming deeper into the formation.  The idea here is to pull the two center backs away from the box, use the two attacking wingers to isolate the fullbacks in a 1v1 situation and attack the space behind the two center backs who should be moving up to mark the center forward and advancing center midfielder. 

The switch to this tactical design while still using the 4-3-3 shape has paid immediate dividends.  We retain the ball more and when the opposition does get the ball, we have one or two players in position to win the ball back immediately and restart the attack.  As November turned into December, the offensive movement started to become more natural to the attacking line and the goals started to flow.  The only match where we underperformed was against West Ham who kept us completely off the scoresheet.  Really liking this tactical change....just need to come up with a name for it. 

The defense is where I want it.  The offensive is improving and with all of that, we sit in 2nd place but it's a bit deceiving.  Both 1st and 3rd place have two games in hand on us.  So, there could be a big gap between ourselves and 1st place and we could even fall down into 3rd place.  The relegation fight could go all the way to the wire with six teams within six points of last place.  Brentford, Blackburn and Aston Villa could see themselves dragged into the relegation fight if they go through a prolonged stretch of underperformance.

 

[Jogo Bonito]

Really picking up some momentum in the league now. The formation tweaks certainly worked out well.

[_Ben_]

Looking really good at half way!

My concern would be a lack of goals though - looking at Man City, Arsenal, even Man Utd. Is that something that is worrying you?

[keeper#1]

3 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Looking really good at half way!

My concern would be a lack of goals though - looking at Man City, Arsenal, even Man Utd. Is that something that is worrying you?

Yes.  That's why I switched up how we use the 4-3-3.  Teams were sitting back and forcing us to play through them.  I made the switch to play a bit more direct and getting into the attacking zone before they have a chance to set up their defense.  Our xG has gone up from a little below 1.5/game to 1.8/game - a 20% jump.  But even with that jump, we still sit 12th in xG/90.

Edited August 13, 2023 by keeper#1

[keeper#1]

Been grinding through games but unable to do a full write-up since I'm getting ready to send my child off to college later this week.  But a couple of messages from the PR office.

Palace in the Champions League Final?!?!?!?!  Our road through the knockout rounds:

Round of 16: Real Madrid 1-1 (h) 1-0 (a) 2-1 win

Quarterfinals: Barcelona 1-1 (a) 2-0 (h) 3-1 win

Semifinals: West Ham 4-1 (h) 2-0 (a) 6-1 win

Finals: vs PSG

[keeper#1]

Headed into the last match day of the season and it is TIGHT at the top.

One point separates the top four.  Here's who everyone plays

Chelsea (8th) at Crystal Palace (4th)

Watford (18th) at Newcastle (2nd)

Arsenal (1st) at Southampton (19th)

Manchester United (7th) at Tottenham (3rd)

The only saving grace for us and Tottenham is that both Arsenal and Newcastle are playing teams, Watford and Southampton, that are playing for the Premier League lives.  

[keeper#1]

Full update coming tonight US Eastern time.

Troy Parrott etches his name into Champions League lore with an extra time goal to defeat PSG.

[Rikulec]

Top work mate!

[keeper#1]

2027-28 Final Season Update - We Are The Champions

No, we aren't champions of England.  That honor goes to Arsenal who did just enough on the last match to win the title on goal difference over second place Newcastle (+47 to Newcastle's +32).  We finished right behind them in 3rd place on 79 points just one point behind.  Tottenham heads to the Champions League with their 4th place finish.  Manchester City's 5th place finish gets them a spot in the Champions League as well.  As of now, Manchester United and Liverpool will go to the Europa Conference and Aston Villa, by virtue of winning the Carabao Cup, will go to the Europa Conference.  At the other end of the table, Wolves needed a win on the last match day to survive over Southampton and Watford.  West Brom were down way before the final day of the season.

Some dodgy February form is probably what cost us the title.  Losses to both Arsenal and Newcastle.  The loss to Everton knocked us out of the FA Cup but the loss to Liverpool was also dropped points that made the difference between winning and losing the title.  Of course some injuries along the way made squad rotation difficult but once we got that injury bug and fixture congestion behind us, we rolled through the competition.  The Champions League was a very difficult road to the title.  The Round of 16 featured a tight matchup with Real Madrid which we won 2-1 after we took an early 1-0 lead in the home leg and held on for dear life to claim the victory.  Our Spanish road continued in the quarterfinals against Barcelona.  We drew in Spain 1-1 before claiming a famous 2-0 win where super-sub Troy Parrott scored both goals off the bench.  West Ham upset Manchester United in the other half of the bracket.  We tore them apart in the opening leg, 4-1.  The large lead allowed us to rest some key players heading into stretch run of the Premier League season.  A professional 2-0 win in the second leg and we were through to the final against PSG at the Stade de France.  We came from behind twice to force extra time.  In extra time, our super-sub scored late into extra time and we held on for the victory as Crystal Palace sees their name etched into the Champions League trophy.

Defender of the Year - CB Kevin Danso: Statistically Danso was our best defender.  That said, he was mainly used a 3rd center back in a three center-back rotation with Marc Guehi and Luca Duding - both players struggled for fitness during the long Premier League and Champions League campaign.  Danso was a very reliable third option to use in a rotation.  He is both strong in the air and on the ground.  He used his aerial ability to add six goals from corner kicks during the season as well.

Midfielder of the Year - CM Alex Scott: Scott missed a good portion of the middle of the season with injuries.  That said, he was our best all-around midfielder.  He has a decent nose of the goal with three goals while adding six assists.  If he was healthy for the entire season, he can put up a 10 goal-10 assist season.  A good defender to with 71% of his tackles won and a good passer of the ball.  He's a solid midfielder that will be our lineup for years to come.

Player and Forward of the Year - CF Yakup Dundar: Dundar is on the path to becoming one of the best center forwards in the world.  He led the team with 27 goals in all competitions and finished 3rd in the Premier League with 18 goals.  The Premier League will be a better place and more competitive for the Golden Boot when Haaland leaves the league.  Haaland led the league with 41 goals.  Dundar probably won't be as good as Haaland but he has the potential to score between 25-30 goals in a Premier League season.  

We need to do a better job of creating quality scoring chances during the season.  We finished a very distant 12th place in non Penalty xG/game at only 1.28 and that's with a switch in the tactical roles during the season.  Need to find some more playmakers during the summer transfer window.

We are one of the most efficient scoring team in the league.  We score our chances.  That said, we need to create more chances.  We only had 107 chances during the season.  Arsenal had 145 and Newcastle had 174 while Manchester United led the league with 180 chances created.

We win by not allowing the opposition have any real quality chances.  Our defense is one of the best, if not the best, defense in the league.  2nd in goals allowed with 36.  No goals allowed from corner kicks all season, no goals allowed from direct kicks and only three goals allowed from indirect kicks.  If you want to score against us, you have to earn it.

The board has decided against another stadium expansion and is going with a brand new stadium.  I'll probably know more at the end of next season.

Hopefully going from Category 2 to Category 1 will improve our youth intakes which have been pretty poor in the last few seasons.

Time to find some more creative midfielders in the summer transfer window!

[Fudal]

13 hours ago, keeper#1 said:

Been grinding through games but unable to do a full write-up since I'm getting ready to send my child off to college later this week.  But a couple of messages from the PR office.

Congratulations! Going into my freshman year myself. Hope they enjoy what they're choosing to do!

[_Ben_]

Congratulations! Big moves to win the Champions League in the timeframe that you have.

[keeper#1]

7 hours ago, Fudal said:

Congratulations! Going into my freshman year myself. Hope they enjoy what they're choosing to do!

Same with my daughter.  The car is 90% loaded and ready to go.  Just need my wife to finish a 1/2 day of work and will start the drive.

4 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Congratulations! Big moves to win the Champions League in the timeframe that you have.

Avoiding Manchester United in the semifinals was huge.  Though Real Madrid-Barcelona-Manchester United-PSG would have been quite the path to the trophy.  Got a lot more achievements to still knock off in this save.

[keeper#1]

2028-29 Season Update 1 - Trying Some New Ideas

I'm tinkering a little bit with the formation and tactical approach.  I've moved away from the 4-3-3 and into a 4-2-3-1.  I want to get some more offensive progression and direct play to prevent teams from sitting back again us.  If it works, I make a post about it but right now it's still a work in progress.  If it doesn't work, I'll go back to my reliable 4-3-3 and try to tweak it to make it more progessive.

The pundits like Dundar's chances of pushing Haaland for The Golden Boot but Haaland is still scoring at a goal per game clip and that will be tough to beat unless he gets hurt.

The ping pong balls did not bounce our way and we have a tough slate of Champions League games to make it into the knockout stages.

The Tottenham match was the only match we used the 4-3-3 formation.  The rest of the matches used the 4-2-3-1 formation.  It brings us goals but, at the moment, we are a little too exposed at the back and are giving up goals especially when we are holding the lead.  Need to find a solution to not have so many bodies forward late in the match and hold onto the lead.  Maybe we need to switch back to the 4-3-3 formation late in matches and hold those leads.  

Sitting in the middle of table after we had a couple of wins turn into draws.  Just need to sort out the tactics and hold onto those wins.

Only three new players joined the club during the summer transfer window.  I needed to divert a lot of transfer funds into the wage budget in order to keep some of the better first team players at Crystal Place.  Paolo and Raskovic will rotate into the starting lineup throughout the season.  Ledesma is a grow and develop player before he can move into the first team.

[keeper#1]

2028-29 Season Update 2 - Keep It Simple Stupid

I tried some new tactical ideas early in the season but the team struggled with the new ideas.  I was trying to put some square pegs into round holes.  It was starting to impact our on-field performance.  Why did I do?  I went back to basics.  I decided to Keep It Simple Stupid.  I made our 4-3-3 formation less complex.  Took away some of the running around high-intensity pressing and counter-pressing.  Give away the ball?  Get back into defensive position to win the ball back.  Don't go chasing the ball right after they take it from us.  Win the ball?  Get the ball up to the midfield and forwards and put them into a position to score.  Nothing fancy.  Just very basic football and it works.

Look at that defensive football.  Six shutouts in nine matches.  While we trying to be more progressive and fancy, playing a style that didn't suit us.  We only had three shutouts in 14 matches.  They are a young team.  They aren't ready for "fancy football."  So, we keep it simple and grind out victories.  And the KISS Football is working.  It just grinds teams into submission.  Doesn't allow them to have the ball.  Doesn't allow them to shoot.  And if you can't shoot, you can't score.  Nothing flashy but it produces wins and in the end, that's what matters.....

At the midway point of the season, we have grinded our way to 2nd place.  We are battling with Manchester United for the top of the table.  It's tight at the top with Newcastle, Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, and Manchester City not too far behind top two.  We are going to need to keep grinding out results in the second half of the season.  It's rare that the bottom three are all but determined before New Year's Day but the league might be in this position this year.  Huddersfield and Stoke are already down.  Burnley could save their season if they get hot in the second half of the season but it is tough road to safety.

We need to fight for our lives to make the opening knockout round in the Champions League.  We aren't going to be a top 8 team this year.  Need to find a way to get a win and draw against Rennes and Antwerp to stay in the top 24.  It should be done but we have to play both matches on the road.  Draw against Rennes and win against Antwerp to survive and advance.

Defender of the First Half: CB Kevin Danso

Midfielder of the First Half: LM Henrik-Sverre Heltne Nilsen

Forward of the Field Half: CF Yakup Dundar

[keeper#1]

2028-29 Season Update 3 - The Calendar Is Full

We had a very busy month of January and "Festive Fixtures" calendar.  13 matches in 42 days.  No real time to rest, regroup, and recharge.  Just play the match.  Get a little bit of rest and get ready for the next one.  Thankfully, we had a very easy FA Cup draw with League Two side Solihull Moors where I could play a completely reserve squad to give the start a little bit of a break.  I used the matches against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup as another chance to give the starters a rest.  A pair of 2-0 matches led to a penalty shootout which we won and move on to the cup final against Tottenham.  I'll need to see what our schedule looks like around the final before I decide if I push hard for the cup win or play the reserves and let the result sort it self out.  The league form dipped a little because of all the matches.  Losses to Everton and Aston Villa have not helped us add in some draws with Chelsea and Everton.  In the Champions League, we split a pair of road matches with Rennes and Antwerp.  We just got into the knockout round with a win over Antwerp after a massive setback against Rennes when they beat us with a late set piece.

A slight dip in the standings but we are still in the fight for the title.  It's going to be a fight in every match for the rest of the season to earn points and keep our standing in the top 4.  Stoke are trying to drag Leicester and West Ham into the relegation fight.  Huddersfield are done and Burnley aren't that far behind them.

Something interesting things to note in these final standings outside of Crystal Palace qualifying on the final match day.  Look at the first three teams who missed out on qualifying: Tottenham, Barcelona and Arsenal.  That's three big names not in the knockout round.  Ajax also did not qualify.  In the top eight, we see Celtic and Copenhagen.  Just a real upside down league table in some spots.

We have a matchup with Atalanta in the opening knockout round.

[Jogo Bonito]

A few blemishes in the last batch of results but still defensively resolute really. 3rd and still fighting with all to play for as you say in the league

The European journey is just about still alive, but lots of work to do there. Good luck with the remaining challenges.

[keeper#1]

2028-29 Season Update 4 - More Tweaking

Yep, we switched up the tactics against.  We had initial success but then teams have started to pick it apart especially hitting us on the counter attack.  We lost the Carabao Cup Final on penalty kicks to Tottenham.  That started a downward spiral of form which bled into the next three league matches (draw with Leeds, loss to Wolves and a draw with Brentford).  Some of that could be due to the congested fixture schedule but that's an easy excuse to fall back on.  Our only two wins in the month were in cup matches.  A 2-1 victory over Dortmund after they had picked us apart 4-1 in the opening leg and a 1-1 shootout win against Aston Villa in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

The FA Cup semifinals are set:  We play Arsenal and Manchester United faces Chelsea.  There is a chance for an all-London final.

Our poor league form is causing us to lose touch with Manchester United and Newcastle.  If we aren't careful, we could slip into the big mess right below us and potentially miss out on Europe completely especially if we lose in the FA Cup semifinals or finals.  Huddersfield have officially been relegated.  They are on pace for one of the worst Premier League campaigns in league history.  Just two wins in 31 matches and only 11 goals scored while allowing 95.  Stoke, Burnley and Leicester are three teams battling for the other two relegation slots.  It will be a battle all the way up to the final match day.

Youth Intake

I haven't talked much about the youth intakes because they haven't been much to talk about.  But this class has a potential generational talent in Chirstopher Adegite 29A.  He is a 16-year old that my Head of Youth Development think is ready for first team football at such a young age.

[keeper#1]

2028-29 Season Final Update - At Least We Won Something

We lost touch in late April with the top two teams in the Premier League.  I put all of our efforts in preparing for the FA Cup Final after we defeated Arsenal on penalties in the semifinals.  We lived by the penalty shootout in the FA Cup this season.  We needed penalties to beat Villa in the quarterfinals and then Arsenal in the semifinals.  Our early rounds were games against teams much lower in the pyramid so we could play our reserves without much of an issue.  But when we needed to play teams on par with us, we needed penalties to win.  For the finals, we rested our starters in the final match day against Stoke.  If we won against Stoke, we would finish third and Stoke would get relegated.  If we lost against Stoke, we would finish third and Stoke would get relegated.  It was the ultimate dead rubber match.  You could definitely see that in the first half.  We had an extra spring  in our step and were first to every ball.  These fresher legs allowed us to control possession and dictated the play.  An early goal by Nikola Raskovic gave us the lead.  Troy Parrott was able to double the advantage right before halftime.  In the second half, our fresh legs weren't as fresh and Chelsea got a little more of the possession but could not convert that possession into goals and we lifted the FA Cup for the first time in club history.

We moved back to the 4-3-3 formation to bring us a little more defensive stability again.  Arsenal pushed our crap in during a payback match for us beating them in the FA Cup semifinals.  Other than that, we were very solid.  From what I'm seeing in our play, our biggest problem is passing out of the back.  Our center backs are great at defense but as players to start the offense, they are not very good.  Lots of turnovers in our half of the field leading to quick counter attacks.  Need to sort that out and bring in some better passers in the defensive line without sacrificing much on the defensive end.

 

A solid third place finish, a trip to the Carabao Cup Final, lifting the FA Cup, and reaching the Round of 16 in the Champions League is not a bad season.

Defender of the Year: CB Kevin Danso

Midfielder of the Year: CM Alex Scott

Forward of the Year: CF Yakup Dundar

[Hootieleece]

1 hour ago, keeper#1 said:

Need to sort that out and bring in some better passers in the defensive line without sacrificing much on the defensive end.

That sounds like a problem a lot of players have.....I know I do at Schalke04.

I notice that the AI often uses DM's and Fullbacks as BPD's if none are available in the team. Something I am thinking of doing since I have a limited budget.

[keeper#1]

Coming Soon - Wilfred Zaha Park

[Jogo Bonito]

Congrats on the FA Cup win, that's very noteworthy. 3rd in the league and Round of 16 in the Champions League is also very commendable. 

Wilfred Zaha Park I'm not really sold on, but a new stadium will be good - especially if it's easier to get in and out of by car than Selhurst Park!

[keeper#1]

2029-30 Season Update - Bringing Some Experience to the Side

One of things that we were running into is we have a lot of younger players and by younger I mean under 24 years old.  At times, this inexperience was starting to hinder us especially when we were on the road against top competition in both the Champions League and domestically.  So, I tried to find players, in the summer transfer window, who still have something to offer and who have the experience to put us over the top.  Let's take a look at our wheeling and dealing in the summer window:

At the beginning of the window, we had three deals lined up.  Jesus Martinez is a young forward who will spend the season out on loan to continue his development.  Ewen Roussel is a younger center back from PSG who is struggling to get playing time.  He has a great combination of defense and passing skills that we are looking for and we can offer him the playing time that he desires.  Jean-Clair Todibo is the developed version of Ewen Roussel and wants to move to club that wants success.  We can offer him a starting role and the potential for success.

We move into the transfer window and made five deals.  Here we have a great mix of youth, peak talent and experienced talents in these five deals.  Vasil Andonov adds some youth to the midfield where he can learn from our current midfielders at the club.  Same with Vicente Roldan.  Roldan is an attacking midfielder compared to the grit and hard work that Andonov wants to put in.  Andonov is a grinder.  Roldan is a creator and goal scorer.  Harvey Elliott wanted to leave Liverpool because they are not in the Champions League.  We are in the Champions League and was a perfect for us in upgrading the passing and creativity in our midfield.  We have a lot of grinders.  We need some creativity.  Elliott brings us that creativity.  The last two purchases are our experienced players.  Alisson also comes from Liverpool.  He is a direct replacement for Gavin Bazunu, who was tapped by Manchester City, to join their club.  Alisson is a great bridge goalkeeper to our young keepers who are a couple of seasons away from moving into the starter role.  Harry Kane was more of a luxury purchase to add some experienced depth into our forward line.

We had a busy summer in terms of matches since we got to play in the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.  Two wins got us into the knockout round.  We suffered a tough extra time loss to Real Madrid.  We then moved into our usual friendly season.  We had some heartbreak in the Community Shield before moving into the Premier League season where the results have mixed as we blend the new players into the squad.  The losses to Liverpool and Manchester City were not bad but were still losses.

[keeper#1]

2029-30 Season Update 2 - We Got A New Doodad, Luv

As you know, I've spent the last season and a half trying to find a new system that counters the typical tactic we now see - teams sitting back and forcing us to attack.  I've tried bring in new players with better passing only to see similar results on the pitch.  Lots of grinding.  I went took a look at what @SixPointer was doing in his save and took some of what he was doing and adapted to fit my squad to try to maximize our talent.  He runs a three-back system with four players in the defensive midfield strata to achieve his 3-4-3 system.  We are still playing a 4-3-3 system. 

We are pushing our wingbacks up into supporting roles since they are the only players out wide in this formation.  The halfback drops back at the base of the triangle to form a back three when we transition from offense to defense.  Plus, he pushes the two center backs out wider to help support the wingbacks that are tracking back.  At the top of the triangle, we've got a box to box midfielder playing alongside a mezzala in support.  Originally, I had the mezzala on attack but that really disjointed the midfield.  We had three players each doing their own thing and not really working together or closer to each other.  At the start of the attacking phase, the false nine will drop off the line and we play more like a 4-4-2 diamond before the attack phase really kicks in and we move into a 3-4-3.  We have our new doodad!

While, we playing okay with the 4-3-3 "wide formation.  However, I felt we were took exposed at the back and felt if we going to allow more than one goal a game, I needed to put us in a position where we could try to outscore the opponent.  What I didn't expect was the defensive stability.  We don't let the opposition get quality shots on our goal.  The only teams that have kept off the board are Barcelona and Brentford (granted we played a heavily rotated squad in this match).  

Our new doodad has put us into 3rd place and right in the mix for the league title.  We have a game in hand on all of the teams around us except for Chelsea.  Win that game in hand and it's a battle of goal difference between us and Manchester City for second and we are just three points behind league leaders Newcastle.  The relegation race is looking like more of the same - two teams certainly relegated (Swansea and Southampton) while the third relegation slot is going to be a battle between a number of teams.  

Our Champions League form has been good 3-2-1 and good enough 11th place.  We should make it into the play-in round for the 9th-24th place teams with no issue.  With a pair of wins in our remaining two matches, we could push for top 8 and a bye into the round of 16 which our squad could really use from a rest standpoint.  Our remaining two matches, a pair of home matches against Antwerp and Rennes so six points is within the realm of possibility.

The new doodad has produced two 10+ goal scorers before the calendar changes to 2030.  We've got a lot of players who have found the back of the net and Harvey Elliott is doing what we have asked of him - producing assists in the midfield as he leads the team with eight.  Harry Kane had some knocks early in the season which impacted his playing time but has produced three goals and three assists while Alisson is the goaltending rock that we need between the pipes.

 

[SixPointer]

5 hours ago, keeper#1 said:

2029-30 Season Update 2 - We Got A New Doodad, Luv

As you know, I've spent the last season and a half trying to find a new system that counters the typical tactic we now see - teams sitting back and forcing us to attack.  I've tried bring in new players with better passing only to see similar results on the pitch.  Lots of grinding.  I went took a look at what @SixPointer was doing in his save and took some of what he was doing and adapted to fit my squad to try to maximize our talent.  He runs a three-back system with four players in the defensive midfield strata to achieve his 3-4-3 system.  We are still playing a 4-3-3 system. 

We are pushing our wingbacks up into supporting roles since they are the only players out wide in this formation.  The halfback drops back at the base of the triangle to form a back three when we transition from offense to defense.  Plus, he pushes the two center backs out wider to help support the wingbacks that are tracking back.  At the top of the triangle, we've got a box to box midfielder playing alongside a mezzala in support.  Originally, I had the mezzala on attack but that really disjointed the midfield.  We had three players each doing their own thing and not really working together or closer to each other.  At the start of the attacking phase, the false nine will drop off the line and we play more like a 4-4-2 diamond before the attack phase really kicks in and we move into a 3-4-3.  We have our new doodad!

While, we playing okay with the 4-3-3 "wide formation.  However, I felt we were took exposed at the back and felt if we going to allow more than one goal a game, I needed to put us in a position where we could try to outscore the opponent.  What I didn't expect was the defensive stability.  We don't let the opposition get quality shots on our goal.  The only teams that have kept off the board are Barcelona and Brentford (granted we played a heavily rotated squad in this match).  

Our new doodad has put us into 3rd place and right in the mix for the league title.  We have a game in hand on all of the teams around us except for Chelsea.  Win that game in hand and it's a battle of goal difference between us and Manchester City for second and we are just three points behind league leaders Newcastle.  The relegation race is looking like more of the same - two teams certainly relegated (Swansea and Southampton) while the third relegation slot is going to be a battle between a number of teams.  

Our Champions League form has been good 3-2-1 and good enough 11th place.  We should make it into the play-in round for the 9th-24th place teams with no issue.  With a pair of wins in our remaining two matches, we could push for top 8 and a bye into the round of 16 which our squad could really use from a rest standpoint.  Our remaining two matches, a pair of home matches against Antwerp and Rennes so six points is within the realm of possibility.

The new doodad has produced two 10+ goal scorers before the calendar changes to 2030.  We've got a lot of players who have found the back of the net and Harvey Elliott is doing what we have asked of him - producing assists in the midfield as he leads the team with eight.  Harry Kane had some knocks early in the season which impacted his playing time but has produced three goals and three assists while Alisson is the goaltending rock that we need between the pipes.

 

Thanks for the mention! Glad to see another joining the flat front three club 😎

but how the hell have I missed this whole thread!!

[keeper#1]

13 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Thanks for the mention! Glad to see another joining the flat front three club 😎

but how the hell have I missed this whole thread!!

No idea.  The flat three forward line is the way to go.

[SixPointer]

23 minutes ago, keeper#1 said:

No idea.  The flat three forward line is the way to go.

You liking it? I used it in FM 21 and found it very useful. You can create all sorts of variations and movements to pull defences apart. 

[keeper#1]

Just now, SixPointer said:

You liking it? I used it in FM 21 and found it very useful. You can create all sorts of variations and movements to pull defences apart. 

I'm learning on the fly on how can use it to peak effectiveness 

[Jogo Bonito]

Still going along very nicely at the Palace. Very brave with a flat-three strike force but it's working well so far. Really strong title contenders now.

[keeper#1]

3 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Still going along very nicely at the Palace. Very brave with a flat-three strike force but it's working well so far. Really strong title contenders now.

You got to take chances if you want to lift the silverware.

[Jogo Bonito]

55 minutes ago, keeper#1 said:

You got to take chances if you want to lift the silverware.

Absolutely!

[keeper#1]

2029-30 Season Update 3 - Some Problems But Nothing Major

Another busy January means a lot of squad rotation and playing time for everyone.  What else does it mean?  It means another January blip.  And this year's blip impacted a lot of Premier League matches.  Draw against West Ham.  Home lost to Arsenal.  A road loss to last place Swansea.  The story was similar in a lot of these matches.  We got behind early and could not catch back up.  Arsenal scored early and held on for a 1-0 win.  Swansea both their goals inside the first four minutes and held on the for the win.  Even Championship side, Nottingham Forest beat us in the opening leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal.  What did we do?  Did we scrap everything and build new for the 87th time?  No, we stuck with what worked and wait for our form to return.  We absolutely pants Charlton in the FA Cup 3rd round.  We picked Nottingham Forest apart in the second leg to advance to the Carabao Cup Final for the second year in a row.  Antwerp were pounded.  We used two first half goals to beat Chelsea.  We grinded out a win against Rennes.  The player of the month: Harry Freaking Cane with goals in four straight matches.  Yakup Dundar pushed him all the way but I'm giving the nod to the 37-year old because his time is winding down and Dundar's is just beginning.

Our early January form has caused us to dip into 5th place but we have a game in hand with everybody around us so I'm not overly concerned.  Not panicking.  The clubs at the bottom of the table have been red hot and dragged a bunch of other clubs back into the relegation fight.  Swansea and Southampton are no longer a certainty for relegation.  Everyone from Brentford on down in the table is in the relegation fight which will last all the way until the last match day.

We made a couple of moves for the future to help build our future and current depth on the forward line.

Kucera is our talent for the future.  

We won a fierce transfer bidding war with Newcastle to bring Rosfeldt in from Ajax.  He's going to come into the False Nine role next season and take some of the pressure off the again Harry Kane.

We got into the top 8 and eased our February fixture calendar a little bit but not needing to play in the playoff round to get to the Round of 16.

[Hootieleece]

I like that you are sticking with your new formation. I wish I was more adventurous but in Germany I went back to the tried and true 4-2-3-1 Wide Gegenpress after the 5-2-1-2WB started not working. I didn't get the defensive stability you have acheived but we are scoring goals and goals win games......so far.

[keeper#1]

2030 Champions League Round of 16 Draw

Some spicy matchups including Real Madrid v Barcelona and Manchester City v Bayern Munich

[Jogo Bonito]

Some big clubs there. And Manchester United too 

Real Madrid v Barcelona will be the headline story and rightly so. But your draw against Ajax looks like a special one for you in view of your allegiance.

[keeper#1]

I was going to write up a post for the February/March Update but I was too tired to write after getting home from my field hockey game last night.  Wasn't too tired to play FM though.  There's only two games left in the season but I will post some screencaps from the Champions League.

We beat Ajax in the Round of 16 and got drawn against Inter in the quarterfinals.

If we beat Inter, we would play the winner of the Manchester United/Barcelona tie.  However, after winning the first leg 2-1 at Selhurst, we completely folded in Italy and lost match and the tie to fall out of the Champions League at the quarterfinals for the second straight year.

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, keeper#1 said:

I was going to write up a post for the February/March Update but I was too tired to write after getting home from my field hockey game last night.  Wasn't too tired to play FM though.  There's only two games left in the season but I will post some screencaps from the Champions League.

We beat Ajax in the Round of 16 and got drawn against Inter in the quarterfinals.

If we beat Inter, we would play the winner of the Manchester United/Barcelona tie.  However, after winning the first leg 2-1 at Selhurst, we completely folded in Italy and lost match and the tie to fall out of the Champions League at the quarterfinals for the second straight year.

Tough one to take, especially after holding a decent lead to take to Milan. Any glaring reasons to why you folded? Can it be worked on for next year or just a better team. 

[keeper#1]

3 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Tough one to take, especially after holding a decent lead to take to Milan. Any glaring reasons to why you folded? Can it be worked on for next year or just a better team. 

I'll have to go back and look at the result.  I think the biggest problem was not trusting my backup goalkeeper on the road.  He played good enough to get us the win at home but in the return leg I started Alisson even though he was on a knock.  He allowed three goals in the first half and dug us into a deep hole which we couldn't get out of in the second half.

[keeper#1]

2029-30 End of Season Update - It's Sort of the Same

The offense has vastly improved with the flat three forward formation.  We can put the ball in the back of the net.  We run into a problem when we play teams that are on par with us.  If we give up one goal, we give up a lot of goals as the floodgates opens and we are playing "basketball on grass" with the ball pinging up and down the field.  I'm okay with now because there are not a lot of teams who can match our talent on the field.  Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I screwed up the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals when I started a still recovering from injury Alisson instead of my home grown backup Andrzej Hoey 23A, who led us to a 2-1 victory in the opening leg.  The key to next season will be finding a way to unlock wins against the big clubs like us.  That will determine whether we retake the Premier League or Champions League silverware or if we are forced to settle for the Carabao Cup like we did this year.  

I see two areas of improvement for next season.  We need to work on completing a better percentage of our passes.  Yeah, we play a lot of risky passes to spring our offense but maybe against bigger clubs those risky passes are getting picked off and we lose the ball and the offense chance that goes with it.  Getting shots on target.  Be a little more selective and get a higher quality shot compared to just a shot on goal.  Some tactical things to think about as we head into the offseason.

We finished 3rd for the third straight season.  Newcastle won the title on the last match day of the season just pipping Manchester United for the title.  Arsenal and Manchester City will join the three of us in the Champions League.  Tottenham and Chelsea will go into the Europa League while Aston Villa heads into the Europa Conference.  There will be no European football played in Liverpool this season as both Liverpool and Everton finish outside the Top 8.  Swansea performed a great escape in the second half of the season to finish 15th even though they had the second worst defense.  Southampton could not perform a similar escape and they will be joined in the Championship with Wolves and Blackburn.

Defender of the Year - CB Jean Clair Tobido: Tobido was a solid defender for us all season and was one of the first names written into the team sheet every match.  A true all-around defender - solid in the air and in the tackle while a good passer to transition our attack from defense to offense.  Hopefully Ewen Roussel can develop into a player just like him and I can have a pair of solid center backs who can move the ball to start our attack.

Midfielder of the Year: CM Charlie Patino: England midfielder is one of the best midfielders in the world and he is the centerpiece of our midfield.  He does all the things that do not show up in the stat sheet - he only had two goals and five assists this season.  But, he does all of the little things that keep the offense going and stopping the opposition attack before it has a chance to start.  The heartbeat of our team.

Forward of the Year: CF Brajan Gruda: Gruda blossomed in the flat three forward formation.  Scoring 19 goals - a career high- and adding 10 assists - also a career high.  A great complete forward who I would like to build around but contract negotiations are proving to be difficult.  He's heading into his contract year and is coming off a career year so he wants to get paid and his agent is driving a hard bargain.  I really do not want to sell him but I made not have a choice.  A player of his ability should not be able to walk away to another club on free.

Competitions Recap:

Premier League - 3rd place

Champions League - Quarterfinals

FA Cup - 5th Round

Carabao Cup - Winners

Community Shield - Runners Up 

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, keeper#1 said:

2029-30 End of Season Update - It's Sort of the Same

The offense has vastly improved with the flat three forward formation.  We can put the ball in the back of the net.  We run into a problem when we play teams that are on par with us.  If we give up one goal, we give up a lot of goals as the floodgates opens and we are playing "basketball on grass" with the ball pinging up and down the field.  I'm okay with now because there are not a lot of teams who can match our talent on the field.  Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I screwed up the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals when I started a still recovering from injury Alisson instead of my home grown backup Andrzej Hoey 23A, who led us to a 2-1 victory in the opening leg.  The key to next season will be finding a way to unlock wins against the big clubs like us.  That will determine whether we retake the Premier League or Champions League silverware or if we are forced to settle for the Carabao Cup like we did this year.  

I see two areas of improvement for next season.  We need to work on completing a better percentage of our passes.  Yeah, we play a lot of risky passes to spring our offense but maybe against bigger clubs those risky passes are getting picked off and we lose the ball and the offense chance that goes with it.  Getting shots on target.  Be a little more selective and get a higher quality shot compared to just a shot on goal.  Some tactical things to think about as we head into the offseason.

We finished 3rd for the third straight season.  Newcastle won the title on the last match day of the season just pipping Manchester United for the title.  Arsenal and Manchester City will join the three of us in the Champions League.  Tottenham and Chelsea will go into the Europa League while Aston Villa heads into the Europa Conference.  There will be no European football played in Liverpool this season as both Liverpool and Everton finish outside the Top 8.  Swansea performed a great escape in the second half of the season to finish 15th even though they had the second worst defense.  Southampton could not perform a similar escape and they will be joined in the Championship with Wolves and Blackburn.

Defender of the Year - CB Jean Clair Tobido: Tobido was a solid defender for us all season and was one of the first names written into the team sheet every match.  A true all-around defender - solid in the air and in the tackle while a good passer to transition our attack from defense to offense.  Hopefully Ewen Roussel can develop into a player just like him and I can have a pair of solid center backs who can move the ball to start our attack.

Midfielder of the Year: CM Charlie Patino: England midfielder is one of the best midfielders in the world and he is the centerpiece of our midfield.  He does all the things that do not show up in the stat sheet - he only had two goals and five assists this season.  But, he does all of the little things that keep the offense going and stopping the opposition attack before it has a chance to start.  The heartbeat of our team.

Forward of the Year: CF Brajan Gruda: Gruda blossomed in the flat three forward formation.  Scoring 19 goals - a career high- and adding 10 assists - also a career high.  A great complete forward who I would like to build around but contract negotiations are proving to be difficult.  He's heading into his contract year and is coming off a career year so he wants to get paid and his agent is driving a hard bargain.  I really do not want to sell him but I made not have a choice.  A player of his ability should not be able to walk away to another club on free.

Competitions Recap:

Premier League - 3rd place

Champions League - Quarterfinals

FA Cup - 5th Round

Carabao Cup - Winners

Community Shield - Runners Up 

Another good season! Get some solid recruitment done and I’m sure you’ll break into that next level 

[Jogo Bonito]

Another impressive season even if it's much the same as before. In FM we expect to improve year-on-year but in reality, not many clubs manage to always 'go better'. 

You're doing a fine job and good luck for next season.

[dtown1414]

Nice season overall. Next season may be the year it all comes together. 

[keeper#1]

Summer 2030 - Building Some Depth

Looking at the squad and some of the issues that we had injuries, I decided that it was time to build up the U21 team and keep that talent, for the most part, at the club.  Most of our summer signings built this depth.  Though, we didn't neglect the first team and made a few signings there as well.

A nice balanced transfer sheet to keep the club from not getting into the red with the signings.

CM Val Furijan: Furijan isn't listed as a summer transfer since he came in at the very beginning of the window and FM listed him as a 2028-29 season transfer.  Furijan is attack-minded central midfielder who could play in a "swing position" of mezzala and false nine depending on what the squad looks like when he breaks through to the first team in a season or two.  He has the drive to get into the first team sooner rather than later.

CM Ilaix Moriba: Moriba had a crazy low minimum release clause of just 6.25M at Bielefeld and we fought off many clubs for the rights to the Guinean midfielder.  Moriba will jump into the starting lineup right away.  He has a great mixture of passing, finishing and determination that we need in our lineup.  A great low-price signing 

GK Federico Danneman: I had Danneman on my radar for the last year.  I got wind of teams sniffing around for his services.  So, I came in to bring Danneman into the Crystal Palace squad as our new #2.  Alisson isn't going to play forever and Hoey 23A doesn't have the ability to be his replacement.  Danneman does.  Hoey 23A is a solid home-grown reserve that I intend to keep in the squad as long as possible.  Danneman will get the cup matches this season.

CF Jose Guajardo: A young Chilean center forward that will spend season on loan Colo Colo where we purchased him.

LB Amhed Fathy: Fathy is an English left-back who will push for a starting place while increasing our English-grown talent since he is a product of the Norwich youth academy before bouncing around at a couple of other English clubs before blossoming at Leeds.

CB Angel Mendoza: A young Mexican center back who will spend season back on loan at Club America.

LB Alex Thornber: A rapidly developing left back talent and product of the Sheffield United youth academy.  Will spend the next couple seasons with the U21s before moving into the senior side.

RB Mark Kunzle: A Swiss right back who will spend season back on loan St. Gallen.

WF Sam Cowderoy: A wing forward who will learn how to play centrally to fit into our 4-3-3 formation.  Product of the Liverpool academy and has potential.  Could be a boom-bust type of player.

[Hootieleece]

How in the heck did Ilaix Moriba end up at Arminia Biefeld?

He was and is a Wonderkid! in 2023.

[keeper#1]

18 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

How in the heck did Ilaix Moriba end up at Arminia Biefeld?

He was and is a Wonderkid! in 2023.

He was a starter at Leipzig for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons before moving into purely a back-up role for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.  Then, he got bought by Bielefeld for the cut-rate price of 3.9M.  Played in every Bundesliga match for them, except three, in his three seasons at Bielefeld.  Bielefeld, probably, had to agree to the ultra-low release clause to entice Moriba to sign with them.  He's a steal at 6.5 million and Bielefeld made just a small profit for him.  

[keeper#1]

August 2030 - Basketball on Grass

No witty gif for this update because I can't find one that works for the title.  But Basketball on Grass is a term used in American Football when a team decides to put all it's efforts into the offensive side of the game plan.  The defense's job is to stop the opposition just enough to give the offense a rest and maybe prevent the opposition from scoring.  It can be successful if you have the right players to run it.  Right now, we are playing basketball on grass.  We are going all out on offense and the defense, at times, is paying the price as we leave ourselves somewhat exposed at the back.  But the offense is scoring at such a clip that the defensive misgivings can be papered over...for now.

Middlesbrough 1 Crystal Palace 2: We dominated this match everywhere but on the scoreboard.  We just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net given all of the chances that Middlesbrough gave us.

Crystal Palace 2 Tottenham 0: A back and forth battle with Spurs.  We were lucky enough to draw a pair of penalties which were the difference in this match.

Leicester 1 Crystal Palace 1: Another match where the offense underperformed given the chances that we had.  Leicester led most of the way and we were fortunate to earn a draw.  Thanks offense!

Crystal Palace 6 Swansea 0: We just overwhelmed Swansea.  Started the scoring early and never let up.

Brighton 2 Crystal Palace 2: Another disappointing home performance as we gave up two easy goals.  Offense was able to bail us out again to earn a draw.

Sitting in 6th place.  Need to improve our home form and stop earning draws against teams that we should beat especially at home.

[Hootieleece]

Good Luck with this. It sounds a lot like the season I just finished with Schalke04. "Basketball on Grass" I like it and might even use it.