[FM24] The Norseman

[_Ben_]

11 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I was thinking about that 3-2 in early possession and the tendency to just knock it about - I wondered whether it's just for lack of options to play through. Looking at the 3-2 set-up you posted earlier, I'm wondering if you're ever tempted to leave more players further forward? Or perhaps just wide?

I know one of your principles is to have at least one extra player in the build-up but there you're effectively play 5v2, or maybe 5v1.5. I know it's just a snapshot but if you play the ball into your "2" of the 3-2 and the defence's front 1.5/2 are the ones to close them down, that leaves the two banks of four undisrupted and difficult to play through - at least centrally. Would you be tempted to leave a player or two further forward or wide? I think someone else mentioned it above, but leaving one of the wingbacks as a non-inverted option then allows you to play out down the flank and maybe develop a 3v2 in the wide area - or at least just stretch the play to pull the banks of four wider?

I'm absolutely certain that this will have occurred to you and you've thought it all though, just interested in your thought process (apologies if this is somewhere in the thread above)

I think that, like most bits of media, I can show you what I want with that still image. Just seconds later, our shape wasn't quite as 'perfect' - hence not screenshotting then - but they'd pressed wit their two front men and two midfielders. I've found that the Bundesliga does tend to attract more aggressive pressing (compare this to La Liga where Real, Atletico and Sociedad - three of the top four - all win the ball back less than 90 times per game). So, whilst in the earliest of early transition, we have men over but that imbalance is quite quickly rectified. That being said, I do have some different defensive shapes that I can use and I was thinking quite hard of how to showcase them but, actually, it's just easier to reply to you with them!

3-2: IFB-BPD-IFB with L-DM ahead

3-2: IFB-HB-BPD with L-DM ahead

3-2: BPD-HB-BPD with IWB-IWB ahead

3-2: BPD-BPD-IFB with IWB-DM ahead

2-3: BPD-BPD with IWB-DM-IWB ahead

2-3: IFB-BPD with L-DM-IWB ahead

Some of these amendments mean that I need full backs who can defend, are comfortable in possession and then provide an outlet as a CWB and that is why I rate Hagiwara so highly:

As I've said a few times - my aims are about becoming more proactive and reactive to team tactics but to also identify player weaknesses. For example, If I know that a team will line up in 442 but will press pretty much solely with their two strikers, I'd use a 3-2 shape to ensure I have the extra man, but might look to see how good at pressing their strikers are and change the side of the Libero and maybe even the duty to work into a space where the lazy forward may not be. Likewise, I'd then be considering a SS/DLF combo to get players into the gaps between the two banks of four but may look to focus down one side if their full back is tired, nervous or not playing too well.

In short - game management is my next step. I'm creating a squad that feels more capable of doing multiple things than I've ever had before - even on FM23 with Atalanta - and I really want to see how far I can take it!

11 hours ago, El Payaso said:

Wow! This story has come far since the last time I properly checked in. Going to be good read for Sunday. Any particular reason why you decided to go back to attributes? 

Thanks!

A mixture of a few things really. Whilst stats are still the main driver of how I want to play, I wanted attributes so that I could also really delve into the player development area - something that is much harder (and probably realistically, too) to manage without them. Take the image below, for example: I can still see that Bangura is hugely outperforming his attributes in some areas but I also like to look at his development pathway a bit more and really try to build that B04 DNA model that I also struggle to do without attributes.

 

[danielgear]

10 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

actually, it's just easier to reply to you with them!

3-2: IFB-BPD-IFB with L-DM ahead

3-2: IFB-HB-BPD with L-DM ahead

3-2: BPD-HB-BPD with IWB-IWB ahead

3-2: BPD-BPD-IFB with IWB-DM ahead

2-3: BPD-BPD with IWB-DM-IWB ahead

2-3: IFB-BPD with L-DM-IWB ahead

I’m getting some nice movement from my 4-2DMs set up into a 3-2 (343 box) like this 

RB- IWBs (Left footed DM naturally reasonable Right foot) 
RCB - CDd (Right footed)
LCB - CDd (dual footed) 
LB - IFBd (Left footed DM) 
RDM - SVOLs (Physical AM) 
LDM - DMd (Dual footed playmaker) 

the RB is making some great moves inside and switching play to LW when he’s open. 
 

I’ve found using natural DMs rather than WBs helps with their positional control as natural WBs still tended to bomb on at times. Traits played a part. 

[_Ben_]

1 minute ago, danielgear said:

I’m getting some nice movement from my 4-2DMs set up into a 3-2 (343 box) like this 

RB- IWBs (Left footed DM naturally reasonable Right foot) 
RCB - CDd (Right footed)
LCB - CDd (dual footed) 
LB - IFBd (Left footed DM) 
RDM - SVOLs (Physical AM) 
LDM - DMd (Dual footed playmaker) 

the RB is making some great moves inside and switching play to LW when he’s open. 
 

I’ve found using natural DMs rather than WBs helps with their positional control as natural WBs still tended to bomb on at times. Traits played a part. 

Lots of similarities, definitely! My Volante is on support as are my wide men to try and create some more fluidity within the shape and one option I do have is using the IWB to move into midfield, alongside a DM - with both on support, too. 

I think that the retraining option is really important and one that I’ve probably overlooked, so far, as the ‘come in, restyle the club’ approach does demand quick fixes, as it were. I will definitely be looking at retraining players to provide me with future options at full back and, possibly even for my Libero!

[danielgear]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

I think that the retraining option is really important and one that I’ve probably overlooked, so far, as the ‘come in, restyle the club’ approach does demand quick fixes, as it were. I will definitely be looking at retraining players to provide me with future options at full back and, possibly even for my Libero!

I love retraining, 

DMs to Fullbacks 
Playmakers to CB especially Liberos
Strikers to wingers 

Are my favourite ones normally. 

[Shrewnaldo]

DMs to fullback are the classic example. For some reason, I've always found fullbacks lacking in FM and, as you both say, the DM profile tends to suit what I'm after perfectly. This was true even before I invented the inverted wingbacks.

Re liberos and IWBs, my concern is mostly about the transition to defence - with these players looking to return to their 'natural' defending position, how quickly does that DM area get vacated as you transition to the defensive space? This is one of the main reasons I'm so keen to keep a static DM in there, protecting the most vulnerable area of the pitch in front of the defence.

[danielgear]

2 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

This was true even before I invented the inverted wingbacks.

 

3 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Re liberos and IWBs, my concern is mostly about the transition to defence - with these players looking to return to their 'natural' defending position, how quickly does that DM area get vacated as you transition to the defensive space? This is one of the main reasons I'm so keen to keep a static DM in there, protecting the most vulnerable area of the pitch in front of the defence.

I’ve actually found this better on FM24, previous editions they would turn into Usain Bolt and sprint back to their natural position. 
On FM24 I’ve found it to be much better regarding situation in play, do they have a man next to them and ball on opposite flank? Then they tend to hold a bit more. 
Is there a winger free and open? Then they tend to drop in with a bit more intent but not hyper speed. 
The changes to double pivots and Positional play have helped this too. Thats why I like to play a SVol/RPM as they will get forward but in defensive transition they will get back as well. 
 

I’ve found the Back 4 with 2 DMs creates a natural low block defensively, At the moment I’m using two wingers who hold the width for us and space to exploit in behind should we get a turnover. 

[milenec11]

For me the “easiest “ retraining is a CM to LIB ,the result will be a player with very good vision ,flair for the position with good positioning perhaps a lack at marking but very efficient in tackling.

speaking about role combinations and tactics I believe a tactical orientation of 5 defending and 5 attacking is the most balanced for middle table teams 

swepper keeper 2 inv. FLBs one LIB def, CDcov, HB, 2 Roaming CM 2 wingers and a Advance forward was very effective with Bayereuth SpVgg in mine save now at Budesliga 3.

Edited April 1 by milenec11

[Slipky]

On 23/03/2024 at 17:39, _Ben_ said:

My old foci felt out-dated and gave me a very broad search criteria, with little identity or alignment with my recruitment targets. Therefore, I've used a similar formula as with my players to generate a suitability rating for my scouting team, looking at the harmonic mean, five times, to create an overall percentage rating. I'm looking for scouts who are able to judge ability and potential but also those adaptable to new countries, disciplined with their work and determined to produce results that can benefit the sporting side of the team. Then, with those still at the club following a raid of other teams, I tried to prioritise sending a scout to the area where they have knowledge - through their first, or additional, nationalities. When that ran out, I just assigned scouts to countries that mean 95% of the twenty one leagues (Scotland and Cyprus remain) are now covered by my scouting team with the remaining staff then being assigned more generic but still focused recruitment jobs across the continent and globe.

This new move sits alongside an even more driven academy approach as we are losing around €30m a year and are needing to stay afloat with wholesale changes each summer. 

 

Just can't let go of this. How efficient is this so far? How did you calculate the efficiency?

[_Ben_]

19 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

DMs to fullback are the classic example. For some reason, I've always found fullbacks lacking in FM and, as you both say, the DM profile tends to suit what I'm after perfectly.

Everything has its pros and cons and I really like running with both a small squad and no II team because it allows for greater number of minutes, more precise rotation and saves money but makes it much harder to have those project players that come into the first team but aren't necessarily ready for minutes because they need to iron out a few creases or change position.  It's something I need to look at!

19 hours ago, danielgear said:

I’ve found the Back 4 with 2 DMs creates a natural low block defensively, At the moment I’m using two wingers who hold the width for us and space to exploit in behind should we get a turnover. 

Yes. I've found this, too. I like to use wrong-footed wingers instead of IW just so that I can stretch the play. They will, naturally, come in on their favoured foot and most have a cut inside trait but, by keeping them as wingers, they stay wider for longer, allowing more freedom and isolation within the central areas or allowing a good ball out wide to a big space for them.

4 hours ago, milenec11 said:

5 defending and 5 attacking is the most balanced for middle table teams 

I agree. I also tend to look at the players in two groups. My plan is to create some fluidity between them by using lots of support roles but the IFB-L-BPD-IFB and DM are all defending and the VOL, W-SS-W and AF are the attacking if only for the process of separation.

[_Ben_]

47 minutes ago, Slipky said:

 

Just can't let go of this. How efficient is this so far? How did you calculate the efficiency?

I don't have before or after numbers and have slightly shifted it to scout leagues rather than just countries. So, on the Austria job, for example, I'll be scouting their top flight rather than their country. I bank on that idea of second hand scouting, where I do not need to waste my time in the second and third tier because I have the pull to sign players who have already moved through the domestic levels into the top tier. It's the same with Africa - I don't scout there because, even though there is a cost implication, I can then sign them from the European side who I back to pick up good prospects. In terms of how it's working - I think it's pretty good! I've got a steady stream of players who I'd realistically want to sign that are filling up shortlists and I'm quite well prepared for any sales now.

Efficiency probably isn't the best word for it! It's just the percentage of all of those leagues that I'd highlighted that I've sent a scout or more to. Coverage - now I think about it - would've been the word to use!

[milenec11]

58 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

agree. I also tend to look at the players in two groups. My plan is to create some fluidity between them by using lots of support roles but the IFB-L-BPD-IFB and DM are all defending and the VOL, W-SS-W and AF are the attacking if only for the process of separation.

did you have find balance with the compination of DM & VOL ?

i believe that Anchor with VOL is more suitble, are you seeking some support from your DM?

i believe that the lines between MDFrs and ATTrs is far from each other what lines of engangment you use?

Edited April 1 by milenec11

[_Ben_]

1 hour ago, milenec11 said:

did you have find balance with the compination of DM & VOL ?

i believe that Anchor with VOL is more suitble, are you seeking some support from your DM?

I like the balance. The Libero moves up along side the DM but they are all capable of breaking the lines with passes or dribbles and getting into advanced areas. I have seen that the opposition tend to use an Anchor when they have a Volante and that is something I have used, as well as a HB(D), when the time is right. I wanted the most defensive supporting role and the DM(s), in my eyes, is that. It's becoming more and more about tactical fluidity from me and I rarely start with the same exact instructions or roles - despite favouring a 4231 in each of my last fifty Bayer games.

1 hour ago, milenec11 said:

i believe that the lines between MDFrs and ATTrs is far from each other what lines of engangment you use?

I use a higher defensive line and a higher line of engagement but with only 'more often' on trigger press rather than full on gegenpressing. Therefore, I don't use counter-press and switch counter on and off at the right times. It keeps us high and compact but still quite secure within our defensive shape.

[milenec11]

1 minute ago, _Ben_ said:

I like the balance. The Libero moves up along side the DM but they are all capable of breaking the lines with passes or dribbles and getting into advanced areas. I have seen that the opposition tend to use an Anchor when they have a Volante and that is something I have used, as well as a HB(D), when the time is right. I wanted the most defensive supporting role and the DM(s), in my eyes, is that. It's becoming more and more about tactical fluidity from me and I rarely start with the same exact instructions or roles - despite favouring a 4231 in each of my last fifty Bayer games.

I use a higher defensive line and a higher line of engagement but with only 'more often' on trigger press rather than full on gegenpressing. Therefore, I don't use counter-press and switch counter on and off at the right times. It keeps us high and compact but still quite secure within our defensive shape.

I will try your approach, of course I am 2 divisions down I don’t know if my players are capable to support the exact plan but I will see it.

[danielgear]

7 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

They will, naturally, come in on their favoured foot and most have a cut inside trait but, by keeping them as wingers, they stay wider for longer, allowing more freedom and isolation within the central areas or allowing a good ball out wide to a big space for them.

The addition of the cut inside with the ball player instruction for wingers has helped aswell this year for players without the traits. 
But yes similar reason for me using them. Especially with the FBs both inverting either to CB or DM, we need them to hold width. 

[_Ben_]

I think that things are starting to just about even themselves out now.

Our form, in January at least, has been a little patchy with three games where we've failed to find the net and striker Minami continues his goal drought stretching back to November. However, things are still going well and we've certainly made improvements from last season. Our current PPG - 2.0 - would see us finish ten points better off than last season and, at 0.08 goals per game better, we're outscoring last year, too. Tactically, I've been looking at opportunities to make us more potent against deeper blocks and, as I've mentioned a few times, using a DLF/SS combo against a 442 seems to be one of those. Here, with an AF(a), my striker is pushing the backline back but, with a Shadow Striker - essentially the same kind of player but deeper - I've got nobody to fill those holes. I could use an AP/AM or similar on a support duty to fill that but prefer the fluidity and unpredictability of greater movement by pulling the forward, essentially making a box or, even, a pentagon in midfield. This is hugely helped by the wide men who do not come inside until late in the move, allowing opportunities like this, where quick movement and a nice run from the Libero leaves us 4v3 just outside of Zone 14.

I'm also making developments in the way we can defend. This Emery inspired 6-box that I used against Bayern kept them out of the game and their 2-0 win was absolutely not deserved. If I'd have read my notes better and not put the wingers to mark their wingers - who, actually were so inverted that they left wide open gaps for wing back Fresneda to break through to net the opener - I'd have been able to keep them at bay much longer. A goal inside the first five and then a goal right at the death where they caught us on the counter ends this period on a particular sad note, especially after a strong comeback against Man Utd, where we found ourselves 2-0 down and a bit shell-shocked before we valiantly battled back and should've taken all three points. Not a big deal though as qualification had already been secured thanks to a 100% record prior to that. With our league form strong, the Europa League is a competition that I want to win this season, because, hopefully, it'll be our last entrance to it!

Not related to our own performance but I like to keep a close eye around the world at interesting developments. We've set up a youth link with Farul Constantia and that alerted me to the fact that 2029 winners FCSB are no longer in the top flight. That pales into insignificance with what is happening in Sweden as Brommapojkarna, who were named  league winners in 2030, were relegated in 2031, Superettan winners in 2032 and then league winners again in 2033 - taking yo-yoing to an extreme! It is also sad to see that my old club, Sundsvall, dropped out of the top tier after eight strong seasons.

 

 

With interest in Stepan Pejsa and my concerns around my inability to make him a better player, I felt that it was a good opportunity to cash in on him. His move to Nottm Forest - 2nd in the Championship - is quite a clear indicator of the level that he actually is at. The deal, sitting at €20m, gives me €11m of profit, which is significant given his poor scoring record, and, for want of a better phrase and for people who get it, looking a bit like Emile Heskey whenever he was on the ball. He clearly was a striker and moving him out wide, despite watching him playing for Sparta Prague as a withdrawn striker, meant that he had far too much time on the ball and - despite decent attributes - didn't really know what to do with it. Unfortunately, upon this discovery, he'd also fallen back into third or fourth choice striker and there was little way to appease these demands of first team football. He'd barely featured this year, with only a solitary goal to his name - so the move made sense for both parties. I think that this move gives me an opportunity to provide further game time for Franco D'Anzi - as his development has been strong and, probably, he's reached the limit of how far youth football will take him. There may be calls to explore a loan move to get regular football next year but, with a versatile squad where really any of my forwards could play this role, I think it's quite a safe experiment. The comparison between his attributes and Pejsa's show that, as expected, he's a little weaker but - hopefully - has a much higher ceiling and will fit into our playing style.

Bauer (a rise to €50k per week), Stierpmann (€40k), Reckert (€40k) and Minami (€46k) all recently signed new deals, accepting my squad role and future plans for them. However, the same was not to be said for Antonini Javorcic, who demanded to be an important player despite only playing thirty-five games - mostly from the bench - since his arrival as well as contract demands of north of €70k per week, on par with my top earners and most valuable players. Sadly, there was no budging on this and his agent quickly lost patience. My decision to then cut ties with him was also difficult given the fact that, when my DoF arranged the deal for him, he also included a clause that would give Hadjuk 30% of the profit made above the €4.5m we purchased him for. Fortunately, there was significant interest and I was able to move him on for €30m, giving nearly two of that to an intermediary, and then a further €7.65m of that back to Croatian football. Yet - with every setback is an opportunity and I was able to to dig into a shortlist and spend just €3.5m on Christian Ammer from second tier Aachen. He'd been considered when I made the signing of Javorcic but I felt that he wasn't experienced enough in open-age football, having only really featured for Aachen's II team in the lower levels. Now, he's got two full years on senior football under his belt and looks to be a promising option. Whilst his defensive attributes aren't quite at that top end, his footballing intelligence really is and I'm hoping that I can allow him time to develop over the coming years - giving myself not only another German option but also a cheap, well-considered and moldable player - which is pretty much my perfect recruitment strategy!

I've had significant interest in many other players - as you'd expect, given our form. Minami was subject of bids from many clubs - PSV, Newcastle and Dortmund included - that reached up to nearly €70m: a considerable profit on a man who has scored twice in the league this season and cost just €1.5m. However, he was keen to discuss a new deal with us so I left it to him: accept our deal or accept theirs. Fortunately, the Japanese youngster agreed to extend his stay for 5 years but, like every player at the club, is not tied down and will be used as part of creating a profitable business, given the confidence I have in my recruitment process.

I also sanctioned a few more loans as I build quite a strong list of youngsters who are now temporarily away from the club:

Playmaking keeper Bjorklund is nearing first team readiness but, as a goalkeeper, I always struggle to sanction playing time but will look at a Roberto De Zerbi-esque rotational plan for next year as he's potentially going to be one of the best keepers in Europe. That being said, his loan has just been extended until November of 2034, so I am in no rush to recall him and will only likely make that move if I smell any interest in either keeper currently at the club or Fischer - the backup - becomes unsettled at his lack of exposure to any football. Nikolic and Schulz remain the two players I'm most interested in but I really don't know whether the potential for the latter will actually ever be reached as, at 20, he's not really kicked on. That being said, I do see him as a long term Havertz replacement as he's more of a deep lying striker than Noa, who I'd expect would be able to lead the line and score goals, as he has done so well for Ingolstadt, who're hugely overperforming in the 2.Liga following their promotion. To join him, I've sent Angerer and Batyrkhanov - who will, presumably, both sit as central midfielders in their preferred 442 shape. Not ideal but, for Fynn - who is in a similar situation to D'Anzi - first team football is really important for him as he's outgrown what youth football can offer. Salman Kuczmann has just won the European Golden Boy award whilst out on loan but, a Shadow Striker, maybe, aside - I really don't feel that I have a role for him in the way that I play. 

The future is very bright though. 

[Slipky]

The DNA match bar is a fantastic addition to the skin. Would love to have that as well, but I reckon that's a private feature?
Either way, brilliant update as usual, Ben.

[_Ben_]

17 hours ago, Slipky said:

The DNA match bar is a fantastic addition to the skin. Would love to have that as well, but I reckon that's a private feature?
Either way, brilliant update as usual, Ben.

Not so much a private feature - just not been part of a new skin release as I'm very much invested in playing at the moment. I've also got an issue where, unless you have knowledge of skinning, you can't customise it to the attributes you want!

In terms of Bayer, I'm ticking along! Plan to release another two posts this season as the cup schedules mean that I'm playing twice a week for the remainder of the season if I get things right.

[danielgear]

4 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

unless you have knowledge of skinning, you can't customise it to the attributes you want!

This is what I thought the issue would be as not everyone will have your DNA will they . 

 

 

[Shrewnaldo]

I really like this shape that you've shown - particularly the way the two wide players are stretching the play high but with acceleration space for the through ball without going offside. What roles are you using for these guys?

I really like the look of Ammer. What are you thinking in terms of training priorities? Physicals?

[_Ben_]

14 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I really like this shape that you've shown - particularly the way the two wide players are stretching the play high but with acceleration space for the through ball without going offside. What roles are you using for these guys?

I really like the look of Ammer. What are you thinking in terms of training priorities? Physicals?

They're both wingers on support duty. I really love the positions that they hold during the build up before coming inside near the box, even more so when they fill in the space that the shadow striker vacates.

Yeah - Ammer needs some physical work, and that's fine because he's still quite young but I'm hoping to really build on his ball playing ability. I went for him as a safer option as opposed to a project libero - one that is probably a natural MC or even AMC, knowing that defensively they'd be a little stronger.

 

[_Ben_]

Yeah - we're getting there!

We'd have beaten Man Utd in both legs if we were able to execute the final touches to a counter-attack but, overall, to knock out the team who sit atop the Premier League is great and shows just how far we've come - however, the form around those games, probably to be expected, has somewhat dipped. With seven games left to go, I need to get Minami scoring again and pick up the confidence and match fitness of a few players who've been left on the sides a bit lately. With Napoli - eighth in Serie A - to come next and a Pokal semi final against Bayern Munich, there'll be more forced rotation as, realistically, we're fighting for cups and not the league this season. Anything inside the top four is a huge bonus for me and, honestly, finishing fifth but winning the Europa League - thus sealing qualification for the Champions League next year anyway - would be a huge bonus. It'll be in these last seven league games where we see just how deep the squads of Leipzig and Dortmund are and whether than can overhaul us. Bayern are out of sight - again - but they're not my focus now and probably not for a couple of years.

There is one particular game I want to zoom in on:

The press might dub this one of the Hamburg(er) feast or similar but I want to highlight this as a game – one of many – where I’ve made some tactical decisions as the game has progressed and they have all turned out perfect. Six nil against the team who started fifth was a real strong showing for us.

We started in our normal build up shape, the 3box3/325 and which morphed nicely into the 4222 defensive shape after some specific marking instructions were applied.  However, the problem that I find occurs with the box shape is that the middle is congested and, as you can see from that image, they’re only leaving one man up field to my three in the build-up, leaving Helmes somewhat wasted out wide. A change to a CWB(a)-BPD-L-IFB shape immediately allowed Helmes to get high and wide and, with the change from the W(s) to a IW(s) on the left hand side – as seen really well here – I was able to ensure that I wasn’t overloading the wide channel but creating another man across the front line. With Ammer playing as a L(s) instead of a L(d), I was able to create a 235 shape with much more width that still had enough cover should there be a turnover. From that change, I’d essentially changed where the box was – moving it to the four most defensive players and creating a natural overload on the left hand side (importantly, I did not choose the overlap function or to instruct play there because I wanted to keep all options fluid and open). With the introduction of Ferhat Duran as an SS(a), I was able to use his comes deep to get ball trait to create gaps within their defensive areas and we picked them off, like here, when Hagiwara delivered the cross that Nikolic scored from. In this image, I love the curvature of Hagiwara’s run, who starts narrower but runs wide past Bangura, who, in his altered roles, cuts inside much earlier.

Overall, we controlled the game – 3.51xG to their 0.32 despite having 49% of the possession, some six percent lower than our average for the season. I think a huge part of that was the aggressive gamble to change the roles to ensure we don’t have that lethargic buildup with too many free defensive players. I must add a word about recently recalled youngster Nikolic – his three goals from 15 touches, matching the three goals he scored in – similarly – fifteen touches against Furth, means that even the likes of Erling Haaland would struggle to match the 6:1 touches to goals ratio he’s started his career with us at!

At the end of the day though - the development this season has largely been down to these four:

Eighty goal contributions between the four of them! Arkine, Duran, Bangura, Krassnitzer. Absolutely quality!

Sometimes, my thinking goes full circle and I find myself doing things that I did years ago in FM: this time it's youth development monitoring. I'm not interested in gaming the game or in any way learning more about the hidden details than I should but I want to know the why so that I can develop my players to the best of my ability. For a long time, I've kept a record of the first year growth from all my intake players, with special attention paid to whether I'm building the training correctly to develop specific attributes, such as those key to my DNA (first touch, technique, decisions, determination and pace) outlined in red. Whilst I know that physical attributes grow naturally in younger players and that Determination is unlikely be cultivated through training plans, I haven't actually done anything about this - until now. However, the most interesting thing and the biggest test of my Excel formula ability was to create a simple tracking tool that looks at the harmonic mean of the key areas as well as the entirety of their outfield attributes. With some indexing and matching, I can create a bit of a tracker for this, as seen here. I'm not intending to share this frequently or, really, dig into the depths of it outside of the game but it's interesting to track the player development of these youngsters - with two particular cases: Poggenborg and Maik Vogel. The former made significant improvements to his all round game - hence my use of the harmonic mean, to add more weight to anomalous values and develop more importance around roundedness of the player whilst the latter has made significant improvements towards his DNA values, but, interestingly, not a huge amount within the first season, with rapid development now he's exposed to first team football.

Therefore, I've developed an idea that I've seen floating around before and something that I have used when trying to min/max this process in the past. Players, up until they are 18, will not be trained to be specialists unless they are changing position. This will add further allowance to the time spent developing their additional foci, which are: Defensive Positioning (Marking, Positioning, Decisions), Attacking Movement (Off the Ball, Anticipation, Decisions) and Ball Control (First Touch, Dribbling, Technique). They will rotate on the three month basis with the removal of Passing now meaning that each area gets four months of the year - with Defensive Positioning missing out most in July, when the players are on holiday. 

Outfield

• Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct - Def Pos
• Feb, May, Aug, Nov - Att Mov
• Mar, Jun, Sept, Dec - Ball Control

Keepers

• Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec - GK Technique
• Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sept, Nov - GK Sweeping (Short)

This additional focus on this without the sharp focus on developing a player for a specific area (even when I choose something like a CWB(s) to get a broad range of attributes), I feel that it does pigeon hole the player sometimes. I have no idea as to how well this will work over the long term but I'm interesting in experimenting with this idea with the new youth intake. Sadly, the intake is a little underwhelming...

   

A search for Schulz returns 3,670 names indicates that this is just now getting out of hand with a further two Maik Schulz's in this intake  alone! As for the players worth noting, Mohamed Sulley is the best of the bunch - by far - but his personality will not really help me develop him. Even exporting to the suitability tracker tells me that these aren't amazing youngsters and I'm very much going to be looking at the develop to keep in professional football mantra for those who even make the initial cut.

I don't want to jump the gun and be brash about reshaping the youth staff with this less than brilliant intake because I still have an elite talent and several top talents along with a really strong youth academy and quite clear player pathway already established at the club but I do have to admit that there will likely to some external recruitment for this youth team as I look to strengthen further.

[Shrewnaldo]

I forget what exactly Fickle implies but isn't it just low Loyalty? Does it also imply low Professionalism? Because apart from that Sulley looks like a banger.

Looking at his starting attributes and your strategy for forsaking role training and focusing on the additional foci, will you still go with the rotation for Sulley? Like you say, his physicals will naturally increase but that Pace is the only thing which would appear to be holding him back for your DNA. With the others already amongst his highest attributes, it will be interesting to see how fast they would grow and whether or not that 'costs' more CA than improving something like his Dribbling.

I really like the calculation for annual increase for the DNA score - but I wonder if it would help to have the non-DNA score annual increase too, perhaps excluding Set Piece attributes and stuff which doesn't increase with training such as Bravery and Aggression? This would give you a comparator to prove that the improvement to DNA-score is caused by the training strategy and not just random variation or overall improved growth

[keeper#1]

1 hour ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I forget what exactly Fickle implies but isn't it just low Loyalty? Does it also imply low Professionalism? Because apart from that Sulley looks like a banger.

 

Fickle (Newgen Players Only)
• Ambition = 15 - 20
• Determination = 1 - 14
• Loyalty = 1 - 14
• Professionalism = 1 - 14

[Shrewnaldo]

16 minutes ago, keeper#1 said:

Fickle (Newgen Players Only)
• Ambition = 15 - 20
• Determination = 1 - 14
• Loyalty = 1 - 14
• Professionalism = 1 - 14

He's got Determination 15 though?

I'm assuming you got that from one of the fan sites? Some of them are, shall we say, less than reliable

[keeper#1]

Yeah, it was copy and pasted from a site.  What does the Statman skin say?  I thought @_Ben_ put those hidden ratings in the skin but hiding behind a button.

[_Ben_]

12 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I forget what exactly Fickle implies but isn't it just low Loyalty? Does it also imply low Professionalism? Because apart from that Sulley looks like a banger.

Looking at his starting attributes and your strategy for forsaking role training and focusing on the additional foci, will you still go with the rotation for Sulley? Like you say, his physicals will naturally increase but that Pace is the only thing which would appear to be holding him back for your DNA. With the others already amongst his highest attributes, it will be interesting to see how fast they would grow and whether or not that 'costs' more CA than improving something like his Dribbling.

9 hours ago, keeper#1 said:

Yeah, it was copy and pasted from a site.  What does the Statman skin say?  I thought @_Ben_ put those hidden ratings in the skin but hiding behind a button.

He was fickle, yes. Within a month, I had one of those messages about 'team personality impact' through in my staff meetings and he is now this:

I believe that the move from Fickle to Perfectionist - this time (give that nothing else has changed) - has been down to a rise in Professionalism which, when you look at my hierarchy and their strong levels of professionalism, would add up. Without trying to find the meta - I am now aware he has good determination, ambition and professionalism - which are key for his development. My next steps are to develop his sportsmanship and temperament to impact his game management but that'll be a much longer job!

12 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Looking at his starting attributes and your strategy for forsaking role training and focusing on the additional foci, will you still go with the rotation for Sulley? Like you say, his physicals will naturally increase but that Pace is the only thing which would appear to be holding him back for your DNA. With the others already amongst his highest attributes, it will be interesting to see how fast they would grow and whether or not that 'costs' more CA than improving something like his Dribbling.

I really think he needs something bespoke, you know. After a month or so with this group and watching them play at youth level, I can see that he's a generational talent and a step above. I don't want him to be part of the squad with this and need to do something different. I'll still rotate through foci like the others, but I will definitely include a physical one for him as well as one that focuses on his ball carrying - another weaker area. Also - I'm looking at a shadow striker role for him, given the fact I don't quite think he can lead the line but would be wasted out wide:

So I might have a play with just straight development for that role rather than just the generic forward role, as that is his natural role although I like the thought of ‘general’ attacking training - which will improve all of the areas I’ve mentioned are weak! It’s all part of the bigger experiment, I guess…

12 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I really like the calculation for annual increase for the DNA score - but I wonder if it would help to have the non-DNA score annual increase too, perhaps excluding Set Piece attributes and stuff which doesn't increase with training such as Bravery and Aggression? This would give you a comparator to prove that the improvement to DNA-score is caused by the training strategy and not just random variation or overall improved growth

Yeah - there's definitely scope for some development in this. My plan was to rebuild - after an Excel crash - something that could formulate based on just dropping attributes in each season. Now that it is in place, I can really dig into using it to help me prove or disprove my thoughts about player development and allow me to develop how I train my youngsters, in particular.

Edited April 6 by _Ben_

[danielgear]

19 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

forget what exactly Fickle implies but isn't it just low Loyalty 

fickle player will have little love for your club(at least slightly higher than that of a mercenary) while still having very high ambition. He will therefore prioritize his career more than the progress of the club and should you slightly fail expectation, he will try to jump ship at the earliest opportunity.
 

basically high ambition + low loyalty. People have called it a bad personality but I’ve never found it to be an issue as long as you can be successful with them. 

Edited April 6 by danielgear

[_Ben_]

1 hour ago, danielgear said:

fickle player will have little love for your club(at least slightly higher than that of a mercenary) while still having very high ambition. He will therefore prioritize his career more than the progress of the club and should you slightly fail expectation, he will try to jump ship at the earliest opportunity.
 

basically high ambition + low loyalty. People have called it a bad personality but I’ve never found it to be an issue as long as you can be successful with them. 

I also like that, as I've shown above, it's not far from good personalities such as a Perfectionist, should you have the right players around him.

[danielgear]

6 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

I also like that, as I've shown above, it's not far from good personalities such as a Perfectionist, should you have the right players around him.

100%, I’ve never been one to worry too much about personalities. For young players most are easy enough to change but also nobody wants a team full of clones 

[_Ben_]

The curse of Bayer Neverkusen strikes again!

I know the plan was never to compete for the Bundesliga this year - Bayern are simply too good - but my intention was to take on the Pokal and the Europa League, hoping that our league form would mean this would be the last foray into the competition. We performed admirably to get there - overturning a really drab home defeat at Napoli into a dominant performance and solid win in Naples. We then crashed out of the Pokal in dramatic style, pegging Bayern's early lead back and dominating until Bauer's poor pass gave them the easiest tap in and the win. There was nearly another catastrophe against once tycoon owned Spezia, as we nearly let our three goal lead slip, firstly through Markovic's hilarious own goal and then through a similarly annoying passback from Stierpermann straight into the path of their striker. Our league form didn't suffer - Leipzig aside - despite playing a very rotated squad, ensuring that our key players were fit for the big fixtures.

Then, when the biggest of them all came up, we just didn't show up. I was delighted that a seventh placed Rennes progressed ahead of a Zidane-managed Chelsea, who've continued to spend massively all across the last decade but just found that we didn't have it in us to break them down. I tried multiple approaches, building up in different ways within the same 4231 shape that I love but we were toothless and naive. However, I cannot let that overshadow a top league performance - one that is so strong it ranks second best against our historical performances, including the 2001/02 squad with such quality players like Juan, Michael Ballack, Ze Roberto and Dimitar Berbatov.

Everything has, pretty much, gone right and that is visible in our expected outputs, pitch tilt and the clarity within our attacking game plan to run at defences and attack quickly and efficiently. With Champions League football to look forward to next year, my priority must lie in winning a competition and I think that the Pokal will be that, with the step into the Champions League likely to take a few years to adapt to. Bayern are the current holders, which gives me even more impetus to build a team that can challenge.

One regret that I do have, although made to look more extreme here - given the rise to prominence of D'Anzi and Vogel is the amount of minutes I've given to the youth players at the club. I have big plans to create the best youth system in the world here and, to ensure that I am giving my players the best chances, they need exposure to the first team. That being said, on the whole, the performances of those within the first team was strong:

In my defensive units - I've been impressed at the offensive outputs from Bischof and Hannibal, although the latter has stuttered in terms of goals scored this season, dropping down to a solitary one from five last year. However, the emergence of Reckert along with an African Nations has meant that he's been out of the team more and far more fatigued that I recall him being. He's still world class and an integral part of the squad, one who can play on both sides of the double pivot but, given his defensive skills, has often found himself the more defensive one this time out. In the full back roles, I'm settled with Ozdemir and Vogel as his backup - with the young German rising to prominence across the season and appearing in over 2,000 minutes - quite astounding for a 17-year old. is outputs, too. On the left, Helmes hasn't quite hit the heights that I wanted him too - despite looking to be about on a par with first choice Hagiwara but there is a possibility of a chance to bring in a new face over the summer which I may explore. I'm potentially light in the centre back role but Bauer, Ammer and the rock Markovic have all done well. My only concern is that they are all pretty safe and rank in the top 10% of (not) losing possession as I sometimes find that I'm wanting them to play the luxury ball out but they pass between whichever two are there. Definitely something to explore!

The attacking unit have been sublime. Bangura's target achievement gave him the motivation to kick on and twenty-nine contributions puts him second only to Ferhat Duran on thirty-three: both world class returns. It has meant that there has been some rotation across the wider roles with Arkine spending more time up front to accommodate. He's made significant improvements on his outputs from last year and, along with Nikolic - who is clearly riding the wave of a successful loan spell, converting 57% of his shots - have created a strong front two. One cannot be tricked by Minami's league vs cup form as his poor league form, with the saving grace being a hattrick in the season ender against Koln, meaning that I've actually already agreed to his sale. Nikolic (5%), Arkine (22%) and Minami (9%) have been poor in the air and, whilst we don't really focus on crosses into the box, I feel that I need another option up top - a different type of forward - and the Japanese ad doesn't do that as well as being the worst performer of the three this year. 

It's all about fine margins and I think my thoughts on the squad development below will help me answer where I want to go next!

The squad depth is starting to get really strong with multiple players able to cover multiple roles. I think that the one area that needs amendment is that a lot of my players are quite similar. We're building a team around a strong focus on the DNA - first touch, technique, decisions, determination and pace - and that is great but what we don't necessarily have are different types of players who excel at those things. One area for thought over the summer is my left wing role:

 

Salman Kuczmann - European Golden Boy and wonderkid - is due to return back from his loan in Portugal after ten goal involvements for a Famalicao team that finished eighth. He's a little more one-dimensional than I'd normally like for a winger and his traits certainly need some work but, as an out-and-out pace merchant, he's better than what we already have and, at 20, probably can still improve. Then I have Niklas Schulz, who didn't quite hit the heights at 2.Liga Union Berlin but, clearly, still has some quality. He's a player who I could see stepping into the Havertz role as a replacement for Duran later on in the game, either as an SS(a) of a DLF(s) but, actually, there is something about his height and balance that makes me think he could be that bully of an AF(a), if needed. There's a big gap and that is his Work Rate and I do feel like he's quite a bit weaker than the other players within the squad but as a 'type' he's certainly offering me something that isn't readily available elsewhere.

 

Two left wingers coming in means that Francesco D'Anzi can go out and get the first team football he really needs. When selling Pejsa in the winter, I promoted him but he's not exactly taken his chances, with outputs suggesting that he's not quite ready for this level, yet. That - of course - is no issue but I didn't want to sanction that without a clear plan for a replacement. A more contentious deal - given his solid statistical output, is to sanction the sale of Florian Stierpermann, the homegrown winger who has been solid since I took over but is now really starting to show his dislike of big games, with errors and ghost performances at the wrong times. Also, his goalscoring record is not what I'd want of a winger and I think that the combination of Schulz and the ability to use Kuczmann in an area that will allow a strong finisher to play could be necessary to see us develop. I'll see what kind of bids I can get in for him.

The summer, overall, will be interesting as I look to develop the squad in a couple of areas.

After witnessing the unhappiness with individual foci specifically focused around a defensive player doing an attacking focus, I wanted to make a further change. By moving to a plan for each training unit, I can focus more on the attributes that are part of my DNA that matter to them. Below, the gantt chart shows when each attribute is worked across the year:

Again - no idea how this will play out but an interesting thought. There are eight months of the year where my attacking unit will be focusing on just their position and decisions, whereas the defensive unit do the same for that and technique. If it turns out that I create technically strong defensive players and clever offensive players then I'd suggest that something has worked!

[Lestri]

13 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

The curse of Bayer Neverkusen strikes again!

I know the plan was never to compete for the Bundesliga this year - Bayern are simply too good - but my intention was to take on the Pokal and the Europa League, hoping that our league form would mean this would be the last foray into the competition. We performed admirably to get there - overturning a really drab home defeat at Napoli into a dominant performance and solid win in Naples. We then crashed out of the Pokal in dramatic style, pegging Bayern's early lead back and dominating until Bauer's poor pass gave them the easiest tap in and the win. There was nearly another catastrophe against once tycoon owned Spezia, as we nearly let our three goal lead slip, firstly through Markovic's hilarious own goal and then through a similarly annoying passback from Stierpermann straight into the path of their striker. Our league form didn't suffer - Leipzig aside - despite playing a very rotated squad, ensuring that our key players were fit for the big fixtures.

Then, when the biggest of them all came up, we just didn't show up. I was delighted that a seventh placed Rennes progressed ahead of a Zidane-managed Chelsea, who've continued to spend massively all across the last decade but just found that we didn't have it in us to break them down. I tried multiple approaches, building up in different ways within the same 4231 shape that I love but we were toothless and naive. However, I cannot let that overshadow a top league performance - one that is so strong it ranks second best against our historical performances, including the 2001/02 squad with such quality players like Juan, Michael Ballack, Ze Roberto and Dimitar Berbatov.

Everything has, pretty much, gone right and that is visible in our expected outputs, pitch tilt and the clarity within our attacking game plan to run at defences and attack quickly and efficiently. With Champions League football to look forward to next year, my priority must lie in winning a competition and I think that the Pokal will be that, with the step into the Champions League likely to take a few years to adapt to. Bayern are the current holders, which gives me even more impetus to build a team that can challenge.

One regret that I do have, although made to look more extreme here - given the rise to prominence of D'Anzi and Vogel is the amount of minutes I've given to the youth players at the club. I have big plans to create the best youth system in the world here and, to ensure that I am giving my players the best chances, they need exposure to the first team. That being said, on the whole, the performances of those within the first team was strong:

In my defensive units - I've been impressed at the offensive outputs from Bischof and Hannibal, although the latter has stuttered in terms of goals scored this season, dropping down to a solitary one from five last year. However, the emergence of Reckert along with an African Nations has meant that he's been out of the team more and far more fatigued that I recall him being. He's still world class and an integral part of the squad, one who can play on both sides of the double pivot but, given his defensive skills, has often found himself the more defensive one this time out. In the full back roles, I'm settled with Ozdemir and Vogel as his backup - with the young German rising to prominence across the season and appearing in over 2,000 minutes - quite astounding for a 17-year old. is outputs, too. On the left, Helmes hasn't quite hit the heights that I wanted him too - despite looking to be about on a par with first choice Hagiwara but there is a possibility of a chance to bring in a new face over the summer which I may explore. I'm potentially light in the centre back role but Bauer, Ammer and the rock Markovic have all done well. My only concern is that they are all pretty safe and rank in the top 10% of (not) losing possession as I sometimes find that I'm wanting them to play the luxury ball out but they pass between whichever two are there. Definitely something to explore!

The attacking unit have been sublime. Bangura's target achievement gave him the motivation to kick on and twenty-nine contributions puts him second only to Ferhat Duran on thirty-three: both world class returns. It has meant that there has been some rotation across the wider roles with Arkine spending more time up front to accommodate. He's made significant improvements on his outputs from last year and, along with Nikolic - who is clearly riding the wave of a successful loan spell, converting 57% of his shots - have created a strong front two. One cannot be tricked by Minami's league vs cup form as his poor league form, with the saving grace being a hattrick in the season ender against Koln, meaning that I've actually already agreed to his sale. Nikolic (5%), Arkine (22%) and Minami (9%) have been poor in the air and, whilst we don't really focus on crosses into the box, I feel that I need another option up top - a different type of forward - and the Japanese ad doesn't do that as well as being the worst performer of the three this year. 

It's all about fine margins and I think my thoughts on the squad development below will help me answer where I want to go next!

The squad depth is starting to get really strong with multiple players able to cover multiple roles. I think that the one area that needs amendment is that a lot of my players are quite similar. We're building a team around a strong focus on the DNA - first touch, technique, decisions, determination and pace - and that is great but what we don't necessarily have are different types of players who excel at those things. One area for thought over the summer is my left wing role:

 

Salman Kuczmann - European Golden Boy and wonderkid - is due to return back from his loan in Portugal after ten goal involvements for a Famalicao team that finished eighth. He's a little more one-dimensional than I'd normally like for a winger and his traits certainly need some work but, as an out-and-out pace merchant, he's better than what we already have and, at 20, probably can still improve. Then I have Niklas Schulz, who didn't quite hit the heights at 2.Liga Union Berlin but, clearly, still has some quality. He's a player who I could see stepping into the Havertz role as a replacement for Duran later on in the game, either as an SS(a) of a DLF(s) but, actually, there is something about his height and balance that makes me think he could be that bully of an AF(a), if needed. There's a big gap and that is his Work Rate and I do feel like he's quite a bit weaker than the other players within the squad but as a 'type' he's certainly offering me something that isn't readily available elsewhere.

 

Two left wingers coming in means that Francesco D'Anzi can go out and get the first team football he really needs. When selling Pejsa in the winter, I promoted him but he's not exactly taken his chances, with outputs suggesting that he's not quite ready for this level, yet. That - of course - is no issue but I didn't want to sanction that without a clear plan for a replacement. A more contentious deal - given his solid statistical output, is to sanction the sale of Florian Stierpermann, the homegrown winger who has been solid since I took over but is now really starting to show his dislike of big games, with errors and ghost performances at the wrong times. Also, his goalscoring record is not what I'd want of a winger and I think that the combination of Schulz and the ability to use Kuczmann in an area that will allow a strong finisher to play could be necessary to see us develop. I'll see what kind of bids I can get in for him.

The summer, overall, will be interesting as I look to develop the squad in a couple of areas.

After witnessing the unhappiness with individual foci specifically focused around a defensive player doing an attacking focus, I wanted to make a further change. By moving to a plan for each training unit, I can focus more on the attributes that are part of my DNA that matter to them. Below, the gantt chart shows when each attribute is worked across the year:

Again - no idea how this will play out but an interesting thought. There are eight months of the year where my attacking unit will be focusing on just their position and decisions, whereas the defensive unit do the same for that and technique. If it turns out that I create technically strong defensive players and clever offensive players then I'd suggest that something has worked!

I did wonder how putting the units on training that was more relevant to the other unit would go! They sure weren't happy. I have been a recent convert to doing the individual training for the whole unit rather than indivdually so I love the way you've shown it here and linked it to the DNA. I may have missed it, so I apologies, but is this solely for the kids or across the whole squad?

[Shrewnaldo]

17 hours ago, danielgear said:

100%, I’ve never been one to worry too much about personalities. For young players most are easy enough to change but also nobody wants a team full of clones 

I would 100% take a team consisting of only Model Professionals or Model Citizens. I don't mind boring

15 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

The curse of Bayer Neverkusen strikes again!

I know the plan was never to compete for the Bundesliga this year - Bayern are simply too good - but my intention was to take on the Pokal and the Europa League, hoping that our league form would mean this would be the last foray into the competition. We performed admirably to get there - overturning a really drab home defeat at Napoli into a dominant performance and solid win in Naples. We then crashed out of the Pokal in dramatic style, pegging Bayern's early lead back and dominating until Bauer's poor pass gave them the easiest tap in and the win. There was nearly another catastrophe against once tycoon owned Spezia, as we nearly let our three goal lead slip, firstly through Markovic's hilarious own goal and then through a similarly annoying passback from Stierpermann straight into the path of their striker. Our league form didn't suffer - Leipzig aside - despite playing a very rotated squad, ensuring that our key players were fit for the big fixtures.

Then, when the biggest of them all came up, we just didn't show up. I was delighted that a seventh placed Rennes progressed ahead of a Zidane-managed Chelsea, who've continued to spend massively all across the last decade but just found that we didn't have it in us to break them down. I tried multiple approaches, building up in different ways within the same 4231 shape that I love but we were toothless and naive. However, I cannot let that overshadow a top league performance - one that is so strong it ranks second best against our historical performances, including the 2001/02 squad with such quality players like Juan, Michael Ballack, Ze Roberto and Dimitar Berbatov.

Everything has, pretty much, gone right and that is visible in our expected outputs, pitch tilt and the clarity within our attacking game plan to run at defences and attack quickly and efficiently. With Champions League football to look forward to next year, my priority must lie in winning a competition and I think that the Pokal will be that, with the step into the Champions League likely to take a few years to adapt to. Bayern are the current holders, which gives me even more impetus to build a team that can challenge.

One regret that I do have, although made to look more extreme here - given the rise to prominence of D'Anzi and Vogel is the amount of minutes I've given to the youth players at the club. I have big plans to create the best youth system in the world here and, to ensure that I am giving my players the best chances, they need exposure to the first team. That being said, on the whole, the performances of those within the first team was strong:

In my defensive units - I've been impressed at the offensive outputs from Bischof and Hannibal, although the latter has stuttered in terms of goals scored this season, dropping down to a solitary one from five last year. However, the emergence of Reckert along with an African Nations has meant that he's been out of the team more and far more fatigued that I recall him being. He's still world class and an integral part of the squad, one who can play on both sides of the double pivot but, given his defensive skills, has often found himself the more defensive one this time out. In the full back roles, I'm settled with Ozdemir and Vogel as his backup - with the young German rising to prominence across the season and appearing in over 2,000 minutes - quite astounding for a 17-year old. is outputs, too. On the left, Helmes hasn't quite hit the heights that I wanted him too - despite looking to be about on a par with first choice Hagiwara but there is a possibility of a chance to bring in a new face over the summer which I may explore. I'm potentially light in the centre back role but Bauer, Ammer and the rock Markovic have all done well. My only concern is that they are all pretty safe and rank in the top 10% of (not) losing possession as I sometimes find that I'm wanting them to play the luxury ball out but they pass between whichever two are there. Definitely something to explore!

The attacking unit have been sublime. Bangura's target achievement gave him the motivation to kick on and twenty-nine contributions puts him second only to Ferhat Duran on thirty-three: both world class returns. It has meant that there has been some rotation across the wider roles with Arkine spending more time up front to accommodate. He's made significant improvements on his outputs from last year and, along with Nikolic - who is clearly riding the wave of a successful loan spell, converting 57% of his shots - have created a strong front two. One cannot be tricked by Minami's league vs cup form as his poor league form, with the saving grace being a hattrick in the season ender against Koln, meaning that I've actually already agreed to his sale. Nikolic (5%), Arkine (22%) and Minami (9%) have been poor in the air and, whilst we don't really focus on crosses into the box, I feel that I need another option up top - a different type of forward - and the Japanese ad doesn't do that as well as being the worst performer of the three this year. 

It's all about fine margins and I think my thoughts on the squad development below will help me answer where I want to go next!

The squad depth is starting to get really strong with multiple players able to cover multiple roles. I think that the one area that needs amendment is that a lot of my players are quite similar. We're building a team around a strong focus on the DNA - first touch, technique, decisions, determination and pace - and that is great but what we don't necessarily have are different types of players who excel at those things. One area for thought over the summer is my left wing role:

 

Salman Kuczmann - European Golden Boy and wonderkid - is due to return back from his loan in Portugal after ten goal involvements for a Famalicao team that finished eighth. He's a little more one-dimensional than I'd normally like for a winger and his traits certainly need some work but, as an out-and-out pace merchant, he's better than what we already have and, at 20, probably can still improve. Then I have Niklas Schulz, who didn't quite hit the heights at 2.Liga Union Berlin but, clearly, still has some quality. He's a player who I could see stepping into the Havertz role as a replacement for Duran later on in the game, either as an SS(a) of a DLF(s) but, actually, there is something about his height and balance that makes me think he could be that bully of an AF(a), if needed. There's a big gap and that is his Work Rate and I do feel like he's quite a bit weaker than the other players within the squad but as a 'type' he's certainly offering me something that isn't readily available elsewhere.

 

Two left wingers coming in means that Francesco D'Anzi can go out and get the first team football he really needs. When selling Pejsa in the winter, I promoted him but he's not exactly taken his chances, with outputs suggesting that he's not quite ready for this level, yet. That - of course - is no issue but I didn't want to sanction that without a clear plan for a replacement. A more contentious deal - given his solid statistical output, is to sanction the sale of Florian Stierpermann, the homegrown winger who has been solid since I took over but is now really starting to show his dislike of big games, with errors and ghost performances at the wrong times. Also, his goalscoring record is not what I'd want of a winger and I think that the combination of Schulz and the ability to use Kuczmann in an area that will allow a strong finisher to play could be necessary to see us develop. I'll see what kind of bids I can get in for him.

The summer, overall, will be interesting as I look to develop the squad in a couple of areas.

After witnessing the unhappiness with individual foci specifically focused around a defensive player doing an attacking focus, I wanted to make a further change. By moving to a plan for each training unit, I can focus more on the attributes that are part of my DNA that matter to them. Below, the gantt chart shows when each attribute is worked across the year:

Again - no idea how this will play out but an interesting thought. There are eight months of the year where my attacking unit will be focusing on just their position and decisions, whereas the defensive unit do the same for that and technique. If it turns out that I create technically strong defensive players and clever offensive players then I'd suggest that something has worked!

Schulz is a funny one. Looks like he's going to be great but the output technicals look just a little short to have him really produce - crossing, finishing and passing all being just below what you'd want for an elite player. I know passing is in your DNA and if you're looking for him to be the DLF will that be your training priority? The work rate would concern me for a DLF

[_Ben_]

1 hour ago, Lestri said:

I did wonder how putting the units on training that was more relevant to the other unit would go! They sure weren't happy. I have been a recent convert to doing the individual training for the whole unit rather than indivdually so I love the way you've shown it here and linked it to the DNA. I may have missed it, so I apologies, but is this solely for the kids or across the whole squad?

No, this plan is just for the youth players.

I have tried to implement, in order to push on the rate of success, a much bigger focus on ability over potential within the first team here, which means that, really, I just want to be tweaking those youngsters who are there - rather than completely reshaping their attributes. That being said - for those youngsters breaking into the first team with significant potential left to achieve - Vogel and Nikolic, for example - will have a personalised plan, still focusing on three areas that get rotated to hit four times per year and still, where necessary, hitting the core DNA concepts. A player like Sulley - who I've discussed above - will be, all being well, subject to that when he reaches the first team, although his will likely focus on the Pace element that I've taken less focus on within the youth schedules. It's a 50/50 chance that'll work because I know how much more physical attributes grow at a young age but I also want a rounded player ready to be able to play multiple roles as I tweak areas in his later development.

15 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I would 100% take a team consisting of only Model Professionals or Model Citizens. I don't mind boring

Yeah, I'm with you! I sold off two of my top talents last year because their personality was - in my eyes - absolutely inhibiting their development.

15 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Schulz is a funny one. Looks like he's going to be great but the output technicals look just a little short to have him really produce - crossing, finishing and passing all being just below what you'd want for an elite player. I know passing is in your DNA and if you're looking for him to be the DLF will that be your training priority? The work rate would concern me for a DLF

Yeah. I went away and thought about this. I have enough depth elsewhere in that forward area and I think he's a little below what I want. Furthermore, he wasn't even a regular at 2.Liga Union Berlin last year so I'm after, probably, a full season as first choice in the top flight before he comes back. I think that Kuczmann, who was in Portugal, has really benefited from that. 

[danielgear]

2 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I would 100% take a team consisting of only Model Professionals or Model Citizens. I don't mind boring

 

2 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Yeah, I'm with you! I sold off two of my top talents last year because their personality was - in my eyes - absolutely inhibiting their development.

Totally understandable, I enjoy a few mavericks in my squad. Adds something different. They obviously have to be worth the hassle. 
Squad players I like to have good personalities but sometimes I’ve had bad personalities do great things that make them worth the hassle. 

[_Ben_]

I think the above infographic is really important there, and, probably, a harsh reminder that I haven't quite hit the mark with this window. Buoyed with the performances of last season, I didn't really want to change much but, actually, I've come out of the summer window feeling like the squad is a little stale and not addressing a couple of things that'd cost money to change. I secured the outgoings that I had planned: Stierpermann moved to the Middle East for a decent fee, Minami brought me a decent profit on a player who'd really stagnated and Helmes was also a small profit when the only player I had wanted became available. However, the rest of the dealings were loans - me moving on quality players who aren't quite quality enough to get into my first team, yet. And that is where I think I've fallen down. Safe in the knowledge that the future is bright, I have neglected the present and what I want us to stand for in the transfer market, bar one player.

My four incoming transfers can be seen below.

   

 Jorrel Hato felt like a no brainer - much better than Helmes at left back and at centre back and a free transfer, too. The analyst report was complementary and suggested that Mainz's relegation was not necessarily linked to his performances. Furthermore, my DoF wrangled a deal that sees him costing us just €55k per week, lower than his previous wage. I'm happy that I've got sufficient cover for Hagiwara at left back now and would really like to source a right-sided version of him. Even with €88m to spend - this wouldn't be our transfer strategy without signing a complete unknown for a bargain price. Michal Sindelar was relegated with Lyngby in the Danish top flight and, as such, was available for a €500k release fee. His cover pic doesn't look incredible - six goal contributions and really only strong outputs with his expected assists but digging into his analyst report tells a different story! Ranking highly for key passes, high intensity sprints, expected assists and interceptions means he could just be the perfect bargain Segundo Volante. Then I looked at his attributes! First touch, passing and technique are all wonderful as is his flair and vision - making him a pretty decent 10 but he's absolutely not left behind defensively either and, in my eyes, can hold his own given his height and reasonably physical stature. I'm excited!

 

Then we get to the less planned move and then we get to the...panic!

I hadn't contemplated sending Sindelar out on loan until I saw Nmecha was available to me and I found it really hard to turn down the potential to have his experience and personality within the team for a short time. Fallen out of favour at Dortmund, I wanted some reinforcements so that I could focus my defensive players on, well, playing there. Feeling that a midfield of Hannibal, Reckert, Bischof, Sindelar and Nmecha - I went for it on a short term deal. Once he'd arrived and I looked at setting the squad up for a couple of friendlies, I then felt that it was too much and we'd not be able to offer appropriate playing time, forcing my hand into loaning the most suitable - Sindelar - out. Our squad depth though, at this point, made me realise that, actually, a loan would benefit him as he settles into Bundesliga life, so he's gone to Hamburg for the season. And then I realised I was short up top. Arkine and Nikolic could rotate but one of the things I really enjoyed was being able to rotate the entire four but, with Krassnitzer on the right and Nikolic up top, I'd only be able to put Arkine in one of those places. With Stierpermann, Minami and D'Anzi leaving and only Kuczmann coming in to fill that void, I had to go shopping. Additionally, I'd realised that all of my attacking players were under six foot tall so needed some extra height and physicality. I liked the look of Maurits Kjærgaard from Bayern but they weren't - rightly so - interested in selling to us. Therefore, I made a big decision and asked my DoF to recommend a signing fitting my needs (i.e. I stopped when I clicked on the first tall striker who wouldn't break the bank) and just went for it - in a slight blind panic. He opted for Beljo, a man who doesn't lack height but does lack actual football at a decent level - not even playing four-hundred minutes in Serie A last year. I decided that I'd move for him on loan instead of permanently and, you never know, he might fill a gap against that tough low block or just get on the end of a late corner with his 6'5" frame. But, again, he might not! 

With a strong set of players out on loan, I can start to look towards the future and plan for what I need to avoid panic buys like this. I'm not saying that waiting until the end of playing the free transfer market is bad, at all, but it just isn't the way that I want to structure my dealings. Our squad looks strong but there are some real gaps:

Internal:

• Long term replacements for Hannibal and Nmecha in the DM roles. Sindelar could fill one but the other isn't likely to be filled by anyone currently at the club.
• Replacements for Beljo if I don't make the move but D'Anzi could fill that role on a more permanent basis.
• Replacements for Havertz but Angerer could fill that role
• Replacement for backup keeper Fischer and Bjorklund could fill that role.

External:

• Attacking option at right back similar to what Hagiwara can offer as a CWB(s) when needed. Ozdemir cannot fulfil that role, limiting my creative options down that side.
• The other DM role that Sindelar might not fill.
• A world class centre back to sit alongside Markovic, replacing Bauer. Left footed and supreme on the ball but not necessarily a dribbly Libero type.

---

Not quite what I had in mind as I went into the window but I'm really excited about Sindelar and have a squad that is well known to me and one that I have a lot of faith in. With no passage to the Europa League, my aim this season is to end up in the Champions League spots again and bring home the Pokal. Die Werkself!

[Shrewnaldo]

Loving the fact that Sindelar is both awesome and a creative 10, potentially false 9, to reflect his famous namesake - albeit a much more physically imposing version.

Beljo was great for me in a Toulouse save on FM18, maybe 19? I struggle to recall but he was great and then seemed to get a bit of a bump in the next iteration so certainly has potential to do a job.

 

[_Ben_]

On 08/04/2024 at 22:18, Shrewnaldo said:

Loving the fact that Sindelar is both awesome and a creative 10, potentially false 9, to reflect his famous namesake - albeit a much more physically imposing version.

Beljo was great for me in a Toulouse save on FM18, maybe 19? I struggle to recall but he was great and then seemed to get a bit of a bump in the next iteration so certainly has potential to do a job.

 

I knew you'd note Sindelar! I did a little bit more research into him, not having really learnt anything since he first came to my attention in all of your Rapid/Austria saves and I'm very much intrigued by him as a player!

I realised that I didn't post a screenshot of Beljo, so here he is:

Not sure if he's entirely Bundesliga level but it's another string to my bow - and that's what I'm searching to create right now.

[_Ben_]

First game back to FM after a really busy week and this happens:

We played most of the second half with a CWB(a) - L(s) - BPD(d) - IWB(s) backline as CSKA then decided to just not actually have any forwards. Of course, their keeper picked up man of the match.

Welcome to the Champions League!

[milenec11]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

Of course, their keeper picked up man of the match.

you can't imagine how many times their keeper was man of the match player, you can't . FM engine....

[_Ben_]

I've had a really busy week or so and playing time has been at an absolute minimum but I can't help but feeling a little like Unai Emery right now - a man very close to my heart - in saying that I'm learning so much about my team at the moment. The full table shows that we're doing really well given the difficulty our fixtures - Leipzig, Dortmund and Gladbach already played and no points dropped against them. Where we may come unstuck in the quest for our title though is the dropped point against Furth and the Dusseldorf defeat - two games that we dominated but couldn't find the cutting edge. From that I'm learning that we do need a tall, aggressive, physical, Lukaku-esque striker who can bulldoze his way through defences. I don't think that man is Dion Breljo, though. I'm learning that, alongside Hagiwara, we need a right back who is able to be marauding and, unfortunately, I don't think Ozdemir (compared here) quite is that man. A little bit more work with Maik Vogel and, honestly, he could be a Libero, Inverted Wing Back, Inverted Full Back or a Complete Wing Back: I'm learning his ceiling is high! I'm learning that Krassnizter,  the player originally brought in as a wide man and Arkine, another wide man, can operate beautifully as a shadow striker, giving me a really different output to Duran - whose traits of comes deep and arrives late in area create a more mobile Trequartista, if I'm honest. Great for unlocking a defence but not always the right option for precise counter attacks. But, actually, I'm also learning that neither Arkine or Duran are quite world class and I think I need them to be. The latter has never really made up his mind whether he's a true playmaker or a runner or a finisher and I think does show from time to time. I truly believe that elite teams don't need eleven elite players and that is how we can carry the likes of Nikolic and Bangura, who are, in all honesty, suited to our style not our ability but perform really, really well for us when it matters most. With one player I'd truly say was world class - Ilija Markovic - I can probably be forgiven for the Supercup defeat to Bayern and the worries of their impending rise to the top of the Bundesliga over the coming months but, as I've said all along here - it's the process that I enjoy rather than the actual successes that come from it. The plan is simple - go as deep as I can in the Pokal, continue to disrupt Europe's big boys - yeah, take that PSG - and hang onto Bayern's coat tails for as long as possible because, maybe, just maybe, they'll have a real life season and I can do a Xabi Alonso and turn Neverkusen into perennial winners!

Edited April 15 by _Ben_

[danielgear]

16 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

as I've said all along here - it's the process that I enjoy rather than the actual successes that come from it.

This is very much FM for me. I can easily win everything If I wanted to but I like to have an identity behind my management so that when you do win like that it feels earnt. 

[_Ben_]

Now that I'm half way through the season, I felt the urge to write down my thoughts after having spent another few days with the game under a microscope and myself engulfing any tactica reading that I could. The majority of this is focused on player recruitment as I enter the January window but I am still in the learning process, tactically, which is really and truly giving me the most fun I think I've ever had on a version of FM.

A huge turn up for the books here as I look to not chase Bayern down, but actually cement my status as finishing comfortably above them. With a five point cushion, I really think that this could be the year that the pressure on Nagelsmann counts and his dynastical period could be over. That being said, normally being so far ahead of Bayern would put us atop the league but not this year as a resounding Dortmund have fired their way to a ten point lead over ourselves and fifteen (!!) over Bayern and Koln, in fourth. I know that stranger things have happened and I know that Bayern are, at the end of the day, Bayern, but I really think that this season is about us coming second and coming second without too much hassle. The glut of 30+ players in Munich will need addressing and we, like Dortmund, have a team whose key players are at peak ages and only getting better. 

Obviously, we lost away at Bayern and have just lost away at Koln - we're not perfect. However, our game play is reaching a level that is putting ourselves above that of the chasing pack and we're able to kill games off more and more, despite having an xG differential of just +0.96, the fourteenth best in the league. 

We're progressing nicely in the Champions League - sealing our entry to the knockout rounds but it is the Pokal draw that, without Bayern and Dortmund, gives us our biggest chance of silverware this season!

Two interesting articles that I’ve been reading lately are this one about Andoni Iraola and this one about defensive and offensive principles. I really like this quote from Andoni:

“I prefer too much chaos to too much organisation. I prefer to play at a high pace, even if it means a touch of hastiness, than play at a lower pace and have a bit more control.”

Despite me recently lowering the tempo within my approach, I actually think more and more about the chaos that I can create going forward. Up until recently, I’d have assumed that tempo was the ‘speed’ in which we’d attack but, when I thought about it, I realised that – no – we don’t just jog around or pass the ball slowly because of that low tempo, particularly not when we have really pacey attackers and roles that are aggressive and forward thinking ball-carrying roles. Our lower tempo, from my experience of the changes in games, comes more about the initial build up – we are now happier to move the ball around and play a little bit safer in the defensive areas in order to identify the right pass. And that is where we can create that chaos.

This quote pretty much sums up my thoughts:

“Some like to approach games in a disciplined structure, intentionally and meticulously dictating games to their own tempo. Others opt for a more emotionally-charged philosophy, reliant on the belief, energy and willpower of their trusted eleven on the field.”

And on that definition of the latter:

“Electrifyingly fast, pulse-raising, edge of the seat entertainment is what chaos can bring. These are often the emotionally-charged performances that can use the crowd to their advantage. It’s less coordinated, and in turn, more unpredictable. For the opposition, it can be overwhelming being unable to anticipate enemy moves despite the chaotic team not controlling every facet of the game like a chess board.”

My chaos does not come from ultra-aggressive pressing and counter pressing (although we do use both at the right moments) but, instead, comes from off the ball movement, trickery and quick transitions, where all of the players can – realistically – apply themselves to any of the jobs I require from the attacking midfield trio. I think that the more I watch Unai Emery’s Aston Villa – my own team – I see that. Patient build up, the ability to break the lines with defensive passes (hence my insistence of the right type of full back) or progressive carries (hence using both a Libero and a Volante) before unleashing havoc by running at the defence. For me, that is then topped off by having a Haaland-esque finisher at the end of it. Whilst I’ve experimented with different striker roles and do like the DLF/F9 kind of interaction, I like the AF or even the PF(a)/P(a) because they tend to pin back the defenders, allowing more space to create chaos when attacking.

With that in mind, I wanted to see how my recruitment strategy this winter could better our chances of doing that. I identified some key attributes and stats that I think symbolise this chaos approach and compared the players currently at the club by them:

I think that we have the makings of some really strong players in these areas and I look forward to being able to expose D'Anzi to more first team football as he seems to fit the bill really well. We have created a young, focused attacking unit and there are clear development plans to get those last two to three percent out of these players, such as working on Bangura's first touch, Krassnitzer's acceleration and Sulley's dribbling. He, of all the players, feels the furthest away from this but I am excited by his potential and really enjoy the process of moulding a player into something that I really require.

With that. I decided to add two new players to the chaos crew!  Welcome Ozguneri Sarier and Tornike Khuroshvili!

  

At just €12m, I think that Ozguneri is an absolute steal and, thanks to the power of NewGAN, gives me a picture of a man with a bit of an attitude but also one who is incredibly nonchalant and oozes panache whilst on the ball. With elite flair, composure and vision, I think he's basically Ronaldinho and I will look for him to spearhead the chaos in our ball progression. He's lacking a bit of acceleration and isn't the strongest off the ball when compared to my group of players but there are only minor things to iron out with him. He's done pretty well in Turkey and I think he's ready to take the next step in his career. Plus, at 6'3", I am excited about his physicality between the lines. Again - in Villa related news - I've liked the way that Morgan Rogers presents physically - winning duels and headers in half spaces against outmatched opponents - and I think I can do similar as a team that, largely, do lack height. Tornike, like all my previous signings, is also subject to a random face and I actually laughed when I saw the name/nationality combo as his moustache makes me think of an old school circus performer. I can picture young Khuroshvili walking across a tightrope or escaping from a box and, in footballing terms, that's pretty much what I expect the Georgian wizard to do. An initial loan deal was required but I don't actually think I'll have 25 games left that he'll play in and, should Freiburg not get promoted, I think he'll be available for much cheaper. A little quicker off the mark than Sarier but not as natural of a dribbler, the technically gifted and composed lad will be utilised (opposing the terms of his loan deal) largely off the right hand side, cutting in and unlocking defences.

For comparison, here they are with the same criteria as the above players:

I'm really happy with this bit of January recruitment and I'm now able to see a bit easier what that looks like when looking at my core principles of first touch, technique, decisions, determination and pace using my new squad DNA tool on Excel. I am aware that a high score here doesn't naturally make them a good player but it's good to see that my good players also rate pretty highly on that scale.

I've got a good little group of players here and I think that I'm two or three away from a squad that can really make things happen!

Die Werkself!

[Slipky]

5 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

“I prefer too much chaos to too much organisation. I prefer to play at a high pace, even if it means a touch of hastiness, than play at a lower pace and have a bit more control.”

Sounds like relationism-oriented approach to me. Should be interesting seeing you taking that approach should you go down that path.

Closely following, as usual.

[_Ben_]

The third in-season update always tends to be rooted around the youth intake, which, as you can see if you've skim read the images here, is no different. However, the relationism idea, as posted by @Slipky, has stuck in my head and I've been really intrigued - technically - about what we're doing. Looking through the linked article, I can absolutely see elements of this in my build up ethos and want to further explore managers and case studies of this. The one quote, below, has particularly stuck with me:

"Relationism is about movement and change. It is a process of becoming rather than of being."

However, this has, obviously, come at a time whereby we're absolutely on fire. No defeats in the twelve games here with strong progress in the league - tight at the back and free flowing and somewhat chaotic going forward - combined with strong results when tested against Europe's best. New signings Ozguneri and Khuroshvilli have both got themselves on the scoresheet and my approach at quite regular rotation has seen goals for D'Anzi - getting important minutes - and Arkine's return to form. 

I still think that the Bundesliga title is out of our reach - despite this strong run, Dortmund have matched it and still are clear of us. It feels almost a wasted opportunity in a season like this where Bayern are unusually poor but we just cannot usurp the Vincenzo Italiano-led outfit, who are free scoring at present, too. 

Overall - things are looking great on the pitch!

Earlier this week, I saw - on X - a newgen that @danielgear had in his QPR save. Whilst I can't quite say that my intake trumps that, in having a fifteen year old already being the best player at the club, I can come pretty close in terms of current ability levels! The entire youth intake doesn't feel as well rounded as previous years, but I have come to accept that, with a near elite team, this will always look harder. However, it is the three lads, below, who I am quite excited about:

I actually do not think I have ever seen a 15-year old who is as good as Jakub 'JJ' Jakush. There's a couple of areas to work on - of course - but he's well rounded and already really strong in the attributes that I value in my most advanced forward. If he has the potential and can fulfil all five stars of it, I think that he's going to be absolutely world class. I can't play him until he's reached sixteen but I may give him a run out in a Champions League tie to just give him that debut I think he's nearly ready for! Carlo Redzepagic will likely go on to become Luxembourg's best ever player and, despite being a little weak, is already looking superb for a ball playing defender. Without the progressive carrying ability of a Libero, I think I can really work to create the deepest, but the most composed, of the backline. Whilst not as strong, I like the look of Dioguinho - who'll learn to play across the three attacking mid roles and even a low-rated Leon Werth looks like he could become a bit of a decent forward. Overall, that gives our U19 team strongest XI this look; a team that, no doubt, could compete at the 3.Liga level. Still though, I want to keep us without a II team so I can fastrack progression into the first team. This decision comes off the back of what is, frankly, an absurd amount of talent coming into our team directly from our youth system.

The list, below, does not even include the likes of Salman Kuczmann, who may be sold and both Sulley and Angerer, yet to break into the first team properly but shows the graduating year of the seven academy players currently within the first team:

2032/33 - Francesco D'Anzi and  Joel Kahl

2031/32 - Maik Vogel

2030/31 - Noa Nikolic and Simo Bjorklund

2027/28 - Archie Reckert

2025/26 - Jordan Bangura

The squad DNA (remember, not necessarily a marker of quality) continues to grow and, overall, the potential within the team is rising - allowing me time to explore progression routes and tactical styles for now and for in the coming years. Whilst my playing speed has significantly dropped of late due to real life getting in the way, I am as committed to this Leverkusen project as I ever have been!

Die Werkself!

[Shrewnaldo]

Ooft, Jakush is a player and a half.

Given you're avoiding a B-team, how are your outgoing loans going? Was it Duisburg that was your 2.Bundesliga affiliate? Will Jakush make his way out on loan or think he's good enough to skip that step?

[Slipky]

Lovely update as usual, @_Ben_! As for relationism:

4 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Looking through the linked article, I can absolutely see elements of this in my build up ethos and want to further explore managers and case studies of this.

Prime European examples are Henrik Rydstrom's Malmo FF (another example here) and the wonderful The Mutants article on Medium, also by Jamie Hamilton, which goes over relationism and hybrid relationism examples in Europe.
I'm glad to be any influence on this save and would be VERY CURIOUS to hear your ideas and approach to relationism in FM. I know I'm still tinkering with it myself, personally.

Still waiting for a possible skin release with the DNA bar, even if I have to configure it on a per-save basis :P

Edited April 24 by Slipky

[_Ben_]

8 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

Ooft, Jakush is a player and a half.

Given you're avoiding a B-team, how are your outgoing loans going? Was it Duisburg that was your 2.Bundesliga affiliate? Will Jakush make his way out on loan or think he's good enough to skip that step?

He is, isn't he?!

I have Duisberg in the 3.Liga and Ingolstadt in the 2.Liga but, when you look at the current loans away from the club, I think it'll force my hand into skipping that step:

There have been some great examples - Bjorklund, started at Ingolstadt, Nikolic went to both and - whilst not a feeder - D'Anzi had a good short term spell. However, I sent Sulley out too early - still only 17 - but, fortunately, was able to recall him and give him some minutes with us, for a confidence boost if nothing else. But, from the list above, the majority of these are out on loan for exposure to get a new deal elsewhere. Schulz has just been capped by Germany but I don't think he's good enough and Kuczmann and Yu don't really fit in with the style I want. I could easily generate €20m+ for each of them, I think!

But I might explore using the training units to get Jakush with the first team. His personality isn't terrible but, for someone like Zrilic, who doesn't have a great personality, this approach means I can utilise the mentoring aspects whilst keeping him playing with the youth team. It's something that I look to do away from European fixtures because, with two games a week, he's missing out on training when he's with the senior team (unless he uses this to return to his youth team training?!) but it has already begun to work:

--

So, a TLDR; he's probably going to skip the loan steps because I'd rather keep him here until 18 and, given how good he already is, would hope that he's going to be too good for a loan when the appropriate time for a loan comes around!

[_Ben_]

7 hours ago, Slipky said:

Lovely update as usual, @_Ben_! As for relationism:

Prime European examples are Henrik Rydstrom's Malmo FF (another example here) and the wonderful The Mutants article on Medium, also by Jamie Hamilton, which goes over relationism and hybrid relationism examples in Europe.
I'm glad to be any influence on this save and would be VERY CURIOUS to hear your ideas and approach to relationism in FM. I know I'm still tinkering with it myself, personally.

Still waiting for a possible skin release with the DNA bar, even if I have to configure it on a per-save basis :P

I've spent a fair bit of time reading about Henrik! Sadly, I never got chance to face him when I was managing in Sweden:

I'm sure there'll be more tactical thoughts soon - the update at that time of year though, for me, is all about the joys (or not) of a youth intake!

In terms of skinning - I've completely lost interest but I will send over the skin version I currently am using, which still has several WIP areas and will tell you how to amend that DNA bar!

[Slipky]

2 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

 

In terms of skinning - I've completely lost interest but I will send over the skin version I currently am using, which still has several WIP areas and will tell you how to amend that DNA bar!

Would be perfectly fine, assuming I can just incorporate the panel into my modified skin.
Appreciate it, man!

[milenec11]

On 25/04/2024 at 12:07, Slipky said:

Would be perfectly fine, assuming I can just incorporate the panel into my modified skin.
Appreciate it, man!

It will public release , or pm?