[FM24] Nottingham Forest - Season 2 Finding our DNA and into Europe We go

[theBlackPrince]

[FM24] Nottingham Forest - Oh mist rolling in from the Trent, my desire, Is always to be here.

You can't talk about Nottingham Forest without certain things springing to mind. "Brian Clough", "Peter Taylor", "Double European Champions" and "The Trent" are often what is spoken about. For much of the clubs history, which dates back to 1865 (Just a couple of years behind Trent neighbours Notts County in 1862) there are large periods spent outside the top flight, including most recently from 1999 to securing promotion back to the Premier League via the Playoffs for the 2022-23 season. Brain Clough and Peter Taylor masterminded the greatest period for the club in the late 70's and early 80's with back-to-back European Cups, one of only eight clubs and one of only two English clubs to achieve this. (Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Liverpool, Inter Milan and AC Milan). This would include a spell with a First Division Title, 4 League Cup Victories, 2 European Cups, 1 European Super Cup and a Charity Shield. The only thing missing was a FA Cup victory which was stopped by Tottenham beating Forest in 1991-92.

The World Famous City Ground

On the banks of the River Trent sits the City Ground, home to Nottingham Forest since 1898. At the start of every game the Mull of Kintyre rings out around the ground an genuinely is spine tingling to be apart of. The song has been a Forest anthem ever since the glory days when the Reds were champions of Europe. Made famous by Paul McCartney and Wings, the song was released in late 1977 before being adopted by the Forest faithful. Reds supporters changed the lyrics as the mist often rolled in from the Trent, and included a range of words about their travels up and down the country. Having been released that season, it became the Forest chorus and has stuck ever since.

The City Ground is an old school English ground and in places, it is old. It is not a modern bowl stadium and that adds to the charm and carrying the atmosphere around the ground. The walk to the ground over Trent Bridge is one every fan should do at some point on a warm summers day. Planning permission to re-develop the Peter Taylor Stand has been granted, but it seems there are still a few stumbling blocks before further enhancement and growth can happen.

Returning to the Premier League

Last year there was 30 arrivals to try and stay in the Premier League after what felt like 100 season's out of the top flight. The scatter gun approach to signings proved to be good, bad and ugly, but it was enough, Forest survived and a 16th place finish. Coming to the 2023/24 season and the signings have continued, not quite to the same level as the previous season but there has definitely been a theme to the signings (more to come on that later). The City Ground was a fortress with 8 wins, 6 draws and just 5 loses for 30 of the 38 points which was the difference maker for survival. No-one really fancied coming to play here, taking wins over 3 of the top 6 in Liverpool, Brighton and Arsenal. The away form, total opposite with 1 win. 

Often playing without the ball and relying on lightening fast counter attack, will the second season mean Forest have the quality to control the game more? Will they be able to dictate the tempo and continue to make the City Ground a Fortress? With a large (read too large) 33ish man squad with another 15+ out on loan, finding the 25 may leave some players upset they missed out. However, selling players may be tricky with many on longer term deals and only just into them.

Transfer Policy

Looking at the (many) transfers, there seems to be 4 themes emerging. Well, with the sale of talented Youth Academy player Brennan Johnson to Tottenham for £47,500,000, the Youth Academy policy does seem to be lacking with very little else due to break into the first team anytime soon. That leaves us with buying players who have played in the English Leagues (Premier mainly) for Home Grown purposes, South American Pipeline (Mainly on the early 20's side) and bringing proven players from the top 5 European Leagues who can play now. Many from the latest category are also representing African Nations internationally. So, with the images below, this is the 4 policies I will be trying to continue when looking for players moving forward. It does give a wide focus to search for players!

 

 

With big spending comes money problems. There is nothing left in the kitty to spend on anyone and the projection's for the club are horrendous. On projection to be £60,000,000 in debt by the end of the first season and around £150,000,000 in debt by the end of the third season. This does mean we may have to balance the books and sell some promising players if a great bid (like Brennan Johnson) comes in. A large chunk of that will be £1,686,474 a week in wages, if we can reduce that we may be able to minimise the huge loses.

My focus for the Save

The first focus is to keep surviving in the Premier League before working on breaking into Europe. The squad is deep and with a few players who can really drive us forward in the next 5 years. Realistic aim would be to be in Europe after 3 seasons. Starting in the Premier League is not the great challenge from what some do on here from lower leagues to glory, but I still feel the challenge will be a fun one and to be fully involved. Aims are as below:

• Continue to survive then thrive in the League and Europe.
• Bring a European Cup win back to Nottingham, bonus points to repeat the Brian Clough Back-to-Back Champions of Europe.
• Improve the youth facilities and start to produce world class talent once more.
• Balance the books, -£150,000,000 after 3 seasons is not a position to be in.
• Continue to work to the transfer policy set to keep building the club.
• Expand the City Ground ready for the future in Europe. The game may make us move away I do fear to increase capacity.
• Find our club DNA and put that at the front of everything we do.
• Spend time to develop the tactics, I'm not usually good at this so need to learn and develop this for the team.
• Make many, many Clough references!

Edited January 20 by theBlackPrince
Updated Graphics

[Emozil]

Looking forward to this!

P.S - Good win yesterday!  

[theBlackPrince]

Day 1 - Meet the Manager - Steve Cooper

The main, man, Super Cooper continues in the game as he does in real life. Making his attributes and info as close to real life as possible, it seems only fitting to give him the opportunity to continue the adventure he started at the bottom of the Championship. He seems to be loved by staff and players alike and the Greek has stood beside his manager and backed him with a healthy kitty for the past two seasons. Not just in the game but in real life, Super Cooper is the man to lead the charge moving forward as Forest look to start to thrive in the Premier League. 

With 34 players at the club in the "first team squad" and another 16 out on loan, trimming the squad down is the first job. With 4 players wanted and another 6 on the transfer list, that would be a good place to start. There are a few players we will struggle to move on, especially the king of collecting a wage, Harry Arter, and we may lose a little money if we decide to part ways with Orel Mangala a season after he arrived. With 2 keepers ahead of him, Ethan Horvath may be cheap enough to keep if we can get a new deal signed. 

Scott McKenna might be the only one who we could look to keep, if he will sign a new deal. We have other options at the team now who may offer a better long term solution but we cannot lose both him and Willy Boly at this time without brining in cover. This will be hard to do with a £0 transfer budget currently so a few players leaving may be needed to be able to bring some players in.

[warlock]

Good luck with this one - I've enjoyed your previous careers 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I am going to start a Notts Forest save soon so it will be good to see how you manage them and also I like how you are sticking to their real life transfer policy.

[shakey.bridge]

47 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I am going to start a NOTTINGHAM! Forest save soon so it will be good to see how you manage them and also I like how you are sticking to their real life transfer policy.

Naughty boy 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

10 minutes ago, shakey.bridge said:

Naughty boy 

Sorry Nottingham Forest 

[shakey.bridge]

8 minutes ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Sorry Nottingham Forest 

No Probs mate, if I didn't say it, some other Forest fan would have. Good luck with your save.

[robterrace]

7 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I am going to start a Notts Forest save soon so it will be good to see how you manage them and also I like how you are sticking to their real life transfer policy.

You've already been pulled up on it, so thats good

 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

59 minutes ago, robterrace said:

You've already been pulled up on it, so thats good

 

Yeah I just prefer to call them Notts Forest. Saves me time typing 

[theBlackPrince]

I'm glad we got less than 24 hours before the Nottingham/Notts reared it head  Nottingham only will do!

On 06/11/2023 at 22:22, Emozil said:

Looking forward to this!

P.S - Good win yesterday!  

Was a great win against your Villa, really showed some intent. Know we will be fine this year!

 

22 hours ago, warlock said:

Good luck with this one - I've enjoyed your previous careers 

Thank you, hopefully I can do this one proud! Just re-looking at graphics which takes forever for me to decide! 

[theBlackPrince]

[theBlackPrince]

Pre-Season

It would be hard to move players on with not much interest in the likes of Boly and McKenna, hopefully they can get some gametime and gain the exposure needed. We freed up some wages and we could have kept Horvath, but we took the money when offered. There is a small amount in the pot, but no signings currently to strength the squad but apart from up front, we are more then covered with the signings made by the club!

The pre-season results were extremely pleasing, especially trying to put together a formation that suits. I wanted to try and make it slightly different from the standard 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3  Still making a few changes and sure we will get a real test of it in the Premier League shortly and make some more changes. Up next, the playing squad!

[theBlackPrince]

First Team Squad

As promised, here is the first team squad we are moving forward with this season. As we have a large number of players out on loan with no recall options, we will probably need to trim some from the 1st team and out on loan down to save money and help build for the future. Overall, really happy with the squad from what it was last year and almost every position is strong and has cover, despite us already seeing several injuries before the season starts. Really excited by some of the prospects who can learn and develop with this team for years to come. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by theBlackPrince

[theBlackPrince]

2023/24 Season - Game 1 - Brighton vs Nottingham Forest

I wanted to enjoy the first game, it was gone midnight last night but I really wanted to get a least the first game done and graphics ready so I can try and progress a little more today. What a cracking first game it was for the Forest Faithful, some lovely passing movement and we really seemed to dominate the play. A few tweaks may be needed for the formation as I seemed to have players on top of each other at times, but we will play with that over the next few months to see what works.

We will spend time looking over the data once we have a decent sample to compare to the other clubs and players (and once I've worked out more graphics for it).

Edited November 9, 2023 by theBlackPrince

[theBlackPrince]

We have had one player come in, one for the future. Doesn't quite follow any of the patterns being a young Norwegian. My scout (who found him, I wasn't looking in Norway and not sure why he was) gave him a star potential, I bought him then released that scout may not be the best judge, lesson learnt! Still, for £1,500,000 total package and Premier League quality still, we wont lose money! Hopefully can continue to grow and develop for a while

I was not planning another game update so soon, but when this happens, I had to share! 

[theBlackPrince]

8 hours ago, krkyseventwo said:

Must say the efforts put into your graphics are great. Good start, you could be over achieving by the time the first season ends. Good luck.

Thank you, the graphics do take a while but hope fully they are enjoyed as something a little different. I've started to play some of the top teams now so expect to slide down some as the season progresses.

[theBlackPrince]

August and September 2023

Could not have gone any better if we had tried and already flying in the league. Expect the form to drop off but survival is the aim this year and bring players along who are new to the squad. Wedid sell Willy Boly for £4,000,000 to help raise some fund as he would be out of contract at the end of the season. We did bring in one more signing, on loan as below. Rollheiser is a cheap option both on wages and a future fee and can play all the attacking midfielder options. There is an option to buy if he plays well.

[theBlackPrince]

October and November 2023 Update

We continue to do better than expected in the League but are fighting injuries and players not happy about their playing time. There will be more changes in the January Transfer Window with a few younger players from South America coming in on small fee's. Once we know who may be leaving and what money we have, we may be able to bring another bigger name in!

Montiel is proving to be a huge asset which we tried to make his loan deal permanent but he doesn't see Forest as a long term option, yet!

[Ronaldo Beckham]

7 hours ago, theBlackPrince said:

October and November 2023 Update

We continue to do better than expected in the League but are fighting injuries and players not happy about their playing time. There will be more changes in the January Transfer Window with a few younger players from South America coming in on small fee's. Once we know who may be leaving and what money we have, we may be able to bring another bigger name in!

Montiel is proving to be a huge asset which we tried to make his loan deal permanent but he doesn't see Forest as a long term option, yet!

Well done getting actual money for Boly. I had to release him as nobody wanted him after 2 years of trying to get rid of him lol.

Montel will sign for you if you get a top 6 finish I think. He is great at taking penalties.

[theBlackPrince]

Boly went to Toulouse and yeh, I was pleased to get something back for him. Injuries are high so far so lets hope I have enough cover as a few more players will leave in January.

Montiel is the star man so far, what a player he has been. The formation I use without a right sided winger which gives him the whole flank to bomb down is working wonders and he just keeps putting in huge performances! £8,500,000 will be a bargain if he will sign!

[theBlackPrince]

Stats from the first 4 months 

Time to look at the stats and they are rather promising so far.

1. Morgan Gibbs-White attacking output so far puts him with one of the highest non penalty xG per 90 minutes along with high open play expected assists per 90 minutes.
2. General Performance in the Premier League is well above the average in all metrics, the non penaly expected goals per 90 minutes at almost 2 per game. Pass completion at 88.25 is pleasing.
3. Team attacking as expected when in the top 10 is above average, 17.62 dribbles per game, 13.38 shots per game and over 50% shot on target.
4. Gonzalo Montiel's performances have been sensational. 0.24 open play assists per 90 minutes, 2.81 dribbles per 90 and a high key pass rating.
5. A mixed defensive performance, higher interceptions per game but well above average fouls per game (data looks corrupt).
6. Our wingbacks, both on loan are performing at a high level both in creativity and high quality changes. Both are looking strong options to buy

[theBlackPrince]

[theBlackPrince]

It has ben a while since I played this, so most of these transfers were done months ago so just adding them in now! Will get to the end of the window and see who else comes and goes for Forest!

Edited January 15 by theBlackPrince

[theBlackPrince]

[Blarney]

Welcome back, love seeing a Forest save on here, even if we are a wee bit jealous of them across the Trent.  I'll never admit to actually saying that though.

[theBlackPrince]

EFL Final - Nottingham Forest vs Everton

Unexpected in the first season but the route to the final was one everyone would want with Liverpool the big prize in the semi-finals. Everton had to beat Manchester United and Newcastle, both on the road, to get to the semi final where they had the easier task (compared to the previous rounds) of Bournemouth. This should be a great opportunity to get some silverware and go into this with every chance of the win. A few players are out with injury, mainly Yates, Awoyini (just back, not fit) and Vlachodimos, all who would have started!

Edited January 14 by theBlackPrince

[theBlackPrince]

[theBlackPrince]

On 14/01/2024 at 20:14, Blarney said:

Welcome back, love seeing a Forest save on here, even if we are a wee bit jealous of them across the Trent.  I'll never admit to actually saying that though.

Thank you, I mean with the news today might not be so sunny this side of the Trent 

[theBlackPrince]

The league is going well, we should have Europe secured which is a surprise compared to real life, but the team is talented and somehow Skogvold is performing way above his ability and is enjoying that super-sub role. We have a tough run to the end of the season so anything in the top 6 will be a bonus, but we have a European spot secure already from the EFL Cup win!

[theBlackPrince]

Edited January 17 by theBlackPrince

[theBlackPrince]

[theBlackPrince]

 Nottingham Forest - Season 2 

We head into the second season with more than we thought we would get, a trophy and a European spot. It will be wonderful to have the City Ground hosting a European game once more. As in real life, the Forest squad is bloated with over paid bit part players who have not helped with FFP (Still waiting on points deduction in real life) so the first order or business is once everyone is back off loan, decide who is staying and who is off. I will entertain offers for most players but we need to get the wages down, money in the bank and look to build a DNA and style that is fit for Forest. Do we look to the past and the brilliance that was Brian Clough, or do we need something new for a new era of footballer?

[theBlackPrince]

Transfer Business

It started back in June with a flurry of activity leading up to a huge bid for Sangare, who had only joined the previous year for around half of that. That is good business, even if he was probably the best player on paper. With well over £100,000,000 coming in, we could use the money on British talent that we had been scouting for a while. For me, most excited about Josh Doig at that left wing-back role and the long term future of former Ajax Keeper Tommy Setford. Playing in Europe this season certainly helped get some of these over the line.

Looking back at the Clough squads in the glory days, and I know times have changed, but he always had a very Great British look to his teams, and where is the fun in just keep buying cheap South American Wonderkids? Will touch more on this later I'm sure as is it possible to win it all with just British players, it would probably be hard and expensive now!

[theBlackPrince]

[theBlackPrince]

[theBlackPrince]

Nottingham Forest - Back in Europe - Game 1 vs Anderlecht

In what has been an eternity, Nottingham forest are back in Europe and have 8 games to show they belong. With a game against Wolves the Saturday before and Newcastle the Saturday after, this will test the team to see if they have enough depth to take on League and Europe. Glory is not on the cards but putting a decent show and gaining at least 2 or 3 wins must be the minimum objectives for this years campaign. Getting the win over Anderlecht will really help the cause. 

[theBlackPrince]

Nottingham Forest in Europe - Game 2

Our first away game would be against Red Bull Salzburg and after a slow 15 minutes, we came into the game and were able to get on the scoresheet first as Moussa Niakhate would power the head home at the near post from a corner. It would take a moment of individual brilliance to win the game as Morgan Gibbs-White from the left, took the ball inside and curled the ball home past the keeper to put Forest back ahead after Red Bull equalised on the 66th minute. A great away day victory and undefeated in Europe. 

[theBlackPrince]

“Players lose you games, not tactics. There’s so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes.” 

It would not be a Nottingham Forest save without talking about Brian Clough. His famous quote above and him sticking to his 4-4-2, with everyone knowing their position and role and basically working their bloody socks off for the team. 

So, it's time to work on a 4-4-2 and make it work, I want to win Europe with a 4-4-2 in this save, now that might be a challenge! It seems to be behind the more modern 4-2-3-1 and other variations.

So what was Cloughs tactical style and the basis for any DNA moving forward?

"You get the ball, you pass it to a Red shirt"

• Well disciplined team.
• Demanded hard work and effort from everyone.
• Ball on the floor, passing to another man in a red shirt.
• He hated the long ball.
• Liked possession but loved to counter attack on the left.

The main focus of the team.

• Goalkeeper - Commanding but technically astute.
• Right Full Back - Attacking, overlapping the winger and get forward.
• Left Full Back - Not as attacking as the right side, more supporting and defensive.
• Centre Backs - "Keep the ball away from the goal" was the main focus.
• Right Midfield - Sticking to the touchline, arrive late into box for crosses.
• Centre Midfield - One to hold and win the ball, one to get forward to support.
• Left Midfield - The plucky winger carving the opposition up.
• Strikers - One to link up play, one to be the focal point.

The starting point of the tactic.

Clean slate, picking the positions and minimal input. I am positive more will be added once we see how possession is controlled, do we break on the counter well enough and can we just make the 4-4-2 work? I have started to train Ryan Yates in the Wide Midfield Right role. He may not be the best player for the role, but I feel he is a player Clough would love and fits what he would want to do. I have others who can play there but I think Yates will be a success. Elanga on the left is the key along with Montiel on the right. Let's see how this develops over the season.

[El Payaso]

The graphical presentation of the game is a super nice aspect and makes it easy to follow your progress. Do you use Canva or something else to create your templates? Was thinking of creating somethings similar to my own Chelsea career to make it more appealing for the eye. 

 

[theBlackPrince]

8 hours ago, Litmanen 10 said:

The graphical presentation of the game is a super nice aspect and makes it easy to follow your progress. Do you use Canva or something else to create your templates? Was thinking of creating somethings similar to my own Chelsea career to make it more appealing for the eye. 

 

Thank you for checking in, yes it is all done with Canva! It does make the graphics side much easier and to keep things consistent!

[theBlackPrince]

2024-25 Season Update - 1

The 4-4-2 base tactic was brought on a tough away game in Europe against Nice and much to my surprise, we took an early lead and managed to secure the victory. Maybe that Clough fella knew something about tactics and playing style?! I would like to get some more width, but it looks like we did focus play down the left with Anthony Elanga which is the right play with his pace and dribbling ability. A famous victory, making it 3 from 3 in Europe but much bigger games to come.

Our hot start to the season puts us top of the pile with victories over Newcastle and Manchester United as the real good results to start the year. Our third game playing the 4-4-2 against Arsenal in the EFL Cup 4th Round brought us back down to earth as we were beaten badly 1-4 and out of the competition we won last year. The move of Ryan Yates out to the wide right role so far seems to be a good one as he leads the team in assists and had 2 player of the game awards.

It's hard to take too much from the stats so far seems we have just changed formation. The pleasing one being Keeper Vlachodimos has the highest save percentage in the League whilst having few saves to make at the same time. Our tackling in midfield is lead by Danillo who is strong and often, but Morgan Gibbs-White and Ryan Yates are both strong on the tackle when needed. Our fullbacks lead the tackling in defence with Nico Williams and Josh Doig.

Overall we are performing well and above all averages, which is expected when near the top. Now to see if we can maintain this and work on the 4-4-2 at the same time...

 

[theBlackPrince]

We have decided on the clubs DNA, looking at what was important to Clough and his squads when he took Forest to European Glory.

"You get the ball, you pass it to a Red shirt"

• Well disciplined team.
• Demanded hard work and effort from everyone.
• Ball on the floor, passing to another man in a red shirt.

Passing, Anticipation, Bravery, Composure, Decisions, Determination, Teamwork, Work Rate, Natural Fitness, Stamina

I think these especially would be what made the team, with Work Rate, Determination and Bravery probably in the top 3. Forest didn't always have the best players, but Clough got the best out of them. He didn't need the whole team to be technically gifted, often saying that the centre backs were "just there to head it and kick it and keep the ball away from his goal". A simple game played with the best intentions. So how does the current set up and players brough in look?

Unsurprisingly, fan favourites like Ryan Yates score highly and a key reason he is staying in the first team, retrained on the right as he just is the heartbeat of the team. Pleased to say the new signings all score highly on the DNA, especially with Lewis Ferguson and the 18 year old Archie Gray. Some of the players under the 125 mark are key performers, such as Anthony Elanga and Taiwo Awoniyi, but they may struggle to continue in the team if we keep increasing the DNA requirements. On looking at this, players such as Callum Hudson-Odoi, Nduka Junior and Henrik Skogvold may not fit in the clubs long term DNA vision,

In the Under 21's David Watson looks like he has all the qualities to move to the first team shortly. A £4,800,000 buy from Kilmarnock, he has that "it" factor that we need to monitor and look at how he develops. 16 year old Jack Richardson scores highly and is another to see how his development goes. I will also be looking to plug the data in from scouted players to help make decisions on players to sign and see if this DNA is right for us.

Edited January 24 by theBlackPrince

[theBlackPrince]

Fidalgo unhappy, Miller the replacement?

Alvaro Fidalgo is one of our better players and has a top DNA score. However, he is unhappy for the second time this season on playing time despite us rotating players with the demands with Europe. Lennon Miller grades as one of the highest DNA prospects on the midfielders we have looked at and has a release clause of £7,500,000. We are confident of getting a much higher fee for Fidalgo, who is the more technically gifted player but Miller already has the edge mentally and physically. Do we take a chance on the untested 18 year old, who wouldn't be needed to play and perform from day one with a good number of players in the MC position?

[theBlackPrince]

Champions League Updates

A return to the Champions League has proved a success, especially away from the City Ground with some famous victories to show Forest are back in the big time. After the first game grudge win over Anderlecht, followed up by victories over Red Bull Salzburg and Nice away from home. Confidence high and heading to Italy, it would be a memorable night as The Reds took a 4 goal lead in the first half against Napoli. The Italian fans were enraged, and their team almost pulled off the comeback for the ages with 3 goals in the second half but would come up short, 3-4 to Nottingham Forest and the Red continued to march forward in Europe.

Then the might Barcelona would come to the City Ground, and they would leave with just a point and Forest remained unbeaten in the Champions League and at the top of the Europe for all to see. Two English players, Morgan Gibbs-White and Ryan Yates would once again give the fast starting Forest a 2-0 lead, only to see it be taken into the break 2-2. That would be all the scoring done as the game finished 2-2 and a huge performance to hold the mighty Barcelona to a draw.

 

 

 

Edited May 7 by theBlackPrince