[FM24] Southampton

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

July 2023

Southampton were once a mainstay of my FM saves, particularly around the ti me they were pushing for promotion from the Championship some 10 years ago, and Adam Lallana was a favourite player for quite a few years. But it's been a while and, with their relegation back to the second tier, now seems like a good time to revisit.

The club vision and aims for the save are aligned - win automatic promotion back to the Premier League, consolidate in the top flight, and then push on for silverware and a return to European football.

In reality, new manager Russell Martin has instituted a possession-based system that has seen the Saints to a record 21-game unbeaten record. In game, new manager Nobby Charlton will be following the blueprint, hoping to pass our way to the top of the Championship.

The club

Saints are very well set at the start of the game. With a 32,000 capacity stadium and 19,000 season ticket sales the financial basics are in place. Thanks to a busy summer of departures following relegation (£148m raised from the likes of Romeo Lavia to Chelsea, Tino Livramento to Newcastle and James Ward-Prowse to West Ham) the club has a healthy balance, providing a transfer budget of £20m and with capacity in the wage budget. 

The picture is equally good in footballing terms - superb training and youth facilities, good academy coaching and excellent youth recruitment. The club vision is thus:

(Current status reflects the fact that we're in October in game, having played through the first two months of the season to ensure the save will stick.)

The squad

Despite the series of high-profile departures, the squad is very good for Championship football.

Goalkeepers

Bazunu is our obvious No.1, with plenty of room to develop. McCarthy is a decent backup but his £42k a week wages are not merited and he's transfer-listed accordingly. Worst case, his contract expires next summer.

Right backs

KWP is an excellent first choice but we might struggle to keep him; Bree is no more than a warm body in case of emergencies.

Left backs

Manning is first-choice for now but Larios will undoubtedly develop to supplant him.

Centre backs

Bednarek and Harwood-Bellis will play the majority of games, but Holgate and Stephens are okay as backups. We have no natural left-footed CBs but all four are capable of playing on that side. THB and Holgate are also accomplished at RB, giving us plenty of cover across the back.

Defensive midfield

My only area of real concern. Downes is first-choice but only here on loan; Charles may well become a star for us but isn't quite ready for prime time, while Stephens and Smallbone are not natural DMs and better suited elsewhere. My first priority for a new signing.

Central midfield

At first sight, we're well-stocked here but, in truth, it's a bit makeshift. Alcaraz and Aribo are better options further forward, but a 4231 system that might get the best from them would leave us short-handed here. My inclination was to opt for a 433dm as our default system with the flexibility to switch to a 4231 as required match-by-match. In the long term we'll definitely need reinforcements here but this group should be good enough for the Championship. Stuart Armstrong is unhappy following relegation and has already said he'll be "exploring his options" with his contract expiring in the summer. I expect he'll have to be replaced in January.

Attacking midfielders

Adam Armstrong is first choice here, with on-loan Fraser equally good at AML and AMR. However, I'll try to rotate the AML slot between our two young prospects Sulemana and Edozie to make sure they have the chance to develop (both are better suited to the left wing than right).

Strikers

Adams is the natural choice for now but Mara clearly has the potential to become much better. Stewart looks like an aberration on that wage and I don't see him getting much game time unless we suffer a catastrophic injury crisis.

 

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

August 2023

Transfers

On the back of the summer departures - including a host of loans - there was no deadwood that needed removing, apart from GK Alex McCarthy but he received absolutely no interest. In terms of incoming transfers, the club had already signed a large number of players before my arrival so with a view to team cohesion and morale I didn't want to make any more signings than necessary. But the key necessity was an extra defensive midfielder.

With £20m available I didn't foresee any difficulty - completely overlooking the fact that, as a newly-relegated team, we were a long way from attracting top talent to the club. There was also the fact that we were hoping for an instant return to the top flight so I didn't want us saddled with someone who couldn't make the step up. Eventually, we decided on our man:

Reis is hard-working, brave and with a good engine. Natural as a BWM in either DM or CM, he's also a good B2B and still has room to grow. My coaches rate him as an excellent Championship player and potentially 'good' in the Premier League. We paid just £4m to sign him from Hamburg in Germany.

Edited January 23 by warlock

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

September 2023

Early form

As noted, the squad was not ideally set up for either the 433dm or the 4231, but I decided the former made the best use of the players available. Following the Saints' real-life approach of dominating possession while playing front-foot football, I settled on this:

Also like the side IRL, we're looking for Adam Armstrong to be our main source of goals. With AMs coming inside, the CMs are set as mezzalas to push wide so we build to a 235 shape in attack. Our first month was encouraging:

However, I wasn't happy with the draws against QPR and Plymouth - who occupy the bottom two places in the division. After seeing Youtuber Trequinho's version of the Russell Martin system, I was pleased to see we'd arrived at very similar approaches but it allowed me to make a couple of tweaks to see whether we could improve things a little.

Excellent! Leeds and Leicester had shared top spot this month and we dealt with both comfortably. I was happy enough with the draw away to Boro, who are also enjoying a good season.

The IF on the right has been our best source of goals - Adam Armstrong and Ryan Fraser lead with 6 goals apiece, but we're getting plenty from all areas including the DLF with Mara and Adams both featuring regularly.

An enjoyable start to life on the south coast.

Edited January 23 by warlock

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

October 2023

The relentless schedule of the Championship is a bit of a shock after the leisurely seasons in the French L1. Where Bordeaux rarely played more than 4 matches a month - and often only 3 - Saints have played three consecutive 6-game months. Even with rotation and training rest days it's been a struggle to put out a side in reasonable shape for each matchday. However, we've managed it, and enjoyed continued success:

We opened the month with a disappointing draw against mid-table Stoke. A point away from home is never a bad thing but we didn't play well and had to come from behind three times. The rest of the month went according to the odds and the form table, although clean sheets were hard to find. And the final game, in the Carabao Cup against Blackburn was a ridiculous contest with neither goalkeeper performing. Rovers had 3 shots on target and scored twice; we had 7 shots on target and scored 6 from an xG of 1.9!!

It's been nip and tuck at the top of the table but we've eventually managed to get a bit of a grip on top spot:

Leicester, Leeds, Norwich and Saints have traded places constantly but our 14 games unbeaten in the league have - for now - nudged us ahead of the pack.

While Adam Armstrong has emerged as a clear leader in goals scored, a close look at the October results will reveal that, despite a good start to the season, striker Che Adams has hit a miserable run of form and youngster Mara is outperforming him by some margin. Adams is wanted by a number of PL sides - and Roma - and it looks as though he's more concerned about a move away than doing his job. I could be tempted to cash in in January if I can identify a likely replacement.

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

December 2023

After a hectic start to the season -  playing 18 games in the first three months - November felt like an easier month with just four games to play and most against teams outside the top 8:

On paper, West Brom - sitting in fourth place - were our toughest opponents but posed little threat in game, while mid-table Bristol City caused us the most problems and almost snatched a point. The month was also pleasing as Che Adams returned to scoring form after a lengthy slump. But if November gave us a chance to recover some fitness, December was absolutely brutal with eight games in four weeks:

Playing two games a week meant we had little choice but to work with a strict squad rotation and, happily, the second-choice players performed to a good standard when they featured. Consistent performances in the league while Leicester, Leeds and Norwich all dropped points, saw us increase our lead at the top to 9 points, and a good showing in the Carabao Cup has rewarded us with a semi-final against Liverpool.

Realistically, I might have willingly lost against Norwich because the semi-final is a two-game tie that only adds to our match burden in January:

For now, things couldn't be any better - our unbeaten run stands at 30 games, and we boast the best attack and defence in the Championship:

Looking ahead to the transfer window, a lot will depend on potential incoming offers for key players. GK Bazunu is wanted by Celtic; CB Bednarek by Atletico Madrid; Che Adams by Bournemouth and Palace as well as a couple of Saudi clubs; and Adam Armstrong by half-a-dozen clubs including Everton and Marseilles. Losing any of them would be a problem; losing more than one would be a disaster, especially as the scouting team is struggling to identify suitable replacements.

It could be an unhappy New Year.

[SixPointer]

Nice club choice! Always has a soft spot for them because of Le Tiss and his wonder goals 

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

January 2024

Transfer window

As Christmas and New Year faded in the rear-view mirror, we had some big games ahead of us - not least, a Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool. But no less important was the transfer window with many of our key players featuring on the shopping lists of several Premier League clubs. Top of that particular list was star striker Che Adams who had made clear his desire to leave since I arrived back in the summer. I'd already fended off a number of offers before the season kicked off but only by agreeing that we would let him go if we received an offer of £12m. That was well below his 'real' value of around £20m but with only 6 months remaining on his contract and his refusal to sign a new dea,l it was a matter of £12m or nothing.

It was not surprising - but nevertheless disappointing - when several clubs, including Burnley and Fulham from the EPL, plus a number of others from foreign leagues, put in bids of £12m, which were accepted. In the end, Adams chose Fulham who now top my list of "clubs to beat" whenever we play them. But if the loss of Adams was a blow, the good news was that we lost no-one else I wanted to keep. A couple of others were allowed to leave, notably backup GK Alex McCarthy who went on loan to Portugal with Moreirense playing us a profit on his £40k a week wage.

On the other side of the ledger, in addition to an Adams replacement I was looking to sign an upgrade on James Bree at RB and, perhaps, another good CM. We had Carlos Alcaraz, who my coaches rate as a good prospect, capable of playing CM but actually better-suited to AMC and he never performed for us in the deeper role. We also have Joe Aribo, who is not bad at CM but I have ended up using more as a backup to Adam Armstrong at AMR (although his flexibility is very useful).

It would have been good to bring in a first-choice striker but we have 21-year-old Sekou Mara, who has played well and actually out-scored Adams with 15 goals and 4 assists from 20 starts. Instead I decided on a player who caught my eye during my earlier Malaga save and, I believe, will develop into a good player:

By no means the finished article, but Ivan looks a good prospect with strong physicals, very good mentals, and technical attributes where it matters. And at just £4m he was excellent value for money.

As for a CM, I had one player on my shortlist but his wages, at more than £60k a week, were way outside my structure and would have made him by far the highest-paid player at the club. But on deadline day he was made available for loan, which would give me the chance to determine his real value - and maybe to get a discount:

So Moriba joins us from RB Leipzig until the end of the season with no commitment to buy. His £46k a week is still more than I wanted to pay, but Leipzig played hardball when I refused to agree to an AP role and I was happy to compromise. If he does well in the next 5 months we can look at a permanent move, and if he gets close to that 5* potential he'll be worth it.

January results

With our continued progress in the Carabao Cup, plus our entry into the FA Cup, January turned out to be another brutal month in which we played 8 competitive fixtures in 30 days. In that light, I decided I wasn't overly bothered about the cup games. But before then we had an opening fixture against promotion-chasing Norwich, away from home so I was expecting a tough match:

A convincing result in which Norwich had their chances but squandered them while we were ruthless. Che Adams bagged a goal on his final appearance for Saints en route to a convincing victory.

We followed that with our opening FA Cup fixture, which saw us despatch Coventry, before the first leg of our Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool. We were drawn at home for this one and my only concern was to avoid a complete humiliation:

Going a goal down after 6 minutes wasn't the best of starts against a full-strength Liverpool side, but we more or less held our own until late in the second half when KWP sprinted down our right, swung in a cross, and Sam Edozie was there to tuck away the equalizer. We matched them for possession and slightly shaded the xG so a draw seemed like a fair result to me. And in the second leg a miracle happened:

Yes - we went to Anfield and came away with a famous victory. Liverpool played a backup team but In essence, this was a game of two strikers. Liverpool played Diogo Jota up front and he had a complete shocker, missing chance after chance and finishing with a rating of 5.5. We played new signing Azon, who was a threat all game and put the game beyond doubt in the dying minutes. 

Of course, as is the way of things, we followed that game with a home tie against relegation-threatened Everton in the FA Cup... and lost. I wasn't overly concerned about exiting the FA Cup but the manner of the defeat was concerning:

We dominated the game, had the lion's share of possession, won the xG battle by miles, but couldn't find a way back into the match after Everton took a 17th minute lead.

So that was our only defeat of the season so far. We consoled ourselves with a complete spanking of Hull - in which we scored all of the goals we couldn't score against Everton - in our final match of the month to end proceedings with our league-leading position secure:

And we ended the month with news that Sekou Mara is cementing his place as first-choice striker having taken his tally to 15 goals in all competitions:

All we have to do is keep on keeping on.

[SixPointer]

Some result against Liverpool, beautiful way for Azon to introduce himself 

[warlock]

4 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Some result against Liverpool

Wasn't it?  Sometimes FM conjures up a bit of magic that puts a smile on your face. And then wipes it off with a slap 

[SixPointer]

14 hours ago, warlock said:

Wasn't it?  Sometimes FM conjures up a bit of magic that puts a smile on your face. And then wipes it off with a slap 

It’s likes to to give you a false sense of hope before crushing you 🤣🤣

[rich ruzzian]

Promotion is in the bag i would say. 

[warlock]

3 minutes ago, rich ruzzian said:

Promotion is in the bag i would say

Automatic promotion looking good, a bit more work required to clinch the title, I think. Plenty of time for a bottle job 

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

February 2024

After the relentless schedules of December and January I was looking forward to an easier time of it in February, but it wasn't to be - in the shortest month of the year, the fixture computer had pencilled us in for 6 games in just 23 days! The final game of the month would be our Carabao Cup final against Crystal Palace... not the toughest of opponents but Palace were 10th in the Premier League, managed by former Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, which adds a bit of extra spice to the tie.

But before then we had 5 more opportunities to continue our remarkable league form:

And we bagged 5 more wins and looked pretty comfortable in the process. The margin of comfort was somewhat thinner against Millwall as the Lions jumped out to an early two-goal lead, scoring after 5 minutes and increasing their lead in the 12th. We managed to pull one back before halftime but the hairdryer was forcefully applied at the interval and two early goals in the second half clinched the victory:

As good as the comeback was, I enjoyed the two following fixtures more as we managed to keep a clean sheet in both, something that has been largely missing from our game recently. The month was also pleasing for the way in which new striker Ivan Azon has settled into the squad, the young Spaniard finding the net four times this month.

And so to our first chance of silverware in the save, a trip to Wembley and the League Cup final. I was far from confident going into this one but our storming win over Liverpool in the semi-final gave us hope. Sadly, Palace declined to put out a reserve team:

It was a rather dull match, with wayward shooting on both sides. We had the possession but did nothing with it, Palace had the better chances but couldn't find a finish. Then, just as I was wondering whether we could win a penalty shootout, Palace won a corner, Danish international Joachim Andersen nodded it home, and that was that.

So our season hangs on the league, where we remain unbeaten - a record that is starting to weigh heavily on the squad and myself since the media won't shut up about it. In some respects, it would be a relief to lose a game and have the pressure removed. We have some tough games remaining, including away trips to both Leicester and Leeds, and we also have to face every one of the Top 10 (except Norwich) in our remaining fixtures. So defeat remains a distinct possibility.

Meanwhile, we can enjoy the view from the top:

Adam Armstrong continues to be our star with 20 goals from 30 starts, to which he has also added 10 assists, followed by Sekou Mara with 13:

Bazunu leads the league with 16 clean sheets and has generally been outstanding, although he's also capable of terrible mistakes. But at just 22 years old he has plenty of time to develop.

 

[john1]

Running away with the title

[warlock]

23 minutes ago, john1 said:

Running away with the title

February was a good month. But with a 15pt lead and 36pts to play for I'm not counting any chickens yet 

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

March 2024

With the title within our grasp we just had to keep on performing the way we'd done all season. But that became harder as fatigue mounted and we faced a tough, tough run-in against a succession of Top 10 sides all looking for their own promotion or a chance in the playoffs. We sailed close to the wind on occasion but ultimately came through the month unscathed:

Our first fixture of the month saw us travel to Birmingham - or Wayne Rooney's Birmingham, as they're still known in this universe - who were sitting in 5th and looking to maintain their hold on a playoff place. And they gave us a game - Azon gave us the lead after 53 minutes but we were never comfortable and I badly wanted a second goal. We got it eventually but had to wait until deep into added time when January signing Moriba tucked it away.

Things were slightly better against Preston, despite the close scoreline. We went into the interval with a 3-1 lead and were in control; a 93rd minute consolation for the visitors allowed Preston to head home with heads high.

The Sunderland match saw us come closest to defeat this season. Winger Jack Clark gave the Wearsiders a 5th minute lead and we simply couldn't find a breakthrough:

At the interval we'd had just 2 shots and only one on target. Hairdryer applied and both wide attackers substituted produced a much better second half display. The score flattered us - Smallbone produced an excellent goal to level the scores but the two late goals came as we picked off Sunderland on the break.

Next up a trip to Leicester, who had spent pretty much the entire season trading 2nd and 3rd places with Leeds. I felt this would be where we might lose our unbeaten record and we came close. The Foxes peppered our goal but our defence and 'keeper restricted them to just one shot on target. At the other end, we were pretty toothless until AML Sam Edozie worked a bit of magic and found a winner after 72  minutes.

Finally, we entertained Boro who were also fighting for a playoff place and it bore similarities  to the Sunderland game:

The visitors scored early in the second half with their first and only shot on target, while we wasted a number of good chances. I tried every trick in the tactical book - we went attacking, upped the tempo, played wider, and even pushed one of the mezzalas into the AMC slot. Eventually we found an equalizer when Azon headed home a looping cross from Edozie. I was more than happy to settle for a point and reverted to our standard system. But in the last of 6 minutes of added time the ball fell to James Bree on the edge of the Boro area and, spotting a narrow gap between two defenders, our RB guided a shot into the far corner of the net. Arguably undeserved, but I was more than happy to take it.

All of which leaves us as def facto winners of the title:

We have a 21pt lead with 7 games to play and a GD advantage of 37. But FM requires a clear points advantage so one draw from our remaining games will see us lift the trophy. An invincible season doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things but, obviously, with the chance of such a legendary achievement within our grasp we'd be disappointed to fail at this late stage. But the main priority is to start planning for life back in the top flight. We have 5 players on loan who will need replacing, with the picture complicated by the fact we have a number of good - and not so good - players out on loan who will be returning.

When all is said and done, we'll have (mainly) a squad that failed to keep us up a year ago. Much to think about!

Edited February 2 by warlock

[ChaosReiter]

Blackburn is the weirdest team in championship, I have seen it end up as 1st to the bottom.

[warlock]

7 hours ago, ChaosReiter said:

Blackburn is the weirdest team in championship

True, but the Championship is a weird league - a few bad results in early matches can hurt morale and make it much harder to climb the table, while good form early can carry you for a lot of the season. Very competitive division and I'm delighted we've got out of it at the first time of asking.

[ChaosReiter]

3 小时前, warlock说:

True, but the Championship is a weird league - a few bad results in early matches can hurt morale and make it much harder to climb the table, while good form early can carry you for a lot of the season. Very competitive division and I'm delighted we've got out of it at the first time of asking.

True. And that's the little trick of SI, this trick gives us some advantage without spoiling the fun from the game. When real player hits rock bottom, we have several ways to hold it from totally broke, but AI doesn't use these methods. SI should have added a system to avoid the thing you mentioned from happening. In the save I am playing now, Frankfurt got a relegation at the 1st season, it shouldn't be a thing because Frankfurt should easily dominate the 2nd division, but it unluckily lost 2 games after the 2nd season start, and it looks like it is going all the way down to the 3rd division...... just feel a bit reality loss.

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

April 2024

Well, it only took one more match:

We had barely 48 hours rest after the Boro match before we travelled to Ipswich on Easter Monday. I gave the squad the weekend off and the rest meant we could play most of the first-choice squad against a team that had started the season on a high but gradually fell away. The Tractor Boys were sitting in 10th but hoping to regain a playoff spot and I expected a tough match.

It was a nervy match from the start and while we had the possession, they had the better xG and more shots, too. It took until the 71st minute before we found the breakthrough. We won a freekick some 25 yards from goal and I was more than a little surprised when big striker Azon stepped up to take it. But he bent his shot around the wall and it rocketed into the top corner - I didn't know he had that in him! Our joy was short-lived, however, as Ipswich responded immediately and bagged the equalizer almost straight from the kick-off.

A draw would be enough to give us the title but with Ipswich pushing us all the way we were never comfortable until a minute into stoppage time. We worked the ball down the left channel where Ilaix Moriba played a perfectly-weighted through-ball and Azon was there to slot it home for the winner.

We still have an interminable six games to play - including high-flying Leeds on the final day - but as far as I'm concerned this season is done. Thoughts are now firmly focussed on rebuilding for the Premier League. To that end, the board have been very generous with a transfer budget of £44m and an extra £500k a week in wages (we're currently spending just under £1m a week so that's a healthy 50% increase). Expiring loans and contracts will also free up another £200k a week, offset by a handful of players returning from loan.

I need to undertake a full review of the squad, but my early thoughts are we're good at CB and LB, need an improvement on Bree at RB, good at DM, okay at CM and AML, need a new backup to Armstrong at AMR, and there's a question mark about Sekou Mara at striker, who has the potential but may not be ready for the PL yet.

Much to do!

[AlfieLucas]

Glad to see you've started a new career. And Soton is a good choice, especially with how they operate. Are you carrying on the same? Buy low, sell high?

[warlock]

1 hour ago, AlfieLucas said:

carrying on the same? Buy low, sell high?

Until/unless we get regular European football I won't have a lot of choice, although there'll be a lot more money in the Premier League than there was at Malaga/Bordeaux. But generally, I'll be looking to continue bringing through youth talent and will sell for realistic offers, as per the Southampton way.

I'm hoping to get the current season finished tonight and then will do a full squad review, including a look at the wealth of talent coming through the u21 and u18 squads.

[AlfieLucas]

4 minutes ago, warlock said:

Until/unless we get regular European football I won't have a lot of choice, although there'll be a lot more money in the Premier League than there was at Malaga/Bordeaux. But generally, I'll be looking to continue bringing through youth talent and will sell for realistic offers, as per the Southampton way.

I'm hoping to get the current season finished tonight and then will do a full squad review, including a look at the wealth of talent coming through the u21 and u18 squads.

Looking forward to it!

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

May 2024

End of season and, with the title already secured, it largely went the way I feared:

We started April well enough with a tough game against Ipswich that won the Championship, and a good win away at Blackburn. But we should have seen off a struggling Coventry side - managed by one F. Lampard - but we huffed and puffed but couldn't find a way to win. Watford was little better and it took a last-gasp penalty to secure the 3pts.

Inevitably it seemed, we surrendered our unbeaten season away at Cardiff. We actually took the lead but were hopeless in the second half as Cardiff breached our defence again and again:

Harsh words were spoken at full time which, at least, produced marginally better performances in the final two fixtures. A 1-0 win against Stoke at home was the least I expected, but our performance away at Leeds - then sitting in second place - was better. A tight match was eventually decided by a brilliant strike from CM Ludovit Reis, which consigned Leeds to the playoffs as Leicester overtook them on the final day.

So we came within one game of an invincible season but, overall, the squad were exceptional and - collectively and individually - clocked up some great achievements:

And one for me:

On to the summer transfer window, where some business will have to be done. CM Stuart Armstrong is refusing to sign a new deal and his contract expires at the end of June. Backup GK Alex McCarthy is similarly on his way out of the club, and we have five loan signings who will return to their parent clubs. In addition, RB Walker-Peters wants out, and there are several players whose form has declined rapidly in the second half of the season, including CB Jan Bednarek (who is wanted by Atletico Madrid), and CM Will Smallbone, who is wanted by nobody.

Much to do!

[ChaosReiter]

An extremely successful season with a dominating performance. Looking forward to the challenges that the Premier League will bring, pushing you to make some changes.

Last month I considered starting Saints save as well. Your post made me feel if I ever do it in the future, I'll have to set even harder rules on myself. No offense. Saints suck a beast in Championship. 

[SixPointer]

Superb first season warlock.

big question who’s on the radar for recruitment? Your usually very good at finding some gems so I would expect no less here 

[warlock]

3 hours ago, SixPointer said:

who’s on the radar for recruitment?

At the moment I have a shortlist for the positions I know will need recruitment:

Backup GK

Looks great for the price and has the potential to be better than Bazunu. Open question whether he'll accept backup status for a couple of years.

RWB:

Still only 21 and had a good season with Sunderland. Since they failed in their promotion bid he's available at a bit of a bargain price.

I also need a backup inside forward at AMR but am struggling to find the right player at the moment. I'd also like a genuine left-footed CB but we have an embarrassment of right-footed centre-backs so buying another is hard to justify right now.

We're also suffering from a common problem with scouting - since we've been a Championship side this year, the scouts have tended to focus on Championship-quality players. Where they have found Premier League standard targets, they've tended to be in positions that don't need reinforcement - I'd love to sign Patrick Berg from Bodo/Glimt, for example, but we absolutely don't need another DM.

[SixPointer]

Both look good additions, yeah assuming once you step up and money starts to flow you’ll be able to Cherry pick players 

[john1]

Congrats on the title

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

Summer 2024

Having claimed the Championship title comfortably - and missed out on an invincible season by a single game - on paper everything looked rosy at St Mary's. Beneath the surface, however, trouble was brewing. Looking at the squad, some of the problems were obvious: we had four players here on loan and they had played a lot of minutes; they were CBs Harwood-Bellis and Holgate, DM Downes, and AM Ryan Fraser. The latter pair were, I thought, unlikely to be good enough for the Premier League, while the CBs were expensive. All would need replacing.

Elsewhere in the squad, CM/AM Joe Aribo was on the transfer list when I arrived but I felt he could be a useful utility player, and so it proved. But he didn't look like a player for the top flight. Backup RB James Bree was another player I had tagged for replacement, and I had a slight headache at LB where Manning and Larios had done well - and the latter is one of our best prospects - but we also had a strong candidate in Romain Perraud returning from loan. Could we move on Manning?

My transfer window shopping list looked like this:

GK - Either a better backup to Bazunu than we had, or a player who might ultimately overtake him as first choice.

RB - A better backup to replace Bree.

LB - Three decent players; move on Manning.

CB - Two loanees leaving, but we had Armel Bella-Kotchap and Lyanco returning from loan.

DM - A replacement for the departing Downes. Ludovit Reis had been signed for this role but had proved far more effective as a B2B in central midfield.

CM - With Aribo pencilled in for transfer, we needed another first-choice option here.

AM - With Fraser leaving and hot prospect Kamaldeen Sulemana not showing much in the Championship, we needed reinforcements on both sides of the pitch.

ST - With Ivan Azon and Sekou Mara in place, and targetman Paul Onuachu returning from loan, we looked well placed here.

So, a lot to be done but we had, I thought, plenty of money in both transfer and wage budgets. And then the bombshell email - every player, and every staff member, here before I arrived, had promotion wage increases in their contacts. Increases of 82%  . The 50% uplift in wage budget I had thought so generous disappeared immediately, as did a chunk of the transfer budget that had to be moved over to cover the shortfall. Of course, just before that news I had spent a chunk of the transfer pot on a signing I thought we could easily afford.

And our problems didn't end there. Our first-choice CB partnership had been Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek. Both demanded transfers as they had outgrown the club! The returning Lyanco was barely off the plane before he made a similar demand. My shopping list got a lot longer at the precise moment my budget got a lot smaller. How did I do?

Outs

Lyanco               Wolves          £12.75m

Tyler Dibling     Fulham          £3.5m

Jack Stephens   Roma             £13m

With some other minor fees and a number of paid loans for youngsters, we brought in around £30m.

Ins

That first - luxury - signing was a backup to star man Armstrong at AMR but one who could ultimately be his replacement:

We paid £9.25m to Kovenhavn and there's no doubt he'll be a star for us.

At GK I brought in the young Frenchman mentioned in an early post. Restes cost us just £6.5m and the coaches rate him higher than Bazunu already.

With Jack Stephens on his way out, I was looking for a left-sided CB and the scouting team found this guy:

£11.5m was enough to secure his signing from Inter and he is, I think, a significant upgrade on Stephens.

For our next signing, Aribo's replacement at CM, we went to Uruguay:

I'm pretty sure that's not the right picture for a 20-year-old but he looks like a cracking player anyway. Can't jump and a puff of wind would blow him over, but he's quick, hard-working and technically adept. At just £4.5m he's an absolute bargain.

With Bardghji in on the right, I wanted similar cover on the left:

Another bargain buy at £6.5m from Serbian outfit Crvena Svezda, Mitrovic provides stiff competition for last year's first-choice winger Sam Edozie.

To replace the departing Flynn Downes at DM took quite a while, but we eventually clinched a deal just before transfer deadline day:

Chotard joins from French side Montpellier for £13.5m, our most expensive transfer of the window, and more than I wanted to pay. But he's a great fit for what we wanted - hard-working, physically capable and with decent marking, tackling and passing.

Our final signing was a backup to Buongiorno at LCB:

I had originally identified Dardai as the backup DM - for which he's equally capable - but the coaches make his best role and duty as a BPD on the left. He has some developing to do but I was more than happy to pay just £6m to Hertha to bring him in.

Some issues remain unresolved - no-one made an offer for want-away Bednarek; KWP also wants out and is 'exploring his options' with his contract expiring next summer so we'll try to sell him January; and after extensive searching for an upgrade for Bree we couldn't find anyone better at a price we could afford so he remains. Smallbone is almost certainly not good enough, but he provides useful cover in DM and CM.

Which leaves our first-team squad looking like this:

[warlock]

I said earlier I'd take a look at some of the brightest prospects in the other squads. We have a few:

Dom Ballard is a 19-year-old striker, not far off first-team level and I'm hoping another year on loan will see him kick on a bit further:

Thierry Small is even closer to first-team status and if I didn't have an embarrassment of players at LB I would probably have kept him to give him some minutes off the bench. A season in the Championship, especially with a good side like Ipswich, could be very good for his development:

Young AML Sam Amo-Ameyaw did get some first-team minutes last season but it was probably too early for him and he isn't ready for the PL. But he'll be great if gets close to that 5* potential:

And we have Zach Awe, a CB who is both tall and quick. If he can improve his passing and fitness he should make a good BPD. On loan for the season at Spanish L1 outfit Leganes, he already has a goal and a PoM award in his first couple of appearances:

 

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

September 2024

We started the season with a lot of uncertainty in the squad with a number of senior players wanting to leave and a number of new faces who needed to settle in. Playing at a higher level, I also felt we needed some tactical tweaking. The system that did so well in the Championship was set up in such a way as to make AMR Adam Armstrong our main goal threat, with the striker set to pull defences out of shape to create space. Both AMs were set to come inside, so both CMs were set as mezzalas to run wide to the half-spaces. Width is provided by two WBs on support, with the CBs and a defensive DM securing the defence.

I decided to keep the shape and the main elements but figured that Armstrong was not going to be as effective against Premier League defences while Ivan Azon up front is rapidly developing into an excellent striker. So we have this as our initial setup:

Early form

The Leicester result left me absolutely fuming, not with the players but with the match officials:

Leicester scored early and then set  out to frustrate us, which they did successfully until late on. We were pressing hard for the equalizer and found it when a driven low cross was turned into his own goal by Pereira. In added time, the home side restored their lead but, a minute later, Azon made it level again. Finally, in the 5th of 4 added minutes Leicester won a corner. They took it short, faffed around near the flag, passed it to the middle, worked it back to the corner, went back to the edge of the area and, as the clock ticked passed 96 minutes, toe-poked a shot into the corner of the net for the winner . The questionable time-keeping was the first question in the post-match press conference and I vented, fully prepared for the FA reprimand that never came. Welcome to the Premier League!

We opened September with a famous - and well-deserved - victory over Man City but then crashed to earth with a spanking at the hands of Spurs. Fulham at home was a chance for at least a draw, and we should have done better against Palace, who are in the PL basement without a win so far. By that stage, though, we were playing without two key players - Armstrong suffered a back fracture that will keep him out until New Year, while Sekou Mara suffered a broken ankle in the Spurs game and will also miss the rest of the year.

In other news, KWP - after scoring against Brighton - appears to have checked out for the remainder of the season, putting up a 6.4 average rating in his last 5 games, and can't be gone soon enough. Sam Edozie has struggled to make the step up to the PL and has received a gentle word of encouragement. At the other end of the scale, Azon has scored 5 in 5, but the most pleasant surprise has been the performance of young Argentinian Carlos Alcaraz. After a string of disappointing performances last season (albeit mostly played out of his preferred AMC position) he has produced 3 goals and 2 assists in 4 starts.

So things could be a lot worse but so far, so good.

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

November 2024

Ahead of the first kick-off, October always looked like a really difficult month with fixtures against league leaders Man Utd, second-placed Arsenal and moneybags Chelsea. I expected to win zero points... in the event, we got two!

Against the Red Devils we set up as we had against their cross-city rivals, sitting deep and hoping to hit them on the break. While it worked very well against City it was less successful against United, although we did keep them out at our end.

We started the same against Arsenal and had a glimmer of hope just after the half-hour mark when we won a penalty that Adam Armstrong duly converted to give us the lead. Which only woke up the Gunners who pounded us for the remainder of the game.

At home against Chelsea I reverted to our standard tactic in an attempt to get something going in attack. That didn't work, although we managed another clean sheet.

And for the final game of the month, I was hoping for a bit of a morale-boosting cricket score but settled, in the end, for a run-of-the-mill victory over lower-league opponents.

At this point morale was in the tank, with no league wins since the opening day of September. Even worse than the poor collective performances, we were struggling to get a decent showing from any of our better players. Striker Azon wasn't scoring or creating, left-wing was a creative black spot, right-wing was little better with Armstrong out injured, and we had slipped dangerously close to the relegation zone.

I went back to the tactics screen again, wary of making drastic changes but I opted to simplify what we were trying to do:

And we received a boost when Armstrong returned from injury - either he made a remarkable recovery or I misread the length of his absence. Either way, I was happy to have him back.

Away at West Ham we had to settle for a draw but after a much-improved performance, followed by needed wins against Villa and a high-flying Brentford side. And then the most ridiculous game of football I've witnessed for ages:

Approaching half-time Liverpool had what looked like a comfortable lead until, right before the interval, Azon struck to pull one back. With the crowd still returning from the burger vans, Armstrong pulled us level. Scenes at St Mary's! Then followed 50 minutes of mayhem... we forced an own goal to give us the lead, and then Mitrovic - clinching a PoM performance - scored twice in the final 10 minutes to give us a 5-2 lead. With two minutes of added time remaining, Gravenberch set up Thiago for what looked like a consolation goal until, two minutes later, they did the exact same thing again. With my blood pressure off the charts, we were relieved to hear the final whistle!

Perhaps still more remarkable, in the space of three games we went from flirting with the relegation zone to European qualification places:

There's a Top 4 pulling away from the rest of the league, but you could throw a hat over the next dozen teams. All we have to do is avoid relegation... I'd be happy with anything above 16th.

[AlfieLucas]

Great season in the Championship last year. And started really well back in the Premier League. Some good transfers as well, future is looking rosy.

[theBlackPrince]

Great first season for the promotion and holding your own so far in the Premier League which is pleasing. Just get to that magically 40 points and secure that safety as it can all go wrong fast in the Prem!

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

January 2025

As we headed into the hectic winter schedule - 7 games in December and 3 in seven days as the year turned - we were sitting pretty in the European qualification spots as the new, simplified 433 was doing a job for us. But our form was about to take a turn for the worse:

A home win against the filthy rich Geordies is always pleasing but we then stumbled to a draw against Norwich - who had been promoted with us - and then a simply disgusting defeat - at home - to a Burnley side who were firmly in bottom place in the league. Inexplicable, shameful - a water bottle may have been thrown!

Against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup we might have had a chance if we were in good form, but we weren't and we didn't. And in our last game before Christmas we were no better, struggling to a goalless draw against another team in the relegation zone. More tactical tinkering followed - nothing major but again just trying to get more out of our forward line. We were not helped by the fact that AMR Adam Armstrong suffered his second major injury in as many months and would miss another 5-6 weeks. But the changes worked and we enjoyed back-to-back wins against Wolves and Brighton to end the year on something of a high.

Transfer window

As much as we were enduring a hit-and-miss period on the pitch, a good deal of my attention was focussed on off-the-pitch activity with regard to the playing personnel. First-choice RB Kyle Walker-Peters had been in shameful form since the end of last season, as well as turning in the worst performances in training. Having tried to boost his confidence, and then cajoling him, and then threatening him, there was no choice but to transfer list him. With his contract expiring in June I could only hope we could get some kind of fee.

We had a similar situation with CB Jan Bednarek, rated by my coaches as our best central defender but in practice disappointingly similar to KWP - poor performances in training, poor performances on the pitch. I wanted to replace both but didn't have the funds to make a move before they were on their way out of the club. In the event it was a double disappointment - Bednarek went to Saudi Arabia for a pittance (£4.4m) and KWP agreed a deal with Lazio for a free end-of-contract move. The last one is on me: there was so much interest in the player I was sure we could get something close to value, but there's always the risk of a Bosman, particularly with overseas clubs.

Putting those outgoings behind us, I set about trying to reinforce those positions, with limited success. Good quality fullbacks seem hard to find this year, unless you're prepared to pay top dollar. In the event, I found a player who could - with time - turn out to be a very good signing:

Zanotti is more likely to develop into a replacement backup but, for now, he's pretty much as good as James Bree and might do better. For just £4m from Inter, we should - at worst - turn a profit on him.

As a Bednarek replacement we identified at least half-a-dozen candidates who would be as good or better. None wanted to join us. So I had to turn to the loan market and brought in a player who isn't of the standard I wanted but, if things work out well, we might be able to sign him permanently in the summer:

Dekker joins us from AZ Alkmaar for a total of £1m until the end of the season. He's a decent all-round central defender and should be able to do a job as backup to Amel Bella-Kotchap when called on... I hope!

So back to the business of football:

Not much of note here, apart from the expected spanking against Man City away. We beat them in the earlier league fixture at St Mary's but on their home turf they were rampant. The month was more notable for the return to form of our strikers, who had struggled to find the net in recent matches. A hat-trick for Mara against Stoke and a brace for Azon against Watford will, hopefully, be a confidence booster. The real story, though, has been the emergence of AML Stefan Mitrovic as our most influential player:

With 17 goal contributions in 19 starts he's one ahead of Azon as top scorer:

We face some tough games in February with visits from Spurs and Arsenal, and a trip to Old Trafford to face the runaway league leaders, but I'm increasingly confident of securing at least a mid-table finish.

[SixPointer]

Stellar summer window bro. Just catching up. Great first half of the season back in the elite level!

[Jogo Bonito]

Good to see you having good success with Southampton. The routine promotion isn't a shock with the combination of squad strength, facilities, budget & successful manager abilities, but you're already doing a fine job in the top flight which is no easy task.

You've gone way past my brief half-season effort with Saints in the early months of FM24, and no doubt you'll continue in style 

[warlock]

16 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Great first half of the season

6 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

doing a fine job in the top flight

Thanks, both. The save was always going to be about life in the Premier League... automatic promotion was the  minimum expected in season 1. 

I hoped to get an update up tonight but there's a Superbowl to watch!

[SixPointer]

8 hours ago, warlock said:

Thanks, both. The save was always going to be about life in the Premier League... automatic promotion was the  minimum expected in season 1. 

I hoped to get an update up tonight but there's a Superbowl to watch!

I was the same. Super Bowl killed my momentum on the game. Mahomes is unreal. He would make a fantastic libero 

[rich ruzzian]

As newly promoted is 7th not bad at all. 

[warlock]

5 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Mahomes is unreal. He would make a fantastic libero

 I don't know why the Chiefs didn't allow him to run more last night - he was brilliant when he did. I was hoping the game would be a blow out so I could go to bed at a reasonable hour but had to watch all the way through overtime. Not at my best today!

[SixPointer]

4 hours ago, warlock said:

 I don't know why the Chiefs didn't allow him to run more last night - he was brilliant when he did. I was hoping the game would be a blow out so I could go to bed at a reasonable hour but had to watch all the way through overtime. Not at my best today!

Am nightshift so overtime played right into my hands nicely!

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

February 2025

After a decent run through the New Year and January, February turned out to be disappointing - and worrying. Form has declined badly and we're struggling at both ends of the pitch:

Fulham are well below us in the league and we should have done better. We scored just before the break and then stumbled out of the blocks in the second half, allowing Fulham to bag two quick goals just after the hour. Only an own goal spared our blushes.

Against Spurs at home we created nothing and eventually succumbed to a Richarlison strike 10 minutes from time. Palace was a similar story to the Fulham game, we took the lead but surrendered an equaliser late on, while the best that can be said about the trip to Old Trafford is that we avoided the morale-crushing spanking I was expecting. 

The FA Cup tie against Championship side Blackburn at least gave us the chance to improve morale but we barely managed it. A quarter-final appearance is beyond expectations so we'll take that.

We're currently occupying 8th place in the league and we have little or no chance of catching Norwich in 6th, but we have achieved the pre-season target of 40pts and - with 11 games to play - can probably put aside thoughts of relegation. With that in mind, I'm considering a more radical change of tactical approach, using those games to bed it in before the summer break. The only problem is, I have no idea what we might change to. We don't have enough CBs for a back-three, we only have one natural AMC so a 4231 or similar would be difficult, and we have too many wingers to adopt any kind of narrow formation.

The simplified 433 I set up in January worked well for 3 or 4 matches but then fell apart. I'm wondering about a 442, since we have 3 natural strikers plus Adam Armstrong who is pretty good in the role and a strike partner might help to get more production out of Mara and Azon. Plenty of food for thought.

[SixPointer]

Seems like your caught between a few tactical ideas. Finding it hard to settle on a system and tinkering all the time, I’ve found myself to be here so many times in fm24

[warlock]

7 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Seems like your caught between a few tactical ideas

Well, we've played pretty much the same 433 since Day One. After promotion I started using balanced mentality more often for tougher games, but the biggest change involved Adam Armstrong. In the Championship he was earmarked as our main scorer, playing as an IF-A. Striker was a DLF-A, dropping deeper to make space for Armstrong. In the PL, Armstrong has really struggled to perform and, after two month-long injuries, has never recovered his best form. Other issues include the fact that none of my FBs is doing well in any role, and our best CB Bella-Kotchap is constantly agitating for a move away.

Aware of the issues around tactical tinkering, I've tried not to do too much but since we're in a run of poor form the media - and now the fans - are constantly on my back for being stubborn, refusing to make changes, lacking ideas. Which isn't true... I have lots of ideas . What I don't have is the playing personnel to make them work.

Also annoying is the fact that we've massively over-performed this season. We were only expected to avoid relegation, and pre-season predictions had us finishing in 18th place. Even after our recent poor form I can't see us finishing lower than upper mid-table. The board are delighted, as they should be:

Anyway, I went with a 442 for our most recent match, against West Ham:

It was a much better all-round performance, but we'll see how long it keeps working.

[SixPointer]

Ruthless in front of goal against West Ham. Sounds like Armstrong has struggled to make the step back up. Everyone likes to get on your back in a bad spell.

[warlock]

The Southampton talent factory keeps turning them out:

Not sure I've ever had a better newgen than Petrovcic:

Not far from first-team level, and we're not the only ones who think so:

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

April 2025

Tactical considerations... It was clear that the 433 was struggling, even without the media and fans telling me so. In our opening game of March we travelled to Stamford Bridge to face a Chelsea side who were below us in the league and struggling as much as we were. The result there convinced me that the 433 was dead.

It wasn't that we lost; but we created next to nothing, had just 30% possession, and almost every outfield player was rated a 6.5 or less. It was a complete shambles. So for the West Ham game we switched, cold, to a 442 and we were a team transformed. A week later we faced the Hammers again in the FA Cup - could it perform on their turf? Not as well but well enough - we looked very solid in defence, dangerous on the counter and still enjoyed the majority of the possession. Back-to-back wins for the first time since the opening week of January. We also looked good in a battling draw with a Brentford side chasing European qualification, and we almost pulled off another win until the Bees found an 84th minute equaliser.

Oddly enough, it was during our next game - a defeat at Anfield - that I was sure the 442 had legs. It was Liverpool, away, and we weren't embarrassed:

We were competitive in the game, with Armstrong pulling the score back to 3-2 on 75 minutes and only a late, late own goal from RB Zanotti gave them the somewhat flattering margin. All the while I was tweaking - moving from twin CMs to dropping one back to a DLP in defensive midfield, experimenting with different striker roles and figuring out how adventurous we could be with the FBs. And then it clicked against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final. an Arsenal side who are neck and neck with Man City in the fight for second place. We deservedly took the lead inside 30 minutes and didn't give them a sniff of goal until the 84th minute when Restes saved a Bukayo Saka penalty. And we beat them again in the league 10 days later, with excellent victories against Villa and Norwich in between.

After struggling for goals for weeks, suddenly we were banging them in from all corners - Armstrong and Mara leading the way but also finding the net from both wings and central midfield.

Ironically in view of our spanking of Villa, it was Unai Emery's Villa system that provided the inspiration for the 442, specifically this post from @Cleon's website:

Aston Villa FM23 Emery tactical recreation - View From The Touchline

But we have pretty much secured a Top Half finish:

We have three league games to play against three of the bottom five: Burnley, Forest and Wolves - it would be a major collapse to give up our 7pt lead over West Ham with 9pts available. And then we finish the season with an FA Cup final against Leicester, who currently sit in 12th. So we have two possible routes to European qualification, something I'm very ambivalent about since we don't have anything like the squad depth to compete on all fronts.

[warlock]

Sinners & Saints

End of season, 2025

A bit of a lacklustre end to our league season:

Not for the first time, we struggled against clubs at the bottom of the table. Burnley were already relegated but refused to roll over, while Wolves were fighting for safety and we couldn't match their desire. That win proved vital, allowing them to stay up by just one point on the final day. Somewhat surprisingly, Brighton and Aston Villa were the teams to join Burnley in the drop. Villa provide a stark warning for clubs with limited resources fighting on European and domestic fronts - they reached the Europa League R16 in March, but between December 1 last year and the end of April they managed just 3 wins in the Premier League.

Speaking of Europe, we did just enough to hang on to our Top 10 finish but came nowhere near European qualification in the league, but we still had an FA Cup final to play against Leicester:

So we follow in Villa's footsteps with the Europa League to contend with next season.

To equip us for the fight, the board have presented me with a £50m transfer budget, which is generous but doesn't address our biggest issue: meeting Europa League registration rules. We're very short of players home grown at club so might have to leave spaces in the squad. We'll see where we are when the crop of players currently out on loan come home, but it could be tricky.

It will also present a problem in the transfer window since we can't be overloading the squad with foreign bargains. Life is never easy, is it?