Do my best not to get fired, the struggle life of a stubborn coach in VfL Osnabrück.

[ChaosReiter]

To prevent the game from being too easy and becoming boring, like many others, I often impose additional restrictions on my saves, new rules always ignite my desire for challenges. Increasing difficulty is not the ultimate goal but rather a means to achieve a greater sense of realism. Clearly, it is not the only method, and I have been contemplating how to further enhance immersion and realism through rulemaking. This led to the following idea: The anti-engine playstyle.

As literally implied, the game engine is subject to various limitations, and there are undoubtedly some powerful tactics, TIs, and roles that defy the basic principles of football, unreasonably overpowering the gameplay. Therefore, I will restrict these overly unbalanced aspects in the rules. This doesn't only manifest in tactical considerations, us players in the game have specific advantages in various aspects, and I aim to balance these advantages as much as possible. On the narrative level, there should be a logical and interesting explanation for these restrictions.

Finally, due to unknown reasons, my account can only post 7-8 times per day, so updates may be relatively slow until these restrictions are lifted. If anyone knows how to get rid of these restrictions, please let me know. When I posted the first thread, I wasn't aware of these limitations, so each post was quite short, quickly exhausting the daily quota. By the time I could post again, my save had progressed for almost half a year already, so I decided to abandon the updates. However, I won't stop updating this time (hopefully). During periods when I can't update but still want to play the game, I'll play the previous save.

Here are the rules:

1.Only sign players discovered by scouts (I am a normal human who does not know everything about every player, and I don't sign player whom I barely know).

2.In the starting lineup for every match, include at least one youth academy player under the age of 18, regardless of their skill level (I believe the soul of a club lies in its culture and the local fans, providing more opportunities for the local youth can embody these aspects).

3.Prohibit the use of "get stuck in" in TI and tackle hard in PI (I have an obsession with winning games gracefully).

4.No vacationing, no simulating games (I need no vacation, football is all I need in my life).

5.Players are only allowed to play the roles recommended within the top three for each position in the system (Rather than making players adapt to my tactic, I prefer designing tactics that fully leverage the skills of the players).

Meeting the expectations of fans and the board under these rules would be a huge challenge which every manager in the real world will face. Rules No.3 and No.5 prevent me from keeping use the same powerful tactic throughout the entire game. 

Hope you guys enjoy the story!

 

Game settings:

Club choosing:

 

My management style:

 

VfL Osnabrück was founded on April 17, 1899. The team is commonly known as "Die Lila-Weißen" (The Purple and Whites), referencing the club's traditional colors. The club plays its home matches at the Stadion an der Bremer Brücke, located in Osnabrück.

    

Ain't it beautiful.

Edited February 3 by ChaosReiter

[ChaosReiter]

The president Holger Elixmann and I can't be considered very familiar, let alone trusting. During the interview, he didn't express any opinion on my idiosyncratic beliefs, and it wasn't until I signed the contract that I figured out why he chose me. I am pretty confident that it's not just because my salary is the lowest among his choices.

Over the past decade, the club has been moving between the second and third Germany divisions. It just recently got promoted to the second division again last year. Mr. Elixmann told me his requirements are very simple. He mentioned the 5 or 6 principles I just talked about, saying it's up to me. However, he made it clear that he never wants to go back to 3. Liga and face the brutal promotion challenge again, otherwise... He didn't finish the sentence.

 

July 17, 2023

This is the first day on the job, and there's less than 2 weeks until the first official match of the season. Since the transfer window already closed, I can only use the existing players for at least the first half of the season. Are they good enough to keep us stay in Bundesliga 2? Maybe, we'll find out. We have 2.09M euros now, considering we will hire a bunch of staffs, till winter transfer window open, having this number as a positive figure is already a relief. I need to prepare to deal with an entire season using the existing players.

In the morning, I reviewed the existing staff files, and the situation is far from satisfactory: Head of youth development, not someone to rely on if you expect any kids will ever make it to Bundesliga 2; Two assistant managers, low salaries and even lower capabilities; Director of football, sees every kid as Messi and offers everyone Messi's salary; Those scouts, I even doubt if their scouting range covers the other side of the street......However, with a very limited budget, I sent some offers to few potential key staffs and have to wait for their responses for days. Lunch is out of the question; I'm going straight to review the squad.

First Team

• 隐藏

  • 
  • DC looks solid, enough players playing as DM, 4 players are winger only. No outstanding star players or high-potentials. We can only use tactic with 4 defenders and 2 wingers, in that case I need to choose tactic from 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-5-1 and 4-2-4.

U19 Team

• 隐藏

  • 
  • Only focus on those potentials are 3 stars or higher. I must choose at least one of them for each match, so I'll promote all the available 4 to the first team except the 19-years-old who is out of age for my rule. Double checked, all the 3 are born and raised here at Osnabrück.

 

Defining Key Players

 

• GK

Lennart Grill, our first choice, loaned from Union Berlin, well-rounded skill set.

• Defender

3 DCs have below-average physical abilities, so high defensive block line is out of question. BPD is the 4th priority for all of them so we can say goodbye to BPD roles. Our best DL Florian Kleinhansl has good technical attributes, the 3 choices at DL for him are: CWB/WB/FB (rule No.5). The best RL Bashkim Ajdini is quite a runner with decent defense abilities and poor jumping reach, choices for him are WB/CWB/IWB.

• Midfielder

None of them has physical abilities above average. Robert Tesche, 36 years old already, a decent midfielder, a defensive player with high Teamwork, BWM/B2B/CM. Maximilian Thalhammer, good DM with decent Passing, DLP/BWM/HB.

• Striker + Winger

Wingers are the biggest weakness, Christian Conteh, right-footed, can play both AMR and AML, super fast and has great Flair but poor at all other abilities, W/IW/IF. Erik Engelhardt, best striker we have, PF/AF/DLF.

 

Tactics

We really don't have many options, either 4-3-3 DM wide or 4-2-3-1. Since we have a fairly balanced squad, I believe starting with 4-3-3 DM wide would be more secure.

This is the tactic I will use at start, luckily, I don't have to personalize anyone to follow the rule No.5, and I'll put one of S10-12 to the starting lineup.

 

 

Having finalized the tactics, time unknowingly slipped into the late night. Securing the job I've been yearning for, I am both nervous and excited. I wonder if my tactical discussions on paper will prove effective in the real football world. What if, after the very first match, every fan in town starts shouting and heckling, demanding my removal? With these thoughts in mind, just as I was about to head home for sleep, I found myself back in the chair, reworking the training schedule. I have to do my best; I simply have to.

 

Edited February 3 by ChaosReiter

[ChaosReiter]

July 18, 2023

 

After staying up to late last night, I arrived at the club around noon today. After introducing myself to the players, they seemed happy. Although I was pleased with their high morals, my smile disappeared completely after going through the training report: Their team cohesion is so poor that you would suspect they are deliberately challenging each other. It seems there is an endless amount of work to be done: decide the collective bonuses, study the data of each player, set mentoring groups, decide scouting range and strategy, study the pre-season reports......

 

Friendly, Erfurt vs VFL

Having staff members joined the club, everything is gradually falling into place. The only friendly match of the pre-season is about to begin, we'll play an away match against FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, a semi-professional club from lower division, which means they are much weaker than us.

My players seem very relaxed, chatting and laughing all the way on the bus to Erfurt. For these energetic lads, this game might be more casual than their daily training. I'm the only one behave differently, tightly clutching my notebook filled with tactical plans, wearing a concerned expression......

Just as planned, I sent out our strongest lineup, and I repeated the words of encouragement that I had rehearsed countless times last night before the mirror, word to word.

Then, the whistle blows, as if heralding a new chapter of my life. I found myself immersed in memories — recalling the effort I put into obtaining the Continental Pro Licence, and ...... Another whistle interrupted my thoughts — Tesche scored; we're in the lead, 1-0. Then came the second goal, the third goal......

We won with a sweeping victory. I excitedly ran onto the pitch to celebrate wildly, and all the 22 players look at me puzzled and confused like I'm a lunatic. On the return bus, the team captain, NCB Gyamfi, hesitantly asked me, 'Coach, did you forget to make subs? It would have been better for everyone to get some playing time, so no one would be too exhausted...' But I didn't hear what he said at all. I just shouted at him excitedly, 'We won! We damn won!'

That night, I had the best sleep of my life.

Edited February 3 by ChaosReiter

[ChaosReiter]

Need to add a supplement to rule No.2: Youth in the starting lineup must play at least half of the match unless injured.

 

Scouting Strategy

Will change scouting range to Europe or World 1-2 months before transfer window which will save us some cash.

Recruitment Focus Details:

• By Positions (DC, AMR)
  隐藏

  

  Since my current weaknesses are DC and AMR, I set this as top priority. If we have funds for deals during the winter transfer window, it would be very helpful.

• Wonder Kids
• 隐藏

  

  Looking for high potentials.

• By Formation (4-3-3)
• 隐藏

  

  Looking for useful players for current formation.

• Star Players
• 隐藏

  

  In case I get rich and need star players.

   

The 1st round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Karlsruhe

More than a week has passed since the friendly match, the players are still making fun of me about that day. But I don't mind, because after that victory, I can feel the trust in my tactics within them grows a bit more. As for myself? I still have butterflies in my stomach. For a coach's debut, Karlsruhe is far from an ideal opponent. They have a slight edge in strength over us, but we have the home advantage. The persistently poor team cohesion is my biggest concern. 

The Data Hub is currently unavailable, and I have limited intelligence: Their most significant threats come from Lars Stindl, a striker with excellent technical attributes, and midfielder Marvin Wanitzek. They have an overall slower pace but are extremely skilled in Passing and Teamwork. They primarily relying on ground combos and overall dribbling ability is poor.

The youth in starting eleven of today would be:

隐藏

With targeted training a few days ago, I've instructed the players to PRESS MORE and WORK BALL INTO BOX, avoiding hasty shots. We have prepared well, let fate decide the rest ——

Results:

隐藏

We Won! This is a match that opened my career, a match worth being permanently memorialized.

Quick Analysis:

隐藏

The HB (Thalhammer) played his role as expected, offering a secure ball progression outlet for defenders in the attack and protecting the area in front of the box in defense.

Two wingers (3 including sub) made 8 progressive passes, quite a lot for a closely contested match.

We excelled in deploying targeted tactics by accurately identified their characteristics before the match. ‘Trigger press much more often’ worked well, it successfully isolated their attacking players in our half, causing the tiki-taka team to have passing statistics almost on par with ours.

 

[ChaosReiter]

Aug. 2023

 

Another Match Analysis:

隐藏

Continuing to analyze the data of last game, I made another discovery: the coverage area of MEZ (Jannes Wulff) with the ball is much larger than expected. I believe this is due to the WB and Winger squeezing his activity range on the right flank. I can prevent this from happening by changing WB to CWB, but for now I'm not sure if it is a good idea. I'll keep this possibility in mind and wait for more evidence to help me decide.

Aug. Schedule:

隐藏

After the draw for the DFB-Pokal's first round, our schedule for Aug. is also confirmed:

With meeting HSV this early (really bad luck), unless a miracle happens, our failure in DFB-Pokal is pretty much announced already. The opponents from the 3 league matches are mostly mid-table to upper-tier teams, my expectation is to securing 3-4 points.

New Arrivals

隐藏

As we picked "real world" mode at the beginning, we have 3 new arrivals:

Another sub striker option, his Jumping Reach might help us in some cases.

An average level DC sub, nice height and Jumping Reach.

Will join end of this month, wonderful midfielder for us!

 

The 2nd round of Bundesliga 2, Paderborn vs VFL

The bus travelled less than an hour along the A33 highway, and we arrived in Paderborn. Their stadium is also very nice. Like most teams in the league, Paderborn is slightly stronger than us. This away game will be a tough battle.

Youth of today: 

隐藏

And this is the one he needs to mark in today's match, god blessing. 

The only weakness I found is their GK has quite high Eccentricity. Finishing and creativity are their most outstanding strengths, we need to be careful of their fast and effective counterattacks. Therefore, we need to be more patient than before, slow down our tempo to standard.

Results:

隐藏

They indeed demonstrated excellent finishing ability as we anticipated. The youth made 2 mistakes in early game which let us fall behind by 2 goals. Although we seized an opportunity later, it wasn't enough to change the outcome.

Yet another match caught my eyes: Karlsruhe 3-2 HSV. This at least indicates that Hamburger is not in their best form, we might get inspired by that game. Will check later.

[ChaosReiter]

Reflection of Last Game:

The challenge brought by the youth rule is much more than expected. 1-star player against a 4-star player inevitably leads to disastrous performances. Currently, all the 3 youth are all in crucial positions. I decided to promote another 2 more U18 members to the first team of other positions. I'd rather sacrifice some attacking ability to ensure no loopholes in crucial positions.

The 1st round of DFB-Pokal, VFL vs Hamburger SV

preparations:

This might be the last match without data hub this season. HSV's strengths are Passing and Dribbling, and their players are overall better than mine. Since HSV has shown remarkable attacking skills in their league matches, while their defense is relatively a bit weaker. I think I can't be conservative in this match. We must play positive attacking football to have a chance to win.

Their biggest threat comes from striker Robert Glatzel. 16 Jumping Reach and 17 Heading, we need to keep him quiet, but the question is how. Having our DC marking him is not enough, I noticed in their 4-3-3, they use IW on the left and Winger on the right, that winger is the key, we will try to stop him from crossing to the box.

Youth of today:

As it shows, the choices for him are CM/MEZ/DLP. He'll play as MEZ for the 1st half.

Results:

隐藏

We perfectly predicted how they would score, but we couldn't prevent it. Two headers from Robert Glatzel ended our journey in DFB-Pokal.

The 3rd round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs FC Nürnberg

Today's youth: MEZ Shivani.

No additional adjustment for this match, using default tactics.

隐藏

A total disaster. Winger Makridis made a terrible mistake and gave the other side a penalty. HB Thalhammer injured himself right before the match, and his replacement Lukas Kunze lost his temper and got himself a red card.

Team cohesion is still the biggest concern, I need to adjust training schedules and it takes time.

The 4th round of Bundesliga 2, Rostock vs VFL

If we want to avoid 3 defeats in a row, this game is our best shot.

preparations:

隐藏

They seem like the kind of team that creates chaos then looks for scoring chance. Both wingers have a lot of possession, we need to press them less often because I'm not very worried about their crossings.

Peter Remmert is today's youth.

 

Results:

隐藏

We withstood wave after wave of attacks, but in the end, we conceded a goal.

This is how they scored, defenders lost their position for only 1 second, the opponent seized this fleeting opportunity.

On the other hand, our poor attacking performance is mainly attributed to the lack of coordination in passing. As mentioned earlier, we need time to fix that.

 

[ChaosReiter]

We got 4 consecutive defeats in August. The September schedule is not easy either, facing strong opponents except for the first one. We urgently need some victories to stop our morale dropping to the bottom.

Good news is Michaël Cuisance finally arrived, loaned from Venezia. He is absolutely the best player in our squad now, no doubt he will be in the starting lineup. The 3 options for his role are AP/DLP/CM. So, I made some changes in tactics. 

I moved MEZ to the left and place Cuisance as AP on MCR. Tesche stays in subs and he's personalized as CMs when he's on, so is the other sub midfielder Gnaase.

Sep. 2023

 

The 5th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Elversberg

We are facing a relegation contender at home. This is a game we absolutely can't afford to lose. I believe the tactics are better now, let's see how it translates in the match. 

The only change for this match is setting the defensive line to HIGHER from standard. That's what I like to do when facing an opponent whose squad is not much better than mine.

Youth of today: Striker Remmert.

Results:

隐藏

A big win! But I'm not sure how much credit goes to the tactics. The players performed exceptionally well, and we need to continue testing the tactics in the upcoming tough matches. It's worth mentioning that the assist for our first goal came from the youth, Remmert. And Cuisance scored on debut.

Team cohesion is improving, even more important than the win.

In this game, AP did an outstanding job connecting the players on the right.

 

Squad Planning and Scouting Changes:

We currently have a fairly sufficient number of players, and the focus is on improving the quality. The plan is to sell some players who haven't had much playing time in the winter transfer window and see if we have enough funds to bring in a decent RB and a striker. I'm not entirely satisfied with the performance of our main striker, Engelhardt, so far. His ability to seize opportunities and positioning are not ideal.

 

The 6th round of Bundesliga 2, Hannover vs VFL

The huge gap in strength between the two sides has led almost everyone to believe that we will lose this match. Facing a formidable opponent, I'm curious about the impact of our new tactics.

Youth for today: striker Remmert.

Results:

隐藏

The result is pleasing, we secured 1 point away against Hannover. We even led by 2 goals at one point. 

The first goal was quite interesting: We launched a long ball to our striker, but the power was a bit too much, it went straight into the box. A lot of players were chasing the ball, their GK and DC were the nearest. Just when everyone thought this attack would end in failure, a dramatic scene unfolded. When the GK was about to grab the ball after coming out, their DC suddenly kicked it high over the GK's face. The ball flied out of the box, happened to be right above Cuisance. He headed it into the empty net. It's the farthest header goal I've ever seen. 

Transfer Target:

隐藏

Oh, I love wonderkids. My scouts find me a high potential striker.

Can play as both striker and IW/IF at AML, great quickness, Fairly Determined personality, will perfectly integrate into our tactics. His contract will expire by the end of this season. Since my budget is empty, I'll try to sign him for free when it's possible. Will tempt him with a high salary and see how it goes. But that's more than 3 months away; hopefully no one else will sign him by then.

 

 

Edited February 5 by ChaosReiter

[ChaosReiter]

The 7th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Hamburger SV

We lost to them by 1-2 in the cup last month; let's see if we have better luck in the league. Same preparations.

Youth for today: Kevin Wiethaup, IW on the left (The starting IW got injured during last match).

隐藏

A satisfying result. We created some opportunities and also performed well at defense.

Signing Players

隐藏

After 4-5 times negotiating with Köln (hard part is our pockets are empty now and can use installment payments only), they accepted our offer.

I gave him a generous offer, hope this kid will accept the contract.

A Bolt From the Blue

隐藏

Sigh, we lost our best player. Have to adjust tactics.

 

The 8th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Kaiserslautern

Another team with high level quickness, but their DCs are an exception, they play rather high up the pitch and lack pace. The best way to counter that is to play more through balls.

Youth for today: Striker Remmert.

Results:

隐藏

We dominated the entire match, only allowing them 3 counterattacks, none of which were particularly threatening, but we still lost.

We are currently in 13th place. The competition is fierce. We need to get away from the relegation area as far as we can.

 

Oct. 2023

 

The 9th round of Bundesliga 2, Düsseldorf vs VFL

A stadium built on the banks of the Rhine, love it. The sense of strength!

We need to be very careful about their high crosses, they have a good TF and 2 wingers with high attributes on quickness and crossing. Going to be a tough game, will be CAUTIOUS as an underdog.

Youth for today: IW Kevin Wiethaup.

隐藏

I'm quite satisfied to draw with them. Our DL Florian Kleinhansl is a genius! He completed a De Bruyne-like assist. He was on the left sideline, triple-marked, and managed to deliver an incredibly curved ball. The GK thought he could easily collect the ball ,but the curve was too much! He was deceived into stepping near the edge of the box, then had to retreat, but it was too late. Our Winger Makridis received the ball and scored into the empty net.

And Justin Diehl has accepted the offer! We will welcome this genius youngster to the team on January 1st.

The 10th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Wiesbaden

This season, Wiesbaden had an unexpected start, initially predicted to battle for relegation like us, but now they sit in the impressive 3rd position in the league. Their defense has been outstanding, and their offensive strategy revolves around Prtajin's heading abilities. We need to mark him closely.

Youth for today: Striker Remmert.

隐藏

It happened again. We accurately predicted the opponent's attacking methods, made the right targeted arrangements, but still culdn't change the result of conceding goals. We urgently need a CB who can defend against high balls.

 

[ChaosReiter]

The 11th round of Bundesliga 2, Fürth vs VFL

Hrgota is their key player. Look at him, almost all attributes are good. It's hard for us to win this game, but we cannot just defend; our morale is low right now. Getting a victory would be great, and at the very least, we need to score to hold our morale.

Youth for this match: Striker Remmert.

隐藏

Pretty nice outcome, and we even have a better chance to win. Players all did great jobs. What surprised me was that Remmert scored a goal! He seized on a mistake by the GK and calmly scored. I wonder if his parents came to Fürth to watch their child's impressive performance. Just look at how low his attributes are. 

October ends. Despite the players performing slightly better than expected, we had too many draws and found ourselves in a precarious position on the league table. We must work even harder.

 

Nov. 2023

Only 3 games, and the opponents are generally weaker compared to before, we need victories.

The 12th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Kiel

From the data, although Kiel has excellent forwards, they are a team that focuses on defense. We will use the default tactical settings.

Youth for this match: IW Wiethaup.

Results:

隐藏

We end six-match winless run. A long-awaited victory, although we wasted many opportunities, the players' performance was also under average, but the most important thing is that we got 3 points.

The 13th round of Bundesliga 2, Braunschweig vs VFL

Braunschweig is the bottom team in the league, the only acceptable result for us is victory.

Youth for this match: IW Wiethaup.

results:

隐藏

 

We got a draw, and for us, it's a lucky one. The players performed poorly, mistakes were abundant, and facing the opponent's attacks, not only was there a lack of initiative, but the defensive positioning was also a mess. I know in this game, when the player's data is good, you can't criticize even if you're dissatisfied. But I have to, football weighs more than the game.

 

Made a slight change on tactics, because I find both my 2 MEZ perform poorly. And I put 

The 14th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Magdeburg

Youth for this match: IW Wiethaup.

results:

隐藏

Our GK made a terrible mistake but since it was the first time of the season I think it's acceptable.

November ended, we are still hovering on the edge of the relegation zone. Although everything is slowly improving, the progress is far from sufficient.

[ChaosReiter]

Dec. 2023

I would be satisfied with 3 points in these 3 matches, won't be easy.

The 15th round of Bundesliga 2, Schalke 04 vs VFL

While Schalke 04 faces a crisis that could turn them into an amateur club in reality, in the game, they are likely to be the strongest team in the league. We need to be CAUTIOUS.

Youth for this match: AF Remmert.

The players gave their best, but still couldn't compensate for the enormous gap in the team. Sebastian Polter was a real downgrade in this game, scoring four headers.

Here is the youth intake preview for this season, but I don't really care. I mean, I care about the quality of youth, but the preview really doesn't make much sense and has no reference value.

 

The 16th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs St. Pauli

St. Pauli is leading the league, and they are as strong as Schalke. 

Youth for this match: AF Remmert.

 

Our performance was much better than that of the strong opponents, especially the defenders. They didn't allow the opponents to comfortably take shots throughout the game despite immense pressure. CB Gyamfi, who scored an embarrassing own goal, redeemed himself in injury time by equalizing the score through a tactical free kick.

 

The 17th round of Bundesliga 2, Hertha BSC vs VFL

After relegating last season, many players left Oly Lady Hertha BSC, but they are still stronger than us.

Their TF Haris Tabaković is just as strong as Sebastian Polter.

Youth for this match: AF Remmert.

Their solid defense didn't give us many chances, and we still struggled against aerial balls.

 

After the end of December, as the league schedule has passed halfway, with 15 points, we find ourselves on the edge of the relegation zone. The competition in Bundesliga 2 is intense, and the point differences between teams are minimal. We must address our weaknesses in the winter transfer window with...... no money.

[ChaosReiter]

Jan. 2024

 

Justin Diehl, my job saver, has joined us. Considering that we have several youth strikers, I decided to play Diehl as an IW. I really have high hopes for him. In this winter transfer window, it's unlikely that we'll bring in players as talented as him.

 

I hope to sell players who haven't had playing opportunities and high-priced subs. If we have enough funds, I would like to buy an excellent CB and a GK. If not, I'll consider purchasing some promising young players.

We signed 2 players for free, both Brazilian. Pretty good deals. All the players I signed, including our biggest star Diehl, have free relegation release clause in their contracts. So, if we fail to avoid relegation, the club will plunge into the abyss. We have no way back, must go all out.

 

The 18th round of Bundesliga 2, Karlsruhe vs VFL

The situations for both teams are not optimistic. This is a game that neither side can afford to lose. We beat them at home earlier this season, I need to replicate that success.

Youth for this match: Winger Wiethaup.

 

We dominated the entire match. The striker Engelhardt, who disappointed me in the first half of the season, performed exceptionally well in this game. Alves provided two fantastic assists in his debut.

 

The 19th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Paderbon

Youth for this match: Winger Wiethaup.

 

Our CBs were completely unable to contend with the opposition's strikers, and conceding only one goal was considered fortunate. Unfortunately, our scouts did not find any suitable CB for us. Tricky.

This is the last deal in this window. A young striker with an aerial advantage, though with a poor personality, but he comes at a low cost.

INs:

OUTs:

These are all the deals we made within this window.

We still have to endure the poor defense of our DCs, and our finances are not very healthy. If we manage to avoid relegation successfully, we will receive 14.82m prize money, hoping that it can balance our budget. If our players can perform well and quickly increase in value, our long-term plan to enter the Bundesliga may not be just a dream.

Edited February 6 by ChaosReiter

[Muttley84]

Sorry if I missed the info, is that a special facepack you are using or just edited their pics outside the game? It looks really cool and fresh.

[ChaosReiter]

Feb. 2024

 

The 20th round of Bundesliga 2, Nürnberg vs VFL

Six months ago, we lost 0-2 to them at home, and this time, heading to the away match, there is even less optimism about us. They have also secured the services of a future superstar, Nelson Weiper, on loan during the winter transfer window. Everyone is feeling uneasy. That's football —— more thrilling and breathtaking than the game on a computer screen.

Youth for this match: Winger Wiethaup.

Even though we lost, our players performed well, seizing the only opportunity. The defense was also solid, not giving the opponents too many chances.

 

The 21st round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Rostock

 

This game is the final opportunity to test the existing tactics. I will carefully observe the players' performance, distinguishing whether each issue is due to player ability or tactical problems. It is highly likely that I will iterate on tactics after this match.

Youth for this match: Winger Wiethaup.

 

This is their 2nd goal. The opponent's free kick, when I saw the positioning of both teams, I knew we would definitely concede. A sense of powerlessness that's my feeling, and I believe it reflects a poor experience with this generation of the game engine. One aspect is the incredibly foolish defense against tactical free-kicks, and the other is passing to teammates who are clearly in an offside position.

 

After putting aside blaming external factors, let's focus on our own issues. There are problems on both the offensive and defensive ends. On the offensive side, the problems are diverse, including individual player issues such as poor off-the-ball movement and passing abilities, as well as tactical and team coordination issues. The defensive problems are even more apparent, with players being too passive. Even in a mid-block defensive strategy, there is a clear lack of awareness and initiative in pressing and intercepting.

We fall into drop zone now. Next game we'll face Elversberg away, likely to be the most significant match of the whole season, we must not lose.

I raised the defensive line and granted some key players more freedom to take risks. The tactics have become more attacking than before. Let's see if it will perform well or not.

 

The 22nd round of Bundesliga 2, Elversberg vs VFL

Youth for this match: CM Shivani.

We secured the valuable 3 points. The new tactic indeed improved our attacking play, but it also provided more opportunities for the opposition. We'll need to continue observing.

 

Despite not having a clear advantage, we have temporarily escaped the relegation zone.

[ChaosReiter]

56 分钟前, Muttley84说:

Sorry if I missed the info, is that a special facepack you are using or just edited their pics outside the game? It looks really cool and fresh.

The latter. You might want to check this: 

 

[ChaosReiter]

The 23th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Hannover

Youth for this match: CM Shivani.

As expected, we lost the game against a strong opponent.

 

Mar. 2024

Target is to get 6-7 points out of these 4 matches.

The 24th round of Bundesliga 2, Hamburger vs VFL

 

I changed the tactics once again for this game, starting with an all-out attacking approach. If we manage to score first, we'll then switch to a more cautious formation to try to maintain the lead. Worth a shot, we have nothing to lose against them.

Youth for this match: AF Remmert.

Can you believe it? We defeated them at their home! I can imagine their coaches and scouts burning the midnight oil, studying our tactics from the previous 23 rounds of the league to gain an edge in this crucial match for their promotion to the Bundesliga... only to find that we've completely transformed our team, almost like a completely different squad! Surprise and goodbye, 47964 Hamburgers! 

But the match did inspire me though. I shall seriously consider changing the tactics permanently. Hmmmmm, have a lot to think about on the bus way back home.

The 25th round of Bundesliga 2, Kaiseslautern vs VFL

 

Will continue to experiment with the serendipitously designed 4-2-3-1.

Youth for this match: IF Wiethaup.

 2 wins in a row! I understand now, I totally figured it out. Since this tactic is working so well, let's stick with it. Adjust the mentality during halftime to compensate for its weakness. Sounds smooth.

[ChaosReiter]

This is our youth player Wiethaup's first selection for the Germany U19 team, congratulations to him. However, the other youth academy player, Remmert, has decided to join another team as a free agent after his contract expires, we wish him the best as well.

The 26th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Düsseldorf

 

I don't expect to win three games in a row against teams stronger than us, but who knows. Hope the players don't feel pressured. We currently have three key players injured, so perhaps it's a good idea to give some more subs more playing time in this game to help them find their form.

Youth for this match: IF Wiethaup.

They got quite lucky and we lost. I'm becoming more and more confident in this tactic.

 

Wiethaup scored on his debut for the u19 national team! That's impressive.

 

The intakes look terrible. But we have to live with it, next season, Wiethaup will be overage, so we won't be able to use him to comply with the rules anymore.

 

The 27th round of Bundesliga 2, Wiesbaden vs VFL

Youth for this match: IF Wiethaup.

A fair draw, both teams performed equally well.

As March ends, we have come to a safer place than before. There are 7 games left, I feel confident about staying in Liga 2.

A lot of players' contracts will expire in 3 months, none of them are worth keeping. We'll sign better players for replacement.

[ChaosReiter]

Apr. 2024

 

The 28th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Fürth

 

Fürth is very strong, they are striving for promotion and are currently ranked 3rd. The good news is that they sold their top striker, Hrgota, to Strasbourg for 2.5m euros in the winter transfer window, which is also the biggest deal of the window in Liga 2.

Youth for this match: IF Wiethaup.

What a victory! They are like a group of kids who have never learned to play football, losing their fighting spirit early on. I believe I have found the tactics to connect our players together and unleash their potential.

7 of our players were selected in TOTW, wow.

 

The 29th round of Bundesliga 2, Kiel vs VFL

 

Their stadium is right by the coast, and on the pitch, I can even hear the waves of the Baltic Sea.

Youth for this match: IF Wiethaup.

 

With 5 matches left, now we basically don't need to worry about relegation anymore. It's time to think about how to get the club into a virtuous cycle. We need to increase the value of players, sell them, and then buy more promising young players. This way, we will become stronger and stronger. But the most important first step is to turn the club's finances around.

We haven't started to upgrade any of the facilities, that need to change next year.

 

The 30th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Braunschweig

Youth for this match: GK Remberg.

After this match, we have ensured that we won't be relegated. The remaining games can now be focused on player development.

[ChaosReiter]

The 31st round of Bundesliga 2, Magdeburg vs VFL

Youth for this match: IF Wiethaup.

We had a perfect month, 4 wins in a row, looks unstoppable.

One of the team leaders, Gyamfi, wants to leave and I have no reason to keep him since I'm not satisfied with his performance anyway. I prefer a DC with higher Jumping Reach.

 

May 2024

 

The 32nd round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Schalke 04

Youth for this match: GK Remberg.

Win streak continues.

The 33rd round of Bundesliga 2, St. Pauli vs VFL

Youth for this match: IF Wiethaup.

 

With our players finally bonding together at the end of this season, if our summer transfer window signings go smoothly, I even start to entertain the thought of promotion next year, but it's just an idea for now.

[ChaosReiter]

The Final round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Hertha BSC

Youth for this match: IF Wiethaup. This is the last match he can be our youth to meet the rule, he'll turn 19 before the first match of next season. He made a pretty good progress on developing though.

We've faced many difficulties, even fallen into the relegation zone several times, but ultimately, we ended up in the top half of the table. Our young players are growing healthily, and our signings have performed excellently. What a wonderful season. We received 11.17M prize money which makes our finances returned to a profitable state (3.7M).

 

1.11M isn't a huge amount of money. Hopefully, we can sell off a few players we don't need and buy an excellent CB and RB.

The new arrivals are doing fine, Diehl seems less successful but since he's still young, I can live with his performance.

We've done pretty well so far, and my journey continues......

 

Pre-Season 2024

 

The best three young talents among all the scouted players are: Brajan Gruda from Mainz, Filippo Mané from Dortmund, Robert Wagner from Freiburg. Sadly we can afford none of them. 

This is the first deal of this window and likely to be the biggest one. He's young, talented, high Junping Reach and nice mental attributes. He'll be the backbone of our defense for the next few years.

And our scouts found Weiper and had him scouted. I'm 1000000% interested.

I spent every penny we have and will have in the future and finally get this deal done. But there is one issue: the 4M minimum fee release clause. That's a real small figure which means we could lose him at any time. I'll renew the contract as soon as possible, hope this genius will stick with us all the time.

 

 

The board's expectation for this season remains avoiding relegation, but I aim to achieve the highest possible position to enhance our reputation.

[ChaosReiter]

These are all the deals I made till now, we become a bit stronger. I'm still chasing some players, still need  a decent IF and a sub DM.

Frederik Jäkel, a pretty solid DC. And Seedy Jarju, a normal level DL.

This is our squad for now.

These 2 kids are going to be our choices for Youth For Today. I'm retraining Ibrahim on DM.

Media prediction of the new season. We are still considered one of the relegation favorites, we need to prove them wrong.

 

The 1st round of Bundesliga 2, Augsburg vs VFL

After 13 years playing in Bundesliga, Augsburg relegated last year which means they are super strong in Liga 2.

Youth for today: WB Langhammer.

Both teams made quite a lot of mistakes; their victory wasn't easy. Weiper scored 2 goals on his debut, that's very impressive.

 

Aug. 2024

New arrival, signed him for free, planning put him on AMR as IF.

The 2nd round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Wiesbaden

Their strength isn't formidable, but last season, we never managed to beat them (one draw, one loss). Weird.

Youth for today: WB Langhammer.

We ruled the entire game.

Another new arrival, Mattes Hansen, a decent DLP.

 

Edited February 7 by ChaosReiter

[ChaosReiter]

The tactics and players.

 

The 1st round of DFB-Pokal, Bischofswerda vs VFL

That's a semi-pro team, we are not likely to lose.

Youth for today: WB Langhammer.

Piece of cake.

 

The 3rd round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Düsseldorf

They got an interesting player there. On loan of course.

Youth for today: WB Langhammer.

They got quite lucky to have 2 long shot goals.

 

The 4th round of Bundesliga 2, Rostock vs VFL

They bought our striker Engelhardt with 600K euros. Let's see if he will perform well there.

Youth for today: WB Langhammer.

Alves got a hat-trick today!

 

The 5th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Fürth

Youth for today: WB Langhammer.

This game is not easy, their counterattacks are quite threatening. Getting 3 points is lucky for us.

[ChaosReiter]

Last deal I made in this window, Benjamin Ballis, back-up GK.

When I saw this, I know Wolfsburg must have sold more players. If they stuck in the 2nd division for one more year, that'll be a huge disaster for them. But not likely, they are the strongest team here.

 

Sep. 2024

 

The 6th round of Bundesliga 2, Bielefeld vs VFL

They just got promotion, we need them to know who's the boss in Westfalen Derby.

Youth for today: WB Langhammer.

Gave the new signed young GK a chance to make his debut, started him and played the full match, his performance was average. And I have to say, this save starts to get boring since I built the tactics suits the team so early. Normally it will take 2 seasons to do that while in this case it's half a season. I have considered changing tactics again but I feel a bit disrespect and pointless to do that. Let's just keep going and see what will happen, if I get a promotion this year, I'll end this save and set harder rules on myself in the future. Maybe more interesting rules too.

 

The 7th round of Bundesliga 2, Hamburger vs VFL

Youth for today: WB Langhammer.

Another victory.

 

The 8th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Schalke 04

Assan made to the first team's starting lineup, good for him.

Youth for today: WB Langhammer.

A fair result for both sides.

Look where we are!

[ChaosReiter]

 

I've been thinking about what caused the sudden decrease in difficulty. There are two main points to summarize: first, I bought better players with non-cash means, which led to a significant improvement in the team's strength; second, I accidentally stumbled upon an overly effective tactic which makes the matches unreal. I can solve the first one by using DoF challenge or other trade rules, but still have no idea how to ensuring freedom in tactical design while also limiting the tactical ceiling. I don't want to abandon the save but the reason I started it is no longer there. Need to design rules that better suit my needs. If anyone ever see this and be willing to offer some advice, I'll appreciate that.

Solution for now:

隐藏

Let's change some rules and make this post an experimental save. First, let's add DoF challenge to this story, that I can no longer participate in player trades and staff hirings, while also removing the restriction on starting youth academy players. On the tactical side, I can only use the default tactical style.

 

Edited February 7 by ChaosReiter

[ChaosReiter]

The 9th round of Bundesliga 2, Nürnberg vs VFL

Opponent's Info: 4-3-3 DM wide formation, gegenpress style, average players' level which a bit better than us, mostly attacting routes are wings.

Will start with direct counter-attack.

We keep the entire match under our control, well done boys!

We get to the 2nd on the table, everything is going well but I don't know what the DoF will do at the winter window. He might sell Weiper or even worse, sell a lot of our key players. We'll see.

Look how good Weiper is, already got his abilities boosted.

 

Oct. 2024

 

The 10th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Paderborn

A match between the top 2 of the table, if we lose, the points difference will widen to 8.

Opponent's Info: 4-3-3 DM wide formation, Wing Play style, super fast attackers.

A draw that I can live with.

We fell to 3rd, surrounded by powerful beasts.

[ChaosReiter]

The 11th round of Bundesliga 2, Elversberg vs VFL

Last season they managed to stay in Liga 2 eventually. With barely no players changing, they are the underdog in this match.

Opponent's Info: 4-2-3-1 formation same as us, excellent GK, the lowest average defensive line in the whole league.

I'll start with Vertical Tiki-Taka.

We get into the promotion zone again.

 

The 12th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Ingolstadt

 

Opponent's Info: 4-4-2 Diamond Narrow formation, excellent GK, very low defensive line, poor morale.

Starting with control possession.

They got quite lucky while counterattacking, nice performance for both teams.

 

The 2nd round of DFB-Pokal, Bochum vs VFL

They dropped from Bundesliga last year, and they have much better players on average than us. I'll send subs to play this match.

 

An unexpected victory. Both sides had players injured after using up all substitutions, and in the 10v10 extra time, we seized an opportunity.

 

Nov. 2024

 

The 13th round of Bundesliga 2, Wolfsburg vs VFL

 

Facing strong opponents consecutively, plus a midweek double match, this game is likely to be very challenging.

After this game, I think we can forget about relegation and officially raise our goal to qualifying for the playoffs.

We are on FIRE!

And our key player, star among the stars, Nelson Weiper has made a progress again. What a developing speed. Let's pray that the DoF will renew his contract soon and remove the release clause.

 

The 14th round of Bundesliga 2, VFL vs Kiel

The unbeaten row continues.