Popular Post SteinkelssonFM Posted March 14 Popular Post Share Posted March 14 HUMAN BALL-PLAYING LIKE FOOTBALL IS ALL ABOUT CONTROL: LOSING, GAINING, TRANSFERRING AND REGAINING CONTROL. IN A GAME OF FETCH, IT IS THE DOG WHO HOLDS THE MAJORITY OF THE POSSESSION, YET IT IS THE MASTER WHO CONTROLS THE GAME. PHILIPPE ROCHAT, ORIGINS OF POSSESSION: OWNING AND SHARING Tiki-Taka and Gengenpress have been the prevailing football tactics for the better part of the last few decades, shaping the way the game is played at the highest levels. The revolutionary tactical approach of 'tiki-taka' was initially crafted by Pep Guardiola, and along with it ascended a cohort of exceptional players from Barcelona's esteemed La Masia academy. This possession-based style of play, characterised by quick, short passing and maintaining high levels of ball retention, garnered international attention when it was adopted by the Spanish national team. Their adept implementation of tiki-taka led to an era of unprecedented success, culminating in their triumph in the UEFA European Championships (2008, and 2012), and the FIFA World Cup (2010). Subsequently, Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool team gained widespread acclaim for their implementation of the Gengenpress philosophy. This approach focused on high-intensity pressing and swift transitions, captivating fans and pundits alike with its relentless energy and attacking prowess. Using the hipster brand of football, Liverpool under Klopp have won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup – the German is the only Liverpool manager to win six different major trophies These two tactical systems have left an indelible mark on the footballing world, influencing how the game is played and demonstrating the enduring impact of innovative strategies on the sport. Nonetheless, without a doubt, the playing approaches observed on Sunday mornings throughout the country markedly differ from those seen in professional-level matches. As teams ascend the footballing hierarchy, they become more adept at retaining possession for extended periods, displaying a greater inclination towards deliberate and less direct football. A study conducted by CIES Football Observatory on 75 leagues across on ‘Attacking playing styles in world football’ which compared the number of counter attacks and the number of passes received in the opponent's third, established that there are four main offensive styles of play. Analysis by league shows that four of the five big-5 championships fall into the “pressure” category: the English Premier League, the Spanish Liga, the Italian Serie A and the French Ligue 1. The German Bundesliga is in the “waiting” category, but with counter-attacking values very close to the average, which could have moved it into the “projection” style, alongside many Latin American leagues, including the top two Argentinean divisions. The bottom right quadrant is made up of 20 leagues whose teams have above-average statistics for counter-attacks and below-average statistics for passes received in the opposition third. They are characterised by a “projection” attacking style of play with an emphasis on quick attacks. Various Latin American leagues are included in this category, such as the top two Argentinean ones. The only European top division championships following a “projection” style are the Austrian, Croatian and Serbian ones. With a focus on England, and the Premier League, the above visual shows that no club in the top flight attacks with a high number of counter attacks and low number of passes received in the opponent's final third, per match. Liverpool lead the way with regards to the number of counter attacks per match (15), whilst Bournemouth rack up the least amount of passes in the final third per match (74). Given my recent save ‘The Ajax Way’ focused on pressure style of attack, I want to experience a totally different dynamic and challenge myself to break the mould. Can a team playing a ‘projection style’ of football be successful, not only in the English game, but can they break the mould of attacking playing styles which has consumed Europe’s big-five leagues? For this save 'Wolves - The Renaissance’ I have decided to play as Wolverhampton Wanderers. Why? Well the below will help to provide reasoning. Wolverhampton Wanderers under Gary O'Neil have shown their ability to perform in the Premier League using this ‘Projection style’ of attack. Picking up victories against Tottenham (Home, 42%), Brentford (40%), Chelsea (Away, 36%), Manchester City (32%), Chelsea (Home, 32%), and Tottenham (Away, 29%). Along with drawing against Aston Villa (47%), and Brighton (28%) whilst winning the expected goals battle. *The above examples are hand-picked from games in which Wolves have seen 50% or less possession. I also wanted to manage a side which were further down the pecking order, not only in terms of their reputation, but the whole club infrastructure. This save is going to be a project, I do not want overnight success, the saying is ‘the more you put in, the more you get out’. THE CLUB To the northwest of Birmingham lies Molineux Stadium, a revered landmark synonymous with the rich footballing heritage of Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves). Dressed in the iconic gold and black, these colours resonate with the storied history of a club that has earned three top-flight titles and four FA Cups, solidifying its place in English football lore. The historic Molineux Stadium, steeped in tradition and history, boasts a capacity for 32,050 spectators, and in recent times, Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) has consistently filled every available seat. After a triumphant return to the Premier League in the 2018/19 season, Wolves have been making waves, captivating the hearts of fans and reclaiming their place among the English football elite. As of the 2021/22 season, Wolverhampton Wanderers find themselves in pursuit of their 5th top-flight title. The last time they secured this prestigious honour was back in 1959, during a period of dominance that added to the club's illustrious history. Wolves' initial era of glory saw them clinch three First Division titles in the 1950s, firmly establishing their legacy in English football. The echoes of their historic achievements resonate through Molineux, a venue that has witnessed the highs and lows of Wolves' journey. As the club continues its quest for success, the packed stands at Molineux symbolise the unwavering support of the fans, eager to see Wolves add another league title to their distinguished collection and carve out new chapters in the ongoing story of this football institution. FINANCES In the 2020-21 financial year, Wolverhampton Wanderers reported a profit of £144.9 million, with a significant portion attributed to an "exceptional item" – the conversion of a debt owed to owners Fosun into equity. However, such items are not considered in Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) assessments, focusing on a profit of £18.4 million excluding this exceptional item. In 2021-22, Wolves declared a loss of £46.1 million, resulting in a cumulative loss of £27.7 million over the first two years of the PSR cycle. That meant to stay within the £105million limit over three years, they could afford to declare losses of £77.3million in 2022-23. In August, Julen Lopetegui departed from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the reasons for the mutual agreement were openly acknowledged. Lopetegui had consistently expressed dissatisfaction with the limited investment in the playing staff, citing financial fair play constraints. Wolves were apprehensive that his frustrations could negatively impact dressing-room morale, leading to the mutual decision for his departure. Before the transfer window's closure, Wolverhampton Wanderers witnessed the departure of key players, including Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Nathan Collins, Raul Jimenez, and Adama Traore. On the last day of the window, Matheus Nunes was also transferred to Manchester City, these sales were sanctioned to help balance the books and avoid FFP sanctions. https://twitter.com/SteveMadeley78/status/1763824976828764416 Given the clubs financial position I will need to adopt a smart transfer policy in this save, I made the decision to pursue a data driven approach, so you can expect lots of data and the use of Tableau in this save. THE GAME MODEL "IF YOU DON'T PLAY ON THE COUNTER-ATTACK, IT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE STUPID. IT IS A FANTASTIC PART OF FOOTBALL, A WEAPON THAT, WHEN YOU FIND YOUR OPPONENT OFF BALANCE, GIVES YOU A FANTASTIC OPTION TO SCORE A GOAL" JOSÉ MOURINHO, JUNE 2015 Inspiration for the above tactic stemmed from both watching Wolverhampton Wanderers, and reading the following article 'Gary O'Neil tactics and style of play' on The Coaches Voice. O'Neil's side current Wolves side are built on a few key principles, whilst the Englishman has provided some much needed clarity of player roles to all, enabling his Wolves side to flourish. Heavy emphasis on central combinations and transitional attacks. Versatility from the narrow trio in central spaces and both inside channels. Attacking players offering a greater dribbling threat. Pack mentality, a fluid playing system. The tactical style I will initially be using for this replication will be the pre-set fluid counter tactical style with a few cheeky additions. In possession: Pass Into Space, Play Out Of Defence, Fairly Narrow, and Play For Set Pieces Out of possession: Removed Get Stuck In More, and Drop Off More 'OUT OF DARKNESS COMETH LIGHT' Under O'Neil, Wolves have drawn a close synergy to the cities motto. KEY PLAYERS WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: Pablo Sarabia, Jose Sa, Pedro Neto, Maximilian Kilman, Hee chan Hwang, Mario Lemina, Tommy Doyle, Tom King, Nathan Fraser and Hugo Bueno of Wolverhampton Wanderers pose for a winning team photo during a Wolverhampton Wanderers Training Session at The Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground on February 21, 2024 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas - WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images) Maximilian Kilman has not only developed into a reliable defender for Wolverhampton Wanderers but has also emerged as a key and indispensable member of the team. His consistent increase in appearance numbers over the past four seasons underscores his growing importance on the field. Having initially joined the Wolves Academy from non-league football, Kilman's journey highlights his transformation into a crucial and versatile ball-playing central defender, capable of making a significant impact on either side of a back three. Mario Lemina - In January 2023, Gabonese international midfielder Mario Lemina joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, marking Julen Lopetegui's second signing as the head coach. The 29-year-old, with prior Premier League experience at Southampton and Fulham, as well as participation in a Champions League final, committed to a two-and-a-half-year deal at Molineux. Known for his powerful and dynamic style, Lemina's versatility extends to playing various positions, including out wide and in defence. He commenced his senior career in France with Lorient before catching the attention of Marcelo Bielsa at Marseille. During his time with Juventus in Italy, Lemina celebrated Serie A title victories in both seasons. In European competitions, the midfielder played a pivotal role in the thrilling 2017 Champions League journey, reaching the quarter-final, semi-final, and ultimately the final, where Juventus faced defeat against Real Madrid in the Millennium Stadium showdown. Pedro Neto has rapidly become one of Wolverhampton Wanderers' most electrifying and potent attacking assets since his arrival from Lazio in 2019. Operating seamlessly on either wing, the Portuguese talent had a standout season in 2020/21, earning both supporter and teammate acclaim as he was named Player of the Season. Neto's journey in professional football began impressively at just 17 when he scored his first goal minutes into his Primeira Liga debut, setting a record as Braga's youngest-ever scorer in the competition. After a successful two-year loan spell at Lazio, Neto made a permanent move to Wolves and made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut against FC Pyunik in the Europa League. In the 2020/21 season, Neto emerged as Wolves' star player, finishing as the club's joint top scorer. Notably, he scored crucial match-winners against Fulham, Chelsea, and Southampton, although his impressive campaign was cut short by a knee injury. Despite the setback, Neto made a return for the season's run-in and marked the final day with a goal at Anfield. Looking ahead to the 2023/24 season, Pedro Neto appears poised for continued success, with fans eagerly anticipating his contributions on the field. My first job at the club was to ensure Neto put pun to paper on a new five year contract. Recognising his pivotal role, I am confident that if I am to achieve success in lifting the Premier League trophy or any other silverware during my tenure, Neto will undoubtedly be a key player in our pursuit of achievements on the field. I hope you have enjoyed my first post of this series 'Wolves - The Renaissance' it is good to be back playing Football Manager, documenting my journey. I am hopeful that this series will again provide you with some key takeaways to apply to your saves. If you are a Wolverhampton Wanderers fan, I would appreciate a follow, I hope I can bring your club some much needed Football Manager attention/interest. A club which I have become deeply consumer with over the past few weeks. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SteinkelssonFM Posted March 14 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 14 (edited) Todays update which follows on from Wolves: The Renaissance Introduction will mainly focus how I have gone about finding my feet at Wolverhampton Wanderers. First and foremost I wanted to link two podcasts which have helped me to firmly embed myself as an armchair Wolves fan, Wolves Weekly & the tactical analysis conducted by Gully (@MolineuxMusings) from Wolves Fancast have been staple consumptions, helping me to get an improved feel for club, and tactical nuances. THE WOLF PACK IS A MULTITUDE THAT UNITES TO PROTECT EACH MEMBER. EACH WOLF ACCEPTS ITS UNIQUE POSITION IN THE PACK, JUST LIKE A FAMILY MEMBER DOES. STRUCTIRE AND LEADERSHIP OF THE WOLF PACK A pack of wolves usually comprises a dominant (alpha) pair; an individual or couple following in importance, and most likely to replace the current alphas (referred to as the beta pair); next in line, are individuals in the middle ranks and lower ranks of the wolf pack. Football Manager also visualise the team dynamics in a similar way, this becomes evident when exploring the hierarchy page. THE ALPHA's -There are three individuals acting as the alpha's within the playing squad, and it should come as no surprise that both our Captain Max Kilman, and Vice-Captain Craig Dawson find themselves in this group. They are accompanied by Nelson Semedo, who has been at Wolverhampton for a long period of time (2020/21), and has a good understanding of the culture within the club. Dawson, aged 33, is approaching the end of his playing career, he is the oldest member of our playing staff. THE BETA's - the role of the beta pair is to direct the middle ranks of the wolf pack, it is re-assuring to see that four of the five players from within this group stem from either the experienced (Matt Doherty, and Pablo Sarabia), or the Peak category (José Sá, and Hwang Hee-Chan) from within the squad matrix. The anomaly being Pedro Neto who finds himself in the emerging category, this is due to the Portuguese players age (23). DNA After re-reading the comprehensive post 'The Art of Counter Attacking' written by our very own Cleon. I wanted to explore how Wolves stacked up attribute wise, with regards to those which I think are essential for the style of play which I am looking to adopt in this series. Projection style footballing DNA - Dribbling, First Touch, Technique, Aggression, Anticipation, Bravery, Determination, Teamwork, Work Rate, Acceleration, Pace, Stamina, and Strength. Whilst I will not be implementing a DNA approach to this save, as my focus in Wolves: The Renaissance is going to be on data driven recruitment. I still wanted to explore how the lads stack up? Surprisingly it is Nélson Semedo who leads the way, closely followed by João Gomes, it is also re-assuring to not fin any names high up on that list, of players that I am not already aware of. Although, that is king of hard, given the fact that the Wolverhampton Wanderers squad is a little thin on the ground. Toti is the worst aligned out of my strongest XI, the defender lacks a strong technical profile, which arguably I should find a little concerning given I will be deploying him as a wide centre back. The role is hard-coded to make overlapping and underlapping runs to create 2 vs 1 situations. For more on positional play in Football Manager, make sure you check on the latest article on The Byline called 'Mastering Positional Play in Football Manager 24'. SQUAD DEPTH As with any new save, there is an importance placed upon understanding the players at your disposal, both immediately, and in the long-term. After conducting a thorough analysis on the playing staff across all squads (First Team, U21, and U18) I have a better understanding of who I am looking to promote from within, and areas which I need to prioritise recruitment. Defence - In my opinion, there is a need to bring in additional left-footed defender into the squad. Currently there are only four at the club (Toti, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Hugo Bueno, and Max Kilman), and with Kilman deployed as the right sided ball-playing defender, that leaves three players to cover the two left-sided slots. Midfield - The central midfield certainly requires some investment, especially when taking into consideration the fact that Tommy Doyle is only at the club on loan from Manchester City. The 22 year-old does have an optional future fee locked into his contract for £5 million. We will need to assess if this fee is value for money as the season develops, along with exploring other potential options. Attack - Finally, I would like to bring in another advanced playmaker to provide competition for Pablo Sarabia. Yes I know I have Jean-Ricner Bellegarde as his deputy within the squad visualisation. However, I am in two minds as to what position will suit him best. The 25 year-old is operating close to his ceiling, whilst he is technically adept, and has the ability to pick out a team mate with the ball, making him a good candidate to play as the advanced playmaker. However, he also is quick off the mark, and can keep close control of the ball when dribbling, making him a potential shadow striker reserve for Pedro Neto. SCOUTING Given that Football Managers most recent update (24.3) contains fixes and improvements to the scouting hub, specifically on how players are scouted, ensuring more 'Recommendations' and 'Near Matches' are generated in 'Recruitment Focuses'. I wanted to share with you my scouting team, highlighting how they are assigned, and later what traffic of scouted players pass through the hub. FYI, no signing will be pursued on this save if they haven't been identified through recruitment focuses. As you can see from the above, Wolverhampton Wanderers have an extensive scouting team (12 members) from the get go. However, only John Suppers remains from the original group, as I wanted to ensure our recruitment team were both competent, and had a breadth of extensive world knowledge, as highlighted below. Below is a list of the individual assignments which I have rolling over on an on-going basis. Most have a minimum current ability of 3.5 silver stars, and a minimum potential of 3 stars, your team average. The only differentiator is the 'Europe First-Team' assignment which is set to 3 stars for both, which should be self-explanatory. However, just t make sure, I have set this to three as these individuals need to be first team ready. Anyone with less than three stars current ability, in my humble opinion, shouldn't be drawing down significant volumes of minutes, if you ae looking to both maximise their development, and weaken the team. Given that I set up my recruitment team similarly in my last save with Ajax, I would already say the tweaks made within the recent update have increased the volumes of hits occurring within each recruitment focus. THE FIRST FIVE MATHCES Five wins, and four clean sheets, from out first competitive matches. Not too shabby if I say so myself. Whilst you can argue that the opening fixtures have been against those that initially would have been predicted to finish in and around Wolves, I am really impressed by how the replication is playing out. Below are some headline stats from the small sample of matches. 56% possession (6th) 4 games without conceding (1st) only side 7 goals scored (7th), Man City lead the way, having doubled our tally. (14) 82 dribbles per game (1st) Final third Passes 85 (7th) - fingers crossed this will decrease when we play some of the big boys. Remember I am looking to build a brand of football which sees us have less than average touches in the final third. xG against 3.49 (16th), again Manchester City lead the way with 2.08. Finally, tackles won 85 (8th), Everton lead the way (111) I will look to provide a deeper analysis of the numbers in my next update, which is likely to come at the mid-way point in the season. Edited March 14 by SteinkelssonFM 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SteinkelssonFM Posted March 17 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 17 (edited) Picking up from where we left off in the last instalment of the series, 'The Wolfpack'. Today's post takes a deeper dive into our sides performance in the league at the midway point. For those of you who enjoy analytics, you will be pleased to hear that there is both data analysis, and tactical analysis included within the update. The blog closes with some data driven recruitment, as we look behind some of the numbers of individuals which have been identified by our vast recruitment team. We are well on track to smash the club record Premier League finish (7th), which was set in 2019/20 by Nuno Espírito Santo. His Wolves side accumulated 59 points across the season, scoring 51 goals along the way, and conceding 40. If we can mirror the first half of the season, we are also on track to achieve the most goals scored, and least conceded by a manager in the Premier League era. Whilst this sounds great, I am a little disappointed, as I was hoping this save would present a little more challenge in terms of breaking into the European competition places Currently, all dropped points have come away from Molineux. THE WEST MIDLANDS DERBY While matches between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa are not traditionally considered a local derby, they can still be intense and competitive affairs. The rivalry between Wolves and Aston Villa is not as historically rooted or geographically close as some of the other West Midlands derbies, such as Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City (Second City Derby) or Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. West Bromwich Albion (Black Country Derby). However, football rivalries can evolve over time, given the fact that West Bromwich Albion find themselves playing their trade in the Championship, I know this fixture will still capture the attention o fans and provide exiting football moments. Speaking of which... *click on the below image for the match detail In the derby game, we struggled to progress the ball down the left-side (our strongest flank in the final third), with struggling to get the better of Leon Bailey who dominated with four tackles won, three clearances, and two interceptions. His defensive contribution has been singled out in the following data analysis, whilst I have also opted to show you how Aston Villa were more successful at progressing the ball than Wolves, which enabled them to get at our defensive line early. For those of you interested in the finer details, you can find a comprehensive list of results here. THE ANALYSIS Finally I am at the point of the save where I can spend a little more time than usual in the data hub. For those of you who have followed my saves across the Football Manager series, you will know this is an area of the game which I enjoy the most, I love data analysis. ATTACKING ANALYSIS Given our unexpected league position, our attacking data metrics do not need much of a data analysis. We are only slightly performing better than average across a few areas, with our biggest outlier being dribbles completed per game. (Run at Defence Team Instruction is clearly working well) The above image provides you with an example of our build up structure, which entails having a consistent back three with two players ahead (3-2). The 3-2 shape enables teams to secure crucial deep central possession in the build-up phase. This possession disrupts opponents by making it challenging to maintain compactness while covering the entire pitch. It hinders progressive passing options, forcing the opposition to defend against multiple choices. Maintaining deep central possession offers more passing options in the middle, eliminating the need to rely on flank play. Playing through the flanks would make it easier for the opposition to press and limit space, as the touchline acts as a natural barrier. The back three also allows for numerical superiority against the first wave of defensive pressure, thus allowing for greater control in the first phase of build-up. Members of the 3-2 are often a launching pad for direct attacks, as once the initial press has been surpassed there is a numerical superiority in advanced areas, perfect for the brand of projection style attacking football, the focus of this save. DEFENSIVE ANALYSIS As you can see from the above data visualisation, it is our defensive performance which is catapulting Wolves to our current lofty heights, you do not need to be an expert in data analysis to work this out. We are leading the way with regards to both clan sheets and pressures won per 90, whilst also conceding a low expected goals against, and committing few fouls per game. The team adopts a 5-3-2 defensive structure without the ball, emphasising defensive solidity with five defenders, three midfielders, and two forwards. This formation creates a compact defensive shape, making it challenging for opponents to break through the defensive lines. In my opinion a huge part of our success has been down to the teams fluidity. As many of you will know, a fluid team moves up and down the pitch in unison, sharing both attacking and defensive duties. The three central defenders form a compact defensive line, usually operating as a unit to cover the central areas of the pitch. This compactness makes it challenging for the opposing team to penetrate through the middle. The wing-backs have a crucial defensive role in a 5-3-2 formation. When out of possession, they drop back to form a five-man defensive line, providing width to cover the flanks. This helps in preventing opposition wingers or full-backs from easily exploiting the wide areas. The three midfielders contribute to the defensive structure by forming a compact midfield block. While the primary aim is to maintain a solid defensive shape, teams employing the 5-3-2 formation may engage in organized pressing and closing down when the opposition is in certain areas of the pitch. Here's a brief overview of how a 5-3-2 structure without possession may look: Whilst on the subject of the projection attacking style, the above 'Pitch Tilt' visual is our main point of reafference within the data hub. Currently we find ourselves on the wrong side of the vertical axis, the aim of the save is to build towards creating a successful tactic which ideally will see us placed in the top left quadrant. TACTICAL TWEAK I have opted to make a minor tweak to the original tactic 'The Old Gold' moving the striker from a complete forward of attacking duty to support. The change was made with two drivers, firstly Matheus Cunha has the player trait comes deep to get the ball and shoots from distance, the role on support will see him drop more into space and run at opponents, rather than operate as more of the spearhead. Secondly it will see us have seven supporting duties, moving us into a very fluid structure, a greater emphasis on the pack mentality which has seen some really positive recent match analysis. DATA DRIVEN RECRUITMENT - DATA ANALYSIS Ever since writing the Monchi Masterclass on Football Manager 21, I have been a little obsessed with the different recruitment strategies in world football. This has lead me down one very big rabbit hole, one in which I have consumed some really interesting content (Moneyball, The Gold Mine Effect, Football Hackers, The European Game, and Soccernomincs to name a few). Now many of you will know that have become fond of firing up Tableau and using the data to make informed decisions, well today I want to show you the approach that I have taken for my first two acquisitions here at Wolves. Again, I want to emphasise that I am only looking to sign players which my scouting team have identified through their existing knowledge, or from the pre-assigned recruitment focuses (12). These have already returned 412 players, with 86 individuals being signposted to my attention, directly from the recruitment focuses. already it feels as if the winter update fix is working. PRIORITY ONE: THE LEFT SIDED DEFENDER Rayan Aït-Nouri is showing early signs that he is going to be heavily relied upon in our tactical system, the Algerian second highest average rating (7.25) and leads assists (5). The pizza chart above is a comparison to players performing a similar role across the Top 20 Leagues and expressed as a percentile. Rayan is also lighting up the charts in pressures attempted, and dribbles. Whist he is also shows his ability to win the ball back, and win his fair share of headers. Step One: Edit the player search under the scouted players tab to include only those who are natural at playing either Defender (Left), or Wing Back (Left). This filter immediately cuts our sample down to a more manageable 32 players. Step Two: Add in the KPI's which I feel are essential for playing the role, Possession Won (>10 per 90), Dribbles (>2 per 90), and Key Passes (>1 per 90). It is a shame that some of the other metrics aren't available in the chalkboard, this is where I would usually extract the data to use in Tableau. However, this time we simply let Football Manager conduct search based on the in game data analysis tools. Above are the top five players stemming from the data filter, sorted by recommendation. It is pleasing to see that two of the top three ratings are are players that fall within my price range (given we only have £5 million of funds available). Option One: Leonardo Lelo - at 23 years old the Portuguese wing-back is performing exceptionally well in the Portuguese top tier with Casa Pia, as demonstrated by his analyst report. Tackles Won 43 (2nd in Liga Portugal) Progressive Passes 76 (3rd in Liga Portugal) Distance Covered 157.8km (4th in Liga Portugal) Open Play Key Passes 21 (4th in Liga Portugal) Tackles Per 90 3.62 (7th in Liga Portugal) Possession Won 178 (9th in Liga Portugal) The above outputs, paired with his scout report, which included a low estimated wage, fairly consistent performer, and the potential to develop into a good Premier League player. Paired with the fact that Liverpool, Lille, Ajax, and Braga are all actively interested in the player, means he certainly is a great option. Option Two: Domagoj Bradarić - the 24 year old currently is playing his trade in Salerno for Salernitana, who find themselves in 11th place in Seria A. The Croatian who is a fairly consistent performer, who enjoys big matches is also producing some headline outputs. Interceptions Made 17 (1st in Seria A) Blocks 7 (1st in Seria A) You will note that these are pretty defensive metrics, with Domagoj only covering 36.6km, the data analysis highlighting that he is being played in a fairly static role by his manager Fabio Liverani. He also would expect a wage between £40k, and £50k, making him a larger investment, which isn't needed at present due to needing the signing to play deputy to Rayan Aït-Nouri. PRIORITY TWO: THE ADVANCED PLAYMAKER Pablo Sarabia is the current highest earner at Wolverhampton, his £110k per week is 25% higher than the next high earner Nélson Semedo. Whilst it is clear to see that the 31 year old Spaniard plays an important role in this Wolves side, he is yet to consistently produce the attacking contribution which a player of calibre, in his prime, should. The initial sample for this search began with 133 players that were capable of playing in the central CM/AM strata. However, after applying the filters (Possession Lost Per 90 less than 12, Possession Won at least 10, Shots Per 90 1, and Open Play Key Passes per 90 1) I was left with the below high flyers. Similarly, the search has included two players which would be considered affordable for Wolverhampton, Albert Grønbæk, and Daichi Kamada. Immediately the Dane stuck out as a signing which could both add value to the existing playing squad, and have a significant sell on value. At 22 the midfielder is already identified as a player who is both a consistent performer, and enjoys big matches. He also is in the top ten of the Eliteserien with regards to the following. 34 key passes, 4th in the Eliteserien Seven goals , 5th in the Eliteserien 7.10 average rating, 9th in the Eliteserien Whilst I was unable to conduct a data analysis comparison with Kamada, due to the Japanese International only featuring for Lazio less than a handful of times, the decision for me is a no brainer. Both players were signed with the use of the transfer instalments, Lelo joined for an initial £2 million, with a further £2 million to be paid in 12 months. Whilst the Dane was signed with a more complex fee, £2.5 million upfront with the rest to be paid across the next six year. The details can be viewed here, although immediately this appears to be smart business with the players estimated value siting between £40m-£48m. I hope you have enjoyed this post and the use of data analysis, the next update will take us to the end of season one in 'Wolves - The Renaissance' providing a review of the first season in charge at Molineux. I think it is fair to say that I am almost having as much fun as the lads did after securing a victory on the road (IRL) against Tottenham Hotspur. Edited March 21 by SteinkelssonFM 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toco y me voy Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 I am really enjoying this thread, packed with detail, and some good tactical analysis in the most recent post. I will follow along. We all know the popularity of a high press, aggressive style of play, is popular on FM, so will be refreshing to read something with a little more variety. Keep up the good work! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianscousemac Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Wow, this is fantastic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreeki Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Awesome post, one question regarding scouting; do you use the Any position from Any tactic? Or use your tactic? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litmanen 10 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 This thread is pure diamond. Would it be possible to see some of the goals that your team has scored and are closely related to the style of play that you are aiming for? Preferably in 2D and as gifs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Ben_ Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 8 hours ago, SteinkelssonFM said: THE WEST MIDLANDS DERBY While matches between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa are not traditionally considered a local derby, they can still be intense and competitive affairs. The rivalry between Wolves and Aston Villa is not as historically rooted or geographically close as some of the other West Midlands derbies, such as Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City (Second City Derby) or Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. West Bromwich Albion (Black Country Derby). However, football rivalries can evolve over time, given the fact that West Bromwich Albion find themselves playing their trade in the Championship, I know this fixture will still capture the attention o fans and provide exiting football moments. Speaking of which... *click on the below image for the match detail In the derby game, we struggled to progress the ball down the left-side (our strongest flank in the final third), with struggling to get the better of Leon Bailey who dominated with four tackles won, three clearances, and two interceptions. His defensive contribution has been singled out in the following data analysis, whilst I have also opted to show you how Aston Villa were more successful at progressing the ball than Wolves, which enabled them to get at our defensive line early. Love your work and the passion you put into our writing but I love this result more than anything, else! UTV! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 (edited) @toco y me voy @ianscousemac @_Ben_ thanks for taking the time to drop a comment, I was starting to think I had made the wrong decision to move the thread from within the usual career updates section of the forum. I think the move to a style of save where I am attempting to deviate significancy away from the Premier League 'norm', and a polar opposite from the 'Ajax Way' is something which should grab my attention span, well at least until the next idea pops up! Either way, you all will at least get a few seasons written up, focusing on different aspects of the match engine. @Kreeki all recruitment focuses are set up for 'Any Position' I think this is the best option available as I want to be the final judge on if a player, and their ability to play a certain role in our team. Also, for this save I am limiting myself to only sign players which have passed through my scouting team. Therefore, selecting this option helps me to at least have a wider pool of talent to select from. @Litmanen 10 I will make a mental note to include a few more visuals for you all to experience what I am seeing. I have quickly taken a few gifs from the last few games.... Exhibit A: This example is not a counter attack, but is a great example of how fluid we are in terms of transitioning the ball through the phases. Six passes (vertical) starting at the very back with José Sá and ending with Saša Kalajdžić putting the ball in the net, albeit offside. Exhibit B: A much more accurate representation of what we are trying to achieve against Leicester City. We punish our opponent after João Gomes wins the ball back on the edge of the box, with Leicester starting with every player in our half, five passes is all it took before Matheus Cunha opened the scoring. If you are enjoying this thread, I would also like to point you in the direction of those from @crusadertsar and @DrChristopher under this section. Edited March 17 by SteinkelssonFM 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litmanen 10 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Thank you so much! Always interesting to see goals in gifs and game plans working out like you want. Those are nice goals and show the fluidity that for example my Betis team is often lacking! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilling Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Logged on for the first time in ages (having fallen out of love with FM) to say this is the best thread I've seen in ages, cannot wait to see the next update. I may even have to reinstall FM24 and give this a go myself! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 @Tilling I really appreciate you kind words, you will be pleased to know that I am just about finalising the next update, so all being well it should be good to go over the next few days! Without blowing my own trumpet too much, it should make for an interesting read! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUFCspeni Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Really enjoyed reading this, so much so that I shamelessly copied your tactic to see how it would do with a more elite team in Atletico Madrid. So far, we have scored 34 in 16 league games, conceding only 8. Sat top of the league with 38 points, the only losses coming to Real Madrid and a 2-0 FM'ing to Granada. The highlight, though, is definitely a 4-0 demolition of Barcelona, in which they had 60+% possession and 1 shot I would definitely be interested to see how you tweak in game, especially as your team gets better and faces more teams trying to defend deeper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litmanen 10 Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 How long does it usually take for you to write one of these posts? I'm in awe for the people who have the skill and patience to write such in-depth updates. It's also a skill to be able to pick up those things that interest people and keep them reading the longer posts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 @LUFCspeni no shame in copying the tactic my friend, you have in fact reminded me that I need to set up some downloadable links to the tactic for those of you that are less pro-active. I'm really pleased to see that it has also been just as effective for in Spain, with a much bigger club in terms of reputation. @Litmanen 10 how long is a piece of string! I have two boys who take up quite a lot of my free time, along with still actively playing 1st XV rugby. However, I'd say that these larger posts roughly take a week to knock up, given I get to work on them sporadically. The construction usually takes a similar pathway, I try to group my writing under key themes which have captured my attention the most during the save, I keep a little notebook by my side on the desk to jot down some key thoughts, the others are ingrained in my head as they are with me most of the day. I then draft up a template and insert the headlines and visuals, this enables me to jump into writing as and when time allows. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litmanen 10 Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 15 minutes ago, SteinkelssonFM said: @Litmanen 10 how long is a piece of string! I have two boys who take up quite a lot of my free time, along with still actively playing 1st XV rugby. However, I'd say that these larger posts roughly take a week to knock up, given I get to work on them sporadically. The construction usually takes a similar pathway, I try to group my writing under key themes which have captured my attention the most during the save, I keep a little notebook by my side on the desk to jot down some key thoughts, the others are ingrained in my head as they are with me most of the day. I then draft up a template and insert the headlines and visuals, this enables me to jump into writing as and when time allows. Fully understand. Even with just a wife and recently arrived rescue dog, time is worth gold. Especially now as the ice hockey playoffs start. My content comes out of my head and is written during my lunch breaks, where I multitask by eating and writing at the same time. For playing the game itself, I usually have 1-2 hours maximum per day and a bit more during the weekends. This is also probably why my content isn't anywhere near as comprehensive as yours and some other writers'. I salute you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronFM Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Loving the concept and methodology behind your decision-making. Couple that with your insight into the game and its a work of art! Disappointing to hear your thoughts that it seems to be a bit easy for you to break into the top four, I too was expecting a bit more of a closer battle on the fringes for the first season at least. Have the results been rather comprehensive or is it the markings of a first season wonder? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SteinkelssonFM Posted March 22 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 22 Todays update, is much more than a summary of the 2023/24 season, it is a comprehensive review of our alignment to the 'projection' brand of attacking football, the Holy Grail. Picking off from the last update from Wolves: The Renaissance series - Midpoint Musings todays post also includes a focus on a few key performers, along with a deep dive into team mentality, there is also a segment on recruitment, and a familiar face returns to the club. A massive team effort sealed Wolverhampton Wanderers a record finish in the Premier League. The historic points record set by Nuno Espírito Santo's 2019/20 team was trumped by 20 points, whilst we also broke records for both goals scored, and goals conceded. Not too bad for our first season! DROPPED POINTS The run of form (or lack of) which spanned across both February and March, played a significant role in our inability to secure a Top four finish. As you can see from the above, we only managed to secure 11 points, from the possible 24 on offer. What the results don't tell you on paper, the context. Was this a case of 13 points dropped, or was it in fact a determined side, which managed to salvage points, continuing the push for the Top Four. The above context helps to provide the narrative. Firstly, examining the expected goals, both for and against, we rightly suffered defeat against Liverpool, and the draws against Tottenham, and Brighton were fair results. However, we were fortunate to secure any points against both Manchester City and Arsenal who both dominated the expected goals battle, Arsenal scoring in the 89th minute, was actually more than a fair result. Finally, on another day we could have defeated Chelsea, the xG difference of 0.18, is a clear cut chance, which on another day could have made all the difference. The main differentiator between ourselves and fourth placed Tottenham, is that Ange Postecoglou's team drew less games. They also took more risk, which is reflected in both their goal difference (+53), compared to ours (+36) and goals scored, closing the season with 27 more goals than ourselves. THE PACK ON THE ROAD We defiantly need to improve our for away from Molineux, with six of our seven defeats coming on the road. You will note that all losses were against sides which finish the Premier League season inside of the top 10, apart from the freak defeat to Bournemouth. Again, statistically we closed the season with eight wins, five draws, and six loses on the road. Whilst only posting a positive goal difference of +2 (scoring 22, conceding 20). MIGHTY MOLINEUX Our home form formed a critical component of our success in the Premier League. Across the 2023/24 campaign we managed to establish Molineux as a fortress, where visiting teams struggled to secure points. I sit here with a smirk on my face knowing that I have managed o close the season with THE best home record in the Premier League. Remarkably we only conceded eight goals in 19 fixtures, and 66% of all goals scored across the 2023/24 campaign were in front of our season ticket holders. This strong home form was one of the core pillars which formed the foundation of our overall success, we will need to ensure we remain dominant at Molineux if we are to retain our competitive edge across 2024/25, and contend for a place in the Premier League's Top Four. THE WEST MIDLANDS DERBY - PART TWO A truly exceptional performance from a Wolverhampton Wanderers side that clearly wanted to set the record straight, after the embarrassing defeat earlier in the season (0-5) to Unai Emery's side. Redemption - An act of redeeming or atoning for a fault or mistake, or the state of being redeemed. To make the victory even sweeter, we aligned pretty well with our footballing philosophy. 45% possession vs 55% 45% ball share vs 55% 1.79 NPxG from 10 shots 0.179 xG per shot The only draw back being that we completed 99 final third passes , compared to Aston Villa's 75. However, Moussa Diaby's sending off in the 68th minute certainly helped inflate our numbers. The fourth and final goals scored by Rayan Aït-Nouri is another fine example of our projection style football in action. Matt Doherty strips Álex Moreno of the ball inside our box, the ball falls to Mario Lemina who progresses the ball to Tommy Doyle, one of four wolves players attacking the vacant space. Doyle carries the ball to the final third, before playing a pass out wide to Rayan, who inverts on the ball, unleashing his shot past Emiliano Martínez from by the penalty spot. Let the boys play! EUROPEAN ADVENTURE Get your passports at the ready, Wolverhampton Wanderers are going on a European adventure. The club were last qualified for a UEFA competition back in 2019/20 when under the guidance of NES Wolves made it tot he Quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League. However, what is this, we received notification in our inbox (not spam or phishing) that Wolves have secured qualification to the UEFA Champions League! That's right, fifth place was enough to secure the club direct passage to the new League Phase, the Old Gold will be tested against the finest opponents the continent has to offer, what a time to be alive! PLAYER FOCUS I wanted to provide an overview of some of our key performers from across the 2023/24 campaign, highlighting some of their key outputs which have contributed to the overarching success of the Wolves side. The form of José Sá across the season was immense, with our Number 1 closing the season with a save percentage of 87%, a figure 2% higher than his expected save percentage. His ability to make an excellent ratio of saves compared to the average seen him finish as the leading goalkeeper with regards to his save percentage and also a significant outlier with regards to his advanced goalkeeping statistics. José also picked up the most clean sheets (20) in the Premier League, beating Guglielmo Vicario of Tottenham by four. The Algerian has already been under the spotlight for his impressive outputs earlier in the campaign, there is no denying that without Rayan Aït-Nouri this Wolves side would lose a key creative contribution. This is evident in his 1.64 open play key passes per 90, and more importantly 0.30 assists per 90 outputs. Comparing him to other defenders in the league, Rayan is a highly creative player, who is capable of high quality creating from open play. He has the third highest open play expected assist output per 90 in 2023/24, a figure higher than Trent Alexander-Arnold. His nine assists across the campaign (1st), paired with his six player of the match awards (2nd), and an average rating of 7.21 (1st), seen Rayan Aït-Nouri crowned both Fan's Player of the Season, and Young Player of the Season. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, for those of you who follow Wolverhampton Wanderers, or even the Premier League, it may have come to a surprise to see the inclusion of the 25 year old in this segment. However, the attacking midfielder demonstrated his ability in the final third, which is highlighted by his 0.20 expected assists per 90, and 0.25 non penalty expected goals. The Frenchman also posted a high pass completion of 88% and rarely lost possession of the ball. He was in fact our second highest goal assist provider (7). Pedro Neto was the other leading candidate for our player of the season, the Portuguese winger (playing as a Shadow Striker) closed the campaign as our top goal scorer (16), most player of the match awards (7), and joint highest average rating (7.21). His ability to progress play through dribbling was exemplary (3.25 dribbles per 90), and he was also the standard bearer for pressures attempted (11.07). His composure in front of goal also seen him out score his expected goals total by 4.98. Above is our best eleven, the only surprise omission from our frequent starting eleven is that of Mario Lemina, who was pipped to a spot by Tommy Doyle. PROJECTION STYLE FOOTBALL Here's the moment you have all secretly been waiting for, our performance against the all important 'Pitch Tilt' visualisation. As you can see from the below, have some work to do, after closing the season (only just) on the wrong side of both metrics. If we are to align to this projection style of football, based on this seasons outputs, we need to roughly reduce our final third passes per game by 10, and increase our opponents final third passes per game. I decided to extrapolate the schedule view for the entire 2023/24 season and manually input the final third passes for, and against. This help to show me how effective we are playing when the shoe is on the other foot. The data doesn't make for a good read, as per my headline takeaway. 79% OF ALL POINTS DROPPED ACROSS THE 2023/24 SEASON STEMMED FROM GAMES IN WHICH THE OPPONENT COMPLETED MORE FINAL THIRD PASSES THAN WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS. Now let that sit in...based on the above data, I would expect to see ourselves in a relegation battle, rather than pushing for the Top Four, playing a true brand of projection style attacking football. How can I look to make a minor tweak to the tactic, without placing the results under jeopardy? TEAM MENTALITY An easy way to describe mentality on Football Manager is it is the base attacking intent of the squad. Mentality is a measure of the amount of risk players are willing to take within the confines of the tactical system. The more you turn the dial the less risk aversive players will be. Risk can be seen to impact any of the following within Football Manager, width, passing directness, tempo, line of engagement, ad defensive line. Mentality will be the first variable which I will look to put to the test, in search of aligning with this so called projection attacking style. This segment of the post will explore if I should take a more risk aversive approach, or do I play with fire. CAUTIOUS - THIS MENTALITY IS BEST EMPLOYED FOR MATCHES IN WHICH YOU EXPECT TO LOSE THE BATTLE FOR POSESSION BUT FEEL YOU CAN BREAK WITH SOME REGULARITY. IT AIMS TO KEEP MEN BEHIND THE BALL WHEN DEFENDING BUT TO PROVIDE QUICK SUPPORT TO ATTACKING PLAYERS WHEN THE BALL IS IN THE FINAL THIRD. IT RELIES ON GETTING THE BALL FORWARD QUICKLY ENOUGH TO EXPOSE THE SPACES BEHIND AGGRESSIVE FULL-BACKS AND WINGERS, WITH PLAYERS TENDING TO STAY DEEPER AND MAINTAIN DEFENSIVE SHAPE IF THE BREAK LOOKS LIKE COMING TO NOTHING. THIS MENTALITY IS BEST EMPLOYED FOR MATCHES WHERE THE TEAM ARE FAVOURITE TO WIN AND EXPECT TO DOMINATE POSSESSION IN THE OPPONENTS HALF. IT AIMS TO EXPLOIT SPACE IN THE FIANL THIRD BY EMPLOYING A FAST TEMPO AND MORE DIRECT PASSING. IFTHE TEAM HAS A HIGH CHANCE OF LOSING THE BALL BY ATTACKING, THEY WOULD HOWEVER OPT TO RECYCLE THE BALL TO RETAIN POSSESSION. IT FOCUSES HEAVILY ON GETTING PLAYERS FORWARD AND INTO SPACE AND ALLOWS THEM THE CREATIVE FREEDOM TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES. I have tested both mentalities for a small sample of games to be in a position to carry out some analytics, this should help to provide you all with a deeper understanding of how this function works within Football Manager. Above, the headline data from games against both Brighton, and Athletic Club. I have chosen to carry out further analysis on these two games, as we closed each with a very similar possession, and more importantly both sides played in a 4-4-2 formation. PASSING NETWORKS There is a clear difference between the passing networks, with a larger volume of passes being completed between the team. This is likely to be a combination of the impact the mentalities play on both passing directness, and tempo. AVERAGE POSITIONS Taking the teams average positions into account, there really isn't too much difference between the two images with regards to both positioning in, and out of possession. The only marginal difference is visible in the compactness between the lines without the ball, as expected a cautious mentality has less spacing between the front three and midfield pivot, likely due to them making less forward runs and moving up and down the pitch as more of a collective/pack. BACK THREE COMPLETED FORWARD PASSES Again a further two points which I have been clearly able to demonstrate through the above completed pass visuals of the defensive trio. There is both an increased volume of forward passes from the central defenders, and they are completing more forward passes from a higher position on the pitch. UNSUCCESFULL PASSES Looking at the above images, I am able to identify two clear differences between comparing the two visuals. Firstly, you will note that when playing under the 'cautious' mentality we have decided to deviate away from playing the ball out from the back. It is clear to see that we have opted to play a larger percentage of long goal kicks, likely due to the increased risk of losing possession closer to our own goal. Secondly, when playing with an 'attacking' mentality you will note that we are accumulating more unsuccessful passes in the progression phase. Playing more low percentage passes with the view to entering the final third. MENTALITY CHANGE I have decided to play with fire, we will now be playing on an 'attacking' mentality. For me the cautious approach looked, and felt within the match engine as if it would result in us playing more passes in the final third, when compared to attacking. This is due to the players adopting a more risk aversive approach, which would see them not want to lose possession and therefore play more passes, looking for that perfect opportunity to score. I feel the more attacking approach will hopefully steer us more in the direction of the 'projection' brand. Yes, we might have more attacks, but these will likely to stem from a more direct progression phase, meaning fewer touches in the final third. I have also decided to change one of our midfield roles, switching from a BWM on support, to a Anchor on defend, with the view to reducing another body from entering the final third. Finally, an addition of a single player instruction (cross from deep) to our right sided (less creative) wing-back, has been added. This will instruct him to cross from deeper more often, again hopefully reducing the number of touches in the final third. RECRUITMENT As with any close of season, there is the opportunity to assess your playing squad, with the view to making the team stronger for the season ahead. This was certainly the case at Wolverhampton, whilst European qualification is great, the increased volume in fixtures could potentially place a significant burden on our playing squad. Fortunately, Wolves had a few assets on loan, and through the sale of a couple we managed to generate a whopping £63 million. Gonçalo Guedes secured a move to Al-Nassr Football Club, his departure smashed the club fee for a sale, historically held by Diogo Jota, moving to Liverpool for £42 million back in 2020. A good piece of business, given the 27 year old hadn't played for Wolves since 2022/23. The other player to leave the club for a notable fee was Daniel Podence with Olympiacos taking up the option to buy in his loan contract (£4.3 million). Tommy Doyle made 26 appearances for the club across the season. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that we made the decision to sign the 23 year old on a permanent basis from Manchester City. We were able to agree a deal for £2 million with City, despite him having an option to buy for close to five. The main signing was that of Lamine Camara the 20 yar old joining from FC Metz for a structured deal totalling £22 million (£8m upfront, with a further £7m in 2025, £3.5m in 2026, and £3.5 in 2027). Possession won 13.66 Tackles won 2.47 Pressures attempted 11 Expected assists 0.29 Camara was again cherry picked based on his statistical outputs, his determination, work rate and commitment shine through, along with his ability to pick out a team mate, making him the perfect long-term replacement for Mario Lemina in the role of the Segundo Volante. Four further signings were made, bringing in some younger players to the club, with eyes set on the future. Bastien Meupiyou - the 18 year old, left-sided centre back was stripped from Nantes 2 for £3 million. Capped at U20 level for France, Bastien is an exciting young prospect who isn't far from first team level. Efe Korkut - the 18 year old Turkish midfielder joins from Stuttgart for £500k. Unlike Bastien, Efe will be loaned out to affiliate side Grasshoppers to continue his development, he is showing early signs of being a useful signing for the future. Noha Lemina - the younger brother of Mario, Noha was signed on a permanent deal from PSG for £350k. Similarly to Efe, Noha will continue his development out on loan, his first step in his journey to the first team begins with League One Preston North End. Moisés Ramírez - the 24 year old was signed for £2 million from Ecuadorian side Club Independiente del Valle. Moisés is currently the national team 'Number 1' and will join Wolves in June 2025, after the decision was made to defer his signing until the end of the next season. THE RETURN OF THE LONE WOLF THE TERM "LONE WOLF" DESCRIBES A PACK WOLF THAT HAPPENS TO TEMPORARILY BE TRAVELING ALONE, WHICH IS OFTEN THE CASE DURING SUMMER, OR ONE THAT HAS DISPERSED FROM ITS NATAL PACK. After his departure from Molineux, there was a surprise candidate in the applications for an additional coaching spot, allocated by the Board at the close of season. Gary O'Neil had been unemployed for over a year, and clearly wanted to get himself back involved in the game. I immediately offered him a contract, the position, my number two. A determined individual, with exceptional motivational skills, along with a strong tactical knowledge. The recruitment of the 41 year old was a no brainer, especially when considering his preffered formation matches our own. Welcome back Gary. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w_x Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Lovely stuff. Very funny to imagine a manager coming back as an assistant Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 @w_x he applied as a coach! The fact he was willing to even drop his expectations to that vacancy was beyond me! I just had to offer him the assistants role. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langhy101 Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 Great thread @SteinkelssonFM, really enjoyed reading that. Looking forward to further updates 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Hopefully the next update should be with you all after the Easter break. I have some annual leave booked in to spend some time with the family, so will endeavour to get another post out. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayvanmond Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 @SteinkelssonFM This thread, excuse the pun, is absolute gold. The best thing on SI forum. Eagerly anticipating your next update. All the best fella Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
felley Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Really enjoying this thread and I think you're on to something with the "Attacking" mentality. "Projection" can obviously be interpreted as sit deep and play on the counter but for my money "Attacking" in FM has always produced the best transitional football as your players commit gung ho to every counter. Sure, it's risky, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caco4003 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Really enjoying this thread. Wouldnt make more sense for your tactic to regroup instead of counter press? Since you are playing with a mid block and a lower defensive line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 @caco4003 I made the conscious decision to avoid regroup, in my opinion this TI is too passive, and could result in us taking on a little too much pressure. I think if I did anything, I would simply leave this blank, enabling the players to do as they please within the ME, this is a tried and tested approach that worked well in my Ajax save as the counter press option left us vulnerable in transition, with players moving out of their shape to attempt a pressure. WIth this set up I have tried to negate that with a narrow width, making us more compact and improving the defensive efficiency, which is working well. Let's not forget, I am not trying to build a side which is happy to simply lie down and take it, we need to be competitive in the ME and we all know that will mean being aggressive somewhere. I just need to be in that top left quadrant, not the extreme end of it. @felley @rayvanmond thanks for dropping a comment, you will be pleased to know that I have just finished season 2 so need to get started on another update, one after my next one labelled Attack, Attack! Without giving too much away, we are making positive movements with regard to the ultimate goal. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strikerir1 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 I know this adds nothing to the discussion but may i ask what skin are you using, it seems your are using mustermann's skin but you have nomeric attributes how? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 (edited) @Strikerir1 Edited March 29 by SteinkelssonFM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SteinkelssonFM Posted March 29 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 29 (edited) As I immerse myself deeper into the intricacies of Football Manager 2024, this Wolves: The Renaissance save offers a canvas for tactical experimentation and strategic refinement. In this mid-season analysis of the 2024/25 campaign, I embark on a journey of tactical exploration and player evaluation, driven by the relentless pursuit of success, playing with a 'Projection' style of attacking football. With each adjustment to our approach, from defensive solidity to attacking ingenuity, I unravel the complex tapestry of football tactics, seeking the optimal formula for victory. Join me as we dissect match data, scrutinise player performances, and navigate the winding path towards footballing excellence. Once again we find ourselves significantly performing above our expected points position (8th), by securing an additional 10 points. Again, we have our defensive to thank, rather than our attacking ability. We find ourselves ranked 2nd in the Premier League with regards to goals conceded (15), one more than leaders Manchester City. Our only defeat has come on the road to West Ham, whilst all draws have come against sides in the top-half of he table, with the exception of Ipswich. Drawing a comparison against the mid-point from last season, we are currently 5 points worse off, having drawn seven more times, although last year we had already suffered four defeats, compared to just one this campaign. With regards to our form at both ends of the pitch we have scored two less goals this season, and have also conceded one less. The above findings will lead me to explore the changes which I made at the back end of last season, opting to play a more attacking mentality, which I will cover in the next section of the update. a comprehensive list of our results, and goal scorers can be viewed here. I have had a few requests from within the Football Manager community to share the tactic which I have been documenting in my Wolves: The Renaissance save. For those of you that aren't as submerged in the save as I am, above is the baseline 'balanced' mentality tactic, along with the 'attacking' mentality variation, used for first half of the 2024/25 campaign. A NIGHT TO REMEMBER AT MOLINEUX In a night etched with brilliance at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton Wanderers scripted a fairy tale by dismantling Real Madrid with a resounding 4-1 victory. Against the backdrop of the iconic venue, Wolves delivered a performance that transcended expectations and captivated the footballing world. Closing the game with only 39% possession, Wolves demonstrated unwavering resolve and tactical prowess, showing just how effective this brand of attacking football can be. Wolves completed 64 final third passes, compared to Ream Madrid's 102, yet somehow had more shots on target, a greater xG, and more clear cut chances. As the final whistle echoed through the stadium, Molineux erupted in euphoria, as fans rejoiced in the glory of a historic triumph. It was more than just a football match; it was a night to remember, a celebration of resilience, skill, and the indomitable spirit of Wolverhampton Wanderers. A night which could shape the future of how attacking football is played across the globe. HEADLINE ANALYSIS This section will be used to explore if our change in mentality has helped Wolves to align more closely to the 'Projection' attacking style. I have taken data from the season one mid-point to compare with the season two mid-point, which will enable me to make an informed decision on what mentality to lock-in, before applying another variable to our game model. The above is a selection of visualisations which have been cherry picked from the 'team Performance' section of the Data Hub. Whilst there are a few marginal changes, the outputs are fairly similar. Defensive efficiency - opponents are taking more shots with attacking, but have a similar conversion rate. Attacking efficiency - we are taking more shots with an attacking mentality and have a better conversion rate. Defensive actions - 13% in opponents half (balanced), 14% with attacking. Possession gained - 19% in opponents half (balanced), 21% with attacking. Passes attempted - 16% in the final third for both. Possession lost - 37% in the final third for both. I wanted to take my analysis one stage further, comparing some statistics from within the team detailed tab within the game. Interestingly we hold the same percentage of possession under each mentality (52%) The balanced mentality is leading to an increase in shot quality, with the balanced mentality averaging 0.126 xG per shot, compared to 0.123 per shot (attacking). We are completing 4.8% more passes using an attacking mentality, likely to be associated with the increased tempo which this mentality brings. We have conceding 1.54 more xG across the 19 games playing with an attacking mentality. Most importantly we are making less final third passes playing balanced, and allowing the opponent to have more final third passes. For me, the last point makes the most noise, we are actually moving away from a 'projection' attacking style. This paired with the fact that we have both created more expected goals, and conceded less playing balanced, confirms that I will need to revert back to the base 'balanced' tactic and make further changes. Deep down, I know that our biggest Achilles heel with regards to achieving our goal is our team fluidity, having the players progress up the field as a collective is leading to more passing lanes, helping us to complete more passes in the attacking third. However, I have a soft spot for this pack like mentality, and will strive to achieve a 'projection' attacking brand with a fluid team, at minimum. For the final part of season two, I will make one simple change to our team instruction, to play with a low block line of engagement. The lower line of engagement instructs players to wait until the opposition come towards them before engaging them in a pressing game, by decreasing our line of engagement I am theoretically enabling our opponent to progress the ball further up the pitch without pressure. This hopefully will result in them increasing their volume of passes in our final third. I will also change our wide centre-back from a support duty, to defend. This will mean that the trio of defenders will have a defensive mentality, with the role still offering support in wide areas at times. However, less likely to overlap or underlap, again reducing a body in the final third. For those of you who have been following along with this thread/save, I am keen for you to throw a few of your suggestions my way, what would you do to help achieve the Holy Grail, and more importantly, why? PLAYER ANALYSIS In this section, I have opted to document how the tactical changes have impacted the outputs at player level. This will hopefully provide us all with an understanding of how changes to roles, team instructions, and player instructions, have on outputs within the match engine. João Gomes was switched from a ball winning midfielder to a more static role in that of the anchor. A role which doesn't venture too far from its position, rather than one which aims to win the ball back higher up the pitch. This is clearly visible in the change in expected assists metric, as the anchor role comes with hard coded player instructions of hold position, take fewer risks, and dribble less. Interestingly, the Brazilian is more effective defensively playing in a role which is on a defend duty, with him winning more possession, winning a greater volume of tackles, and headers. Rayan Aït-Nouri - despite no changes to the Algerian's role/player instructions, you can see from the below that his outputs were impacted. This stems from the above changes to João Gomes, as the Brazilian moved from a support role, to a more static one, offering less support to Rayan as play progressed. This is reflected on wing back progressing more passes, and conducting more dribbles, as the player has taken a greater responsibility to advance play. Interestingly, without a close supporting player centrally, Rayan has taken more shots, accumulating a higher xG, and scored more goals. Finally, looking into the outputs of Nélson Semedo who had the player instruction of cross from deeper added. The Portuguese wing-back's expected assists have exploded, along with him winning more tackles, likely to be due to staying a little deeper at times. It is also worth noting that bringing Saša Kalajdžić back into the team after his loan in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt, has been another variant to this data. At 6'7, and possessing a jumping reach attribute of 18, and heading 16, certainly has added a new dynamic to our attack. RECRUITMENT I am enjoying the data driven recruitment approach to this save, in my opinion this approach, especially if exporting data manually, will lead to you finding a greater breadth, and depth of player, in your Football Manager saves. Leading you a little of the beaten track, and away from the frequent names which I am certain the AI regurgitates. Anyhow, todays subject is Craig Dawson, as an experienced member of the squad, with only a further one-year left on his contract (an additional year if 20 games are played), it is time to bring in a player who will be happy to initially share playing time with the veteran for what could well be his final year as a Wolves player. Exploring Craig's pizza chart from this current season, you can see that whilst playing a key role in our defensive trio, the 33 year old isn't exactly racking up any outstanding outputs. He is winning the majority of his aerial duels (75%), has a good pass completion (93%), and is effective at not losing the ball. Continuing the norm, the numbers are punched into the system, and we sit and watch our scouted players list deteriorate. The outputs with high recommendation values threw out a good mix of names. However, there were only a few players within this list that would be keen to sign without a starting role. Oh, and we were priced out of a move for the highest rated defender Alessandro Buongiorno, of Torino. Two really caught my eye, Oumar Solet,, and Adamo Nagalo. With both players good in the air, and tackle. Given I have already signed Nagalo, in my previous save with Ajax, I was always going o lean towards the Frenchman. Oumar Solet, also has delivered more progressive passes and has a higher blocks per 90 metric. This paired with the fact that the Austrian Bundesliga holds a higher reputation than the Danish Superliga, means that Oumar should make a more fluid transition to the Premier League. Along with Solet, there are two more players who have signed contracts with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Madi Monamay - the 19 year old was signed and immediately loaned out to Championship side QPR. He is an exciting young prospect who isn't too far from first team level. Therefore, the challenge of playing in such a fiercely competitive league will be great for his development. Pedro Malheiro - with Matt Doherty going into his final year of his Wolves contract, we needed to think of a contingency plan. Along came Pedro, the 24 year old's contract was expiring with Boavista, making him an attractive option, adding another Portuguese player to the ranks at the club. Thanks for taking the time to read todays update, if you've opt to download the tactics, please keep me posted on their effectiveness within your save, I am always keen to see how others find my work, and what sides you have trialled them with. The next update will be the 2024/25 season review, which I will start to work on now, and should hopefully be with you all very soon. Edited March 29 by SteinkelssonFM Uploaded the correct default 'balanced' tactic 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caco4003 Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 A joy to read as always, i have a few questions regarding your tactical changes. I´ve noticed in the balanced version you reverted the Anchor role back to a BWM, was that to achieve the fuild structure? And i also noticed you cahnged to regroup instead of counter press despite saying it was too pasive at times, what changed? Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 (edited) @caco4003 school boy error from me, I uploaded the wrong default tactic file, this has been changed to reflect the correct 'balanced' mentality game model. As for the move away from the Anchor, you are indeed correct, this has been done to ensure we keep a fluid structure. Spoiler However, saying that I am just working my way through quite a few games from the tail end of season two and need to put the shackles on the wing-backs who are the main culprits for accumulating a large number of passes in the final-third. This is expected, given they are our main outlet and provide the attacking width, but if I am to achieve the goal of this save - I may well need to bite the bullet and adopt a flexible or structured system. Edited March 29 by SteinkelssonFM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc577 Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 5 hours ago, SteinkelssonFM said: For those of you who have been following along with this thread/save, I am keen for you to throw a few of your suggestions my way, what would you do to help achieve the Holy Grail, and more importantly, why? As I am attempting to achieve the same 'Holy Grail' in my Torino save too, I have some ideas of my own which I'd love to get your thoughts on, as well as some musings on your current tactic. Musings With the goal of achieving less passes in the opposition's final third, I wonder how big (or small) an impact removing counter-press would have? There will be times where you'll lose the ball high up the pitch, win it back, and start playing again from there. Could be something to consider. Very Fluid/Fluid team shapes could actually be working against your end-goal, as support duties are more associative and risk-adverse, which could be leading to more patient, probing football. Also, to my understanding, team shape is purely a visual aspect now and doesn't not work how it did in previous FM's (which is a big loss in my opinion.) Removing Play Out of Defence could again decrease passes made in the final third, as you look to progress the ball quicker. Currently, I have this ticked off, and have instructed my GK to distribute to CB's, which seems to provide a nice medium. The change to a low block, low line of engagement is a nice idea, I have been considering this myself. My only reservation is that this might invite too much pressure, and might not be needed to achieve the 'Holy Grail'. I've been considering upping the passing directness to 'slightly more direct', which could be the the key to truly unlocking this style. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caco4003 Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 En 29/3/2024 a las 16:42, SteinkelssonFM dijo: @caco4003 school boy error from me, I uploaded the wrong default tactic file, this has been changed to reflect the correct 'balanced' mentality game model. As for the move away from the Anchor, you are indeed correct, this has been done to ensure we keep a fluid structure. Revelar contenido oculto However, saying that I am just working my way through quite a few games from the tail end of season two and need to put the shackles on the wing-backs who are the main culprits for accumulating a large number of passes in the final-third. This is expected, given they are our main outlet and provide the attacking width, but if I am to achieve the goal of this save - I may well need to bite the bullet and adopt a flexible or structured system. thanks for the answer, also if you want your wing bakcs to pass the ball less, wouldnt the ti "Hit early crosses" help with that? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteinkelssonFM Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 @jc577 thanks for taking the time to dd your 'Musings' very much appreciated. With the goal of achieving less passes in the opposition's final third, I wonder how big (or small) an impact removing counter-press would have? There will be times where you'll lose the ball high up the pitch, win it back, and start playing again from there. Could be something to consider. Whilst this is a valid point, along with the re-group option, I do enjoy having counter press selected. This I feel helps us to gain a little protection, placing a little pressure on the opponent, making it harder for them to counter, this is important as it gives time for our wing-backs and SV to get back in place. Also the initial tactic was my attempt of replicating Gary O'Neil's Wolves who currently have one of the highest (6) goal ending high turnovers. Very Fluid/Fluid team shapes could actually be working against your end-goal, as support duties are more associative and risk-adverse, which could be leading to more patient, probing football. Also, to my understanding, team shape is purely a visual aspect now and doesn't not work how it did in previous FM's (which is a big loss in my opinion.) You may have read that I am already exploring a 'flexible' or 'structured' team shape for season three, moving away from the 'fluid' pack. Removing Play Out of Defence could again decrease passes made in the final third, as you look to progress the ball quicker. Currently, I have this ticked off, and have instructed my GK to distribute to CB's, which seems to provide a nice medium. Interesting, something which is worthwhile exploring. @caco4003 not sure if you read the segment on Semedo (above), he has had this instruction applied, and actually ends up playing more passes (overall). Carrying out analytics on this, it is clear the increased volume in passes come in the progressive phase and not the final third. His deeper position (at times) make him an outlet for circulation. However, saying this both wing-backs have 'get further forward whenever possible' as a trait, which 100% is impacting their performances against the metrics. I have just defeated Inter (Pre-season) and our third goal was a beauty! 41% possession 42% ball share 69 final third passes vs 88 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
braddockmatt Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Really enjoying this ! Great work. im considering trying this out with an English lower league side. 1) do you think this style of play will work in the lower divisions? 2) obviously the quality of player wouldn’t be as good as your wolves side. And the complete forward role wouldn’t suit my lower league forward . What role would you suggest for me ? thanks 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medders Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 What a fantastic read! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carloshcorbalan Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 Very good article. Even so, link for tactic as developed by author, it would be good to try it original... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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