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I took a bit of an extended break from FM, but now I'm back and continuing this save. I'll post a full update of the current season soon, but here is a teaser. Somehow we made it to the Europa League final. Not only that, but it happens to be hosted at the stadium where we've had to play our home games!

Took a deep dive through his fixtures to look to see what teams he has struggled against, not just this season but in previous years too. AC Milan have always fared well against his side and they play a narrow 4-1-2-1-2. Not really suited to my side outright but I gave it a go and while my side faded away (6-2 at full time which took the game to extra time) and it turned up results. Once Oli changed formations mid-match I struggled again and the goals dried up, if Osimhen had his goal in the 68th minute count I'd have gone through 7-6 on aggregate. As that fixture list shows though, I've fallen up short in every other fixture this season. Overcoming the might of the squad @oliscott has assembled is now almost a case of waiting them out to retire rather than being able to identify genuinely better players.

You're welcome, it's a pleasure 🫡

The streak..................Is over! So damn close to an unbeaten season in all competitions and after a 4-0 demolition in the first log I thought I had @santy001 number.

The positional play changes mean you can play a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 and have the players rotate forward in possession into a similar shape you have now. Take a read through here: Still looks like a tactic very influenced by Plug and Play ideals. Based on what you're saying you're looking for I'd try using IWB's on support roles in a 4-2-3-1 with a SV(s) in the middle of the park. That will give you a very progressive, possession oriented approach (similar to how Tottenham set up IRL). Other things to consider: If you want to maximize possession consider a Forward who doesn't run the channels like a PF(a). Whenever he makes such a run and is pick out the ball will turn over. A Poacher will chill in the box and let you move the opposition around while you find your moment. The other option would be to play with a Facilitating 9 Pass into Space TI doubles down on these turnovers. Stopper/Cover or double defend duty BPD will leave you high and dry (and conceding) less often. Traditional wingers on attack role can also be counterproductive to possession (although nice here for the width they give). Drop them to support roles and tinker with the PIs on them instead.

If you want to run a double IWB I'd consider using a 4-2-3-1 so you're less exposed on turnovers. IWB(S) + IWB(A) is going to ship a lot of goals in a 4-3-3.

Cheers, Stu. It has, indeed, been a good one

Hi everyone! In advance, sorry for the monologue. I've gotten fairly good at winning in FM, but not with tactics I like. I always end up with really uptempo stuff, or inside forwards running from deep, pressing machines, etc. I'm playing as Spurs in a new playthrough and wanted to do something a bit different. I want to choke the opposition on the edge of their own area for basically the whole game (and score enough for it to not draw or lose to the counter all the time). I've made decent progress, but I'm at a bit of a loss at this point. Against bad teams, we dominate (our avg. possession in our Europa League Group is not where I want it yet, but about 61% on average), although a lot of the goals we score are just "we're better than you" goals (headers from very wide crosses, set pieces, long shots, etc.). Every once in a while we score a maravilloso gol, but not often. Below is the setup I'm currently using, and even against the best teams in the Prem we hold around 50-52% possession with our strange 4-1-4-1, but we create nothing (also, I really want to aim for 70% even in the Prem overall eventually). Here are my concepts: I want my wingers to stretch the opposition, even deep into the final third, my striker to split their centerbacks and push them back, and have my attacking midfielders exploit the gaps in between them. The fullbacks dip into midfield to give me a 2-3-5 formation in attack, and make neat little triangles for circulation. My platonic ideal goal to score is basically (other than the chaos of quick circulation finding a pocket) moving the ball quickly from side to side and then the opposite side winger beating a man and either pulling back to an AM, or finding the ST or W through corridor of uncertainty. Slightly less preferred, and not sure I've seen someone be able to replicate in FM, is the de Bruyne to Sterling goal where a short cross is swung from the edge of the box onto the run of a winger (though in this case, I want my IWB to make this cross). Here is what I don't want, but am getting a lot of: floated crosses from wide, long shots from the edge of the box, a series of really ****** passes that give the opposition the ball. Would love to hear different thoughts/ideas! (Just to be clear, I know I am setting myself a handicap. There are a million easy ways to get this formation to dominate the premier league with worse players, I'm just bored of that. Also, no, the defense is not an issue, though I think it could get better if my players didn't just meander around and then give up and try to chuck a hopeless cross into the box. CBs on stopper to raise their mentality to cautious so they will pass the dreaded halfway line, not sure it's working though.) (Things I've noticed but am not sure are a problem: The striker is always deeper than the other four on average positions, the IWBs still overlap quite a bit which is odd, and often my players will just straight up turn down open passes (specifically to the AMs) who are in the gap between two defenders and could either make a run or draw defensive attention to send another player through)

An absolutely superb season domestically, @warlock. Congratulations

May 2027 The penultimate month of the season turned out to be a tough one, the price of success when you're still competing for multiple trophies. In the league we were imperious, pulling off a string of victories and, as already reported, lifting the Copa del Rey with a famous win against the might of Barcelona. In the Champions League things were a little tougher. Losing at home to PSG suggested our run was coming to an end but we dug deep and pulled off a remarkable 2-0 win in Paris to set up a semi-final against AC Milan. Even though we lost the away leg I was still somewhat confident we could get a result at home and we did, dominating the match and winning 2-1. Unfortunately, that meant the dreaded penalty shootout and we came up one kick short as Joao Rego pushed his attempt wide of the post: But we were still fighting for the LaLiga title. We opened the door to Real Madrid early in May with a disappointing draw against Valencia, followed by what was almost a title decider against Madrid, who at that point were two points ahead. Fortunately, we maintained our run of good results against the giants from the capital and beat them for the fourth time this season: That left us 1pt ahead but with a game in hand, which we won against Athletic of Bilbao with a storming performance. And before we played Sociedad Madrid suffered a defeat to Barcelona, which meant a draw in our next game would ensure we were champions. In the event, we did enough to pick up another win and claimed the title, and the league and cup double: With two games remaining we can also claim an invincible season: Sevilla and Valladolid will be the teams trying to deny us a monumental achievement.

Monday 21st July 2031 Lillestrøm (7th) v Viking (2nd) Eliteserien -- -- -- No, I'm not worried about complacency or anything like that. You saw the character and determination of the Viking players out there today, that collective desire to keep going to the end and not give in. All credit to Olof Mellberg, he has his Lillestrøm team playing with no fear and they look like there's no pressure on them. Björn Becker's long-range effort to give Lillestrøm a second minute lead was as good a goal as you'll see... and then, cheered on by the vast majority of the Åråsen Stadion crowd, Lillestrøm were very difficult to play against. We equalised through Lasse Nordås but then we lost concentration late in the first half and left Zian Flemming unmarked at the far post to score with a close range header. It was an unbelievable late comeback but that's what this Viking team is capable of. Going into added-on time at the end we were 1-2 down. Not only did we equalise on 90+3 minutes, but from Lillestrøm's kick-off, we pressed them, won back possession, and then attacked quickly and scored the winner. I must admit, despite the fact that we were creating far more chances than Lillestrøm, and testing their goalkeeper much more than they were working Jasper Torkildsen, things weren't looking good on 74 minutes when we lost Oscar Bobb with a knee problem. We rolled the dice and went for broke… and, fortunately for us, it worked. Although leaving it until 90+3 minutes for Lasse Nordås to equalise, and 90+4 minutes for Otto Rosengren to score the winner, wasn't good for my blood pressure. --

Just a story of my day I think I am about to get sacked for the first time this year, started a new save (unemployed) and ended up with Santa Eulalia in the Spanish Segunda Federacion (III) the team was not great but I was determined to try a low tempo system as im normally a scholar of the Klopp school of heavy metal football (a preference from real life not the meta choice) and despite loosing the 1st 3 games I was quite happy the team where playing well but just finding themselves unlucky or straight up out matched but we where getting into a rhythm and we hit a nice Yellow patch finally getting 2 points on the bored with 2 draws in games were we should of won but low moral and cohesion was clearly at play. The date was 18/2/24 and we where at home against top of the table Andratx and the system clicked, with in 15mins we where 3-0 up and finished the game 5-2 our first win and in style, we then had a draw against 4th place Lleida Esportiu and rounded February out with 6 points and only 2 points off getting out of the relegation zone. March has been the counter to this, 3 losses and not even much positive to see, my keepers (all 3) cant seem to save a shot all of them seeming to have hands made of liquid and suddenly my players have stopped marking players in the box the results all losses by 2+ goals, 3-1, 2-0 and finally a 4-1 and my job is Insecure with 6 games left and I don't think the team have another good run in them, Injuries have decided to hit hard and no ability to replace my weak keepers has cost us points but I noticed March has been miserable since about 7 first team players said "hay were going to explore our options at the end of our contract" since them NON of these players have managed over a 6.6, its really left me in the lurch. Our luck and lack of keeper ability has really been shown in the XG table where we are predicted 13th instead of 17th with 4 less goals than expected and a whopping +9 conceded! Despite this I wont be stopping the style of play I made this save for that reason but i am open to advise of feedback from any successful low tempo users, the tactic actually seems quite solid in game i just dont think i have the players

I've been using screenflow and filters a lot more. It can get tedious, but I am finding players my scouts should be finding, and some they wouldn't.

Yoooooo thanks man!

Preview -- -- Lillestrøm are doing very well following their promotion from OBOS-ligaen and are 7th in Eliteserien. We've prepared thoroughly and are ready to go to the Åråsen Stadion and do our best to try and win the match. Runar Norheim is ruled out after twisting his ankle in training but everybody else is available for selection. -- Expected Line-up

At 28 of May or something like that? You have selected all leagues at beginning? You can also send a mp in cmpt or talking to me in discord

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou March 2037 A 3-1 win against Aris Limassol in the first leg of the cup semi final allowed Clive to play a rotated squad in the second leg, that ended in a draw to see Geroskipou to their first ever Cypriot Cup Final. In the league, a tight 3-2 win against Nea Salamina was soured by a 3-1 loss against AEL in a game that they really should have won on paper. Table The gap was now at 4 points, although Geroskipou had a match in hand thanks to fixture congestion. A win would see them go within a point of top spot. Fixtures Alki was a winnable match. And if Geroskipou were serious about the title, Omonoia and APOEL were also must win games.

Thank you for your enthusiasm! I'm currently finalizing some details to ensure the best possible experience for players like you. While I don't have an exact release date just yet, rest assured that I'm working hard to bring this database to you as soon as possible. Keep an eye out for updates, and you'll be among the first to know when it's ready to play. Thank you for your patience, and get ready for an epic footballing adventure!

I mean that's just not true. CPU is everything in FM. How much is used of course will depend on how many leagues you have running and the detail level selected. Check out the benchmarking thread to see the difference a better CPU makes. RAM i've not overly sure on, FM seems to just use whatever you have. Not sure it actually impacts performance. Get yourself over to the benchmarking thread and run the tests. You could then take out a stick of RAM and see if it makes any difference. Even accounting for losing out on dual channel I doubt it will make too much difference. Happy to be proved wrong though Your test results would be greatly appreciated

I think my solution to this would be to make it harder to know a player's attributes. For example, if I scout a player for three matches and he doesn't score, how should I know that his finishing is a 15? If I never see him take a penalty, how should I know that his penalty rating is a 14? I've always found that aspect of the game to be inaccurate. There are certain physical skills that should should be able to get a good read on. Speed, strength, jumping, heading, passing, etc. Even most of the mentals. But in real life, a club doesn't really know what they have in a player 100% until they sign him and he starts training with the team and playing in games. Only them should the full scope of his abilities be known, I think. Either that, or you scout him for a full season, or most of it, and he scores 16 goals and you've got a pretty good idea that he's a good finisher. I think that would accomplish the goal of making scouting harder without needing the changes that have been made to recruitment focuses. I get around this in my saves by using the Just Skin Attributeless skin. But I'm tempted to go back to a skin that shows the attributes just because so few guys come through the recruitment focuses.

End of Transfer Window We made four more signings to round off the first window. Jordan Cropper joined as a backup right back from Cardiff Met Uni, also giving us a long throw option if required with his 17 long throws. Also in defence, we signed Noah Watson on loan from Dungannon, who can play centre back and left back. Our final two signings were made on deadline day - young midfielder Nick Burton on loan from Derby, and then in the final hours, we were still looking for a backup striker. The player of choice, having looked through possible loan options but not finding a suitable option, was Zack Clarke, who had become Llandudno's record goalscorer during my time at the club. He's not great for this level, but can hopefully do a job as a backup. After a win in our first game against Kerry, as well as a 4-0 thrashing of lower-league Tolka in the Munster Senior Cup, we lost the next two games and weren't really competitive in either. From the three goals scored in our league matches, two of them were from centre-backs and the other was an own goal, so the forward players aren't firing. It's looking like it could be a long and difficult season, despite being predicted to finish 5th by the media. However, the board's expectations are only to avoid finishing bottom of the league, so there should be no issues in terms of job security. I have coursework deadlines and an exam coming up so updates may be limited for the next week or so, but they'll be provided asap.

This game relies on the top leagues. And those teams there have a lot of resources - like scouts. In many countries. What about teams a few tiers lower? Or from smaller countries? Could there be a new way to "scout"? In this method team buys services from a scout or a scouting company. That scout or company has its list of counties it knows. For instance. A team from a smaller European country tries to find cheaper, but skilled players. In Africa there are a lot of them, and a lot of them want to come to Europe (bigger wages!). Team buys a service like this - send us four midfielders from country X for a try-out. They all must fit into our first eleven. Why this suggestion? I'm pretty sure that many smaller European teams don't have their own scouts in Africa. Still quite a lot of players come from there. So, there has to be a way to get "extra" scouting services. How much would it cost? Maybe double compared to using your own scout.

You could save yourself time and headaches if you download some already out there. Here's one for example. You could even study what they've done to help you understand what you need to do, if you want to just use your own version.

The time savings for a smaller db are outweighed by the competitiveness gained from having the right database size and loaded leagues. Unless absolutely necessary due to a terrible PC/laptop id always recommend having all the key European leagues loaded plus the top south American ones.

Hopefully so, I don't wanna be in this fourth tier any longer! As has been the same for every early season update, I come to you after 11 games which means we are into November during the game! I am glad to say, this is the best we've performed so far after 11 games, spending the big money has been worthwhile as the results have been fruitful! Whilst not being perfect, the results and the games have been pleasing. Even with the losses, the games have been good by us. It seems we're done being a poor team and this year we mean business. Despite scoring 28 goals in 11, unbelievably we're not the top scorers in the Group! The team we beat 4-2 Formentera they lead the Group with 30! So we're only two back at this stage but all the goals have led to positive results. This is where it all started to go wrong last season after a really good start. I gotta make sure that we don't fall into mediocrity again. All this good success has come at a price though! Last year we were spending around £550k a year on wages and were about 12th in the table spending wise. Now we've skyrocketed up. All this extra spending is putting a big strain on our finances though... We have a few players with a release clause of a milly, I maybe wouldn't mind one of them being triggered to clear our balance which will continue to dwindle, unfortunately. Until next time.