[I know what I want, but not how to get there]

A very interesting thread! In real life I was a fan of Giampaolo's work until he managed my Milan side. Oh God what a shambolic performances from us earlier this season! I still like his basic idea tho, and actually tried to formulate it with my Brentford side (first season) but encountered many problems you stated. 

 

Anyway I would like to give this another try, especially with the informations this thread gives! 

[FM20 Brentford Team Guide - The Bees Are Buzzing]

On 05/03/2020 at 01:02, Ronaldo Beckham said:

You could just pretend he aint there or you could either start again or save it now and then if you get taken over then just go back to the previous part of the save before the takeover happens.

 

19 hours ago, warlock said:

Probably not. I had takeover rumours all the way through the last 3 months of the 19/20 season and no bid was ever made. Don't think in-game Benham is likely to sell.

Yup, luckily it didn't get through. Just got a message telling me that Benham dismissed the rumour of him selling the club. And at the club panel information, the owner says 'Loves the club' after before stated that they're looking to sell Brentford. Enjoying my second summer so far! Will post update if there's any further interest or if I have some time 

[FM20 Brentford Team Guide - The Bees Are Buzzing]

Thankyou @Ronaldo Beckham

Yeah but it just doesn't feel really right without this Benham's moneyball etc  

[FM20 Brentford Team Guide - The Bees Are Buzzing]

So after picked up this game a month ago and read this thread several weeks ago, I decided to give it a go with Brentford because of the uniqueness approach this club has in real life. With the dominance of Denmark/Scandinavian feeling about this set-up, I even play as Daniel Agger, because why not right 

First season in Championship, it was really tough, had to change formations three time along the season, first 4-1-2-1-2 diamond, 4-1-4-1, then settled with 4-2-3-1; all with the same principle tho, just different combination. Because to make this save interesting, not only the recruitment that has philosophies, but I decided to install long term 'DNA' in our play style. Anyway, we managed to finish second, two points behind Fulham and a point ahead QPR (which were ahead of us before the final two games, they choke luckily!). I didn't expect a straight promotion in the first season, especially with our mid-season difficulties. 

Just to recap, this is what I did in the first season. Playing as Daniel Agger, I respect the staff without firing the key people like Philip Giles, Lee Sykes, and The assistant Brian Riemer. I even set the responsibilities for Phil Giles to initiate the transfer for our team and u23 team. Still I am the one who has final say about confirming the transfers though. This is what I did in first and second window. 

At the summer I signed :

• Benoit Badiashille for 3.1m. I thought he was a really great wonderkid. My scout recommended him and at that price I just thought about signing him eventhough I had four good centrebacks already (Pontus, Ennock, Janvier, Racic)
• Toni Herrero for loan, 1.2m option to buy. I was looking at the left back department and not really sure about the backup option, so I looked at the Brentford way and find a youngster who cost peanuts and could join us for a dry loan without spending initially. He developed well eventhough playing as our 3rd LB, majority because Rico Henry decided to take an injury that put him 5-6 months in the sideline. 
• Christian Ganea for 850k. A really bargain buy, I'm really proud at my scout. He was really good at the Championship level as a left wing back, and he was playing for our first team since Henry wasn't available for the majority of the season. 
• Halil - not interested, was signed before me
• Albert Lottin for 650k. 17 yo from Bordeaux and was really hyped by our scout. So I thought why not and decided to loan him back for the rest of the season. 
• Josh Harrop for dry loan. Someone that brought in 'just-in-case'. He was transfer listed by Preston so I asked for a loan and they accepted it. Nothing major for our season. 
• John Lundstram for 1.6m. With our midfield dominated by 'deep-lying-playmaker' like Mokotjo, Norgaard, Jenssen and the option for more dynamic mobile like Yearwood/Cole weren't really convinced me, I signed this FPL Lord by small fee and he played a key role for our midfield in 4231 alongside Norgaard. 
• Lovro Majer for 400k loan fee. This is Phil Giles masterclass, signed him on loan for six months and played in vital role for our resurgence. I don't think I would sign him permanently for Premier League though. 

So yeah, I finished second and the board stated that 37m ready to be spend for our mercato in the second summer. I am still on pre-season, and after clinching another deal for my contract (only a further one year tho ), I started the revolutionizing process of our staff. Phil Giles remain and I give him a further 3 year since I can't find a better DoF for my liking, so why not giving him the proper chance to take us to the next level. Chief Scout tho, I replaced him with Franco Torchia, along with five new scout that replace the old ones. The same with Chief Data Analyst, Physio, Sport Nutritionist etc. Also the man Brian Riemer I decided to not give him extension and signed Wolfgang Rolff as my ass-man instead. I also sign HoYD Bryan Klugg eventho I don't know what the use for Brentford. I make him responsible for our u18 team building (let him sign players etc).

So far so good, really enjoyed this save, and put a lot effort to make this save the real Brentford Way without spending any major fee for a player. THEN THIS HAPPEN 

 

I SWEAR I MADE THIS SAVE AS SIMILAR AS POSSIBLE WITH REAL LIFE IN DANIEL AGGER AND DANISH PLAYER AND MONEYBALL SIGNING ETC ONLY TO MAKE THE CLUB READY TO BE SOLD TO OTHER OWNER IN THE SPACE OF A YEAR 

Just hope it won't go through since if there is a new owner I just don't feel it 'right' to continue this save, I know it's a game but come on if u play FM you'll know what I mean.. 

[How do I get the build my team around the regista?]

That's what I'm doing at the moment, been frustated with the result so far ( at least for the last 2 days ). Same as me, I really enjoyed Pirlo show, especially in Italy NT for the last few years ( well you know the opinion of AC Milan fan for him ). Moreover, my favorite team always try to play with Regista in the last few years, unfortunately we don't have someone capable enough to do the job. Montolivo, Locatelli, Jose Sosa all technically capable in this role but was not good enough to lived up the expectations, that's why Lucas Biglia brought to the club. 

I tried 3331 formation, with 3 atb, 1 Regista, 2 Inverted Wingback to support midfield, 3 AM ready to launch direct run, and DLF to create space. The Regista played good, creating many long passes direct to the opponent final third, and he completed many of his passes that was key to our play. But the match results seems don't agree, as we lost more than we won. We also sloppy at the counter and that's not a big surprise. So, I decided to change shape with 433 DM, with 4atb, 1 Regista, 1 CM + 1 BBM, 2 IF, and 1 DLF. The results also no better. I'm trying to figure it out on my next save, as I did this experiment in my current save (Sporting CP) and maybe the players don't really suits this style of play, or I'm just looking for a better player for the regista role in the next window. William Carvalho did good, offers solidity, but he is not that creative. Ryan Gauld was really good and offer just as I want in the creative outlet, but defensive-wise, he is really weak physically and often got outstrenght.

 

I'm really hoping there's discussion regarding this thread. 

[Nuu Skin]

Great skin! the skin's player attributes are similar to Fahrenheit ( FM 12 )

thanks for upload mate!