Aandy

Brilliant season there! Incredible work. Looking forward to hearing about how you get on going forwards

Just entering October in the 2025-26 season and so far am happy with progress. Success of the first season (FA and League Cups) hasn't been replicated, but we're an established top-4 team now playing our third consecutive season in the Champions League. Made it to the KOs last season after topping the league but lost to Real Madrid, this season's league run in a bit more tough facing the likes of Inter, Barcelona and Real Madrid (for the third time in 3 seasons). So far drew 1-1 to Inter at San Siro and beat Fenerbache 3-1 at home. League going well so far, top of the table unbeaten after 7 games with away victories against Arsenal and Chelsea under our belt. The Arsenal win was a real backs to the wall job, after going 2-0 ahead early on we spent the rest of the game repelling wave after wave of Arsenal attacks (Arsenal are to horrible to play against in these last couple of editions), eventually winning 2-1 after locking it down despite several late chances from the eternally busy Gabriel Jesus. My squad is largely based on a ragtag combination of rejects and cheap players. My record transfer is Eberechi Eze for £36m after he got relegated with Palace. Other notable transfers being Alexis Mac Allister for £21m (after Brighton got relegated), Conor Gallagher for £20m (Chelsea reject), Rodrygo for £33m (Real Madrid didn't want him), and Dominic Calvert-Lewin for £18m (Man City bought him, hated him, sold him). I've also bought in Endrick because that's the thing to do in FM23. He's currently out on loan. Other big name is probably Joao Pedro from Watford, who I got for £26m in the first window. I did get an unhappy Eduardo Camavinga on loan for the second half of last season. He couldn't displace Kamara at the base of my midfield and wasn't worth the £64m Real wanted to make the deal permanent. Players remaining from the starting squad are: Emi Martinez, Boubacar Kamara, Lucas Digne, Matty Cash, Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey, and Ollie Watkins. Ben Chrisene getting some opportunities as deep LB cover, and is developing nicely, but will never be more than backup. I feel the squad has all but reached it's limit now, if I want to progress further it's time to really open up the chequebook and bring in some real, expensive talent to propel us to that next level. The biggest concern I have is that of consistency. When everybody plays well we can beat anyone, but far too often I'm dragging my attacking players off with 30 minutes to go with <6.5 ratings and massively underperforming xG.

Good luck!

Oh it can definitely be done! There is no right way of playing this game and with the right players and instructions, any tactic can work! If you want to emulate Ranieri's Leicester you probably want to think about being quite cautious in your approach. They had extremely deep lines with two hulking no-nonsense centrebacks in Huth and Morgan. They had Kante sweeping up everything in front of the defence. Drinkwater was the progressive passer so there's your DLP. Okazaki was the defensive legs (pressing forward?) with deep and early direct balls for Vardy to run on to. Albrighton on the wing played as a very conventional winger but without the pace to take anyone on, so perhaps a winger on support? His crossing and long passing were both superb so that allowed him to side wide and fairly deep to rake those long passes in behind for Vardy. Mahrez was the wild card wasn't he on the left, cutting inside. Definitely inverted winger, maybe even starting a little pushed up in an AML position, with Fuchs behind him. It's notable that Leicester scored 67 league goals that season and 41 of those came from Vardy and Mahrez. In terms of basic positions I'd have: GK(D) RB - FB(S) DB - NCB(D) LB - WB(S) RM - W(S) CM(R) - DLP(S), or maybe a RPM DM(L) - BBM(D) LM - IW(A), or maybe pushed up to AML as I mentioned ST(R) - AF(A) ST(L) - PF(S) Instructions I'd probably consider: Cautious More direct passing Wide Pass into space Early crosses Low crosses Regroup Counter Low defensive line Mid-block

Have you looked at note the positions of players in the box who you would expect to receive these cut backs? Could be that your striker is marked meaning the pass isn't on, so the ball goes back to a player who is in space. Perhaps consider changing one of the IW to an IF, or the BBM to a CM on attack so that you have another body in the box and not leaving the striker so easily marked. I personally have not noticed this as being an issue in my game, so I don't think it's a match engine issue.

Probably reflect top-flight football IRL. You don't see 442 being used much at all these days as a DM double-pivot in a 4231 or tight midfield 3 in a 433 will leave your midfield outnumbered and after all, it is in midfield where games are won or lost. Also looking at your tactic I don't think your central midfield is very well balanced. You've got 2 DLPs on support which means you have two players doing the exact same job. DLPs will sit deeper but they aren't necessarily too focussed on protecting your back 4. If you do want to persist with a 442 perhaps consider changing one of your CMs to a defensive role. I notice you also have ASM as a winger, which is fine because he can fly, but you also have overlap right. Asking for the overlap doesn't necessarily do what you think it does; instead it instructs ASM to hold up the ball and wait for Trippier to bomb on, which he won't be doing so much as a FB on support. Maybe consider getting rid of the overlap and allowing ASM to do his thing down that flank.

I don't know if I'm just being an idiot, but in FM22 there was a setting to automatically make members of the first team squad who were not match fit available for U21 matches. I can't seem to find it this year and I keep for getting to manually make players available!

I think you may struggle to find penetration here with those two conservative full backs. Maybe consider making the FB behind the IW a WB so they can get forward and offer some width on that side?

I go relatively straightforward. If I've got a game within 4 days or so I'll rest every player with <60% condition for a day, maybe two days if I'm concerned that I might not have sufficient cover if anyone isn't fully recovered. If I get the message saying that a player is jaded and in need of a rest, I'll play them at least once. If they still perform well then I am happy that that fatigue isn't having a negative impact on their level of performance, and keep playing them until I feel there is an easy enough game to allow them a week or so rest.

I started off with my tried and tested 4-2-4 that served me so well near the end of my 15 year career in FM21. Got some good success winning both domestic cups and finishing 4th in the league in the first season but was absolutely embarrassed in the Champions League group stages in the second season. I changed it up then to the out-of-the-box trio of (433DM) control possession as standrd, with gegen when struggling and park the bus when absolutely needing to hold. Reasonable success but so often had to go gegen to get anything. I don't want to have to go gegen all the time. So last night I was watching some RDF stuff on Youtube and saw one of his videos about an effective 4-2-3-1 mid-block and I'm really enjoying it. It's plugged in quite nicely with my Villa team though I am going to try out one tweak, removing 'get stuck in' as games tend to go one of two ways: we either dominate with no issues, or we don't and pick up >6 yellow cards. One thing I believe for certain this year is that pressing forwards are essential.

I've noticed this somewhat. ~6.8s are routine, but I'd say every other game one of my CBs will register a 6.5 at best. I think one reason behind that for me anyway, is the fact I want to play out the back and my defenders don't have >18 first touch, technique & composure.

I experienced some success in S1 (finished 4th; won FA and League Cups) so this is likely boosted by that but I got around £50m and made it up to just over £70m by getting rid of some of the loan returnees and a couple of non-first teamers who were moaning.

Yes I'd say that the second tactic with CMs would definitely offer more going forwards because whilst the segundo volente/dlp combo is probably as close as you'll get to the real-life double-pivot, you don't really have anybody anywhere near them in midfield. You've got an SS in the AM role and their main focus will be to get in to goalscoring positions. You've also got the SS and AF who I would suspect are both trying to do the same thing and perhaps getting in each other's way? The DLF there is a good compromise but they'll not drop back deep enough to fit that gap. So you've essentially got no central penetration; your entire attacking outlet is via the wings and unless you're playing with a big mean brute of a target man you probably won't get too many chances as the opposition will quickly figure you out and restrict your wing play. Looking at your shape I would assume you are playing for counter attacks, yet your instructions to play out from defence would slow down your chances of those lightning quick breaks. Moving the defensive midfielders to CM, and with a box to box, really opens up your central penetration as they will drive forward and occupy the space left by your SS whilst they are concentrating of getting into goalscoring positions. I'm by no means a tactical expert. I would keep the 2nd tactic, but change the SS to an AM on attack, perhaps even an AP. I wouldn't worry too much about having two playmakers, they should be far enough apart that they wouldn't get in each other's way, in fact they could complement each other quite well with the DLP dictating play from deep and the AP picking that final killer ball. Thinking about it, the BBM might not even be too necessary in this set up. The role of the BBM is to offer a bit of everything; getting back to defend and contributing to the attack, but with a DLP who will naturally sit deep and 3 central defenders I think you've got a lot of bodies back there. Perhaps consider changing the BBM to a CM on support; that way they'll be a bit more positionally disciplined and more of a link between the DLP and your AM.

Interesting points re: 3 and 4 just after conceding. I didn't think before about adjusting based on current pattern of play. I'll consider that for sure. My usual approach is to spam the magic 'Encourage' button and hope for the best. If it's >55 minutes I'll sub off any attacking players with a rating of <6.8, After then I'll just generally shout at my laptop a bit and hope that my tried and tested tactic will shine through. Quite literally the definition of insanity but that's just how I roll.

Having just finished my first season in the Premier League I've noticed that pressing forwards are extremely effective in this game. To the point of being too effective. Both Raul Jimenez (Wolves) and Jamie Vardy (Leicester) scored ~30 league goals as lone PFs in season one. I'm Villa and Ollie Watkins netted around 25 but as part of a front 2 so the responsibility was shared - presumably his tally would have been higher if he was lone. Has anybody else noticed this in their games or is this just a funny isolated quirk?

Noticed there's not been a Villa thread for a while. Come on, people!! ASTON VILLA FC HISTORY Aston Villa was founded in 1874 by four cricket players from nearby Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel (Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and Walter Scattergood) because there were very few other local football teams and they wanted something to do during the winter break. Playing their first game with one half under rugby rules and the second half under association rules due to a lack of association football competition, Hughes et al beat Aston Brook St Mary's 1-0. Fast forward two years and a young Scot by the name of George Ramsay came across the lads playing a practice game and asked to be involved. Turns out Ramsay was pretty handy, displaying close control and a tactical nous the likes nobody had seen before in the city. With Ramsay in the side, Aston Villa quickly became a dominant force in the Midlands and capped the early days off by lifting the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1880, and going on to win in 9 out of the next 12 seasons. In 1888, under the stewardship of club president William McGregor, Aston Villa became one of the founding members of the Football League. With Ramsay at the helm, Villa dominated the primordial days of the Football League winning the first five First Division titles and winning 3 FA Cups before the turn of the century. With the growth of popularity of the sport however, competition became more fierce but Villa were able to win another First Division title and 2 FA Cups before the outbreak of WW1. Post-WW1 Villa were able to secure a sixth FA Cup in 1919-20 but this proved to be the final piece of silverware for almost 40 years, during which time Villa were relegated to the Second Division. Despite this, and guided by a Peter McPartland double (and a full-on KO of the Utd keeper), Villa lifted the FA Cup in 1956-57 with a 2-1 victory over Manchester Utd's 'Busby Babes'. This FA Cup win was followed by victory in the inaugural League Cup final in 1960-61, with a 3-2 victory over Rotherham. And then another dark age. 1970 saw another relegation, this time to the Third Division. Fortunately that only lasted one season, with promotion back to the Second Division in 1971 and a new managerial appoinment: Ron Saunders. Saunders revolutionised the club and within four years had Villa back in the First Division and in Europe, with another League Cup along the way for good measure. The club went from strength to strength, eventually winning the First Division title in 1980-81 (71 years after the last title) and, most memorably, winning the European Cup in 1982 with a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam with that goal from Peter Withe (the commentary "Shaw, Williams prepared to adventure down the left. There's a good ball played in for Tony Morley... Oh, it must be! And it is! PETER WITHE!" is immortalised on the North Stand of Villa Park). The next season saw Villa win the European Super Cup, beating Barcelona 3-1 on aggregate. But financial difficulties saw significant upheval with much of the coaching staff, including Saunders, leaving the club. Villa were relegated again in 1987. But this relegation didn't last so long as the team, managed by Graham Taylor, came back up at the first time of asking to finish 2nd in the First Division in 1989-90, before Taylor left to become a turnip. 1992 saw Sky's invention of football and the introduction of the Premier League, and Villa became one of three clubs to be both founding members of the Football League in 1888 and Premier League. A 2nd place finish in that first season was unfortunately the highlight of the club's time in the Premier League, and despite League Cup wins in 1994 (3-1 win over Man Utd) and 1996 (3-0 win over Leeds), and some seasons of excitement under the management of Martin O'Neill where Villa nearly broke into the top-4, Villa were eventually relegated to the Championship in 2016 after 23 years in the Premier League. Fortunately, the Championship dark age only lasted 3 years and Villa were promoted via the playoffs in 2018. Villa were back in the big time and with optimism for the future with star player Jack Grealish, managed by One Of Our Own Dean Smith, and with financial support from new billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. Sadly this early optimism didn't come to fruition, with Grealish moving to Man City for a record £100m in the summer of 2021 to be replaced by scattergun purchases of out-and-out striker Danny Ings, left winger Leon Bailey, and right-sided playmaker Emi Buendia. Smith was unable to get a song out of his new attacking line up and his dismissal came just 11 games into the 2021-22 season following 7 defeats in the first 11 games, including a run of 5 consecutive defeats. Smith was replaced by Steven Gerrard and the less said about him the better. And that brings us today, with Villa truly one of English football's sleeping giants. We have the stadium, we have the finance, we have the players; we just haven't had the right person to bring it all together. Until you. STATS Highest league position: Pre-Premier League: First Division Champions (1893-94, 1895-96, 1986-97, 1989-99, 1899-1900, 1909-10, 1980-81) Post-Premier League: 2nd place (1992/93) Domestic trophies: FA Cup winners (1886-87, 1894-95, 1896-97, 1904-05, 1912-13, 1919-20, 1956-57) League Cup winners (1960-61, 1974-75, 1976-77, 1993-94, 1995-96) European trophies: European Cup winners (1981-82) European Super Cup (1981-82) Players: Most appearances: Charlie Aitken (660) Top goalscorer: Billy Walker (244) Facilities: Stadium: Villa Park, Birmingham (capacity: 42,785) Stadium development potential: Yes Secondary / U21 stadium: Bescott Stadium, Walsall Training ground: Bodymoor Heath Rivals: Birmingham City (fierce local) West Bromwich Album (local) Wolverhampton Wanderers (local) Board: Owners: Nassef Sawiris, Wes Edens Chief Exec: Christian Purslow PLAYING STAFF Villa have a pretty big squad and not without quality, though with a lot of utility players and a reasonable amount of players who you'd expect to not feature beyond the first season at least. There's a very definite first XI, with some good cover, but beyond that you're really going to want to improve if you want to progress beyond season 2. Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Robin Olsen, Jed Steer Defenders: Matty Cash, Calum Chambers, Fred Guilbert, Lucas Digne, Ludwig Augustinsson*, Ashley Young, Tyrone Mings, Diego Carlos, Ezri Konsa, Jan Bednarek* Midfielders: Boubacar Kamara, Marvelous Nakamba, Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Leander Dendoncker, Jacob Ramsey, Emiliano Buendia Forwards: Ollie Watkins, Danny Ings, Cameron Archer, Philippe Coutinho, Leon Bailey (*denotes player in on loan) Short-term focus: First thing you're going to want to do is look at the backroom staff. which really is nowhere near good enough to reach the minimum 4-star ratings you want to see in this league. So spend some time doing that. There's more than enough in the wage budget to pick up enough good coaches to get at least 4's across the borad on the training pitch. Ditto the recruitment team, you're going to want to invest a lot in good scouts. Next on to your tactics. I'd say the back line more or less picks itself. Whether you want to play Konsa or Bednarek is your choice but there's not much to choose between them. Midfield again is your call, Sanson is there as a relatively decent DLP, but I'd suggest sticking with the more robust combination of McGinn and Luiz. Dendoncker is there too; all three of those CMs will offer you a 3* rating in almost every central midfield role, depending on how you want to play. Attack is where it gets a bit more tasty, as inevitably one player is going to get left out. You could have conventional wingers with Bailey and Buendia on the left and right respectively, or you could have inverted wingers with Watkins on the left and Bailey cutting in from the right. If you like a no.10 then you could do worse than sticking Coutinho in there. We've got Danny Ings as striker, one of the best natural finishers going, but I personally enjoy having the combination of Watkins as a pressing forward alongside Ings as an advanced forward. But of course this is entirely your call! I'd say there are plenty of players in the squad who you could look at offloading in the first window to improve the coffers. Depending on how you play Nakamba, Sanson, and Guilbert can all be sold for reasonable money early on. I'd say there is enough cover in defence, so if you're feeling brave you could cut Bednarek's loan short and save another £60k p/w in wages. Mid-term focus: Your top priority should be to bring in cover for Digne. You'll have Augustinsson in the first season but his loan deal will end in June 2023. It's well worth keeping Augustinsson because his loan deal doesn't include wages, so it's a win-win. I'd also recommend looking at an improvement at RB. Cash is fine, but can be improved. Chambers I don't think is good enough to stay beyond season 1 so should be sold if you deem necessary. In the summer of 2023 you'll get a few sellable assets back from loan: Davis, Wesley, Traore, and Hause should all be moved on. I'm sure you can get a few million for them, and it'll free up around £185k p/w in wages. You'll also see the return of some reasonable young players: Philogene-Bidance, A. Ramsey, Hayden, Sinisalo and Chrisene could all provide reasonable deep cover from the U21s if you choose not to loan them out again. Omari Kellyman, Josh Feeney, Rory Wilson and Tim Iroegbunam are all young players with good potential who should be nurtured. Long-term focus: WORLD DOMINATION So that's it. Welcome to Villa Park! UP THE VILLA!

Funnily enough this is exactly why I prefer FM over any other football video game. I really don't enjoy playing a game like FIFA where my own inadequate skill using the controller and different inputs will directly impact the performance of a player who should otherwise be world class. Much prefer screaming at an AI controlled pixel rather than admit my own inadequacies

The game always needs a little tweaking at first, doesn't it? Whatever happens I'm just playing as much as possible early on because right now my Villa team is flying and I want to make the most of it before any inadvertent exploits my tactic has found are wiped out!