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warlock

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warlock last won the day on March 2

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  1. Tough loss against Bodo/Glimt, but a good bounceback win to follow. As Sir Alex used to say, never lose two in a row
  2. Thanks buddy! It did take a while to figure out what was (probably) happening, even though it's quite the forum meme at this point. There's so much happening in the game that it's hard to keep track of everything.
  3. Everything's coming up roses at the moment. Although it needs to... looks like Valerenga are going to be snapping at your heels every step of the way.
  4. It is. It wasn't set up to prioritise possession but we often enjoy 60-65% in games while still carrying a good threat going forward. Most of the changes over the season have been to give us better options in attack, especially against parked buses.
  5. Sinners & Saints January 2028 Tactical interlude We haven't talked tactics for a while and there has been a shift in approach since last season. Nothing major, but a number of small changes. We began the season by dropping the wide AMs back to wide central midfield, both to make us more defensively solid and to provide a base for a consistent counter attack in a 4411 shape with two flat lines of four. That shape generally worked well but against better teams we were exposed in defence, so I then dropped the two CMs to a double-pivot in defensive midfield. That in turn made us more resolute in defence but often lacking a bit of attacking strength. So I pushed the wide midfielders back up to the AM line in a 42dm31 shape. All of these systems used a balanced mentality, and a counter-attacking approach that made sense given our pre-season prediction of a finish just above the halfway position. By the beginning of December, when we were leading the league, I had a sense that our opponents were paying us more respect and were less likely to push forward against us. This often nullified our strategy of sitting slightly deep, luring them out, and hitting balls in behind their midfield. I considered a number of changes, some more radical than others, and then decided that we were actually one of the better teams in the league, were defending champions, and we should start to play like it. That resulted in this system, which we're still using: From the beginning of the season to now, the key changes are a switch to 'positive' mentality for most games; the move of the DMR to CMR (largely because Veloso is an excellent player but can't play DM while Sforza is equally adept at both); and the use of both wide AMs in a support duty, which encourages them to drop back and defend in the 4411 shape. Much of the credit for all of these tactical systems must go to @crusadertsar and his excellent thread here: It's worth noting, I think, the low level of intensity in this tactic. I still have to give everyone 2 days off from training after every game - I have no idea how anyone can use a full-on gegenpress system and not suffer the consequences. And here's how the squad shapes up in this system:
  6. Sinners & Saints January 2028 Transfer window The window turned out to be a bit of a non-event. A couple of youngsters - including the not-so-young Shea Charles - left on loan and we made no incoming signings whatsoever. I was open to signing a replacement for Charles but decided that we didn't need to I was equally willing to entertain moves for improved backups at either AMR or AML or to bring in a third-choice striker. The problem was meeting registration requirements as it was almost certain that any new signing would mean someone missing out on European football. There was also the fact that anyone who could have improved us was likely to break my self-imposed wage structure. Our wage bill has risen rapidly in recent seasons and is now at around £2m per week. That still only puts us mid-table for player wages in the Premier League but we're also at a point where we're breaking even year-on-year and I'd have to see sustained European success before I'd be happy to go much higher. We did have to fend off a couple of offers. The rumoured Saudi interest never materialised but we had two significant offers from Man Utd. The first was for LCB Lorenzo Pirola, for an initial £31m rising to a potential £49m. Happily, the player wasn't interested in the move and we could safely reject the offer. The second was slightly trickier as United came in again, this time for RB Filippo Missori, technically our backup but with first-choice Elias Jelert still out with injury I was extremely reluctant to see him leave. So I rejected the bid and we then did the "what's a fair offer" dance. We settled on £37m (a good upgrade on United's £30m offer) and no further bid was received. And so to the football: It was another brute of a month but also another excellent set of results and performances. The only game we failed to win was our final qualifying game in the Champions League. Just ahead of kickoff my AssMan mentioned that we only needed a point to go straight to the Round of 16 and I think the players took it to heart - we took a very early lead and the team was happy to see out a draw. The only other questionable performance came against newly-promoted Blackburn. We took the lead in the 38th minute but gave up an equaliser five minutes later. And we couldn't find a winner until the final 10 minutes So we're still fighting on multiple fronts. Beating Spurs 4-1 away in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final was a major bonus and our opening game of February will be the second leg. That 3-goal advantage should be enough to see us through. Also in February we have the next round of the FA Cup where we should have an easy-ish tie against either Derby or Reading, both of the Championship. In the league we're still occupying the summit as the clubs beneath us continue to trade places: We have an 8pt cushion over City and Liverpool with a game in hand. If we do clinch another title the inconsistency of our rivals will have played a big part in our success.
  7. I hate February and it looks like you got dealt a particularly nasty one. Good job to turn that form round in April and May, so not a bad season overall. Better luck next time round
  8. A brilliant season - well done, mate Oh yeah! Enjoy
  9. Sorry, but this is one of my biggest complaints about the forums. SI marking something as a known issue just means they know people are complaining about it. Too many people read this as "SI know it's a bug", which isn't at all the same thing. Personally, I've never thought my teams were conceding too many from set-pieces, and certainly not from throw-ins.
  10. Oh, I know! Especially now that we have the Saudi influence. I'm hoping that SI will tone it down for FM25 - yes, there's a lot of money in the desert, but it doesn't make for a great career progression.
  11. Sinners & Saints December 2027 So here it is, Merry Christmas - everybody's having fun... except I'm not having as much fun as I was last month. We've hit a bit of a wobble; thankfully, so has everyone else. After an expected win at relegation-threatened Fulham, we hit the first stumbling block away at Monaco in the Champions League. The players wandered about aimlessly for most of the match and didn't seem overly concerned as Monaco scored again and again. Some home truths were delivered at fulltime and thankfully they responded with two good games against Spurs and Brighton. Off the back of those results I was hopeful for the away trip to Anfield where Liverpool are now under the guidance of Zinedine Zidane (after his very unsuccessful spell at Newcastle). And this was like the Liverpool of old... Klopp-style heavy-metal football, all-out attack, relentless high pressing: We managed to grab a lead, as LWB Doig headed home a freekick (the joy of a 6' wingback!) but Liverpool were level within two minutes and then ran riot to go in at halftime 3-1 up. After that, they kept us at bay and a 70th minute consolation from Edozie was the best we could muster. I had hoped for better against Norwich but it was a lacklustre performance and, despite take the lead just before halftime, we couldn't hold on to claim the win. Happily, we finished the month - and the year - in better form against two of the better sides in the league. Both were tight games but we were generally in control and held out for wins in both fixtures. Even better news, our nearest rivals were dropping points at a faster rate than we were. In December, City lost to both Arsenal and Villa, and dropped points against Everton and Brighton. Liverpool were on a winning run from the beginning of November (no European football!), but managed to lose to Chelsea in the Boxing Day fixture. And Arsenal have collapsed, their win against City their only victory in 7 games. Which leaves the table looking like this: As the transfer window opens some business will have to be done. DM Shea Charles is now 24 and hasn't developed as we hoped. It's time to call an end to his spell at Southampton and we've already accepted a loan offers from Getafe and Aberdeen that might result in a permanent move for around £12m. LB Doig is unhappy with his playing time and wants out; Saudi interest might make that happen. And LCB Lorenzo Pirola and RWB Filippo Missori are also subject to Saudi interest. Otherwise, I'm happy with the squad. We'll need a replacement for Charles, but that's the only real hole right now. Everything else depends, as always, on any players having their heads turned by big-money offers.
  12. Good start to the season, on all fronts. Best of luck
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