SixPointer

I agree with your tactical pondering. It’s a fine balance especially with narrow systems, the switch of play can be deadly. I’m thinking about a 4132 or maybe even a 4321 the old Xmas tree, I’ve really not settled tactically yet. Using a. 4231 is abit boring. But looking at your thought process has brought mine to life. Also the step up in opponent will be a big influence on your decision.

that’s right so you were. It was during covid I wrote that, hence why it had so much depth. I’m kind of at loose end tactically so could maybe go down that route again!

Job done! Now the real work begins. Have you identified targets already to boost your chances of survival? Am intrigued to see how you’ve scouted and built up your shortlist

Perfect, that’s worked out nicely with your intentions

Em I would like a go at the either side of the La Paz derby, which may be seen as side step. Not forward or back. But I could be a nice place to come back to. If I was to travel down the Andes then Colombia would be next on the list but I feel there is a good few powerful Andean clubs there. If I do decide to leave it will most likely be what’s available in Bolivia or Peru. Feel like that’s a sensible move. Am also partly to blame, I was speed playing while setting a new tactic. Which is never a good idea I should have been more methodical like the previous season. But as you say two teams really over performing. hard to keep up. Thanks dude! yeah the board is very frustrating, having brought a league title the year before and two good continental campaigns and a Copa Venezuela I thought they would see the long term vision. Independiente is defo on my list and there no absolutely massive compared to where I am now! Could be a nice move. Yeah we will get there. I just feel like I’ve done some good ground work, but I’ve became frustrated with the board. We need a new keeper and defence a lot of the players that came in have not lived up to their promise. Thanks my friend 👍🏻 Melgar, Cienciano and Cusco would be good teams. Ultimately if I do leave we will see what’s available or hang about at Depor and bide our time for the right club.

Certainly going in the right direction

Not far away from a title challenge, not far at all. Some shrewd business as well. Toffees on top

Running away with it

I think Schalke in liga three is the perfect fallen giant. A huge club, great fanbase great local derby. It ticks all the boxes. Have produced some great players down the years as well. Was it a step down perhaps but for me I think it would have been a great narrative and could lend itself to a realistic situation, due to the sheer size and potential! Nevertheless you set yourself goals so it’s understandable you want to do reach them in Elfsborg

I’ve been to watch a lot of Norwegian football. I watched the team next to my work, Aalesunds FK (who got relegated) batter Rosenborg. Also my beloved Heart of Midlothian played Rosenborg in the qualifiers this season and Nypan ran the show over two legs at the age of 16. Great idea for a save and a very good first season to start with. Great to see you go out your comfort zone. Norway always produces good youngsters

PORTO & Benfica Sublime sir! turned the season around and some more. I love how simple tactics are, very effective clearly. Look forward to reading more

Brilliantly done so far, wonderful depth in your posts. Nice to see another positional play on the go! I done a tactical post on Gasperini a few years back it would be a lot better now with the new roles and positional play features. KUTGW

Busy summer! Got to hope the players link together quickly.

Good to see the physical side of the intake improving! No sign of any real Mexican link in the academy?

It sucks when life gets in the way of FM. I’m feeling that way right now. Squeezing the most out of my day off and the 1 hour a day I have to spare! Started brilliant, unbeaten at this stage already you look like a serious promotion contender.

Nicely presented! And a very nice club choice. Following along!

Nice club choice! Always has a soft spot for them because of Le Tiss and his wonder goals

I really hope you get to that number one spot. You deserve it!

What a result and game against Barcelona

Season Three - 2025/2026 A very mixed season to say the very least, some highs but a real struggle for consistency. The fact I was trying to implement some new tactical ideas did not help, another thing is a lack of transfer windows means players come and go all season and its leading to huge turnovers. Competitions - After topping a group with Boca Juniors we made it to the quarterfinals of the Copa Total Sudamericana, fellow Andean side Club Atlético Nacional from Medellin gave us a right turning over. Nevertheless a very good run, in a continental competition. The Copa Libertadores is another high point, qualifying out of the groups and beating Belgrano on the way to doing so, we are rewarded with a big tie in the knock rounds against Fluminense FC. Copa Venezuela is secured, after the semi final heroics of our goal scoring goalkeeper we crawled to the title in the final, in truth i think the cups are the only reason i'm still in a job. Our league form was patchy to say the least, I wanted to move away from the 4-2-3-1, so there was a lot of tinkering and perhaps too much. In the end it was back to the 4-2-3-1, but the board is still giving me grief. Coloccini has become frustrated with board, after all third place isn't the end of the world and he is trying to shape the club for long term success, with his transfer business he has taken the academy to a higher level, upgraded both facilities at the club, all while being competitive on the continental front and delivering a trophy. He said in recent interviews that he thought given the time to create a clear philosophy at the club he could one day bring a continental title to Venezuela, but now it seems like he is fed up with a nagging board, who cant see his long term vision. Transfers - Leaving the club was some key players, none more so than Vivas but we struck a great deal for him, with a good sell on fee. Ruiz, Uzcátegui, Ortega and Cordero all make profits after being at the club for a season. Taborga goes for a loss but he had fallen out with Coloccini, young Valbuena, a youth product makes a nice 300k for the club. Ignacio Anzola , was tasked with replacing Vivas, and in truth he just couldn't match his levels, he came with such promise but never really hit the level. Jorge Echeverría came in to lead the line, more of a flair player who was able to link the play better, he hit double figures, but getting the strikers to finish was a real problem again. Anderson Contreras proved to be a real bargain, taking some weight of the creativity in deep areas, the left footed DLP was responsible for 11 assists. Andrés Romero on a free was a huge bit of business, again securing one of the best players in the league, buying local tried and tested is a philosophy for now, Anzola has backfired but maybe pre season will sort him out. The best 11 for the season, defence proving to be a real weak spot, i never really could get a settled back four that was consistently performing, i also tried a back three for periods of time which is something i want to work on in the future. Into Midfield the double pivot is an area of real strength, Bahachillie is the best player at the club, when he plays well the team plays well, he is lethal at the near post at corners. Wide left is an issue but Romero will solve that in the future, Garica picks up Injuries all the time but has moments of real quality, Andrade just gets stronger and stronger, i think he will be the next big sale. Eche came in and made the centre forward role his own, Monzon and Diaz (injured for 9 months now) struggled to get any sort of goalscoring form going. Tactically Our biggest weakness is our leaky defence, one that doesn't face a lot of trouble as well, goalkeeping is an issue it would appear shipping +9 for expected goals. Teams love to hit us on the counter and it really is something i need to solve. I think our high line, combined with still having a higher than average OPDA is an issue. Allowing teams time to pick their long balls behind our high line, again I was experimenting a lot this year. I had been working on some forms of Bielsa ball. I may or may not keep that up, I suppose it depends if I stick around at the club. Coloccini is after all frustrated with an impatient board who won't let him explore tactically and find his masterplan, perhaps he may turn to another fellow countryman in Diego Simone for advice. Right now I feel it would be annoying to walk away, because the squad just needs three players of real quality added, a lot of work has gone into it and it felt like somewhere that building a club capable of winning a continental title was possible. The Argentine still has them in the Copa Libertadores, but he has also won everything domestically. There is certainly some thinking to be done over the next few days. After all, the two teams above us massively punched above their weight, hugely outscoring their XG and XPTS. This is what good teams do though they over perform on what's expected of them, this year we were the opposite and done just okay, our goal scoring hides from the fact that our goalkeeper and defence need more protecting and upgrading.

Thanks man. Angostura F.C. A team we really should be beating!

Season is done hopefully tomorrow evening I can have the review done. If not it will be on Monday morning after my night off on Sunday!

Alejandro Araque sends us to the Copa Venezuela final, hitting his 9th goal of the season, 9/9 from the spot, i dont think i have had a more ruthless penalty taker in all my saves. Pitty he has been awful at keeping the ball out his own net this season. @Jimbokav1971 i know your a big fan of the goalscoring keepers!

Love the idea of the loan deal, risk free like you say. Something I have actually started to do myself. I wasn’t a big fan of loan deals previously but if you structure it like you have it makes total sense! I had two strikers on loan, both with contracts running down both done well on loans and I’ve no signed both for free

Thanks bud! Hopefully get the season of to a start tomorrow on my night off