slipperyjohns

Oh - you noticed Cruz Azul bid €15m for him and he wanted to go back home to Mexico. He wasn't starting due to Danilo's form so I thought I would cash in. I had wonderkid Muharem Huskovic lined up from Austria Vienna, so I begin a new striker project..

Small update from me: It's February 2024, and I've reverted back to the more attacking total football 433 and things are looking better. Just look how Danilo Pereira is scoring! Luka Sučić is doing exactly what I signed him for and adding goals and assists from midfield. It also helps that Mateo Lovato is deadly from corners. However, we still can't topple the Ajax machine. Even when our players are dominating the player stats... Lastly, a general squad update: (I know, my stats-based signing Arcus isn't really working out ) Now this would be a statement signing...

@Lira95 - I like that a lot! Minimal team instructions Is this on the new Winter Update? I'd love to see how Wieffer and Hartman (left-back) look. They both got called up to the Dutch national team recently IRL but in-game they are very average.

Season 2 In Season 1, we laid the foundations for a title charge where I learnt more about the squad, developed the players and upgraded our facilities. In 23/24 I will look to push Ajax all the way. No fewer than six loans are ending, key ones being Jacob Rasmussen 20 (13) apps, Oussama Idrissi 23 (17), and Sebastian Szymański 43 (3). We would have liked to keep Symanski and Rasmussen, but they wanted higher wages than we could afford, so they were sent back to Dynamo Moscow and Fiorentina, respectively. This clearly leaves a big attacking midfielder-shaped hole in the squad. Loan deals set to expire First on the agenda is identifying and addressing our weaknesses. According to ‘The Numbers Game’ by Christopher Anderson and David Sally, football is a ‘weakest-link’ sport; improving the team's weakest link has a more significant effect on results than buying the next best striker. A weak link could take many forms. It could be an area of the pitch you concede the most goals in, a position severely lacking depth, or a starting player putting up poor statistics. Taking a look at our squad depth after all loans have ended, it’s clear to see some issues: Squad Depth - Before Needs: Attacking Midfielder that can play #8 or #10 2 x Backup Centre-Backs Defensive Midfielder Backup GK I also checked where we conceded most of our goals, and the results are damning for our prodigy inverted wing-back, Marcos Lopez. 13 of 38 assists are from his side meaning he is not closing down enough, or giving the ball away too cheaply. Maybe a more defensively-minded player with better mentals is required here? The Transfer Window It was a busy time, with nine incomings and seven outgoings - so strap in! In Afonso Taira | Free Taira joins on a free transfer from Portuguese side Casa Pia on a pittance, €2k per week. He has fantastic mentals and defensive attributes to be a solid backup for a couple of years; and is a substantial upgrade on Obiang. Malcolm Barcola | €350k from Tuzla City I needed a backup that would be happy playing a bit part on low wages. Although he stands at a mighty 6”6 tall, he will play mainly for Jong Feyenoord. Now onto the exciting ones! Luka Sučić | €8m from Red Bull Salzburg A classic FM wonderkid who fills the attacking void that Symanski left. He’s a fantastic all-rounder who can dribble with pace, find a pass and hopefully add 10+ goals from midfield. He would only sign with an $18m release clause, so I can't get too attached to him 🙁 Matteo Lovato | €7.5m from Salernitana I was looking for a backup but could not resist Lovato. Twenty-three, a consistent performer, good in the air, strong and loves big matches. He is now the clubs highest earner on €25k per week and has big expectations, potentially displacing Hancko in the starting XI. Keven Schlotterbeck | €3.5m from Freiburg Keven comes is an imposing, left-footed centre-back who adds defensive solidity. We only scored twice from corners last year, and I hope to improve on that with our added height. Bertrand Traoré | Free I have my Director of Football, Joris Mathijsen, to initiate signings for the first team. On Deadline Day he offered a contract to Traore, and I couldn’t fault the move! The former Aston Villa player never lived up to the promise he showed early in his career, but I’ve given him another shot in Eredivisie to prove the doubters wrong. Erwin Mulder | €1m from Go Ahead Eagles Predicted 14th, Go Ahead Eagles pulled off a stunning 4th place last year. Mulder was a significant part of that. He kept 21 clean sheets and only conceded 23 goals, both a league-high. To top it off, he’s also a Feyenoord academy graduate from 2006. You may be wondering why I signed another goalkeeper? Well… Darío Sarmiento | On loan from Manchester City A backup winger trained in the Pep philosophy, he will provide some spark off the bench. Man City were happy to pay all of Dario's wages too. And last but not least - Finding a new Right-Back On the 20th of July, 2023, Hertha Berlin met the €11.5m release clause of Marcus Holmgren Pedersen. Goodnight, sweet prince As mentioned in previous posts, Marcus is the best full-back in the league in terms of his creative output. Let’s look at the numbers we need to replace: It’s worth noting Mimeirhel Benita produces very similar stats; however, he is still only 19, and I’m not sure he is ready to take on the position full-time. I chuck in our search conditions and away we go: This finds me 11 players interested in joining Feyenoord, and I set my scouts to work: Let's cross a few off. My number one target, Sugawara, recently signed a new deal with AZ, so he has no interest in joining. Doka, Seaman and Konstantin play at a level way below Eredivisie. Blas joins a Division 3 Spanish side to join the others in the bin. The Scout reports return and tell me that Bustos and Van Rooij are only decent Eredivisie players and to only sign them as a last resort. This leaves me with the following: And in order of priority: Malo Gusto Nathan Carlens Arcus Lyon wanted a deal worth €22m for Gusto, something we just can’t afford with our remaining budget of €6m. The board rejected my request for funds to sign the player, so we moved on. Our Nathan bid and a 5-year contract were accepted. Then the bloody inbox item ‘Not enough funds to complete transfer’ hit. He wanted a signing-on fee that tipped the deal over the edge to unaffordable. Annoyed, I moved on to our last local option, Arcus. Exporting some key stats I compared his radar to Pederson, and it’s clear to see why he is third-choice. Marcus Holmsted Pederson: Feyenoord 22/23 vs Carlens Arcus: Vitesse 22/23 Arcus puts up better numbers for Dribbles per 90, Sprints per 90 and Headers Won %, but is evidently lacking in the creative department. I’m hedging my bets that his numbers will improve in a more possession-dominant side with higher ability players around him. Carlens Arcus | €3.5m from Vitesse My first purely stats-based signing. I’m hoping he can outperform his attributes and coach's judgement! #WelcomeArcus Out Justin Bijlow | €25m to Brighton The reason Mulder was brought in. On Deadline Day, Brighton offered €25m for Bijlow, a proposal that Justin could not refuse. His agent said he was extremely interested in joining the Premier League outfit. Who am I to stand in his way? The board, supporters, and probably everyone in Rotterdam were saddened to see a homegrown Feyenoord supporter leave the club. Marcus Holmgren Pedersen | €11.5m to Hertha Berlin As mentioned, the best fullback in the league departs. Igor Paixão | Loan to Freiburg Not good enough as a striker and with better options on the wing, Igor is loaned out to increase his transfer value ready to sell. Mats Wieffer | Loan to Vitesse Similar story here, with no future in the first team we loan him to see out the end of his contract. A few Jong Feyenoord players are loaned out to gain valuable first-team minutes, and then the window closes. Phew. As for the left-back issue, I decided to solve it internally. Lutsharel Geertruida is making remarkable development and can literally play anywhere in defence and midfield. He may offer a little less going forward but will lock down that area. Remind me to check the conceded assists number at the end of season 2. Geertruida vs Lopez | Attributes In other transfer activities, many big names left the Eredivisie, making our lives a little easier: Squad Depth - After To end the update, we celebrate a hard-fought win on penalties over Ajax in the Johan Cruijff Schaal. The bragging rights stay in Rotterdam!

Thanks mate this looks great. I'm in two minds about which way to go tactically for Season 2; you may have inspired me to give total football another crack. By all means, de-rail this thread so I can see those PIs too! These are my current striker options: Santiago Giménez and Danilo Pereira are well rounded enough to lead the line. Igor Paixão is more of a diminutive winger.

I would love to go back to it at some point, I'm sure I lost patience and didn't stick with it long enough. It's still my backup tactic if I want to suffocate the game and just keep the ball! Do you have any ideas on how to make it more offensive? I assume sacrifice some of the much shorter passing. I also had 65% of my outfielders score under their expected goals tally this season which seriously contributed to the lack of goals. Maybe I'm blaming the tactic, when it should be the players? 'Shoot Less Often' PI and 'Work Ball into the Box' TI might help with this...

IN GAME: JUNE 2023 Season 1 Review Tactic This is how we setup for the second half of the season. A 4-2-4 setup inspired by the great Brazil team of 1970, with 5 'Number 10's'. Plenty has been written before so I won't delve too much into the roles and setup. Essentially it's an attacking pass and move system, focusing less on keeping the ball and more on scoring beautiful goals. The squad have a high level of technique, first touch, vision and flair so I thought why not! Jogo Bonito The Five Number 10's Search for the new Pelé is on! Anyway, the results were great. My Analysts suggest I went from creating a clear cut chance every 95 minutes, to every 70 minutes. My maths say we went from scoring 1.1 Goals per game to 1.6 (and I'm sure the xG would have been much higher). The best part was I didn't have to see my team pass the ball side to side and watch boring draws anymore. Eredivisie Unfortunately, we couldn't break into the top two but finished in a respectable 3rd in Eredivisie. Ajax comfortably won the league, only losing to us and FC Emmen. Ajax have a wage bill almost 4 times the size of Feyenoord, meaning we need to work smarter in the transfer market to try and break their dominance (or hope they have a dud season like they are in real life). Our Rotterdam rivals Sparta were relegated, sorry @SixPointer, as might RKC Waalwijk via the playoffs, sorry @Deisler26! TOTO KNVB Beker We won the whole bloody thing! To be honest, it was a bit... easy? UEFA Europa League A great showing saw Feyenoord defeat Trabzon Spor Kulübü, Real Sociedad de Fútbol and S.S.C. Napoli before eventually losing out to Rangers FC in the Semi-Final. Goals Let's take a look at the save goals again: Consistently finish above Ajax: F - for obvious reasons Win the UEFA Champions League: F - we're not in it yet, but were good enough in the Europa League to show we have what it takes Have the best youth system in the Netherlands: B+ - we're now on par with Ajax, after the board agreed to upgrade our Youth Recruitment during the season Produce a world-class player from the academy: C - a couple of players caught the eye in our first Youth Intake, Belarmino Jacinto (what a name by the way), and Ton Hoefnagels, but they're going to need a lot of fine-tuning to make the cut Use statistics to aid transfer decisions: D - we haven't made waves in the transfer window yet, but with a small budget of $9m, and four of our key players 'Wanted', I'll be dipping into the numbers soon! Lastly, some other highlights: Feyenoord Best Eleven 22/23 Awards ceremony General Performance Goal of the Season | Oussama Idrissi A 20 goal swing! In summary, it was a tale of what could have been. Forwards that could not put the ball into the back of not the net proved to be my downfall. A mid-season tactical switch steadied the ship but ultimately was not enough. Next season, if we can 'revert to the mean' and perform as well as the underlying numbers suggest, I fancy us to take Ajax all the way.

IN GAME: FEBRUARY 2023 I suppose it's time for an actual update! Thought I'd try something different for Pre-Season so I followed the below guide from Daniel Gear. It worked an absolute treat and by the end of it, all players were fit and sharp. How to approach Preseason training on FM23 - View From The Touchline Pre-Season 2022 Onto the season itself, our start has been largely uninspiring. We would absolutely pass teams to death, averaging over 70% possession but rarely scoring more than 1 goal! We were falling into the trap of passing for the sake of passing with no real outcome. I think the tactic absolutely dominates games, but it relies heavily on the attackers taking their chances - and that just wasn't happening. All my main strikers are under performing their non-penalty xG . It actually doesn't look so bad now - due to a recent tactical switch! We lost our first game 2 and half months into the season away at AZ who played us off the park. Overall not a terrible start, but had us firmly in 3rd place behind league leaders Ajax and PSV. 5 draws in my first 10 games in charge Europa League: More draws Top of the (expected goals underperformance) league! 2023 Transfer Window As a general rule I don’t like making signings in January, so we secure the rights to Oscar Gloukh (€4m) who was sent back on loan and will join us for season 2. We also bring in experienced midfielder Pedro Obiang on loan as backup in the DM position. Potential Experience Bids from Premier League clubs were rejected for pacy right-back Pederson as they did not meet our valuation. Somehow, this didn’t settle the player! A new shortlist and recruitment focus is set up for a complete wing back with similar statistics, as I have the feeling he won't stick around too much longer. Of all full-backs who have played 1000 minutes or more in Eredivisie, Pederson has the highest: Expected Assists per 90 (0.31) Open Play Key Passes per 90 (1.79) Chances Created per 90 (0.73) Progressive Passes per 90 (6.42) Crosses Completed per 90 (1.01) Outlier I'm aware this update has gone on for too long now, so I'll finish with our latest Eredivisie results and the league table as it stands. Keen observers will note the switch to a 4-2-4. Let's just say a bit of Jogo Bonito has made its way to Rotterdam.. See you next time!

Here you go. I used FM Stag’s Custom Views Megapack for FM23 all attribute view so if you export from there and copy paste over my values - you should be alright! Love it. Those roles in possession wouldn't be too far off the diamond. Tactical Styles.xlsx

I just checked and he's actually part of the wonderkid pack I added here: https://www.fmscout.com/a-fm23-data-tweaks-by-sirtavares.html

Fun little side story Robin Van Persie is with us coaching his son, Shaqueel Van Persie, who has the potential to be one of the best players at the club. Developing really well too. Nothing like some healthy nepotism to motivate the team! I just hope he gets taller than 5"2!

Agreed @SixPointer. I like the idea of maximising a players strengths rather than shoe horning them into a certain tactical style I'm trying to re-create. Which I am guilty of nearly every save! Yes, I like to make Pederson an IWB-A and make RW stay wider from time to time as well. Mix things up a bit. I would love to make a 3-4-3 with the classic midfield diamond. This @Ö-zil to the Arsenal! post is an all-time great. Unfortunately I think it would struggle too much on the counter with pacy wingers. Would love to try it with Wide Centre-Backs though!

Tactical Style I mainly belong to the Johan Cruyff/Pep Guardiola school of thought. No matter how many tactical varieties I try, I constantly veer back to Total Football's principles. However, knowing very little about the squad, I decided to use a more systematic approach to selecting my philosophy. The idea is that I can determine the tactical style that my player's attributes are most suited to using a weighted metric. Choose 25 players Export all attributes to Excel Identify crucial attributes related to preset tactical styles Use averages to calculate a weighted score Choose the best style and set up the team in-game! Selected key attributes The results Turns out, a high-pressing tiki-taka style suits the team after all. Music to my ears! Total Football is a collective, free-flowing, attacking style made famous by Ajax and Holland in the ’70s. All players have the technical ability to contribute to all phases of play. Attackers must be able to defend, and defenders must be able to attack, with players relying on their reading of the game and each other's movement to shift in and out of each phase at the right moment. It aims to make the pitch as small as possible without the ball and as wide as possible with the ball. Players would be spread relatively evenly across the pitch to create passing triangles everywhere. Otherwise known as Juego de Posición. Naturally, this is best suited to a 4-3-3, which looks like a 2-3-5 or 3-2-5 in attack. Juego de Posición In possession I always want my team to be able to play out of defence when possible to avoid conceding cheap possession. Most of the team will be advised to use much shorter passing, with only some given license to take more risks. Combined with a slightly lower tempo, we will look to control the game. When the right opportunity arrives, I will ask players to pass into space rather than to feet to utilise some of the lighting pace we have upfront. The team will also be instructed to stay fairly wide to play in a more expansive manner. I have nothing set for the Final Third, as I want my players to be able to pick the best option in any given circumstance - so do not tell them to work it in or take a long shot. They will make a choice depending on their skill, mentality and traits. To avoid playing like Spain in the 2022 World Cup and passing teams to death with no outcome - I’ve asked the players to be more expressive to use their flair and vision. In transition As alluded to earlier, to make the pitch small, we will counter-press as soon as the ball is lost to win it back immediately. Once won, we look to hold our shape, patiently waiting for the right opportunity to not give the ball back straight away. When the goalkeeper is in possession, he will look to distribute quickly to the centre-backs or full-backs by taking short kicks. Out of possession I take these instructions straight from the ‘Gegenpress’ tactical style, only adding a couple to fine-tune it. I want a much higher defensive line coupled with a high press to win the ball high while keeping the lines compact. As our centre-backs aren't the quickest, we drop off when the opposition has space and could hit a long ball. We trigger press much more often while getting stuck in (tactical fouling) and prevent the goalkeeper from playing short. Putting it all together; the default tactic. Analysis I’ve aimed for a flexible tactic, hence the number of personalised roles you can see. Apparently, the AI in this year's game adjusts to your tactics quickly. To pick my starting lineup, I will judge the player profile. This will determine whether they will be an inside forward, a winger that hugs the touchline, a full back that inverts or a midfielder that surges forward beyond the striker - all game by game. I’m highlighting inverted wing-back Marcos López as a key player in this system when he plays. He a great passer, quick and can dribble (only his vision lets him down). As an Arsenal fan, I am amazed at what Zinchenko is doing for us this season and inspired by Guardiola's use of fullbacks in the modern game. This article brilliantly explains Man City’s movement - How Manchester City’s Asymmetrical Approach to Chance Creation is Systematic and Similar - Analytics FC. Dilrosuns plays wide left, where his direct dribbling threat draws players to him. At the same time, Symanski’s underlapping runs opens the half-space for Lopez - who has all the time in the world to pick out a pass or cross. I’ve played the first couple of games and like what I see so far. MOTM Team Heat Map (everything goes through Lopez) Side note In the summer of 1983, Ajax legend Johan Cruyff was cast aside by the Dutch giants and not given a new contract. So, what did Cruyff do? He joined Feyenoord for one glorious season and only won the league and cup double before retiring as an all-time great. Is playing total football in the same league as Ajax a smart idea? Probably not. Only time will tell if we can beat Ajax at their own game! When the Ajax legend crossed the divide

@Crazy_Ivan, @rich ruzzian, @_Ben_, @SixPointer and @karanhsingh - thank you all! @SixPointer - I've just found your Sparta posts so there goes my afternoon

Squad Overview The squad I have inherited is a young one. An average age of 23 makes us the youngest in the Eredivisie, with plenty of room to grow. We have some players straight from the academy, a good range of personalities and no-ones contract is breaking the bank. I aim to keep a small squad across the entire club - First Team, B Team and U18s. Preferably 5 players for every position. This is who we start with: Feyenoord Squad 22/23 Meet The Player's Goalkeepers. Justin Bijlow will make this position his own. Timon Wellenreutherwill ride the pine. Full-backs. On the right, we have the pacy Norwegian, Marcus Holmgren Pedersen. I’m hoping he will be essential to attacks down our right side and get a lot of assists. Backup is the 18-year-old Mimeirhel Benita; however, the versatile Lutsharel Geertruida is also a natural here. On the left, Fredrik Bjørkan and Marcos López will challenge for the starting spot. Both have similar abilities, albeit in different areas. Bjørkan has an optional future fee of $3.4m that we can activate at the end of the season. Central defenders. Gernot Trauner is our captain, leader and the first name on the team sheet. Next to him, we will have Dávid Hancko, a left-footer with a good eye for a pass. Jacob Rasmussen is our left-sided backup, but it is slim pickings from then on. Scouts - get on it! Defensive midfielders. Quinten Timber wouldn't look out of place sitting at the base of any midfield. Behind him is the versatile Geertruida, who can play anywhere along the defence or midfield. Young Noah Naujoks is third-choice. Also looking to buy here in the summer. Central midfielders. Orkun Kökçü and Sebastian Szymański are the most gifted of the bunch as fantastic attacking midfielders. Mats Wieffer, Mohamed Taabouni and new signing Ezequiel Bullaude will also play their parts. Wingers. Spoilt for choice on the wings, we have Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Javairo Dilrosun, Oussama Idrissi and Patrik Wålemark. These guys will provide the unpredictable and the flair. Strikers. Another strong area, Santiago Giménez, Danilo Pereira and Igor Paixão are all well-rounded attackers. I’m hoping one of them can hit 20 goals! Justin Bijlow Gernot Trauner Marcus Holmgren Pedersen Orkun Kökçü Javairo Dilrosun Santiago Giménez The team has plenty of room for improvement, and a quick look at the new Experience Matrix confirms that. Emerging Eredivisie champions? Squad Building (The Great Culling) As mentioned in my introductory post, I want to focus on the club as a whole and ensure the entire club is set up for success. That means releasing/selling any player who will never make the cut at Feyenoord. I am not worried about not having enough players in the youth teams, as the game creates ‘greyed out’ players to fill in any gaps on match days. I need all of my players playing as much football as possible, and ensuring their pathway is not blocked. Contract terminated Thank you to the brilliant SFraser post, A Guide to Developing Youngsters, for this philosophy. Twenty-one players are shown the door immediately. This reduces our squad size from 84 to 63. It is ruthless, but I’m sure these guys will be picked up by a lower-division team in no time (whatever makes me sleep at night). Unfortunately, the board block their departure as there is not enough transfer budget available to cover the compensation costs right now. There might be a few awkward glances in the academy hallways The squad overall is talented, albeit unproven, and should easily challenge for the top 3 places. A few key signings in the summer could push this side even higher to help us achieve our aim of Champions League glory. Next time, we focus on choosing a tactical philosophy and applying it to Feyenoord! All the best, Chris / SlipperyJohnsFM