_Ben_

I think you absolutely deserve your move to Ajax and it's well within the realms of possibility, too. I actually quite like that aged tail end that you have: imagine youngsters from the famed academy working with Suarez, Blind, Hazard and Stuart Dallas?! I can't remember the answer to this but is Kristian Nokkvi Hlynsson still with the academy? He's gone on to become a revelation for me in Russia. Looking forward to the deep dive over the coming days before you get into the season.

I have been far too black and white with it in the past. You know that I'd probably turn down Messi or Mbappe if they were listed as inconsistent! However, I think that's the next step - I've now got solid recruitment built around statistical analysis as well as in-depth player development so I think the next thing is absolutely maximising player performance: through both the tactical approach and my own man management skills.

Absolutely! I'm more than ever into the removal of gaming things. Yes, da Silva is not the best at being consistent - but my question and investigative lead is how do I limit that factor? The same is to be said with his adaptability - how can I best help him adapt? Rather than just sign on solely attributes or solely stats. It'll be a sad day when he leaves but, in my next post, I'm going to look at some longer term planning with some players I'm even more excited about!

November 2035 Finally back into the land of FM-ing after what has turned into another week of the new normal - one where I'm too exhausted to look at any more emails or any more spreadsheets. However, given the busy-ness of my schedule, you couldn't really ask for a more complete and satisfying month that has seen us move to the top of the table and earn promotion to the Second Knockout round of the Europa League, bypassing the first due to our table topping performance. At player level, my third signing (after the far less remarkable Isaev and Pape Matar Sarr) Alex Barreto has just reached the fifty goal milestone. At any level, fifty goals in the top flight is strong, but, when you consider that this is coming from a 23-year old, new to the country, who underwent a thorough scouting report after really not producing the goods for River Plate and is not even a forward, it's even more astonishing. Our style of play relies on goals from the central midfielders and this man has not let us down, ever. He was somewhat usurped by a wonderful scoring performance from Hylnsson las year but has been Mr Consistent for us. It's no wonder I am now looking at serious interest from the likes of PSG, Arsenal and Dortmund. Whatever happens, he's the quickest to that landmark for me as a manager and will fondly be remembered for his time in Russia but I know that we are also in the strongest position to move on from any sale that may happen: Zherebyatjev has been a relevation and, whilst Krystian hasn't been in quite the form that I saw last season, at a goal contribution near enough every two games, I cannot complain. Five wins and five clean sheets. We've been rarely challenged in the league, just allowing nine shots against us in the whole time, but it's the winning that is important and, despite some heavy rotation and some slightly off finishing, we've done well. --- I've spoken very fondly of my previous record signing, Alex Barreto, but his crown will be passed to Airton da Silva - at least whilst I mull over the potential permanent deal for Hosvepyan. Whilst his report indicates two things of concern - I really want to dig into ways that I can a) manage his consistency (or lack of) in the short term and b) develop that. Even as a manager and a schematic, routine loving FM player, I can't always hide from these attributes because, as you can see from Airton, sometimes I'm simply blown away by their attributes, stats or what they could offer me. Here is a little comparison of my own players with previous target Yamakaw as well as Bakharov, who is likely to be relegated at Dinamo this year. I've tried to combine attributes and statistic in the view that I utilise in my scouting view as well as using figures gained from the league comparison (n.b. I can only see defenders in that so this does include full backs, hence the asterisk). It's clear that I have some really strong defenders, who are better, on paper and on the pitch than the other defenders in the league. I think that, as a team, we are lacking in the passing area - as we do want to look to make the most of opportunities to play out from the back. Whilst Yamakawa fits that better than da Silva, I am really impressed by the physical presence that the Corinthians man has, even though that's not a key metric (as it's hard to actually measure the impact of that in numerical terms in FM - although, IRL, things like progressive yards, sprints, top speeds etc would all be used). Looking at who could be replaced here - again, I'm in a difficult position. We're trying to upgrade rather than build and, given the ages of these players, it's probably Avramchuk that is the loser here, although I haven't been super impressed with Medvedev, yet. However, given the potential issues I will now face with registration, he may get a second chance. The above graph shows the months that my foreign players have left on their deal plus the age that they'll be at the end of it. I bring this up because of the fact that da Silva himself is non-EU and, as of right now, we have zero spare spots to register him. There is quite a straightforward approach that would look at moving Vlahovac or Farias on a year earlier with definite consideration for the latter, as he's underperformed most and been afforded the least game time. Another thought would be to look to the domestic market for a winger, given that they have been the worst performers, and move for someone like Smolnikov from Ufa, who I've been scouting for some time. Lastly, my thought may be to move Irala on for a significant profit. He's new and the only Paraguayan, so I get the whole adaptability phase, but he's somewhat underwhelmed this season and it'd mean Medvedev would move to Right Back. What that does do though, when compared with first choice Bentancor, is reduce, drastically, the ball playing ability of that role. Something needs to change to allow the integration of da Silva but I'll continue to mull over it for the coming months...

Congratulations on the cup win and really strong end to the season. What are your summer priorities in terms of ‘planned’ incomings and areas to develop?

One that I don't think we see enough of in FM... A few editions ago when I was playing in Belgium, I saw Lokeren taken over by a consortium, who, when the plug was pulled, let them freefall so far that they actually become an unplayable team, just ten years or so after winning the top flight. I'm not saying to this extreme but it'd be quite farfetched for Dinamo to replicate that relegation of 2006 in normal circumstances.

A rebuild job, and more... Their first team either houses players significantly weaker than mine or with one or two years left on their deals, meaning they're unlikely to command anywhere near the fee that can get this club saved. It's no wonder they are where they are: Here is the application that I, sadly, won't be going for. If this job had come up when I was in the second tier with Sochi, I'd have been all over it but we've surpassed that level and I'm not sure it's a realistic move to go from title challenger to what is likely going to be a second tier job with no players.

October 2035 We're really making some positive steps here at Krasnodar and I've really enjoyed the month, despite it being space out considerably due to a lack of playing time. A great win over Koln that does probably fall into the smash and grab category and, quite similarly to that, a good point away in Madrid against Getafe to keep us at the top of our Europa League group. Two quite poor league performances: dropped points against Amkar, who are bottom of the league and tired legs against Orenburg but that sandwiched a great win against Dinamo, who are really struggling with very few senior players left following their administration. --- I've identified a new target in Airton Da Silva as I look to move into the next stage of my squad building, which is really just fine tuning what I have. I need to be careful of foreign player restrictions as I've currently got all eight taken up but he's clearly the type of player to take the club forward, excelling with his ball playing ability from the back. The scout also managed to find Robson Yamakawa whilst out there and their comparison is interesting, given the price difference between the two. I want to make this kind of statistical signing, picking up one of the best ball recoverers in South America but also need to pay attention to my own youth development, which still requires more work. More detailed work into Da Silva to come when I'm not quite so tired!!

I was expecting them to be narrower but maybe the Hold Position is working for them and the slightly lower than usual (on forums anyway) mentality which stops them from trying to score all the time? Either way, it's breathed a bit of new life into my wide men who had really struggled to put together much constructive on-the-ball work until now. A little bit of both. We're at the point now where I need to be creative with my build up and want to have ball players who can bring the ball out and join the play. I particularly like a diagonal ball from the DLC to MRC and vice versa and there is no surprise to see me eying up a defender like Airton da Silva, who is just a creative monster. We do, however, sometimes fall into the trap of having a huge gap between the build up five and the running five ahead of them, but that is a deeper tactical and trait issue to resolve. By that I meant 'correct' footed! So a left footer at LB and right at RB. I find that it allows them a better body shape for cross field balls and opens up balls like that. Of course, Ivlev has used absolutely phenomenal vision to pick it out and it's a once in a blue moon ball. I'm getting there. I just want to find what works - and have had some success with using the different emotions (are they even called that?) such as Hands on Hips to try and get the best reaction from each player. It's not as black and white as that but I'm enjoying the deeper dive. I know! We're certainly closer to Zenit than we've ever been before but, as I said, are playing the long game knowing that they're due a total squad overhaul this summer and, normally, the AI manages to make a right mess of that. We'll be there to pounce...

September 2035 I'm really enjoying the depth here and, the outcomes as we progress through September and my 400th game in management, nearing the decade anniversary of me taking over at lowly Mashuk. I'm trying to make these really focussed on the areas I want to work on - namely tactics, player development, recruitment and man management. I have, however, gone a little overboard and written these as the month progresses so hopefully it makes sense chronologically. I can only apologise for the story though! In reaction to my previous post about wide men, I have spent the month working to adapt the shape within the confines of the match engine, still ensuring that we retain the ideology that I've set up for us. The new shape sees the wide players moved forward to the AM strata with the role of W(s). I have also asked them to Hold Position as they are still more space occupiers and decoy runners rather than true goal threats. It takes a really special type of player to fulfil this role and I don't think I'm quite there yet but I'm making strides. To combat what this does to the tactical engine, I've moved the mentality back to Balanced as it's really important that the begin in line with the MCs and create a bank of four in a compact shape. However, this then alters tempo and passing directness so I have put that up to Higher Tempo and Slightly More Direct Passing to ensure we still have that Vertical Tiki Taka (if you have to label the style!) Here you can see the early successes of that with a nice offensive shape and here you can see how my 2-Team took this change: even sweeter with Anji being my old club. To really dig into the positonal change, I've compared the Ural game (left) with the four games since: (You can see the lack of clarity in terms of team shape against Ural that began to develop as the month went on) The Rostov game (second left) provided the best shape but this is when we had most of the ball. There are some things I want to consider in terms of the gap between the defence and the offence but that needs further delving into. Anyway, here is how it impacted the results: A largely fantastic set of results, with some clear impacts of my move to get my wingers involved a little more. The month started with a steady win over Rostov, who gave us a lot more of the ball than we're used to before a tough tie away at Krylya. The attacking intent was on show against Partizan, even if their second goal did disappoint me. However, to recover from an early concession in the way we did was great to see. We comfortably beat Ufa before absolutely battering CSKA with this peach of a goal by Protasov. I have no idea how Ivlev spotted that pass but that's exactly why I convert midfielders to Inverted Wing Backs and like them to be right footed for the side they're on. To be so clinical, scoring four times from our five shots on target really sends them a message and demonstrates the ruthless counter attacking style that I'm advocating. We then finished the month by playing a completely rotated side against Nizhniy and I have no idea how we lost! A wonderful statistic here though, despite the shock result is that this was our first loss, in the league, to a team that isn't called Zenit for 715 days. Yet I can't help but feel that my rotation and keeping players fit for the bigger games has somewhat backfired here... ---- Again - I want to delve into that man management side of the game that I briefly spoke about with Iljas Zherebyatjev in the previous post and, again, I'm kind of live writing this post as I progress through the month... Now, gone are my days of min/maxing personalities through a broken tutoring system that, before they changed the age range, would yield a whole team of 20 year old M.Pros, but the research I did do still holds firm. I want to see how I can get the most out of each player at the club, whether that is through development or on field performance. To be able to work out why things are/aren't working, I've utilised a Carroll Diagram to get me started: Now - this, again, is not looking at specifics. I know what makes a good personality in terms of development because I studied datasets pretty closely over a couple of years, seeing how starting points, personalities, Determination levels etc impacted the growth of 15/16 year old kids. Instead, this broadly has split my squad up with me looking to develop/utilise Professional/Determined/Ambitious players because I know, most likely, that these are the ones who will develop the best and perform the best. There are questions as to whether ultra Loyal players would also fit in here but that's not something I am worrying myself with, as I have none. I have also used 'Fairly' as a cut off for these positive/neutral personalities. Here you can see what this looks like in terms of the squad. With that, I can start to learn what these things do. Clearly, Hovsepyan's volatility (shown in game as Temperament) means he's going to react negatively to that proverbial kick up the arse he might need and won't take on board any disciplining. Likewise, those Media Friendly players just don't give me enough of a clue as to how they'll react in any one situation - all I do know is that nothing is super low. I need to bare these things in mind for when I give them team talks and talk to them about their progression and their performances, which, as seen below, can be tracked: (I like this because it shows that they are interested but also it builds on that want of trust in me, the manager) Which then leads me to how I deal with these two (screenshots taken at the start of the month): Alexey is a key member of the team and the wonderkid centre back has done enough to earn a call up for the main Russian team. For context, he's a great trainer and his personality indicators suggest that got great Determination, good Professionalism and Pressure and is going to have, at best, a good Temperament. The latter there makes me consider the harshness that I can use in talking to him but the previous three suggest that I can be open and honest in discussing his performances and I should be able to motivate him. However - I look at his ratings and I struggle to see what he isn't doing too well. In terms of overall defensive duties - he's winning most of his headers, not needing to attempt tackles and making some interceptions. For me, however, as a ball player, I want more (some) dribbles and more key passes. With him being, hopefully, pretty responsive to my thoughts as well listing me as a favoured staff member, I think I can push on this and see what impact it has on his overall output as well as Average Rating. I am, however, absolutely aware that AR for defenders is based around clean sheets and you get a boost if you keep one, which we hadn't but, as my key defender, there surely has to be an emphasis on his job being to do this. Roman is also a key member of my playing squad and his personality states that he's quite determined and professional and will have no evidence of any poor temperament or controversy. Because of that, and the fact that he's an older player who has plenty of experience, means that I can, also, be quite hard and to the point with the interactions. Again - I have to question what I actually want him to do here. He should be the fulcrum between defence and attack - moving the ball progressively forward but also pre-empting attacks and winning it back. For me, despite our lack of defending, I think he's being a little lazy on his Interceptions and tackles. He's not a ball winner, per se, but is tasked with shutting teams out, which he hasn't done. I think, by looking back at some of the highlights, he is to blame (possibly with poor Positioning) for some of the through balls that we've conceded big chances from. My starting point is to look at individual feedback, both in game and then with interactions. In the Rostov game, I began using a little bit of a mixed approach to the teamtalks, using specific individuals rather than the positional units. I feel that there are already things to learn here: Djioev, clearly using the annoyance to fuel his Ambition, then was encouraged and looked happier from it. Also the praise for a Professional, such as Avramchuk, was well received, as you'd expect. I feel like there is plenty more to come from this idea and one that I intend to share my experiences of.

I completely underestimated Feyenoord, sadly! However, Europa League success could be a little easier so we'll see where that goes. I'm not necessarily unhappy with his shooting, just wish it was as accurate as it was last year. I'm having a little look at the rest of the shape and working from there!

August 2035 A frustrating first month 'proper' of the season, which has delivered quite the shock early season table. Coupled with a poor start and the entry to administration, Dinamo Moscow, complete with just one first team keeper, a 16-year old, frequent the bottom half but I wonder if a ten point penalty will be applied to them at any point, making things much worse. Orenburg and Alania have started well whereas Ural and, probably, Zenit would consider their starts disappointing. We're unbeaten in the league, which is just about the only bonus I can find for the tumultuous period of time. We were not good against Zenit. Conceding a penalty inside three minutes against the biggest team in the country was not in my game plan and, to be fair, they controlled the game. It was a long shot from the gritty Superkubok display and more like the Kubok final, just with one way traffic. A point though is important as is the goal as, given the hopefully small margins, it gives us a much better chance to get a better outcome in the home tie. A decent couple of wins over the Moscow teams before a pretty annoying draw against Ural, who took their only great chance, from a corner. I really need to sit down and work through routines - and I'm at the point where they'll have to be micromanaged. I will need to run different routines depending on who is playing where, as Bentancor, for example, is a full back who is good in the air where Irala, is less so. Work to be done there. We were shocking in both ties against Feyenoord in a game where I absolutely underestimated the difficulty of our opponents. Yet, even with saying that, we'd have struggled in both legs against an U9 team as we were absolutely toothless. The home leg, in Parken, Copenhagen, saw us roar into a two goal lead as controlled the xG and had pretty much all of the momentum. However, the positioning of their Wide Midfielder caused a lot of issues as he was pretty much playing as a striker. I got all my decisions wrong with how to deal with it and, within five minutes they'd turned the tie on it's head: the first from an overloaded counter and the second from some poor positioning. I was dejected but kept pushing on until a missed header saw them secure the tie late on. Really poor play and an awful lot for us to work on - however, as I've alluded to several times and something that I've been seeing a lot of due to being a Villa fan and seeing Gerrard's start at the club - "A manager must work at getting the best out of the players he puts on the pitch" (or words to that effect that are being used to say that he can't just splash £400m this summer to make his squad). From that - I see that I need to work on what is there: Magomedov, Medvedev, Skylar and Iroala are all new entries to the defensive roster and, as such, I have to give them time to settle, learn our style and then perform. (Medvedev, Iraola and Skylar positional familiarity) What gets me here is that Skylar, right, is completely awkward playing as a Right Back with the IWB role - despite playing that role for at least two years in the 2-Team. However, just from the screenshots, you can see that he's to blame for at least two of the Feyenoord goals. Surely there is a link here? I purposely added this tile into my skin on the player profile to track this kind of thing but have let it completely pass me by. Never the less, we qualify for the group stage of the Europa League and will look to achieve some good success again here. --- Iljas is really becoming a superstar but I'm digging into some little things with him. He's not in great form - 2 goals in 5(3) appearances but those two goals have come from 3.37 xG, nearly double the amount of the next highest (Barreto with 1.8 and 2 goals). I took a risk and discussed this in terms of saying his scoring was good enough in his recent games, worried that an overall AR of 7.10 in that time would cause an uproar, however it did not. He took it on board and I will look to see if that changes anything. My big problem with he, Hylnsson and Barreto is that the third man run with the False Nine allows them to be through on goal but they largely shoot from distance. Obviously. if our build up has stalled and they get men back behind our counter, he's prone to shooting from the edge of the area but it is the former that is a concern for me: (Iljas' shot map from the last five games, excluding the away tie at Feyenoord where he didn't register a shot) As you can see - lots of shots from outside the area but then also quite a lot of really wasteful stuff from inside of it. I'll keep working with him, praising good stuff but also utilising his professional personality to be honest with him when he's not good enough, hoping that he'll be a catalyst in the team really clicking as we move deeper into the season. However, this out of form issue needs resolving elsewhere, too: I'm really struggling to get the most from my wide men and they are regularly the worst performers and this is no different with Hreidarsson and Djieov right now, with the latter having his head turned by Feyenoord, of all clubs, because they're a Champions League level team, and we aren't! Hovsepyan is annoyed that he's not first choice but I cannot amend the loan deal which didn't even say that anyway - so I'm expecting the poor form considering the link with morale. Farias and Medvedev still need to adapt to our style but Roganov and Kolosov are experienced, important players and I really need to look at how to sort our their early season slumps. Expect a deep dive on that next month!

I was coming to comment on last month with the idea that I still think there must be a link to Concentration and Decisions, particularly under fatigue. However, you seem to have worked through that, which is great. Your tactical shape is remarkably similar to my Christmas Matryoshka but I then love how an AM can create such a different style to my two SS. I also employ a flat three in the mid with 2xCAR and 1xCM(d). It's certainly a lovely way to overload the centre but have really struggled, and maybe you'll also have this, with getting good ratings for wide players in the midfield strata. Baturina has had a great month, too! Looks like Feyenoord's game in hand is against Almere but there looks to be a good chase on for second, definitely! Keep it up.

I have no reason to fear them. We're on a par with the Eredivisie I'd say and they don't really have anyone that has caught my eye. They were soundly beaten by Chelsea in a friendly and played a very vanilla 4-4-2 with little or no flair or running between the lines. I think I can exploit their rigidity between the lines, too. I can't! They signed our fourth choice striker and stuck him in their 2-team! What this does mean is that the summer will be big for them with an aging squad, most of whom are out of contract: There's a lovely rebuild job there but, for me, it could be the last season where this iteration of Zenit is around. They've got some strong younger players but these players get a lot of minutes and won't be around forever. As I've said before - it's a long game but we might be nearing a crossroads...

July 2035 Like buses! Two cup wins in a matter of months. Just like the Kubok Rossii, the Superkubok title is the first for the club and we are really starting to become a problem for Zenit. Unlike the cup final, this was not a classic. More of a case of a resolute defensive display creating some strong chances. Granted, our xG was skewed given a penalty neatly tucked away by Nokkvi but it was a strong defensive show. When it went to penalties, I had no concerns, given that I've got little to no experience and, off that, fear, of shootouts. However, a win is a win is a win! We then followed that up with a straightforward win over Alania to kick off the season. --- Quite a tough draw on our first foray into the Champions League but I'm heading to watch them a couple of times to get together a plan. The bonus is they're still in pre-season so we should have the benefit in sharpness, if nothing else. --- {N.B. I hate that I have to give up control of my 2-Team to see this screen like this) I am getting a good handle on the youth at the club, using the Progress feature to monitor their development - warning them if they have two consecutive months with no progress. As of right now, this has had just one negative comeback and has had a pretty good comeback in terms of progress in the following months. I have nothing solid in terms of how this works but I do like it! I've got a really good crop of young players now and want to think slightly outside the box on ways of giving them chances to develop really well. To assist in the development of these, I've utilised a FM Training Planner that I downloaded some time ago from this forum. This works by calculating the 'amount' of work put into each area. I'm not concerned about the numbers that it's creating but far more concerned about the amount of work going into each area. You can find the raw data below: Attack Defence Goalkeeper It's well documented that I want to use a tactical periodisation kind of model and, as such, look to build up intensity before tapering off ready for match day. I've tried to keep that, with the players working on specifics for that area up to a 'big' day involving some match prep, which is far more important for me given that they're playing in a modelled league rather than just a youth competition. I'm also adding a lot of physical training, which, of course, might fall on it's face. The only physical attribute within my DNA is Natural Fitness and that is only trained during Endurance but, the type of game I play can only be benefited by quick and strong players so I want to take advantage whilst the players are in their prime age to make accelerated development. Whether three sessions is too much, time will tell. However, looking at three schedules, Decisions and Work Rate are certainly attributes worked hard but I do need to look at First Touch as it doesn't get much training, particularly for defenders. I think that the most important option is the inclusion of the GK week. This is not to give specific time to my goalkeepers, instead, to both reduce intensity for my outfield players once every three weeks (given the hardness of the quite physical schedules) but also because it allows them time to work on their own Individual roles - which I put a lot of time into working through. For numerical reference - during the other two weeks, the attacking unit gets 1.3 and 1.2 'amounts' of focus, but this rises to 1.7 during the third week. I have no idea whether this will have any impact. The first two are just slightly tweaked from those that I used to use so it's more on the third one, specifically the time for individual development for my outfield players, that interests me the most. I'd like to run a longer cycle where I go Att/Def/Att/Def/GK - but, again, time will tell on that.

Thanks @Hootieleece I think SixPoint has it nailed here - take the time to decide what you want. With that style and playing in Serie A as well as your budgets, I'd be looking to (database dependent) set up scouts in Africa. West Africa has long been a good place for talent production for Serie A and the players tend to be quite physical as well as cheap. To build some stats into it - I'd look at identifying a couple of key metrics you want to measure and develop; given your style maybe look at Interceptions/90 for your attacking players, see what you've got currently and then look to see what would make that better. Are your players lacking the Stamina? Are your tactics set up to be too intense? Do you need a player with better Decisions to know when to press? I reckon I'm nearing half a million words in this thread but I do it to verbalise, per se, my ideas. Getting them out helps me see if I actually think that and the help of the community assists in that too.

Thanks for your post! Training is something that used to be really scary for me until I bit the bullet, dived in, and realised that you can't really get it wrong. I just love the synergy of bringing together players, a playing style and a training style. There is no surprise that these are my favourite training blocks: Defensive Shadow Play Attacking Direct In those two - you hit my key attributes of Decisions and First Touch and further improve a lot of the attributes necessary for the way I want to play. In terms of your schedule - I'd say it's possible a little vague. I only say that because I've had success with splitting weeks into attacking or defensive (and, actually, am looking to further develop that into a 'transitional' or 'with ball' week where the other two are a lot more without ball stuff). That way, I'm able to focus on hitting the attributes more times. However - that does not mean it's the only way and I've not actually used a one week periodisation myself. After what @GIMNsaid, I've also since added Match Practice to my most intense (Match -3 days) day of the week and early signs suggest it's a good one!

(Mid) July 2035 Pre-season friendlies done and dusted with the highlight being this delicious through ball from right back Skylar. You can use the way that the CM(a) and F9(s) interweave their attacking movements and it's a joy when they've got this freedom. Elsewhere, it was good to try out some combinations and pairings as well as getting the players match fit. --- I've finished my mini clearout, freeing up spaces within the first team and whittling down the 2-Team squad to allow opportunities for football. I'm left with a really well balanced team and I can begin to mould and develop them over the course of the season. ---- I've ensured that the training for my young first team players is as good as possible. I employ a few different ways of trying to develop the attributes, as seen with some examples here: Hovsepyan - focusing on a different role to what he'll play to attack weak attributes Sakheishvili - utilising a position he's natural in to focus on specific attributes Roganov - employing just an individual focus to hone specific attributes Irala - training a new position for versatility (also - ML to MR, DL to DR etc do not, in my experience, cause a rebalance in CA and, therefore, can create a more rounded player without a cost to attribute values) ' I've also set up a mentoring group that will hopefully allow Hovsepyan to flourish under the tutelage of two experienced forward players: one being very creative and the other being an all-round elite forward. I'm expecting that Dusan grows in their hierarchy as time goes on, which will surely further his influence over Arman and allow him to embed within a social group - a really important and undervalued consideration on my end with new signings. It'll also give him access to adding some new traits: With Arman being developed into a False Nine - the Comes Deep To Get Ball and Gets Into Opposition Area will be nice additions as well as the Tries First Time Shots from Dusan, as he will find himself on the end of balls worked into the box. I am also following this process through with my 2-Team, hoping to continue to build a group of young talented players that can move into the first team, with particular focus, as the owner puts it, on local talent.

I love this and again, it's evidence of another reason why I'm enjoying the deeper dive into the club I'm at. I imagine that I'll move on from Krasnodar at some point to start a new save or manage a new team but they'll always be a team I look out for in the future!

Great work to retain Nagalo! I love the process that you're following here.

Thanks both. I think it was the combination of being a Star Player after a couple of seasons out of the loop at Chelsea and some promises: I've brought in a new Goalkeeper Coach and that hasn't ticked this off which then worries me as I don't think I'm going to be able to actually meet the other two given the fact I've now pretty much completely settled on my squad. I'm trying to play this realistically and, as such, haven't just lied to a player but his requests for suitable signings have not worked as he was 'unable to recommend a player for that position.' I'll monitor... I'm loving the squad building at the moment and I'm also really just taking in every detail of planning - how can x player change this situation if he came on for y player? etc. It's a level of tactical understanding I've simply never had before. Makes my playing slow as anything (normally my second save starts around this time of year but I've not actually achieved anything yet and I've been in-game for 10 years now!) but I'm loving the journey more than I ever loved the destination.

(Early) July 2035 I'm really happy with how I'm shaping the squad and, bar any unplanned departures, I've settled on my squad for next season. I'm running a slightly larger squad that I usually do but a cup and Champions League campaign as well as a planned assault on the title require some good squad depth. I've utilised the Venn Diagrams again to really identify strength in depth across all of the areas and positional fluidity: The full squad overview can be found here, along with the transfer fees paid by the club - noting those highlighted in blue arrived before I did. You will note that I was, indeed, able to snare Dusan Vlahovic from Chelsea for a wage reduction of nearly £100k p/w. It is mad when you compare the finances of his deal and the deal to sell Isaev, below: I have, essentially, upgraded my striker and saved myself £1m for the future - not a big deal with over £100m in the bank but something I've always focused on within my team building strategy. Granted, Dusan isn't a long term option and, when his contract expires in 2037, he'll be the grand old age of 37 but what a way for young striker Arman Hosvepyan to spend his first year at the club, under the tutelage of the legendary Serb. He hasn't played as much as I'd like, but a quick comparison of stats shows that he's on a par with the outgoing Isaev and what better way to solve a problem like poor conversion rate: recruit a man with over 300 senior career goals! I had considered moving to his favoured DLF(s) role but I really like the way that a False Nine interacts with the two midfielders, who, clearly, were my strongest players last year - something I don't want to change. As I mentioned to @Novem9, I've really been taken aback by owner Sergey Galitskiy and his real life vision for the club, which does, as best as it can translate, come through into the game. It means that I really need to focus on developing young talent and, as of right now, I think I'm in a good place to do so. The players below are the youngsters who are either already within the first team or ones that I have really high hopes for. I won't go as far as saying that this is the team of 2040 as I've been really pleased with the irregularities of development and the removal that I feel existed a few years back - that potential is definite and players will reach it. It's strange to think that Prokhorov is part of this developmental list as he's been first choice since I arrived and is my best player. However, as an academy graduate and a local boy, I've got to do everything I can to keep him here. I really like that I have four young Russian centre backs at the club and even more so that three of them are training with the first team right now. Two really strong players for the second row - made up of the inverted wing backs and DM. Dumbadze has converted really well and is developing into a really nice player. Sakheishvili enters the first team which should allow Juska some more options for playing time in my 2-Team. I've worked really hard on Justas' Determination and personality and hope that allows him to kick on. Martynov has just entered the club and needs to do a lot if he's to live up to that perceived potential. Two really strong players potentially and both of whom are in a similar mould. Samedov has started his 2-Team career really well and Hovsepyan could be a bargain at £8m if he develops well for us this season. --- It's a really exciting time to be at Krasnodar and I can't wait to get into the season proper!

Here are the players with Major Interest: Alexey Protasov Twelve months left on his deal and I'm considering moving him on - just tracking the players I've found to see if they're statistical upgrades or not. That being said, I don't really want to lose him now as he's decent off the bench. Alexey Roganov Definitely don't want to lose him so it's a case of hoping he accepts his new deal before any bids come in here. I think I can probably only push backs Augsburg and Freiburg without upsetting him. Alex Barreto Not wanting to enter new terms and desperate to join Arsenal. I'm almost resigned to losing him but there has been no bids as of yet. Mario Bentancor Wanted to join Benfica but is also in the process of signing a new deal so I hope I can keep him. Alexandr Ivlev I'll be able to knock back Spartak but if Bayer come in, I think he'll have his head turned. He's just wrapping up a new deal though so that'll hopefully put the suitors off. Roman Kolosov He's not bothered about the Baggies so I've no issues with Roman, here.

Thanks! I'm very much invested with the mid-season break. I'm trying not to hoard talent into my youth team but there are some scouts out at their youth games to see what I can find. Thank you. I've been really taken aback by the whole Krasnodar story! I just assumed it was a merger of clubs but he's built this from the ground up to try and give opportunities to locally born players. The whole model is fantastic and one that I'm really invested in trying to replicate. Also - I've just seen the RPL table this season and I'm pretty shocked that Sochi are third, given where they were when I took over and where they are right now in my game - two seasons of near relegation to the third tier!

(Late) June 2035 As I'm rolling into the transfer window, I'm using my relationships with players in order to try and agree new deals and, as such, fend off incoming teams. Alex Barreto is unwilling to talk about a new deal amid much speculation but I've offered three new contracts: Hefty wage rises but it is what is now going to be needed to keep my players at the club. Of course, should they become unhappy, I'll allow them to discuss terms with others but, in reality, it's important to try and get there before that happens. --- I have made my first foray into the market, pouncing on a Dynamo player as they have fallen seriously into debt and, as of right now, have listed every single first team player. I think that Alexandr Medvedev will offer me some good competition across the backline and could develop into a really strong player. Played mostly as a right back or right wing back last season, he's excelled in creative stats but did lack a little defensively, although that is arguable based on the role he played and the actual amount of defending he's done. The deal for Jose Irala has also finally been completed and Arman Hosvepyan (ignore the UI bug - he's not a regular starter) has also begun his loan here. Following the sale of Isaev, I am now at a first team of 23 players and, with a matter of days left on his contract, have made an audacious big for Dusan Vlahovic. I'll run down the entire squad in the coming weeks.