_Ben_

It'll be one of the panels I've worked on recently so not released yet.

The end of the season marks a really important time in my tenure here in Germany. Less than eighteen months ago, I was a Champions League manager, having wrapped up successive top flight titles in Sweden, losing only once in sixty games. Now, I sit here faced with a third season in the 2.Bundesliga and a lot of questions to ask myself and my tema. That being said, I'm completely committed to the job and have shunned interest from a couple of top flight teams across the continent of late, with the power of the project keeping me sucked in here in Germany. Longer term - and I'm talking five or six years - it may become necessary to take the next step but I've always enjoyed building on more mediocre budgets and within tighter constraints, which is what we've got here at Bochum: from the 26,000 seater stadium to the financial implications that will surely subside following several seasons in the top flight. As is so often the case, the finest of margins and the smallest of losses have held us back. We could mention the loss to Heidenheim, where a shocking start saw us 2-0 after ten minutes but a valiant effort was in vein as we could not find the equaliser, which would - all things staying the same - have seen us ahead of Darmstadt on goal difference. If it wasn't that, maybe it was the sickening last gasp defeat to the hands of the side that pipped us to automatic promotion or the pair of no shows against Paderborn and Regensburg, where our dilapidated side couldn't handle the heat. Nevertheless, we look back with pride as our finish tops that of last year and the year before, where they finished fourth in their first season since relegation. Looking at individual stats, through the order of minutes played, you'll see attempts at proper squad rotation were tough - injuries took their toll on the latter half of the season and both failed targets showed that there were areas that we didn't quite achieve what I set out to do. That being said - Tchetchoua ended with thirteen goals and, when you consider that he didn't score in any of the first fifteen league games, this is a pretty solid return. Likewise, Lawrence's aerial superiority showed from set pieces, allowing Ibrahimovic to somewhat falsely inflate his assist tally. Next season, under the stewardship of Vincent Kompany, Union Berlin will be joining us, along with St Pauli, who weren't cut out for the to flight and leave after just a year there. Within our division, Mainz - who somehow justified a €31m fee for a defender in January - will surely want to improve on their pretty awful showing and ten place failing below their xPos. There will also be a Hannover side who will surely not want to spend much longer at this level but, aside from that, the floor is ours as we can hopefully push on and assert our dominance. When I moved to Bochum, I tried to explain my tactical thoughts through a series of bullet points which would, in the Hammarby method, lead to a series of metrics that could be used to calculate quality of performance as well as outcome of it. Below are those five core ideologies of our play, now adapted - in bold - to show our amendments and changes in style of play. The core goal remains the same though and I do feel that, however slowly we are moving, we are still moving forward with it. Calm build-up through numerical advantages in a 3-2 shape shape matched to have one more player than the opposition in the early transition: either 3-2, 3-1 or 2-2 box. Progress the ball forward vertically through overloads in the centre of the pitch wide areas to create spaces centrally. Get the ball into and around zone 14. Run at the opposition defence and counter attack from turnovers in the middle third. Win the ball back through a solid defensive line rather than committing to duels. Whilst the comparison cannot exactly be aligned, due to the fact I took over midway through the 28/29 season, there are some interesting developments: Less possession than last year, which is interesting and would require a little more investigation. My thoughts are that we're no longer having quite as much possession in the defensive third, given the fact we've moved away from a 5-3-2 shape, where, previously, we'd definitely have more than one extra player there. We're creating more without a huge amount more passes in the final third - which, actually, I am not against - showing that we are trying to be clinical. That, yet, isn't working with a drop in average shot xG - indicating that some of our attacking play is not quite as free and as well-rehearsed as it should be. The turnover and transitional elements are stronger as we have improved our dribbling and interceptions rate, whilst dropping - or, at least, what looks like dropping, our defensive line. The hint states that this is point of first defensive contact, which actually indicates that we have not necessarily dropped deeper but have become far more compact in shape - something which I was keen to do. It has also allowed the opposition conversion rate to stay the same, suggesting that the chances they are creating and, importantly, the quality of our goalkeeping, hasn't diminished. Something that I intend to look back on this year and further develop through some recruitment. With my ambitions lofty, this summer will be as important as ever as I look to build a squad that will see us win promotion from this division. I started the summer recruitment off with a handful of games left to go - selling two of my French imports for a whopping €19m in profit, despite neither of them actually playing well. Geubbels was somewhat usurped by Tchetchoua in his quest for ten league goals across the second half of the season and his murmerings were picked up by another Belgian team, following Anderlecht's move for Tillman earlier in the season. At €12m, this is a great figure for a someone who was essentially a backup. Likewise, Lemina moves to Belgium for €7m as I came to the conclusion that a full retraining mission of a player just about entering their prime must be handled carefully - and this one wasn't exactly done so. He's a decent player but €7m is a great figure that I intend to repurpose into the signings of several new players: Rotational striker: Now that Tchetchoua - a full Cameroonian international and representing them at the World Cup this summer - has virtually cemented himself as first choice, I feel that it is imperative I have an older striker, one with more than the fifty-odd senior games that the youngster has played, available to rotate in. Clearly, his half-season goal drought has has a lasting memory with me and it's something I'm keen to ensure I have the resources to ensure I can manage better next time. Because there will always be a next time. Rotational right winger: With Molina's failed target, I need reinforcements here. My promise to develop youth means that he'll get all the time he needs but I cannot, realistically, be carrying a playmaker who is creating just a handful of goals a season into the top flight, where he is completely untested. I will, however, support him as much as humanly possibly in his quest to become that combo creator/dribbler and want to partner him with a player in a similar mould. Ball carrying centre mid: I believe that Osterhage has been immense this season but I have little in the way of depth behind him, bar Jan Sommer, who could really use some time out on loan to develop and gain experience. Again, I'll put faith in him developing but feel that some experience here would help. He'd potentially join a small group of players who are enjoying success elsewhere as developmental loans. A dribbly centre mid: It's time to introduce players who can carry the ball more in my quest to rise up the dribbly rankings and I think a centre mid is needed here. Tillman's absence has never been filled and Maier is young and, again, could do with some extra experience. Rotational right back: The stalwart Passlack played all but thirty-four minutes of first team football this year and, therefore, some assisting for his aging legs is much needed. A player who possesses similar traits - in terms of getting forward - is key here, despite this role not exactly being in my long, long term plans. As such, a converted winger or someone who could even play as a ball carrying midfielder might be a positive option for us to ensure that we get the best for our money. Upgraded keeper: Not an 'essential' but Gebhart's '2' for Determination and not fantastic ball playing ability can always be a marginal gain for us. The best part of this summer is that I now have some money! With €19m from above sales, I will also receive €4.25m in both January 2031 and January 2032 from the Tillman sale. Combine that, with a sort of 'eggs in one basket' approach and I'll see €15m+ for prize money at the end of the season and €30m+ for prize money at the end of the season following promotion. I am conscious that I want to keep within our wage structure but build in bonuses and new wages post-promotion, knowing that it'll sweeten a deal now but also save money in the long run through forced renewals. Yet, this summer should see a departure from the 'free transfer business' of last - regardless of the success and the profit I have turned in such a short time. I always reach a point in my save where I want to do this. I've tried to achieve it on previous games but it's going to get my full attention here. My plan is to create shortlists, with at least three men on each. I will use of DoF if I don't want to structure payments but will look to spread payments cleverly, something which I am notoriously bad at doing. Below, I have the beginnings on my shortlist for the right winger role: The fun here comes working through and deciding on how to order these. Clearly, Kluivert is the biggest name here but he comes with the downsides of being 31 and also wanting a substantial wage and, more than likely, would not settle for being in rotation with Molina. Then there is Borges, a player I seem to remember from FM-fandoms in years gone by. Seems decent, but playing for Jong Ajax. They're a second tier team like us, but, really, would he improve us? Then it comes down to stats - dribbles and key passes are the name of the game for this role and, for reference, Molina averaged 1.82 and 1.39 respectively in these metrics last season. Therefore, it'd be Sari that is the only player that comfortably exceeds them but part of me has an interest in Siaka too, mainly for the fact that it's still mid-season in Sweden and I can go and watch him play for my old team GIF, where his chances created and dribbles per game rank him pretty high when combined. I then have this same process for all of the above positional needs! FUN! Nur der VfL!

True. I think that, for me with the creation of a player pathway from the U19 team too, it's potentially even more than that; what holes do I have that need filling? How can I stop myself needing to recruit? How old are these youngsters? To be honest - it's my first time trying it out, so I'm now a little apprehensive as Molina has registered exactly zero assists in his quest for eight. I was not aware that the target was 'from that point on' and not accumulative. I don't think that either will actually reach their target based on this information - shame but I can't expect successes everywhere and every time: that's just not realistic. I don't know! The three players below are vying for the striker spot in my youth squad. I use an IW(s) there because Sadirov fits that mould on the right hand side but I don't actually think Tarnowski is really made up to be a striker as his movement is lacking as is his finishing. That being said - there's no huge holes in his game and my Trequartista role does require a pretty well rounded passer/finisher, which he is. It's really early in his development and it's likely my U19 manager will play him wherever is needed, so I'll let the dust settle for 12 months or so and see where we're at with him!

I’m going to keep this as a separate ‘off the pitch’ update, with a final end of season update driven by statistical work, hopefully… The sale of a key player is always an important part of the season and I was forced into that when Anderlecht met my €22m valuation of the American attacking midfielder. He’d spoken to me days before about wanting to explore his options at the end of his deal – eighteen months from this point – but I’d been able to talk him down with a spiel about loyalty. Yet it was he who had quickly forgotten that when the Belgian giants came calling and, given his statistical output, felt that the money – given our overall financial situation – would be worth more than the one goal and four assists he’d provided. Furthermore, the two instalments, both in January of €4.25m, would – potentially – fund two further transfer windows, dependent on our situation. Obviously, this coming on deadline day meant that I was rushed to source a sensible replacement so, instead, was left with the promotion of academy player Christoph Kuhn. He’s far from perfect but is a wrong-footed right winger who can play backup to Molina. Speaking of the young German/Spaniard, I moved to make a decision that I’ve not made before: using this opportunity to offer Molina a new deal, with the clause that, should he assist seven more goals this season, I’d make him a Regular Starter for next. Pretty self-explanatory really – he’s now got a realistic target to work towards and, if he achieves it, will have performed well enough to be part of my first team plans and probably one of my more valuable players. I then did the same for Tchetchoua, with an added €97k (some two and a half months wages), should he score fifteen times with the aforementioned promise of regularity to his starting time (and, probably a €15m income from the sale of Geubbels – who is already showing murmurs of annoyance at not being the first choice striker but would bring in a fee that’d dwarf the bonus Tchetchoua would earn) if he reaches ten goals. He promptly scored twice on the day after I’d begun this contract renewal, which feels incredibly promising or the long term future for him. Elsewhere, I allowed Stanislaw Majewski to get some defending practice at the Eredivisie’s bottom side, NAC. Not an ideal place for him to cut his teeth but his rise to prominence has been so quick and so unexpected, I’d already recalled Theide to the first team and, as such, felt the playing time, wherever it came, would be of more benefit to him. With six teenagers – Fischer, Kuhn, Thiede, Sommer, Tchetchoua and Molina as well as four more at twenty-one or under, Maier, Adams, Kozic and Kohler, I feel that there has been a complete culture change here. All of the above players, bar Adams - bought in by the previous regime – are home-grown in the academy and have had a clear journey marked to the first team. However, with an average age of 23.15, our team is young and really inexperienced. With no real plans – despite our lofty position and good form – to be in any place other than this league next year, my focus is to now supplement these players with strong-personality, experienced heads who can bring the best out of the young players I have. --- With youth intake day nearing, I felt that - given the nature of my save - it was important to share the development of the promising youth from the last intake. Full development profiles can be seen by clicking each screenshot. I am delighted to see that, overall, the players are generally improving just a little bit more each month. Watanabe's loss, around October last year, cannot be attributed to an injury or an a change to the additional focus (as this is repeated in February and July and a repeated pattern wasn't evident there) but it's important that I look at this, along with the smaller losses for Samake and Schonwalder, to ensure that the youth training is optimal and pushing them each month. With three of the four born in 2012, they'll still have one further season at this level before I either move them on loan or bring them into the first team, but, given our development over the past year and a half, I cannot say for certain where we will be and what the first team will look like at that point. Ideally, a spell in Sweden (as three players just have done) will be an ideal stepping stone for them to cut their teeth in adult football at what is a pretty decent level. The youth intake itself felt a little underwhelming. No elite talents, at first glance, yet, once the dust had settled and my scholars were announced, that figure had changed to two. The five players below - all of whom have a full profile screenshot linked through their thumbnail - are the most promising of the bunch and the most likely to make the move to earning professional, first team football either here or elsewhere. --- As the season moves closer towards the conclusion, I can reveal that interest in both Geubbels and my second French signing of the summer, Lemina, has intensified, largely down to the development of my youth players here. I truly believe that this bunch of players is good enough to get us promoted but, as previously mentioned, we're still not quite doing it as I'd like to. I think that the summer is going to be a great time to reflect on that from a holistic perspective as opposed to an individual player level. Despite this being a purely player orientated update, there is still an incredible amount of focus and concentration put into the training, match day build up and actual match - like nothing I've ever done before. In the spirit of previous posts and now I've learnt the motto....Nur der VfL!

Lost track of this for a while and come back to see where you are now: great achievement! Can I see some of your better players please? The mentoring and youth development must be working wonders...

You're building some really strong foundations Shrew! Congratulations on the European qualification. Any realistic aims for there next season or is it just an 'enjoy it' but make sure you qualify for it again? I love Aguirre but I too am an absolute sucker for just moving them into the team at such a young age. Currently, half of my squad are teenagers and that, despite a great academy focus, is just not realistic! On the other hand, my playing time is now so much slower that a year or two in the B team and then a couple of loans means I'd never play long enough for these kids to break through! I will watch how you handle him closely and probably learn a thing or two!

I appreciate your continued support with my skin! I'll drop you a DM in a couple of days with the updates - such as staff attributes and QOL fixes - before it goes public. EDIT: Oh, and someone else who is in Germany - good luck! The 2.Liga is a fun place to be.

This afternoon, I spent a bit of time playing with the buttons on my player popup and now I have this: The purpose is to have quick snapshots of things that I'd be interested in and - particularly for me - would want to share in my career update. For unattached players, you only see their career history and for non-owned players, you can't see the progress tab, for obvious reasons. What is missing?!

Chris, I haven't missed this post, I'm just a little bit stuck in the middle. Whilst things are going really well, I'm yet to really create a style that is representative in statistical form. I'm seeing nice shapes but I'm not, yet, seeing a huge number of dribbles or a particular closed defence, for example. We're good crossers, but that's a little inconsequential, as neither of our strikers are good in the air! I think that this year, I'll be able to set the baselines and then start to create my performance improvement areas. Perfection is not an end goal, it's a process!

It does change. I proved it myself. Please find the attached file and a reminder that it's not my job to modify my skin for the liking of others. player profile.xml

It's not there because I don't think it needs to be. You don't need to hijack an unrelated post with your request when you've already asked once for the change. However, to do this, you need to open player profile.xml and delete lines 406 to 446 and 526 to 566. Replace them with this: <!-- Outfield player --> <container class="person_attributes_analyser_panel" id="ofap" file="player/attributes/player attribute analyser outfield" > <record id="object_property" get_property="Pigo" set_property="hidn"/> </container> <!-- Goalkeeper --> <container class="person_attributes_analyser_panel" file="player/attributes/player attribute analyser goalkeeper" id="gkap"> <record id="object_property" get_property="Pigo" set_property="Shwn"/> </container> And you'll get this: It won't stay in my skin as I dislike it but it is what you asked for.

Mid-way through my second season in the Bundesliga and nearing four hundred days into my job, I feel a real sense of purpose here in Germany. I'm building something really quite promising at the club and I'm fully invested in the different areas that I'm trying to develop: tactics, players and finances. That being said - third place in the league is a little misleading at this point. Four wins in a row, albeit against one recently relegated side - Heidenheim - and two other top-half contenders, have papered over some of the cracks that have somewhat haunted our start to the season. Whilst I think we're within the top five or six teams in this league, all of whom are a whole step behind Eintracht Frankfurt, I really do not see us as proper promotion contenders for a number of reasons. I think I can use the four players, below, to tell the story of the season so far. Each one has his own goals and targets and these are forcing me into questions, thoughts and decisions - all of which are really enjoyable to think about. A full screenshot of each player's profile can be found by clicking on the thumbnail, below. Augustine Tchetchoua - the scoring issue: It took him seventeen league games, but, in the home tie against Furth, Augustine finally opened his scoring account for this season. The youngster has been thrust into the first team following an injury to Geubbels but has found the going tough and has not been able to replicate his form on last season, where his five goals in nine starts was a solid return. His worries are similar to our entire team though, to be fair. The xG table has us in a decent position but I'm wary of Mainz's form at the moment and expect them to make a real push back up the table, even if Kiel are over performing. Our issue isn't necessary goals, but, quite weirdly it is goals. Our goal output suggest we're good and, looking at the table, it'd suggest the same but look at where those goals come - three against Furth, four against Regensburg, three against Magdeburg yet blanks against Mainz, Frankfurt, Paderborn and Aachen. We just aren't consistently scoring and when you take into account our goals from set pieces, you'll see why. Our set piece efficiency and the fact that our top scorer is 6'7" centre back Lawrence with strike pairing Geubbels and Tchetchoua netting a paltry two, each, highlights the issue. The striker's shooting outputs show that they aren't taking enough shots, largely, or, when they are, they're low xG chances. I think some of this could be solved with my next issue... Carlos Molina - tactical thoughts: We've developed a nice new 2233 shape by using a L(s) or L(d) when building up against a one man strikeforce, which is great. It's an observation I've made and works nicely when needed. Yet my issues seem to stem further up the pitch, particularly with the AP(s) role on the right wing. We've lost a little bit of our customary directness and cutting edge and I think a large part of that is how FM creates the playmaker role: largely asking them to get on the ball and slow down the play. Whilst others may not feel the same and I do not have anything more than an eye test to back up it, I'd argue that Molina's outputs - twenty times more passes than dribbles, suggest that he's there as a link rather than a true attacking threat. By moving back to an IW(s) I can create a bit more of a combination role, that takes into account his creativity and his ball carrying skills. Furthermore, adding the 'Focus play down the right' instruction (not shown on that screenshot), I can reduce his risk to Positive, meaning he's likely to pick the ball up in deeper areas, drive forward and still have Passlack on the overlap. Justin Theide - player pathways: Justin's performances at 3.Liga side Lubeck, who were struggling in the league, coincided with the forced sale of Hajrizi for €800k to Odd - just weeks before he'd have walked for nothing, creating a spot within the first team. He's just one of a number of promising youngsters that I have along with a longer list who are already integrating into the first team. I'm really enjoying the micro-management of this element and really believe that the lack of a II team here in Germany is giving me even more opportunities for these youngsters to move between squads. The next steps are to utilise the Brommapojkarna link in Sweden and find the right place for that 19+ year old market of a player whose development may not have quite kicked off. I don't have place for them in the first team and (in my eyes) the only downside of a II team is I wouldn't be able to give them minutes to play our way. However, the removal of that more risky scouting business, identifying only players ready for the first team has allowed more focus on bringing through and giving minutes to these players. Maik Fischer - youth development: Whilst not tracking to the degree of previous years, since bringing attributes back, I was interested in just how much my youngsters were moving on so have dumped their numbers into a basic development tracker, which looks at growth across the time they've been with me - the top set since I joined and the bottom since their promotion in March. The first interesting thing that I see here is the importance of that first year, with strong developments made by Samake, Bothmann and Schonwalder. Furthermore, there's still quite a clear link between personality and development, putting an even greater emphasis on how I build my youth coaching setup. It has also produced some unexpected surprises: Stanislaw Majewski was missed off my initial screenshot gathering when I took over, presumably because I planned on releasing him! Now, he's one of several first team candidates that I am now looking to move into the player pathway element of this. The team are doing great, sitting second in their U19 league and playing a slightly different version of my tactic, suited for the players in the team. --- By the time I write the next update, the season will be completed, I'll have had my youth intake - rated, in a preview, as 'good' - and will have had more time to sit and mull over the financial decisions I will have to make in the summer. Both newly promoted teams, Dusseldorf and St Pauli, sit in the bottom two, furthering my thoughts that we just aren't ready. We'll get a decent chunk if we finish in the top five here and, if I can remove some of the financial burdens at the club and replace carefully, as well as ensuring that I have another year here to blood these late teens/early twenties youngsters, I think we'd be in a much stronger position. That being said - there's a lot of football left to be played...

Yes. No ETA on it though before you ask.

There is one? Unless you mean for staff?

I don't think so, no.

I'm sure you can see from my own thread and the changes I've made to my skin just how inspiring this work is Shrew. I love Mario Martinez from this intake, too! I'd be really interested in reading your approach to their development and whether you've learnt anything from the three seasons that you've been at it for.

I also took this little bit of skinning time to finally ditch my idea for staff and return to attributes:

Yeah, of course. In 'Settings - Gold.xml' if you replace the Statman colours section with this: <!--STATMAN COLOURS--> <colour name="statman" value="rgb(212,175,55)"/> <colour name="bg" value="rgb(28,32,48)"/> <colour name="bg darker" value="black"/> <colour name="bg lighter" value="rgb(28,32,32)"/> You can start with a darker background. Here, I've labelled bg darker just so you can still see the 'bar' in those places above. Because the background user 'client object browser' to essentially cover everything, I'd focus your playing on the bg lighter colour, which, in the code above, is significantly darker than what I started with.

Faced with predicted losses of over €10m a season, I knew that this transfer window would really be tough and I'd need to pull as many strings and think as far outside of the box as I could to ensure that we came out of it in a stronger position. To be fair - the window has been a little vanilla, in all honesty. I've looked for upgrades where possible and experienced squad depth, rather than expansive scouting and high risk signings. With board demands of only reaching the top half of the 2.Bundesliga this season, I feel that I've got a bit of a free shot whilst I continue to repair the financial damage to the club. My first order of business was to cash in on Agustin Alvarez, who moves to Holland for €8m. This gets over €40k p/w off the wage bill and moves on a player who really was not at his best last season. With a USA snub, part of me expected Tillman to kick up a fuss but, with my recent wage reworking, his salary commitments are way above anyone else here and, as a man with no interest in negotiating anything new, I felt that this could be used to our advantage. As of the time of writing, he remains at the club but efforts to replace him are being explored with more haste than before. Despite the outgoings of Alvarez and the pre-arranged deals previously mentioned, I decided to instead put my money towards signing free agents, most of whom performed well at their previous clubs. Again, I'll mention the vanilla element to this window but I really think that it was needed. I mentioned the want for an overhaul in a previous update but have now gone ahead and signed just four players - however, each of those brings experience, quality and potential to offer more than just a name on the team sheet. It is that, I truly believe, that will allow me to take the gambles with blooding youth players, changing roles and elements of individual players' games as well as the team shape. Arijon Ibrahimovic - no relation to Zlatan, who is on my coaching staff - moves to us after a dominant season with Bayern's II team in the 3.Liga. Last year, he recorded thirteen goals - third best in the league - from 8.67xG and a total of 0.59 goal contributions per ninety in a team that, despite finishing fifth, only had the fourteenth best goals scored tally. 0.29xA/90 compared to just 0.16 assists/90 further backs up that a reasonable number of assists (joint 25th in the league) could, and probably should, have been better. Over five and a half progressive actions with a skew towards dribbles and 2.36 key passes per game show me that he's a carrier and a creator, too. With great Flair, Dribbling, Technique and a solid, agile physical base, I truly think he's a coup for the club and expect him to be making noises for a move to the top tier very soon. It's Bayern's loss, clearly, but a testament (and a shock when we get to this level) of their depth that he's not been able to break into the first team. Another man at the top of the scoring charts is Willem Geubbels, whose twelve strikes - from 8.65xG - sits him fourth in the league in a season where his St Gallen side romped to the title. Therefore, this move can be considered another huge coup. Guebbels' average shot xG of just 0.10 is pretty poor and his 14.77% conversion rate can definitely be worked on but his eye for goal is nothing short of fantastic as he covers ground, takes players on and can turn into a creative force, too, with seven assists to his name, bringing his goal involvements to 0.56 per game. I remember him from previous games and what he could become but it seems that he's landed in Switzerland and somewhat found his level; he's really well rounded with little in the way of deficiencies but, most importantly, was €8m cheaper than Alvarez and earns €18k p/w less than him, too. I believe that he could go on, like Arijon before him, to feature at this level and in the top flight, whether that comes with us or not; this two could be a deadly duo! Noah Lemina - younger and less-famous brother of Mario - is another player to be joining us after a spell in the Swiss top flight. The Lausanne man, on loan from Nice, averaged over three dribbles a game as well as 1.15 key passes per game. FIve goal involvements overall do paper over the cracks of a couple of wobbly years in and around the two Nice sides and the PSG 2 side earlier in his career, sandwiching a successful loan at second tier Sochaux. At 23, I think he's got time left in him to develop and is, again, well rounded - a really clear recruitment decision I have made. However, Lemina is the most creative of these signings whereby I want to utilise him in the centre of the pitch. He's slight - 5'6" and 62kg but he's fast, clever and can progress the ball: ideal for what I want as a central winger, the direct translation of the Mezzala role. There is, of course, some flexibility in this choice as he could easily play wide left, pushing Ibrahimovic to the right and Tillman to the CM(a) role - it's all about options! I have to go back to 2025/26 to find the last full season that Dominik Stumberger played and it was whilst he was at WSG Tirol before a €4.7m move to Salzburg. A left footed centre back who can progress the ball and offer something more than most going forward feels like a sensible transfer, particularly when I face the prospect of losing Hajrizi in the summer and require a stop gap for a couple of years until any of my youth may be ready for first team action. After successes with this method for Elfsborg and the quality of youth I am really focussing on, I think that my core squad - of just twenty players - provides me with enough depth in most areas of the pitch, as you can see below. I intend to keep the defence as solid as possible, rotating as little as I can in order to maintain the solidity that you can get with well-built partnerships. Plus, the area of the squad where I have most youth quality is in defence, therefore I don't feel overly worried. Going forward, the signings I've brought in and the players I've looked to retain all offer me flexibility in different roles and will allow me to deviate from my original tactical styles and plans when needed. There will be multiple questions to answer further down the line: a considerable number of the squad are entering their final two years, with many in their last, there is a considerable divide between old and young within the squad and we still need to be aware of being usurped by bigger teams for stronger players in the squad who'd happily move elsewhere. --- Pre-season has come and gone by quite nicely. Three cups - courtesy of the @danielgear method and my players are fit and ready to go. I know my strongest side but the reality is that they won't be playing together that often as I want to really dig into the analysis of our opponents this season. Our 3133 shape, with sets of overloads - originally down the right in our earlier transition but then again on the left when we approach the goal, which, to me, is screaming out for a player who can switch play or move quickly to change the dynamic of our attack but, overall, is feeling positive and suited to what we have here. With eight parts to last season's updates, I intend to split this much cleaner into another couple of updates, giving me a bit more time to dig into the game and develop both tactically and develop the players I have at my disposal. I also want to dig into some player amortisation stuff as I will need to keep a closer eye than ever on the financial implications at the club. I'm positive about the season but also conscious we share a league with Eintracht Frankfurt, Mainz, Heidenheim, Hannover, Kaiserslautern and several other really strong sides.

Thanks for this! My preferred style is closer to your second image but I'm really trying to experiment and see what works best for me. I will drop into your thread too, at some point. It'd passed me by - sorry! Completely agree - there is too much randomness here.

The shape issue, for me, has been the most successful part of my time here at Bochum, so far. I identified an issue (likelihood of facing a 442) and then adapted to it (removing an extra player from the early transition) so to see it work so nicely is great! I agree about the WB though - which is infuriating considering the amount of time I've spent thinking about this because of the players I have. I don't want to go any higher risk because it'll mean I end up playing fast paced hoofball and my squad isn't able to do that but he's just a little lethargic in moving to become that extra winger. I only tried it because I was having no success the other way - with multiple groups with one mentor in them. This one hasn't sped anything up really, either. It's giving me more focus on getting their development plan spot on to limit the potential that a poor personality, or - at least - a slower change to personality, doesn't impact them as much. A lot of this depends on those hidden attributes that mentoring does not impact. I like how it works, to be fair!

Recommendations would be to change to sidebar icons, zoom to 85/95% and also check your Windows zoom settings - moving from 125% (default in most cases) to 100%. After that, I don’t really know because it’s not a resolution I use, sorry.

I want to keep my tactical thoughts a little more condensed in this update but the major concerns that I felt were not with the solidity of our defence; the goals conceded are hugely skewed towards defensive mistakes and just not being as good. Instead, I felt that our midfield was not giving us the most opportunities to overload the middle. Early in transition, our shape was lending itself to trying to recreate the box with the central mid – Osterhage – dropping deeper to collect the ball. However, that was stifling us of on-ball opportunities higher up the pitch. That, combined with the frequency of facing a 442, meant that the 3-2 shape had become a little obsolete – five defensive players around just two of their forwards as their wide midfielders rarely press centrally. With thoughts of ‘remove the attacking WB and go central again’ thoroughly, and forcibly, removed from my head, I changed the idea of the box midfield to encompass more of a 3151/3133 shape (with different combinations) and even a 235, with a holding midfielder sitting in front of the defence and then a CM(a)/BBM(s) combo that gave me two players in zone fourteen, with the addition of the AP(s) pulling inside as the WB(a) overlapped. Possibly not end-game with this but, given the shape restrictions due to the players I have, it certainly felt more useful. I must say, things worked out pretty well... A strong end to the season with just one defeat in the last twelve sees us end up in sixth place. We've shot up the table, moving from fourteenth to seventh by the end of the transfer window but have pretty much performed on a par with those above us, failing to close the gap with too many dropped points. That being said, we've been on top in most of these games and have been somewhat held back by a little lack of creativity and a lack of a proper scorer up top. Alvarez finishes the season as top scorer but has barely contributed anything since his goal against Braunschweig back in March and, despite all of Tillman's praise, just five assists for our best player isn't the greatest of returns. Summer will be difficult - we're losing money and have some high earners, meaning that I'm going to be heavily restricted and will have to look at both integrating more and more youth but also selling players and replacing them with cheaper options, almost certainly harming any attempts at a promotion push next year. That being said, I must take the rough with the smooth and be thankful that I've not suffered similar to Schalke's plight as they now drop out of the third tier and out of the playable leagues that I have running. What I am excited for - given the move from a calendar schedule to an autumn-spring schedule is a break! It's been eighteen months since an off season, where I can begin to analyse, create and adapt for our next push. --- Looking further down the line, our youth intake was strong and has given me a number of options to work with over the coming years. With nine players reaching the upper threshold for age in the U19 and the purposeful decision to move to a team without a II club, questions must be asked about their longer term playing pathway and whether I realistically see them being able to be a part of the first team, or not. From this group – and this is not solely based on potential ability – I believe that Molina, Tchetchoua, Sommer, Voss and Thiede all have the attribute balance, personality and have performed well enough in my youth tactical approach to be considered for first team football. Upon this intake, I moved those five to the first team in order for them to experience training, mentoring and some game time. This then left me with the decision of what to do with the others; my initial thoughts are to try and sell them for a tiny fee with a buy back clause involved, just in case they are able to kick on and develop. With these places up for grabs, I signed eleven of the youth intake and have really high hopes for the six below: A Japanese centre back who has the potential to become a Libero in my system: what else could I ask for! Katsuhiro is pretty well rounded and, with his potential in a role that is empty, I feel he can slot in next to Fischer, who occupies the IFB role on the left. He needs some physical work and to improve a little bit in the defender part of his job, but, for his age, looks mentally strong and pretty well suited to progress the ball from deep. Nils Lennart Schonwalder was designated as the star of this intake and it’s clear to see why. At just sixteen, he’s incredibly well developed technically and has a good level of intelligence. His area of development, later in this cycle, will certainly be around his physicality – right now he looks unable to fulfil a demanding midfield role, particularly that false sense of bravery – getting into the tackles but then being muscled off the ball far too easily. Klussman’s personality, lack of natural fitness and smaller stature very much make him second fiddle in the now-vacant DM role. However, he’s not too bad when it comes to creativity from deep – although that’s not currently something that I’m necessarily looking for. Both Samake and Sadirov excite me! As wrong-footed wingers who are more than just wingers, I see this as becoming a nice double header. The young part-Ivorian lad is nippy and agile and has an eye for a pass whereas the Russian has that but is also a little stronger when presented with a scoring chance. These two perfectly suit the IW(s)/IW(a) combo I envisage us running with going forward. Both are a little unathletic but are both young enough that there will be natural gains here. By training both on the T(a) schedule, I hope to develop clever, technical, agile wide men who are able of carrying the ball and finding the final pass. I do have some concerns around the personality traits of Sadirov but will look to learn what is working well in terms of praise and criticism in order to get the most from his development. With the vacancy made by Molina’s age and Kohler already in the first team, this feels like a strong area for the academy at present. Maik Bothmann really excites me for a creative striker role but also as a player who can finish a chance on the last man. He’s pacey and agile even if a little blinkered when on the ball. His need is clear – technical ability – but, providing that he naturally grows stronger, this can be his focus for the next four to five years. --- As I said, the summer will be tough. I've already utilised the help of intermediaries and will be hopefully offloading the below bit-part players: Some money will be recouped here and I will be moving on those who haven't played or have really underperformed in the first team, after being brought in by the previous regime. Furthermore, I will have choices to make about the over-age players from the youth team who will hopefully clear some extra money on the wage bill and give me an opportunity to bring them back, should they develop with first team football. Lastly, I have the sell if needed pile, currently with two men - below - who could help generate funds and, in Hajziri's case, not leave for nothing, in order to strengthen elsewhere: Let's see what happens!

Thanks! The reignition does really feel like it's there because this team is so poor! I'm having to work overtime to get anything decent out of them and I'd say we have been really, really lucky, so far. Around 75% of this squad is 'up for sale' in my eyes - if we want to seriously make progress! I had a Libero at Elfsborg and I think I can develop one here but the lack of two really solid IFB is holding me back. Passlack is so offensive yet a strong player for this team without true sell on value, so I may as well make the most of him! It's forcing me to think of different ways to create the shapes I want. The team stats are a little harder to judge compared to player ones (end of season stat subtract overall stat when taking over divided by minutes played times ninety is fine) so it's likely that I'll create some new ones at the start of next season, given an anticipated squad overhaul, too. I think the key word for me is focus. I'm happier than ever now to play around with things in the match engine but a goal to work towards stops this becoming a silly exercise of tactical gymnastics.

What do you mean ‘isn’t right?’ Please can you share some screenshots? I made the skin for the resolution I play at and am unable to offer support for a screen size I do not own.