_Ben_

I'm still early enough in my tenure here to be overawed by senior players so these kind of calls are really important. Much better, yes. Still keeping a close eye on them but, given that Roda are a lower mid-table side, these aren't too bad results. Thanks. Finland's number one, still playing in his home league, is an early sighting. Just getting a better insight on him and then will delve into some stats as that's, by far, my weakest area of recruiting.

I set them off to three countries at a time until they 'finish' although I don't quite know what that means. I've done a fair bit of reading and experimenting with it and it seems like this is the most efficient method in FM22, although it's not really as realistic as I'd like it to be.

That's the million dollar question, isn't it! To be truthful, I don't think we're going to finish in the top two: Ajax are running away with and Feyenoord are back. But, then you have PSV, who have massively faltered and AZ, who weren't quite as good as us last month so it's hard to tell where we're going to finish really.

October 2037 What, on paper, looks like a month where we've faltered is actually a month where we can hold our heads high in terms of performances against teams arguably better than we are. I'm still really getting to grips with the game (so weird to say as a veteran since CM01/02) tactically, hence another month really detailed like this. I'm sure this posting style will subside and change when I have other things - normally statistical analysis - to focus on, but it's enjoyable anyway! In terms of our position in the league, I couldn't be happier. Ajax are long gone and I think Feyenoord will follow, given their resurgence, game in hand and the fact that they're unbeaten too. However, it's going to take some turnaround for PSV to be back challenging in the upper echelons, which really does open the door for either us, or arch-rivals Heerenveen, to sneak in. Europe this season is the aim and anywhere in that top five would signify a really strong start for me here. --- AZ Alkmaar 0-0 FC Groningen Bare a crazy moment in the 87th minute, we controlled this match and that is certainly something that we can look back on with immense pride. AZ are that 'gateway' team, not quite up to the level of the top three but probably better than the rest of the league, on paper, and are currently competing in Europe. Whilst the continued experiment with four attacking players - two CM(a) and two IF(a) continued and somewhat faltered in this game, the evidence of our continual chance creation and very tight defensive unit is still evident for all to see. Heracles 1-1 FC Groningen A really interesting tie against high-flying Heracles. They lined up in a 4-3-2-1 Christmas three shape, of which I'd never properly faced before. Again, following the ideology that, at this point, one point is better than none, I probably did give them a bit too much - playing the 4-2-1-3 shape with two DMs in order to combat, and provide one spare man, for their forward three. As I've found with this shape, it does limit by attacking ability and, even with the change from IWB(s) to WB(s) on the full backs, felt that in this tie. What we did do we though is, despite them having a spare man in midfield, really limited the options of progressive passes for them, keeping close tabs on their more creative three. Yet, if I look at where those progressive passes went, I see a pattern - that both full backs were allowed time and space high up the pitch and that is where the more offensive IF(a) provides an issue for me. The more I get into this, tactically, the more I see that there is no one approach and I need to really make use of the scouting report and what I see on the pitch to adapt and overcome issues. The moan comes from their goal though, where Rocha's positioning really must be called into question. He's not sluggish but was caught on his heels as this header was seemingly placed well enough to allow their forward to win the footrace and score. He's really not impressed me since joining and that has been justified by the 1(1) appearances he's made. I know that using a statistical method, I won't get every signing right so am in no way complaining, but it's certainly interesting to see just how far off the boil he is for us compared to the games I watched at Vitoria. Again, confirmation that this tactic is some way away from hitting the desired levels: The removal of one of the CM(a) really stops us creating through the middle - maybe this is where an AF(a) is needed to lead the line and we then have something to play up to. FC Groningen 1-1 Heerenveen Before the match, I was rocked by a meeting involving the three aging team leaders: Vos, Regeer and Speksnjider, all angry that Henry Westra wasn't getting the football he deserved. I told them that, quite frankly, he wasn't performing well enough, but that didn't go down too well... I don't think it takes a genius to work out which four players were not selected? Hardly ideal to head into the big derby without your team leaders and captain, but these are the decisions that I live and die by... In the end, the game was hard-fought and a draw was probably deserved, despite our heavy xG win. As mentioned in the Heracles tie, I'm still looking to learn ways to adapt - both Heerenveen wide men caused me issues, despite the TI pushing them inside and me pushing them onto the weaker, inside, feet. It was until I switched the IWB(s) to WB(s) and changed the DM(d) to HB(d) in order to create a 3-2 in defence instead of a 2-3. Yet I think that the overall tactical issue from this month is below: We're just not receiving the ball in the opposition area. It's simple - when we do, we score goals. We don't complete a huge number of crosses - 24%, 9th in Eredivisie - and Dennis Bouma sits atop of our leaderboard for Key Passes/90 on 2.45 (he's not a set piece taker), but this places him only 17th in the league. With Barreto, Zherebyatjev, Hylnsson and Conberse at Kransodar - I had some incredible playmakers who were able to thread the ball through. We're somewhat lacking in that here. I'm never a blame the personnel manager as I need to get the most out of the squad I have, but I do feel a little short. ---- I decided to recall Herman Swager (don't be fooled by the arrows, look at his progression graph) from his loan at Roda, which had produced some pretty shambolic performances; he'll join back up with the Jong squad but his place is at risk, especially as I'll be looking to recruit some younger players now that I've reshuffled my scouting team... This was something I wanted to post about few months back but it got waylaid. I mentioned, when recruiting Cespedes that this kind of deal would, in no way, be realistic for a club of our stature. Therefore, I've utilised the team I have and built what I feel is a slightly more realistic scouting setup. I have kept on Varas, who was my scout and Ural and Krasnodar, and he'll stay in South America but I feel that there should be mastery gained at much closer to home levels first. I want to create strongholds within: Scandinavia - particularly Iceland as that is where the cheapest and 'rawest' potential is and we already have two players from their national team. Eastern Europe - Russia is expensive but a natural area of focus given the nationality and history of the manager, Nikita Zakharov, within this save. Central Europe - largely from clubs with II teams or those playing at youth levels. I think that's a realistic aim for a club of our size Africa - Avoiding the more expensive areas (although keeping an eye out in Egypt) and utilising nations with known academies that would benefit from future sell on fees. Middle East - again, quite an undervalued hunting ground. Avoiding the riches of Qatar and Saudi Arabia to focus on some lesser known countries but those who are often seen as second nationalities in Dutch intakes. I have sent the scouts to the country of their birth (minus Dutch Postema and Central African Republic Kaimba) as well as two further countries. Whilst this feels a little loose - not favouring youth competitions or anything as well - it appears to be the most fruitful way of finding players.

Thanks both! It's no surprise for me to say that the last two months have been among the most enjoyable of any FM I've ever played and I think that's come through in how I've written about them.

October 2037 Coming in at nearly two thousand words, this must be one of my most documented months, ever. However, it really goes to show the amount of thought and care that I'm putting into FM: the ultimate escape from real life. We're performing really well, which, of course, helps, but I'm building both a really strong squad but also an understanding and appreciation of how to get the best out of them. We're not going to challenge for the title - Ajax are just too good - but we've put ourselves in a really strong position to mix it with PSV and Feyenoord for those top four spaces. --- Vitesse 1-1 FC Groningen Before the game, I'd spent a little bit of time thinking about the pace of my defenders and whether I was setting myself up to fail - considering the assist types. With little pace outside of De Wit and Sigurdsson, who, given my want to play a right footer and a left footer, are unlikely to play together, I decided to change both the LoE and DL. Pulling everything back one click still keeps us tight and compact but reduces the space in behind. Westerveld is a good stopper but certainly not a natural sweeper keeper. The game itself was good and we deserved much more. Our chance creation, particularly after we went behind, was good and we were unlucky thanks to a really strong goalkeeping performance. What does concern me though is that we actually took our foot off the pedal after we scored just after the hour mark. Given our domination, I wanted us to then go on and win this but actually we just produced little. I need to look and see if I can notice Vitesse making a concerted effort to change their style so that I can learn to adapt to those triggers. In terms of the goal they scored - I have no qualms. Given my thoughts on the compactness of defence and slight changes to the defensive line, I envisage that I'll see more events like the one below, that led to Alipour's goal. What we've essentially done here, by tight marking their AM and sitting deeper, is asked their less creative midfielders (a BWM and CM) or their defenders to create something. It was Medved, who, miraculously, threaded a ball over the top of Couto's head, which led to the goal but this is a pass that doesn't happen often and can't be done, regularly, by non-world class players. I'm happy (as strange as it seems) to concede this type of goal because, until it becomes repeatable, teams have got to score wonderful goals against us. As you can see here, their forward four (AM, P, IW and W) are all marked and I really see no issues. Granted, we could be a little tighter on Medved, but, as the BWM and a man with six assists in his 93 games for the club, he's not someone I'd identified as their creative spark. It's a goal conceded and dropped points but, again, at this stage of the season, one point is worth more than none. It feels really good to know how and why we're conceding, too. Between games, I visited Borehamwood to watch our Jong Team do a number over Arsenal U23, winning 3-0. The International Cup is not the most prestigious youth tournament but success here, whilst we're not in any European youth leagues, would be wonderful. You may also note that I've fully utilised the younger first team players (plus my quota of 3 over 23 players), in order to maintain match fitness. Fortuna Sittard 0-1 FC Groningen A little bit of a downer despite the win against Fortuna, as we've really struggled to replicate the powerful counter attacking style that did us so well against PSV. In fact, we went as far as probably being second best in most areas - the data hub outlines the concern that my coaching staff still have about our fragility centrally. This is advice I've constantly ignored, pushing forwards with the two CM(a) players in that role, against pretty much any opposition that we face that play a 4-2-3-1. However, on the flip side of this, we're winning the ball back in those areas and Zambrano, playing, this time, as a centre back (although I've now deemed he's too slow for this to be long term), impressed again. At the end of the day though, it's another three points and more offensive and defensive tactical thoughts to ponder over... FC Groningen 1-0 N.E.C Turgid! How did I play with one tactic throughout the season, not even trying to understand things that worked and things that did not?! 59% possession is 13% above the average for the rest of the season but I believe a big reason for this is that NEC sat back and, given our lower defensive line, so did we. 256 passes were completed by our back five, and, as you can see from the graphic above, not many of those progressed us out of our half. When we opened the scoring after four minutes following a lovely ball from Regeer down the half space for Speksnijder to finish, I felt positive: NEC are bottom of the league and I felt that the floodgates might open. I was wrong. However, I think I have identified a few reasons why we failed to capitalise on a team devoid of morale and, to be fair, much quality. It could very well be that our offensive players were far too static and easily tracked by the opposition, as this graphic of their average positions would show: But, again, it's that age old dilemma of using the F9 against a team who has a particularly defensive DM. If you look at this image, you'll see, on the left, the times that we lost possession but then, on the right, the times that Henry Westra received the ball. Just once in the opponents area, meaning that he's not passing and moving on but he's also not losing the ball: whilst this sounds good, it's not the risk level that I want our football to have going forwards. Again, a win is a win is a win but it's all about identifying games and being able to change accordingly. Looking back at this game, I feel an Advanced Forward would have excelled, playing on the back of the centre backs and getting fed from the only two players who seemed to have some space - the wingers. IJsselmeervogels 1-5 FC Groningen A lovely run out for a really young match day squad, with a full debut for Mischa Verveer - a full back who, despite being very short in stature, has impressed of late with some strong performances for the U18 and Jong Team. Time will tell if his height will be a limiting factor but I thought that, by pairing him with the most experienced defenders I had, he'd gain a lot from this game given that they weren't fielding wingers and that would naturally limit the number of crosses to deal with. In the end it was the Kawanami show as he netted twice but my plan to take on their 4-1-2-1-2 diamond really worked. Using Mez(a) to take out the DM and stretch their quite (surprisingly) attacking wing backs and then an AF(a) instead of a F9(s) to be on the last man gave me counter attacks that looked like this. Whilst the minnows are quite obviously retreating quickly, we have a number of players in space, something that never really happened against NEC. To concede was annoying, especially in this (click for GIF) manner. A shot that should have been saved by Ikeda that did slightly take the shine off the win. Into the next round we go, though. FC Groningen 4-0 Cambuur Some big thoughts before the game, focusing mainly around my wingers, see below, and their lack of both goals and assists. My current instructions has them staying wide, occupying the space and allowing the transition between the F9 and CM(a) to take place but I think that's really wasting four really top players. Therefore, my idea, and against a perfect opposition in the weaker Cambuur side, was to change it up. Keep them high and wide but also get them to cut in and be a bit more aggressive, almost doubling up in the half spaces with the CM(a) - by using the IF(a) role - with a slight tweak to stay wider. I am concerned that this does give us four attacking duties in a team I want to remain compact but we will see how this plays out. For reference, this gives the individual mentalities as follows: IWB(s) - Both positive CD(d) - Both defensive DM(d) - Cautious CM(a) - Both very attacking IF(a) - Both very attacking F9(s) - Attacking I don't want to create a big chasm between the defensive and offensive parts of the team as that is not conducive to overloading through counter attacking but there must be some way to diminish our often-low scoring games, creating a more potent attack. What I do like is that the F9 is naturally less aggressive than the wide men - who are told to engage lower and, as such are pulled back naturally - and centre mids, meaning that, when combining this with his actual role, he'll become a really nice attacking fulcrum: hopefully! Ok...let's not get too excited! However, there was some fantastic things to see in the game - particularly that our shape (in that 2-3-2-3 kind of style) remains and the IF(a) are still staying wide in the build up. Jay Ter Burg getting the Player of the Match with four clear cut chances created, six key passes and an assist to his name, with a goal for the other IF(a), Cespedes. What I like most is the width of the inside forwards and how, now, they're just as offensive as the F9(s). The gap between the lines is a little bigger than I want but it does encourage that vertical passing in the build up that I want. I recognise that this is probably not a shape for every game - particularly as their 4-2-3-1 shape does tend to play into the hands of our F9 - but, with 35 shots and 3.94xG created, it's given the fans something to cheer about and something for me to think about!

I removed the pitch simply because I didn't like the UI error whereby it changed view once you'd amended any instruction. Also - my resolution isn't the biggest so wanted to use the space more wisely. Really easy to put back in though if you want!

In the pitch with tactics container.xml below, <container> <container class="pitch_with_tactics" id="pitc" name="pitch" width="400"> <layout class="stick_to_sides_attachment" alignment="all" /> <real id="pitch_perspective" value="0.000000" /> <string id="icon_flags" value="show_name,show_extra_details,use_overview_icons,drop_initial_if_possible,show_position_role_duty_suitability,show_selection_image,show_number,show_role_duty_labels,show_familiarity" /> <string id="show_extra_details_buttons" value="true" /> <string id="pitch_draw_grass" value="true" /> <string id="pitch_base_appearance" value="custom/texture1" /> <string id="pitch_pattern" value="" /> <string id="vertical" value="true" /> <integer id="pitch_vertical_padding" value="5" /> <integer id="partnership_vertical_inset" value="22" /> <string id="vertical" value="false" /> <string id="pitch_alignment" value="can_scale" /> <real id="maximum_player_size" value="0.220000" /> <string id="pitch_line_colour" value="white" /> <string id="3958779584" value="tactics normal run" /> <string id="3958779616" value="tactics darkened run" /> <string id="3958779648" value="tactics dragged run" /> <integer id="pitch_touchline_width_percentage" value="20" /> <integer id="line_width" value="1" /> </container> It's this line: <string id="vertical" value="false" /> Will take a look. Thanks!

Pop it in skin/tactics folder and you're good to go! Movement of the columns is customisable but you'll have to edit the xml to change what you can see there. opposition tactic person list.xml

Sorely missed your posting over this iteration! Loved the deep dives into the A-League last time round and will follow this, albeit a bit late to the party.

September 2037 Through another month and we're flying! Things are falling into place that cover way more than what I'm seeing on the (first team) pitch and the tactical thoughts I've dived into more in this post: we're maintaining match fitness through scheduled performances in the youth team, corroborating thoughts about the need for sharpness, familiarity and morale as a precursor for good performances, sometimes over ability itself and really fine tuning development plans for my young squad. --- FC Groningen 1-0 De Graafschap We opened up the month with a nice tactical victory over De Graafschap. Their 5-2-1-2 WB formation posed me two problems: I would normally go for a double pivot against an AM and to ST but that shape can make me somewhat limited up top, even more so against the other issue of their shape being that we would normally opt for the Christmas Tree shape against a back three yet that one gives us no defensive mid cover. With it being early in the season and having a lot of new additions to the club who still aren't quite where they need to be tactically, I opted for the first choice, which would hopefully see us better off defensively but maybe lacking a little going forward. As you can see from the ratings at the hour mark, we'd done a superb job on limiting the effectiveness of their AM, allowing a really small number of passes to reach him. Eren was subbed off but his replacement could offer little creativity, either. The only issue I found here, and one that is clearly visible on the xG story is that the quality, and quantity of our shooting was not where I wanted. The data hub highlighted the issue, below: Of those ten shots, 70% came from Jonsson and a further 20% from direct free kicks. Our problem, as I expected and clearly seen here, is that we're not able to create spaces within the, essentially, five defenders. This has caused, in conjunction with the positive mentality, a gut reaction of 'SHOOT!' It's a bigger picture revolving around me working on the most efficient mentalities for us but, in the short term, I've customised the F9 roles to ask whoever plays their to Shoot Less Often. This, also as expected, creates confusion for Jonsson, who has the Tries First Time Shots trait. FC Groningen 5-0 PSV Another tactical battle won! Their 4-4-2 with really advanced wing backs saw me bring the wingers to the midfield strata to cope with the overlaps. What it did, in reality, is create the most ridiculously potent counter attacking tactic that I think I've ever seen - essentially scoring every time the game was in our favour! Our defensive shape was organised and complete but we simply tore PSV apart including this move that led to Bouma's hatrick goal: a simple lay off from Jonsson as we cleared from some pressure but, given the number of bodies they had committed (including a CWB at left back), the space was ours to exploit. I had mentioned being impressed with his performances in pre-season but for Bouma to open his senior competitive account, and go on to net three, is a great thing. Obviously, on another day, this was not a 5-0 win. Looking at the figures below tells you that. We recorded just 67% of the number of touches in their box as they did in ours but, obviously, it's the scoreline that counts! Probably - and this is not really hyperbolic despite playing 488 other games in my career - the best and most pleasing win of my managerial tenure! ADO Den Haag 1-0 FC Groningen A poor way to end the month. Tactically, we need to be more creative when coming up against teams who are more defensive and play a lower block, although I'd have expected the problem to be lessened with us on the road than if we were at home. This screenshot, taken around the hour mark shows the problem: These more defensive minded teams, particularly Den Haag with their two midfielders, are able to follow our centre mids back and, with Jonsson coming deep too, a block of all the creative outlets in made. It then relies on our wingers to create chances. In this case, I made the wrong decisions - utilising the same 4-1-4-1 shape against a 4-4-2 that worked so well last time. However, given that we weren't able to pull them out of shape to counter, our attacks were somewhat predictable and easy to defend. Whilst we lacked in the offensive prowess, we did, as expected, contain them to one real chance, which, of course they scored from. Our compact shape saw them keep the ball for long periods of time but, looking at the pass map - this was predominantly between their defensive players. I think that, going forward, I need to consider a different plan for teams like this as our unbeaten streak ends but, as they say, we go again! --- I agree @tyler16 that the loans are a risky business! I just want to instil that team ethos that you get by keeping them together at this age. Plus, having Roda in our division would only allow us to loan our more players as we develop into the future. However, it's safe to say that Herman Swager has not enjoyed the best of starts... Two red cards in 176 minutes of football! He's spent more time suspended than on the pitch so far in this loan spell.

Hi all, Having a bit of a creative spurt and have decided to play with the tactics. I'm able to increase the size of pitch (see here) but cannot increase the size of the teal box. I've tried making that bigger and also tried making the instructions smaller. I've attached the two panels I've been playing with if anyone is able to have a look at them please. Also, here is the code for the team squad: <container class="team_squad_tactics_panel" entity_layout_id="at04" id="tesA" name="team squad table" navigation_container="true" > <string id="include_starting_xi" value="true"/> <string id="include_starting_subs" value="true"/> <string id="include_unpicked" value="true"/> <layout class="stick_to_object_attachment" id="align_top" get_side="top" set_side="top" target="main"/> <layout class="stick_to_object_attachment" id="align_bottom" get_side="bottom" set_side="bottom" target="main"/> <layout class="stick_to_object_attachment" id="align_left" offset="12" get_side="right" set_side="left" target="at0:"/> <layout class="stick_to_object_attachment" id="align_right" get_side="right" set_side="right" target="main"/> </container> Thanks in advance. tactics overview side panel.xml team squad tactics panel.xml

I did it! Happy to upload this if it's of use to anyone...

Hi all, I'm looking at modifying this part of the Opposition Instructions panel: As I want to include key things that make me create the opposition instructions - e.g. low Bravery for harder tackling etc. However, the code I'm seeing is this: <!-- List/player details --> <widget class="opposition_tactic_person_list_panel" id="plip" default_width="-1" minimum_width="480" priority="2" navigation_container="true" > <translation id="title" translation_id="232113" type="use" value="Players" /> </widget> So it's not filling me with much hope that it can be edited... Would love feedback from anyone who knows better than I!

August 2037 It's been a busy week of little FM time and, to be fair, the FM time I've had has been spent watching the Jong and U18 team play, sharpening the physical condition and tactical awareness of my players and watching out for good performances from my youngsters. It's mad to think how much my FM gaming experience has changed. Whilst I have no issues with those who do motor through the seasons on Instant Result and hit 5/10 saves a year, I think I've now found my way. The season started away at Feyenoord and I opted for the 4-2-1-3 to counter their AM and two striker and also to ensure that we didn't come away with nothing to start the season off. Whilst demanding that kind of outcome away at one of the big three is a lofty expectation, it's genuine given the quality that I think we have, on our day. Up next was a tight win over Utrecht as I felt an enormous sense of deja vu, given the fact that we had underperformed on xG like we did so many time last season. The month ended with a strong win away at Willem II and, finally, a penalty converted by Jonsson. Five points from three is a strong start, and I'm even more buoyed by the fact you cannot see PSV on my screenshot, showing that they've had somewhat of an indifferent start. In terms of tactical development, the main negative brought to my attention is this: Here is his pass map showing all of the loss of possessions. The first thing to note is that I'd accidentally not changed back the throw ins, after I utilised long throws with Sebwe. Schuur isn't fit for that purpose and that already writes off several of the losses. I've numbered the zones 1-4 to explain my thinking a little easier, noticing that 1 and 3 are the attacking zones when comparing these three performances. Once you remove the six losses from attacking throw ins, I really see very little that actually concerns me, aside from, potentially, the pass outside the area in zone 2. However, with no context on this, and me not really wanting to dig through and find it, I can't come to a conclusion that it wasn't a pressured pass or clearance. Every other pass that he's made is in an area whereby, with this shape and style (and look at a video I've added further down), I'd want him to do this. I really like this screen and, actually, even though I'm not sold on this set of recommended changes, I think it's great that my attention is being brought to something so small. --- I've made rather a big decision to send out five quite promising young players, all with first team minutes last year, to Roda JC: playing under the tutelage of Jesper Neele and his team. I thought realistically and, after being somewhat unimpressed by the performances of both Asante and Ally over our pre-season tour, wanted to give the realistic option of second division minutes over the sporadic first team appearance and Jong game time. This also has allowed the burgeoning talent of Thijs Pander, (comparison with Asante in the link) get more minutes in the Jong Team. He's essentially every bit as good but just two years younger. I spent a little bit of time watching these proteges in the Roda JC vs Jong Ajax game and will look to monitor their development with the following options available in either December (end of Ostergaard loan - as he's older and I want the decision quicker) or June (end of the remaining loans): A further loan at a team of the stature of Roda. A loan to a higher ability, promotion chasing, second tier side. A loan to a top division side. Moving to the Groningen first team squad. Being sold. --- As I previously said - I've been watching the Jong and U18 teams a fair bit over the last game month, using it for a number of reasons. Our brand of football is quite distinctive and I really like that it is visible even at the age group level - albeit with help from Escalona, Neira and Nilden-Lindner, all looking for match fitness: It's the give and go from the CM(A) back to the IWB(s) that sets this up but look at the positioning of Escalona - F9(s) and the other CM(A), Van Nispen. It's that movement that creates these chances and, providing that my wing backs are capable of playing these types of balls, we'll always have that option to get in behind. Van Nispen, on this occasion, took his goal beautifully, rounded the onrushing keeper and slotting home.

Not really that much, if I'm honest! At Krasnodar, given our quality, a 2.5* player was good enough for the top flight - but you see that kind of value generally discarded by others in the community. I do like (and plan to try and skin in) the tag that tells you the suitability in terms of division - such as A good Eredivisie Player - for example! I find that quite useful when judging talent.

Hi all, I'm trying to move away from attribute stars in the game, particularly on the profile and was wondering if there is anyway to isolate and use the below code for ability and potential: This comes from the coach/scout report but obviously that's all bundled into one... Thanks in advance for any help on this!

(Early) August 2037 Three to finish and three strong performances. I really wasn't expecting Katwijk to be as weak as they were but we really dominated and, despite the level of opposition, played our football and did it well. A couple of strong performances against good opposition, including a real backs to the wall job against Gent, have pleased me. Utilising the double squad as well as game time for the Jong and U18 has led to a fully fit, and raring to go, squad for the new season. --- I've been thinking about some of key battles within the squad, something that I've never really delved into before: Defensively, we've let our guard down a few times in pre-season as I've looked to interchange pairings and then also see the impact of using or not using really specific opposition instructions has been. At centre back, there are three names who have all performed very similarly with just Adelio Rocha struggling - and that will largely be replicated in my team choices in the early games. Sigurdsson hasn't quite done enough to usurp de Wit but, in all honesty, that's fine as he's a key, academy graduate, who I want to build the team around. At right back, and, in fact, both full back slots, I've been a little disappointed with the offensive work with just the solitary assist for full back Rensch over the course of the pre-season. Ally has stepped up for Couto, who has missed almost the entire pre-season with an injury but his performances, whilst in line average rating wise with Schuur, mean that a loan deal may be sought providing Couto can prove his fitness: first team football at a lower level club might bring his overall ability to a more level playing field. In front of them, both Diallo and Zambrano have performed well and quite similarly - the youngster winning more headers and making more interceptions whilst being a little less productive in the tackle, although the overall numbers of tackles are limited anyway. I have been delighted with the form of Bouma, whose five goals are more than he's scored competitively in his whole career but it's the key passes - as a non-set piece taker - that stand out to me here. He's really jumped at the opportunity afforded to him by Hernandez' international commitments. Jonsson has looked much more assured as a striker and, whilst his creativity isn't quite there yet, the xG overperformance is a breath of fresh air from last year. Thijs Pander, a 17 year old B team player, has impressed me, more so than both Asante and Swager, who both may be finding themselves on loan - securing constant first team football in a bid to develop and grow. Out wide, the winders have produced fairly similar returns - Neira will always be a danger as our set piece taker but I do feel, on quality during the games rather than pure outputs, that Cespedes and ter Burg will probably be the first choices early on. --- Feyenoord, away, to start the season isn't quite as easy as I'd want but we've got to play them all!

(Late) July 2037 Digging really deep into the friendlies this year so that I can make a good judgement on who is ready to play for us and who simply isn't, making sure that there are ample minutes to get ready to start the season strong. To help me achieve this, I've picked two sepearate teams each game, both playing 45 minutes - in order to allow me to look at different pairings and combinations. A strong start against second tier Eindhoven as we raced into a 4-0 lead. However, beset by an injury following the change of teams, I was left playing a strange 4-2-2-1 shape with no defensive cover. It would be over protective to say that Rocha's positioning wasn't slightly askew for both of the goals, but there seems to be other concerns about him, which I will detail later. Against Roda - our feeder also from the second tier - I sat back a bit more, trying to right the defensive wrongs from last time. Probably not necessary given the way we conceded but still nice to engineer a shut out in the manner that we did - but, again, this has cost us going forward. At present, with the squad I have, I feel like these two cannot be mutually exclusive - to score more goals, I need to concede more! Against Oostende, we raced into a three goal lead with a lovely goal demonstrating the give-and-go that I want Jonsson to pioneer this year. However, two late goals that concern me in both shot position and shot quality somewhat took the shine off the day. ---- Whilst there have been some very strong performances, there have also been some concerning ones, too. Adelio Rocha, unable to speak Dutch yet has not exactly set the world on fire in his first three halves for the club, being accountable for the worst defensive performances. I don't know how much of this can be solved by some language but his performances aren't be shared by the other centre backs, who don't make this list. Furthermore, the performance of Westerveld against Oostende has concerned me - we did allow 1.03 of the 1.15xG whilst he was on the pitch but the two goals he conceded amounted to just 0.08 of that total. I'll be giving Ikeda a run in the remaining friendlies as there are no certainties in this squad, which is exactly what I want to achieve. I've fallen in love a little bit with the Last Five Matches tab in the Data Hub as it gives some really strong metrics that can't be gathered elsewhere. This is amazing! I felt it by watching the games but it's really interesting to see that we're doing a little better when keeping the ball for longer. I think there are two reactions to this - change the tactic to emphasise that or develop and work on the reasons why we are now keeping the ball longer than others. Pre-season has seen somewhat of a change and I've noticed my defensive pairing keeping the ball for a lot longer - almost as if that BPD is a bit of a ball magnet for backwards and sideways passes. I've watched us play, against particularly reluctant presses and we keep the ball for a lot longer here but actually do not create spaces or draw players out as they stay in their retreated shape. Whilst this needs to be taken with a pinch of salt given the quality we're playing against, it has changed my thinking and I've now opted for standard CD(d) rather than BPD(d) in these roles - hoping that they are used less in the build up. This can be amended against higher presses where their ability on the ball will create gaps and let us play through the press, but right now, I want to see how this does in our last friendlies. Again, ignoring the quality of opposition, we've reduced this metric from 6.4 entries per shot to now 4.6 entries per shot. This is a metric that I want to keep working with as it really shows the intensity of our counter and how lethal it is. I have introduced some new players, also, but it does give me hope that the tactical ideology is beginning to sink into the club. --- Up next, we finish off pre-season against Katwijk, a third tier side, KAA Gent and PSG-2. There are plenty of things I'm still wanting to see, such as that fabled third-man-run but I'm liking more things that I'm disliking at this stage of the season, which can only be a positive!

He's actually quite poor: He was brought in, initially, because of his likeness to my playing style but I'll look to upgrade at some point.

Thanks. Definitely something I want to expand on is the realism behind the scouting as I've got some ideas on that. I don't really have a first XI, you know! Players like Diallo are likely to start as I try and be sensible with the amount of minutes that Zambrano gets as he's developing. Jonsson is a great player but, like anyone, will be judged on form and that might mean he sits out for some time, if necessary! The only one kind of answered part is that Sharpe will be slowly introduced as he's away with Jamaica at the Gold Cup and, whilst he'll be match fit, won't be tactically acclimatised and that's a really big part of my needs. I like both full backs. Our style of play puts a lot of emphasis on build up through these players and I think we're getting closer to what I ideally want: I think Couto is a great match for my DNA and, as you say, is mentally strong - so I'm ignoring his 'poor' (in comparison) CA rating. I think that Schuur has a bit more of the passing need I want but is a little weaker on the ball. Naturally, he's a step down when compared to Sebwe but I am hoping that I can grow and develop him. I think that combining the two of them would probably make the perfect full back for what I need! He didn't have a problem with cards, no, just 6 yellows and no reds last year. Did you get that from High Aggression/Average Decisions? I like to think that my wide men are really telling to the style I'm trying to develop here. I want to use a W(s) for them both as that really takes away that gung-ho approach whereby they just attack everything - instead using them to keep the width and attack the spaces left by the False Nine: experimenting with these instructions. It's the third man run that I'm trying to perfect, as seen by this terrible PowerPoint illustration: Here (and see the importance of passing from the IWBs), the ball is played, vertically, up to Jonsson (who, by the way, might be the subject of the Plays With Back to Goal trait - as that's potentially perfect in combo with Plays One Twos in this role) who can lay it off to the MCs and, in the space vacated by the forward, can set the ball through to the wingers to hopefully finish. I will try my best to catch this, in match, rather than portrayed like this!

(Mid) July 2037 Armed with the near €20m from the Sebwe sale, with some already being invested into the training facilities, I set about trying to appease the board's disappointment at not signing U23 players. However, a quick look at the makeup of the squad will tell you my age preferences for each area of the squad, with much more experience being signed - more urgently, too - in the defensive areas. Full profiles of each incoming can be found by clicking on the thumbnail. First through the door, on a free transfer from Jamaican side Portmore United is talented winger-cum-forward Gregory Sharpe. As a Villa fan, I can't get the Leon Bailey comparisons out my head here and I hope that, eventually, he'll be able to use Holland as his stepping stone to bigger things, given the amount of potential I think he has. Presumably played as a forward in his native country and for his national team (more on that later), he'll be used as a wider player for us, even if just to provide a different option to what we already have. Whilst not the best crosser and not the best team player, he's quick, fairly agile and has an eye for goal. His international career has been phenomenal to date and a personal scouting mission from me, after an invite to scout the competition, saw him net a hattrick against Cuba in the Gold Cup. There's plenty to develop with him - initially there'll be some thought around the Knocks Ball Past Opponent trait and extra work on his Anticipation - but, hopefully, he can go on to achieve good things here and fetch us a profit. The next deal - a €1m signing - came from much closer to home. The 'lack of' a career for Jay ter Burg makes my statistical method for scouting much harder. I can go by the 30 games he played for the Jong Feyenoord team that won the reserves competition last year but there is very little else to compare to. Therefore, this is one of those rare attribute-driven purchases or, if you'd like, a rough diamond. 24 U21 caps for Holland doesn't come easy but he's just not good enough to break into the first team. I envisage that, like Sharpe, he'll play as a winger, again, using his First Touch, speed and Agility to help our transitions. He's probably a player that, if this experiment comes off, won't be sticking around forever, but, again, it'll signify a good profit for us. A much more usual transfer is this one. Schuur was simply sublime last season for a Cambuur team that sealed promotion and it was a no-brainer to exercise the €180k release clause, especially after Sebwe moved on. Particularly impressive are his possessional stats, something which will really compliment our style and his Pace means that he's able to commit a bit more but is still going to be able to get back into position. He'll be an important player for us this season, I believe. I'm in the process of reshaping how I think about scouting but, before I do that, I can revel in one of the more unrealistic finds. In my opinion, a club like Groningen, certainly at the level I have them at right now, wouldn't be scouring the Chilean top flight for young breakthrough wingers. They might have a recruiter who oversees big TV games in South America but (in my case) wouldn't have a Bosnian out there digging into the real depths of the o'Higgins squad. However, that did happen here and I'll write about my reaction to this later on. Ariel is a promising young winger who, when compared to all South American wingers holds his own. Again (notice a pattern) full of pace and Agility and a little bit more a convectional winger than my previous two signings - meaning that meeting his €1.5m release clause was a simple decision. It now gives me some really nice options for my wide players as I look to morph them into more wide forwards (in style rather than role) that offer a less aggressive but (hopefully) more potent option that the really gung-ho central midfielders. I want to continue to create overloads that will also allow these players to come in from the back post and, unlike previously, finish their chances. This should mean that my squad for the 2037/38 campaign is complete. If you click on the below image, you'll see what that looks like in FM terms - along with a few youngsters joining us for pre-season. Nine new signings in total (Couto, Schuur, Rocha, Sigurdsson, Diallo, Cespedes, Nilden-Lindner, Sharpe and ter Burg) but the squad, in my opinion, is much better suited to the style I want to play and is much more balanced in terms of the quality I want to have. Plus - we haven't kicked off the friendlies yet so there's good time to develop the cohesion we need!

(Early) July 2037 To kick things off, I've been working (I say I, I mean the DoF and the Unwanted List) to move on as many sellable assets from outside the core of the first team as possible. He's done a wonderful job and we've raised just around €5m from these sales plus the buy out of a clause for extra striker, Nlend. Whilst he's at Watford, in the Premier League, I feel that his form and the fact he's no longer such a promising player at 23, means that I might be waiting some time to see any comeback on this and he'd have to be sold on for upwards of €15m for me to see any improvement on that deal. I also am still owed three payments from them of around €700k plus other clauses, including our ex-goalkeeper that will give me another €3m or so a year. With funds in hand, the fun can start. Firstly, these are the pre-contract signings I've made. One thing that needs reiterating is that when my initial scouting was set up, the funds available to me meant that realistically, players earning less than €10k p/w or those with expiring deals were the only ones that would actually sign. Player profiles can be seen by clicking on the thumbnail. I've profiled the first four of these previously but there was mixed feelings from the fans as I have actually signed two players - Diallo and Nilden-Lindner - from arch rivals Heerenveen. Never the less, I feel that they do strengthen the team and will come good, plus, neither are youth products there and have a particular affiliation to the club. I like that these players have joined and are immediately high up the hierarchy, as I want to count on their experience and presence as well as their quality on the pitch. Lastly, I made a risky move for ex Twente full back Marco Couto. Twente were relegated last season and I was, as a result of this, having a look through and comparing statistical data between last year and the year before, where they finished 12th. I was hoping to find some players who underperformed, as you'd probably expect when a club gets relegated, weeding them out from the players who just aren't good enough. I think that Couto fits that bill - as seen here. Offensively in 2035/36, he was very good and, as you'd expect, that's dipped this season but he's retained some good defensive stats anyway. I know that this is really a 50/50 deal - did he overperform in the first year or underperform last year? But, on a free transfer, I can't complain... --- I've now kind of filled all of the necessary gaps within the team and want to look at how many - within reason and realism - can now be upgraded. But, with all the best planning, always come a surprise. I cannot turn down an offer like this. Whilst the money won't be useful immediately - we don't have the reputation to sign these valuable players and also my scouting, as I said, has been focused around much cheaper options anyway - this could be huge to improve the infrastructure and start planning longer term. He's adamant he wants to go to Sevilla so it looks like adding a Left Back is also on the cards - although I had already found a player who I'd baulked at knowing that Sebwe wouldn't accept being a rotational option: Cambuur full back Marcel Schuur, who comes with the added bonus of a really low release clause. Let's do this!

Slow steps, at first anyway, but we'll get there. Next season is all about becoming the best of the rest - maybe sneaking that fourth spot behind Ajax, PSV and Feyenooord but we'll see how the season pans out as my recruitment hasn't quite done what I want, yet. Thanks! Just adds a chance to add some more detail. Instead of highlighting text to add a hyperlink, you highlight the image so aside from having to take a 'thumbnail' too, it's no extra work.

No, sadly not! I've used a combination of key passes/90 and chances created/90 to try and simulate that kind of thing. A key pass, I don't think, necessarily leads to a shot but anything that counts as a chance is, I think, a pass that leads to a shot with xG of over 0.25. I can't fully confirm this but I like that correlation of who's making good passes and who's passes are leading to good scoring chances. Yes, Neira is the corner taker but, with the style in full swing at Krasnodar, was hitting near those numbers from open play! I'm backing him to come good! A full season in this role will hopefully see him spring into action. I've liked the look of Escalona stepping up and in the Jong team so competition is quite good, too. As strange as it sounds, that control is not intended. It's really hard to perfect the lightning quick, incisive break but the fewer passes we actually have, the better. I want to weave in elements of total football and positional play but, at the end of the day, the brand of football I like the most is that dangerous counter attacking. Again, we're working towards that and my first step in that was learning how to control games so I could see who is good enough on the ball and who has the ability to find good positions and move the ball forward. The rebuild here is bigger than I actually anticipated and I'm hitting a lot of walls with finding the players I think will better us, so I have to put my faith in moulding the squad to do that - which, I think, is possible the real test of managerial competency.