BJT

Leeds (S2) “The Great Escape Complete” Final Day Joy BJT’s Leeds on the final day secured their Premiership status after an emphatic win and sterling performance against high flying Watford coming out 4-0 victors, with the Elland Road faithful there to witness this fine day for the club. After a horrific start to the season, BJT rallied his troops and ended up successfully turning their fortunes around. Despite losses to fellow strugglers Burley and Brighton, some good points gained against better sides compensated. With a considerably better goal difference compared to those around them, it meant the final day was a comfortable one. Fulham would have had to beat Chelsea at Stamford bridge by a good twenty plus goals with Leeds losing. Predicted 20th but finishing in 15th place, it ended up being a good season for the men from Yorkshire, and with this it meant the club debts have been able to be repaid which will hopefully enable further investment in the squad. The Key Men Captain Pontus Jansson played an excellent captains role this year, averaging 7.09 with Dael Fry putting in some good performance at centre-back with him whilst grabbing some important goals. Matt Philips the expensive 13.25million signing from WBA, despite a questionable price tag, his work ethic and performances justified the money spent. Averaging a 7.04 along with front man Roofe who grabbed an all important 16 league goals year and ended the club's top-scorer. Both helped bring potency to the Leeds attack which ultimately helped manoeuvre them to survival. After steering a bunch of Championship players and Premiership rejects to safety, this will undoubtedly boost BJT’s reputation, with his West Brom sacking now seeming a distant memory. Quotes from BJT’s post-season Interview: “There were times this year we could have got ourselves out of danger but didn’t perform in those important matches. We need to improve in playing better in those higher pressure games. However our 5-1 home win vs Bristol City was the perfect game at the perfect time, giving us some breathing space going into the final few games. Achieving what we have this year with the players we have at our disposal was excellent, and we’ve proved that on our day we can compete and give the top sides in this division a good game of football. Let's hope we can push ourselves up a level and bring a greater consistency to our game. That's the next stage for us. I have spoken with the board, and they’ll be able to invest around 50 million pounds for the year forthcoming. So we will be looking to strengthen in a lot of areas, but the players that have kept us up will have a chance to prove they can keep their spot in the team.” === So Leeds will be looking forward to next season. Man City took the title this year head of their local rivals United. Fulham, Brighton, and Bristol City filled the relegation spots up. Bournemouth had a fantastic season, but just missed out on the top four.

Leeds United (S2) “A Light starting to Shine?” Leeds 3 vs 0 Arsenal With nearly the first half of the season gone and Leeds being stuck in the bottom three throughout, it would seem a miracle if BJT could somehow turn around the injury, suspension and morale issues that have hit his squad from day one. Coming to Elland Road were the mighty Arsenal. A team still full of quality players, but somehow languishing outside the European spots. So their form has been a little patchy. Then came Leeds’ best performance of the season. Running absolutely riot, the two men up top finally found their shooting boots in the same game. Roofe chipping in and Bamford whom BJT was critical of very recently then bagged a double to give Leeds a 3-0 win over The Gunners. BJT will be hoping some momentum and morale can finally be built to give what seemed an impossible task at hand of keeping their premiership status alive, now becoming a slim possibility. The result has finally given the fans belief, and BJT hopes the squad too. Quotes from BJT’s Interview: “Very much so, it was a fantastic performance from the lads. We really needed to give them something to cheer about after the really poor performance at Turf Moor earlier this year. It’s a massive three points for us and hopefully we can try and build some momentum. It’s given us real belief now and was just the tonic we needed”. Leeds have now finally escaped the drop-zone, albeit by one solo single point. Next up is a trip away at fellow relegation contenders Bristol City who now after this result dropped into the relegation zone. It's a game BJT's side cannot afford to lose, or they'll again be drowning in the bottom three.

Leeds United (S2) “Pointing the Finger” Throwing away points The number of times I’ve felt like spitting chips is countless. We’ve got ourselves into good positions in a number of games, but have failed to keep the other side out causing us to drop points and mostly lose games. Leicester, Tedo’s Villa, and Spurs all prime examples. Spurs the worst, losing a game 5-4 where we had a two goal cushion early on. Head in hands, BJT at times has been left wondering what he has to do to get a single point in this division. Sitting rock-bottom with one single point from a possible twenty four and with two months of the season already gone, the signs look extremely worrying for the Leeds boss. Injuries, Poor Discipline & Dodgy Fixtures Nick Pope who was meant to play an important role this season has already missed 10 weeks of this season. The squad have had various knocks at different times so we’ve not had a first team out much at all. And a number of red cards already this season has just added to the hard times. But the cause of such difficulties was our dodgy fixture list. From the start of the year we had Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool all in quick succession, with only an away game at Everton separating the games before then having to face a Villa side on their turf. Man City followed soon after just to hammer it home. I predicted we’d have zero points from the first five games and that was proved right. Morale extremely poor throughout the squad, and the fans becoming highly critical of BJT’s tactics has meant questions have already been raised on his ability to keep Leeds up. Quotes from BJT’s Interview: “Our inability to hold onto a lead, along with injuries and ill discipline is always going to leave us with an uphill struggle. And yes, you’re correct our starting fixtures couldn’t have got much harder. I can only guess someone from Lancashire helped create the schedule for this season! One point from a possible twenty four is a bad start yes, but we are a team of fighters. We’ll continue to keep plugging away and battle to the end. Why? Because “WE ARE LEEDS”. -- In what appears to clearly be a bunch of Championship players and Premiership rejects at BJT’s disposal, can he pull of a miracle and keep the men from Yorkshire up this year?

Leeds United (S2) “ A Challenging Window” Pre-Season Transfers It was a very challenging market this year. Hoping to offload a number of players, several were just not willing to move to any clubs with accepted bids. This really meant I wasn’t able to get the squad I had hoped for despite having a 50 million chest. With that said, I was able to obtain a good amount of depth in case I endured any injury crisis. But unfortunately being unable to offload a number of players meant our first team only really changed defensively. Quality is lacking. I decided to invest in Fry at centre-back. Only twenty years old, I’m hoping he’ll improve over the course of the year and become an important player for the club over time. Risky business though to develop in such a difficult league. Generally, it’s been a window of investing of unproven premiership bench-warmers and Championship experienced players. Not ideal, but it is what it is. Board Objectives Premiership: Avoid Relegation FA Cup: 5th Round Carabao Cup: 4th Round The same mentality remains for me this year at my new club. Staying in the league is absolutely our priority. But it would be great if at least in one of the cups we could achieve or exceed expectations. This was one of the reasons why WBA had zero patience despite being in a playoff fight for promotion in my first year. Squad Not a lot of quality talent were interested in joining us. We also had problems with satisfying wages. So we have the numbers, but whether the players are good enough to keep us up is a huge doubt. A lot will depend on keeping Roofe and Bamford fit who are again my first team strikers. But this is a completely different level, and goals will most certainly be harder to come by. Fry will need to settle in quickly at centre-back. I also hope Nick Pope in goal will provide some stability for the new backline. I’ve invested in slightly quicker full-backs. No doubt the way we play we’ll leak goals, but I’m hoping we’ll have players that will bring us enough 3 pointers to keep us afloat. Are we ready? Not sure, but I’ll make sure my troops are up for the fight.

Leeds – “BJT has the last laugh” After taking the helm at Elland Road, one defeat in twenty two games saw Leeds previously laying in mid-table obscurity somehow sneak into the playoffs, and to then produce their finest performance under their new manager BJT. Going on the offensive, BJT knew his slowish backline would let in a few. But with the talented Roofe and Bamford up front, and new signing Lolley and Macedonia international Alioski occupying the flanks, his side were always going to cause other teams problems. Having a leader in the team with centre-back Cooper was also important. And with no long-term injuries suffered, this all led to the miraculous late push eventually ending up in 5th spot. On the contrary, BJT’s old club West Brom fell even further down the table eventually finishing in 9th spot 8 points worse than Leeds. Sky Bet Championship Playoff Final = Leeds 4 – 0 Swansea Form going into this game was great, and with a fully fit squad to pick from Leeds saved their most damaging performance for the biggest stage at the Wembley arena. Pressuring the Swansea back-line who had the slow Bony up front on his own, this was a delight for BJT to see. With a fairly slow Leeds back-line in itself, it seemed the perfect setup for Leeds to be more solid against and be a great opportunity to clinch the last Premiership spot. This vision ended up being proved right. With only one shot on target from Swansea to Leeds’ nine, although the score-line was at 1-0 at the half-time interval, there was only one team performing on the day. Key playmaker Klich bossed the game superbly well in the middle of the park grabbing a goal and two assists. The trio of Alioski, Roofe and Bamford all chipped in with a goal making it a comfortable 4-0 victory. BJT had never been so nervous before his biggest game of the season – but it ended up being a very nice day out at a sunny Wembley. Quotes from BJT’s interview: On Promotion: “I never envisioned we would be able to get into a playoff position. It’s never easy for a squad to adapt to the new manager’s style quickly. Despite drawing our first 5 league games, not losing helped build confidence to take things to the next level. We never looked back from there, and all credit must go to the boys for that.” On West Brom: “Honestly I don’t want to say too much now. But it’s a great feeling to know that everything I mentioned previously was fully vindicated. At many clubs, the board do not know what happens on the training ground or have the knowledge to understand the game is decided by very fine margins. Their lack of patience meant they made a big boo-boo, and Leeds are the ones to profit. This is my home now, and I hope our board will trust me with some funds to give us a chance of staying up next year. We’ll be sitting down to discuss matters very shortly.” -- Interviewing him, BJT may have not wanted to say much, but you could tell he absolutely loved proving his old side wrong, finishing above them in the table and leaving them behind for another year stuck in the Championship. He absolutely "loved it" to put things into a two word perspective.

Leeds – (S1 BJT) I’m surprised to see Leeds currently in this position. After comparing this squad with the West Brom squad, the strikers are better at Leeds, the midfield is better all rounded at Leeds, and defensively the players at Leeds are better. So perhaps taking on this club is a blessing in disguise. With the talent and a slightly quicker back-line, I want to get this team playing more the football I’m comfortable with. Quick, high pressing, width, attacking football that both the fans and the board will most certainly appreciate. Here is an overview of the system, again 442 and a squad report of our key men: No transfers made by me, but I did confirm a transfer that was in progress that had begun prior to my arrival. Funnily enough after looking to bring in a right winger, the guy I was after was already in the processing of moving here! The name Joe Lolley. I am confident of meeting the board expectations, but lacking depth I don’t think any real late push for the playoffs is possible. But if we keep our first team fit, well you know this division anything can happen.

BJT Appointed Leeds boss Only a couple of weeks since BJT’s dismissal at West Brom, Leeds saw some potential in his management and decided to offer BJT the managerial position, greatly surprised at the Midland's club for dismissing him. Currently languishing in 11th spot, the board set out their expectations immediately with a top-half finish being the aim for the remaining part of the season. Significantly off the playoff spots, it look as if BJT will use the remaining part of this season to evaluate his squad and try his best to set things up for next season. Quotes from BJT’s interview: On BJT's Sacking: “I was hugely disappointed with the dismissal at West Brom. Why provide money to invest in the January window to then only sack me days after? The club needed to be rebuilt from the back, but I was not going to waste money immediately in the hope we could compete with what we had. I guarantee with the right club willing to provide patience, and a squad capable of playing good football, then WBA will most certainly live to regret their decision.” On Leeds: This club is a sleeping giant. I couldn’t have asked for any more to be given the opportunity to manage here. Great history and they have some good players in their ranks. With the talent on offer I hope to try an implement a more offensive game. This is also club that should not be playing football in the Championship. I’ll be working hard with the players to try and instil a winning mentality and a style worthy of the Leeds supporters, and I can't wait to get started.

West Brom Lose Patience with BJT The date 5th of January 2019. After a promising start to the season, a loss to one of the promotion contenders Bristol City led to a downward spiral which BJT was unable to resurrect. Despite bringing financial security to the Midlands club, ultimately poor form, two poor cup runs, and the less than attractive football on offer led to his dismissal. By the time he left the club, WBA had just dropped to 7th in the league but still with a great chance of making the playoffs. Fellow manager Tedo felt it was very harsh from the club, especially given a lot of the poor results stemmed from one player significantly under-performing. Gayle, missing 5 from 6 penalties at crucial times in games caused great frustration. A striker had also been purchased to try and solve the problem, but there was no time to see it through. When playing a compact game, taking chances are critical. Unfortunately for him, Gayle was a big let-down, and those wanting to give BJT more time pointed the finger solely towards him. Will West Brom live to regret this on the spot decision? Time will tell as to how the season ends up panning out. Meanwhile, BJT is taking a break hoping a club of a similar stature will give him a second chance.

West Brom – Pre Season (S1) With the likes of Salamon Rondon and Alan Nyom off on loan elsewhere, I’ve had to try and bolster our depth in these areas. These would have been first teamers for me this year, and with a 10 million budget undoubtedly we’ll be shorter on quality. That said, it has been a productive window. We do have a much better overall squad depth to play my 442 hoof n play game. Centre midfield was an issue as we did not seem to have a natural playmaker, but my top signing will probably end up being Norwegian international Henriksen who is a great fit. Already trying to play the villain, the 'Villain Tedo' was looking to gazump this one. Lucky for me Henriksen was willing to take a pay cut given our wage budget isn’t the healthiest at the moment. Other key signings were Clarke and Griggs. I’m hoping they’ll provide sufficient backup to Rodriguez and Gayle up front who were the only two strikers in my squad at the start. Welsh international Richards at right back will also be first team this year coming on loan from Cardiff, allowing our best defender Dawson to play at centre-back. Here are my transfers done before the deadline: BJT 442 – "Hoof n Play" I always like to try and play some football in my tactics, so this isn’t all out hoof and hope. It’s designed to be quite flexible in the way it plays, but predominantly will look to play direct, hoofing the ball up to the target man who will hold up the ball allowing our team to gain field territory, moving up the pitch to provide close support so we can then play our shorter game. At the same time we’ll be looking to play on the counter and play that bit deeper and narrower, so if an opportunity does arise for a quick break hopefully we’ll have some natural pace down the flanks to exploit the space behind their pushed up fullbacks. My forwards are also expected to work the channels here, to help relieve any pressure that is bound to build by playing a classic 442. Bringing in Henriksen was important as he’ll be the man tasked to direct the play in the opposing third, controlling possession well that will allow our fullbacks to provide deep support and help free our wingers to get balls into the box. I don’t expect to be having much possession unless teams really do sit-back against us. So it needs to be of quality and high precision when we do. Here is a rough look at the tactic,and first team picked with Dawson the only absentee: Season Board Objectives Sky Bet Championship: Win Promotion FA Cup: 4th Round Carabao Cup: 3rd Round The media prediction has us coming in second. So we really do need to be challenging for automatic promotion this year. The importance of squad depth for me was critical to give ourselves a good chance of overcoming any injuries that may occur during the season. Already key man and captain Craig Dawson is out and will be missing several games at the start of the season. It was the purchase of a centre-back which was my failure in the transfer window, as my targets all cost a sufficient amount of money. If we can avoid any major injuries to our back-line, I’m confident we’ll be thereabouts pushing for promotion or at least ensure a playoff spot. Anything under, then I probably will deserve the boot! With the cups I’ve never been big on these. I’ll definitely use them to keep our squad players relatively fit for the important promotion campaign. It would be nice to hit our board objectives, but ultimately all I’m worried about is firstly keeping my job, and secondly trying to bring back Premiership status to the Albion.

FMT19 - Career Online 1v1 "A Rivalry born out the Midlands" Leagues Loaded -Sky Bet Championship (Start) -Premiership / La Liga / Serie A / Bundesliga / Ligue 1 The Managers Tedo (Aston Villa) VS BJT (WBA) With the demise of two established Premier league clubs the chairman have decided to place their trust with two relatively unknown managers. But with their severely restricted budgets and during their interviews seeing their clear enthusiasm in rising to the challenge of acheieving promotion this year, Villa have appointed Bulgarian Tedo and West Brom's choice being the Englishman BJT to at least take the helm for at least this first season. A risk seen by many loyal fans, but both will be looking to prove their doubters wrong, Despite having a good off the field relationship and often seen spotted at the odd musical concert here and there, it would seem those friendly ties will now need to be immediately severed with these two fierce Midland rivals expected to be hotly contesting for top spot in this year's Sky Bet Championship. The only concert they'll both likely be seen at together will be in the middle of a mosh-pit and beer fest Marilyn Manson one, It will be interesting to see how both adapt to the unique demands of this physical and tightly contested league. Success will undoubtedly be great for their own future career prospects, but a failure creating an immediate poor reputation which will be tough to resurrect. BJT has an advantage linguistically whilst bringing the ever so important English passion, but Tedo with his continental footballing knowledge and fiery Bulgarian character will undoubtedly come to the fore.

FM19 – 361 RED / From Past to Present – Moss Ball Hi all. This is my first tactic post, so do be gentle =) And it’ll probably be my last too as it has been designed to reflect exactly the way I want my football to be played, hence its name =) Please note now – If you’re looking for a tactic for the lower leagues or for non-top teams then this tactic is not going to be for you. It is also not intended to be a game beater. However this tactic is simply designed to play the game in a distinct style, my style, one which is capable of incorporating world-class players into one team and with a zero emphasis on defensive roles. So it is a little eccentric =) Remember the Galacticos at all? Well it is in this sort of mould. You’ll see this in due course from the roles I have chosen and gauge what I’m trying to do. So It’s oldskool, and it tries to bring football from the past into the present. Because it promotes a particular style of football to get the most out of these players, it is created for plug n play. So hopefully you can buy your players, sit down, watch, and then enjoy =) Inspiration Inspired by a forum post of working a 361 formation, after trying a number of variants I came across this shape. The first thing I noticed was the form of the box midfield. Brazil by nature and used in the 4222, it gave me the idea of having one less striker and one more in the middle. With the type of controlled and creative football that can be produced in the 4222, this 361 shape could match or maybe surpass this with even more flair on offer. I've always liked the more controlled and attractive form of the game. Not in the heavy metal mould but more to the classical. And I also love symmetry in my systems, so that there always remains a degree of structure in how we play. The tactic is of positive mentality and classified as structured in its fluidity. This particular tactic I’ve created although is not my most successful or all rounded, but it is still my favourite as it is my style and is why I thought I'd share it here. Vision Sadly the modern game is now too quick and physical to successfully accommodate a side filled with luxury players. This has lead to the death of such roles like the trequartista, the classic regista, and both the poacher and wingers are now fast in decline. But these are the type of roles that for me make the beautiful game what it is today, and so is what I've tried to reinvent here. My vision was to create this system based on players from my favourite decade. This was around the 1995-2005 mark where there were world class players in all the defensive, middle and offensive thirds. Where most systems try to find a defensive balance to compensate for offensive play, this instead tries to bring the best out of the most technically gifted footballers, allowing each player to showcase their own abilities but in a cohesive manner. It's simply an attempt at creating controlled, beautiful and imaginative football for the purist, whilst playing intelligently to bring about success. Hopefully this idea is something that may appeal to some folks out there who may have also appreciated this period of the beautiful game. Team RED My retired but extremely dangerous team in their prime was full of flair, elegance, and sheer genius. It's my kinda team and I would have loved to watch this team play together. Schmeichel (SK-D) Puyol(BPD-D) Cannavaro(CD-D) Maldini(BPD-D) Beckham(RGA-S) Pirlo(RGA-S) Figo(WG-A) Nedved(WG-A) Ronaldinho(Treq-A) Zidane(Treq-A) Ronaldo de Lima (The Real) (P-A) The System – 361 RED SK-D x1 (Sweeps up the long balls over the top whilst keeping distribution very simple to the centrebacks to build up slowly from the back) CD-D x1 (Acts as the central defensive pivot, keeping things simple and providing the ball to both the BPDs and Regista’s to get the team moving) BP-D x2 (Keep things short, but if teams are pressing well they have the freedom to play riskier passes to try maintain possession or play in the wingers, whilst also changing the attacking dimension playing balls to switch the play) Reg-S x2 (The conductors of the orchestra feeding the Trequartistas and Wingers, with a willingness to switch the play and always bringing the threat of that deep killer pass when the opportunity arises) Wing-A x2 (Providing the width to free up as much space in the middle as possible with room to roam in and out and take on the opposing fullbacks, getting to the byline to both supply and support the man up top) Treq-A x2 (The creators working individually and in harmony roaming behind the striker, looking to bring the wingers into play deep into the opponents third of the pitch. They also have the freedom to produce their own magical moments and trickery to open spaces up for their teammates and themselves to exploit) Poacher-A x1 (The goal-getter for the side, roaming up top to find pockets of space and to maintain a fluidity to the game in the opposing third, playing simple passes to the treqs and wingers to bring them into play as much as possible whilst then taking up positions or making runs to bang in the goals) A quick overview of the tactic: Weaknesses will of course be down the flanks, the long ball over the top, teams built to gegen-press, and also not having a solid hard working central midfield. Let’s face it, all the above is probably suicidal in the modern game But then this would have defeated the object of the system. This type of football will require the team to play well to get a result. It's not meant for grinding out victories; hence it won't be as consistent as a system setup for that. But it rather hopes that on a bad day moments of sheer individual brilliance will shine through, and where keeping the ball is the primary form of defence. So you’ll need special players. They’ll need to be technically skillful, comfortable with the ball, have good movement, ooze with flair and creativity in the final third of the pitch, and have a quick back-line due to the high defensive line in place. They also need to be smart intelligent players and have good decision making and composure as we'll have the ball most of the time. High pressing is utilised and uses the structural positions within the formation to try and regain the ball quickly before aiming to retain possession and probe the opposition back-line, but if forced deep always having the capability of breaking the opponents back-line from a deep killer pass. I would also recommend to try and get wingers that are willing to work hard to a decent level. Given the system is weak down the flanks, at least having wingers that do work hard will help to press the play high up and to a degree also help track back. I did initially create this idea on FM18 and have tried to get it going on FM19 which has been quite a challenge, especially where realistically the modern game doesn't allow for such a type of football. Nevertheless I've given it a crack as I'll always believe there is room for such a game style =) Notes on the System It’s probably a system that will work better in nations where there is less intense pressing. But I can’t emphasise enough you really do need quality players at your disposal if you’re going to be consistent. Additionally, there probably isn’t one squad really geared for the formation at the start of the game. So you’re going to have to splash the cash and get the right players in given time. And with the talent today, do they really compare to Ronaldinho, Zidane, Ronaldo? So there are very few players capable that can really bring the best out of this tactic. But Mbappe, Dybala and Asenjo will do a good job. Kovacic , Saul and Veratti will also play well as registas too. FM Touch was the version I got this year. I don’t have much time to play with training so I don’t know what the full version is like. But on Touch my training will always be “technical” based which I control instead of the assistant. I’ll also always set my players to train the roles of this system given it is so unique. A lot of players will not be naturally suited to the regista or treq roles, but as long as they have the required attributes and training they’ll do the job. Set piece wise, my wingers take the throw ins and generally the trequartistas the corners n free kicks. My tactic design means my wingers are expected to be naturally footed to the flank they play on. So you’ll see it is a deliberate ploy that they’ll switch sides when playing short corners, in order to promote the more dangerous in-swinging balls into the box or bring the ball more central. However I do like to mix the corners up and be less predictable. Defensively, zonal marking is the way I generally go on all set-pieces with a few players given man-marking duties. And with 10 men, I tend to drop to 1 trequartista who changes his marking positional duties from the central side he was on to dead central. The Top Five: I’ve played seasons across all the big five leagues, and all are on the latest 19.2.1 patch for consistency purposes. So no more cheap set-piece goals =) >A few seasons into my Bayern save we broke Guardiola’s Bayern points record haul of 91 points previously by getting 93. Our home record was 100% perfect with 17 wins from 17. >With Paris season 1, we broke the previous Ligue 1 points record of 96 points by getting 100 points, whilst avoiding defeat during the season. >A few seasons in with Juventus, we had our best player performing season, with all 10 outfield players occupying the top 11 Serie A player averages at the end of the year. Next time I’ll set my keeper to take the penalties! Titles yes, record breaking not this time, too many draws. >A few seasons into my Real Madrid season, we won the first 20 league games in a row before we drew. We were eventually crowned champions with 7 games to spare. We ended the season with 102 points, breaking Mourinho’s La Liga record of 100 points in a season. City – Hardest but most rewarding With City probably the most challenging, after struggling in year 1 it wasn’t until year 3 that I got the real high quality first team and then season 5 for squad depth. Only then were we able to really dominate the league. When we did, we broke Pep’s 100 points record with 108 points. For the first time, we hit over 100 goals in a season notching up 121. We had our best defensive year too conceding only 10…and for my first time ever had a +100 goal difference in a season, ending up with 111 of all numbers. So that was nice to top things off , and I think this has to have been my best ever season on FM. We also remained unbeaten, top scored from corners, direct free kicks, indirect free kicks, and penalties. Maybe it was all luck, who knows =) but teams can have one off freak seasons I guess. With that said, I did run this season after I had tweaked the tactic in every single aspect, especially on the set-pieces. We performed at them best this 5th season. And we all know how important set-plays are in the modern game. Previous seasons our defence had been leaky, but I guess it shows the importance of having all squad players perfectly capable to play this system in such a competitive and punishing league. No margin for error in this division. And I’d definitely say bringing in Asensio and benching De Bruyne made a huge difference. De Bruyne isn’t the best for the treq role whereas Asensio is tailor made for it. No coincidence we were firing on all cylinders this year. Suitability The system seems to work best in Spain, which probably makes sense. It is the origination of the Galacticos, in a league where teams like to play football and don’t play much of a pressing game – and it allowed my team to play football, show their individual qualities, all whilst being dangerous from playing the deep killer ball. The sides we drew and lost against either pressed or parked the bus all game. Bilbao and A Madrid is who we lost to both away from home. It worked well in France, simply because PSG have top quality players a class above the rest. And we remained undefeated. Italy and England was the hardest. A lot of draws against teams parking the bus all game in Italy, and with the nature of the Premiership we leaked a lot of goals (23-29 for season 1-4). Only the 5th season we really dominated. We won comfortably in the third, whilst in the 4th had a tense win by goal difference on 91 points v Liverpool. Man Utd ended up on 90 who beat Liverpool in the penultimate game 5-1! However in the Serie A from a player performance average perspective across a season, this was the best I’ve ever done. Germany also worked very well, too. I probably had my best squad there along with City season 5, and when you average 93 points over 38 games you’re looking at 104 points. So providing you have the right players of sufficient quality, you can compete across all the top leagues and achieve success, but most importantly play elegant football in the process which was my aim. " ….But if you don’t have the players then do be warned, this system is one which will get highly exposed!" And yes, don’t expect to play well every game – a 6-1 loss at Anfield in season 4 was quite painful! We lost 3-0 away to Spurs that year too, although we completely outplayed them. In general though, I would say Liverpool and Athletico are going to be the hardest bogey sides given how they tend to setup. Clips of the tactic in action: I have some favourite clips of mine uploaded to youtube that show the features of the tactic with the type of goals and football you’ll be watching your side play - I’ve tried to get clips to show the intention of each of the roles in action. They have come across various patches and saves. Note the fourth and last clips I couldn’t get all the passes in as it would have over-run the 60 seconds clip max time – incase you were counting =) -Becks Precision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrBb1juDNiY -Pirlo-weighted: https://youtu.be/x5q2Au5iFc4?list=PLP4ix8nprBUU4837pSRuot-1jEaoOE6Dw -Zizou n Ronnie @ work : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdGLqAi0mqk -Luis Genius: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrUUPbleqEA -Crisp n Ron-Clinical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhnyQcle6GM -Galacti-goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nulbC7uRU04 Tactic / pkm Download The tactic has brought me much enjoyment. It reflects exactly how I’d like to see my football played, tidy and elegant, and I hope its design may appeal to others. I can't promise it'll work perfectly all the time, but it is very capable with the right players and I promise you’ll get to see some cracking team and individual goals. If you want to give it a whirl then you can download it here: gm-361-19-red.fmf I also have a match pkm here for download of my City Galacticos in the CL final 5th season against Valencia so you can watch my record-breaking squad in action. Valencia v Man City.pkm It is a tactic that shouldn’t need updating anymore as it plays as it should, unless anyone wants to apply any set-piece exploits or whatever =) Well I hope you enjoy and that it gives success to you too.

Season 5 Preseason – “A Frustrating Deadline Day” Transfers Again the board were able to chip in with around 50 million. There has been a good bit of business done in the sense of trying to improve the first XI. At the same time, with a huge amount of funds splashed out on GK Rulli at 47.5million, the amount of funds G would have to spend on deadline day was quite uncertain, with provisional sales only occurring on the day itself. This meant two positions looking for improvement upon did not happen. Arias is out for a couple of months, so an improved right back would have been ideal. An advanced playmaker of good quality as a backup for Grealish was also required but this didn’t happen either. A top class centre back was also a target, but we wouldn’t have had the funds for this anyhow. Charlie Taylor who was Villa’s left back was out of contract at the end of the year and didn’t want to renew unfortunately. So G had to make some money from him and get in a replacement. Around 7.5 million was made as Greg Taylor only cost 5.75mil. But Charlie Taylor is a slightly better player. G will hope Greg Taylor may improve as he’s still only 25. We also brought in a better right winger for backup in Oliver Burke. The best deal however was getting in old favourite Tammy Abraham in on a free. He’s improved a little since his first stint at Villa and he was on loan at FC Porto last season. It looks as if he will be Villa’s second best striker and will make the first team this year. The other improvement is in the centre mid slot. Harry Winks did well last year and is a good player. But Ndidi has come in to really provide that extra work-rate in the middle. Scout reports indicate he is a step up. So G will be hoping his performances will reflect the information provided to him. Squad No changes appear to have occurred on the defensive side of things with the exception of Rulli coming in and Pope going out. He was also on his last year in his contract. Depth will be a big problem at the back. It will also be a problem in the advanced playmaker area. Ideally there would have been a better option at right wing than Oliver Burke, but he is an international and value for money will be given as he didn’t cost too much for what he can bring. We should have enough strikers to keep the goals flowing hopefully this season. Although not all the reinforcements G wanted to bring in have been achieved, at least funds management has been quite good. We still have 20million left to spend. G will hope there may be players available of good value in the next window.

Season 4 Review – “Top four and a Trophy in the Cabinet” Premiership –Exceeded expectations / 4th Position / CL Qualification 35 points first half of the year, 41 the second. G knew if injuries were a little nicer in the second half of the season they could pick up more points. That was how it turned out to be. An outstanding season, with G’s men going far beyond their expectations three seasons in a row now. Carabao Cup – Exceeded Expectations / Winners The draws were quite nice for Villa. The hardest game except the final against Liverpool was in the 4th round at home to Everton. A convincing 3-1 comfortably dispatched of them, not realising this would be one game that took Villa all the way to the final. G’s second trophy but first major honour with the club. FA Cup – Under performed / KO 4th Round Another tough draw this season. After going through at home against Sheffield Wednesday, the reward was an away day at Old Trafford. A 3-1 loss here was suffered, but after the number of games involved in the Carabao cup success, it probably wasn’t a bad thing to hopefully allow for a strong league finish. Player Performances 9 players out of the 18 in the match day squad averaged over 7.00. This really showed the improvement and consistency of all those heavily involved in this years successes. The main man was Harry Wilson. After excelling on loan last season, G saw his potential and was delighted to see him transfer listed by Liverpool. Averaging the most at 7.33 and providing the most assists, it was clear to see why he also won the English Footballer of the Year Award and soon after, dedicating his award to his Manager G. Next best performer was G’s gamble on Andrei Ivan. Scoring some really important goals and assists this year, he averaged 7.33. Only criticism G has is his consistency having the odd sub game once in a while. But maybe in time he can bring this one thing missing into his game. With having quality service from both flanks, both Mitrovic and Afobe performed exceptionally well with 7.28 and 7.24 respectively. Both got over 20 goals this year. From the considered First XI, only 3 failed to hit the 7 mark but were not far off at all. Three of the four in the back-line, but given the way the team plays and their general abilities they all performed admirably. Harry Winks also helped sure up that midfield area. With everything working in tandem, the team really did wonders together this season. Team Performance G’s corner routines are serving the team well again. Scoring 19 goals, they profited the most from corner set pieces. However with this aggressive 442 of his, the team do have the worst record in terms of discipline. The most red cards and yellow cards by a considerable amount. Villa have been fined a number of times now. But G is quite happy to see his team commit intelligent fouls. Villa had the joint best home record this season equalling that of Liverpool notching up 50 points. It’s the away form which lets the team down, with the side coming in 7th best. 89 goals scored this season was the second most in the league. 63 conceded was 11th worst. How can this be improved upon? Simply having world-class players in all the defensive areas on the pitch. That’s something money and player pulling power will determine. But the Villa wage budget is now slightly over, and recent work has been started on improving the training facilities. With a top 4 spot secured though, it’s possible a good amount of funds will be made available this forthcoming season. Board The board feel G is doing an unbelievable job, and were ecstatic overall with the success across the competitions as a whole. For the first time squad harmony seems at a satisfactory level. -- By securing a top 4 spot, G hopes more players will be interested in joining Villa. However finances for the first time might become an issue. Taking this into account, it’s not going to be easy to find a balance. But if Villa are to push to the next level, world class players must be interested and the board must allow a wage budget to match. If this doesn’t happen, it could very easily be a season where we may go back a step or two. This especially where more fixtures are going to be in place if Villa make it into the Champions League Group stages. Manager of the Year Award 2021/2022 G finally got the recognition he served following last year’s over-achievement. Winning the Carabao Cup probably helped served to win this award ahead of Liverpool’s Klopp. But to be fair to Klopp, he has now delivered 3 premier league titles in a row and they will take some stopping to break this hold they appear to have in England. "Oh Yes....indeed he does" - Harry loves working with the Villa boss Overachievers Recognition Two years in a row Villa have won the overachievers recognition. This time around expected to finish mid-table, Villa pinched fourth spot at the death leaving Chelsea to compete in the Europa League. No-one could have seen this feat coming. It will be interesting to see what the expectancy of the board will be next season.

Final Day Drama – “Bournemouth Stay up allowing Villa to steal Fourth” Going into the last day, top five was secured for Villa but after a heavy loss away to Man City and a shock home 4-1 defeat to clinical Watford, Villa’s hopes of top four seemed all but over. It required Bournemouth to win at home against Chelsea. Bournemouth had to win to ensure they kept their premiership status. The pressure down at the bottom was just as immense. Villa had an away derby game at Wolves. But they had nothing left to play for apart from derby pride – which meant it would be a tough task. Would everything fall perfectly into place or will a fifth spot finish be Villa’s final position? ….Bournemouth took a 28th minute lead against Chelsea, whilst Villa had grabbed an early goal in the 7th minute to give them the derby advantage. Afobe then grabbed a goal a few minutes into the second half. Providing Villa didn’t capitulate, it looked 3 points were secured. Meanwhile Swansea the closest to Bournemouth were drawing away at Stoke, until the 82nd minute where they took the lead. But unfortunately for them, it looked all but over as Chelsea let in a second in the 63rd minute. It would need two very late goals to save their Champions League spot. Villa then put the icing on the cake with Mitrovic adding to his tally giving him 19 league goals this season….with all the other games staying as they were. Villa then clinched fourth spot which seemed unlikely at the half-way point. But Everton slipped as G hoped, and the last gasp wonder goal at Stamford Bridge by Mitrovic proved to be the difference between the side from London and the Villa. The Final Table

“Last Gasp Equaliser Keeps Top 4 Hopes Alive” (Chelsea 1 – 1 Aston Villa) An absolutely crucial clash was played at Stamford Bridge today. With both sides competing closely for top 4, it was a game Chelsea had to come away with the three points to put themselves in a commanding position, but one Villa couldn’t afford to lose to keep their strong position intact. The games action all came within the first 4 minutes, and the last. Chelsea took the early advantage in the 4th minute. After some early pressure mounting, Hazard found some space on the left hand side who then played in a perfectly floated cross into the box for Ntcham to nod the ball in from inside the 6 yard box. Not at all a good start for the Villa. The game then was a tense tight affair. Chelsea seemed content to play a little safer without showing urgency to get the second goal. Villa steadied the ship but really were not creating anything much all game and didn’t make one clear cut chance. But that did not stop late drama from happening at the bridge. It didn’t look like Villa were going to get a goal in this one, but the main Villa man Mitrovic popped up with an absolutely crucial solo goal out of nothing to give G’s men such an important point in their battle for fourth. Chelsea gave away possession sloppily. The ball found its way to Besedin who played a simple pass into the feet of Mitrovic. Not being tight marked, he attacked the middle before he hit a shot from 20 yards out into the bottom right hand corner of the net. The whistle then went soon after, and the MOTM went to none other than Mitrovic. Five games were now left to play, that included games against Man City away, but more importantly a home game against Arsenal – a side G has yet to beat as Villa manager.