ManUtd1

I'd have 2 mezzs on attack if I could! But without the BWM it all goes to ****... I definitely agree -- sticking a libero between 2 WCBs doesn't seem to make any sense... ...but that's what makes it so much fun...

Never! As much as I hate to do it, I've been tinkering with the WCBs -- I love them dearly, but there is no question that they leave us exposed to a direct counterattack when the ball-sided WCB and libero are high up the pitch while in possession. This isn't a constant problem, but we are often playing on the edge here, even if we aren't conceding. Naturally, better teams and players will exploit us more often in this regard. With a BPD on defend duty, the flanking CBs are still "ball-playing" (obviously), but: (1) the ball-sided BPD is about ~10-15 yards deeper than the WCB would have been; and (2) both BPDs sit more centrally. Bottom line, we're much more stable in transition with BPDs. The WCBs are far sexier in possession than BPDs, of course -- there isn't any comparison. But there's no question that defensive stability won't be the hallmark of a team that: (1) has an IWB on attack duty and a CWB (support) on the flanks; (2) a hyper-aggressive libero flanked by 2 WCBs; (3) that plays with a default attacking mentality and high lines, often utilizing a "very attacking" mentality and "much higher" lines for passages of play. (As an aside, merely dropping the lines doesn't fix the problem, since this is a function of how we respond to verticality in transition from attack to defense in the moments immediately after we lose the ball. Similarly, ticking "regroup" instead of "counterpress" doesn't solve the problem, even if it makes us more stable defensively from a broader perspective.) So, I have 2 thoughts. First, our centerbacks are arguably the weakest players in the squad right now, comparatively speaking. Upgrading there (or allowing the current players to fully develop) should give us some stability against better sides in European play. Second, if that doesn't help, we may simply want to utilize BPDs in bigger matches and/or away in Europe. A tactical tweak to be used situationally, instead of a revolution:

I can't sleep. In the aftermath of the Dortmund tie, all I can do is re-live various moments, wondering, what if... Could an adjustment to our back 3 stabilize things in these "big" European matches? Mat isn't helping. He spent the night shoving bread down his pants, pretending he was a toaster. As one does.

Yeah, that one hurt. We simply weren't at the races in the 1st leg, undone for the 2nd goal by a mental mistake from a 19 year old centerback playing a colossally stupid pass. Frustrating, but those are the breaks. Next year will be our year!

April 2040 - Champions League, Quarterfinals. A massive night. One we have long prepared for. Back in Dortmund at the Signal Iduna, the site of ze Germans' self-immolation last Fall. Ze Germans play as if they have a point to prove. Us? We are timid. In the extreme. Garde gives our hosts a deserved lead shortly before the break. It is no less than they deserve. Which makes his straight red card on the stroke of halftime look like nothing more than history repeating itself -- a gift from the Footballing Gods. A gift we firmly refuse, as Miladinov manages to provide the aging Moukoko with a beautiful assist in the 50th minute. We pull one back, late, but the headline is clear. A 2-1 loss to 10-man Dortmund? A missed opportunity to say the least. Back in Sagarejo, neither side approaches the match with any semblance of caution. The match is a thrilling, wide open, end-to-end affair, with VAR intervening to award both sides a goal. One that is settled in the 94th minute, Le curling an impossible shot into the top corner from 20 yards. Cruel in the extreme. 2-2 on the night. We are out, 4-3 on aggregate.

Maybe swap the right-sided mezz for a carrilero? That might give you a bit of coverage on the flank, even if it takes away the saucy double mezz...

Scouting every Cameroonian player in the database isn't glamorous, but it works!

Bruno Bernales is the first Gareji player to be named to the NxGn 50 while still in Georgia. A beast of a player, who is growing into our tactics quite nicely.

As far forward as he gets, the moments bursting into the box are definitely less frequent than I'd like (even if they are more frequent than in prior MEs, by my impression). "Arrives late" is one I need to look at next, though since he already has "gets forward whenever possible" and "gets into opposition area" he may not be able to learn it (the latter, in particular).

Definitely could get a ton more goals if I put him up higher, but I agree -- that wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun. I'm honestly frustrated by the lack of open play goals. He mainly scores from direct free kicks and penalties, with a handful of goals coming on near-post corners. He probably claims ~3-5 goals per year from pure open play -- nowhere near as much as I'd like to see. He's learning the "shoots from distance" PPM right now -- hopefully that will help. (Theoretically, we could get him more goals if I had someone with a long, flat bullet throw. But...we don't have that option right now and it isn't something I've been looking for. But those would not be "open play" goals, in any real sense of the term.)

March 2040 - Cup of Nations Qualifying. Two matches. Six points. Simple math.

March 2040 - Champions League, First Knockout Round (2nd Leg). Miladinov returns to the bench for the 2nd leg back in Sagarejo. With a 2-goal advantage, my hope is we will not need him. Ze Germans must chase the game, which plays right into our tactical plans. The auld enemy -- VAR -- intervenes early, awarding Leipzig a goal in the 16th. Bull****. Jakimovski pulls us back level on the night, 20 minutes later -- a goal we needed, to restore the karmic balance of the match. Ze Germans refuse to relent, however, and find another shortly before the half, only for Bruno to restore parity -- a goal that even VAR cannot deny. Jakmovski gives us our first lead of the night in the 55th -- a big moment, as our guests will need to chase the match even harder now. When Bruno claims our 4th before Leipzig can regain their composure, again the UEFA ****s try to intervene through VAR, but even they cannot deny us our due. 4-2, The German champions are eliminated. A massive win. A statement of intent. A marker, laid down. We reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time. A rematch against Dejan Stankovic's Dortmund awaits.

February 2040 - Champions League, First Knockout Round (1st Leg). The first leg in Germany sees us down Miladinov and Toroshelidze. While Miladinov has a chance to return for the 2nd leg, Toroshelidze will miss both. Davit has fallen down to the 2nd XI (behind Brkic), though, so it isn’t as if his loss is a big one…unless and until we need talent coming off the bench. Anibal smashes one off the post in the first minute…a strong start. But there are 89 minutes-plus to play… And we concede first, a crashing header off a corner. But we’re not done for. Not yet. We continue to harry and press. And we take our chances. Jakimovski in the 39th, Brkic a mere 19 seconds after the restart, and Ayong in the 93rd minute, with 2 goals called back by VAR in the interim. (The ****s at UEFA are nothing if not persistent in their ****y-ness.) We will take a 3-1 lead back to Sagarejo.

Television rights in the Erovnuli Liga triple for 2040, up to $1.7M from $530k in 2039.

The domestic award season is (as has become typical) a celebration of our players. On a bigger stage, however, Kameni claims African Footballer of the Year and the Broadcaster's African Footballer of the Year, with Awoa finishing 3rd in the former, and Ngongang joining them in the African XI.

The Champions League draw is a mixed bag -- either we face the likes of Party-zan and Sporting, or we get one of giants of the "Big 5." There will be no trip to Belgrade's famous Itchy Kitty for us, though -- we draw Allegri's RB Leipzig -- the defending Bundesliga champions, who are having a tough domestic campaign thus far. We are not without, however, as we eliminated ze Germans 2 years ago in the Europa League quarterfinals.

Achille Awoa, Danny Roberts Challenge - 2039 Overview Achille Awoa has grown leaps and bounds this year -- at the age of 21, he has 204 appearances in the books, with an absurd 69 international caps. He has also been named the Erovnuli Liga POTY, Foreign POTY and Young POTY. There is little doubt that he will reach 1,000 appearances -- the drop-off this year was associated with fewer appearances from the substitutes bench, mainly due to the fact that our 2nd XI played fewer matches. Getting a libero to 1,000 goals was always going to prove to be a challenge -- I think we can still make a run for it, but it is going to take some luck and effort. I want him to be consistently scoring 20+ goals for Gareji, a threshold he has yet to hit. It helps that he takes penalties and free kicks for both club and country, although the impact has been less than what I would have expected. It will be interesting to see if that changes, going forward. Per usual, I've included Kameni and Ngongang. There is no question that they should both reach the Appearances mark, and Kameni is starting to look good value for the 1,000 goals mark. He needs to continue scoring for the Indomitable Lions, especially with fewer club games on offer thanks to our direct qualification for the Champions League Group Stage. His partnership with Bruno and Anibal also picked up this year,

If A Tree's Strength Is Judged While It Is Still A Seed, It Is Mistaken As Weak December 2039 - Season Review This is the year it feels like we finally "arrived" on the continental scene. An unjust departure from the Europa League. Winning our Champions League Group. Not to mention an "invincible" league campaign, in which we claimed 167 goals while only conceding 14. Though we have claimed scalps in European competition before and even progressed to the Champions League knockout rounds, it feels different this time. We belong here. No longer are we the precocious young upstarts from the hinterlands, bound to be annihilated by the established powers in due course. After all, we only lost 4 matches all year -- twice to the Radish Eaters, once to Dinamo Tbilisi in a one-sided match we conspired to lose, and then in the last match of the campaign against ze Germans. Provided that we can keep this side together, we are not as far from the pinnacle as it may seem at times. Goals for 2040: Win the lot, domestically. Not embarrass ourselves in the 2039/40 Champions League knockout rounds. Qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds in 2040/41.

November/December 2039. The final matches in the Group Stage will determine if we go through as a seeded team -- an unquestionable advantage. In Amsterdam, we run riot -- annihilating the Dutch, 5-1. Ze Germans win, meaning it all will come down to 90 minutes in Sagarejo. It is a wide open match -- 4 goals in the first 25 minutes, neither side playing anything resembling a coherent defense. It is glorious.,.except for the fact that we are the ones creating better chances, and not taking them. We fall 4-3, but still take the Group on the tiebreaker.

Uhh... What were you lifting the weights with?

Can you hear the footsteps, Porto? We're coming for you...

Thanks, man! Got lucky against Dortmund, arguably. But we're through! I'm hoping for a rematch against the Radish Eaters in the knockout rounds...

November 2039 - CAF World Cup Qualifying, Second Round. 6 goals in the first 15 minutes in Douala put paid to any suggestion that Swaziland might put a scare in us. Outmanned. Outgunned. Out-footballed. The 2nd XI are given the return leg in Lobamba -- a young XI, 10 of whom have passed through the doors of Fabrika. A proud moment, even if the result is less emphatic. Our reward? A tough qualifying Group, with Angola, Algeria and Ghana.

We can secure passage to the knockout rounds with a win over Basaksehir on Matchday 4. Pressure? I eat pressure for breakfast. 16 seconds. 6 passes. 1 goal.

October 2039. The Indomitable Lions look very domitable in this month's friendlies, the last before we begin World Cup qualifying against Swaziland. Neither Costa Rica nor Jamaica should prove problematic, certainly not when we host them in Cameroon. Maybe it is the young squad -- an average age of 23. No excuses. If we simply take our chances, both matches are over long before the final whistle. Gareji travel to Istanbul for Matchday 3. Win tonight, and we are guaranteed football after the holidays. In our first foray forward, straight from kickoff, Kameni is shoved over from behind in the box. Awoa calmly slots the penalty home to give us the lead, after less than 90 seconds. Bruno extends our lead in the 8th minute, tapping home a loose ball inside the 6. Kameni finds our 3rd just before the half, all-but ending the Turkish resistance. 6-nil at the final whistle, this was always a match we should have won -- nevertheless, to do so emphatically is a tremendous boost to our confidence. Our 3-nil drubbing of Saburtalo on Matchday 32 is notable, in that we set a league record for goals scored -- 154, having conceded a mere 12. We will look to extend that tally in the closing weeks of the campaign.