Search the Community

This originally appeared on Dictatethegame.com https://dictatethegame.com/2019/07/27/fm19-advanced-tactical-primer-boosting-your-4-2-3-1-possession-tactic-via-ppms/ You can still read it there in its original formating and high quality pictures. I'm the original author and an reposting it here to see if I can generate discussion about 4-2-3-1 formation, using One-Twos PPM (or your other favorite PPMs) or possession tactics in general. So let me know what you think and drop your feedback and comments below. I'm planning to make my Roma save into a long series at least until FM20 comes out. Cheers! I have been playing Football Manager since 2013 and year after year I still see the same questions pop up regarding Player Preferred Moves (PPMs or also known as Player Traits). Why do they not work how they should? My player has “Plays with back to the goal” but I never see him receiving passes and holding up the ball? How come my centreback with “Brings Ball out of Defence” does not dribble into the midfield? The game engine must be broken right? Wrong, what you see is the divergence between what his role is instructing him (including any idiosyncratic traits he possess) and the general team and/or individual player instructions. This guide will examine some popular Player Traits and explain how they can work together and be applied to a typical 4-2-3-1 tactic to enhance overall possession and scoring. Likes to Round the Keeper – one of the coolest PPMs to have on your player, given the right tactical set up and the player with the right attributes A few years back Mesut Ozil made it look easy when he decided to round Ludogoret’s keeper in the Champions League. In the game, as well as in reality, there are quiet a few complex factors that combine on the field to make the occurrence of such artistic moves more likely. In on itself, rounding the keeper might not be a game changer or even tactically significant, but it shows that in the sport of football we must take into account that each player is an individual with unique traits and idiosyncratic tendencies that a good manager must carefully pay attention to. Even though the whole match is a team performance, it consists of numerous individual performances that add up minute after minute. Thus, one can never know how one player’s single moment of brilliance could affect the flow of the rest of the game. Foremost, a competent manager must be a good manager of individuals and know each players very well, before they can claim to be a good manager of the whole team. The above statement is one reason why I prefer to work with small squads that I can study and get to know very well during the preseason. Managing large squads with multiple substitutes per position and large reserve and junior teams actually scares me. This is one reason that for the last couple of iterations managing AS Roma has always been a big temptation for me. They have one of the smallest and most focused First Teams in FM 2019. Prelude: Brazil’s 4-2-3-1 – The Magic Formation As promised in my last Shadow Striker article I will be taking a deeper look at the famous 4-2-3-1 formation. In that article I argued that this well-known shape had its origins in Brazilian leagues in the 1950s. Over the years this formation evolved into the more familiar, and very Brazilian, “Magic Box” 4-2-2-2 formation. In the Magic Box the two advanced midfielders play behind the strikers, giving the formation its pronounced narrowness. The only width comes from the two fullbacks, giving one of the reasons why this role has become so important in Brazil with some of the best fullbacks and wingbacks in the world coming from the region. Yet the 4-2-3-1 as played by Brazilian teams between 1950s and 1980s, was essentially the classic Magic Box formation in everything but name. While separate on paper, the two formations became interchangeable in Brazilian football as 4-2-3-1 would transform into 4-2-2-2 in its attacking phase. This is thanks to the two inside forwards tucking in to play through the middle (essentially as central advanced midfielders) and the shadow striker moving up to play beside the deep-lying central forward. 4-2-3-1 – One of the most flexible formations and one of the best to win and maintain possession in the middle, since it can transform into a narrow 4-2-2-2 in transition phase As result of all this movement and rearrangement, you end up with three distinct banks of players playing closely together and sharing tasks. You have the four attackers in the front mostly tasked with attack and having more creative freedom than the rest of the team to craft out moves and exercise their flair. Next there are the two defensive midfielders and center backs focusing on playing the high defensive line and preventing the opponent from advancing into our own half. The defence is definitely more structured and disciplined than the rest of the team. Finally, you have the two fullbacks, acting as the key pivots in the tactic, linking the defence and attack. They probably have the most important roles on the team, both offensively and defensively responsible in running up and down the field for the full 90 minutes. I prefer one to be more defensive than the other (usually on the side of my more attacking winger). Having broken down the team into these three distinct area, one can see how important it is to have players with complementary roles as well as the PPMs to suit them. This is especially true for your four front attackers. Speaking of those attackers, in my last article I gushed all over the Shadow Striker role, specifically when in partnership with a Deeplying Forward. Unfortunately that article turned into a theoretical analysis of these roles as I did not have enough game time to run a proper test save. Presently, after putting the tactic to a test for almost a full season with AS Roma, I can confidently say that a Shadow Striker role works as well as envisioned, if not better. I also discovered that there are some PPMs that make this role more potent when slotted into a short passing high-possession tactic. One, Two …. GOAL! In the following video, can you count the number of passes between the halfway line and the goal? The whole play takes less than fourteen seconds and is a typical example of a play that I see a lot with my latest 4-2-3-1 tactic. While testing tactics, I tend to watch most of my matches in full or at least in comprehensive highlight mode. Trust me, it helps a lot when trying to tweak your roles and instructions. Thus I was able to see the efficiency of my 4-2-3-1 tactic improve drastically from when I first tried it with Fiorentina to my move to Roma. My goals scored have increased (while at same time keeping more clean sheets) and the team has started playing a much more beautiful brand of football, almost like Tiki-Taka in its approach with one key difference. As you can see in an above video, it is a possession-heavy style with plenty of short, quick passes but it is far from being stale passing for the sake of passing and pointless possession that people tend to attribute with Tiki-Taka. Rather I will join the football hipsters in borrowing the term “Vertical Tiki-Taka” to describe how this tactic plays. Vertical Tiki-Taka is a more aggressive style of possession football where the emphasis is as much on keeping the ball as it on moving it up the pitch as quickly as possible. It is brand of “liquid football” that brought celebrated managers like Pep Guardiola and Maurizio Sarri a lot of success in recent years. But how did I achieve this? It is not because Roma’s squad is better than Fiorentina’s. For the most part, it is not. With the exception of its fullbacks, Fiorentina is technically equivalent. While the Giallorossi are predicted to finish in the top 5, they do not possess a world-class squad and have little depth outside of the first team. Also, I barely changed the team instructions and roles between the two saves. So why is Roma playing so good after only half a season? I believe the answer to that lies in the player’s player traits. Maurizio Sarri’s Vertical Tiki-Taka “Sarriball” at its best As you can see, Vertical Tiki-Taka, as played by Sarri’s Napoli is similar to Pep’s vision of the more dynamic Tiki Taka in how it relies in creating overloads on one side of the field in order to unlock a very attacking player on the opposite wing (in this example, Callejon). So how do PPMs fit into it? With Giallorossi, my overall strategy is shaped by the fact that for most domestic matches I am the favoured side, required to play through dense enemy defenses. In order to win against parked buses I have come to rely on tactical overloads (a concept I covered extensively here) and specific Player Trait combinations. I’m not going to go back and explain the three ways in which I create overloads. With Roma I decided to keep a symmetrical 4-2-3-1 formation while using only two overload methods: specific supporting roles and team instructions to overload our left side. While overload itself is easy enough to achieve, switching the ball to the right “unlocked” flank turned out tricky. Initially, I found that managing a top side like Roma can make it difficult to find space behind the opponent’s defensive low block and score goals. To do this more consistently I crafted my tactic to take advantage of the PPM “Likes to play One-Twos”. Luckily the squad already had a few players with this trait and I started promptly to train all my attackers in it. The video below will give you a good idea how one-two passing helps to “play through” defenders. One-Twos work similarly in the game. Like any Player Preferred Move, they increase the likelihood of an action. In this case, the likelihood that the player will pass short to a teammate before making a forward run into space with the intention of quickly receiving the ball back.One-two passing works especially well in a short-passing possession tactic. It can help your team to use short passes and superior off the ball movement to play through stubborn opposition. So where the more direct diagonal passes and crosses are blocked, high-speed running and passing is harder for defenders to contain. It you have a team full of good passers and attackers with above average (15+) off the ball and decision-making , then one-twos become an essential compliment to playing possessive football. Breaking the Bus with Roma I am going to argue further that when facing a parked bus, possession football is exactly what you need to play, and not a more direct attacking approach. Many FM players also make the mistake of sitting back and hoping that the opponent will come forward more and expose gaps behind their defense. While this might work as a counter-attacking strategy when you are the underdog, when you play as the favoured side it only gives the defensive opponent more time on the ball. In the game this translates to instances of very high possession for the defending side who sit back and the hog the ball while hoping for a draw. Early on in my FM career the amount of boring draws I would get infuriated me. Its one of the reasons I started playing around with overloads and other ways to break the bus. After hours of experimenting with various teams, I found that the best way to break down a low defensive block is to keep possession and dictate how the game should go. When you maintain high possession while overloading one side, it allows your central forwards and/or wingers to get more involved in the play. It keeps your attack tight and spaced close for short passes so even if there is little room behind the opponent’s defensive wall, you can break through it via a series of short passes and runs into space. A video example from my save is probably the best way to show how this works. In the clip above notice how initially we overload the left side before advancing rapidly up the field via short passes and off the ball runs. I can count at least three one-twos in the final third. What you cannot tell from the clip is that Cagliari was a very stubborn side playing exemplary negative football for the whole 90 minutes. So when it finally came, this beautiful goal, by none other than my golden boy Nicolo Zaniolo, arrived in the last minutes of extra time. Better late than neve. Our patience paid off with the goal allowing Roma to advance to the next stage of the Italian Cup. To create more one-two passing between them, I have my two inside forwards play as close to the shadow striker as possible. It helps if they have “Cut inside” trait. By staying close to the center it should allow the inside forwards exchange one two passes more frequently with the shadow striker or even my deeplying forward. Having One Twos trait on the inside forwards is probably even more important than on the central striker pairing because there is inherently more space on the wings to take advantage of this PPM. Also having overlapping fullback and wingback with the same trait provides another passing avenue to our attack. My 4-2-3-1 Tactical Primer – The core selection of PPMs that allow my Roma team to play their own brand of “liquid” attacking short pass football – “Vertical Tiki-Taka”. The image above is my easy-to-use visual guide on how I mold my team into playing an attractive brand of possession football. The 4-2-3-1 is a perfect formation for it, and I had a lot of success with it. That is provided you have capable players with the right PPMs. As you can see in the picture, I’m in the process of defining the core PPM selection for the roles in my tactic. The ones listed above are by no means exhaustive as there are other traits that can work. However I believe these ones are essential to how my 4-2-3-1 functions. They enhance my tactic and help it to work well with fewer instructions. I chose Roma for my test as their team already has at least one player in each position with one or more of the required preferred traits. The rest I can train. Essentially, I ask all my wingers, and shadow striker to play one twos and move into channels while the central striker absolutely needs to have “comes deep to get the ball” in addition to playing one twos. With adequate training most of my team should possess these traits by the end of 1st season. I will be bringing other suitable candidates via transfers. You can see the team instructions I use but keep in mind that the tactic is still a work in progress. Although feel free to try it out for yourself as I include the download link at the end of the article. In future entries, I plan to go in more detail on how I set up 4-2-3-1 formation as well as how we performed in the 1st full season in Serie A (SPOILER – We did quite well!). 1st Season so far – with handfull of games left, we are first but in a tight race with both Juventus and Napoli. Who will come out on top? Nicolo Zaniolo – Future Imperator of Roma Nicolo is one of several 5 star-rated wonderkids available to Roma. The others include Luca Pellegrini, Alessio Riccardi and Justin Kluivert have the potential to develop into wordbeaters Nicolo Zaniolo has been responding to my training especially well. After six months, as my primary shadow striker he already learned to play one twos and possesses a veritable arsenal of other traits that make him excel in the role. He is currently my top goalscorer (with 14 goals, not bad for a 19 year old rooky in his first competitive season!) and as you can see attribute-wise he is shaping up into one of my most potent offensive weapons. AveNico! Zaniolo is my ideal Shadow Striker – physically and mentally strong with enough tactical intelligence to anticipate, get into position off the ball, and technical enough to finish his chances. Having that Power Shot trait helps too, although he scores most of his goals from within the penatly area (he is especially good with headers). I’m truly excited for what he will bring to my 4-2-3-1 tactic as I chronicle his rise (as well as Rome’s 2nd conquest of Europe) in my future articles. Thanks for reading and hopefully you will continue to follow my new Roma-inspired guide series titled Running with the Wolves! Tactic Download: https://ufile.io/xnwyx9ef Follow us @ Dictate The Game’s Facebook and Dictate The Game’s Twitter

I have just spent 65 million on a Colombian regen, only for him to be ineligible because he is non-eu. The problem is that he is the only non-eu signing I have made in the last two years who is still at the club, the rest have either been sold or loaned out. How can I make him eligible?

I am thinking about starting a save in the Serie A, most probably AC Milan, but an important part of this would be the ability to set up an U23 side. Juventus U23 are in the game but I was unable to find information about how registering a new U23 side would work. Is there anybody that can advise whether this is actually possible and if so how it works/how long it took to be able to register the U23 team. Thanks

Hello guys, i thought I would share my YT series with Roma on here. I have put a fair amount of effort into animations for line-up introductions as well as highlight screens. I really hope you guys enjoy it, any feedback at this stage would be brilliant!

INTERNAZIONALE MILANO F.C. "This wonderful night bestows us with the colours of our crest: black and blue against a gilded backdrop of stars. It shall be called Internazionale, because we are brothers of the world." 9 March 1908, Milan 22nd May 2010 is a day Inter Milan will never forget, as Inter ended a 45-year wait for another UEFA Champions League trophy. A brace from Diego Milito saw Inter defeat Bayern Munich and complete a historic treble for Mourinho`s men, also fulfiliing Massimo Moratti`s dream of winning Europe`s no. 1 competition, just like his father did. Inter were again the champions of Europe and few would have predicted what happened next....Mourinho left for Real Madrid, and despite a Coppa Italia win in 2011 and a 2nd place in the Serie A, Inter were going dowhill. In the following seasons, a change in ownership came, but Inter failed to finish on the podium and hit their lowest with a 9th place finish at the end of 2012-13 season. My goals: 1. Return to the Champions League (short-term goal) - Champions League money are crucial if we are to compete with Juventus, so a top-4 finish for the first season is a must 2. Stop Juventus` domination (short-term goal) - enough is enough, they`ve won 6 in a row and will probably make it 7, but it has to stop. 3. Beat the neighbors` (AC Milan) European Cup/Champions League trophy haul (long-term goal) - with Inter being at 3 and Milan at 7 trophies, it`s not going to be an easy task. And whilst it won`t exactly be one of my goals for this save, it would be great to be able to "knock Juventus off their ***** perch". For realism purposes, I`ve decided to make no transfers during the first transfer window. I`ll also stay away from the obvious wonderkids and unlike previous Inter managers, I`ll try and give youth players a chance.

Hi. I am having an issue with a custom Italian League system database that I have created. When I try and verify the settings in advanced editor I am receiving a message telling me that the promoted (Serie B-3 teams promoted) and relegated teams (Serie A 0-Relegated) do not match. Now I have edited it to include the correct 3 relegated and 3 promoted but I still can't solve the problem I am having here as I can't find the source of the problem as logically it would be in the promoted relegated section. Any help would be much Database Italy Official V2 (Mr-Clifton14).fmf

World League Challenge (V0.1) Which League are the strongest league in the world? Thats a question many Football fans debats all the time. But with this database you might going to get the answer. What if every league got the chance to pick a all-star team, with both stars and talent, who would win the first season, and who would stand the test of time? V0.1 - V0.1 is a early beta version of the database. - Its only released for getting input to make it as good as possible - Only the 20 best league has been put in the database for now - Cups are not up for running jet. - Finans is not fully up and running FAQ 1: How many players is there in every team? 2 senior + 2 young: GK, DL, DR, DMC, OMR, OMC, OML 4 senior + 4 young: DC, MC, FW 2: Why is player X not on the team, he is way better than player Y? All seniors are pick by the highest CA, and all young are pick by the highest PA. So don't blame the creator, blame SI! 3: Which stadium do the team play on? Fore the most the teams plays on the national arena, also they play in the national kits. 4: Why does Premier League only have the 3rd best reputation? I took the team with the highest reputation in the league, and made it into the league team, deleting all the history. In the beginning its also the club teams staff the runs the league team. 5:How many division will the final version have? As for now I'm going after 3 division, and maybe an other structure where there will be 2nd teams of each countries. 6: Why can't I buy any Players? I Banned the transfer windows for the first year, so its only players in the league that play against each other. Maybe I wil banned even more season, what do you think? 7: Where does the regens from each team come from? Every team is based in its own country, so the regens should mostly be with the same nationality as where their are based. Link: Mediafire - V01

I don't think there's a Inter guide, if anyone has started a save with them how is/was it?

First of all hello to you all, been here for a while now but dont think i've given a proper introduction before, although I dont like to write too much so I'll get right into the topic I'm a huge football and Inter Milan fan playing FM/early cm's fan for around 15 years now. Each game I've had some up and downs, but what every version had in common for me was that I had to have a successful Inter. FM18 is no different, however since Inter this season seams like they can finally make an impact and they actually play with some clear ideas in mind I thought I should try to replicate Spalletti's ideas into the game... Before I get into details I'd like to mention that my understanding of the ME and the tactical side of things is still a little unclear for me so If what I say is completely nonsense please don't hesitate to correct me Inter Characteristics Having watched every single Inter's game this season I think I know how they play and I can more or less agree with these screenshots: Pretty much self-explanatory really, Inter uses a high press (low/medium defensive block) 4231 shape most of the games using this lineup: Handanovic - D'Ambrosio Skriniar Miranda Nagatomo - Gagliardini Vecino - Candreva Valero Perisic - Icardi. Inter also plays short passing, possession football stretching the play out wide, on the right D'Ambrosio tends to play high up overlapping Candreva who plays really wide being that typical winger type, crossing a lot, while on the other side Nagatomo/Dalbert/Santon also happen to overlap Perisic but most of the time they are supporting the Croatian who uses his pace and dribbling to get himself into shooting/crossing position. Up front there's the typical number 9, Icardi who already scored 15 goals this season while Perisic only has 4 and Brozovic 3, so it's safe to say Icardi is the main threat As I've mentioned above, Inter mostly uses flanks to create their attacks Most if not all Icardi's goals came from the inside of the penalty box by either a cross or a through ball I have found 2 tactical analysis of Inter this season: http://outsideoftheboot.com/2017/08/30/tactical-analysis-roma-1-3-inter/ http://outsideoftheboot.com/2017/10/23/tactical-analysis-napoli-0-0-inter-milan/ While these 2 articles provide some proof and examples of how Inter played, apart from the pressing analysis, I will not really address it here since the 2 away games were against Roma and Napoli, so an altered gameplan was needed to neutralize the threat, and that was completely different to what I want to achieve here, perhaps I can use them later to create an away tactics for my save The Shape and Player Roles and Player Instructions The Main Idea is to play from the back using short passes to the wide players, then either go for a bit more risky pass to the wingers or safer option to the middle of the pitch and switching the side slowly making the way up the field, then provide either a cross or a through ball to Icardi, or an overlap on one of the sides to shoot or cross I will be using the classic 4231 wide shape since this is the closest to what Inter plays irl as well as it almost has all the required roles for the system. Handanovic - G De - an amazing keeper but lacking the sweeper skills like Neuer so he tends to play 'safe' which is why I went for the default role with Distribute to full backs Distribute Quickly and Fewer Risky Passes D'Ambrosio - WB At - better defensively than offensively,overlapping Candreva and providing crosses, rarely cutting in. Went for the WB as the FB seemed to deep, might even try CWB Stay Wider Skriniar - BPD De - when he was bought in the summer from Sampdoria nobody expected much from him, but he quickly showed how much of a tank he is with some ball skills as well. Spalletti likes to have at least one of his CBs to be skilled with the ball, in Roma he had Rudiger BPD and Manolas CB partnership. None Miranda - CD De - solid player most of the time, though the older he gets the more mistakes he makes, and although he works great with Skriniar, he has been in his shadow since the young Slovakian joined our side None Dalbert/Nagatomo - WB Su - solid supporting defender most of the time staying wide and supporting Perisic, rarely overlapping or cutting in Stay wider, run wide with the ball Gagliardini - DLP De - Had the biggest problem finding the right role for the 2 CMs, because it seems like most of the time they both act like BBMs, however when I tried it I was too vulnerable for counters, which is why i changed Roberto to be a DLP D as that role has what I think the most similar movement to the real life, though will be testing this more. Just realized that in many recent Real life matches he tends to be decent at getting the ball back but also his passing is lacking accuracy which is why I am considering a BWM De/Su role for him will try in the next game Dribble less Vecino - BBM Su - Spalletti uses his CMs as very mobile all around midfielders who are runners, are comfortable with the ball, can pass the ball and shoot, Vecino is the perfect example of this More risky passing, Dribble less Candreva - W Su - Him and Perisic provide the most assists and although they sometimes switch sides they both act differently, Candreva's main task is to hug the sideline and cross, although he is very irritating at times spamming crosses at every opportunity, it would be unfair to say he hasnt had an impact, the assists prove the fact that he is vital to Spalletti's side. Has a great shot, can dribble, use both feet, and is a workhorse in defence. I've picked Supportive Winger as he already likes to cut in on his own and shoot with power. Close down more, Get Further Forward, Roam from position, More direct passes, More risky passes, Mark specific position D (L) Valero/J.Mario - AM Su- the brain of the team although lacks shooting and tires out by the 70th minute, untill then he presses a lot and is always available for a pass, although he has only 1 goal and 0 assists this season he has many key passes and is always available for a pass as he likes to drop deeper. He already has Moves into channels, plays 1-2s, dictates temto and tries killer balls. Close down more, Get Further Forward, Roam from position, More direct passes, More risky passes Perisic - IF At - seems to be struggling recently to get to his best form he showed us last season, but still shows us glimpses of his magic, he's really fast, dribbles well, crosses as well is a defensive workhorse and a scoring threat netted 4 goals this season and providing 6 assists. Close down more, Get further forward, Roam from position, More direct passes, More risky passes, Mark specific position D (R) Icardi - AF At - this role seems to suit him perfectly as he isnt the type of player like lewandowski or suarez, a typical number 9, main man to score goals, I've noticed that Spalletti sometimes requires him to drop deeper and play more like a DLF or a CF, I will try the AF first. Already has Moves into channels, Places shots and Tries to beat offside trap and I've added Close down more Team instructions I've picked Very fluid because before Spalletti Inter lacked team spirit and unity, now the italian coach made it a priority to gel the team to play as a unit and have all players contributing to all phases. I went for Standard mentality and Normal Tempo due to the fact that I think Control would be a bit too much of a safe approach, Inter doesnt play tiki taka, they do play slowly from the back, but when they get to the final 3rd they try to play quicker and more direct towards Icardi, hence more risky direct passing for the front Cam and the wings Wide width I've already explained before Decided to go for the middle ground regarding the Defensive Line as they sometimes play deeper and sometimes higher, so Normal will be my starting point with Offside trap to compress the space given to the opposition team I've chosen Closing Down Sometimes and Prevent Short GK distribution because most of the time they press opposition backline and the keeper using the front 4, I have also added Opposition instructions to the back 4 + GK Press Always Tackle Harder Force weaker foot Exploit flanks Play out Of defence and shorter passing I've covered earlier I've added Be More Expressive in hopes that the creative CAM and wingers will get some more freedom Pass into the box Guess its an obvious choice when having Icardi up top Dribble less most of the players are OK with the dribble though I dont really want them to risk loosing the ball on our own half which is why I've added Dribble less TI but added Dribble more to Cam and the wings Ideally I'd like to use the 4231 at all times but I guess its hardly possible (OR ISN'T IT?) in this game by simply micromanaging to counter everything the opposition is throwing at us. I also converted this to a 41221DM version that uses safer approach to control the game against lesser team who park the bus One of the recent games in the season against Genoa key passes CURRENT ISSUES: My main current issue is that I keep having many shots e.g. 18 but only 5 on target despite the fact that most my players have shoot less PI.. do you guys have any ideas how could I counter this? I think this is pretty much it, I will post some updates half way through the season and at the end Thanks! Please let me know your opinion!

Accademia Rosanero (An Introduction) OCTOBER 1, 2017 ~ TOTALFOOTBALL71 ~ EDIT Welcome to Sicily the home of U.S Città di Palermo and the backdrop for my FM18 save. The Sicillian club have been relegated to Serie B, the 2nd tier of Italian Football after a disappointing season that saw the club finish second bottom in 19th place with just 24 points and a minus 44 goal difference. Quick fire owner Maurizio Zamparini has wasted no time in pulling the trigger and firing manager number 39 since 2002 and appointing number 40, that’s me an English born manager with a life long love affair with Italian Football, however I am under no illusion that the trigger happy owner will be demanding a return to Serie A at the first time of asking meaning I have put together both a short term and long term plan which I will cover later in this article. The Manager For people who already know me they will be aware of my footballing philosophy and influences but for those who don’t here are a few lines about Palermo’s new manager and first Englishman to take the reigns of the Black and Pinks. I was born in Chesterfield although I have never lived there, in the early 70’s (yes I am in my 40’s and yes I feel like I am) and grew up supporting Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest were I developed a liking for passing football “If God wanted us to play football in the clouds, he’d have put grass up there”. With Liverpool, Forest, Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Aberdeen, Dundee United and Aston Villa having embarked on European campaigns it opened up an whole new World of Football up for me thanks mostly in the early days to the midweek Sportsnight highlights with Harry Carpenter and David Coleman on the BBC, and the coverage of both the World Cup and European Championships I was taking a keen interest in the World game and I liked what I was seeing non less so than the 1982 World Cup hosted by Spain were I developed an affection for the Italian national team. Fast forward a year later I was now watching Serie A and Serie B football thanks to my father’s satellite system and I have been hooked ever since along with my adopted Italian team Milan who back then we’re a Serie B side due to a match fixing scandal. It’s no surprise that I have been influenced by a number of Italian managers and whilst I like my teams to attack on the front foot, nothing gives me more pleasure than a clean sheet. On a personal level I struggled to get anything going save wise on FM17 and it was not for the want of trying but I never admitted the reason but I was struck down suddenly with an illness that not only affected my concentration levels but threatened to change my life and potentially end my working life however with the close support of my family and work colleagues I am now back to something near my best with an horrendous few months behind me. During the whole time I was wiped off my feet literally has I was experiencing Vertigo from between 30 minutes and 12 hours at a time I still managed to interact to the best of my ability with both the game and the FM Community which kept me going through a difficult time. I am now so looking forward to the release of FM18 and committing myself to this save. I will like many use the beta to get to grips with the new features before starting this save on release day on the 10th November. I have put together a brief overview of what I am looking to achieve during the save. Tactics What will I bring to the club? Well I am not going to try to emulate any one manager but what I will do is put together many of my influences to define my own style. In recent weeks with the build up to FM18 you will have heard the word Dynamic mentioned a lot and it’s a word I like very much: Dynamic (noun) A force that stimulates change or progress within a system or process. Dynamic (Adjective) (1) (of a process or system) Characterised by constant change, activity or process. (2) (of a person) Positive in attitude and full of energy and new ideas. A Dynamic system is what I will be trying to create at the club, I have become aware that in football you have to always be looking to make progress within a system with a positive attitude open to new ideas. In FM16 I built a system influenced by Marcelo Bielsa’s days at Athletic Club and called it Verticalita and looking back I think it is the best system that I have created on any FM release and the closest that I could call dynamic. I am looking forward to getting to grips with the new match engine and will be looking to develop a system that incorporates the following: Control the opposition through ball movement Flexibility use different roles and individual mentalities within the same system: example a Deep Lying Playmaker / defend with the ability to change to a deep lying playmaker / support Dominate the central area Build around a conductor Build a strong defensive structure Have the ability to create width in more than 1 way Have a plan B and C Youth Development I will be looking to build a strong youth development system within the club, Accademia Rosanero is the title of this save for a reason and that reason is my aim to create a football factory deep in the heart of Sicily and by that I want us to produce player’s that will not only represent this club but that can also assist the other clubs in this region through strong affiliate partnership. On the whole in the past I have had preference to develop players at the club however on FM17 I experienced the positives of loaning certain players out to give them quality game time so in FM18 I will keep an open mind and access each players needs on a one to one basis. Going back to affiliate club’s I will not only be looking regional I will also be looking to set up an affiliation with a top tier European club and South American club however it will have to be a club who I think will benefit any player who we send them in terms of game time because there is no point in sending a player to sit on a bench. I will be looking to improve the training and youth facilities as soon as possible and will look to bring in the best staff I can on an ongoing basis so we improve year on year. Tutoring our youth will also be high on my agenda with the best possible tutors aiding our development program. Backroom Staff The backroom team are the key to our progress and with rumours of an improvement of the Sports Scientist and Data Analyst roles I am looking forward to building my backroom staff over time. Player Recruitment Whilst my main aim is to develop our own players I will still look to bolster our squad with external players if we don’t have the right quality of player already at the club. So the first option will be to promote within but if we can’t I will bring in the best I can to fill the void. The recruitment ladder : Replace from within the club Recruit an Italian National Recruit an EU player Recruit a non EU player I will be looking to have the best Head of Youth Development coach possible at the club who will be the nearest thing to a Model Professional. The HOYD is the most important non playing member at the club. Scouting I will look to bring in the best scouts possible to build a scouting network that keeps us ahead of our rivals in having the knowledge to pick up the right player at the right time. Scout youth players in Italy Scout youth players in Europe Scout youth players in South America Short Term Goal Like I mentioned above the owner will be looking for us to gain promotion so I won’t be surprised if that’s the expectation in season 1 so in the short I have to look at getting us promoted back to Serie A. Long Term Goals Stability in Serie A Increase the number of Italian nationality players in the first team squad Build a World Class Academy Develop our own players for the first team Field an all Italian 1st team in a Serie A match Field an XI developed in Accademia Rosanero in a Serie A match Break the all time individual club appearances and goals scored records Win the Coppa Italia Win Serie A Win a European trophy Become a club legend by creating a legacy Become Italian National team manager Thanks for reading and if you have any feedback I will more than appreciate you getting in touch. I am open to any ideas that you think I could incorporate in to the save. I will be posting save updates on here as well as my own blog which you can find at www.thewideplaymaker.com Arriverderchi

Forever linked with the landmark (and unique) Serie A title win of 1970s and the iconic striker who helped achieve it, Gigi Riva, Cagliari are the flagship club of Sardinia. Founded in 1920, the Rossoblù have spent a third of their history in the top flight, first gaining promotion the same season that Riva came on board, 1963-64. Before then, Cagliari only progressed beyond the lower reaches of the regional league thanks to Hungarian coaches Róbert Winkler and Egri Erbstein, a victim of the Superga air disaster of 1949. The club regained Serie B status in 1952, the year they moved out to the Stadio Amsicora in the bleak southern outskirts. It was here that legendary striker Silvio Piola came to coach and here that the man who would surpass him as top national goalscorer, Gigi Riva, arrived from Legnano in 1963. The Cagliari side he joined made Serie A in Riva’s first season. Along with defensive midfielder Pierluigi Cera, goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi and fellow strikers Angelo Domenghini and Roberto Boninsegna, all to star at the 1970 World Cup, Riva’s Cagliari became an ever-stronger force in Serie A. Despite Boninsegna’s departure, the Rossoblu went one better than runners-up in 1969 to take the scudetto in 1970, the decisive game a 2-0 win over Bari. All the while, a new stadium was being built, close to the Amsicora, the Sant’Elia. The recently crowned champions started their first, and only, European Cup campaign here, as well as the defence of their title – both unsuccessful, Riva having suffered a broken leg. The old warrior lasted until 1976, the year that Cagliari went down to Serie B, falling to Serie C1 a decade later. I have three main targets for this save: Winning Serie A again Establishing Cagliari as a competitive club in Europe Beating, with one of my players, Gigi Riva scoring record with Cagliari: 164 goals I've started this with a large database, 21 nations selected and 75.000 players involved. Serie A title odds 2016-17, nothing could go wrong, uh? We're ready to start this new adventure as my leading striker, veteran Marco Borriello, is clearly showing... You could translate "Rombo di Tuono" with "Roar of thunder", Gianni Brera, the famous Italian sports writer, gave Gigi Riva this legendary nickname due to his playing style, a mix of strength and elegance.

Hi, I've decided to go for my first actual documentation of a save, and I've chosen to take on the challenge at Sampdoria! Sampdoria were a fantastic team in the 90's, and are very much part of the Football Italia 90's nostalgia wave. They haven't quite hit the heights since winning the title in 1990-91 with a team featuring Vialli and Mancini. They've had some great players over the years, the likes of Gullit, Klinsmann and Platt have all put on the iconic jersey. While we may not be able to recapture the glory years in the 90's, we'll be trying to push Samp as far as they can go. Their history combined with the ridiculous crop of young talent Sampdoria currently have meant this save was always on my to-do list. I'll update this thread quarterly, so expect the next update will be around October-ish game time. It shouldn't take long, and hopefully by then I've got bit of material to work with. Thanks.

Basically, I've spent £28m on a Brazilian DM - a position that I really need filling. I'm AC Milan, and when I tried to register him, it wouldn't let me as it said that he needed to replace another nEU player in the squad. So, I sold Lincoln to Schalke and though that I could register him. Nope. It was saying that I could register him for the next game; whilst also saying he's taken up a nEU slot for the club but then saying that I couldn't register him for the same reason. I'm really confused; does anybody know what I have to do?