An ode to simpler times - Sponsored by blue and white hoops

[felley]

Nice one, Jambo and good luck!

Would love to see a few half-season/season updates. You're right, month-by-month would probably be long-winded.

[Jambo98]

Cheers felley.

Worth a bit more background on going to Napoli and implementing the approach i guess.

The previous season (whilst i was winning the EPL with QPR), the teams with vacancies actually finished in a group in the league - Napoli 8th, Fiorentina 9th and Milan 10th. Napoli however, had won the Cup so were in the Europa League at least. They had also won the league in season 1, but since then were on the decline with 5th followed by 8th. Hence Rafa was givin his jotters and i got the job.

The job interview revealed i would need to work on a budget, which wasnt ideal, and indeed when i joined there was a transfer budget of £2m and whilst the wage budget was large, were were pushing up against it (i think £12pw room). The expectation was that i could challenge for CL football, and i felt that was fair. In my own mind i hoped i could win this league in 2 years - Season 1 would be too big a stretch, but by season 2 i hoped i could topple the mighty Juve.

Setting up the new club

In essence, much of the same approach as before. We did the basics:

• Set up training - match and team and invidivual
  
• Assessed the staff and replaced a large chunk of them, getting in my type of people and as many coaches as we are allowed (including negotiating an increase)
  
• Set up out core tactic - Same one as before, my faithful 451
  
• Set up some pre-season games against fodder to boost morale - a game every 4 days roughly
  
• Squad analysis - This is the vital part, and i had done much of it in my head when deciding to apply for the job. I had to break things down into a bit of a depth chart, and think about how to be creative.
  

Recruitment approach

This was interesting. We had little money to spend, but lots of very valuable assets. Several players valued at £20m+ and lots of interest in our best players. I could easily have sold 4 or 5 and brought in £100million to rebuild. However i didnt want to do that. I really liked the group here, and didnt want the mass upheaval. I did however need to raise some funds. I analysed the squad and found the following players to be expendable:

Juanfran - £2.2m to Liverpool - The former Athletico right back was still an excellent player, but at 32 and earning £82K per week, not the right man long term. I had Sime Vrsaljko who could be first choice instead

Michu - Free to palace - What ever happened to this guy. Old, declined and on £75K per week. Out you go.

Raul Albiol - £4.5m to Everton - Also getting on a bit and really slow, and also unhappy so i let him go. Had a first choice pairing already at the club anyway

Ladislav Krejci - £17m to Arsenal - This was the big decision to sell and raise some serious funds. He looks an excellent left winger, but not so much a WM which i need, and he was the odd man out when arsenal offered the full sum upfront

A host of others who had expiring contracts were allowed to walk, all fringe guys like Mariano Anjuar, Maggio, Zuniga, El Kaddouri.

This shook out to giving us a good £25m or so in the transfer kitty, with a healthy gap now in the wage budget (something like £300K per week was freed up in total).

So then, i took my "forensic" approach to the squad, position by positition, to assess my needs and player types. I will detail it a bit here, as i might not have shown this in the earlier sections.

GK - Starter is Mathew Ryan, 25yr old Aussie signed out of Belgian football 3 years back, Excellent track record of ratings and very good attributes. Not someone i would ever sign normally but no need to replace. I have no back up due to contracts expiring, so veteran Andrea Guatelli comes in on a free from swiss football. At 33 he is strickly backup material but only costs 5 grand a week and Ryan has zero injury history in 3 years so im fine taking that risk

RB - As mentioned, Sime Vrsaljko is in place and an excellent attacking fullback with all the right PPMs i need. Those PPms make a huge difference to the system. As backup i look for a cheap loan option and Douglas of Barca B is the man. He is nothing to shout about, but again has the PPMs i need and is costing me less than £10K per week.

LB - Identified as a weakness, because we have none! Anyone who could play here was released or sold. Scouting around brings me to Dodo at Inter. Again excellent attacking type, good PPMs, and although he costs £6m, strangely he only wants £15K per week (part of why his scouting report caught my eye). Of course we need depth, so Nicolas Tagliafico comes in for an absolute bargain £250k from Argentina. He is almost as good as Dodo, younger, has again the PPMs i need and has dual nationality so no issue with the non EU rule.

CB - Napoli, of course, were who nabbed Eder Alvarez Balanta from me, so he is there and will be my rock if i can hold onto him. Alongside him Simon Kjaer looks a good partner. A former uber prospect who never quite made it to the very top, but developed pretty well none the less. To give me a viable alternative, Andrea Ranocchia is spotted amongst those released by Italian clubs. An experienced international, he is a steel on a free at £17K per week. Fourth CB is in place already, former Inter man Lucas Spendlhofer who i have managed before and is more than good enough if called upon.

DLP - In place is Jorghino, a superb option here. Josip Radosevic can back him up at the (d) position so we are set there already. For the supporting role, i decide to use Youri Tielmans. A real top glass talent, who could easily be deployed in a more attacking role, but i like his ability from deep and we have other things in mind for the more attacking positions. I want a good depth option here, with Radosevic being 4th choice, so i manage to secure Dani Parejo for only £3.5m from Chelsea. He will cost £45K in wages but has real quality so we have 3 top class players for 2 positions

WM/CM - Having looked at what i have, and possible transfers, i decide here to repeat something i did in the "DNA" thread. I want to bring in a group of players whom can all cover any of these 3 positions, and give me different options/ways to set up without changing. There are some great players already in place for this. Firstly, Marek Hamsik has developed very well in this save. He is usually a central player but i plan to use his PPMs and ability from wide. Mostly he will start in the right WM slot. Backing him up, we bring in another who can play in all 3. Marco Van Ginkel on loan from Chelsea is a bargain and could even cover DLP. On the other side, Lorenzo Insigne is in place and a great player to come from deep. Again nice PPMs and ability. To give more competition, notionaly on the left but able to cover all 3 again, Jese is recruited on freedom of contract from Madrid. Normally a striker, but i think he can come from deep. For the central slot, i go out into the market place and search for talent. First up, in comes Ricardo "Hari" Kishna. Costing £8million from Ajax and in his prime at 23 i feel he can be a "central winger" for me. To complete a hugely strong 6 players here, we splurged the last of our transfer budget on our biggest signing - £17m for Bernard from Arsenal. A huge talent who, like all of these 6, can play in any of the 3 attacking roles but primarily i see as the attacking winger. Has no PPms but his attributes are great as is his performance history.

ST - With Gonzalo Higuain in place and scoring regularly over the 3 years, we are happy with our starter here. To back him up, we again hit the free transfer market where Mattia Destro counts as a real bargain. Has had 2 poor seasons as a bit part at Roma, but real quality there for £45K per week and no transfer fee

To round things off, we sign a couple of youth type players (a DC/DMC, a DRL, and a young striker) and promote 2 of the U21s to bulk the squad, since we need to field 12 subs each week and we have a squad that is balanced, varied, and ready to go.

Off we go - I know i need to be ready for a rocky start as we blend the players and adapt to my system, and i wont get down if we lose some games in the first 3 months because i have to focus on the 2 year plan. Lets see how it goes

[Jambo98]

Napoli Season 1

So a season in Naples. In the shadow of Maradona. We were chasing CL spots, but really deep down i felt we could finish second. Behind Juve there isnt much between the rest, and to show it, last season tiny Latina, newly promoted, had finished second!

The season started somewhat as i expected. We actually secured a trophy in the very first match, with a comfortable 3 v 1 win over Juve in the Supercup! We dropped some points early as our players adapted to my system, and as we tried to gel as a unit, given we had brought in a good chunk of players. Really strangely, at one point i got the message about my job being on the line if we didnt win the next match (we were i think 8 games into the season, we sat 7th in the league and had already won a couple of Europa games IIRC, a few morale issues might have contributed). None the less, i survived that "ultimatum" and slowly our form turned for the better.

The football we were playign was lovely at times. Hamsik coming in off the flank was a beast, Higuian was scoring regularly, Tielmans in the DLP(s) role was getting forward more than i am used to for that role. Destro was working nicely as a second striker, knocking them in in Europe and when needed in the league. We werent perfect by any means. The odd dropped point at places like Avelino and Empoli stopped us from really being on the coat tails of the leading 2 - Juve were the leaders and Lazio not far off matching them to be fair. A defeat in our final game before the winter break at Milan actually sent us down to 7th, albeit amongst a tight bunch. At this point, Juve had some 8pts or so on us.

Meanwhile in Europe we absolutely blitzed it. 6 wins from 6. 17 goals for, 1 against. Total domination by what was almost always a heavily rotated side. Great indicator of our strength in depth.

January Transfer window

We had some hard decisions to make. Firstly, Insigne had been playing very well off the left flank, but he was making noises about wanting to leave for CL football, and PSG dropped in a £32m bid. I looked at it long and hard, making plans for what i could do to replace him and improve the team, and i made the hard decision to let him go. He was a player in his prime, and was performing well but its a huge amount of cash and i felt we could develop into a better team in the long term with the cash, and also had to weigh the risk of his unhappiness.

With the cash at hand, i made 2 signings.

Firstly, Sergi Roberto for £10m from Barca. I love this guy in real life, along with Rafinha, and in game i felt he had amazing stats and the perfect balance of PPMs to replace Insigne, albeit not directly. Sergi looked the ideal DLP(s). Tielmans had been doing very well there, but watching how great he was getting forward, and also watching how a similar type in Hamsik was deadly from that WM position put me onto a plan. Tielmans would replace Insigne on the left flank, with Sergi coming in to be my DLP(s), with Dani Parejo also seeing some time as he had performed well.

Secondly, with still some cash to spare, I spent £11m on Dennis Praet from Anderlecht, another young yet well developed Belgian. Similar to Tielmans in some ways, and also capable of covering a variety of roles across the middle. Meant we had real competition for places, particularly since in essence i sold one midfielder and bought two. To balance it a little, i let Radosevic leave, with Parejo able to cover DLP(d) on the rare occasions Jorghino needed a rest.

With that business completed in the first week of the window, i intended to take a watching brief and fight off bids for most of my other top guys like Balanta and Jorghino.

Then, mid window, another huge decision. Man Utd came in and offered £40m for Higuian. With half upfront, the other half over 12months. This was really huge. He had banged them in for us when fit, with 11 in 12 games. He had missed some time with injuries, and Destro had performed well in his absence.

I agonised over this deal. I looked at all the factors - How crucial is he to our system? Can i replace him with better immediately with the funds available? Is there a replacement already in the squad? Again morale played a part, he had come to me wanting to leave when Utd were interested, so i was running a risk here. IN the end, i weighed up also where we are in the league. We are probably too far back to be in contention, and this is a 2 year plan. By selling him now, i can bring in a replacement and get them up to full speed/integration for the important season 2. So i took the cash.

I scouted and searched long and hard for a replacement. I looked at lots of top strikers around Europe. We had cash in hand, wages to spare and a good rep. In the end, with some filtering on the type of attributes i wanted, i went for a bit of a gamble. Instead of one of the many "proven" strikers i had options to buy, i went for a 22yr old Brazilian from Athletico Mineiro named Carlos who cost me £12.25m. He ticked all the boxes - Fast, fit, agile, good finisher, composed, great anticipation and off the ball. First Touch and Technique are there, and even good long shots. No PPMs, but i can live with that. Also my scouts all thought he could still improve by half a star in future.

With that, my business was done and we set about the second half of the season......

Season part 2 - Chasing the old lady

When the league resumed after the break, we went on an absolute tear. We won our first 11 matches, including 10 out of 11 being clean sheets (missed out on repeating the "parked tank" award just, as the non clean sheet was 3 games into the run). The run was only broken by a second leg Copa Italia defeat to Juve, which knocked us out on aggregate. This caused us a mini bump. We dropped points in the league against Inter, and 2 weeks later lost a second leg at home to Monaco to go out of Europe which was very annoying, having won the first leg away. I really fancied winning the Europa as well.

We re-grouped, and went on another good run. The next 7 games brought about 5 wins and 2 draws, including an absolutely vital win away at Juve. Had we lost that, we were out of it really. They were some 7pts clear of us going into that game and we battled hard to take a 1 v 0 win, sticking to simplicity but using our maximum tweaks in that game! The last of that run of 7 was actually one of the draws with Palermo at home, but Lazio had started to lose form so after that game we moved up to second for the first time. It still looked a real long shot to overhaul Juve with 6 games remaining and a 4pt gap.

We set about the task in swashbuckling style. Those last 6 games brought 6 wins, 20 goals scored and 3 conceded. Included another huge away game against Lazio which we again sneaked a 1 v 0 win to pretty much put them out of contention. Juve started to buckle and drop points. They drew with Avelino and we moved within 2pts. They found some form again, and with 2 games to go, the gap remained 2 pts. The penultimate fixture for Juve was away to Lazio - a very tough game against the clear 3rd place side. IT was a game moved to midweek as, ironically, the same 2 sides (Juve and Lazio) had the Italian Cup final to deal with. Lazio won the cup on Pens after a crazy 4 v 4 draw. It must have taken something out of Juve, because 4 days later the teams fought out another 1 v 1 draw!

With a game to go, we were top on head to head record. Juve actually had a better GD, but in Serie A, Head to head over-rides that. We had drawn with them 3 v 3 at San Paulo early season, then that battling win in Turin meant all we had to do was beat mid table Parma, at home to take the title!

It was never in doubt. We produced probably our best performance of the season and absolutely smashed Parma 6 v 0! Jorghino got a hattrick from DLP(d) (ok, 2 were pens......). Bernard added 2 which were both long range screamers and Hamsik had a say, as he always seemed to.

One of my fave parts about this title win. Is that technically we only led the league for one single week all season - It just happened to be the one that counted the most

Phew!! That was one seriously tense finish to the season, and another one that exceeds all my expectations. IN one season we have conquered Serie A with Napoli. To bring this back to the point of the thread, we did it all using the same simplicity principles outline in the very first 2 posts of this thread. Yet more evidence it can work. Of course its not easy though. I spent a long time working on the right players for this system at Napoli. Whilst scouting is a bit easier at a top club, we can play in a market place where we rarely have to "discover" new talent, we buy established ones, its still all about finding the right balance in your squad and keeping them happy.

Carlos actually turned out to be a bit of a dud thus far. He made only 8 appearances, and didnt score a single goal! I did try to ease him in at first, then he got injured. Mattia Destro massively stepped up to the mark for me instead. 23 goals in 28 starts is a great return for a freebie. Hamsik was POTY for me though. A massive 20 goals, all coming from WM(a) on the right. That is exactly how good this role can be, with the right player and PPMs Tielmans and Hari Kishna were also excellent, and both fullbacks chipped in a good number of assits, with Dodo being particularly good.

So there we are. Another country ticked off the list for "simplicity" :D Screenshots to follow shortly.

[Jambo98]

League Table and Past positions

Goals for and against - Damn Juve are good!

Some set piece stats - This is showing how the small details are important. I put time into setting these up, and it makes a difference. If you moved me to the other end of these stats tables, i would finish about 3rd.

The squad picture - showing the spread of people contributing

[Rashidi]

Interesting how our play styles have almost merged. This last season all I've done is use one base tactic make the odd change to my wingbacks and mentality, not use OI's and go on runs. Its not hard to do, a simplistic approach is actually very possible now in the game, The way the roles have been set up it doesn't require a great deal of research prior to games, nor does it even require you to play the game on comprehensive. There's no real need to change tactics at all in this game anymore. I remember a time when people used to play a home and away tactic. I reckon its actually recommended that you stick to one style and just adapt to the game, with minor role changes or even a change in mentality. You don't even need to OI. While its true that OI can give you a slight edge under the right circumstances, its not necessary, I do however turn to OI when the AI goes 424, I can't resist the urge of closing down the 2 MCs and taking over that game.

I daresay this much, if your tactic is solid, over time, your club will start putting out even better results as you fill the gaps of your squad with players who can exploit your system. Roberto is a fine player :-)

[Jambo98]

Interesting how our play styles have almost merged. This last season all I've done is use one base tactic make the odd change to my wingbacks and mentality, not use OI's and go on runs. Its not hard to do, a simplistic approach is actually very possible now in the game, The way the roles have been set up it doesn't require a great deal of research prior to games, nor does it even require you to play the game on comprehensive. There's no real need to change tactics at all in this game anymore. I remember a time when people used to play a home and away tactic. I reckon its actually recommended that you stick to one style and just adapt to the game, with minor role changes or even a change in mentality. You don't even need to OI. While its true that OI can give you a slight edge under the right circumstances, its not necessary, I do however turn to OI when the AI goes 424, I can't resist the urge of closing down the 2 MCs and taking over that game.

I daresay this much, if your tactic is solid, over time, your club will start putting out even better results as you fill the gaps of your squad with players who can exploit your system. Roberto is a fine player :-)

Unfortunately i think its a bit of a poor reflection of the game that its possible to do this without huge amounts of difficulty. I do think its about achieving the success by focussing on the other parts of the game. For example, if i was able to take over lets say Swannsea, make no signings, plug in my system, not bother with new staff or training and let the Ass MAn handle off team talks, and still have this success with simplicity, then i would be very worried about the game.

As it is, in my case certainly, the only way to achieve this success with tactical simplificty was to really focus in on the other little details which bring you success - I hinted at set pieces above and that is important. A swing of 3 or 4 goals from set pieces, or not scoring 3 or 4 that i did, would cost me the league. Likewise PPMs. If Hamsik didnt have the perfect PPMs, if my wingbacks didnt also have the ones i need, we wouldnt have been good enough to win the league. Then of course there is getting the right players in. Thats a key part people miss. People assume the "best" (whether based on CA stars, highest overall attributes, or even just on reputation/cost) player is what you want. Not neccessarily, You need the one with the right attribute balance for the specific role in your team. Bernard was a great example here. Not the best MC in the game by a distance, and not even comfortable in that positions. Tore it up in my system though, because the setup calls for a dribbling type who can be good at ghosting in and also at finishing. If i had played Christian Eriksen there (one of the best MC/AMC in the game), he would not do as well as Bernard did.

Now for the next leg of the journey, i need to go to Spain or Italy. Intriguingly the jobs which are open are Schalke and Valencia. Both very interesting clubs who are just below the top teir, and both of whom just finished 5th in their respective leagues. Very similar records over the 4 game seasons, and both have giants of the game to topple if they are to become champions.

Decisions

[Jungztar]

Great results Again.... I have to agree with your point about getting the right players in your system. I saw it in my first season with HSV where I ended up playing with Maximillian Beister as CF even though he is really a winger type.... He absolutely smashed the League and won the European Golden Boot ahead of Messi..... He can play SC but he is more of a IFA cutting inside but he has all the right abilities that fits my system - quick and agile forward who either turns quickly with the ball or moves into the right Spaces before smashing in from all possible and impossible angles

[Torskus77]

Personally I haven't found FM15 as difficult as I did FM 14. I pretty much always take on the same long term save with my Walsall team amongst other saves that I do when I get bored. I have won far more trophies this time in my Walsall save than I did in FM14. I'm not sure if this is because the game is any easier, or that I have just got better at the game. I think it's a bit of both actually.

It's quite simple to set up a good tactic now, with all the roles set out for you just to select, and for the most part they do a decent job of representing what you'd expect (The F9 role isn't as good now as it was imo) Obviously you need a little knowledge of how to gel it all together, but after years of playing FM and reading this forum, and a little basic football knowledge you start to get a picture of how things work.

I have learned a lot off here, I have to say in reading Jambo's threads, his transfer activity has inspired me loads. I look at players before I sign them in a different way than I used too, it has made your threads thoroughly entertaining for me, as just tactics talk can get you all bogged down at times. There was once a great manager that said " Tactics don't win football matches, players do" Not sure that is exactly right, but I think the tactical side providing it is something like cohesive only gives you a slight edge compared to having the right players.

[Jambo98]

I think that last bit is something i keep trying to stress Torskus.

In essence, there are many parts which make up a succesfull footballing side. However the 2 biggest are the tactics and the players. They two have to work hand in glove. They need to be suited to each other. Whether you achieve that by looking at the players you have, and moulding a system which makes the best of their abilities, or whether you build a system then specifically recruit the right type of player for it, the key is the connection between the 2.

I love scouting and transfers, and finding value, picking up players who might not fit into their existing clubs system but i can take them and take real advantage of something like a positive PPM.

I went to Schalke in the end, fancied a crack in Germany Ironically i took the job very early (eg just after the Napoli season ended), somewhat forgetting it was a world cup year. As it turns out, after the world cup half the top international sides got rid of managers, Guardiola went to Spain and Klopp to Germany and both Bayern and Dortmund had open vacancies! If i had waited i could have had a real top team!

That said, pretty excited by this Schalke team. Meyer/Draxler /Goretzka are all here and in their prime........few additions and we could go places

[Jungztar]

Good luck.... Looking forward to see how it goes

[Jambo98]

Schalke - Back in blue and white

Amusingly, and not intentionally, i notice i am pretty much sticking to the "sponsored by blue and white" part of the thread title. Not much white in the napoli kit, but still blue. Now Schalke in blue and white. In spain i might need to consider Sociedad or Espanyol

So to lay out my team building at Schalke. Same principles, same tactical system as throughout. Still get pre-season right, still get your staff in, get the tactic fluid. Do your squad depth work.

I did all this and really liked the squad i was taking over. There wasnt much cash available, but enough for some maneuvering (£15m initially). We let go a few high earners who were fringe at best, solid Lewis Holtby and Mohamed Salah for a combined £20m and gave away Prince-Boateng to free up about £67K per week in wages alone. This gave us a nice kitty and wage budget to play with, and we went to work finding the player types.

GK - Needed an upgrade here. Both the incumbents were sold (Giefer and Fahrman - dont know of either IRL) relatively cheap. On the player search Timo Horn stood out to me. He had as good attributes as many top keepers, but had a minimum fee release clause of £1.6m at Koln! Result! In he comes, and we have some B team dude as backup keeper, named Timon Wellenreuther.

RB - In place we already have an excellent attacking RB in Sebastien Jung. German international and with the PPM i want for a wingback, as well as good balance attributes. To backup, we also have another serviceable option in Christian Trasch, who happens to also be very versatile so a good bench piece. He also has attacking PPMS

LB - Again happy with the starter already in place. Jonas Hector has very good attacking attributes. Not the PPMs yet but i will train those in. The attributes mean he is good enough and i dont want to waste money on a minor upgrade. We did need a backup, and i went to the loan market and looked at left backs with the PPM "Gets further forward" and "runs with the ball down left" - Up popped Newcastle reject Massaido Haidara. More than serviceable and very low wages for a loan so all good there.

CB - The theme continues here. The existing options are very good. Benedict Howedes provides experience and superb all round defensive attributes. Partnering him is Marc-Oliver Kempf. A well developed german international, left footed to compliment Howedes and also quick. He has a good track record of ave ratings over previous seasons so i am happy to keep him in place. We had no depth here, so scouted around the free agent market, which was much weaker than last year. Jason Denayer however represents a solid enough backup and didnt want huge wages. 4th choice CB is B team promotion Senad Hozic. A bosnian regen with good core defending attributes but very raw. He wont see game time in big games so happy to have him in as 4th choice.

DLP - When i came in, i identified this as a "need". We had one outstanding possibility here in Goretzka, but little else other than Holtby, who was overpaid for this ability. This was a good example of plans changing though, based on whats on the marketplace. First up, i found that Lucas Romero was available for the reasonable price of £6.75m. I had looked at him both when i was QPR and Napoli, but he was always out of budget. This time i could afford him and i jumped at the chance. He would make for the perfect DLP(d). With Romero and Goretzka in place, i seemed set. However........then 2 things happened. Firstly i was struggling to find a candidate for WM in my side. I couldnt find the right quality at the right price. Coincidently, i also then noticed that Thiago (Alacantra, ex Bayern) was unhappy at Man City. He was available for £10m! I had to jump at that chance. The guy is an amazing player and exactly what i want at DLP(s). With those 2 top class DLP in place, it freed me up to move Goretzka to a WM role, which he might not look a natural at.......however he is very similar to Hamsik, and look how that turned out . I also needed cover here and this is where i am a little short in quality. I got Lorenzo Reyes on loan from Benfica, a cheap and serviceable backup but not a top quality rotation type like Parejo was. The 4th choice here ended up a 20yr old argie regen called Alejandro Lorenzo. My scouts like his potential a lot, and he is borderline ready for 1st team, and at 20 needs to be in the first team squad.

WM - This is where i was most excited by what i had in place. Lots of great options at the club, namely the 2 uber prospects (Meyer and Draxler). However, as we know i play a "Central winger". With the above decision around the fact that Leon Goretzka would be one of my starting WM, it meant i could use all 3 of the home grown kids in my 3 most important positions. I had to carefully analyse Meyer and Draxler for suitablity, both attributes and PPMs. IN the end i opted for Max Meyer as the other WM (on the left, Goretzka right). We also had some excellent depth already in place. Firstly Georginio Wijnaldum, an excellent and versatile player who can cover many roles. Also backing up this position is Hany Mukhtar, another youngish German.

CM - As mentioned, i identified Julian Draxler as the perfect fit for this role with his pace and running ability and useful PPMs. Backing up is another existing player, Leroy Sane is 22 and home grown, which is a nice bonus

F9 - I immediately realised that what the squad really needed was a top striker. We were light here and i looked at lots of options. Amazingly, with using some "over x months", after signing Romero and Thiago, we still had a good £20m in the kitty (boosted by the player sales). With maxing out the wage budget, we could just and no more stretch to £30m. This is where it got interesting. At this point, we just had a world cup where Gabriel Barbosa was the star. Top scorer as Brazil took home the trophy. Now he was part of one of those deals where he played for Wolfsburg, but they only owned 40% (other 60% is agent owned). I scouted him and it turned out that for £30m i could buy the 40%. If i wanted all of him, it would be something like £75m, but i only needed the 40% for him to play for me! I did the deal, maxed out the finances but had arguably the words best striker in my squad! Backing him up is an existing young home grown guy named Donis Avdijaj.

So there we go, a squad is built and i really think its one of the best i have ever had in FM15. Those home grown 3 across the middle could destroy teams. And the depth is great, with a lot of it also being home grown and in place.

[Torskus77]

I've got Goretzka playing for my Walsall side 2022 now, had him for about 4 years. I've used him in the center a lot cos I have an English regen that developed better than I ever could have imagined. Anyway one thing I like about Goretzka playing the wide role, he is unusually good in the air for a wide player, he scored a lot of goals for me with back post headers :-)

Not all that relevant to your thread sorry, enjoying reading it still though.

[Mad Fortune]

Simple is Best.

Just finished my first season in Portuguese league with Gil Vicente. Media prediction poo. Good squad whatsoever.

But still. SECOND PLACE after Porto. With 89 goals scored in the league. Porto scored only 64. Benfica was second in goals scored, but they managed to score only 75.

Played with 4-3-3 formation. Standard, Flexible. Short Passing, push higher up, close down more, prevent short distribution.

And it worked almost to perfection.

And I played with Extended highlights almost all season.

I love this thread. No homo.

[Jambo98]

FC Schalke 04 - Season 1

We started the season on fire, with 7 wins from our first 7 league games including smashing 5 past Bayern at home. The winning run ended with a goal-less draw against Hoffenhiem but we bounced back to comfortable beat Dortmund the next week. Barbosa up top is looking the dogs, and scoring for fun. Draxler and Goretzka causing mayhem off the wings, teams just cant handle that attacking trio plus Meyer running at them from deep in the middle. The 2 world class DLP keep us looking secure as well.

The Europa league was also relatively straight forward for us. We came through the group stage with 4 wins and 2 draws, playing each time with a fully rotated squad. The opposition was Sassuolo, Twente and Kobenhavn, so hardly the biggest test to be fair. However i do fancy a run at this trophy so might start to play stronger teams.

Inexplicably, amongst the amazing start to the season, we contrived to go to Augsburg in the Cup and get mullered 4 v 0. Came out of nowhere and was annoying.

Infact as we turned the year over to January, we have only 2 losses in all competitions, both to Augsburg! As well as the cup shock, they also beat us at their place 2 v 1 in the league. We did however end the year in a commanding position. At exactly the half way point, we lead Bayern by 6pts, with Leverkusen a further point back. We have 14 wins, 2 draws and just 1 loss. 57 goals and only 17 conceded. We really look powerful at this point.

January Transfer Window

To be honest, my incoming aim here was probably to do very little business. A little backup player turn over possibly, as they tend to get unhappy at lack of game time. However, the best laid plans.......

Just after the window opened, Max Meyer expressed his desire to join Real and got more unhappy when i told him it was hypothetical. Even missed training.

So when the inevitable happened and Real came in with a bid, I had a problem. I had no desire to let him go, but he was clearly very unhappy and i felt if i turned the bid down, it might really force him into asking for a transfer. He still had 2 years left on his deal, so it was not a risk of losing him for free anytime soon, but the unhappy player issue was a risk. As great as he was, he was being outshone by Meyer and Goretzka as well.

I negotiated a deal up to £30m up front, £24m over 12 months, and £10m after 10 international games. Plus a 30% sell on cut. It was a huge amount of money and combined with his obvious unhappiness, i had to cash in. He had 4 goals and 9 assists in 17 games for us to this point, which didnt seem irreplaceable.

THat left me obviously needing a replacement, and i was cash rich to find one. £30m available plus a bit of wage budget. Lots of options on the market, but some were pricey, others didnt quite suit my style of player. Some of the best were affordable transfer wise, but on silly wages (eg £200K per week).

In the end, as is my style at times, i went for a bit of a gamble. Agustin Allione at Benfica caught the eye. Highly rated by scouts, with a half star untapped potential at age 24. Also a good track record at both Benfica and Palmerias before the. However what really appealed were his attributes and PPMs - This guy was a proper central winger (he is normally AMR in games i have seen, but he had been retrained to MR/MC/AMRC at Benfica it seems). He has the Sterling-esque attributes and is all about dribbling and pace, backed up by agililty, flair, technique, first touch. Everything i look for in that position. He cost me £27.5m, or just less than half the total income from the Meyer deal.

THe only other bit of business was a change of backup ML - Hany Muktar was moaning a lot about gametime and Wolfsburg offered £7.5m for him so i cashed in. To replace him, we secured Dries Mertens on loan from Everton. A good player who can cover all 3 attacking midfield slots and probably a slight upgrade on Muktar anyway.

Second half season

Almost immediately after the winter break, i regreted my transfer business. Second game back was a poor loss away to near challengers Leverkusen, and during that game Allione picked up a hip injury which ruled him out for 3 months Great, sold one of my best players, and his replacement lasts less than 100mins before being out for basically the season. Mertens was going to have to play a bigger role than i planned.

We dropped more points over the next month in draws with Werder Bremen and Gladbach, to wipe out our advantage at the top and mean it was goal difference only for a good period of games. We recovered from the minor blip (which happened just towards the end of Jan.....how unusual that is....) and went on another winning run, with 8 consecutive league wins including huge away wins at Bayern (3 v 2) and Dortmund (3 v 2). This run put us back clear at the top with 3 games to go, we had a 6pt advantage and when Leverkuse slipped up we had the chance to clinch away at Kaiserslauten. Sadly we failed to do so , a nil nil draw kept the status quo and meant a 6pt gap with 2 games to go. We clinched instead at home with a stylish 2 nil win against Wolfsburg. A draw in the final game away to Hannover meant we ended up champions by some 6pts from Leverkuse, and 9 clear of the mighty Bayern. A stunning season really, which i felt was possible when i saw the squad i built, but still great to achieve it with the simplicity approach.

If anything i tweaked much much less this season than in any previous ones. We felt comfortable just going out and playing most times. The odd time going "attacking" for a late goal or "defend" when a single goal lead, but it was low maintenance in terms of tactics all year.

Europa Knock out draws were not over kind. First up a tricky tie with Galatasaray which we got through still using quite a bit of rotation. Then Ajax, who held us nil nil at home in the first leg and we sneaked a one nil away to get through. To the quarters and Roma, which produced one of our best performances of the season in Rome to thrash them 3 v 1 after a narrower 1 nil win at home. The Semi's brough us Marsielle, and a defeat 1 v 2 away in the first leg, only our 4th defeat in any competition all season. However in the home leg we swept them away 4 v 1 to cruise into the final courtesy of Barbosa scoring 3.

The final was probably the easiest tie on paper since the start of the knockouts - Beskitas stood between us and Europa glory. My wide boys got the job done ,2 from Goretzka and 1 from Draxler sealed the trophy with a 3 v 1 win.

So overall, an amazing season. German Champions and Europa League winners. The tactic was a beast. Between my 3 best players (Barbosa, Draxler, Goretzka) i got 88 goals, with 45 of those coming from Barbosa in 47 appearances - One of the best seasons i have had for a player in FM15. The guy is an animal, and certainly the best striker in the world at the moment. Those 3 also combined for 56 Assists. Thats some overall production!

Will do the screenies again in a seperate post, but now have some decisions to make. I really feel that this squad could go on to challenge for the Champions League. The core of the squad is superb, and with the addition perhaps of a world class DC, we would fancy our chances against anyone. However of course i still have to win La Liga to complete my managerial dominance of the biggest leagues, all using simplicity.

Hmmm......

[Jambo98]

Season Summary - Showing the Europa title. Strangely domestic cups have eluded me throughout this career

Final League Table

Past Positions - The only times we were not top was when games were out of sequence. Anytime we had played equal games, we were top

Squad stats for the season

Barbosa Season - What a player

Best defensive record - Again

Goals Scored - Equal top

Salary per annum - Still no where near the top. Shows our overachievement, and all with simplicity

Net transfer spend - I would be a chairmans dream at times!

Best average ratings - Dominance much?

Again, worth re-stating the purpose for puting all this info in the thread. This is all things which can be achieved with simplicity - One single tactic, no changes to the tactic all season. Minimal in game tweaks (Never more than 2 per game, and 95% are mentality only changes). All games watched on "key" highlights only.

[Jambo98]

Time for a quick update, i suppose, on where i next plan to demonstrate simplicity and how it might present a different challenge.

After the league win with Schalke, i wanted to move to spain to complete the 4 league titles plan. However no decent jobs seemed available (Villareal who were in decline and Levante were the only 2). In my mind then, i figure one more year at Schalke and lets have a crack at the CL with that wonderful squad/team. Then, a spanner in the works. Schalke failed FFP! (i sold a player for over £60m!! How do you fail FFP after that??). This meant we were excluded from European competition for a year, so no shot at the CL then....

That being the case, i packed my bags, and bid a fond "auf wiedersen pet" to Germany and headed to the Job Centre.............Where i found nothing doing. No decent jobs, and none in spain. OF course the FFP revelation only happened in mid July, so not many clubs are going to lose a manager between then and the season, so i was facing some time away from football.

I waited. And waited. Big jobs came up in England (Liverpool and Arsenal), and in Italy (Inter and AC), but nothing in Spain. I didnt want to go back to Italy or England so i sat it out. Almost a full season. I came close to committing to Sevilla around December, as they are a close to top side. However the squad was ill suited to my needs, lots of high wages and old players, and the interview revealed low funds and a wage budget they wanted reducing. It felt wrong, and not suited to me so i refused the offer.

Eventually, in Feb, with me starting to feel a bit bored (I considered half a season in a lower league just to keep busy!), Real Sociedad sacked Moyes. Now, they are far from a top team at this stage, but they are blue and white..........and i have a bit of a basque affinity from my adventures with Athletic (See the DNA thread!). So i decided to dive in.

Its going to be a big challenge. This is no Napoli or Schalke. The squad is threadbare, again lots of high wages for over 30s and a woeful lack of depth. There is £500K in the transfer kitty, but we are £100K a week over wage budget! And its feb, so no transfers. We also sit 13th so the first 3 months are just survival and building. The next season is still a long stretch to even get Sociedad to the CL.

On with blue and white simplificity we go. I will stick to the principles in the OP and see where it gets us too

[Jungztar]

Excellent result with Schalke... Your season was very similar to mine with HSV - sitting 7 points clear in January - and then hitting a slump giving away the lead... Only difference was of course that you managed to win anyway and I ended up 2nd 4 points behind Bayern... But of course this was also the original HSV squad in 14/15 without any signings ?

2nd season I wasn't able to maintain the 451 losing my way and making silly signings.... I had an unbelievable slump and crashed out of the cup and floating around 12th position in November... I had a decent CL outing against tough opposition (Barcelona, Marseille and PSV) and managed to Secure 3rd spot and EL qualification.

I had to change away from 451 and chose the 4132 and went unbeaten in the last 5 games in December.... So now Winter break and I am cashing in on Beister (same procedure as your Meyer).... And I will try to get back to the 451 and the simple approach with some smarter signings ?

Good luck with your Quest in Espana ??

[felley]

Great work with Schalke, Jambo. Still following this thread closely. I look forward to your couple of seasons at Sociedad.

Just a quick thought on the trajectory of your current career. Insane that a manager could win the EPL with QPR within two seasons, move to Napoli and drag them to a Serie A title, then hop over the Alps to Schalke and win them their first ever Bundesliga. You must be batting off job offers.

[Jambo98]

Funny you should say that......

I got a few offers during the 3rd season at QPR (took me 3 seasons to win the EPL rather than 2 - I aint that good!). Liverpool and Arsenal both offered but i refused. Wierdly i dont remember any offers during the time at Napoli / Schalke other than the ones i actively applied for. I did however take over managing Belgium at international level at the end of the Napoli season. Managed to win the "Nations League" with them, which i never knew existed......

Meanwhile, played out the season in mid table with Sociedad. I was keeping an eye on Barca, as they struggled to 4th in the league, thinking that must get Enrique fired. Then they went and won the champions league! However, a week later Enrique left his post anyway. Had to apply with it being Barca. They offered me the job

Now can i make Messi/Suarez/Neymar fit into this........

[Torskus77]

Could be to do with your adaptability attribute that you selected at the start of the game Jambo.

[Jambo98]

My adaptability appears to be "18" now.

Meanwhile, dont think i have had a competitive game where i did the "total whitewash" in this years version. No shots at all for the opposition :-)

No tweaks in game. Same tactic as always. Focus on the player types (helps to have Suarez/Messi/Neymar to be fair......)

[baddragon62]

One of my fave parts about this title win. Is that technically we only led the league for one single week all season - It just happened to be the one that counted the most

I had a similar situation in the Premier league chasing Man United as Liverpool - Utd were at home to last placed Burnley, while we were at Spurs - behind on goal difference and 2 points behind. We needed to win 14-0 if they drew. After 61 mins we were up 3-1 and united were 0-0 so we were 2nd on goal diff. Then Burnley slotted one in and Utd couldn't get one back - so we won the league after leading for 29 minutes!

These are the stories that make this game so compelling!

Have to say, this thread is a great read.

[wwfan]

Funny you should say that......

I got a few offers during the 3rd season at QPR (took me 3 seasons to win the EPL rather than 2 - I aint that good!). Liverpool and Arsenal both offered but i refused. Wierdly i dont remember any offers during the time at Napoli / Schalke other than the ones i actively applied for. I did however take over managing Belgium at international level at the end of the Napoli season. Managed to win the "Nations League" with them, which i never knew existed......

Meanwhile, played out the season in mid table with Sociedad. I was keeping an eye on Barca, as they struggled to 4th in the league, thinking that must get Enrique fired. Then they went and won the champions league! However, a week later Enrique left his post anyway. Had to apply with it being Barca. They offered me the job

Now can i make Messi/Suarez/Neymar fit into this........

Shame you didn't stick with RS. My feeling is you'd struggle to break the stranglehold of Madrid and Barca with this system for 2-3 seasons. With Barca, you'll walk it.

[Jambo98]

I did think about it, but to be fair im not sure it would be any different than using QPR to break the stranglehold of Utd/City/Chelsea in England. I do expect to win it in one year with Barca, but it is a different type of challenge for the approach - Using a true top team, and being in the situation where in some ways I wont go out and buy players who are 100% suited to the system (since even 5 seasons in, Messi/Neymar/Suarez are indispensable).

First classico - The type of performance that Pep would surely be proud of, even if the passing stats show that we arent a tika-taka side by any means

[felley]

I have to agree with wwfan here, Jambo. It's a shame you shirked the Sociedad challenge in favour of Barca.

It's obviously a different kind of challenge (a much easier one for a start ) and you can't just throw out any old lineup and formation and still win as Barca. But we know that your tactic is solid and that the "simple" style of play works, so i'm not sure if a league/CL win as Barca proves anything further. Of course, you could argue the same about any trophies with Socidead not proving anything further, but surely you must agree that it would be better evidence to hold up; that you took a struggling mid-ranked team and broke Barca-Real in a couple of seasons. They play in Blue and White and everything!

Another thing I will say (I think Torskus mentioned it too). One of the best things about the thread for me has been an insight into your squad-building. Granted, you haven't really re-invented the wheel, just made logical decisions to assess weaknesses. But it's a key part of getting your playing style working, as you don't want to be adjusting your tactic to your players too much. Now you're at Barca, I imagine you have all the tools you could want for your 4-5-1. A dearth of "central wingers", deep playmakers and wide striking options that make your tactic tick.

Anyway, I hope you don't feel i'm being overly critical. The tone isn't meant to be mean or anything, just objective

[Jambo98]

I have to agree with wwfan here, Jambo. It's a shame you shirked the Sociedad challenge in favour of Barca.

It's obviously a different kind of challenge (a much easier one for a start ) and you can't just throw out any old lineup and formation and still win as Barca. But we know that your tactic is solid and that the "simple" style of play works, so i'm not sure if a league/CL win as Barca proves anything further. Of course, you could argue the same about any trophies with Socidead not proving anything further, but surely you must agree that it would be better evidence to hold up; that you took a struggling mid-ranked team and broke Barca-Real in a couple of seasons. They play in Blue and White and everything!

Another thing I will say (I think Torskus mentioned it too). One of the best things about the thread for me has been an insight into your squad-building. Granted, you haven't really re-invented the wheel, just made logical decisions to assess weaknesses. But it's a key part of getting your playing style working, as you don't want to be adjusting your tactic to your players too much. Now you're at Barca, I imagine you have all the tools you could want for your 4-5-1. A dearth of "central wingers", deep playmakers and wide striking options that make your tactic tick.

Anyway, I hope you don't feel i'm being overly critical. The tone isn't meant to be mean or anything, just objective

Its a fair question. I suppose i just felt its a different challenge - Rather than take a middling side to the title (been there at Loftus Road), can i take a top team and win as many things as possible in a short time frame. How many can i win in a single season?

Also remembering this is season 6 in game. Messi is 33, Suarez 34. Lots of the Barca core are gone - Sergi Roberto i took to Napoli, Rafinha is gone. Munir is gone. Its an interesting challenge to fit the big 3 into my system and also balance out the squad to fit my needs. We also didnt have a great defence when i took over, so it wasnt as easy as taking over Barca in season 1 for example. Real have won the last 4 titles, so have to wrestle it back from them

[Jambo98]

Well, I have had some good seasons on FM15, and this is with barca, but i don't think i have ever had a season quite as good as this. All through the same simple approach outlined way back in post 1/2 of this thread.

Final League table - Well over 100pts, 12 clear of Real. Unbeaten season in the league, average over 3.3 goals per game. Conceded only 13 all season.

Overall competitions - Entered 5, won 5. Does that just about match Pep in his best season? Damn shame we were not in the Spanish Super Cup...............

Squad stats - Now thats the big 3.......Look at the goals and assists between Messi/Suarez/Neymar....add in 16 from a backup striker, and 17 from a backup wide man (Hamsik). Also the CM(a) was Piantoni, a regen who i signed at QPR in season 2 when he was 16.......

So there we go, the final one of the 4 big country league titles falls to the simplicity game :-) I accept it wasnt the hardest to do with Barca, but it was still a good white wash of a season.

So the overall career from the simplicity manager:

Also won the nations cup with Belgium, not sure why it doesnt show on the profile (seems like another bug)

[baddragon62]

... but does it work outside of Europe?

[Mad Fortune]

What will the Simple approach do when poo completely hits the fan.

First was Pacos Ferreira away. Humiliating 5-0 defeat.

Three days later. Benfica away. 8-1 to Benfica.

Sacked.

[Cleon]

What will the Simple approach do when poo completely hits the fan.

First was Pacos Ferreira away. Humiliating 5-0 defeat.

Three days later. Benfica away. 8-1 to Benfica.

Sacked.

To play a simple way like outlined in this thread, you still need a solid foundation to work from. Judging by the results you've mentioned, you don't have that it seems at first glance.

[Mad Fortune]

Managed Gil Vicente in Portuguese league two seasons with some success. First season second place in the league. Second season third place. Also in second season we beat Arsenal away 0-2 in the Champions league. And went to the Europa league Semi-finals. With the simple approach by using the exact same tactic.

[dirkTLB]

Jambo, which version of your 4-5-1 are you using currently?

I put together my own 4-5-1, with some success. But wondered if I could replicate yours so I could watch how it plays and see what differences there are in the systems as I cant for the life of me get a CM(a) or the WM to perform to such an extent as you have managed.

[Jambo98]

What will the Simple approach do when poo completely hits the fan.

First was Pacos Ferreira away. Humiliating 5-0 defeat.

Three days later. Benfica away. 8-1 to Benfica.

Sacked.

Well as Cleon mentioned, its not really as simple as just plug this in and it will work every time. I have always laid out in just about every post, the fact that just because i can take a simple approach to tactics, doesnt mean it will work if i dont get the rest of the game spot on - Infact this approach makes it even more important to get squad building, training, staff, morale management etc all exactly right, otherwise it wont succeed.

If you have read the thread, you will see plenty times where i suffered form dips - Season 1 with QPR was barely escaping relegation, during the Napoli season i had a bad start and almost sacked. Its not some super formula to always win :-)

... but does it work outside of Europe?

Tempting me to go and try and clean up in South America in another save, but i think the thread has probably run its course in terms of me posting results etc - I have given a lot of examples in terms of the squad building side and i risk it just becoming very repetative and a bit of a "story thread" which will stop benefiting others.

Jambo, which version of your 4-5-1 are you using currently?

I put together my own 4-5-1, with some success. But wondered if I could replicate yours so I could watch how it plays and see what differences there are in the systems as I cant for the life of me get a CM(a) or the WM to perform to such an extent as you have managed.

Hey dirk,

as mentioned i think earlier in the thread, its the same one i had an entire thread dedicated too. I have had various requests by PM in and threads to "post" the tactic, which I am not going to do. Its not the downloads forum

However appreciate you were not directly asking for that - So below is the link to the thread where this tactic is shown fully, including its development and the all important why questions

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/412695-The-4-5-1-The-swiss-army-knife-of-formations

[Torskus77]

I think getting the right players in the WM role and the CM (a) role is key to this tactic, and possibly include the F9 in that too. I know Jambo has touched upon this a lot if you read through the thread, it's a great read from start to finish.

I have been using this formation now, pretty much since Jambo's first 4-5-1 thread. It's changed and evolved over the seasons, and now I am having a lot of fun/success using a Wide Target man on the right side. Full back on the left instructed to hit early crosses, and the team instructed to float crosses. I've never scored so many goals from crosses in any version of FM, so it is something different that has extended the life of this formation, all be it one of my wide men is in the AM strata now. I was thinking of changing formation pretty soon to add something different to my save.

I do have a great side now it's true, but I have spent a lot of the past 3 seasons playing a lot of young players to progress them quickly and have still walked the league each season. Bit of bad luck in the champions league, hoping I can nail that this season.

[dirkTLB]

Thanks for the reply Jambo, thats my evening commute home reading sorted!!

[Jambo98]

I think getting the right players in the WM role and the CM (a) role is key to this tactic, and possibly include the F9 in that too. I know Jambo has touched upon this a lot if you read through the thread, it's a great read from start to finish.

I have been using this formation now, pretty much since Jambo's first 4-5-1 thread. It's changed and evolved over the seasons, and now I am having a lot of fun/success using a Wide Target man on the right side. Full back on the left instructed to hit early crosses, and the team instructed to float crosses. I've never scored so many goals from crosses in any version of FM, so it is something different that has extended the life of this formation, all be it one of my wide men is in the AM strata now. I was thinking of changing formation pretty soon to add something different to my save.

I do have a great side now it's true, but I have spent a lot of the past 3 seasons playing a lot of young players to progress them quickly and have still walked the league each season. Bit of bad luck in the champions league, hoping I can nail that this season.

I would add the fullbacks to the key players for the tactic. Having them with PPMs really adds attacking variety.

I had a version with Hearts where i moved one of the WM up to an IF(a). Never tried a WTM in that slot but its an interesting thought actually

[landskill]

Great thread that I have followed the whole way through. I have tried to replicate something similar in my own game, setting up a base tactic, only making minor in game changes. Unfortunately I haven't had the same success, I'm trying to do it playing a 442 formation and I'm unsure if it's more difficult with a formation that doesn't control the game as much, or if my basic set up has some flaws in it that are preventing any kind of consistency.

I'm not searching for anyone to give me a successful base tactic, that's taking all the fun and frustration out of the game! But I would like to know if you think it's possible with a formation I see as having to be more reactive as it has less control over the midfield.

[Jambo98]

Thanks landskill.

I think the approach can certainly be replicated using different tactics/formations, but i actually think the 442 is one of those which doesnt lend itself to this necessarily. It is quite a difficult formation to get working effectively at all levels, and requires a lot of thought around shapes and phases. Of course its inherent weakness is in the middle of the pitch, and unless you have an effective way to combat that, or real world class players who fit the formation perfectly, its harder to use that as an effective base.

Something like a 41221 or 4141 or even 4411 might be easier as a solid base?

[Jungztar]

I have now taken over Inter in the end of 2016 and now trying to secure EL qualification.... I have taken them from 10th to 5th place with 1 match to go..... I will be looking to build from the simple approach 451 next season that brought me the 2nd place and CL with HSV.

@Jambo, I am really interested in the PPMs that you look for in the fullbacks, the WMs, the MCa and the F9..... I know that you have mentioned something in the 451 thread but maybe this is even more clear now that you have almost won everything