A 'thank you' to the community

[ryandormer]

This is just a small thread to thank those who contribute to the forums, and in particular those who have inspired my current Arsenal tactic which appears to be working exceptionally well in my second season:

I completely rebuild the squad, getting rid of aging, overpaid players who didn't really fit the tactical vision, and replaced them with the players above.

I took inspiration from @Rashidi with the fluid/very fluid shape (it becomes 'very fluid' when I switch to 'attacking') and also teaching my attacking wingers/inside forwards to 'get into opposition box'. I was also influenced in particular by @Experienced Defender to avoid defensive overkills, utilise different roles for the left and right flank, and combining 'counter' with possession football, which I assumed would be impossible.

I assumed this season would be a whole year of an almost entirely new team getting used to playing together and developing as players. I was hoping for top four. At the moment, this is the league table:

Barring a rather spectacular collapse, we should win the league.

My favourite stat from the league table is that, in 29 games, I have conceded just 11 goals, despite playing with a fairly (but not OTT) aggressive defensive style (much higher line, LOE, offside and counter press).

My least favourite fact (although even I laughed during the last game) is that I have already reached the league cup final twice and FA cup final once, losing all three games. I am still in the FA Cup, Champions League, and should win the league this season, so success is coming!

Thanks again to everyone who takes the time to post and to give advice on here.

[Fieldsy]

Just out of interest how did the DLF perform in terms of ratings and goals?  I have done a similar set up in terms of roles and instructions but just couldn't get a striker to fire

[ryandormer]

Interesting that you ask, as the DLF was the most inconsistent player in the team. Lacazette was my top scorer, but he only got around 20 or so goals. Alone, that doesn't look too bad, but there were many games where he got two goals and he scored a hat trick early on. He rarely seemed to have an 'average' game. He would either score, or he would have a rating of 6.6 and below.

 

I won the league in the end, but was knocked out of the FA cup and Champions League in the semi finals. This season, I'm going to try a few different roles for the striker, I think. Maybe a complete forward so he'll be more inclined to get forward if the wide players don't. The real shame is I bought Thiago Almeda from Argentina, who, after one season on loan, has developed into an incredible player, and would make a natural false nine. Inexplicably, despite being on a reasonable wage, I still cant get a work permit for him. Maybe next season.

[sporadicsmiles]

On 28/06/2019 at 12:44, Fieldsy said:

Just out of interest how did the DLF perform in terms of ratings and goals?  I have done a similar set up in terms of roles and instructions but just couldn't get a striker to fire

A DLF is not going to be a 30+ goals a season player anyway. His job is not to score goals as much as it is to create space.

In my previous season, my main DLF had around 20 goals across all competitions. He was third top scorer in my side. This was what I expected though. My top scorer was an IF(A) on the left, and second highest a CM(A) on the right of midfield. The DLF contributes by creating space for those players to exploit. He may have only scored 20 goals, but he contributed to many more than that.