[FM20] Up the Villans! Tactical experiments & DOF things

[karanhsingh]

So with the new season almost underway, I got the "bug" to manage in England again. Something I usually start and end every FM edition with.

However, I want to do things differently this time around. My recent saves have been a lot of racing through the seasons, long-term objectives, instant results, hunting for cheap new-gens all over the globe. While that has been a lot of fun, I'm keen to explore what else this game has to offer, and jump back into the actual day-to-day management of a football club.

The club I have picked for my new journey is Aston Villa

And a big part of that decision:

[karanhsingh]

So how am I going to do things differently? A couple of things:

Tactics - the save will focus a lot on tactical systems & frameworks. I will NOT be using my trusted 433 which has always delivered on every single save till date, purely because I am bored of it. Instead, I want to immerse myself into the world of the 3-5-2 and try my best to make that work.

Getting the best out of club captain Jack Grealish will be crucial, and I would also like to use a Targetman in the front 2 (Villa have a good young one already in the shape of Wesley). 

Taking inspiration from the tactics of @ManUtd1, @engamohd, @SixPointer and @ashjm hopefully I can come up with a 3-5-2 that delivers the goods!

The DoF approach - as is the case with many modern football clubs, particularly at the upper levels, all transfers, negotiations & contracts will be left to the DoF. I loved the save that @Stuniverse did last year with Igor as his DoF and the equation between manager & DoF. However I would not be going as far, and I will still be able to add people to the transfer target, unwanted & development list. Let's see how this works out. The DoF will also be in charge of scouting as well.

The Aim of this save is simple - to have fun! No clear goals or targets set apart from the above framework, I just want to see where all of that takes me, and enjoy the joys & frustrations (of which there will be many I am sure) along the way.

[karanhsingh]

With that, let's meet the manager.

And a bit more about the club.

[karanhsingh]

Also please meet our first DoF, Boro legend Juninho Paulista.

He seemed the best option at the moment, maybe in the future we can do better. I am also happy that he has knowledge of England, Brazil & Spain, hopefully that should come in handy.

At this point I should mention that I am playing with a data update, so transfers, promotions, relegation, etc. are all updated as of the 2020-21 season.

Here is how we got on in the transfer window:

The INS

And the OUTS

I have already realized how frustrating the DoF can be in this game! Obviously it's a lot less efficient than managing things yourself, but hopefully will be more challenging, and more fun.

We had failed attempts at Morelos & Edouard after having bids accepted for both, with the Morelos one especially frustrating because it fell apart at the contract negotiations and he ended up staying at Rangers.

Also Juninho has been absolutely useless at moving players on as well, which means we could only get loan moves for the unwanted personnel and not a single penny has come into the club. That does not bode well for the club vision to become self-sustainable anytime soon...

On the up side, Karlan Grant was a transfer that was completely handled by the DoF including identifying the player. Delighted to bring in Rico Henry who becomes our first choice LWB and Kristoffer Ajer who will be our first choice Libero in the 3-5-2 setup.

[karanhsingh]

Here is the tactical shape I seem to be now settling on. The first few games was played with a 3-4-1-2 formation but Grealish as an AM was absolutely non-existent. So now trying a flat midfield 3 instead.

The fixtures so far - after a very rocky start we seem to be finding a bit of form.

And here is what the current league table looks like, although it would be a minor miracle if we manage to stay in the European places.

[karanhsingh]

Will be doing monthly updates from here on it. Thanks for reading!!

[ashjm]

Good luck pal

[SixPointer]

Delighted to get a mention as an inspiration for your tactics. Will be following closely and best of luck. Back 3 is king. 

[karanhsingh]

3 hours ago, ashjm said:

Good luck pal

Thanks!

20 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

Delighted to get a mention as an inspiration for your tactics. Will be following closely and best of luck. Back 3 is king. 

Yes I loved your thread on the Atalanta tactics. Who are you managing now BTW?

[-Jef-]

Gonna be following this for sure

[engamohd]

5 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Here is the tactical shape I seem to be now settling on. The first few games was played with a 3-4-1-2 formation but Grealish as an AM was absolutely non-existent. So now trying a flat midfield 3 instead.

The fixtures so far - after a very rocky start we seem to be finding a bit of form.

And here is what the current league table looks like, although it would be a minor miracle if we manage to stay in the European places.

Great start! 

Wouldn't it be better to switch your CAR and AP-A together? You need more defensive stability next to the CWB-A, rather than the CWB-S.

[karanhsingh]

2 hours ago, rosque said:

Gonna be following this for sure

Thanks! 

1 hour ago, engamohd said:

Great start! 

Wouldn't it be better to switch your CAR and AP-A together? You need more defensive stability next to the CWB-A, rather than the CWB-S.

Oh yes. That was the idea. Clearly I did the reverse 

[SixPointer]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Thanks!

Yes I loved your thread on the Atalanta tactics. Who are you managing now BTW?

At the minute am between carrying on my Argentinos juniors save which I done to create the Atalanta thread. Or starting a new prospect with Tromsø in Norway. I travel to Norway to work and am due to fly tomorrow so fancy doing a career there again.

[karanhsingh]

4 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

At the minute am between carrying on my Argentinos juniors save which I done to create the Atalanta thread. Or starting a new prospect with Tromsø in Norway. I travel to Norway to work and am due to fly tomorrow so fancy doing a career there again.

Coincidentally I had a really fun save with Tromso, wherein Sigurd Gronli became one of my favourite players ever and followed me to my next 2 clubs.

[SixPointer]

11 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Coincidentally I had a really fun save with Tromso, wherein Sigurd Gronli became one of my favourite players ever and followed me to my next 2 clubs.

He’s definitely a gem. There’s also another couple of gems. And they just got relegated and there rivals bodo are flying in the top league with a fantastic vibrant young team so the challenge is to make the north a strong hold join bodo at the summit then crush them 

[karanhsingh]

2 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

He’s definitely a gem. There’s also another couple of gems. And they just got relegated and there rivals bodo are flying in the top league with a fantastic vibrant young team so the challenge is to make the north a strong hold join bodo at the summit then crush them 

Absolutely! I was reading up about the club and realized they are the northernmost top division club in Europe. Yes there is also Holmgren Pedersen who developed very well on my save. 

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Absolutely! I was reading up about the club and realized they are the northernmost top division club in Europe. Yes there is also Holmgren Pedersen who developed very well on my save. 

Yeah well they were until relegation. Yeah he looks a player as well. Tempted to carry on the Atalanta series so not sure what will happen. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I will be following this as I have supported Villa for a few years now. I had a season ticket for their first season in the Championship.

I think there is a bug on the game with the DOF being in charge of negotiating contracts for potential signings so it might be worth you changing it so you are in charge of negotiations.

I just find whenever I have the DOF in charge of negotating the deal always breaks down cos they couldn't agree on a contract.

Doing well so far as well which is good. I look forward to seeing how you get on with Villa.

Villa have some really good youth players as well, Louie Barry being the top prospect.

[karanhsingh]

8 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I will be following this as I have supported Villa for a few years now. I had a season ticket for their first season in the Championship.

I think there is a bug on the game with the DOF being in charge of negotiating contracts for potential signings so it might be worth you changing it so you are in charge of negotiations.

I just find whenever I have the DOF in charge of negotating the deal always breaks down cos they couldn't agree on a contract.

Doing well so far as well which is good. I look forward to seeing how you get on with Villa.

Villa have some really good youth players as well, Louie Barry being the top prospect.

Thanks! Didn't know you support them. 

Oh is there a bug with the DoF? Damn. I'll need to look into that. To be fair, he did manage to successfully negotiate with Ajer and Henry. So it wasn't all bad. 

Yes there is Barry and also there is a pair of Ramsay's 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

6 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Thanks! Didn't know you support them. 

Oh is there a bug with the DoF? Damn. I'll need to look into that. To be fair, he did manage to successfully negotiate with Ajer and Henry. So it wasn't all bad. 

Yes there is Barry and also there is a pair of Ramsay's 

Yeah the Ramsay's are pretty good as well.

Yeah I mean it might not be a bug but I never let my DOF negotiate contracts as a lot of players seem to reject terms but then when I negotiated with the same players they were happy to agree terms.

[warlock]

On 05/09/2020 at 07:52, karanhsingh said:

I have already realized how frustrating the DoF can be in this game!

Have a read of this over at Oliver Jensen's wonderful blog he's been running DoF saves for while now:

https://theresonlyoneball.com/2020/07/31/recruitment-team-role-of-a-director-of-football/

Oliver chips in here now and again so he might have some additional advice @fmFutbolManager

[karanhsingh]

8 minutes ago, warlock said:

Have a read of this over at Oliver Jensen's wonderful blog he's been running DoF saves for while now:

https://theresonlyoneball.com/2020/07/31/recruitment-team-role-of-a-director-of-football/

Oliver chips in here now and again so he might have some additional advice @fmFutbolManager

Thanks for that! 

So far my DoF seems absolutely useless at selling or moving players on. 

I told him to sell Jota and this is what he came back with.

I then manually offered him out and 8 minutes later got an offer 

So I am not really sure what kind of "efforts" he is putting into player sales. 

Edited September 6, 2020 by karanhsingh

[karanhsingh]

Season 1: Oct & Nov update

Steady improvement in our results, even the game at Old Trafford was hard fought. The home win against Arsenal a particular highlight.

This left us 5th in the standings going into a very busy December.

[karanhsingh]

Season 1: December update

Another good month, with 2 defeats in the leagues but 5 wins including another strong home win over Spurs.

We are also through to the Carabao Cup Semis where we will face a two-legged tie with Man Utd.

We remain 5th in the table, would be fantastic to get into Europe this season.

[karanhsingh]

Tactical update:

This is how we are now lining up after further tweaks especially in midfield.

I am hoping to get more out of John McGinn, maybe play him as BBM but I am afraid that may give up some defensive solidity.

However happily this seems to be getting the best out of our star man Grealish.

Here are the squad stats so far:

Karlan Grant has been an absolute revelation up front, a great move by Juninho our DoF so all his faults are forgiven! While he is on loan, we have an option to make it permanent for just 6 million.

Other notable performers Tyrone Mings & Rico Henry.

Looking to get more out of Wesley up top and McGinn in midfield.

[karanhsingh]

Also just got this in the mailbox:

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

Have a read of this over at Oliver Jensen's wonderful blog he's been running DoF saves for while now:

https://theresonlyoneball.com/2020/07/31/recruitment-team-role-of-a-director-of-football/

Oliver chips in here now and again so he might have some additional advice @fmFutbolManager

This was a great read @warlock @fmFutbolManager thanks! 

[OldManGravz]

3 hours ago, warlock said:

Have a read of this over at Oliver Jensen's wonderful blog he's been running DoF saves for while now:

https://theresonlyoneball.com/2020/07/31/recruitment-team-role-of-a-director-of-football/

Oliver chips in here now and again so he might have some additional advice @fmFutbolManager

Having a read through this, I realise I do not utilise some of my staff at all to the lengths I can

[warlock]

2 hours ago, OldManGravz said:

I do not utilise some of my staff at all to the lengths I can

Few of us do, I think 

[OldManGravz]

37 minutes ago, warlock said:

Few of us do, I think 

My DoF is there to renew contracts when I can't be bothered, I think that's about it! 

Someone is about to start earning his wage 

[karanhsingh]

Word of warning though - be prepared to get very frustrated! My DoFs contract negotiations seem to consist of essentially giving the players what they are asking for. And as mentioned earlier he seems pretty useless at selling players I don't want. 

That said, I guess the reason to do this is that I imagine it's more realistic and reflective of football today. It's unrealistic to assume that as manager you would control every little thing at the club. I think it adds another dimension in terms of managing your relationship with the other important staff members, sometimes cleaning up their mess etc. 

Also I must say that my DoF has found and brought in two gems so far so its not all bad. 

Edited September 7, 2020 by karanhsingh

[karanhsingh]

Season 1: Winter break update

First the January transfers. With us being over the wage budget and losing money, this window was all about moving on some of the players not being used.

The outs:

Sadly I had to step in and help out Juninho for some of these. He just does not seem to be interested in selling players for any money  Maybe he thinks since we are in the Premier league we don't need the funds. I really hope they work on the DoF further and improve this aspect of the game for the next edition.

Anyway, we basically sold off all our wingers in El Ghazi, Trezeguet and Jota. Not bad players, just don't fit into our style of play. The total raised from player sales was a decent 22 million. We also got a new feeder club in Burton Albion (excited about their youth facilities) and sent off some of our kids to help them in League One. 

There was only one transfer IN, who seems to be another nice little gem found by DoF Juninho Paulista.

Here he is, he has got his Villa career off to a very good start indeed. At 30 years of age, he is not a long-term option but hopefully gives us some added quality in the wing-back positions for a while.

The Results since the last update have been quite decent:

The highlight of course is the Carabao Cup win against Man Utd, with us actually not conceding a goal at all over the two legs. What I like most about the 3-5-2 setup is that it makes us quite hard to beat with the defensive solidity of the 3 center backs. We also got a point at Stamford Bridge and made City work for the win at the Etihad with a late goal. We will be facing league leaders Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final which will obviously be a massive challenge but I hope we can put on a good showing.

In the league standings then we remain in 5th place, I am now really hoping we can keep up this form and grab a European place this season by finishing top 6.

[engamohd]

4 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Anyway, we basically sold off all our wingers in El Ghazi, Trezeguet and Jota. Not bad players, just don't fit into our style of play. The total raised from player sales was a decent 22 million. We also got a new feeder club in Burton Albion (excited about their youth facilities) and sent off some of our kids to help them in League One. 

Hard working wingers make the best Complete Wing Backs 

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, engamohd said:

Hard working wingers make the best Complete Wing Backs 

Probably - I did try out Trezeguet there but he was too expensive to keep around as a back up. However I will be on the lookout for a young prospect I can potentially convert. 

[karanhsingh]

Season 1: Feb, March & a bit of April

Here are the results since the last update:

It's been excellent for the most part. I am really happy about how the team has gelled together and adapted to the new tactics.

Also we are a huge threat from set pieces, with the delivery from Grealish & Hourihane, and targets like Mings & Engels in the box.

We need to talk about two games in particular:

Carabao Cup Final - Liverpool vs Villa

I don't know how we did it, but we did! We were on the back foot for a long time, and went down to a long range screamer from TAA. However it was the set pieces once again, first a Grealish corner is headed in by Engels. Then with a minute left, Junior Caicara winds up the long throw, Alisson goes walk about to my delight, and Wesley is there to head home! He's had a slow season but this more than made up for it! 

First trophy in the bag, and European qualification ensured 

Can we go one step better though, and make it to the Champions League? That is the question. Which brings us to the next game.

Aston Villa vs Man Utd 

5th vs 4th, both level on points. An absolutely massive game in the race for the top 4.

We absolutely battered them, which is no mean achievement against a side like United! NINETEEN shots on target - a goal-keeping masterclass from De Gea saved the day for them. Somehow they got away from Villa park with a point. Disappointing, but shows how far we have come already.

That last result leaves the league table like this going into the final run-in:

[karanhsingh]

The State of the Club

Financially, we are struggling. In the red now and losing money every month. I am not sure why that is, our wage bill at 1 million isn't the lowest in the league but by Premiership standards not too high either. I suppose we need European football.

Also the club has a stated objective of becoming self-sustainable (first time I have seen this) so the finances will need to be addressed. Juninho, I am looking at you.

The Board has agreed to improve both the training & youth facilities in the off-season, I am hoping that it doesn't get canceled due to the poor bank balance. 

We have the 9th highest average attendance in the league with 38k on average but only 3 sell-outs from 16 home games, so I am seeing some scope for improvement here as well.

[karanhsingh]

Guys any tips on easiest way to upload & embed goals? @SixPointer I think I recall you doing it in one of your threads.

 

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Guys any tips on easiest way to upload & embed goals? @SixPointer I think I recall you doing it in one of your threads.

 

I use GYAZO and just use the GIF think it’s CNTRL ALT G that brings it up then just record the clip and then post the link 😌

[karanhsingh]

4 hours ago, SixPointer said:

I use GYAZO and just use the GIF think it’s CNTRL ALT G that brings it up then just record the clip and then post the link 😌

Cheers will try that

[karanhsingh]

Going down to the wire!! Some dropped points by United mean we have a real shot of making Top 4.

9 points from the final 15 will do it, as I expect United to win their remaining games. We have Arsenal away, Saints away, Sheff utd home, Wolves home and Palace away.

[karanhsingh]

GET IN!!

[karanhsingh]

Season 1: the Finale

We ultimately finished the job in style (save the capitulation at Saints) while Man Utd kept on faltering even dropping points to 20th placed West Brom 

All of this meant that we finished the season in 4th spot, thereby confirming the return of Champions League football to Villa next season!

What a turnaround after a tough first couple of months which saw us flirting with relegation. It's been quite the tactical journey and I look forward to seeing what this set of players can do next year.

Of course, we still had the small matter of the FA Cup final to come...

[karanhsingh]

FA CUP FINAL - Liverpool vs Aston Villa

So it was a repeat of the Carabao Cup final, on that occasion we got lucky and came away with the win.

Liverpool are easily the best team in world football, smashing 105 points in the league with a goal difference of 88. Unreal stuff. 

We went down to an early Mane goal, but responded brilliantly and equalized from an Engels header off a Grealish corner. Second half, we go down once again as Shaqiri turns into prime Beckham and curls a 35 yard free kick past Heaton. Yes, that's how OP Liverpool are 

However once again we fight back, as top-scorer Karlan Grant steers in a Rico Henry cross to make it 2-2. After this Liverpool go on the attack and we are looking strong on the counter. We have a succession of chances to finish the game off. In fact, we created no less than FOUR clear cut chances, and somehow we didn't take a single one.

This was in the 91st minute, and it was the moment! After a fantastic passing move sent club captain Grealish through on goal, I really thought this was going to be it. He had been fantastic all game and the MOTM, but unfortunately he drilled the ball wide.

Onto ET then, and Liverpool got what seemed to be a BS penalty in the 103rd minute. Of course Milner slotted it home. I think that knocked the stuffing out of us to be honest. We huffed & puffed but could not find a 3rd equalizer.

An amazing game but a disappointing end to an otherwise spectacular season. 

[karanhsingh]

Season 1: Stats & Awards

The final squad stats from the season.

Incredible efforts from the following players this season:

Karlan Grant - what a signing by our DoF Juninho!! I have to say I didn't expect much when he came in, but he took the league by storm. 32 goals and 6 assists in 45 games, absolutely elite stuff.

Jack Grealish - club captain, legend, what can you say about this guy. He started off badly in the AMC role but once we changed formation and made him the focal point of the team, he really excelled. Finishes with 13 goals and 17 assists. The big boys are all sniffing around him but he has signed a new 5 year contract with us.

Tyrone Mings - a mountain at the back and an unbelievable threat from set pieces, he actually finishes as our second top scorer with 14 goals. 

Rico Henry - fantastic acquisition for the LWB role, he was ever-present and finishes the season with 7 goals and 7 assists.

Special mentions to our other two strikers Samatta & Wesley, who chipped in well. Hourihane was a fantastic squad player notching up 15 assists. Junior Caicara a great cheap signing in January who added quality on the right flank and contributed 8 assists. Bjorn Engels was another rock at the back and almost hit double figures too with 9 goals. 

Karlan Grant actually also took home the Premier League golden boot with 24 league goals, finishing 2 ahead of Sadio Mane in second. I am so glad he had a 6.5 million optional fee agreed in his loan deal, which has obviously already been activated.

And finally, I won Manager of the Year as well.

[karanhsingh]

State of the Club and Looking Ahead...

Our finances are in much better shape now, probably thanks to the successes & cup runs. We have 31 million in the bank so I am guessing the facility improvements will all go through. 

I just also got the board to agree to this:

However, I am a bit confused in terms of the squad & transfers. I actually cannot think of a single player in the team now who has not performed well or I would like to move on. While I know that quality wise we are still way behind the top clubs, at the same time I am so pleased & content with the squad as it is. There is of course one transfer agreed in terms of Karlan Grant, but beyond that I am not sure what other business we should do.

We have 5 good CBs for 3 spots, 5 good MCs for 3 spots, 4 wing backs, and 3 good strikers for 2 spots. 

Anyone have any thoughts? We have 40 million to spend so it's a good amount of money. I suppose I could spend big on a striker to pair up with Grant up front, but that would be harsh on Samatta & Wesley.

[warlock]

Great season . As for transfers, if there's no real problems in the squad I'd just look to upgrade a couple of the weakest players. Or, looking through the squad, it looks like most are at or close to their max ability so a couple of players with room to improve over the next year or two might be worthwhile. Also, you'll be playing a lot more games next season. so improving squad depth might be wise.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

State of the Club and Looking Ahead...

Our finances are in much better shape now, probably thanks to the successes & cup runs. We have 31 million in the bank so I am guessing the facility improvements will all go through. 

I just also got the board to agree to this:

However, I am a bit confused in terms of the squad & transfers. I actually cannot think of a single player in the team now who has not performed well or I would like to move on. While I know that quality wise we are still way behind the top clubs, at the same time I am so pleased & content with the squad as it is. There is of course one transfer agreed in terms of Karlan Grant, but beyond that I am not sure what other business we should do.

We have 5 good CBs for 3 spots, 5 good MCs for 3 spots, 4 wing backs, and 3 good strikers for 2 spots. 

Anyone have any thoughts? We have 40 million to spend so it's a good amount of money. I suppose I could spend big on a striker to pair up with Grant up front, but that would be harsh on Samatta & Wesley.

You should definitely go for a big time striker to partner up with Grant. Samatta and Wesley will still get game time as well. Man Utd in 1999 done very well with 4 strikers. 

[karanhsingh]

10 minutes ago, warlock said:

Great season . As for transfers, if there's no real problems in the squad I'd just look to upgrade a couple of the weakest players. Or, looking through the squad, it looks like most are at or close to their max ability so a couple of players with room to improve over the next year or two might be worthwhile. Also, you'll be playing a lot more games next season. so improving squad depth might be wise.

Thanks, that makes sense. I am contemplating bringing in an under-study for Grealish, but Jacob Ramsey had a good season on loan at Burton and I think may be ready to start getting some games as well. However I will definitely end up bringing in a couple of players, quiet transfer windows are not really something I do

Just now, Ronaldo Beckham said:

You should definitely go for a big time striker to partner up with Grant. Samatta and Wesley will still get game time as well. Man Utd in 1999 done very well with 4 strikers. 

That is true! I have my eye on Alfredo Morelos, the one who got away last summer and is still somehow at Rangers. Also he would be perfect for the PF role.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Thanks, that makes sense. I am contemplating bringing in an under-study for Grealish, but Jacob Ramsey had a good season on loan at Burton and I think may be ready to start getting some games as well. However I will definitely end up bringing in a couple of players, quiet transfer windows are not really something I do

That is true! I have my eye on Alfredo Morelos, the one who got away last summer and is still somehow at Rangers. Also he would be perfect for the PF role.

He might get sent off a fair few times and has a bad attitude from what I remember about managing him. What about M.Dembele or Eduard at Celtic. Are they not available ?

[karanhsingh]

Just now, Ronaldo Beckham said:

He might get sent off a fair few times and has a bad attitude from what I remember about managing him. What about M.Dembele or Eduard at Celtic. Are they not available ?

Yes which makes it even more exciting doesn't it 

Eddouard went to Liverpool already. Dembele could potentially be an option yes although he is wanted by Man Utd & Juventus as well.