FM13 - Like Icarus to the Sun, the rise and (hopefully) rise of Jozef Prochazka

[deltablue]

Good luck chasing PSG.

[JackJCFC]

Good luck this season, hopefully PSG aren't so amazing this time!

[b101]

August 2018 - Stade Rennais

Fixtures:

We started out in the Charity Shield equivalent, leading to another last minute loss against PSG in a game we should have at least drawn. On the plus side, we are four for four in the League after excellent victories in the first four games. We tore Auxerre to shreds, but frustratingly conceded twice from corners. Thankfully, we showed the grittier side of our game in the next two matches. Particularly pleasing was the win over Marseille, with Júnior scoring a screamer and Ngoyi slamming home late on to overturn a 1-0 deficit. Finally, we saw out the match against Nantes thanks to two early goals from Biton and Marilia.

Man of the Month:

Five in five for Paupol gets him this without question. The highlight was unquestionably a hat-trick in the opening game of the season against Auxerre, making me very glad that nobody came in for him in the summer.

Champions League:

The draw has been made, and it certainly could have been worse. Ideally, we'd get another draw out of Barca and take the inevitable loss at the Nou Camp, and with any luck we can do the double over both Dinamo and Sporting. Not getting through this would definitely count as a disappointment though.

[b101]

August/September 2018 - Argentina

Fixtures:

Just the two friendlies this month and two surprisingly close wins. Our three AMC formula struggled to click against Slovakia, but we grabbed the win in the end with a particularly impressive performance from Nicolas Gaitan. Against France we were better and deserved the win. Again, Messi struggled to get into the game, and I think his role will need tweaking to get the most out of him. Otherwise, we clearly have the most creative team on the planet, and just need to ensure that the other 5 players provide enough stability!

[b101]

September 2018 - Stade Rennais

Fixtures:

The first match was a tough proposition; Lille had pushed us all the way for second spot last season, and would be no pushover. Or so I thought... 2 goals in the opening 11 minutes set the tone, and 3-0 was no flattery. I rotated a bit for the Dinamo game, giving a few of the youngsters starts, and Abasse Gueye repaid the favour with a goal to make it 4-1. Admittedly, Barca also won by the same scoreline, so we lie second. Back to the league, and a pair of assists for Marilia set up Ngoyi to score twice. Paris Saint-Germain also kept winning though, and also had a better goal difference. The Lyon game was our extra game, and I really wanted to win it. After 2 minutes, we were 1-0 down to an Erick Torres strike, and it was all going pear-shaped after 18 minutes when the same man struck from a poorly defended corner. We hit back almost straight away though when Biton finished off a great team move, and drew level early in the second half thanks to an Ngoyi header. At the death, they went for one last attack, which was cleared to Júnior. The Brazilian played a great cross-field pass to Nagai, who laid it across the area for that man Marília to slam home and grab all three points. Still, we may be top for now, but it's probably just until the juggernaut that is PSG next plays again.

Man of the Month:

Marília has been the heartbeat of our team this month. From two assists against Evian to the crucial 90th minute winner against Lyon, he has really pushed on in recent weeks. It's scary how much he has improved since I first brought him over to Belgium, but this form more than justifies the decision to follow him to France!

[b101]

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!

[Animosama]

Guess its time to ask again for facilities and stadium upgrade

[b101]

Guess its time to ask again for facilities and stadium upgrade

Your wish is my command - not quite enough for the stadium though...

[JackJCFC]

Great start to the season in all comps, keep it up

[iHeadHunta x]

Fantastic start to the year mate, shame you couldn't beat PSG !

[AK22]

Looking like the battle of the 100% records! Who's going to blink first?!

Good luck!

[b101]

Great start to the season in all comps, keep it up

Thanks! Bit of a surprisingly good start, although we haven't played many of the big teams yet, bar Lyon who are in a bit of a downward spiral. Hopefully one day I'll be able to emulate your national dominance with Carmarthen!

Fantastic start to the year mate, shame you couldn't beat PSG !

Cheers mate, it was the same old story really, and their better players just gave them the edge. Not really fair when a team brings Javier Hernandez and Lucas Moura on as 65th minute subs is it?

Looking like the battle of the 100% records! Who's going to blink first?! Good luck!

Indeed! Slight spoiler - I played two or three more games before heading off on holiday and won them, so I think I'm either 9 from 9 or 10 from 10. I also think PSG kept winning though... Gonna be a tough ride this! Updates should be back next week some time.

[b101]

October 2018 - Stade Rennais

Fixtures:

Our winning streak came to the expected halt in the Nou Camp, and whilst we put up more of a fight than we have previously, three late Barca goals gave them a deserved win, even if the final 3-0 scoreline was a bit flattering for the Spanish outfit. We bounced back in superb style by thrashing Sochaux with Ngoyi and Júnior both fighting for the final hat-trick goal. Then began our stream of 1-0 wins. The Lorient match was comfortable and more a case of when rather than if we would score, with Inler smashing home a rebound from a Nagai strike. We next headed to Sporting, in one of the two matches that would probably decide second spot in the group. After a tentative start, going 1-0 down, we had a great 10 minutes around half-time, with Marília scoring twice and setting up Nakai for his first for the club. They grabbed one back, but a late Lucas header ensured a priceless three points. We finished the month with two more 1-0 wins. Nagai has now left on international duty for the next month or so, and youngster Duhamel grabbed his chance with both hands, scoring a 20 yarder to give us the points. Finally, a shadow side plus Marília and Ngoyi scraped past Montpellier to meet PSG (yes, them again) in the Cup quarter final. The great news though is that the Parisian giants have dropped a whole 4 points this month, drawing with Lens and Le Havre of all teams. Game on!

Man of the Month:

The Marília show continues. He's becoming one of the top players in the league and can't be far from making a global name for himself. What more is there to say?

[b101]

November 2018 - Stade Rennais

Records:

An exciting piece of news here! It's even more impressive coming from a right back who has only really just broken into the first team setup. Delighted for him!

Fixtures:

The month didn't start well with a poor performance away at Monaco. We never really got started and the 3-2 loss was merited. Again though, we quickly bounced back with a great 3-0 win over Sporting at home including the aforementioned Wegner goal. The same scoreline was repeated at home to rock-bottom Valenciennes, with Ngoyi tearing the other side apart. In a packed month, comfortable wins over Toulouse and Lens followed before the most ridiculous match I've played yet. During an international break for practically every country bar Argentina and Croatia (guess which team has Pastore and Modric...), we faced PSG in the Cup. To top it off, they opened by scoring two 25 yarders... from their 15 year old centre mid with 4 for long shots. We created quite a lot, but their luck/talent shone through once more. Annoyingly, PSG would then lose away at Lens, but we couldn't really make it count, drawing a frustrating game against Saint Etienne. Finally, we stuttered to the end of the month, with Eduardo Anderson grabbing three stunning strikes which saw us progress in the Champions League and remain top of Ligue 1. First game next month? PSG at home... Massive.

Man of the Month:

This should probably go to someone other than our midfield maestro, and Paupol does deserve it. He's not quite firing on all cylinders, but it's helped having him back from injury. Just look at that scoring record as well!

[b101]

December 2018 - Stade Rennais

Fixtures:

Happily, this is a shorter month, with just 4 games until the well-earned Winter Break. The first game was a huge match at home to rivals PSG. We started well and were all over them, shutting down Pastore and Moura superbly, but just couldn't find the breakthrough. On 73 minutes, Junior broke down the left and crossed for Biton to smash home. On 89 minutes however, heartbreak. A terrible goalkick from Aiche found only Hernandez, who played Rafinha through - Derouiche having stepped up too far. Rafinha slotted the ball past the keeper and all our hard work was undone. Following this, we had the easy fixture of Barca at home to look forward to. With both teams having already qualified, and us needing a 4 goal win to top the group, this was essentially just for pride. That being said, we produced an outstanding performance to dispose of the Spanish side, thanks to another goal and assist from the fast-improving Eduardo Anderson.

Not for the first time, we suffered a bit of a European hangover, somehow contriving to lose in Lens. We went 1-0 down early on and in spite of peppering their goal, we couldn't get the lead. To compound our misery, they nodded home from a corner to steal it late on. However, I was encouraged by how dangerous we had looked, even if we weren't converting the chances, and we ran riot in the final game against Metz. PSG also seemed to be struggling for fitness, and amazingly lost at home to Montpellier before drawing in Marseille to finish the month, giving us a 4 point lead heading into the break.

Man of the Month:

This is half for last month and half for this. Eduardo Anderson hasn't exactly set the league alight since he joined, but he's shown a huge improvement recently and hopefully it continues.

[B.W.G]

A very good first half to the the season,hopefully you can keep P.S.G at bay!

[JackJCFC]

Top work so far, gonna be a close one between yourself and PSG but hope you can hold on!

[b101]

Stade Rennais Squad Analysis - 2019

I figured this would be a good point in the season to see how my squad are shaping up, and it should help identify where various gaps lie, as well as where our strengths are. The board continue to hope that I bring players through the Youth system, and it will also be interesting to see how close that is to fruition. The final thing that might be interesting to note is the future formation I look to play. I always try to bring through young players with a look to watching them grow into the first team, and we've got the first 'generation' in place already. When the new youngsters step up, what will we look to do?

Goalkeepers:

Djamel Aiche has quickly become our first choice after joining on a free at the start of this season. He is progressing well and should be the number one for the next 10 years or so. I think the one area for focus is his Aerial Ability, although I may also look to improve his speed off the line. Rafael Santos is a decent backup, but will be leaving in the summer to join Besiktas on a free.

Centre Backs:

Raphael Lucas and Walid Derouiche have been my first choice pairing since the start of last season, and are both developing nicely. It's interesting to see that Lucas has surpassed Derouiche, who was expected to be the better of the pair. The one thing we are really lacking here is pace, and I'd like to go for the Stopper/Cover approach at some point in the future. As it is though, these two provide a decent wall. Behind him, Jean Kana-Biyik is my main back-up, although again, he is getting a little restless whilst Salaun and Huet are our two only half-decent youngsters competing for a spot. I may look to give Salaun a few games next season, but Huet will be leaving as he just moans. This is probably one of the areas that I need to focus on most.

[b101]

Full Backs:

One of our better areas - Ngata has quickly developed into one of the leading left backs in the world, and although he doesn't offer much going forward, he remains an absolute rock at the back. On the opposite flank, I've begun to blood Daniel Wegner (he of Champions League fame), and have been really impressed by his performances. He's not the finished article, and I'm not totally sure RB is his ideal position, but he's coming on leaps and bounds. He's currently one of a number of my players who has composure as a major focus. Other than that, he needs a bit more attacking impetus so that we have some penetration from defence. Finally, Diego Renan is our backup and a major tutor for the youngsters. It's clear from this though that we need another couple of young players who can become at least backups - at the moment there's nobody other than these three!

Defensive Mids:

For what basically comprises 1 1/2 roles, we have quite a number of players here! Walber is obviously the most accomplished and a clear all-rounder, but I'm not entirely sure what to focus on. At the moment he seems a bit of a 'jack of all trades, master of none', and I could use a bit of advice on what to aim for... My current thoughts are to keep training him as an Anchor Man and push those defensive attributes up further. Next we have two players who will probably leave in the summer. Nir Biton is a good playmaker and scores a couple of useful goals, but he seems to think he is much better than he is, demanding £61k per week to extend his contract. Inler on the other hand, remains a great tutor, but he is slowing and unless his wage demands drop, I will probably release him. Additionally, we have the want-away Tongo Doumbia, who looks like a great destroyer, but doesn't really perform as well as perhaps he should. Again, he's demanding to leave and I may let him this summer if I can persuade Inler to stay. If not, though, I'll try to talk him round. Finally, our two 'prospects': Lienard is developing nicely, and could prove to be a good DM in the future, perhaps freeing up Walber to move into a destructive centre mid role. Mathieu however, just looks a bit hopeless. He's now being tutored by Doumbia, so I would hope for those hideous mentals to rise, but I'm not holding out a huge amount of hope here.

[b101]

Attacking Mids:

This is our best area by far - can you tell how much I love a good AMC?! Ideally, I'll look to go 4-2-3-1 in the future, in a sort of Chelsea-esque formation, and I love the thought of 3 of these guys interchanging constantly. Marília is possibly the best player in the league, a huge accolade given the talent at PSG's disposal, and I cannot wait for him to start tutoring the others. Eduardo Anderson, as previously mentioned, is a bit of an enigma, but certainly improving in recent weeks. I will probably retrain him to AMR/L to give us a few more options, but I had been expecting more from him up to now. Now come our 4 youth prodigies! Cortellini and Fortina arrived together, and it is the former who has been first to break through, getting a few first team sub appearances and a couple of starts. He may ultimately end up a Striker rather than an AMC, but his current focus is to raise those mental attributes. As for Fortina, although I like him, there's a number of stats that don't quite work. Finishing of 9 and a relatively low pace hamper him somewhat, and his passing needs serious work if it is to counteract these. Undecided on whether I keep him or not. The second pair, who arrived this summer are very exciting. Brossard looks an exceptional prospect and I plan to give him some first team games next season whilst focusing on his technical attributes. Rashwan has been a little hampered by injury and is in a similar boat to Fortina, although I think he has a bit more about him than the Italian. Finally, the last three are my current backups. Touré's physical attributes mean that he will leave in the Summer, Fountas' moaning means the same for him, and I am undecided on Ciani - although the combination of passing/tackling being 10 each probably rules him out of a long term midfield role.

Wingers:

At the moment, we're aiming for Inside Forwards on the left and Wingers on the right. Consequently, Júnior fits the first category perfectly. After a slow start, he really started firing late on in his first season, and whilst he hasn't quite hit those heights yet this season, he remains an excellent outlet. On the other flank, Nakai is the one I want to start pushing on. He has only joined recently, but he's two-footed and quite mentally tough, just needs a bit more confidence really. Duhamel is our next great hope, and he's already broken into the first team set up with a couple of excellent performances including a winner against Montpellier earlier in the season. For him, Composure is the main focus, but he's doing pretty well generally. Finally, we have two players who may be departing this summer. Gueye certainly is, having agreed a move to Troyes. Although he's a Model Professional, I never really felt that he developed the way he should have and so I'm not too disappointed to lose him. Koutnik on the other hand, was signed before I arrived and I never really saw why. Will probably be sold this summer.

Strikers:

Other than the obvious, this is probably our weakest area. Long term, Júnior will probably become a striker for us rather than sitting at AML but we are very reliant on Ngoyi! Granted, the man is a monster, but we need better than this coming through. Michaud is okay, but I'm not sure he'll ever lead the line for us in the way that Paupol can, whilst the others are definitely just backups at best. I may be missing something here, but this might just be the main area to strengthen.

[rlipscombe]

Just read all of your career so far. have to say it's been really enjoyable... really seem to be doing well to date and sure you'll only climb higher in your career. a move soon to England or Germany is on the cards i reckon...

[b101]

Just read all of your career so far. have to say it's been really enjoyable... really seem to be doing well to date and sure you'll only climb higher in your career. a move soon to England or Germany is on the cards i reckon...

Cheers pal, glad you've liked it! There's so many leagues I'd like to go around, and even though I spent a lot of time in Germany with Leipzig last year, I'd love to go back. Dortmund would certainly be an attractive offer given their team any history. Equally though, it'd be great to try to break the Spanish one-two or manage in Italy given that I've never been there. Then again, there's the Charlton/Man Utd dreams, going back to Sparta Prague, the unfinished business in South America... Basically, there's a load of stuff I want to do and I can see this save lasting me for the rest of this year!

[AK22]

Still very close in the league; I hope you can keep your points advantage over PSG, as I assume you'll have to play in Paris in May. That could be a huge match!

[b101]

January 2019 - Stade Rennais

The bizarre...

Valenciennes sit bottom of the league, nine clear of safety. It'd be really cool to see them get a tycoon, but with the window just shutting, the timing seems very odd.

Transfers:

All youth-centred again. Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik left the club for Juventus after much moaning and little game-time, bringing in £4m. Consequently, having looked at my squad pretty thoroughly, I went out and found a few new youngsters to start bringing through.

• Claus-Dieter Kunz - DC - We badly needed a centre back, with just Salaun backing up our main two, and Kunz, aside from being brilliantly named, looks to have a lot of potential. At £4.6m, I've overpaid a bit, but the other options were just obscenely priced.
  
• Pablo Morin -DC/DMC - If I overpaid slightly on Kunz, I got truly ripped off here, with PSG demanding £7.5m for Morin. Ultimately, I think he'll end up a DMC rather than a DC, but I'll see how he goes physically over the next few years. Looks very good though.
  
• Albano Bardi - ST - Costing just £800k, he seems worth a punt. Just need to work on that speed. A lot.
  
• Pernao - ST - Remember me buying Marília and Walber when they were just 16 for peanuts? Here's hoping the same happens again with £750k steal Pernao, who will join in two years. Please, AI, sort out his passing and creativity!

Fixtures:

YES!!!!!!!! The first game of this month was our fourth effort against PSG this year, and we finally beat them. That's a lie, we smashed them. All this with a depleted team due to Ngoyi and Aiche being at the African Cup of Nations and Nakai still bumming around in Japan. I was delighted to see all of our goals come through youth products (yes, Cortellini sort of counts...), and in all honesty, 3-1 was unfair on us. Against Montpellier we continued our good form, with Michaud grabbing his first goal for the side. I'm starting to warm to him a bit more, but I think he'll only ever be a backup. Cortellini took his place against Istres and grabbed both goals in an unconvincing performance. We then lost our cushion over PSG with a poor showing in Marseille. To be honest, it was an even game, but we simply didn't take our chances and defended set pieces badly. Not a good combination. Finally, a great 3-0 win over Nantes closed out the month in much better fashion, with RB Wegner even grabbing a goal. Annoyingly, Javier Hernandez grabbed a 94th minute winner to ensure PSG remain right on our tails. Oh yeah, and after years without injury, guess what happens when I sell Biyik? Yep, both centre backs crocked... Next up, Lille.

Man of the Month:

Júnior played very well this month, and whilst Marília was probably more deserving of this award, it's nice to give it to someone else. His goal against Marseille gave us a great start, but we couldn't hold onto it, and he also ran the show against Montpellier. On his day, unplayable.

[b101]

Still very close in the league; I hope you can keep your points advantage over PSG, as I assume you'll have to play in Paris in May. That could be a huge match!

4th May to be precise. Hopefully we'll still be in with a shout then!

[b101]

The mental takeover watch continues...

[b101]

February 2019 - Stade Rennais

News

This was a fairly straightforward rejection. Cartagena are a club I'd be interested in, but not at this point in time given all that is going on with Rennes.

Fixtures:

There's a bit of everything in this month. The first three games were all pretty standard wins and it was good to see Ngoyi back amongst the goals, even if he's not quite back to his best yet. Then came the heartbreak. Having dumped PSG out of the Cup, I was certain this was to be our year, but we fell flat on our faces at Ligue 2 Caen. Bar Marília, nobody turned up, and the defending was just pitiful, with Derouiche in particular looking ordinary. We then highlighted the feeble nature of this performance with a 2-0 win over Lyon, although we weren't particularly great here either. Not great form going into the Champions League tie of death with a ridiculously good Chelsea side. Whilst the late goal from Ngoyi makes it look like we got away with it, we were utterly dominant - eighteen shots to three, woodwork twice and three clear cut chances before Marília squared to our Congolese striker. 1-1 isn't bad, but it should have been better, and we may yet pay for that. Still top of the league though after a perfect month.

Man of the Month:

Our Brazilian talisman was back to his imperious best. Genuinely can't recall the last bad game he had.

[deltablue]

You have an impressive squad.

[b101]

I'd love it if they avoided relegation! Certainly somewhere I'd be interested in trying my hand...

[b101]

You have an impressive squad.

Cheers delta - they should be class if I have the patience to see them all through!

[b101]

March 2019 - Stade Rennais

Youth Intake:

Just the three main prospects this time around. Mancin badly needs tutoring to sort out those mental attributes, Yildirim looks okay, not that I need another AMC, as does Mwanga.

Fixtures:

On paper we had a relatively easy ride in the league this month. These results don't tell the half of it, and it was anything but an easy ride! With February's packed fixture list leading to a very tired squad, the last thing we needed was the three suspensions provided by the Sochaux game. Júnior's freekick won the game for us, but at a huge cost. We then lost two more players to injury in the Lorient match, which was settled by two opportunistic strikes from Eduardo Anderson, fresh on the heels of his new contract. Finally, a close range strike from Júnior saw us over the line against Le Havre, and with PSG also gaining a maximum 9 points. The final game of the month was our huge game at Stamford Bridge, and boy did we rise to the occasion. Our first half performance showed all of the intent that the first leg promised, but with much greater reward. Two goals from set pieces settled this ultimately, with an Ngoyi header from a freekick and Marília's penalty after a needless challenge on Júnior earning us a huge victory.

Man of the Month:

Could have been any of our main defensive triangle this month, with both centre backs outstanding in the win in London. However, I've plumped for Walber, who has really raised his game this month and continues to improve. A real stalwart in our team.

[b101]

April 2019 - Stade Rennais

Domestic:

It's back to that time in the season where the Continental stuff gets so big that it deserves a section all by itself. Not to say that the league isn't tense - far from it! At this stage in the season, no fixture is easy, and there have been plenty of banana skins along the way for both PSG and ourselves. We opened with a comfortable win over 4th placed Monaco - they only grabbed a late consolation after Wegner ignored any common sense and shepherded their left winger towards the goal, practically begging him to shoot. Then came a nice breather, away at rock-bottom Valenciennes who were just waiting for relegation to be confirmed. Evidently they hadn't read the script, scoring twice before half time to bring us back in at 2-2. A rocket later and all looked well, with Ngoyi grabbing our third, but again, they refused to lie down, with a 25 yard free-kick levelling the scores once more. Enter Eduardo Anderson, who rescued us with a late strike from close range after a great cross from Júnior. The next two matches look easy going at 2-0 and 3-0 respectively; they were anything but! Against Lens, we were without Marília, Ngoyi, Júnior, Walber, Wegner and Ngata... hence the first ever goal for Wesley Said to make the game safe. Saint Etienne also made life tough for us, and it took some real ingenuity from Marília to break them down and feed Ngoyi the bullets he'd been craving. Then came the frustration as Bordeaux parked the bus. Their keeper had a worldie, saving anything and everything (he got a 9.5... that tells you everything), and we just couldn't find the net. A flawless month domestically for PSG means that we are just two points clear with four to play. Squeaky bum time!

---

Continental:

So, after our exploits against Chelsea in the last round, we were rewarded with a trip to the Bernabeu to pit ourselves against Real, missing Marília, Ngata and Wegner through suspension. 'Rewarded' seemed like a particularly poor choice of word when they raced into a 3-0 lead inside 25 minutes, with two strikes from Higuaín and a Di Maria snapshot. Nice to see my Argentinian players appreciate me coming to watch them... This was utter domination, and it really was all hands to the pump. Two minutes after half-time disaster struck, with the referee awarding a ridiculous penalty against Derouiche for a push that was clearly outside the area. Higuain dispatched the penalty and we were facing a real thumping. However, we slowly worked our way back into the match, and a late run and strike from Eduardo Anderson pegged them back to 4-1. Hmm. Seven minutes later, and I was punching the air, as substitute Nir Biton smashed home an Ngoyi cross from close range. 4-2 it finished, flattering us immensely, and game on!

So, the home leg. There's not much to say really other than to post the match stats and the video. Easily the best performance I've had from a team this save, if not on any FM. We were flawless.

[video=youtube_share;BxKa_CgR4xE]

Man of the Month:

Paupol Ngoyi has been immense, even if he couldn't quite beat the Bordeaux keeper in our final match of the month. With four to play, it's great to have him in this vein of form.

[b101]

Stade Rennais' run in

It seems silly to boil our season down to just three games, but how huge is this week?! I'd go as far to say that if we get a draw in Paris then the title is ours, but that shouldn't discount three fairly tricky encounters that follow. We should win each of those, but you saw from the Valenciennes game that nothing is guaranteed here. Put simply, a massive next couple of days.

PSG's run in

Conversely, PSG have just the league to focus on, having been knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona in the Quarter Finals. Their last three games, aside from the crunch match against us, are significantly tougher than ours, and I would hope that they would drop points in Montpellier or at home to Marseille. Nantes isn't an easy game either, and I think we could yet lose in Paris and win the title.

[b101]

May 2019 - Stade Rennais

Domestic:

Well, that picture sums up the last month pretty well, although the match with PSG certainly deserves more than a single image. With all of the manic build-up to the match between the season's two heavyweights, and the two best attacks in the league, you'd have been forgiven for expecting a bit of a spectacle. What happened was an implosion, as first Javier Hernandez (an elbow on 11 minutes), then Radja Nainggolan (two yellows on 29 minutes) were shown red, effectively ending the match as a contest. However, PSG were fairly obstinate, and it took an Ngoyi header from a late corner to settle a drab contest, putting us firmly in the driving seat. The second match against Le Mans was much easier, and we were able to rest a number of players, with youngsters Cortellini, Brossard and Lienard all getting a full 90 minutes. We secured the title in Metz after going 1-0 down, with Ngoyi again leading the line excellently. The final game of the month was therefore a freebie and gave me an opportunity to look at a few more players, with Albano Bardi grabbing a goal on his debut and forcing the second own goal. To add insult to injury, PSG lost in Nantes to make the title look a lot easier than it was.

Rennes are Ligue 1 Champions

---

Continental:

Following the astounding performance against Real Madrid, there was a sense of anticipation ahead of the matches with Man City. Again, we were away from home first, but with a better squad heading to the Etihad than the injury/suspension-ridden one that graced the Bernabeu. We basically played shutdown and kept City well away from our goal for the majority of the match, with the one exception being Sergio Aguero's goal from a debatably offside position. Back at home though, we grabbed an early goal to cancel out their strike, with Nir Biton making a late run into the box to slot home. We continued to press and looked like scoring a second, until disaster reared its ugly head; Marília sent off for a clumsy challenge on Yaya Touré. So, we dropped even deeper and looked to ping City on the counter. On 60 minutes, City pressed high up the pitch, but Tongo Doumbia put in a huge challenge, squaring to Walber, who produced the pass of the season over the full-back's head - Júnior was through and slotted home past Joe Hart. We continued to execute this strategy perfectly, with Júnior adding another almost identical goal before Ngoyi rounded Hart to replicate the amazing scoreline we secured against Real. We were through to the final!

(Video available on demand)

Man of the Month:

Another great month from Paupol as we secured the title and progressed to our first ever Champions League final. He's been pretty immense this season, as shown by that goal tally - just need to keep it for one more match!

[b101]

2018/2019 - UEFA Champions League Final

Stade Rennais' run to the final

FC Porto's run to the final

Odds: Rennes: 3-1, Porto 4-5 (Fav)

Porto qualified second from their group and whilst they clearly had an easier run than us in the First Knockout and Quarter Final stages, their Semi Final was easily as tough as ours, with them outclassing Barcelona and impressively winning both legs. Their main stars are Ademilson (Sao Paulo) and James Rodriguez, ably supported by John Obi Mikel, Kaboré, Otamendi and a wonderful Spanish regen centre mid. If anything, seeing Mikel's name in their team made Prochazka want to win the trophy even more. Obviously, we were missing Marília, but the rest of our squad was pretty much as strong as it could be.

We had most of the early running, although James Rodriguez looked a presence, cutting in from the left wing with dangerous regularity. It's interesting to note that young Daniel Wegner really struggles against wingers who like to cut in... not sure why this is, but he found Di Maria an absolute nightmare as well. Struggling slightly with possession, Jozef screamed at them to hold onto the ball. Nir Biton proved the one calm head, passing short to Júnior on the halfway line. The Brazilian ran at their right back, turning him left and right before cutting across the top of the area. As the Stade de France held its breath, Júnior rifled in a low shot that squirmed under keeper Begovic - 1-0 Rennes

We held that lead through to half time, with Biton's snapshot on the half volley producing another excellent save from Begovic, whilst Ngoyi spurned a one-on-one, forcing another good save from the keeper. It looked very much a case of when, rather than if, we would score again. On the stroke of half time though, they worked it through to Przybylko on the edge of the area. The Pole wriggled away from Derouiche but could only shoot straight at Aiche. Half-time: Rennes 1-0 Porto

The second half was barely two minutes old when we came close again, Ngoyi heading just over from a corner. On the following counter however, Porto worked it out to Rodriguez once more, who turned past Wegner to reach the byline, cutting the ball back for John Obi Mikel of all people, just 7 yards out. Thankfully, his finishing is still as bad as ever, and he put it straight at Aiche. Ademilson and Júnior traded long shots, before another great chance fell our way - an excellent deep cross from Ngata found Ngoyi 10 yards out. The Congolese chested down and shot, but Otamendi put in a great block to stop the strike. We made a couple of changes here, with Inler off for Doumbia to add some steel to the midfield. It worked a treat as everything went quiet bar one speculative shot from Kaboré. On 79 minutes, Eduardo Anderson took a breather, with Nakai taking his place, but nothing more happened - the whistle went, and Rennes were Champions of Europe!

[b101]

Stade Rennais - End of Season 2018/9 Mop-Up

An outstanding season which far surpassed expectations. I didn't think we'd get close to the Champions League Quarter Finals, let alone win the thing. If you think back to the tough game at home to Chelsea or the ridiculous first leg in Madrid, it all seemed so far away, but I don't think we can be classed as unworthy winners. As for Ligue 1, that was no mean feat either - PSG pushed us all the way as you would expect, and they'll come back strong next season. They're already looking to strengthen over the summer and I'm sure we'll need a few replacements ourselves. The whole team were, obviously, performing to the top of their games, but there were a few players who were simply outstanding, and it was pleasing to see four of our number represented in the Team of the Year.

Great to see Wegner in there particularly, as the others were all pretty obvious choices. The youngster has his flaws, but he has done very well so far this season. Our two best players, by far, remain these two below though:

AMC - Marília

By far the most talented player I've managed in the last few years (and I've had a few!), he transforms this team. This season he won his first cap for Brazil, whilst also having the highest average rating ever in the league, winning the Best Passer award for most assists (also a record), the most Man of the Match awards (also a record) and the Champions League's best player. A top, top player.

Paupol continues to surpass expectations. He is a very good striker, but by no means as outstanding as his record would suggest. He too garnered a number of awards: Top Goalscorer, Best Player and African Player of the Year. I may cave and sell him this summer if I get a good price, as I think he's reached his peak. However, it would have to be a very good offer given how well he has played this season.

---

A round-up of the top competitions in the world to date:

Czech Republic:

2018-9: 1st: Sparta Prague, 2nd: Banik, 3rd: Viktoria Plzen

2017/8: 1st: Sparta Prague, 2nd: Viktoria Plzen, 3rd: Mlada Boleslav

2016/7: 1st: Slovan Liberec, 2nd: Viktoria Plzen, 3rd: Mlada Boleslav

2015/6: 1st: Sparta Prague, 2nd: Mlada Boleslav, 3rd: Viktoria Plzen

2014/5: 1st: Mlada Boleslav, 2nd: Viktoria Plzen, 3rd: Sparta Prague

2013/4: 1st: Sparta Prague, 2nd: Mlada Boleslav, 3rd: Viktoria Plzen

2012/3: 1st: Mlada Boleslav, 2nd: Sparta Prague, 3rd: Viktoria Plzen

England:

2018-9: 1st: Man City, 2nd: Arsenal, 3rd: Chelsea, 4th: Spurs

2017/8: 1st: Man City, 2nd: Arsenal, 3rd: Chelsea, 4th: Spurs

2016/7: 1st: Sunderland, 2nd: Man City, 3rd: Man Utd, 4th: Chelsea

2015/6: 1st: Spurs, 2nd: Man City, 3rd: Liverpool, 4th: Man Utd

2014/5: 1st: Chelsea, 2nd: Man City, 3rd: Man Utd, 4th: Arsenal

2013/4: 1st: Man City, 2nd: Chelsea, 3rd: Man Utd, 4th: Sunderland

2012/3: 1st: Man City, 2nd: Man Utd, 3rd: Spurs, 4th: Liverpool

France:

2018-9: 1st: Rennes, 2nd: PSG, 3rd: Monaco, 4th: Lyon

2017/8: 1st: PSG, 2nd: Rennes, 3rd: Lille, 4th: Bordeaux

2016/7: 1st: Lyon, 2nd: PSG, 3rd: Rennes, 4th: Monaco

2015/6: 1st: Monaco, 2nd: Lyon, 3rd: PSG, 4th: Bordeaux

2014/5: 1st: PSG, 2nd: Lyon, 3rd: Bordeaux, 4th: Montpellier

2013/4: 1st: PSG, 2nd: Lyon, 3rd: Monaco, 4th: Marseille

2012/3: 1st: PSG, 2nd: Lyon, 3rd: Marseille, 4th: Valenciennes

Germany: - One way traffic is resumed...

2018-9: 1st: Bayern, 2nd: Dortmund, 3rd: Schalke, 4th: Leverkusen

2017/8: 1st: Wolfsburg, 2nd: Dortmund, 3rd: Bayern, 4th: Werder

2016/7: 1st: Bayern, 2nd: Frankfurt, 3rd: Dortmund, 4th: Stuttgart

2015/6: 1st: Bayern, 2nd: Dortmund, 3rd: Leverkusen, 4th: Schalke

2014/5: 1st: Bayern, 2nd: Dortmund, 3rd: Schalke, 4th: Wolfsburg

2013/4: 1st: Bayern, 2nd: Dortmund, 3rd: Hannover, 4th: Gladbach

2012/3: 1st: Schalke, 2nd: Wolfsburg, 3rd: Dortmund, 4th: Gladbach

France:

2018-9: 1st: Rennes, 2nd: PSG, 3rd: Monaco, 4th: Lyon

2017/8: 1st: PSG, 2nd: Rennes, 3rd: Lille, 4th: Bordeaux

2016/7: 1st: Lyon, 2nd: PSG, 3rd: Rennes, 4th: Monaco

2015/6: 1st: Monaco, 2nd: Lyon, 3rd: PSG, 4th: Bordeaux

2014/5: 1st: PSG, 2nd: Lyon, 3rd: Bordeaux, 4th: Montpellier

2013/4: 1st: PSG, 2nd: Lyon, 3rd: Monaco, 4th: Marseille

2012/3: 1st: PSG, 2nd: Lyon, 3rd: Marseille, 4th: Valenciennes

Italy:

2018-9: 1st: Juventus, 2nd: Palermo, 3rd: Cagliari, 4th: Roma

2017/8: 1st: Palermo, 2nd: Juventus, 3rd: Inter, 4th: Lazio

2016/7: 1st: Palermo, 2nd: Juventus, 3rd: Inter, 4th: Milan

2015/6: 1st: Juventus, 2nd: Roma, 3rd: Palermo, 4th: Napoli

2014/5: 1st: Juventus, 2nd: Palermo, 3rd: Milan, 4th: Inter

2013/4: 1st: Juventus, 2nd: Milan, 3rd: Inter, 4th: Napoli

2012/3: 1st: Milan, 2nd: Inter, 3rd: Juventus, 4th: Napoli

Spain: - The most boring league in the World rears its pretty head

2018-9: 1st: Barca, 2nd: Real, 3rd: Atletico, 4th: Mallorca

2017/8: 1st: Real, 2nd: Barca, 3rd: Atletico, 4th: Athletic

2016/7: 1st: Real, 2nd: Barca, 3rd: Sevilla, 4th: Atletico

2015/6: 1st: Real, 2nd: Barca, 3rd: Atletico, 4th: Valencia

2014/5: 1st: Barca, 2nd: Real, 3rd: Atletico, 4th: Levante

2013/4: 1st: Barca, 2nd: Real, 3rd: Valencia, 4th: Sevilla

2012/3: 1st: Barca, 2nd: Real, 3rd: Sevilla, 4th: Atletico

Champions League:

2018-9: Winners: Rennes, Runners-up: Porto (Stade de France)

2017/8: Winners: Juventus, Runners-up: Real Madrid (La Cartujá, Sevilla)

2016/7: Winners: Spurs, Runners-up: Atlético Madrid (San Siro)

2015/6: Winners: Manchester United, Runners-up: Bayern Munich (Ataturk Olympic, Istanbul)

2014/5: Winners: Manchester City, Runners-up: Barcelona (Millennium Stadium)

2013/4: Winners: Barcelona, Runners-up: Manchester City (Estadio de la Luz, Lisbon)

2012/3: Winners: Barcelona, Runners-up: Manchester United (Wembley)

Europa League:

2018-9: Winners: Manchester United, Runners-up: Sevilla (Stadion Slaski, Chorzow)

2017/8: Winners: Chelsea, Runners-up: Palermo (Friends Arena, Stockholm)

2016/7: Winners: Chelsea, Runners-up: Werder Bremen (Parc des Princes)

2015/6: Winners: Montpellier, Runners-up: Schalke (Estadio do Dragao)

2014/5: Winners: Sporting Lisbon, Runners-up: Schalke (Vicente Calderon)

2013/4: Winners: Lyon, Runners-up: Leverkusen (Juventus Stadium, Turin)

2012/3: Winners: Chelsea, Runners-up: Porto (Amsterdam ArenA)

Former Club Watch:

[u][color=#CC0000]Curicó Unido (managed 2012/13)[/color][/u]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Year  | Pos  | League    |  Notes                                        |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2013  | 4th  | Primera   | Promoted through playoffs                     |
| 2014  | 13th | Primera   |                                               |
| 2015  | 6th  | Primera   |                                               |
| 2016  | 18th | Primera   |                                               |
| 2017  | 1st  | Primera B | Promoted as Champions                         |
| 2018  | 18th | Primera   |                                               |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Starting to yo-yo a bit, hopefully they'll come back.

[u][color=#FFCC00]Lokeren (managed Jan 2014/17)[/color][/u]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Year    | Pos  | League    |  Notes                                      |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2013/4  | 10th | Jupiler Pro |                                           |
| 2014/5  | 5th  | Jupiler Pro |                                           |
| 2015/6  | 1st  | Jupiler Pro | Cup Winners                               |
| 2016/7  | 1st  | Jupiler Pro |                                           |
| 2017/8  | 1st  | Jupiler Pro | Cup Winners, Europa QF                    |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Two excellent seasons since I left, although they are beginning to be a managerial stepping stone, with Capdevila joining Gladbach. In very good shape.

[rlipscombe]

fantastic mate!! awesome stuff...

[b101]

fantastic mate!! awesome stuff...

Unbelievably, when I was researching all of the other leagues I had a crash dump, my first ever of FM13. Guess who hadn't saved?

Rematch to come...

[b101]

2018/2019 - UEFA Champions League Final - The Rematch!

Jozef shook his head, as if trying to clear water from his ears. He could have sworn he'd been here before...

Straight off the bat we run the ball down the left with Júnior, whose snapshot deflects off Otamendi for a corner, which Ngoyi heads narrowly over. Then, nothing for the first fifteen or so minutes; it's all a bit cagey and neither team wants to show their hand. About 25 minutes in, we work the ball out to Eduardo Anderson on the right wing, and he cuts inside onto his left foot, smashing a shot which flies just past the post. Just before half time, Porto have their first effort, with Ademilson striking a 20 yarder that flies just past the post. Half time: Rennes 0-0 Porto

Just after half time, we earn a throw-in just inside their half. It goes short to Ngoyi, who chests back to Wegner. Slowly, we work the ball out to the left and Júnior darts inside before laying off to Nir Biton who smashes the ball into the roof of the net! - 1-0 Rennes! Some ten minutes later, the ball again makes its way to Eduardo Anderson, who jinks inside yet again before dinking a delightful ball over the top to Júnior. The Brazilian takes it to one side and strikes... hits the post! All of our play is coming through Eduardo at the moment, and he again cuts inside before forcing a great save from Begovic down low. With 13 to play, Porto dare to venture into our half and a deep cross clears everyone to find James Rodriguez on the byline. He stands up the ball, which Wegner should clear but the young lad mistimes his jump and Ademilson stabs home. Rennes 1-1 Porto. Nothing else happens, and we have extra time.

We have only made one change so far, bringing Inler off for Doumbia once more, and the substitute contributes the first highlight of extra time, rising highest to meet a free-kick, but his header thumps the crossbar! Júnior then forced another corner with a long ranger, and from this one Derouiche produced a good save from Begovic. Not much happened until the very last minute, when substitute Cortellini tackled De Bruyne in full flow and laid the ball off to Júnior in his own half. The Brazilian dribbled at the heart of the Porto defence before unleashing another low strike, which cruelly hit the post again. The final whistle went and penalties would be needed to separate the two sides.

Przybylko scores, low to the right. 1-0 Porto!

Ngoyi misses, straight down the middle. 1-0 Porto!

Rodriguez scores, top corner. - 2-0 Porto!

Eduardo Anderson scores, top corner. 2-1 Porto!

De Bruyne misses, great save from Aiche! Still 2-1 Porto!

Ngata scores, low to the right 2-2!

Maicon scores, straight down the middle. 3-2 Porto!

Júnior scores, hammered low to the right. 3-3!

Guedes misses, another outstanding save from Aiche! Still 3-3!

Walber scores, sending the keeper the wrong way! 4-3 Rennes!

Rennes were Champions of Europe! (again)

Ugh... never again!

[rlipscombe]

phew....

[b101]

Forgot to mention that we also got the Goal of the Season through Ngoyi. Quite a nice strike too!

[video=youtube_share;iz5RQc3CU5M]

[B.W.G]

Congrats on the impressive double!

[deltablue]

Well done on technically winning the CL final twice.

[b101]

phew....

Congrats on the impressive double!

Well done on technically winning the CL final twice.

Cheers all. I dread to think what I'd have done if I had lost second time around... just glad that my conscience wasn't tested!

[AK22]

Great stuff! Well done

I bet that penalty shoot-out was pure torture!

[b101]

News just in: Jozef Prochazka masters teleportation

[b101]

Copa America 2019 - Argentina

Well this was just poor. We didn't look particularly impressive throughout the tournament, and I have to say I'm not enjoying the International scene. I'd like to win a trophy here, but it just feels so secondary to the work at Rennes. We utterly capitulated against Brazil in spite of taking the lead, and it was mostly due to two poor performances from Otamendi and backup keeper Tomasi. I'll give them their due, Brazil were exceptional, but we didn't put up the fight that we needed. I'll review whether I want to stay later on, but chances are that if I stay, I will abandon the 4-2-3-1 and just go to my usual Rennes tactic.

[deltablue]

Cheers all. I dread to think what I'd have done if I had lost second time around... just glad that my conscience wasn't tested!

It wouldn´t have been. You won it fair and square.

[b101]

Pre-Season 2019/20 - Stade Rennais

State of Play:

There wasn't a huge amount needed this window, although with both Nir Biton and Gokhan Inler refusing to sign for decent wages, our centre midfield was looking fairly light. A few others also left on free transfers, which has helped free up some wages. One of the major positives in focusing on youth is the lack of inflation on wages, although I expect Marília's next contract to be sky high after his improvements this season! We did manage to secure a few coups this window and strengthened the two areas I really felt necessary. Aside from that, my main focus was to sort out the backroom staff, but more on that later.

Transfers In:

The first to arrive was Claus-Dieter Kunz, who was signed back in January. His attributes are below just in case you need reminding! I am slightly concerned by his low attributes for speed and jumping, but I suspect that I can get these to around the 14 mark, which wouldn't be great, but would suffice. What really drew me to him though was his high attribute for bravery along with a few other mental attributes that are surprisingly good for a youngster. I suspect he'll end up as a sort of John Terry figure, but hopefully without the off-field issues! He's already learning from our main CB Raphael Lucas, who should push those attributes up even more.

The main area we needed to fill was the centre mid spot, which is one of the areas in this formation that I don't feel I've got perfectly right yet. Maarten Elsinga is a player I've been looking at for a while, and when he requested a transfer back in April, I became very interested. As a result, we got him for a steal at £8.25m, beating off interest from a few other well-known clubs. He's a proper all-rounder and adds something new to our team in that he could be a decent Box-to-box midfielder, and could also be a good tutor next year.

I had been declaring interest in Dieter Russ since he was at Salzburg four years ago, so it's great to finally sign him, and even better that we paid nothing for him! Whilst he has a fairly random distribution of attributes, he fits in nicely on the Right Wing, which was the other position I wasn't totally happy with last season. His mentals should hopefully improve with age, but otherwise he looks like a top quality player who could push us to the next level.

---

We also signed two more players who will arrive next summer. First up is Alexandr Malov. Having scouted around 1000 youngsters this summer (really clogs your inbox...), I only plumped for two. Malov comes for the bargain price of just £40k and has a great set of raw attributes. With Albano Bardi already impressing and Alfredo Cortellini also looking to make his mark on the ST spot once Ngoyi moves on, he has a few people in his way, but at the very least we will make a good profit here. The main aim first will be, as always, to raise his Pace and Acceleration a little higher, before moving onto the Creativity. His 15 in Heading is a total waste sadly given that he's 5'10 and can barely get off the ground at all, but with any luck I can turn him into a Hernandez-like figure.

The other youngster signed is fellow Czech Jan Buzek. Even with our star ratings dropping as we buy better players, the last 7 reports on Jan have all put him at 5* potential, so I bit the bullet and went out and got him. At £7.5m, this now means that I've spent a good £20m on possible future centre-backs (with him, Kunz and Morin), but again, his raw attributes are very good. He'll have a season on loan at Sparta Prague (I purposefully let that happen to get him a decent opportunity to improve) and when he returns we'll start working on that pace in earnest. The only minor attributes I'm not too pleased with are his technique, but more importantly his teamwork. I'm hoping that some tutoring should sort this, but ideally that will need to rise to at least 13 for me to be happy with it.

Trophée des Champions:

With the mainstays of our team off thrashing my Argentina side in the Copa America Final, a few youngsters got their turn in the spotlight, with Brossard taking advantage to score twice. A thoroughly professional performance here and 4-0 didn't flatter us in any way

[b101]

Tactics: Our take on the Mourinho 4-5-1

Knowing that some people find this interesting, I thought I'd post the formation I use and talk through it a little. As documented quite a lot in the Tactics section of the Forum, there is a big misconception regarding the Counter strategy in that a lot of people think it is just a defensive option. As you will have seen from a number of my results last season, this simply isn't the case, and I've found it helps create much more space as your team drop off that bit more when defending. The main aim of this tactic is simple: Ngoyi drops off and Júnior and Marília run forward to bombard the space he leaves behind, overloading the defenders. This is all based on the ideas Cleon and lam have expounded in the excellent Understanding your tactic thread. Seriously, have a read through, it helps your understanding so much.

That being said, this is a bit of my own stuff alongside what a few others have already looked at. There remain a couple of areas that I think could be improved, and there are a few changes I will make in game if I spot certain things. The main thing is however, that I am doing this after a whole season with the tactic like it is. For me, the changes I make should be based on a long-term view - whether something is not quite right over a number of games, rather than just in one game. We all know how many variables there are in football, and there are a number of reasons why something could be happening.

The Back Four

It's pretty standard stuff; I've never gone in for the Stopper/Cover combo as I worry that it leaves you higher on one side than the other which could be exploited. Whether that's the case or not is up for debate, but the simple two centre back option has always served me well. Then we have Ngata, the ultimate defensive left back, who has a support duty to give Walber an out-ball if need be, and Wegner, who is masquerading as a right wing back. Ultimately, Daniel isn't the man for this role at all, with poor Off the Ball, average Dribbling and Crossing and limited Creativity. So why is he here you might ask? Simply because I want him to get games, and he has less pressure to avoid errors at RB than at CB. Our two centre backs are also quite young (this is a trend), but Lucas is clearly the more complete of the two. Other than his Jumping, Derouiche is actually pretty poor here, and I'll be looking for Wegner to take over at CB next year. Walid actually peaked very early, if you look back to page 2, you'll see him in the most valuable regens section way back when I was at Lokeren, and he's never really moved on from that. Happily, Lucas is a rock alongside him and easily good enough to dominate most Ligue 1 strikers.

The midfield trio:

Surprisingly, there is no role here for Eduardo Anderson, who is almost as talented as Marília, but the key thing here is balance. Walber performs a simple destructive role very well, and I was always a huge admirer of the simplicity of what Makelélé did for José at Chelsea. Every team needs a midfielder to win possession back and just keep things ticking over and this is his role. Occasionally we may switch him to a support role if we're struggling to break the opposition down, but the main thing is for him to stop people running at Derouiche and Lucas. Just ahead of him, we have new signing Elsinga playing in a bog-standard CM role. I experimented with the DLP a bit last season and I far prefer this role as it gives him licence to go forward and support the attack. Here, it's particularly interesting to see how two different players play the same role. Elsinga (so far) has pushed forward much more than Biton tended to do, whereas when Doumbia comes into this position, he stays back much more and breaks up the play. I may try to have the Dutchman play as a true Box-to-box midfielder this season and see how that works out, but I've never had a huge amount of success with this role before. The platform these two provide however, allows Marília to absolutely destroy defences. His AP role means that he charges into the box fairly late or runs at defenders who are already having to deal with Ngoyi, Júnior and Elsinga, meaning that our little Brazilian maestro simply has to pick his option. The 27 goals he grabbed from CM last season shows how effective this has been.

The Attack:

Here we have a number of different talents and again, different players swap in and have a slightly different take on the various positions. For example, Russ is a fairly straightforward winger, but he edges out Eduardo Anderson due to his better defensive work. This role is far from perfect though, and I may look at a support role here in future to try to draw the opposition full back out a bit more. When Eduardo plays here though, he cuts inside, a lot - posing a lot of danger to the opposing centre backs who are expecting him to go wide. This is quite a nice substitution to make mid-match as it tends to throw the opposition off balance a bit. On the left side, all Júnior does is cut in. He gets quite a lot of efforts on goal (24 shots in 4 games so far!), but can be fairly profligate. I don't think he uses his excellent passing enough (possibly due to his average creativity) and again, I may be tempted to try a support role to force that a bit more. The danger here though would be that in dropping deeper, he takes up Marília's space - I won't know until I test it. Finally, Ngoyi makes up the final piece of the jigsaw. In tough away games, his role changes to a Deep-Lying Forward (s) or Complete Forward (s) to make him close down a bit more. As a Trequartista though, he simply drops into the hole and forces the opposition defenders to make a choice: do they come deep and leave space in behind, or just let him go? Either way is fraught with danger, with Marília and Júnior ready to bomb forward or Ngoyi able to do as he wishes. He's not perfect for this role - ideally he's a Target Man - but the space this provides is invaluable.