causeforconcern Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse, that is best known for its association football club, currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. Eintracht Frankfurt was founded in 1899. Frankfurt have won one German championship, four DFB-Pokals, and one UEFA Europa League. Since 1925, Eintracht Frankfurt's stadium is the Waldstadion, which as of 1 July 2005, is called Commerzbank-Arena for sponsorship reasons. INTRODUCTION Now rather than copy and paste a whole bunch of Wiki information here I'm going to give you guys the benefit of the doubt and assume you know how to find the relevant information for yourself if you need it! For those that do need assistance here is a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eintracht_Frankfurt to start you off. I think the main reason we make club guides is to try sell the club we're writing about and why it would be a fun or challenging save for us to play. So here is a quick run down on why you should give Frankfurt a shot... Pros - The first thing that attracted me to Eintracht was the very interesting selection of players at the club. While none are superstars of world football they do have a very competitive squad full of players who all have very particular skill-sets. While this may come at the cost of tactical inflexibility it will allow you to start your season with the pegs in the right holes. - The oldest player in your squad is thirty while the rest of your squad are mostly coming into their prime. Coupled with the above you are in a position to really build something without having to overhaul your entire team. - Not only are you playing with an upcoming side but also in an upcoming league. While the Bundesliga has always been of a decent quality it has lacked the commercial appeal of the Premier League, the storied history of Serie A, and the trophies of La liga but with the re-emergence of Dortmund combined with the juggernaut that is Bayern you have two of the top club sides in world football currently. On top of this the German national side is not only looking their hard to beat self but also playing some of the most eye catching football around. With huge stadiums, massive support, financially well run clubs and that typical German efficiency things are looking up for the Bundesliga. - You get to play your first season in the Euro League as Frankfurt finished sixth the previous year. - Two or three quite promising young players who could be pushing for starting spots within a season or two. Cons - As I mentioned above your players are very much suited to one or two formations with very little room for manoeuvre. - You don't have a wealth of riches to buy new players (in fact your transfer budget, regardless of ambition, will remain the nice round figure of zero) but fortunately you don't have any gaping holes that need to be filled. - A few of your quality players are in demand by bigger clubs. Whether this will affect things is going to be up to you and your handling of the situation. In previous FM games I've never been in a position where I've had to sell my prized possessions but perhaps this version will be different. Would certainly add to the realism. THE PLAYERS Below I'll go through the squad and highlight what I think are the stand out players. Goalkeepers You're well stocked up here with a brilliant young starter and a quality back-up. *Kevin Trapp - Another quality young keeper from Germany. At only twenty-two he should be starting for a long time to come. A good shot stopper with good mental stats for a player of his age. Given how long 'keepers develop he could really be world class. Felix Wiedweld - Joined on a free from Duisburg this season. Like Trapp is young with plenty more room to improve. While he doesn't have the potential of his competition he is a more than able deputy. On a relatively high wage (12.75k Pounds per week) for a second choice 'keeper so some of the more frugal of you might look to let him go for someone cheaper. Fullbacks A strong area of the team for Frankfurt with two quality starters both with decent cover. *Bastien Oczipka - While Jung is probably the better player at first glance Oczipka is the player that excites me more. A great attacking left back with an outstanding cross, good physicals and excellent preferred moves for his role (gets forward whenever possible, curls ball, tries to play way out of trouble, hugs line and avoids using weaker foot...okay so that last one isn't so good) Sebastian Jung - Called up to the German team this year in real life but has still yet to be capped. A quick glance at his attributes will tell you why he's rated to highly; great physical stats combined with a huge workrate equals a quality fullback. At twenty-three he should be at the club for a long time. Stefano Celozzi - A more than satisfactory option if Jung is unavailable. Celozzi has good pace with good technical and mental stats where needed. Not the most physically intimidating player though so beware of having up against an imposing left winger. Constant Djakpa - Not rated at all by the club but looks like decent enough back up for Oczipka. Certainly better going forward than he is defensively. Centre Backs Arguably a weak area of the squad although I think there is real potential in a Zambrano/Anderson combination as they are both of a good age and complement one another well. However you do lack depth. *Carlos Zambrano - The tough tackling Peruvian was linked with a move to some big clubs over the transfer break but, fortunately for you, has remained at Frankfurt. While suspect in the air Zambrano is very difficult to beat on the floor as he has decent physicals and is incredibly aggressive. His inclination to dive into tackles can be a little frustrating but he has the ability to win the ball more than not. Anderson - At a first glance doesn't look too impressive but makes up for Zambrano by being useful in the air without giving up too much on the ground. He's also incredibly fast which will allow you to play higher up the field. Marco Russ - Marco is your more typical centre back; a solid enough defender but not much else. He does however have decent speed which will allow you to not alter your tactics too much if he's required to come on. Central Midfield Good starters and depth. Rode and Schwegler are quality players and should do well playing in the middle of the park together. *Pirmin Schwegler - Rode is rated higher by the staff at Frankfurt and I don't doubt he will eventually be the better player but until then I think Schwegler is the more important player. He has brilliant mental stats that are backed up well technically, he's two-footed and has some great preferred moves for his position. He's let down somewhat by his physicals but this is countered by his midfield partner. A classic deep-lying playmaker. Sebastian Rode - Is highly rated in real life and rightly so. His great physical and mental attributes combined with a less-than-impressive spread technically makes him tailor made box-to-box midfielder. He will do the leg work that his midfield partner can't and has perfect preferred moves to stop him from overplaying things. Big clubs like the look of him so do you best to keep him happy and at the club. Johannes Flum - An obvious replacement for Schwegler in the deep lying playmaker role Flum combines solid stats through-out with some handy PPM's. Is equally your best paid player on thirty-two thousand pounds a week which is steep given I don't see him as a starter. Is very versatile though and given you are playing in Europe it may be worth keeping him the whole season. Also he's only just signed so you won't be able to offload until January at the earliest. Martin Lanig - A very interesting player in that he can cover a lot of positions and has the stats to cover them well. Excellent in the air and has the ability and moves to be a real goal threat. I'd be more inclined to use him as back up to Meier as opposed to other options. Wide Players Three quality options here, all of which can play on either side to reasonable level. I'd recommend playing two inside forwards as that would seem to get the best out of them. *Takashi Inui - One of a number of quality Japanese players currently plying their trade in the Bundesliga. Inui is arguably one of the best ones as he's extremely dangerous with the ball at his feet as his dribbling ability and speed will attest to. His brilliant combination of preferred moves make him an ideal inside forward and while he may not be a natural goalscorer he should contribute plenty through-out his career. His lack of strength and concentration can be frustrating at times but he's still one of the biggest attacking threats in the side. Tranquillo Barnetta (on loan) - For me he gets the nod ahead of Aigner as he is far more suited to the inside forward role. Despite having a good cross on him Barnetta doesn't look overly impressive until you realise that he is completely two footed- something that is incredibly useful to a wide player as he can comfortably take it to the byline and cross or cut inside and shoot. There doesn't appear to be a buy out clause on the loan but you do have a potential replacement in Sonny Kittel in the years to come. Stefan Aigner - Will be challanging Barnetta for that right wing spot and has the ability to make it his own. While he doesn't have any outstanding stats he doesn't have any huge deficiencies either and, like a lot of other members of the side, has great preferred moves and is comfortable with either foot. He is valued relatively highly at five million pounds so could potentially be cashed in on and replaced provided you find a buyer. Attacking Midfield One obvious starter and two potential replacements should give you plenty enough depth for the forthcoming season. *Alexander Meier - Quite possibly one of the most interesting players in FM14. Given his frame, preferred moves and attributes you'd think you have a fantastic target man on your books...and maybe you do BUT he's a natural attacking midfielder rather than a striker. It's not often you see a six foot five beast of a man playing in 'the hole' but given the new position of shadow striker (awful, awful name) I think we have the perfect role for Alex. His natural inclination to get forward coupled with his brilliant finishing will make him a huge threat in both open play and on set pieces. Jan Rosenthal - The new acquisition from Freiburg is yet another well rounded player with excellent PPM's and a good weak foot. While his wage is too high for a player of his calibre he's still a handy player to have and can cover both wings if needed. I think I'd rather take Lanig as back up to Meier due to his better finishing ability however. Strikers Definitely your weak point but one that should hopefully be bypassed by using Meier as your focal point of attack. While I'm not familiar with the match engine yet I think a 'false nine' would be the ideal role to complement the team. What constitutes a 'false nine' is probably up for debate but I'd want to see a player with a big work rate, good physicals and a high 'off the ball' stat. Sadly we don't have anyone in the squad that measures up to that so we'll have to make do with this lot... *Vaclac Kadlec - Kadlec has long since been an FM favourite due to his youth, ability and room for growth but he's now playing in a much harder league so it could be a huge test for him. He's not yet fantastic by any means but should improve dramatically if given time. Whether he fits in the system is debatable but given our lack of resources he'll have to be one of the few square pegs in a round hole. Srdjan Lakic (on loan) - Your classic target man; good in the air and plays with his back to goal. In the past I have had quite a lot of fun using a big man up front but it's always been in conjunction with another striker. Given our players, we're far more suited to playing just the one so I'd recommend cancelling his loan and twenty-three k per week wages. Joselu (on loan) - Hoffenheim spent almost five million pounds on the big Spaniard last season despite him never really playing in the top division. With only five goals all season he was loaned out to us for the coming one. Personally I rate him along side Lakic as being a decent enough player but not at all the type of forward we're after. Cancelling his loan might seem a risky move given our lack of strikers but I believe his wage can be better used elsewhere and we do have midfielders that are comfortable filling in up front should we need it. Youngsters You have two really quality players coming through the ranks in Kittel and Stendera but both start with long term injuries. The latter, who looks the more gifted, starts with a particularly nasty cruciate injury which will no doubt hamper his development. *Marc Stendera - The seventeen year old attacking midfielder looks like he could be a real star in the making provided he gets over his injury. A hugely creative player that will only get better with age. A change of tactics will be required but if he recovers well enough should be the long term replacement for Alexander Meier. Sonny Kittel - Awful mental stats aside Kittel has the ability to make that right wing spot his own eventually. His two footedness and ability with the ball at his feet make him a real threat in the inside forward position (which is worth retraining him in as he's a natural attacking midfielder) Marc-Oliver Kempf - While the staff at Frankfurt don't seem to rate him overly high I think he has the ability to make it here- at the very least as a back up option. Like your other centre backs Kempf has pace but not at the expense of his defensive abilities. FORMATION Well given your playing staff there is one shape that stands out significantly as the one to use- the 4-2-3-1 (or 4-5-1 if you want to call it that). Here is what I'll be using for the coming season: Given how attacking it looks I'd imagine I'll fiddle a little with my settings but ideally that's the shape and positions I'd like to use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
causeforconcern Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Awesome. A typo in the title. Great start there causeforconcern Can a mod add a K please? Edit: Thank you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
causeforconcern Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Played my first friendly against the Frankfurt's reserve side and didn't look all that impressive. Won 2-1 but created very little despite keeping possession well. - Rode looked very good, doing exactly what a box to box midfielder should. Very reminiscent of Jordan Henderson's performances this season. - Schwegler was also very handy although I will get him to be a little more creative with his passing. - Both centre backs were great but we were hardly playing a quality side. - Fullbacks didn't really get involved in the game and despite being already a little too attacking minded I'm half tempted to play them as wing backs. - The inside forwards were incredibly disappointing. Lost the ball consistently and rarely got into goal scoring situations. - Kadlec didn't get involved at all. - Meier saw plenty of the ball but too often in deep positions. I'm sure I can get him playing well given his skill set but I'm just not sure how! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I've actually been eying up a Frankfurt game since FM13. A reasonable challenge but they have some good talent. The zero funds was a bit annoying when I saw it, but then I also saw that Rode won't renew his contract and is leaving on a free, so he might as well be sold off the start. That money can be used to bring in a bit more squad depth at some key positions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
causeforconcern Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 I've actually been eying up a Frankfurt game since FM13. A reasonable challenge but they have some good talent. The zero funds was a bit annoying when I saw it, but then I also saw that Rode won't renew his contract and is leaving on a free, so he might as well be sold off the start. That money can be used to bring in a bit more squad depth at some key positions. Yeah I used them briefly in FM13 but struggled to really get anything going. Admittedly I was trying pretty strange asymmetrical formations so that most likely contributed. I definitely feel there is more scope to get them playing how I want with the new tactical system- although that might just be wishful thinking as I've yet to actually play a single competitive game on FM14 so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babak G Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Excellent post. I believe they start in the Europa League too, right? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
causeforconcern Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Yep they start in Europe! Played a couple more friendlies with mixed results. Decided replace my striker with a defensive midfielder so I'm playing a striker-less formation; won my first friendly against a very decent looking Sparta Prague side and then lost my second one to Mexican side Monterrey. Not convinced at all with the shape as yet so will do some more tinkering. I'm happy with the midfield but am still not getting anywhere close to what I'd like from the inside forwards and Meier. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelBrown Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Excellent post, really well thought out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
causeforconcern Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 Given this was my first save on 14 I had no experience with the current match engine so I learnt the hard way how incredibly difficult it is getting the 4-2-3-1 working! I've tried numerous things so far but all have resulted in a suspect defence while still being unimpressive going forward. I'll still persevere with the shape but I have the feeling I'll have to change things eventually which will no doubt mean dropping Meier- which is disappointing as he was one of the main attractions of using Frankfurt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
causeforconcern Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Right, given that fullbacks are completely insane on this patch I've decided to start again with three at the back. It's not ideal as it will involve playing players outside of their natural positions (something I usually loathe to do) and getting rid of some quality that no longer fit. I will sell Rode (not by choice but he is actually refusing to sign a new contract and is free at the end of the season), Jung (who is excellent but is not as good as the other options at right midfield...plus will fetch a large sum), and Aigner (who is decent on the right but perhaps inferior to Barnetta and is worth too much as a sub). The money spent will mostly go on a out an out defensive midfielder (I really like the look of Schalke's Roman Neustadter) and some competition for Kadlec (Julian Schieber starts on the transfer list and is looking good at 1.6 million). If anything is let over then I'll need another centre back as Kempf will be the only back up...perhaps a loan will do here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Adam Vass is available on a free at the start of the game and while somewhat limited, should be effective as a DM or anchor man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyJoe Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 One of the issues with your opening tactic is that you have too many players trying to move into the same space. Try the following - Inui Inside forward (Support) - Meier on Adv Play (Support) - Barnetta Inside Forward (Attack) - and try Oczipka as a Complete Wing Back (attack) for overlapping runs. Any signings needed? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyJoe Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Has anyone managed to resign Rodes? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conway85 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 About to play my 1st game of the season at home to Dortmund after deciding to start a game with Frankfurt after seeing their amazing stadium online :-) Here's my transfers & here's how my team lines up I'll keep you posted with results Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
causeforconcern Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 Yeah I think I'll give Frankfurt another shot soon. I couldn't really find a suitable tactic to make the most out of Meier but, like you, I think I'll go the winger-less route too. Will be interested to see how that tactic shapes up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conway85 Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 The tactic has been superb for me on my Notts Forest save. Drew my 1st game with Dortmund 2-2 after being 2-0 down. Gladbach next..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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