[FM23] THE CROWN OF ARAGON

[GIMN]

Wow!  October was sensational.  Such a packed schedule, and such phenomenal results.  That Omonia game with 25 shots and over 5xG is the kind of thing that football hipsters will be talking about for years.  What's your plans for the World Cup break?  A holiday in Qatar, perhaps?

[SteinkelssonFM]

December 2022

We are rapidly approaching the time of year where players with contracts expiring at the end of the season are free to discuss terms with new clubs under the Bosman ruling. At Villarreal things are no different with four first team players potentially set to leave the club in the summer. (Two of the players are here on loan deals)

1. Pepe Reina - it is doubtful that I will look to retain the services of Pepe as he is 40 years old, we have two young goalkeepers at the club Filip Jörgensen and Iker Álvarez who are both very similar when comparing attributes.
2. Raúl Albiol - The 37 year old has made it clear that he would like to explore his options at the end of his contract, whilst we would like to keep the 'highly influential' player at the club we won't force him to sign a new deal. Albiol has a header win ratio of 86% and has the highest pass completion rate (94%) for all CB's. He is the less riskier of the two as Pau Torres is completing 4.5 progressive passes per 90 compared to his 3.77.  We have Aissa Mandi (605 minutes played and Mamadou Fall, Villarreal C) to cover his departure, although transfer targets may need to be focussed on.
3. Giovani Lo Celso (Loan) - Gio is on loan from Tottenham and the harsh reality is that securing his signature is out of our reach, the player is on £200k per week at Tottenham and even his loan deal (£100k per week) is breaking our wage structure within the club , as the highest paid player is Francis Coquelin on £60k. 
4. Sergio Carreira (Loan) - on loan from Celta with an optional fee of £8.5m, the 22-year-old has only played just over 300 minutes for us to-date. He hasn't put a foot wrong but the fact that we already have two players who can operate as a right-sided wingback means at that cost we would only have liked to made it permanent if he was contesting for first choice, he isn't.

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World Cup 2022

Giovani secured 129 minutes for for La Selección at the World Cup in which Lionel Scaloni's side started the tournament exceptionally well, winning group games against Mexico (4-0), Saudi Arabia (4-0), and Poland (1-0).

There is no doubt that after this impressive form pundits would have been expecting Argentina to go deep into the tournament. However, this is Argentina at the World Cup! Their opponents in the Second Round (Tunisia) had read the script and a solitary goal from Jonathan Rivas was enough to send Argentina and Scaloni packing. 

Pau Torres (138 minutes) and Gerard Moreno (159 minutes) both featured for Luis Enrique's  La Roja in Qatar. Both Villarreal players didn't make the starting eleven for the 3-0 victory over Costa Rica, although Moreno was a 78th minute substitute for Marcus Asensio.

Moreno was selected to start the game against Japan (2-1), scoring and picking up the 'Player of the Match' award along the way. Still no minutes for Pau Torres, although a second yellow card for Sergio Ramos in the 94th minute could provide our player with a glimmer of hope.

Torres starts against the Germans in a game which Spain lost 2-1, a second yellow card for César Azpilicueta in the 43rd minute was not good news for Enrique's men. Moreno after his performance against Japan starngely was an un-used substitute. 

Spain polished off Belgium (3-1) in the Second Round, Pau Torres was subbed on for Aymeric Laporte in the 66th minute as Spain were 3-0 up at this point, again no Moreno.

Brazil in the Quarter Final, this was the end off the road for La Roja. Moreno started the fixture and was hauled of in the 61st minute for Álvaro Morata, whilst Torres was introduced for Laporte, again in the 66th minute. (coincidence)

Arnaut secured 249 minutes of World Cup football for the Oranje as Holland secured their first ever World Cup in the Middle East.

Arnaut was an un-used substitute against Senegal and Qatar, he made his first appearance in the last group game against Ecuador, Holland lost 0-1. 

The bench was his home for games against Iran (Second Round) and Tunisia (Quarter Final), although Louis van Gaal opted to throw a spanner in the works for the Semi-Final against Germany by opting to start our boy. 

The result, Danjuma scored the opening goal, Kai Havertz later scored from the spot to take the tie to extra-time and then penalties which Holland won, Arnaut not on the field to have his say from the spot.

He did enough to secure a World Cup final start and a Steven Berghuis penalty on the 52nd minute was enough to secure Holland title of World Champions. 

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So you want to find out how England got on...

The top goal scorer was shared by six players. However the Golden Boot was presented to Robert Lewandowski due to the player having the best minutes per goal ratio 62.65. 

@GIMN I hope that explains how I aimed to cover the World Cup  

---

Copa del Rey

A.D. Alcorcón 0-3 Villarreal

Four youngsters were called up the Yellow Submarine for the opening round of the King's Cup. Filip Jörgensen, Álex Forés, and Diego Collado were handed debuts, starting the match from the off whilst Alberto Del Moral was an un-used substitute...his time will come.

Jörgensen managed to keep a clean sheet, he faced two shots and held both. His distribution was accurate (92% pass completion) and the Swede made 5 clearances. 

Diego Collado took just five minutes to get himself on the scoresheet, he completed 66% of his passes ( a little low) and completed three dribbles. He was the most fouled man on the pitch, despite any bruises he may have had the next day he left the pitch after 75 minutes with a big cheesy grin. 

Álex Forés completed 86% of his passes along with creating one clear cut chance, none of his shots were on target (0/2) and he lost 66% of his aerial duels.

MOTM: Yeremy Pino (2 goals) 

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Villarreal 2-0 Almeria

We played Almeria off the park , dominating both possession and attempts on goal. Despite not picking up the MOTM award, my standout player was Yeremy Pino, the Spaniard was a real force down the left, he manged to complete six dribbles, two key passes and also was really intelligent at finding pockets of space to receive the ball and progress play through the phases.

MOTM: Arnaut Danjuma (1 assist) 

---

Did somebody say Youth Intake, an excellent intake which has the spine and flanks covered,

---

Two friendlies were played with a view to getting those fitness levels back up close to where they were prior to the World Cup. 

I have realised that I haven't been providing you with any of the usual ME analysis to date, the above image from the game against Union showed just how effective our shape is. The player on the ball has so many passing lanes available to him, this is enabling us to form lots of triangles across the pitch which are ideal for a possession based game. 

In this situation the ball player opted to play a ball over the top into the space for the IW to run onto, if you look at the far side of the pitch you will also see how narrow the player in the AMR slot is, creating an overload in the half-space. The oppositions full-back will need to close him down, in doing so the opposition will leave the flank free for the wing-back to move into. 

---

The return to the Estadio de La Cerámica

A NYE extravaganza, not only were the fans blessed with a La Liga game we made our return to our beloved spiritual home. I am starting to think that the game is bugged (yes I raised one in the forum surrounding the data hub) but we haven't lost a game since the 18 September. I know that will change going into January, I am absolutely loving the save and have re-ignited my love for FM.

MOTM: Gerard Moreno (2 goals)

I will sign off December with Moreno's second goal of the game, just watch Yeremy Pino. 

---

@albertluque @SixPointer I really appreciate you guys taking the time to comment about my writing style, appreciate the love shown. 

[SixPointer]

8 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

December 2022

We are rapidly approaching the time of year where players with contracts expiring at the end of the season are free to discuss terms with new clubs under the Bosman ruling. At Villarreal things are no different with four first team players potentially set to leave the club in the summer. (Two of the players are here on loan deals)

1. Pepe Reina - it is doubtful that I will look to retain the services of Pepe as he is 40 years old, we have two young goalkeepers at the club Filip Jörgensen and Iker Álvarez who are both very similar when comparing attributes.
2. Raúl Albiol - The 37 year old has made it clear that he would like to explore his options at the end of his contract, whilst we would like to keep the 'highly influential' player at the club we won't force him to sign a new deal. Albiol has a header win ratio of 86% and has the highest pass completion rate (94%) for all CB's. He is the less riskier of the two as Pau Torres is completing 4.5 progressive passes per 90 compared to his 3.77.  We have Aissa Mandi (605 minutes played and Mamadou Fall, Villarreal C) to cover his departure, although transfer targets may need to be focussed on.
3. Giovani Lo Celso (Loan) - Gio is on loan from Tottenham and the harsh reality is that securing his signature is out of our reach, the player is on £200k per week at Tottenham and even his loan deal (£100k per week) is breaking our wage structure within the club , as the highest paid player is Francis Coquelin on £60k. 
4. Sergio Carreira (Loan) - on loan from Celta with an optional fee of £8.5m, the 22-year-old has only played just over 300 minutes for us to-date. He hasn't put a foot wrong but the fact that we already have two players who can operate as a right-sided wingback means at that cost we would only have liked to made it permanent if he was contesting for first choice, he isn't.

---

World Cup 2022

Giovani secured 129 minutes for for La Selección at the World Cup in which Lionel Scaloni's side started the tournament exceptionally well, winning group games against Mexico (4-0), Saudi Arabia (4-0), and Poland (1-0).

There is no doubt that after this impressive form pundits would have been expecting Argentina to go deep into the tournament. However, this is Argentina at the World Cup! Their opponents in the Second Round (Tunisia) had read the script and a solitary goal from Jonathan Rivas was enough to send Argentina and Scaloni packing. 

Pau Torres (138 minutes) and Gerard Moreno (159 minutes) both featured for Luis Enrique's  La Roja in Qatar. Both Villarreal players didn't make the starting eleven for the 3-0 victory over Costa Rica, although Moreno was a 78th minute substitute for Marcus Asensio.

Moreno was selected to start the game against Japan (2-1), scoring and picking up the 'Player of the Match' award along the way. Still no minutes for Pau Torres, although a second yellow card for Sergio Ramos in the 94th minute could provide our player with a glimmer of hope.

Torres starts against the Germans in a game which Spain lost 2-1, a second yellow card for César Azpilicueta in the 43rd minute was not good news for Enrique's men. Moreno after his performance against Japan starngely was an un-used substitute. 

Spain polished off Belgium (3-1) in the Second Round, Pau Torres was subbed on for Aymeric Laporte in the 66th minute as Spain were 3-0 up at this point, again no Moreno.

Brazil in the Quarter Final, this was the end off the road for La Roja. Moreno started the fixture and was hauled of in the 61st minute for Álvaro Morata, whilst Torres was introduced for Laporte, again in the 66th minute. (coincidence)

Arnaut secured 249 minutes of World Cup football for the Oranje as Holland secured their first ever World Cup in the Middle East.

Arnaut was an un-used substitute against Senegal and Qatar, he made his first appearance in the last group game against Ecuador, Holland lost 0-1. 

The bench was his home for games against Iran (Second Round) and Tunisia (Quarter Final), although Louis van Gaal opted to throw a spanner in the works for the Semi-Final against Germany by opting to start our boy. 

The result, Danjuma scored the opening goal, Kai Havertz later scored from the spot to take the tie to extra-time and then penalties which Holland won, Arnaut not on the field to have his say from the spot.

He did enough to secure a World Cup final start and a Steven Berghuis penalty on the 52nd minute was enough to secure Holland title of World Champions. 

---

So you want to find out how England got on...

The top goal scorer was shared by six players. However the Golden Boot was presented to Robert Lewandowski due to the player having the best minutes per goal ratio 62.65. 

@GIMN I hope that explains how I aimed to cover the World Cup  

---

Copa del Rey

A.D. Alcorcón 0-3 Villarreal

Four youngsters were called up the Yellow Submarine for the opening round of the King's Cup. Filip Jörgensen, Álex Forés, and Diego Collado were handed debuts, starting the match from the off whilst Alberto Del Moral was an un-used substitute...his time will come.

Jörgensen managed to keep a clean sheet, he faced two shots and held both. His distribution was accurate (92% pass completion) and the Swede made 5 clearances. 

Diego Collado took just five minutes to get himself on the scoresheet, he completed 66% of his passes ( a little low) and completed three dribbles. He was the most fouled man on the pitch, despite any bruises he may have had the next day he left the pitch after 75 minutes with a big cheesy grin. 

Álex Forés completed 86% of his passes along with creating one clear cut chance, none of his shots were on target (0/2) and he lost 66% of his aerial duels.

MOTM: Yeremy Pino (2 goals) 

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Villarreal 2-0 Almeria

We played Almeria off the park , dominating both possession and attempts on goal. Despite not picking up the MOTM award, my standout player was Yeremy Pino, the Spaniard was a real force down the left, he manged to complete six dribbles, two key passes and also was really intelligent at finding pockets of space to receive the ball and progress play through the phases.

MOTM: Arnaut Danjuma (1 assist) 

---

Did somebody say Youth Intake, an excellent intake which has the spine and flanks covered,

---

Two friendlies were played with a view to getting those fitness levels back up close to where they were prior to the World Cup. 

I have realised that I haven't been providing you with any of the usual ME analysis to date, the above image from the game against Union showed just how effective our shape is. The player on the ball has so many passing lanes available to him, this is enabling us to form lots of triangles across the pitch which are ideal for a possession based game. 

In this situation the ball player opted to play a ball over the top into the space for the IW to run onto, if you look at the far side of the pitch you will also see how narrow the player in the AMR slot is, creating an overload in the half-space. The oppositions full-back will need to close him down, in doing so the opposition will leave the flank free for the wing-back to move into. 

---

The return to the Estadio de La Cerámica

A NYE extravaganza, not only were the fans blessed with a La Liga game we made our return to our beloved spiritual home. I am starting to think that the game is bugged (yes I raised one in the forum surrounding the data hub) but we haven't lost a game since the 18 September. I know that will change going into January, I am absolutely loving the save and have re-ignited my love for FM.

MOTM: Gerard Moreno (2 goals)

 

I will sign off December with Moreno's second goal of the game, just watch Yeremy Pino. 

---

@albertluque @SixPointer I really appreciate you guys taking the time to comment about my writing style, appreciate the love shown. 

That intake looks sublime 

[GIMN]

On 16/11/2022 at 11:44, MattyLewis11 said:

@GIMN I hope that explains how I aimed to cover the World Cup  

I think that covered it, yeah!!

You mentioned the tight wage budget - how do you feel this is going to impact your chances of keeping hold of your star players, especially with the goal in mind of building a squad with a majority of Aragonese players?

[Hootieleece]

Realistic thoughts about those four players.

Are you mostly going to promote from within? unless an Aragonese Player at another club become available in a desired position.

[Dereka]

Huge compliment for your posts! Not only are the updates themselves interesting and unique due to your approach, but you have a gift for visualization

A sidenote, as a Dutchie I love seeing the Netherlands (finally) win the World Cup in quite a few saves. I can only hope FM got this right

[_Ben_]

Echoing previous comments that this is utterly fantastic. I love reading about the way you get your team doing pretty much exactly what you want them to do - inpsiring!

[SteinkelssonFM]

January 2023

We enter the new year and are greeted with the bad news that Samuel Chukwueze will miss the majority of the month due to sustaining an injury to his knee in training...he has done a Nkunku.

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Villarreal 1-1 Real Sociedad

We were denied by Mikel Oyarzábal's late goal, but let's face it we snuck the draw in the game against Imanol Alguacil side. Real Sociedad managed to create far too many chances of high value, their average xG per shot was 0.11.

Gerónimo Rulli made six saves in the match holding three, parrying 1 and tipping the other. 

Sociedad made nearly double the amount of interceptions compared to us (37 plays 22), Igor Zubeldia (9) and Aritz Elustondo (7) leading the way. A key reason for us not getting the usual time on the ball, enabling us to progress into the final third.

MOTM: Mikel Oyarzábal

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Ponferradina 1-3 Villarreal

The fringe players along with potential youth prospects are doing well in the early stages of the Copa del Rey, Diego Collado scored a goal. Whilst the likes of Carlo Adriano and Alberto Del Moral also put in impressive performances. Given the fact that I have set myself the target to promote two players from within each season, these matches are all to play for and each solid performance put in will help aid me in my decision making process.

MOTM: Diego Collado (1 goal, 4 key passes)

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Real Madrid 2-1Villarreal

Despite being under significant pressure for the majority of the match, we limited Real Madrid to scoring goals from the set-piece. Both were shots with a high xG value, one header came back off the post for Mariano to tap in whilst the other stemmed from a clearance from Pau Torres which hit Mojica and landed at the feet of Lucas Vázquez who glided into space before slotting past Rulli.

Fer Niño scored the goal after Yeremy Pino ran half the pitch before playing a pinpoint cross for the striker to hit, the finish resembled one by Tony Yeboah...the good old crossbar and down.  Fer Niño now has scored 11 La Liga goals from 21 shots on target, meaning that if his strikes on on the money there is a 52% chance they will end up as a goal. His total of 41 shots in La Liga have accumulated an xG of 7.8, making his xG per shot value 0.19, incredible. 

MOTM: Lucas Vázquez

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The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Betis 1-0 Villarreal

Picture this, for the game I cleared the office, made a nice little selection of pick and mix sweets, and opened a beer. The scenes were set for me to sit back and enjoy the spectacle against Manuel Pellegrini's Real Betis.

We started well, playing what has become a brand of football associated with watching Villarreal under Magnus Steinkelsson. Seven minutes in **** hit the fan, Aïssa Mandi received a red card for a wreck less two-footed challenge, which would change EVERYTHING.

Have you ever seen a more one sided 'Danger of Possession' visualisation, we were put under severe pressure from Betis. The red card meant that our octagon shape, with all those pretty triangles was broken. On hindsight what I should have done was remove one of the wide players for to be replaced by the defender and then 'Focused Play' down the side which still maintained its shape. Always next time! 

We have Gerónimo Rulli to thank for keeping the score down, nine saves on the day from an xG of 3.08, he is no doubt one of the best Keepers in La Liga this season. 

MOTM: Aitor Ruibal

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Elche 1-3 Villarreal

It feels like it has been a while, a victory secured in a game in which we completed 42% more final third passes despite having less possession. 

MOTM: Francis Coquelin (had not scored this season and then just like a bus, two come along)

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Villarreal 1-1 Barcelona

Barcelona had the best form in La Liga whilst we were in 10th place going into the game which closes the month of January, the month which could be decisive when the curtain closes on the La Liga season in  June.

I would like to draw your attention the the xG story as the danger of possession holds no value for the game against Barcelona. Yes they may have had 18 shots, 17 of them had an xG of 0.14 or below, the one which didn't was by Marcos Alonso in the 92nd minute to equalise. 

47 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

I love reading about the way you get your team doing pretty much exactly what you want them to do - inpsiring!

Not quite a month of doing what I want them to. However a month which can be defined by one red card, one late goal and a two minute lapse of concentration. We didn't get the results we wanted, although we still remain undefeated at home in all competitions to date, which is a massive achievement.

MOTM: Marcos Alonso

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Transfer Talk 

As you will know from my opening blog The Crown of Aragon I am looking to prioritise signing players born under the cities within the Crown of Aragon. The view is to build a side in which the core (+51%)  is from the town/cities that formed this historic region, along with the promotion of two youth prospects per year from the Cantera. The likely candidates this year will be Diego Collado plus another.  @GIMN and @Hootieleece I hope the above and below goes a long way to answering your questions. 

However, I also want to adhere to a few key ideologies which current President lives by. In real life, Fernando Roig has a clear strategy which can be split into two parts when it comes to his overall strategy around transfers. 

One strand became the ‘recruitment strategy’, this can be basically summed up as Roig’s determination that each year the quality of the squad assembled over the summer before the start of the new season would be stronger than that of the previous season. The second strand is a transfer policy of "Buy cheap, sell dear".

Fernando Roig also has a simple rule in terms of transfers/receiving bids from other clubs, it goes by the name of the “3 satisfactions” rule. Basically this translates into a view that Villarreal do not ever need to be a selling club but if they receive a very good offer from another club it might be accepted if it met the “3 Satisfactions rule”; in that the transfer is seen as good for Villarreal, good for the player, and good for the buying club.

1) Good for Villarreal - the financial terms and conditions of the sale hold value to Villarreal as a club. 

2) Good for the Player - in FM terms transfers will only be explored if the player is keen on the move, other aspects of the deal may also be seen as good for the player. For example, the sale of Diego Forlan to Atletico Madrid earned the Uruguayan double his salary, an attraction for the player, he also later revealed that he left because he wanted to win trophies. 

3) Good for the buying club

When it comes to wages, Roig always recognised that Villarreal could not compete wage wise with clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona with budgets four times their own, or with ones like Atletico Madrid and Valencia who let their wage bills grow to be above their total income. Roig and Llaneza settled for competing with the rest, and talking up the non wage benefits of a friendly club spirit and a tranquil rural life. Villarreal’s wages to income ratio is one of the better (lower) ones in the league.

 

Transfer Bids

Manu Morlanes - £6.6m-£8.8m (proffered choice Bayer Leverkusen, the sale would not be made under the "3 Satisfaction Rules")

• RB Leipzig £6.5m - Rejected
• RB Leipzig £7.75m - Rejected
• RB Leipzig £8.25 - Rejected

When Morlanes was asked what makes Villarreal so special as a club and town, he responded.

@Dereka hope you like this little touch.

Jorge Cuence - Transfer Value £8.8m-10.5m (preferred choice Club Atlético de Madrid, the sale would not be made under the "3 Satisfaction Rules")

• West Ham £7m - Rejected

 

Future Transfers In

Joan González rejected a new contract offer from Lecce and also rejected the offers from Bochum, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, RB Leipzig, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Freiburg, and Marseille

The 20-year-old born in Sant Cugat del Valles a town north of Barcelona. He will ideally operate as a ball winning midfielder and olds a DNA score of 90 (4th lowest), although at 20 the youngster has time on his side to develop those key attributes.

The month of February will be a challenge for the squad given the high frequency of fixtures. Fans of both Villarreal and Valencia are blessed with another Derbi de la Comunitat as we square off again in the Copa del Rey Quarter Final, we actually play our rivals twice in the month. Lets hope we can get the better of them twice, especially considering they are now breathing down our necks in La Liga. I will aim to spend a bit of time in the data hub, now we are at the midway point and also carry out a bit of a post surrounding players and their statistical outputs...who doesn't love a baseline to work from. 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by MattyLewis11

[Deisler26]

I love the 3 Satisfactions rule. It's an excellent addition to the save!

[SixPointer]

A real scrap for the European slots already starting to form! 
 

Pino seems to be very well suited to the system! Will you be able to hold onto him…. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

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What is a baseline

A baseline can be any number that serves as a reasonable and defined starting point for comparison purposes. It may be used to evaluate the effects of a change, track the progress of an improvement project, or measure the difference between two periods of time.

Team Data

Whilst the above ‘Team Data’ can be a good source to help aid decision surrounding tactics and performance it isn’t the ideal starting place to carry out a deep dive when looking at individual performances against metrics, (stating the obvious).

Attacking/Defending Data

They do however provide us with a narrative which will reflect on the player deep dive. Briefly looking at the above team attacking and defending performance charts I know the following.

1. Attacking players will likely to perform above xG per 90 average for the league due to the overperformance of the XG per game value
2. Strikers will likely to have a decent conversion rate due to the high goals scored per game and shots on target ratio
3. Defenders will have a high headers won percentage, we have conceded lower than average per game and clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles attempted are not outperforming the league average. How are we succeeding in stopping the opposition, aerially.

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The above data fails to provide us with a fixed point of reference for individuals, which can be used in future for comparative purposes.

Player Data

The ‘Player Data’ is a great place to explore this. However, in my opinion there is one pretty big problem with the way in which the data in presented. It cannot be manipulated, I will be writing a blog after the end of the first season for View From The Touchline to show you how Tableau can be used to aid data manipulation.

The big problem is with this is different tactics will have different roles and these roles will have certain roles within the tactic. For example, as discussed in my earlier blog ‘Game Model’ width in the 4–2–2–2 is provided by the wing-backs and therefore I want to know how much distance mine are travelling along with how many times they win possession per 90 minutes. This in the data hub…not possible my friend, hopefully in FM24 the data hub will be customisable with drop downs to compare metrics of choice.

Anyways, what I have done below is pulled off the player outputs into Google Sheets and documented who is performing the best at each along with a Villarreal average. Knowing that we want to improve the squad year on year, we will need to make sure the average is improved, providing us with a much needed baseline.

GOALKEEPERS

The role of the Goalkeeper within the tactic is to keep the ball out of the net, simple enough. Gerónimo Rulli is doing a great job at this, he not only has a save percentage of 86%, but also is preventing an expected goal per 90 figure of 0.56. Knowing that a clear cut chance is worth 0.15 xG, he is stopping on average three clear cut chances per game.

Our baseline taking forward is that we expect all goalkeepers to have a save percentage of 83% which is three percent above the La Liga average.

CENRE-BACKS

Ok, so we play the ball out from the back and need our defenders to be good in the air due to having a trigger press set to ‘Trap Outside’.

Jorge Cuenca is the defender with the most passes completed per 90 with 90.08 and also progresses the ball the most per 90 (6.16). Cuenca is often played against weaker opponents to provide Pau Torres a rest, which could put his values under question…just a little context if you haven’t been reading through the blog on the SI Forum.

Pau Torres is leading by example in the air winning 89% of his aerial duels, whilst Cuenca is winning the most possession for us, at least 23 times per game.

When comparing to the La Liga average all of our centre-backs are performing either at average or above for hearers won, pass completion, and are losing the ball less than others.

We will want centre-backs to have a high pass completion 93% and at the same time win the ball back 20.79 times per 90, along with a high headers won value of 83%.

WING-BACKS

As previously stated we need our wing-backs to provide our width, consistently. Therefore there is a need to have an exceptional cardio-vascular system, the engine.

Johan Mojica is leading the way, running 14km per 90 minutes and all except Sergio Carreira is running over the Villarreal average of 13.5km.

If the wing-backs are providing the width, they will need to contribute play in possession across all phases of play. Therefore, the need to be a good passer of the ball to retain possession is also a must. Juan Foyth is our best ball player, with 89% pass completion. The La Liga average is for defenders only and not wing/full-backs so the value is going to be higher, knowing that many centre-backs like to play those short/safe horizontal passes to draw on the press.

One of the main weaknesses of the 4–2–2–2 is that teams are vulnerable down the flank, so you guest it, our wide players need to also be good at winning back possession. Juan Foyth again leads the way with 16.32 times per game.

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS

The central midfielders in our system form one half of the ‘Magic Rectangle’, their purpose is to protect the defensive line and also operate under the more advanced players to support recycling the ball when in the attacking third.

We need our central midfielders to be able to move the ball without turning over possession, just like everyone else. Francis Coquelin holds the best pass completion rate at 89%, whilst all players are performing above the La Liga average. The Frenchman along with Dani Parejo and Etienne Capoue are also winning the ball at the same rate as the league average.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS

The specialists, these players are operating in the half-space and are expected to not only create but also contribute to scoring.

Yeremy Pino is excelling in this area, the Spaniard has the highest non-penalty xG value of 0.33 and also playing at least two key passes per 90. This may not seem high but when looking at his clear cut chances per 90, he is not far off creating a clear cut chance every two key passes.

Alex Baena has the lowest sample size in terms of minutes played, yet he is also producing 2.03 open play key passes with a higher clear cut chance value than Yeremy…food for thought in terms of his usage.

Samuel Chukwueze is completing over double the La Liga average dribbles and nearly all players are performing above the Villarreal average for Pressures completed, showing the impact these so called luxury players are having at winning the ball back on average 7.23 times per match each.

FORWARDS

The Advanced Forward carries the teams main goalscoring threat on his shoulders, Fer Nino is proving that this added responsibility is nothing but lightwork!

The striker leads pack, he is outperforming his XG value by 6.33 goals and the highest conversion rate in the squad 28%. He has the highest xG per shot value 0.19, his average is above the clear cut chance xG value, crediting his ability to get his shots away in positions of significant threat, (this to me shows his over performance is less to do with luck and more down to his quality).

Gerard Moreno is completing the most passes per 90, no surprise given he played a large proportion of his games as the DLF, prior to changing his role to CF on support.

If we wanted to go more direct Fer Nino is also winning the most aerial duels, whilst Gerard is winning the most possession and completing the most pressures.

---

The Villarreal baseline (the average figures for all metrics) will be saved onto a separate excel spreadsheet so we can use them as a reference point when recruiting players.

I will then populate these on a yearly basis as the save progresses with a similar supporting narrative, like the above.

I just wanted to write this post to show you all how I use the in game data within my saves, specifically looking at KPI’s. Remember, as stated earlier in the post, each tactic will have its own pro’s and cons. You will need to understand the tactic if you want to gain the most added value from your analysis.

[Shrewnaldo]

God it's annoying that the game won't enable us to save these statistical outputs from season-to-season. I've done that thing where I keep a save file before the leagues reset so I can go back and check previous season's performances. Frustrating.

I also *really* like the idea of customisable Data Hub reports - both in terms of limiting positions and the statistics available. It would make Recruitment Analysts so much more useful if you could task them with doing that for other leagues. Makes total sense to tell one to go and "plot me a chart showing all the Danish wingbacks with >1000 minutes for distance covered by 90 and xA per 90" or a selection of stats. We really need that Data Hub interface to be available for other leagues

[Deisler26]

I think I'm going to start using the Data Hub more for signings from the league below. Might even limit myself to signings from Sweden tbh

[SteinkelssonFM]

20 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I've done that thing where I keep a save file before the leagues reset so I can go back and check previous season's performances.

This is a must mate, the only way to have a record of historical data on FM. Such a shame that they didn't incorporate it in this years edition...I thought they would have.

7 minutes ago, Deisler26 said:

I think I'm going to start using the Data Hub more for signings from the league below.

This is the thing mate, you can't. The Data Hub has its limitations and will only allow you to see data from within your league. This is not saying that it can't be done, you will just have to manipulate the Player Search filter and do it manually. I have an old blog which can help you with this...Using Data to Aid Recruitment  I will write something up in a few weeks to cover it again in more detail to show how other leagues etc can be added etc. 

 

2 hours ago, SixPointer said:

A real scrap for the European slots already starting to form! 

Things are starting to cook nicely. Going to be a sweet second-half to the opening season my friend. 

[Jsang966]

hace 2 horas, MattyLewis11 dijo:

Esta es una cita obligada, la única forma de tener un registro de datos históricos en FM. Qué lástima que no lo incorporaron en la edición de este año... Pensé que lo harían.

Esta es la cosa compañero, no puedes. El Centro de datos tiene sus limitaciones y solo te permitirá ver datos dentro de tu liga. Esto no quiere decir que no se pueda hacer, solo tendrás que manipular el filtro de búsqueda de jugadores y hacerlo manualmente. Tengo un viejo blog que puede ayudarte con esto... Uso de datos para ayudar al reclutamiento Escribiré algo en unas pocas semanas para cubrirlo nuevamente con más detalle para mostrar cómo se pueden agregar otras ligas, etc., etc.

 

Las cosas están empezando a cocinarse bien. Va a ser una segunda mitad dulce para la temporada de apertura, amigo mío.

Alguna forma que puedas explicar bien como sacar los datos y poder analizarlos a la hora de ver el rendimiento de los jugadores por métricas, así como lo haces aquí para que poder aprender

[GIMN]

A lovely write up on the data, and it's interesting to see how you approach key metrics for each position.  I'm encouraged that SI have looked to build upon the Data Hub in FM23 and hope that it continues to improve over the years - there's so much potential there.

[Lestri]

Really enjoying this. Great points about using data,it is  still frustrating we still have to involve external ways to get the output we want to see, but really good to see it in action. Which player role are you most impress with so far?

[_Ben_]

Big fan of that baselining and it's something I will absolutely need to do!

I've decided to use some simple indexing on Excel to track improvements year on year for each player, like this:

But it's absolutely what the game is calling out for! What manager, in real life, only looks at this season?! Also - whilst I'm moaning...what manager has to take into account the statistical analysis of their predecessor when they've taken over mid season?!

[SteinkelssonFM]

1 hour ago, _Ben_ said:

I've decided to use some simple indexing on Excel to track improvements year on year for each player,

I was only thinking of tracking baselines at unit level (like above) year on year. However, I am in absolute awe of the fact you have designed a so called 'simple' indexing tool which 100% will be more advanced than the name gives it.

7 hours ago, Lestri said:

Which player role are you most impress with so far?

I think I can answer this in two different ways, the player role which has impressed me the most in this year's version of the game is the Trequartista...I think this has been due to my intense focus on it, constantly pausing the game to see how it interacts with space. 

On a player level Fer Nino, in the role of Advanced Forward has been nothing short of exceptional...three stars current ability and absolutely breaking the game. 

9 hours ago, GIMN said:

I'm encouraged that SI have looked to build upon the Data Hub in FM23 and hope that it continues to improve over the years

I also share your faith in SI. However, I think the problem is those of us who enjoy dabbling into the data are already ahead of the curve and I think we will always need to rely on manual extraction to meet our needs.

@Jsang966 watch this space, I will get something up soon to help with those who are looking to dip their toes into the data to aid their analysis. 

Edited November 20, 2022 by MattyLewis11

[_Ben_]

15 minutes ago, MattyLewis11 said:

I was only thinking of tracking baselines at team level year on year. However, I am in absolute awe of the fact you have designed a so called 'simple' indexing tool which 100% will be more advanced than the name gives it.

Ha! Thanks. I can zip the Excel and the view up and share it if it’s something you’d use?

I’m finding team stats way trickier. I had tried to create something on the skin that’d pull all of the team data for the human team, and the AI team on the club page, into one, exportable thing but have had no luck whatsoever. Will keep trying as it’s something I feel could be super important. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

14 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

Ha! Thanks. I can zip the Excel and the view up and share it if it’s something you’d use?

Absolutely mate, get that bad boy zipped up. Joking aside, massively appreciated as I fully appreciate the hours that go behind setting up anything customized within the game and would be a pleasure to use. 

[FM Eire]

4 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Big fan of that baselining and it's something I will absolutely need to do!

I've decided to use some simple indexing on Excel to track improvements year on year for each player, like this:

But it's absolutely what the game is calling out for! What manager, in real life, only looks at this season?! Also - whilst I'm moaning...what manager has to take into account the statistical analysis of their predecessor when they've taken over mid season?!

This is fantastic Ben. As an International manager I'd definitely look to do something similar tracking player progress or regression. More so because of the speed that I will progress through game years. 

 

Matty, I caught up on this post this morning. I'd been following it on Medium but it's easier to comment here. I just wanted to say the depth that you go into is insane. It must take you absolutely ages. Hats off for being an inspiration! 

[SteinkelssonFM]

41 minutes ago, FM Eire said:

I'd been following it on Medium but it's easier to comment here.

Thanks for taking the time to catch up on the finer details. Make sure you hit the follow button below to receive content when posted...or daily, weekly to suit your individual preference. 

Edited November 20, 2022 by MattyLewis11

[SteinkelssonFM]

February 2023

Valencia 1-2 Villarreal

We secured our very first derby victory over fierce rivals Valencia, the players come from behind after Edinson Cavani opened the scoring in the 18th minute. The Uruguayan, despite his age was a real presence aerially, winning 60% of headers when paired against our centre-backs.

Dani Parejo equalised for us in the 25th minute during a sustained period of dominance for us, the winner came in the 79th minute and was scored by Nicolas Jackson.

MOTM: Thierry Rendall Correia 

The draw for the Semi-Final sees us up against Rubi's side, with the winner meeting either Real Madrid or Club Atlético de Madrid in the Final.

---

Villarreal 2-0 Real Valladolid

I opted the field a heavily rotated team for this fixture, no disrespect to Real Valladolid, we had a Semi-Final to play in a few days time. 

Looking at the xG story you can see that the mass changes had an impact on our cohesion levels as we struggled to take the game by the horns and perform like a team in the upper realms of La Liga should.

No guess as to what happened in the second half, the introduction of Gerard Moreno, Etienne Capoue, Arnaut Danjuma, Manu Morlanes, and Juan Foyth was enough quality to tip the tie into our favour. (That is just me being polite, we dominated the second 45).  

MOTM: Arnaut Danjuma (1 goal)

---

Copa del Rey Semi final First Leg

Villarreal 1-0 Almeria 

Yeremy Pino completed four open play key passes, impressive right. The Spaniard could have had so many more, looking at his Passes Intercepted you can see just how frequent he is playing progressive passes down the channel for the Advanced Forward. 

On another day Fer Niño would have left the field of play with the match ball, today the striker will just have to settle for his 84th minute winner. (His 20th of the season). 

MOTM: Alberto Moreno (1 assist, nine progressive passes) 

---

Mallorca 0-2 Villarreal 

Some key takeaways which highlight our dominance from the trip to the Balearic Island.

• 18 shots to 4 shots.
• 2.11 xG to 0.45 xG.
• 62% possession to 38%.
• 54 progressive passes to 25 progressive passes.
• 59 final third passes to 33 final third passes.
• 187 high intensity sprints to 165 high intensity sprints.

MOTM: Arnaut Danjuma 

---

Villarreal 2-0 Cádiz C.F.

If you think the stats from the game against Mallorca were good, this time we limited Cadiz to 22 passes in the final third, whilst completing 67.

Gerónimo Rulli has now managed to keep 11 clean sheets in La Liga, three behind Jaume Domènech of Valencia who leads the way.

The brace from Fer Niño takes his tally to 13 La Liga goals, ranking the striker in second place. However, he is still 10 goals behind Robert Lewandowski.

MOTM: Fer Niño (two goals) 

--- 

Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Villarreal

The trip to Madrid was one fixture too many for the rotated side to play, as we succumb to defeat after conceding a 77th minute penalty which Radamel Falcao slotted away.

Poor performances from Kiko Femenia (6.3), Jorge Cuenca (6.4), Alex Baena (6.2), and Nicolas Jackson (6.4) did not help our cause, whilst subsistite Giovani Lo Celso (6.4) could not increase the tempo as desired. 

MOTM: Samuel Chukwueze (1 goal)

---

Villarreal 3-0 Athletic Club 

We again showed our bouncebackability by romping home to victory in a match that helped widen the gap on one of the chasing pack. 

The first-half performance had me salivating whilst watching the game (always on comprehensive). Gerard Moreno's goal on the 49th minute allowed me to bring off a few players (Alfonso Pedraza, Francis Coquelin, Dani 'Two Goals Parejo, and Arnaut Danjuma) in advance of the Derby. 

MOTM: Gerard Moreno (1 goal, 2 key passes,1 assist, 3 dribbles).

---

As for the UEFA Europa Conference League, a draw against FK Qarabağ of Azerbaijan hands us confidence that we can/should progress to the Quarter Finals. 

---

Villarreal Valencia 

The second Derby of the month sees third play fifth, we were confident going into the game as we are on a 13 game unbeaten streak at home and were yet to lose to our bitter rivals. A defeat would see them climb above Betis into fourth place, and be only a point off us with a game in hand. 

After conceding a penalty in the 7th minute, thanks to a defensive error from Alberto Moreno, I was thinking that this could set Valencia up for a night they wouldn't forget.

Thankfully Dani Parejo and Fer Niño linked up well for the equaliser. The assist provided by Parejo on the volley is worthwhile watching just to check out his technique. Parejo then scored a sumptuous free-kick to give us the lead before Cavani scored his second at the death to wipe our smiles off of our faces. 

MOTM: Edinson Cavani (Chief party pooper) 

---

The league table is really starting to take its shape, Real Madrid are looking likely to be crowned Champions. Whilst early indicators are that one of either Betis, Valencia, or ourselves will miss out on a Champions League spot.  Diego Simeone will be fighting to ensure his team secure a European spot, or else his job could be at serious risk. Elche look down and out, whilst two of the bottom five could go down.

A tough March, given what is at stake. I am going to target five points in La Liga along with securing a place in the UECL Quarter Finals and a Copa del Rey Final, (not greedy at all). 

[Matty Aqua]

Question time!...

Is bouncebackability a word?  (sounds like it should be!)

Could you not set up manually as a view with these stats and percentages this within the game?

Great start to the save and enjoyable read - you seem to be enjoying the write ups and data digging side of it all too!, how many seasons do you think this save has in it?

Has there been any interest in Fer Nino or Pino from other clubs?, what is there current market value? and what would you be looking to sell them for?....also Rulli must be on the radar of some clubs?.

Who else is left in the Europa Conference League?, do you think you can win it?

Edited November 22, 2022 by Matty Aqua

[SteinkelssonFM]

8 hours ago, Matty Aqua said:

Is bouncebackability a word?

It is a word and one which can be found within the Oxford English Dictionary, the capacity to recover quickly from a setback.

As for the view it is something which is stripped from the in-game custom views which FMStag supplied, there are two reasons as to why it has to be exported. 1) FM player filters - these can only be done at positional level and not player, therefore if you have lets say a CB who is playing as a DM he will not show in that positional filter alone with others. 2) The custom views do not show averages so they need to be exported to calculate the baselines and also show league averages.

8 hours ago, Matty Aqua said:

Has there been any interest in Fer Nino or Pino from other clubs?, what is there current market value? and what would you be looking to sell them for?....also Rulli must be on the radar of some clubs?.

The only transfer bids I received in January were the ones which I documented within the update for the month. However, that's not to say our players aren't wanted.

• Pau Torres - Arsenal (Major Interest) 
• Yeremy Pino - Tottenham (Major Interest)
• Jorge Cuenca - Borussia Dortmund (Major Interest) 
• Manu Morlanes - Borussia M'gladbach (Major Interest)
• Alberto Moreno - Antwerp (Major Interest)
• Arnaut Danjuma - Inter (Minor Interest)
• Juan Foyth - Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund (Major Interest) 
• Nicolas Jackson - Bayer Leverkusen (Minor Interest)

We have the three satisfaction rules which must be met for a transfer - the player must want the mov. the club must be happy, for our key players, who all have minimum fee release clauses, this must be met. 

• Fer Nino - £22m 
• Geronimo Rulli - £27m 
• Yeremy Pino - £69m 

Now for your final question, who is left in the UECL. 

Can we win it, absolutely. I think when you get to the final stages in the competition everyone is in with a chance. However, we would quite like to avoid the likes on West Ham and Feyenoord. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

March 2023

First up we have a semi-final to play and the plan is to stick with rotating the squad to keep our domestic cup side consistent. Pepe Reina, Diego Collado, Nicolas Jackson, and Jorge Cuenca will start whilst young prospect Carlo Adriano will take his plae on a limited bench.

Copa del Rey Semi Final Second Leg

Almeria 2-0 Villarreal

Almeria overcame the first-leg defeat to defeat us and deny us the chance of a showpiece final. A quick look at the pass map comparison highlights our failure to have any impact in the attacking third with a large volume of our passes taking place in deep areas.

Almeria's goalkeeper played his part in keeping his team in the tie, making a total of six saves from inside his own box, these totalled 0.8xG 

MOTM: Fernando Pacheco (Eight saves).

Not only did we lose the game and the chance to win our first piece of silverware against Real Madrid in the Final, Giovani Lo Celso picked up a pulled thigh which will keep him out of action for the next few weeks. 

---

Club Atlético de Madrid 3-0 Villarreal 

A trip to the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano was always going to be a tough fixture and to come away with the result we needed to be at our very best.

We simply were nowhere near as clinical as our opponents in-front of goal with the following players not being able to hit the back of the net.

• Yeremy Pino 0.33 shot xG
• Jose Luis Morales 0.22 shot xG
• Gerard Moreno 0.24 shot xG and 0.32 shot xG

Whilst Atletico scored their goals from Yannick Carrasco 0.38 and 0.26, whilst Álvaro Morata scored from 0.56.

MOTM: Yannick Carrasco ( 2 goals)

---

FK Qarabağ 1-3 Villarreal

I guess the fans out in Azerbaijan do not rate football, as FK Qarabağ only managed to bring in a crowd of 2,545 for the tie. Fortunately, our travelling 245 fans managed to see us return to some much needed form, securing our first win and ending the run which spans over the last three games. 

Étienne Capoue was instrumental from the centre of the park, the Segundo Volante completed 80% of his passes, whilst chipping in with four key passes (1 clear cut chance). The 34 year-old also scored his first goal of the season. 

MOTM: Arnaut Danjuma (2 assists, 5 key passes, 2 clear cut chances, and six dribbles).

---

Sevilla 0-2 Villarreal

Eight games without defeat, Seville are the most in form team in La Liga ad the trip to Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán is a match which we quite simply can not afford to lose. Defeat could not only see us lose our top four place, the last time that happened was in game week six, but it could see Seville close the gap on us to four points, and they would still have a game in hand.

The FM God's have decided that we live to fight another day, the result means we can stop, (for the minute), looking over our shoulder at the likes of Seville. The result puts us nine points clear of the Andalusian side, who still have a game in hand. 

A goal from Dani Parejo in the 14th minute opened the scoring, whilst Alex Baena scored his second goal of the season, also our second to put the icing on the cake. 

Pau Torres put in a player of the match performance, his 16 headers won sees a return to his early season exquisite form.

MOTM: Pau Torres (80% headers won).

---

Villarreal 4-1 FK Qarabağ (7-2)

Four goals scored, the perfect way to respond to going one behind...goals that will do the world of good to the confidence of the likes of Manu Trigueros and Nicolas Jackson.

Manu Morlanes dictated the play through the centre of the field showing his ability and justification for his doubters as to why there is an ever growing list of clubs who are interested in his signature. 

Progression to the Quarter Finals has also secured the club £517k.

MOTM: Manu Morlanes

---

The draw sees us go up against Fiorentina in the next round, the Italian side managed by Vincenzo Italiano are 7th in Serie A. 

---

Villarreal 3-3 Espanyol

Diego Martínez's Espanyol team walked away from Estadio de La Cerámica with a point, showing their ability to effectively utilise the counter-attack. 

Looking at where we are conceding goals in La Liga in relation to goal timing, the majority of them are coming later in the match. Knowing how my players condition at this stage we can associate this to fatigue, yes we rotate players a lot, but currently there are only three players who have yet to hit 1000 minutes. Nine players have played 1,500-2,000 minutes, whilst my key players Fer Nino, Pau Torres, Yeremy Pino and Geronimo Rulli have all played 2,500-3,000 minutes.

It is pleasing to see that the majority of assists have stemmed from the through ball, the defensive block is proving effective when set which is reflected in the below image showing only two goals stemming from the wide channels.

---

It is time to strap yourself in as we now only have 10 league games left to play of the first season. Anyone between third and seventh IMO could finish in the top four, whilst Barcelona look like to be now the only challengers for Real Madrid. 

We play three of the bottom five across the month and the majority of these games are away from the security of playing at home. 

 

[SixPointer]

Getting to the nitty gritty now!

[Matty Aqua]

Elche just 1 win!, big match against Fiorentina coming up! be nice to get a big write up on it!

[SteinkelssonFM]

April 2023

Girona 0-3 Villarreal

An exceptional first 25 minutes against Girona in which we scored three goals and put the result beyond doubt. Dani Parejo scored his 12 goal of the season (six from the penalty spot). Given that he will be entering his final year of his contract next season, getting the 33-year-old to extend his contract is a must. 

Looking at where we are attempting most of our passes I would like for us to have a greater impact in playing football in the attacking third, as the majority of our passes are being completed just before the half-way line. 

I am thinking of trialling both of the following variables to see which has the grater impact.  

1) Increasing the line of defence to a much higher defensive line, if the defensive line are positioned higher up the field this in theory should see the percentage of passes completed in the 

2) Playing our double pivot in the midfield strata - potentially as BBM/DM or BBM/CM partnerships.

Keen to take your ideas on the above, along with supporting context as to which I should try first. 

MOTM: Fer Niño (1 goal, 2 key passes, 2 clear cut chances)

---

Villarreal 1-0 Celta

The recent form standings have Celta in 1st place while we're in 9th, this is reflected in the performance of the visitors who shared an equal share of the possession.

MOTM: Gerard Moreno (1goal)

Where did we manage to make our marginal gains in this fixture, the answer is in the air.

After studying the team analysis screens and looking at specific actions the headers won was one which stood out, as you can see we managed to win headers centrally across the length of the playing field. Looking at the images in a little more detail you will see that we won more of the ball in the middle of the park, meaning we were likely to be dictating the direction of the ball and having a better chance of wining the second ball. 

---

Looking to make those marginal gains 'Key Findings on Fiorentina' under the 'Next Opponent' tab within the Data Hub.

Their pass attempted visualisation is one which is similar to ours, with a high percentage of passes taking place before the halfway line, this is no surprise given their formation.

One of their weaknesses as identified in the scout report is that there is some element of doubt when it comes to marking, therefore for this game I will look to have our Inverted Winger swap positions with Yeremy Pino and also have both players 'Roam from Position' as I look to put the scots observations to the test.

Fiorentina 0-0 Villarreal

We secured a positive result away in Florence, the only away side to pick up any points from the first leg of the Quarter Finals.

We outplayed the Italians completing more passes (472 vs 295) and managed to get a total of nine shots on target which equated to an xG of 2.49, compared to their 0.58.

Looking at the key passes, dribbles and forwards, lateral passes completed you can see how the swap action enables players to have an impact on both flanks. 

MOTM: Pietro Terracciano (Nine shots saved)

---

Before the second leg we were hit hard by the news that veteran centre-back Raúl Albiol sustained a lower back stress fracture following a robust challenge during training, time for Jorge Cuenca to play out of position on the right side or will Aïssa Mandi simply slot in and provide cover.

---

Villarreal 2-1 Fiorentina 

We accumulated an xG of 4.59 over the two legs, compared to Fiorentina's 1.92 (0.76 coming in the 94th minute from Luka Jović's late consolation goal).

I thought that the Italians would have proved a tougher opponent and did think going into the first leg that they could well put an end to our European run. 

MOTM: José Luis Morales after going 15 hours without a goal, scoring our second and decisive goal of the night, he had to get the award.

---

Osasuna 0-4 Villarreal

We scored four goals from 1.3 xG, I think Osasuna can feel a little hard done by when reflecting on the final result. One area in which we did come out on top was the shots on target. However, as you can see from the link the home side did manage to get some good striking positions very close to goal.  

MOTM: Jorge Cuenca

---

Villarreal 4-1 Elche

Two goals in each half was enough to see of bottom of the league Elche, looking at our key passes it is clear to see that we dominated zone 14 and more often than not, the team to do this will end up coming out on top.

MOTM: Arnaut Danjuma

Before the game with Almeria we received notification that José Luis Morales would be out of action for the next few weeks after picking up a hamstring injury after striking a ball awkwardly in training. This should come as no surprise, given that six of our players are at high risk of injury due to excessive workloads.

---

Almeria 1-4 Villarreal

Almeria have been a real tough opponent this season with the likes of Largie Ramazani and Lucas Robertone consistently causing us problems, the four goal victory was a perfect way to exorcise the ghosts which stemmed from our Copa del Rey semi-final defeat. *note we have scored 4 goals in the last three games after making a few tweaks, notably playing on positive rather than balanced.

A brace from Fer Niño now takes the Spaniard to 31 goals scored from 22.57 xG, to amplify just how good he has consistently been, this xG has stemmed from 130 shots across all competition, leading to an xG per shot of 0.17. 

MOTM: 11. Samuel Chukwueze (2 assists from the bench) 

---

With five games remaining and the reality of potentially of having one of the hardest run-ins going, Getafe (15th), Real Madrid (1st), Real Sociedad (7th), Barcelona (2nd), and Betis (3rd). There is a strong possibility that we drop out of the top four and miss out on Champions League football. 

A semi-final against Serbian outfit Red Star is also straddles the Real Madrid fixture and could well see us secure a European Final., the other semi is between West Ham and Feyenoord.

If anyone wants to use the tactic, please feel free to give it a whirl. 

The Engineer and his magic rectangle.fmf

 

[Deisler26]

I don't think so, I think you'll hang in there this season

[Shrewnaldo]

Goals galore!

What do you think you'll gain by moving the double pivot from DM to CM? Intuitively, I would say that keeping it at DM is what you want in the 23 match engine. With the space in front of them, they should step out anyway but obviously I'm not watching the games like you are so curious to know what it is that you think is missing that shifting them forward would solve?

[SteinkelssonFM]

31 minutes ago, Shrewnaldo said:

I would say that keeping it at DM is what you want in the 23 match engine.

You are correct on this one mate, my thinking initially was by bringing the double pivot into the midfield strata it would bring a player closer to the Trequartista to hit. Yeremy is scoring well but in theory the Treq should be assisting more than scoring. 

I decided to simply change our mentality from balanced to positive and also change the right sided wing back (support) into a CWB attack, this makes Fourth/A N Other get further forward on a heightened frequency and seems to be improving the dynamic down the right. 

58 minutes ago, Deisler26 said:

I think you'll hang in there this season

It would be a shame to drop out of the top four when we have made fourth place our own for so long. 

[Lestri]

Cheers for sharing the tactic, do enjoy a sticky beak as people's tactics to learn from. Good luck for that final run!

[SteinkelssonFM]

May 2023

Getafe 0-3 Villarreal

The home team were reduced to 10 men after the 33rd minute after Munir caught Aïssa Mandi with a lose elbow to the face. Getafe managed to hold on until the 63rd minute when Nicolas Jackson scored the opener before two more were added through Danjuma and Gerard Moreno.

Nicolas Jackson should have scored at least two goals, matching his xG. Looking at his shot map you will see why, given his positioning when striking the ball. 

MOTM: Gerard Moreno (1 goal, 1 assist, 3 dribbles)

We received bad news in our inbox after the match, we will be without Alberto Moreno for the next 3-4weeks after the defender sustained a twisted ankle after turning awkwardly during a training session. 

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A few clicks later and a minor injury to Geronimo Rulli, a bruised thigh after a robust challenge one day before the Red Star game, not exactly ideal.

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Villarreal 3-0 Red Star

A perfect start to the two legged tie with Red Star, we completely dominated the ball and chance creation was sublime. Fer Niño scored a brace and now sees the striker the top scorer in the competition and a favourite to pick up a personal accolade, young player of the tournament. 

MOTM: Fer Niño (2 goals, 1 assist)

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Villarreal 1-1 Real Madrid

We needed to have faith in our teams ability, remember Real Madrid only managed to secure victory in their home fixture against us after falling behind and then scoring two in quick succession. We were the home team and we have become rather resolute when playing in our little town.

Karim Benzema put Madrid in front after 27 minutes before the decision to bring on Giovani Lo Celso for Fer Nino was justified within less than a minute of his introduction.

MOTM: Giovani Lo Celso ( a goal within 50 seconds of being introduced at the break).

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In other games Betis came from 2-1 down against Elche to win 3-1, thanks to goals from Rodri and Juanmi, whilst Valencia secured an away victory at San Mamés , thanks to a 52nd minute winner from Justin Kluivert. 

Betis play Almeria, Real Madrid and ourselves in the last game of the season. Whilst Valencia play Sevilla, Girona and Espanyol. 

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Red Star 3-3 Villarreal

I have decided to field a rotated team for the second leg, unlike the Copa del Rey we hold a three goal advantage, surely lightning couldn't strike twice.

We couldn't have asked for a worse start, the Serbians scored in both the 10th and 18th minute to really throw the cat amongst the pigeons.

Fortunately, Alex Baena scored in the 20th minute, which was quickly followed by Samuel Chukwueze (27). Youngster Álex Forés gave us the lead for the first time on the night. However, the hosts scored a deserved equaliser in the 85th minute to give their fans something to cheer for and enabled them to leave the field with their heads held high.

Giovani Lo Celso picked up a knee injury during the match which will see him ruled out for 2-3 weeks, we are starting to stock-pile those injuries.

MOTM: Aleksandar Pešić

The result has secured us £1.72 million and we play Feyenoord in the Final after they defeated West Ham 5-3 on aggregate. 

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If the sight of seeing Villarreal in the UECL Final wasn't enough, we have been alerted that the club are in talks of being taken over. Surely Fernando Roig wouldn't be open to ANY proposition. 

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Real Sociedad 3-1 Villarreal

The wheels could have well and truly come off, we played well in the first half at the Reale Arena, creating the most opportunities, along with having a fair share of possession and attacking third passes. 

Yeremy Pino gave us the lead and when Real Sociedad scored the equaliser the team imploded. 

The result puts us in a very uncomfortable position, we now sit outside the UCL places and are three points off Valencia who defeated Seville (1-0), whilst a win for Betis over Almeria (3-0) means that a single point in their last two games will secure them Champions League Football. 

 MOTM: Brais Méndez (1 goal)

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Barcelona 1-1 Villarreal

 

A draw at the Spotify Camp Nou is something which as a manager you should be proud of, especially when taking into account the XG for both teams. Unfortunately, the result is not enough for Villarreal after both Betis secured victory over Real Madrid, securing their place in the top four. Whilst Valencia drew with Girona, meaning our fate is in Espanyol going into the last game who need to defeat Valencia, whilst we MUST defeat Betis.

MOTM: Sergio Busquets

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Villarreal 3-0 Betis

We will never be able to tell if Betis and Manuel Pellegrini didn't give the game 100% after their recent result against Real Madrid secured them UCL football. The UECL Final also mean that we played on the Saturday whilst others played on the Sunday. I have always preffered to play first to put the heat on Gennaro Gattuso's Valencia. 

Goals from both Moreno's and Arnaut Danjuma was enough to secure the result and our position back in the top four, along with maintaining our undefeated streak at home at the Estadio de La Cerámica.

MOTM: Francis Coquelin

Valencia simply did not show up and Espanyol made them pay the price.

• 19 shots to 3.
• 3.11 xG to 0.2.
• 70 final third passes to 36.
• 3 clear cut chances to 0.

We can breath a HUGE sigh of relief, we have finished in fourth place, securing UCL football next season. This outcome will help us to hopefully secure the talent we have within the squad and also provide a significant boost to the coffers as we look to build for next season. I am also hopeful that the result and outcome will see the positivity within the camp spill over into our European Final. 

[Matty Aqua]

Good finish @MattyLewis11 you must have done some homework and have some players lined up for the transfer window?

So no take over in the end?

[SixPointer]

Doesn’t get any closer than that really!! Well done Matty. One big final to come?

[Hootieleece]

Great First Season! Is the plan continued consolidation next season and really trying for the title in season 3?

[ucdark]

Nice carrer, loved Villarreal when Forlan played there

[ashlfcowen]

I'm really enjoying these updates. Thank you.

[_Ben_]

On 20/11/2022 at 10:27, MattyLewis11 said:

Absolutely mate, get that bad boy zipped up. Joking aside, massively appreciated as I fully appreciate the hours that go behind setting up anything customized within the game and would be a pleasure to use. 

Here you go!

Stick the view in the Views folder and export as a HTML document before pasting into Excel. There are some basic instructions in there. Let me know how it goes and I implore anyone to message or tag me to give me any feedback - that's what will make it better!

FM23 Statistics.xlsx Statistic Export View.fmf

[SteinkelssonFM]

Villarreal vs Feyenoord - Europa Conference League Final 

The stage was set, Czech-Republic was the chosen country to host the Final in the city of Prague. The stadium was the Eden Arena (20,232 capacity), home of SK Slavia Praha and our opponents Feyenoord.

Arne Slot's side were one of the teams which failed to finish in a position for the knock-out stages of the Europa League and therefore dropped into the UECL. Looking at their form, HJK were easily dismissed, as were the likes of Basel and Union Berlin. 

The game against West Ham was certainly closer. However, the Dutch team never were behind across both legs which showed they were worthy opponents in the Final.

The game itself was fairly even in terms of statistics. 

• shots 7 to 8 (they had more)
• 0.75 xG to 0.89xG (they had the better shot quality)
• 59% possession to 41% (we played more passes)
• 55% ball share to 45% (we had the ball more)
• 136 km run to 141km (they ran more)
• 60 final third passes to 45 (we played more passes in final third)

Now these stats are lovely, but we all know gaols win games...

BOOM! 

Two goals both scored from the very edge of the box (Fer Nino and Nicolas Jackson) - I am planning on completing a season review with a twist which we will look at these two goals in further detail, for now you simply need to know that we are CHAMPIONS! 

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On 27/11/2022 at 14:53, Matty Aqua said:

you must have done some homework and have some players lined up for the transfer window?

I have been starting to pay a little more attention to recruitment since January, with a particular focus on a replacement for Giovani Lo Celso (loan deal expiring), to play as the inverted winger.

All of the above come from within the realms of the Crown of Aragon, looking at open play key passes Pablo Fornals leads the way with 2.06 per 90, his estimated transfer value of £38m-£45m is simply too much. Alex Collado (1.34) and Arnau Puigmal (1.71) are much more cheaper options, Collado could cost anywhere between £575k and £3.7m, whilst Arnau Puigmal between £10-£12m. Both have good chance creation per 90 and progressive/pass completion. 

Collado has a DNA of 91 (scoring really low on Work Rate 7) typical luxury player, whilst Puigmal  has a DNA of 97, he has historically played centrally. However, given my tactic has plays narrower for the wide men means he should be a good fit.

 

On 27/11/2022 at 15:19, Hootieleece said:

Is the plan continued consolidation next season and really trying for the title in season 3?

The plan is to improve season by season, I don't think we are anywhere near being title ready , ideally another top four finish would be grand.

To stay in the Top 6 financially, they have to perform in the Top 4 on the park. Every year they will have to perform above their financial weight, and outperform at least two of the better resourced Top 6 or they will be unable to sustain their Top 6 position, lose their better players and risk starting a downward spiral. 

Also, let's not forget that Villarreal have never won a national trophy. They have never won La Liga, or the Copa Del Rey. Neither of their two promotions to La Liga were as Second Division Champions.

When they finished in second place back in 2008 Fernando Roig invented the Vice Championship and produced the banners, scarves and related memorabilia so that the fans had something to celebrate. 

 

@SixPointer @ucdark @ashlfcowen thanks for taking the time to read and comment, thankful for the engagement on the thread from each and everyone of you.

 

@_Ben_ at the point where I can now get the data locked in, thanks so much for sharing, you are simply a one of one. 

 

 

[Shrewnaldo]

Boom indeed, great work on the trophy 👍

How has Chukwueze been? I've only noticed him in your updates off the bench or in the rotated game in Serbia. Is he playing second fiddle? 

[SixPointer]

European trophy ✅  👏🏻👏🏻

[john1]

Well done on winning Conference League  Also what an amazing write up you are currently doing!

[SteinkelssonFM]

6 hours ago, Shrewnaldo said:

How has Chukwueze been?

Samuel has indeed played a second fiddle to Yeremy. However, he has still managed to rack up 2116 minutes of football in 2022/23. 

He has contributed to a total of 14 goals (five goals and nine assists) across all competitions, along with leading our dribbles per 90 output at 4.6.

This is again highlighted when looking in the Data Hub, he is dribbling more than any player in La Liga but losing the ball the most.

I have flirted with the idea of changing formation to a 4-2-3-1 to integrate him into the side Danjuma, Pino, and Samuel across the AM strata. However, this would mean losing Moreno from the attacking line...something which I am not yet quite prepared to do.

Maybe I will trail it for a few Copa del Rey matches in season two.

5 hours ago, SixPointer said:

European trophy ✅

Yeah boi! Although, not one of the ones which I had my mind set on when writing up the save objectives. Europe League will absolutely tick that box for me.

5 hours ago, john1 said:

Well done on winning Conference League  Also what an amazing write up you are currently doing!

No, thank you Sir for taking the time to be a part of the journey. 

[SteinkelssonFM]

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I have finally managed to complete season one, I must admit the slow burner approach is certainly adding value to the save and enabling me to fully immerse myself into the wonderful world of Villarreal. 

When I wrote the introductory blog post to The Crown of Aragon series, one of the seven save objectives was to develop a new club legend. The player who I put all my faith in was Yeremy Pino, this was after modelling him against Santi Cazorla from back in 2007/08 as a Wide Playmaker.

THE SUBJECT: YEREMY PINO

The Spaniard’s early season form in this role was good, he averaged 60+ passes per game, helping to progress play from the build-up phase of play to the creation phase. The role when watching in isolation really is great at finding pockets of space to receive a pass and either link play or look to play a killer ball. 

Initially I had also given Yeremy the ‘Player Instruction’ to mark the oppositions Left-Back in order to ensure we had a strong defensive solidity (In order to build any house, you need strong foundations). 

After watching many a game (I am a comprehensive player), I started to believe there was a slight issue with Yeremy operating from such a deep starting place. He often only had one forward pass the killer ball through to the Advanced Forward, with the AI in this years game better than ever before, I needed to make a change.

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THE FANTASISTA

The Fantasista is an icon, one which is often worshiped by his fans, hated by others, yet secretly adored. They are the symbol of all things expressive — the creative genius. As the conductor of the team, if he fails to function, the team's performance often suffers as a whole. At the height of his power no other player could come close to his natural talent on the football pitch.

The Fantasista usually possesses unrivalled technique (17), sublime close control (15) and dribbling skills (17). Exceptional vision (15) and possessed a sixth sense in terms of awareness and ability to inspire. They could both score and supply goals, and often finished amongst the highest scorers of their team along with chipping in with an abundance of assists.

I am not quite sure how this didn’t click earlier, one of my all-time favourite players from way back when, the days of Championship Manager, Juan Roman Riquelme, had donned the shirt of the Yellow Submarine. This should have been the player which I aimed to model Yeremy Pino on, as he too played under Manuel Pellegrini.

Riquelme played in 35 of Villarreal’s 38 La Liga games in 2004/05 and scored a remarkable total of 16 goals. Even more importantly, he created the situations where new signing Diego Forlan was able to score 25 goals, laying on many direct assists as well as setting others up.

Riquelme’s magnificent form all season was noticed in both Spain and the rest of the world. In Spain he received the prestigious Don Ballon award for best and most consistent player of the season. He was one of the handful of world class players nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

Quote

He could slow a fast game down; speed up a slow one; hide the ball from sight with close control; send it to exactly where he wanted it; remove opposition players from the game with a twist of his hips; see three moves ahead and be there to score. He was the perfect example of a vanished breed, a midfield maestro who could dictate any game, impose his wishes, bend it to his shape, determine the outcome through his own efforts. Undoubtedly a World Class player.

Riquelme retained fine form in season 2005–2006 and helped Villarreal finish top of their Champions League Group, knocking Manchester United out the tournament in the process. He ran the show as Villarreal outclassed Glasgow Rangers, and then outplayed and outfought Inter Milan to reach the semi-finals. Fate intervened to ensure that Riquelme’s name will always be remembered for missing a last-minute penalty in the second leg match against Arsenal, one which if he scored the momentum was with the Yellow Submarine going into extra-time, where Arsenal well and truly had nothing left to give.

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THE NUMBER 10

Those of my regular followers will know that I love to reference a coaches UEFA Pro thesis from the Italian Football Federation (Characteristics of the trio in a three-man midfield — Massimiliano Allegri), this blog is no different. 

Roberto Mancini in 2000/01 devoted his professional coach certification to the role of the trequartista and was titled ‘The Number 10’.

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The magic of the number 10 comes from the trequartista’s feet, the player of inventiveness, the one who is capable of wrong-footing “everyone with a piece of skill perhaps he is not even fully aware of.”

Mancini highlighted that this special kind of player had to possess great technical skills and the following specific characteristics. Some of these will be demonstrated through our choice subject Yeremy Pino.

• sublime unmarking qualities;

Pino has an incredible ability to find space, and he does so in a rather unique way. Rather than charge around the final third looking for gaps in the opposition’s structure, he will walk at an almost leisurely pace while everyone else uses up energy either looking to get on the ball, making off-the-ball runs, or retaining their team’s shape. Every other player moving faster than him means he ends up in space.

• great basic technical skills and good applied technique quality;

The below video is taken from our home game against Elche, here Yeremy shows great technical skill, receiving the ball in the half-space facing away from goal. He uses his vision to spot the run of Arnaut Danjuma off the back of the defender and swivels on a sixpence, clipping the ball directly into the path of the Dutchman, who slots the ball away. 

• unpredictability;

This is something which I have found hard to capture in either a still or a video. Therefore, I would like to explain to what I feel makes Yeremy Pino so hard to play against, my assumptions have come from watching him in great detail. His change of speed, particularly from a standing start, is what makes him stand out, he is an explosive player — he often stands still when receiving a pass in an attempt to draw his opponent in before bursting away from them with a shoulder feint to leave them off balance.

• ability to serve the strikers with ease in various ways;

The above image taken from our Europa Conference League Final victory over Feyenoord is a great example of how Pino has serviced our Advanced Forward, time and time again.

Yeremy receives the ball in a pocket of space between the defensive and midfield line and plays a 45-degree pass into the abyss behind the backline. The Advanced Forward doing what he does best, chases down the pass and fires the ball past the keeper.

Just to show you the frequency of the above pass, I have filtered the in-game analysis for Yeremy. The above shows key passes (yellow), unsuccessful passes (orange), and progressive passes completed (black). See how the Trequartista is mainly operating in the half-space, using the pocket as a base for playing the same style of pass on repeat.

• predisposition to dribble and individual play;

The above has to be one of my favourite goals of the season, Yeremy receives the ball from deep, before progressing play by going on a progressive run (dribble). He then plays a sweet one-two with the Advanced Striker, before playing a precision 45 degree pass through to the Support Striker who scores the goal. 

• poor attitude to the defensive phase.

The player role description of the Trequartista states the following.

Quote

While similar to the Advanced Playmaker in that he aims to drop into the holes between the opposition's midfield and defence, the Trequartista does far less defensively and simply drifts around looking for space when his team is not in possession. 

A prime example of this can be found in the below image taken from a game against Real Madrid. Firstly, I would like to draw your attention to Arnaut Danjuma and his defensive positioning, you can see he has Nacho in close proximity, this is not the case for Yeremy who has let David Alba drift inside un-marked.

As play progresses on Asensio cuts the ball back to Alba who is in a position on the edge of the box to pick up the pass with both time and space to do whatever he pleases. 

A nice statistic to compare the two roles of Danjuma (Inverted Winger) and Yeremy Pino is the possession won per 90. The Inverted Winger (8.72 per 90) is winning 41.5% more ball than the Trequartista (6.16), who is living up to the role description. 

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SEASON ONE

The above visualisation compares all creative wingers in La Liga against Yeremy’s outputs, the radar shows that the Spaniard is outperforming players in La Liga who are playing in similar areas of the pitch and of a similar role. 

In fact, he is outperforming all metrics apart from Crosses Completed (we don’t want him crossing the ball) and his pass completion rate (expected given the fact we want him to be trying to play those high-risk balls on a frequent basis. 

Thats not to say that he is all waste, looking at the detailed statistics, Yeremy finished La Liga ranked in second place for open play key passes. He was sandwiched between Pedri and Vinicius Junior, both players have a higher pass completion rate than Pino who finished at 75%.

Yeremy did however finish as La Liga’s best player in terms of open play expected assists. This metric measures the likelihood that a given pass will become an assist. It rewards players who pass into dangerous areas, regardless of whether the receiver takes a shot or not. 

The below shows how goal contributions (goals and assists) were shared amongst our best XI. Yeremy Pino finished in second place with 13 goals and 10 assists.

Whilst I am happy with this, I would like to see him secure a greater number of assists compared to goals scored, although I would like both outputs to be stay in the double figure realms.

I am also hoping that the tactical tweak to the right-sided wing-back to Complete Wing-Back on Attack will help to contribute to this target. This change will provide an overlapping option for Yeremy on an increased frequency, providing him with another progressive outlet, or enable him more time/space to pick play his killer pass as the CWB will provide the defensive unit another problem. 

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LA FURIA ROJA — THE NATIONAL TEAM

Does Spain really hold football’s greatest number in high esteem?

Whilst Spain is now blessed with a plethora of highly technical, diminutive playmakers, prior to this current golden generation the country arguably hadn’t produced that stand-out superstar in the role – something that is in stark contrast when viewed alongside other Latin countries such as Brazil, Italy, France and Argentina who can boast the likes of Zico, Baggio, Platini and Maradona…the list could go on and on

Culturally, the country wasn’t as obsessed with the essence of a 10, looking back at an analysis of the mental attributes within the ‘Furia Roja’, you will see that spirit (Determination), work ethic (Work Rate) and teamwork were the truly valued attributes. Two of these work rate and teamwork are attributes which do not hold high value for our Fantasista. 

Furthermore, whilst there was an appetite in Spain for players of vision and high technical quality, conversely it showed that the country wasn’t consistently producing their very own top-notch mediapunta – the Spanish term for the number 10; or simply, the Diez, the historical preference was to obtain these by transfer.

Currently Yeremy has four caps for the national team — none of which have come during my tenure as Villarreal Manager. Pedri has been both Luis Enrique’s and Roberto Martínez’ preferred choice, the 20-year-old has scored eight goals across 2022/23 and contributed with 11 assists.

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THE FUTURE

Looking at Yeremy a season on from the start of the save, he has learnt the player trait ‘Runs With Ball Often’, I wanted him to take advantage of his dribbling ability (17) and flair (16).

He is now training to develop the trait ‘Tries Killer Balls Often’ before I look to start him on his next trait. 

The above shows Yeremy’s progression across the year, he has improved the on the following attributes: dribbling, finishing, first touch, technique, composure, off the ball, vision, acceleration, and balance. 

The beauty of finishing La Liga in fourth place and securing Champions League football, we have agreed a bumper new five-year contract with Yeremy Pino, worth £16m.

I am looking forward to seeing how he performs next season, along with if we can sustain our position in La Liga and secure another top four finish. 

 

[Hootieleece]

Tries killer balls is the first trait I ty to train for any player I deem a "Playmaker".

To be Fantista/Trequarista I think it would be imperative.

Might want to add tries tricks and curls the ball

[SixPointer]

Lovely write you matty. Love how you come away from the standard updates to give insight into certain things. Keeps things very interesting 

[GIMN]

Oooo - I am a big fan of a wide Trequartista, although in recent years find that the try to play that killer ball a bit too frequently or, more specifically, when the option isn't on.  How has Pino's decision making been in that regard?