[FM23] Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment - (Season 2, Uthongathi, South Africa)

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

A journeyman save starting in an English-speaking foreign country, utilising NFL (and maybe NBA) concepts within the tactical design, and a series of arbitrary rules to make the game unnecessarily harder.

The Manager

Meet Callum Peters.  An AI generated face (https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/) attached to a moniker plucked from the most common British baby names in 1997.  And that is where our story begins.  Born in Barking on 28th January 1997, Callum Peters was considered a prodigious talent from a young age.  With a remarkably well developed first touch and a considerable burst of pace, there were many coaches at the Senrab Academy who had singled out Peters as their greatest ever prospect and possibly, dare they say it, England's next superstar winger. 

Senrab probably didn't hold the reputation it once had anymore, but their connections still ran deep within the game.  And, so it was, former Alumni Jason Tindall convinced the hierarchy at Bournemouth's academy to court Peters talent and bring him to the south coast at the tender age of 16.  Bournemouth had just been promoted to the Championship, and whilst they didn't necessarily have the allure of the bigger London clubs also interested in his services, there was a clear path to the first team.  If he got his head down and worked hard on developing his all-round game, Peters was told that they wanted him to take part in pre-season training with the first team for the following season.

But disaster struck.  Only 3 days into his Bournemouth career, Peters tore his ACL.  By the time he had recovered, he was now 17 and lost almost an entire year's development.  He did manage to get some game time for the U18s, and was able to show flashes of brilliance, but it was clear something wasn't quite right.  A series of injuries followed, including another significant ACL tear.  At age 19, Peters gave up his professional football dream and retired from playing.

It was now 2016.  England's St George's Park had been open for 4 years, and as part of an initiative to help support players who had to retire early, Peters enrolled on their coaching training courses.  Whilst things hadn't quite gone to plan, the brass at Bournemouth were still impressed with Peters' determination.  A coaching role in the U18 set-up was offered, as Peters worked towards his coaching badges.  For the next 4 years, Peters worked diligently, absorbing what he could from his seniors, whilst he secured his qualifications.

When Eddie Howe left in August 2020, Peters felt this was the right time to branch out.  During those days on the physio table, he'd often found himself staying up late, watching sport from all over the world.  In particular, he developed an interest in Basketball and American Football and was often fascinated about the set-play nature of the games.  He wasn't sure exactly how, but felt there was something to be learned from how teams script certain patterns of play and how this can setup opportunities later on in games.  Now it's often said, "it's not what you know, it's who you know", and this certainly was the case for Peters.  The Senrab network once again came in handy - helping Peters to get in touch with the Kroenke Group and arrange a whirlwind two year internship across some of their US franchises.  Spells with the LA Rams, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rapids followed. 

Peters was ready.  Still only 25-years old, but with 6 years of coaching experience under his belt, he wanted to take the next step.  Having moved away from home at 16, and then moved out of the country at 23, he was willing to go wherever necessary to secure his first Head Coaching vacancy...

The manager profile is as above.  Based on the backstory, he is a qualified coach, and technically would've been considered a professional footballer.  As a gifted winger, his strength lies in attacking and technical areas - although it felt appropriate to boost fitness, too - as he would've learnt a lot during prolonged recovery periods.

The Setup

The aim is to start in one of the loaded Asian countries or South Africa, and eventually work my way back home.  I would also accept an initial job in the Americas if offered (considering I have "experience" in that area of the world).  I will not be applying for jobs in Europe for my first job.  I will add and delete leagues during the course of the save that might seem logical paths back to Europe.  For example, if I end up in Australia, I will load Greece and Croatia as, anecdotally, there seems to be a significant diaspora for those countries within Australia.

The Rules

General Rules

• Attributes obscured using my "graphical attribute" skin which removes numbers and groups attributes as either Excellent, Good, Average or Poor
  • Some pages, such as the attribute progress development graph, will be disabled
• Stats available during games to be tied to analyst level
  • No analysts: Dugout only
  • Basic analysis: Match overview & opposition formation
  • Intermediate analysis: Match stats & player stats
  • Advanced analysis: Heat maps, pass maps, match momentum, etc...

Staff Hiring Rules

• Job Centre adverts/applications
• Staff recommendations
• "The Little Black Book"
  • Coaches I've previously worked with in-game
  • A custom shortlist of coaches who worked for Bournemouth 2012-2020 and Colorado Rapids 2021-22

Player Signing Rules

• Organic target identification
  • Scouted players
  • Staff recommendations
  • Agent offers
  • News articles
  • Trial days
  • Players who've played against me
  • Players I've previously managed
  • Players it is realistic to know
    • I'm likely to know who Cristiano Ronaldo is
    • I'm likely to know the top scorer in the league I'm managing
    • I'm not likely to know the back-up right-back for a second division team in a country I'm not working in, unless they've got a high reputation
• Delegated responsibility, when I have appropriate staff
  • Chief Scouts will set up assignments
    • I can make recommendations in recruitment meetings
  • DoF will negotiate bids/contracts
    • I can add transfer targets
  • HoYD will negotiate youth contracts (both signings and renewals)

Key

With attributes obscured, this info is vital.  The darker the box, the better a player is in that area.  I have also reduced the Excellent threshold and increased the Average threshold from the game's base settings.

Edited January 14, 2023 by GIMN
Changing title

[phnompenhandy]

I love a story where the writer identifies so closely with his managerial avatar. It really brings an FM career to life.

[GIMN]

3 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

I love a story where the writer identifies so closely with his managerial avatar. It really brings an FM career to life.

Ta very much.  I find it always helps to have some kind of narrative behind the career; whether that's just a reason why my manager has ended up where they are, or something that's driving them towards a certain goal.  Otherwise I'm just a weirdo who's decided to start in Indonesia (or wherever) just for the hell of it.  I mean, technically, I am just a weirdo, but that wasn't the point I was trying to make 

[GIMN]

  

What Am I Actually Talking About?

Before I even press "Continue" for the first time, it would probably be prudent to explain some basic NFL rules and how I intend to translate that into FM.  In the interest of brevity, I will focus specifically on the areas that are relevant, rather than giving a whole outline of the sport!

The Basics

American Football is a stop-start sport.  After each play, the players reset and start again from the spot where the last play ended. The offensive team have 4 attempts to move the ball (at least) 10 yards - although if they haven't managed it after 3 attempts, they will kick the ball - either attempting a field goal (through the posts at the end of the pitch), or just as far away as possible.  The defensive team tries to stop them.

In it's simplest form, there are two types of offensive plays: 

• Run plays - where the ball is handed to a player behind the quarterback who then runs as far as they can with the ball before being tackled
• Pass plays - where the quarter back throws the ball to a player who is ahead of them

We'll be focussing on the latter and, more specifically, how teams create situations to get their receivers open for the pass.

Clearout

  

A clearout route is designed to have one player who will run deep and force a defender to follow him, whilst another receiver makes a quick change of direction to fill the space created.  As with all the concepts I'll be looking at, there's always the option that the initial clearout receiver has become free himself and is available for a big pass.

Hi Low Read

  

A concept which puts two (or more) receivers in the same horizontal space but at different depths, forcing a defender to make a decision on who to mark.  When the defender commits, the quarterback is able to then throw to the other receiver.

Flood/Levels

 

An overload in a specific area of the field, putting defenders in a position where they either have to leave a player free, or forcing the opposition to focus on that area and open up space on the other side of the field.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list.  But merely an over-simplified introduction to some of the core concepts seen week-in-week-out in the NFL.  Moreover, none of these things are unfamiliar to FM managers.  The ideas of positional play and overloads are seen across multiple teams at all levels.  Where the NFL differentiates is how these concepts are used throughout the course of a game.  There isn't a singular approach.  If a team repeatedly ran the same play, the defence will adjust and nullify the threat.  Instead teams design multiple different plays from the same formation.  They'll set-up opportunities later in the game by showing a specific concept throughout the early stages, and then unleashing an alternative plan from the same formation.

But How Will This Work In FM?

(Proper) football is not stop & start.  Or certainly not in the same way that American Football is.  The most obvious situation where we can set up specific plays would be set-pieces, but that is neither a strong enough concept to build a whole career on, nor the intention here.  Instead we'll be looking to build a multiplicity of different formations and roles based that will allow us to change throughout the game, ideally at 5 minute intervals.

I won't be able to go into specifics until I have a job.  The base formation will need to be based on the strengths and abilities of the team, but for an example, we'll use the basic 4-4-2 that the game suggests.

This would be the base formation.  We'd start the game with it, and we'd reset to it at various points throughout the game.  Perhaps for the specific opposition we'd identified their left back as a weak point, we might then deploy a mixture of the following set-ups:

  

Whilst they might be our main variations, we'd still also deploy shapes that put the focus on the other flank, or maybe we'd keep 2 up top but also push a midfielder into the AM slot behind the AF to create a hi-low read for the centre-back against a team that doesn't have a DM.  It's going to be unnecessarily complicated, almost completely beyond the technical capabilities of the teams I'm managing and horrendously awkward to convey in post within this thread.  There is also a very high chance it fails spectacularly and this is a very short career.

Nonetheless, I have an idea, and I'm going to stubbornly stick to it.  I suppose the next step is to actually get a job!

[phnompenhandy]

Probably impossible, but I'm looking forward to seeing you try!

[13th Man]

Funny story - your thread is parallel in many ways to the one I’m going to be doing, but it looks like you’ll be going about it very differently. Looking forward to seeing how it goes! Love the idea of those extreme overload. Might not work but the movement will certainly be interesting!

[LUFCspeni]

Super interesting idea, something that I've considered before as an NFL fan. In real life, I think it could almost work like the opposite of pressing triggers. A team playing the ball around in the middle, and letting a midfielder (QB) read the game, and decide to play a pass when he sees a weakness in the defence (ie the RB steps up too high on the winger, allowing the opposite FB in behind). Of course, this would require top players and probably not work too well in a free-flowing game such as football.

[GIMN]

25th July 2022

The job market looks promising.  With our eyes firmly on nations surrounding the Indian Ocean, there are currently 13 vacancies.

By declaring ourselves as ready for a management job at 26, we've certainly backed ourselves, and I'm in no rush to take any job.  We also go into this knowing the Malaysian and Singaporean leagues are heading towards the business end of their seasons, so if I miss out on a job in the initial volley, there should be opportunities further down the line.  With that in mind, I've put myself forward for two roles:  Uthongathi in the South African National First Division and Penang FC in the CIMB Malaysia Super League.  Both teams seem to have decent facilities for their level, which was enough of a reason for me to favour those two options.

I'm not entirely sure why, but ITV felt it worthwhile to ask me about my plans.  I'm not sure if ITV has much penetration in international markets, but you can be sure I'll use whatever platform is available to show my commitment to finding a job outside of England.

1st August 2022

It's been a week, and I've had nothing more than an acknowledgement that my application has been received.  Neither position has been filled, nor is there any news circling about them being in advanced talks with any prospective candidates.  The only thing I can do is remain patient.  And follow the clubs.  Maybe they'll see my name on their Instagram page and realise I'm serious about this.  My PA has recommended I put my name forward for the Martizburg and Chippa jobs.  I'm not sure if he thinks they're realistic vacancies, or whether he just wants me to chance my arm in the hope they'll offer me more money and increase his own earning potential.  Both teams are expected to fight against relegation, but still I think I'll be better served by aiming my sights a little lower.

2nd August 2022

Maybe I was being impatient.  Both Uthongathi and Penang have offered interviews.  Neither team are convinced about my credentials for managing in a relegation battle, but how can they know until I've had an opportunity!

Penang go first, and it's pretty much as I expected.  It seemed like they wanted long-term assurances, but I'm not going to be sucked into promises I might not be able to keep.  There is little loyalty in football, and I'm not being offered any assurances the other way.  Maybe this isn't the best approach, but I'm not going to lie.  They lost their game at the weekend, and now only have a 1 point buffer from the relegation zone.  I'm hoping they act quickly.

Uthongathi was a very similar affair.  I felt bold, and claimed we'll challenge for a playoff spot, but that I'd also expect the board to look for a senior affiliate.  I can't see any information about their players, so this might be a little unrealistic, but you've got to set your sights high, right?

7th August 2022

Both teams want to discuss contracts. 

Penang are only willing to offer a 1-year deal, whilst Uthongathi are offering double.  Both teams have already agreed to my suggested changes to their respective backrooms, so hopefully I have a bit of leverage.  Penang seem unwilling to budge on the contract length, but have increased the salary offer from £1k to £1.3k.  That's a little bit less than I'm  willing to accept for such a lack of job security, so I've asked for a bonus for avoiding relegation.  It's not forthcoming and talks break down.

Uthongathi have also offered £1k a week.  They're not willing to wiggle as much, but I have negotiated a 10% increase.  The 2nd year to the contract means I'm a lot happier to sign on the dotted line...

[GIMN]

3 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

Probably impossible, but I'm looking forward to seeing you try!

Almost certainly.  But hopefully it will be an entertaining failure.  I appear to have taken over a team with 5 right wingers in the first team squad, so maybe I've found the perfect squad for weird lopsided overloads.

2 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Funny story - your thread is parallel in many ways to the one I’m going to be doing, but it looks like you’ll be going about it very differently. Looking forward to seeing how it goes! Love the idea of those extreme overload. Might not work but the movement will certainly be interesting!

Perhaps we should have collaborated.  Some odd FM/Sliding Doors mash-up.

1 hour ago, LUFCspeni said:

Super interesting idea, something that I've considered before as an NFL fan. In real life, I think it could almost work like the opposite of pressing triggers. A team playing the ball around in the middle, and letting a midfielder (QB) read the game, and decide to play a pass when he sees a weakness in the defence (ie the RB steps up too high on the winger, allowing the opposite FB in behind). Of course, this would require top players and probably not work too well in a free-flowing game such as football.

Maybe there's something in a system with a Regista flanked by defensive IWBs acting like whatever the football equivalent of an Offensive Line would be.  I'll be focussing more on scheme than QB play - I want to create openings in spite of having a team full of Brian Hoyers and Matt Cassells.

[_Ben_]

It sounds a farfetched concept, but I really don't think it is. What you're doing is (extreme) reactive football. Where most might have two or three 'shapes' to use across games, you're going for two or three 'shapes for each threat' - which will really challenge you tactically. However, I think it's something that you're more than capable of doing really well at - reading your previous posts. A few years back, I read a thread called something like Tactical Gymnastics - where they just changed the position of their playmaker to get him into a pocket of space and I see this as almost an extension of that.

Good luck in South Africa!

[GIMN]

10 minutes ago, _Ben_ said:

It sounds a farfetched concept, but I really don't think it is. What you're doing is (extreme) reactive football. Where most might have two or three 'shapes' to use across games, you're going for two or three 'shapes for each threat' - which will really challenge you tactically. However, I think it's something that you're more than capable of doing really well at - reading your previous posts. A few years back, I read a thread called something like Tactical Gymnastics - where they just changed the position of their playmaker to get him into a pocket of space and I see this as almost an extension of that.

Good luck in South Africa!

Absolutely.  This isn't actually that far removed from what I was doing at Villa in my final save of FM22 - just a little more extreme.  It's not necessarily going to be completely reactive either.  As the intention is to make changes for very short period of times, sometimes it will be just a case of changing things up to see how the opposition reacts to us.  I expect there will be plenty of times it goes wrong, and also a fair few times when something that shouldn't work, given the match-up, actually ends up working out really well.  I'll definitely go root out that thread, however!

[GIMN]

 

Club History
Uthongathi FC was established and registered in 2014, under the eThekwini South African Football Association (SAFA) by the late chairperson, Mr Nicholas Mkhize.

He had a passion for football from an early age and he also wanted something else as a business in addition to being a taxi boss businessperson. When he was granted an opportunity by SAB status in 2014, he grabbed it with both hands. At first, he wanted something to keep himself and his friends busy, and a chance to try to get young boys out of crime and drugs. Realising that it could be something big and a legacy that he could leave behind, he used all his savings to ensure that the club gets to a professional level.

He loved the members of the club, as his own kids. Sadly, a year into the professional league he was killed. The current chairperson is Ms Mpume Nhlumayo.  Ms Nhlumayo has decided to get more people involved in the club as she realises the reason behind Mr Mkhize’s passion for this club and why he spent all his savings
to build the empire and leave this legacy behind.

Club Records
The club was promoted from SAB League to the ABC Motsepe League in the 2014 year with an unbeaten record.
It finished second in the ABC Motsepe 2015/2016 League season and won the ABC Motsepe 2016/2017 League.
In the 2016/2017 season, it became the only team to represent both the city of Durban and KZN province in the national play-offs, held in the Eastern Cape with an unbeaten record.

The Princess Magogo stadium apparently has a capacity of 14k - I can imagine the atmosphere would be absolutely electric with 14,000 people lining those banks around the outskirts.  We've had 1 home friendly before I took over that attracted 283 fans, so it's gonna be a long time before we experience that!

Outside of the above, there's not really much info out there about Uhongathi FC.  A meteoric rise from formation to professional status certainly stands out as a thing of note, but otherwise this is very much a blank slate of a club.  There are no icons, no legends, no rivalries to speak of.  I don't necessarily want to stay at one club for a long time, but there is certainly an opportunity to really build a reputation here.

There'll be a much closer look at the playing squad in due course, but we'll start off by introducing you to the skin and the 3 key staff (captain, key player & hot prospect) identified by the game.

Key

With attributes obscured, this info is vital (I'll add it to the top post at some point, too).  The darker the box, the better a player is in that area.  I have also reduced the Excellent threshold and increased the Average threshold from the game's base settings.

Xolani Slawula (Captain)

First up, our captain - an undersized centre-back who is injury prone and doesn't handle big games well.  Positionally, he's a good defender and he has a touch of quickness, too.  I don't think he's able to play in the centre - certainly not in a 4-man defence.  But he would be capable at right back or maybe on the outside in a back-3.

Dumisani Msibi (Key Player)

Probably the most damning indictment of the quality of players I have available to me, but my best player is my goalkeeper.  To be fair, he's a good keeper and definitely better than I expected at this level.  Is he a player I can build around, however?  No.

Khethakuhle Mbutho (Hot Prospect)

A summer signing from across the city, Mbutho is a pretty decent player for his age.  He's one of 6 players who prefer to play in the AMR slot, but the only left-footer.  I can see him playing a role for us this season, and his development will be an important part of our plans.

Edited November 13, 2022 by GIMN

[albertluque]

I'm just imagining opening the thispersondoesnotexist website and seeing a picture of yourself. Matrix type stuff.

[Sahaj Oberoi]

This looks interesting, will follow.

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

An Overwhelming Introduction

I've got my work cut out.  This is a large squad, and with only 13 days before the season starts, there's not much opportunity to assess all the players at my disposal.  I've arranged a friendly against a local team, the Durban All-Stars, giving me a whole 2 games to see the squad in action.  I'll have to lean heavily on the staff here to get a feeling for who can be relied on in these early days.  I retained everyone when I took over, although Siyabonga Nhlumayo has been moved from the coaching set-up to become the sole member of our recruitment team.  We need a little bit of that start-up mentality - people who are willing to do the jobs that need doing, regardless of experience/expertise.

I've taken a look across the 4 squads we have (First Team, Reserves, U21 and U19) and moved some players around.  Some youngsters have been promoted, alongside players who were signed by the previous regime over the summer.  All transfer listed players have been moved to the reserves.  This leaves us with a 30-man squad.

There are some basic rules for the National First Division:

• The starting line-up must have at least 3 U23 players
• The match squad can have no more than 3 foreign players

We're in pretty good shape in that regards, but this is a very unbalanced squad.  We're going to lean into that imbalance - with a 3-2-5 formation being our core shape.  I'm not just talking about how we build up in possession, either.  A dearth of talent in the full-back areas and an absolute surfeit of attacking midfield/wing options has seen me settle on the following base:

Roles are obviously yet to be defined, and they will change throughout the match anyway, but this shape will be the foundation we work from.  The front 3 positions will be less defined, and a lot of movement there will help create those periodic overloads, clearouts and hi-low reads I've talked about.  Defensively, I'll be employing a low block and staying compact in central areas.  The wide-midfielders will contribute, in so much as they will physically be there, but there is very little expectation that they'll form an important part of us winning the ball back.

With that in mind, here is my initial hierarchy (clicking on the images will take you to a page with all player profiles):

Goalkeepers

Centre-Backs

Defensive Midfielders

Wingers/Attacking Midfielders

Strikers

I have a pretty impressive transfer budget of £100k to strengthen the squad if needs be, but we are currently 6% over our wage budget.  There's 11 transfer-listed players in the reserves, although only 1 of them has any interest at the moment.  If we can shift them, we might be able to begin looking at improvements to the squad.  With only 1 scout, however, whose main priority will be opposition scouting, our most likely way of identifying targets is from watching players play against us.

My priority is an aerial threat up front.  Having a target man, whether central or out wide, will give us an opportunity to build quite a few different plays, with a variety of runs and support coming from different areas after a long ball forward.

Training

In case my tactical approach isn't experimental enough, I'll be trying to bring elements of the NFL and NBA into my training regimes, too.  Below is the fortnightly rotating schedule (the second Endurance is actually a Resistance session)

We'll start with the "Extra Sessions".  A key element of NBA training is "Individual Development Training", where coaches spend one-on-one time working on very specific areas of that player's game.  Obviously this is a lot easier in a sport like basketball with considerably smaller rosters and budgets that allow for enough coaches for this to be viable.  Even if we ignore the logistics, this isn't something we can replicate in FM anyway.  What we can do, however, is dedicate time every day to training schedules where players are working on their individual roles, and the Attacking Movement and Defensive Shape schedules allows us to do just that.

From the world of NFL, we're going to put a lot of focus on player conditioning.  We'll have to manage intensity and rest periods carefully, but players will need to be prepared for the physical demands of the game.  We're not necessarily going to be technically better than our opponents, but if we can be that touch quicker to the ball, or that little bit stronger in the challenge, we'll give ourselves a good chance.

With these concepts forming the backbone of our training approach, this doesn't leave many opportunities for traditional football drills.  Even less so when you factor in my dogma of developing people, not players, and an insistence on an overarching team effort.  Community Outreach and Team Bonding sessions are non-negotiable.  That leaves 6 sessions over a 2-week period for football, which will be split evenly between work on the ball (possession) and work on the tactics (tactical).  This will be supplemented with my changing the "Primary Trained Tactic" every day to allow us to split time between all the various playbook combos we're planning on using for the upcoming fixtures.

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by GIMN
Removing pictures

[GIMN]

A very quick update.  I now have a playbook of 30 different plays out of 7 different formations.

I have a feeling this is about to become the most confusing save I've ever done.

[13th Man]

Oh man, I can't wait to see how these NFL concepts end up working in this game.  Honestly, the movement concepts in the NFL are absolutely fascinating.  The stop start nature totally changes the way things will work, but the exploiting of space, overloads, and misdirection can certainly be applied to (real) football.  Probably.  I'm certainly looking forward to seeing you try - and to see how that truly 3atb works for you in South Africa.

[SteinkelssonFM]

Looking forward to seeing how this one pans out. Would have thought that you would have had to include a Regista for all those offensive plays...oh and a 'hail mary' for when you need to go completely gung-ho. 

All jokes aside a very intriguing take on a save, there are so many coaches that look to draw inspiration from other sports and this is no different. 

[Guest]

Such a fun concept, following as another American football fan, and taking a sip whenever I recognize a play/concept 

[GIMN]

On 16/11/2022 at 06:16, 13th Man said:

Oh man, I can't wait to see how these NFL concepts end up working in this game.  Honestly, the movement concepts in the NFL are absolutely fascinating.  The stop start nature totally changes the way things will work, but the exploiting of space, overloads, and misdirection can certainly be applied to (real) football.  Probably.  I'm certainly looking forward to seeing you try - and to see how that truly 3atb works for you in South Africa.

I love the tactical aspect - especially the element of misdirection and using early plays to set something up later on.  Unfortunately, I doubt that the AI in FM is able to recognise what I'm doing, so I'm not sure how effective it will be!

On 16/11/2022 at 07:05, MattyLewis11 said:

Looking forward to seeing how this one pans out. Would have thought that you would have had to include a Regista for all those offensive plays...oh and a 'hail mary' for when you need to go completely gung-ho. 

All jokes aside a very intriguing take on a save, there are so many coaches that look to draw inspiration from other sports and this is no different. 

Well my "Key Player" is a goalkeeper with good passing.  Maybe I can have him be the QB at the end of games when I'm chasing a goal.  A few players back to protect him and everyone else running forward like headless chickens.

On 16/11/2022 at 08:40, Fudal said:

Such a fun concept, following as another American football fan, and taking a sip whenever I recognize a play/concept 

You might be parched for some while - I have definitely ended up with some very liberal interpretations of some of these concepts.  Actually, there's a good chance that all my "tactics" are really just hook & ladder plays.  Lump it forward, and have someone run from deep to collect it off a knock down.

[13th Man]

1 hour ago, GIMN said:

I love the tactical aspect - especially the element of misdirection and using early plays to set something up later on.  Unfortunately, I doubt that the AI in FM is able to recognise what I'm doing, so I'm not sure how effective it will be!

I don't think you'll be able to use the run-run-run-suddenly play action with the AI in a specific match - but I do notice that the AI will sometimes expect you to run a certain shape/style and if you alter that it can be devastating.  Still, I think the misdirection might have a place, and, definitely the idea of using congestion, overloads, movement and isolation to 'scheme' people open. I'm trying to do the same with Austin, but my 'deep shot' threat isn't 'getting open'.  The other side (overload) has been more effective BUT when he does get 'open' it has been devastating so maybe it's working!

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

 

August 2022 - Finding Our Feet

Starting a new job just 13 days before the season opener is far from ideal.  I don't know the players well enough to have a proper idea of who will form the core of the team, there's little time to establish how I want us to play, players seem a long way short of match fitness, and we're remarkably short on staff, especially in the non-coaching departments - 1 Chief Scout and 1 Club Doctor.  Adverts have been put out there, but I don't expect anything before the season starts - so that means no Match Previews, Match Reviews or Recovery sessions in training for our first few weeks.

My first task was to set-up a midweek friendly against the Durban Stars, a semi-professional team who fell out of the National First Division (the level we're at) 13 years ago and have remained in the lower divisions ever since.  Our focus here is establishing what I'm going to consider our "Run Game".  The basic tactic that we'll start most games with and use as a fall-back in between the more funky formations we'll throw at the opposition.  There are two shapes I'm looking to try out, and we'll spend a half focusing on each one.

  

A 0-0 result was pretty disappointing given the quality (or lack thereof) of our opponents, and whilst we mustered 21 efforts on goal, we never really created anything of particular quality.  Nonetheless, this was a useful exercise in understanding our limitations.  We were impatient in possession, often forcing the ball long to a striker who isn't going to win many headers.  Furthermore, our best passages of play came from the wide areas, but broke down for similar reasons - our striker isn't going to get on the end of those crosses.  Some tweaks are in order, but I don't think it's far off being a solid base.

Our final friendly was a home game against Richards Bay, who were promoted to the DStv Premiership (the top division) last season.  Again a 50/50 split between the above formations, with some slight tweaks:

A 2-1 victory, and the first goal coming from a low cross is always a pleasing result.  We conceded from a late cross and that was ultimately my fault.  I had forgot to update the marking instructions for a winger I'd brought on, and it was his man that ghosted in at the far post.  It's going to be key that I am very explicit with my wide players what their responsibilities are.  It's going to inhibit their productivity going forward a little bit, but these base shapes are here to be attritional.  It's about grinding down the opposition and conserving energy so that we can unleash ourselves in concentrated bursts.

Whilst it's encouraging to get a win before heading into our first competitive game, the need to establish a base means we haven't spent time on the set plays, and this will have to be the focus for the upcoming week.  We've only got 3 slots, so alongside a primary tactic for the game, that's only 2 variations we'll look to deploy.  As the season progresses, I hope to be able to lean upon those we've practiced in prior weeks, but for now we'll have to make do.

First up, however, we need to address the captaincy.  Xolani Slawula is the incumbent, and whilst he seems like a nice lad, he barely played last season because of injury, and has the leadership credentials of Alan Partridge. Nkosingiphile Phewa has been handed the armband.  A new signing (under the previous regime), he's clearly the standout candidate - unfortunately that speaks more to the lack of leaders in the dressing room rather than his own strengths, as I'd definitely prefer someone whose more of a team player.  Nonetheless, he's probably a guaranteed starter up front, is experienced at this level, and has a level of determination to be admired.

GW1: All Stars FC (Home)

I'm not 100% certain how I'm going to communicate the game plan for each game but, for now, I'm going to put together a graphic indicating the tactics trained during the week.  Green for players on attack duties, yellow for players on support duties; and arrows pointing in the general direction of their movement or a circle to indicate they kind of hold their position.

All Stars are amongst the favourites to challenge for promotion this season, and unfortunately we have relatively little info on them.  Expected to play a 4-2-3-1, it is probably fair to expect it to be a difficult game for our attacking midfielders.  Their defensive midfielders, however, have struggled in pre-season so I want to try and put this area under pressure and test to see where we can get in behind.  The plan is to use the first trained alternative in patches in the first half, and then switch to the second alternative later in the game.  Their left-back appears to be quite attack-minded, and I think we can clear out the space for our right winger to create opportunities as the game wears on.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.  Whilst we had more shots, I wouldn't agree with the assertion it was a deserved victory.  Msibi made a phenomenal penalty save, tipping a powerful effort over the bar, before Zondi scored an absolute screamer from the edge of the area midway through the second half.  It's nice when a plan comes together, and it was the 2nd alternative formation that did the trick.  The overload on the right drew their defensive midfielder, Lorenzo Eckersley, out to the flank.  Eckersley missed an opportunity to cut out the pass back to Zondi - the player who, for all intent and purpose he was meant to be marking - and he did the rest.

The assist was provided by half-time substitute Mfanafikile Dlamini, who had a sensational 45 minutes, making 4 successful dribbles and providing 2 open-play key passes (not crosses).  Whilst he provided a lot of impetus going forward, he also did a good job of tracking back against their left-winger who had caused us a lot of problems in the first half.

The most delightful aspect of the win, however, was the dressing room afterwards.  There's a comradery here, I've not seen anywhere else.  I could get used to this after every game*.

*literally, in the name of immersion, I am going to put this on after every game we win from now on.  I'm genuinely shocked at how there doesn't seem to be a single player singing off key - a far cry from the awful karaoke initiation videos I see from English Premier League players.

GW2: Magesi (Away)

A more even match-up for game 2.  Magesi are expected to finish one spot above us this season and won their opening game of the season.  Another team deploying a 4-2-3-1, but this time it looks like their weakness is their centre-backs.  I'm hoping that by having a forward dropping deep for most of the match, we'll be able to create some spaces in behind, especially when we switch things up with the alternatives - I'm hoping by having Mbutho hold his position as an AM, he'll occupy the DMs enough for our wide midfielders to break into the box from deep.

This was a bizarre game.  We played really well, and our first variation did a really good job of creating chances, with our left-winger being hugely involved with those runs as I wanted - occasionally shooting wide or playing in someone else to shoot wide.  We did eventually score, but not until after a botched headed clearance led to an easy tap in for Magesi.  We equalised almost direct from the kick-off, and that first variation did yield results as Shezi fired in a low cross for Phewa to give us the lead.  An injury time third flattered us.

With the transfer window due to close on 1st September, our attention is split between the next game and finding reinforcements.  A mini clearout has been underway, as I've managed to get us under the wage budget.

I'm starting to get my head around the currency here.  It's roughly R20 to £1.  This means we've got a transfer budget of R2m, and a remaining wage budget of R50k (out of R350k).  That's more than double what our highest earner, Mbisi, is on - so it's fair to say that we've got a sizeable war chest available.  Unfortunately, our advert for scouts has not yielded many results, and so we have very few players identified.  Nhlumayo is doing an admirable job, but he's just one man, and can't do it all.  Whilst I've set up recruitment focuses for a Target Forward, an Attacking Midfielder and a Centre Back, his focus has to be on opposition reports.  I'll be attending the Golden Arrows game later this week to see if anyone catches my eye, as they are also based in Durban, but I doubt anyone playing in that game will want to consider a drop to the First Division.  Sadly there have been no local games in the First Division I've been able to go to yet.

This leaves us in a bit of a bind.  We have a large squad - a lot of players joined over the summer before I arrived, and it appears that most are of a similar quality - so I don't need nor want to bring in players for the sake of depth.  Ideally we need one or two players who can significantly improve the first team, or provide us with a different skill set.  We may need to look towards free signings after the window has closed, because right now there's not really anyone that we do have knowledge on that appears to be what I'm looking for.  I'm hoping in the run up to the window closing, an agent might reach out with an ideal candidate, but that's probably wishful thinking.

Edited November 19, 2022 by GIMN
MUSIC!

[GIMN]

19 hours ago, 13th Man said:

I don't think you'll be able to use the run-run-run-suddenly play action with the AI in a specific match - but I do notice that the AI will sometimes expect you to run a certain shape/style and if you alter that it can be devastating.  Still, I think the misdirection might have a place, and, definitely the idea of using congestion, overloads, movement and isolation to 'scheme' people open. I'm trying to do the same with Austin, but my 'deep shot' threat isn't 'getting open'.  The other side (overload) has been more effective BUT when he does get 'open' it has been devastating so maybe it's working!

Agreed - whilst I've described the basic formations as being the run game equivalent, it looks to very much be more of the game management element - running down the clock and conserving energy. 

I will say that, anecdotally, it does feel like the AI reacts to changes a little bit more dynamically than in previous iterations, as I've noticed the commentary about change of mentality pop-up shortly after I've made a change.  Unfortunately it's nowhere near enough to be able to manipulate into pulling players massively out of position, but the overloads do seem to be effective.  I'm also pleased that in the one game, my interpretation of a Levels concept seems to have worked - shifting the striker in front of one of the AMs and having him on Attack, whilst the AM holds position behind, does seem to be doing a decent job of creating a pocket of space.  Sadly the players at my disposal, aren't necessarily of the quality to make the most of it.

[SteinkelssonFM]

Noticed you have switched the trained alternatives each game week, I am keen to see how the tactical familiarity develops for each play as the season develops...an interesting experiment in itself.

[GIMN]

2 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Noticed you have switched the trained alternatives each game week, I am keen to see how the tactical familiarity develops for each play as the season develops...an interesting experiment in itself.

I'm hoping that familiarity will grow, but expect it won't.  To try and help, I've  kept down the number of formations (7) and role variations (maximum 8) within those formations, but I imagine that each time I load in a "new" tactic, the familiarity will reset.  I've also tried to keep roles rather vanilla, too - always Defensive Midfielders, Wide Midfielders and Attacking Midfielders.  Strikers are either Poachers or Deep Lying Forwards.

The idea is for players to have a "route tree".  So whilst there are a lot of tactics, essentially a player only needs to do one of 4 things, and I've loosely tried to name each route after a "similar" route for an NFL wide receiver.  I'll use a right-sided Wide Midfielder as an example.

From left to right:

• (Fade) Wide Midfielder - Support.  Stay Wider, Cross More Often
• (Slant) Wide Midfielder - Support.  Sit Narrower, Take More Risks
• (Post) Wide Midfielder - Attack.  Sit Narrower, Roam From Position
• (Go) Wide Midfielder - Attack.  Stay Wider

I hope by keeping the instructions reasonably similar this will help with familiarity, as on an individual level, players will be able to build understanding of the specific set of instructions.  Possibly not the greatest approach for building teamwork, though, as I'm essentially asking each player to focus just on themselves.  It would definitely by interesting to see how this compares to doing the same thing but with widely different roles and duties, and how it compares to just having one variation per formation.  Unfortunately the level of micro-management required in all 3 situations to run a proper test means I'm probably too lazy to find out!!

The final element in the familiarity puzzle is training.  This is very structured, and exceptionally tedious.  I stop the game every day to change the "trained tactic", and match it up to that day's Match Preparation:

Mondays (Defensive Shape): Primary Tactic
Tuesdays (Attacking Movement): Variation 1
Wednesdays (Defensive Shape): Primary Tactic
Thursdays (Attacking Movement): Variation 2
Fridays (Match Tactics & Match Preview): Primary Tactic

The plan is to only use a tactic once we've done at least some training with it.  In these opening few games, I'll have very few options, but as the season progresses, the playbook expands.  A good example is the Wide Bunch Right formation, which I've trained two variations of so far:

 

I'm very much looking forward to see how this works as we've got a lot of variations trained, as I think there's a good opportunity to identify areas of weaknesses and then have a multitude of ways to try and stress that area of the pitch.

[LUFCspeni]

Really enjoying this. I suspect this would be more successful with elite teams who have players who can play in multiple positions, but its fun seeing what you can do in South Africa.

[13th Man]

Wow, that is tedious but the hilarious thing about FM is that it gets me doing things that I would normally never want to do…all in the name of tactics!

I think that you might be onto something training the variations on movement. I’m loving this idea in general. Curious if your SA side can put it into practice!

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

September - A Whole Lot of Meh

The transfer window slams shut and no new signings.  A couple of trials have been offered, and maybe we can find a player or two who can offer us some variety.  I ended up skipping the Golden Arrows game to instead take in another DStv Premiership game between Royal AM and Marumo Gallants.  Both teams are expected to struggle, so maybe there's a greater chance of finding a player willing to drop a division but, truth be told, no-one stood out.  In fact it was an awful game.  Entertaining, but awful.  In some ways it makes me feel a lot better about my own team.  I've been a little frustrated by our propensity to send the ball long, but it is clearly endemic and we're doing marginally better at progressing the ball than teams at a level above.

In the back-office, we've managed to hire some analysts, so we'll be able to get a bit more insight into what's going on during the game.  It's not quite the advanced analytics I'm used to with Bournemouth or the various places in the USA, but we'll know be able to look at some of our player stats during the game, and this will hopefully allow us to confirm what we're seeing whilst the game's being played.

GW3: Tshakhuma (Home)

Tashakhuma are a decent mid-table team, and also have won both their games this season.  They are yet another team employing a 4-2-3-1, so for the main part of the game we're going to try going with 2 up top, and hope that we can get our AM to find the spaces in between their double pivot.  We're still developing our repertoire of set-plays, and there's no real specific area we're targeting this time around, as no specific weak point has come up in the scout reports.

Our worst performance so far, so this possibly makes this our best result.  We were thoroughly outplayed in the first half and can definitely count our blessings to have only been 1-0 at the interval.  It was an outstanding goal by Tsakhuma, too - Shaquille Abrahams launching an absolute rocket of a shot from outside the area into the far corner.  Kagiso Shezi was missing due to a shoulder injury, and we missed his defensive workrate on the left wing.  We improved in the 2nd half - dropping the instruction to pass shorter, and switching our basic formation to the 2-AM version we used against Magesi.  Whilst we had our best spells using the 2nd variation, the goal came from exceptional solo work by our captain.  Phewa collected a clearance near the centre-circle, beat his man, and drove towards the box before sitting the keeper down for a fabulous equaliser.

It's good to know that we can grind results out when we're not at our best, but there are some concerns.  It seems that pace is king at this level, and whilst we seem to have players who look fast in training, they don't seem to be quite as nippy when out on the pitch*.  Our diminutive 19-year old winger Mbutho is one player this definitely applies to.  My initial assessment was that he could be a core part of our present, and whilst I'm not going to write him off after just 3 games, it does appear that despite good attributes for this level, he seems to be often caught a little bit behind the play at the moment.

*That is to say they've got "Good" Acceleration and Pace, but they're probably all at the lower end of the range.

GW4: Cape Town Spurs (Away)

Formerly known as Ajax Cape Town, and currently managed by former Charlton striker, Shaun Bartlett - this is going to be our toughest game yet.  This is their 5th season in the National First Division, so whilst they're not as formidable as they once were, they are 2nd favourites for promotion this season.  Guess what formation they play?  Yup.  4-2-3-1.  It looks like they might be vulnerable at the right CB position, so we'll try and target that area with our training this week.

Another comeback, and it's great to see the character of the players.  We conceded yet another screamer from outside the box - this time a free kick in off the woodwork.  Again 1-0 down at the half, and deservedly so, our strikerless variation was particularly ineffective, doing absolute nothing to confuse the opposition centre-backs - and it was a turnover in this shape that lead to the free-kick we conceded from.  We took that out of the game plan for the 2nd half, and added in the bunched right hand-side formation we used against Tshakhuma.  Our winner came from this change, with Mbutho cutting in from the right to play in Francis Baloyi down the channel.

I almost considered sacking my Assistant Manager, MacBeth Sibaya mid-way through the 2nd half.  A bizarre suggestion to attempt more crosses because we had been dominant in the air was quickly double checked.  At the time we'd won 54% of our aerial duels, compared to 63% for Cape Town.  I am more than receptive to suggestions, but at least make an effort to verify what you're saying before you say something wrong.

I mentioned at the beginning of the month that we had some players on trial, and on Friday 16th September, I signed my first player:

This is exactly what I meant by wanting some variety.  At 6'5", Nikitaridis is the Target Forward I've been looking for.  I know I said that pace is king in the Nation Football Division, which would very much make Tristan a pauper, but we have players who can buzz around him to collect those knock downs.  I have high hopes that he'll add an extra dimension to our attack when I need him.

He wasn't the only trialist, with us taking a look at a couple of crafty attacking midfielders.  One of them, Zama Rambuwane, really impressed me - but his demands to be seen as a star player means he leaves our facilities without a contract.  I'll see if he's willing to temper those expectations now he's back without a club.

GW5: AmaTuks (Home)

This is the first game against a team considered to be worse than us, and they've had a pretty poor start to the season picking up 1 win in 4 games.  This is the absolute definition of a trap game, and we'll need to be wary of taking them for granted.  Despite shipping 7 goals so far, most of them came in the one game, a 5-2 home humiliation against early frontrunners Polokwane City.  Their defence has actually graded out well, but I think we can stress the left-central areas: the left-sided defensive midfielder has had a pretty torrid time so far, whilst the left-side centre-back is 5'8".  That's where we will look to apply pressure.

A slight tweak to the way I'm going to show you the tactics used - instead of focusing on the runs, as this might be adapted during the game, I'm going to display all the formations used in the game.

The game was a wonderful example of the flaws in my approach.  When the team sheets were announced, AmaTuks had sprung a surprise, fielding their undersized centre-back on the other side.  We chose to mirror what we'd trained during the week, but familiarity was understandably even lower than normal.  That said we had some joy in the Bunch Wide Left formation, as Mbutho did a great job mixing it up between driving wide and cutting in late.  Both Bakah and Phewa should have scored after great work by our young winger.

I had called this a trap game, and despite being the marginally better team, we should probably be grateful for debutant Nikitaridis' late intervention.  He rose to head in Mbutho's free kick at the far post when it was looking increasingly like we were destined for our first defeat of the season.  We did a good job of restricting AmaTuks, but the one time their right-winger got some space, he made our defence look like fools - leaving them in his wake before squaring for a tap-in.  Our defenders aren't slow, but we might need to consider sacrificing some of our compactness to drop a little deeper.

We re-engaged with former trialist, Rambuwane after the game, and it looks like he's more willing to compromise on playing time.  He took a few days to consider the offer, but we've now made our second signing:

He's injury prone, and tends to shrink in the bigger games, but he's also a South African international yet to enter his prime.  More importantly, whilst I see him as an AM, he's able to play in a handful of positions, and was particularly impressive at LWB when turning out for our reserves.  Victor Bakah has earned the starting nod in recent weeks, despite originally being considered my 9th choice attacking midfielder/winger when I took over.  I'm hopeful for Rambuwane will be able to make that position his own and inject a bit of quality that is often lacking in the final third.

Rambuwane's arrival, however, seems to have sparked an injury crisis - with Bakah, Molhamme, Mosiea and Shezi all going down with injuries within 24 hours.  This has cleared the way for an immediate start for our new signing as we are now remarkably thin at LM and AM.

GW6: JDR Stars (Away)

It appears that 4-2-3-1 is the only formation anyone knows.  JDR Stars picked up their 2nd win of the season last weekend, and sit comfortably in 7th.  It appears their weakness might be at right back, but we've learnt out lesson from last week - we're going to train something to focus on either side, so we're not left scrambling.

Our first clean sheet since the opening game, and whilst it's always disappointing to drop points, I've got to be pleased given the injuries we suffered in the run up to the game.  We spurned some good chances, but also were grateful for the acrobatics of Mbisi to keep JDR at bay.  Rambuwane was pretty poor on his debut, but in an ideal world he wouldn't have been starting quite yet.

A bit of a funny start, as we've got wins against better teams, whilst stuttering against teams expected to be more at our level.  Nonetheless, we've picked up 12 points from our opening 6 games, and that's good enough for 2nd at the moment.  It's not free-flowing football, but we've only conceded 4 goals, making us the second best defence in the league.  This probably shouldn't be a surprise.  Our "main" formation is designed to restrict the opponent and conserve our energy in between short spurts of intense attacking moments.  Plenty to build on.

[GIMN]

3 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Wow, that is tedious but the hilarious thing about FM is that it gets me doing things that I would normally never want to do…all in the name of tactics!

I think that you might be onto something training the variations on movement. I’m loving this idea in general. Curious if your SA side can put it into practice!

I've never spent so much of my game frantically clicking the "Browse" button to ensure the game stops each morning so I can change the tactic being trained.

It's been a bit of a mixed bag so far - the approach seems to be working better than I expected, yet I wouldn't go so far as to say it's working well.  Part of that may be how little I know about the players.  It's difficult to build consistency when you're not sure of which players you can rely on.

[_Ben_]

I'm going to sit and look at each of these things in detail, unpicking what I think is going through your head because the principle, as I said, is wonderful. If you can do it in the second tier of South African football, imagine what it'll be once you get to the big leagues! Keep it up.

[GIMN]

6 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

I'm going to sit and look at each of these things in detail, unpicking what I think is going through your head because the principle, as I said, is wonderful. If you can do it in the second tier of South African football, imagine what it'll be once you get to the big leagues! Keep it up.

I'm not sure I know what's going through my head, so when you've reached a conclusion, please let me know!!

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

October - Like Busses

Despite no-one saying anything to me directly, I don't think I'm popular amongst the players.  Cohesion remains less than ideal, and there's a constant murmuring about the physical demands of training.  I get it.  Nobody wants to spent all week running and lifting.  As a player I wanted to do ball-work.  I wanted to play football.  None of this conditioning lark.  Maybe that's why my playing career's over, and we'll benefit from it in the long term.

GW7: Polokwane City (Home)

A home game against the top scorers in the league, and I am livid.  I haven't seen a softer penalty given in my life.  Marema would've gone down if he felt someone fart in his general direction.  To make matters worse, he was clearly offside for his second.  Nonetheless, we showed great resolve to twice claw it back and a draw against a team of Polokwane's quality is no mean feat.  3 draws in a row now, and 4 in our last 5.  It's good that we're hard to beat.

GW8: City Rovers (Away)

Another possible trap game, and another 4-2-3-1.  Nikitaridis has been a handful in his cameos so far, and deserves the opportunity to start.  We tried to find ways to get Phewa free by having him break from deeper positions off of our target forward, and it seemed to work in spells.  We were better, however, once Baloyi came on and we had two strikers pushing the backline.  We had to wait until late to get the goals, but a deserved win.

A couple of unattached centre-backs have been brought to my attention, and after a 2 week trial, we've made our 3rd signing.

Left-footed and consistent, I hope he can provide a little bit more balance to my back-line.  He's not a game-changer, by any means, but options are limited at this level, and he does have the height I've often decried this squad for lacking.  Good jumping reach, positioning and decision making might help us deal with the long ball a little bit better.

GW9: NB La Masia (Home)

The first team we've played who do something different: a rare sighting of a 4-4-2.  With gaps between defence and midfield, we wanted to find ways to stress that space, whilst also attacking their right-back who has struggled so far this season.  This worked well in the opening exchanges, two goals in the opening 15 minutes.  NB La Masia did equalise in between, and I slightly over-estimated my players' intelligence.  In other games I've been very explicit in telling my wide midfielders to mark the opposition's wingers.  With players being lined up a little closer, I didn't think that was necessary, but was clearly wrong.

Otherwise, we struggled with NB La Masia's directness.  Constantly beaten in the air or misjudging the long ball forward.  Moloi will hopefully help with that going forward, but having only arrived yesterday this game came a bit too early.

Importantly, it was a home win.  And a home win means we get to bust out this banger, again (yes I am going to keep on doing this):

We've decided to make a significant change, with our wide midfielders moving back into the wing-back position.  Despite repeatedly giving the lads specific marking instructions, they seem to selectively forget, so perhaps a change in semantics might help them understand that they have defensive responsibilites.  I don't expect them to be good wing-backs, but I'd like them to be a more consistent obstacle for opposition wingers - especially with most teams employing a 4-2-3-1.

GW10: Venda GA (Away)

It's amazing what an early red card can do.  We'd been the better team in the opening exchanges, but once they had Magalela sent off, we coasted to victory.  2 penalties certainly helped, too - as Phewa finished with 4 goals, and he's now making his way up the goalscoring charts.  Nikitaridis was also brilliant, flicking on for one of Phewa's goals, as well as putting Mbutho through for his first goal for the club.  We were able to stick to our main formation for the entirety of the second half.  Like an NFL team just running the clock down once they've got a comfortable lead.

GW11: Black Leopards (Away)

Black Leopards are a fine team.  Leading the league in possession and passing accuracy, this was always going to be a difficult game.  The work we'd done on the Empty Stack Right formation worked a treat, Nikitaridis dropping deep and opening up space for Phewa to run onto a ball from Molhamme who'd drifted out wide.  That said, it was only effective once, as Black Leopards were able to keep us under control most of the times we changed to our more attacking formations.  I suppose it only needs to work one, though!

I felt we'd done well in keeping Black Leopards quite, but as the game wore on we were pinned back.  It seems that as the game reaches the later stages our centre-backs forget how to head the ball or track their man.  I can't be too mad at the lads, though, because it's a great result in the end.

We're the last remaining unbeaten team in the league, after league leaders Pretoria Callies fell 1-0 away at Polowane City.  There's 4 games left until the winter break.  Whilst I'll continue to tweak game-to-game, I'm hoping to take proper stock at the half-way point and properly look at where we can try and improve.

[13th Man]

Great work! I’m enjoying the variations. Are you finding major differences in the play? Are you getting the overloads/isolations you’re hoping for?

It certainly sounds like you’re making a difference to the play!

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

November & Early December - Out Of Control

You'd think everyone would be happy with our start to the season.  Unfortunately, that's never the case, and the large squad are starting to grumble about lack of playing time.  I've mentioned before that the squad is much larger than I like to deal with and this is kinda the reason why.

I've also discovered that I can only offer 1 year contracts to players.  That is a division-wide restriction, so I've been unable to enter contract renewal discussions with the core players I'd like to keep on next season.  This isn't a restriction in the DStv Premiership - which seems remarkably unfair for promoted teams who could need an entirely new squad after reaching the top division.  Although there is possibly some benefit in terms of being able to cut the proverbial chaff quite easily.  More importantly, it means that there might be some very good players available at the end of the season.

Into the final 4 games of the first half of the season and, truth be told, I don't really feel in control of the team.  Results are solid, but we are so inconsistent it hurts and I've been unable to settle on anyone I feel I can really trust to make up the core of the team.

GW12: Hungry Lions

Another team employing 3-at-the-back and exceeding expectations this season.  They are predicted to finish rock bottom and by some margin, but have proven to be a pretty stubborn and difficult to beat team.  They're wing-backs are very aggressive, and the left-side of their defence looks to be work, so this will be the area we look to put under pressure. 

As a plan it worked quite well, we repeatedly got Mfanafikile Dlamini and Zama Rambuwane in space in those right channels but our finishing was wasteful.  That's being too kind.  It was absolutely atrocious.  But we persisted, and both goals came from targeting their left centre-back, Kobus Kok - substitute Zondi ghosting in between Kok and their central centre-back, before then being brought down by the same man for the injury time penalty.

We lost Ntozelizwe to a twisted ankle only 10 minutes after coming on as a sub, and in the following days it seems to have become contagious:

Twisted ankles for Msibi and Slawula is absolutely devastating as we will be without key players heading into our biggest game of the season...

GW13: Pretoria Callies

The big game, away at the league leaders.  This is a well coached team, defensively phenomenal having conceded only 3 goals, and offensively unstoppable, leading the league with 23 goals.  It's a simple game plan for us - match up Nikitaridis against their 5'9" centre-back and change the configuration of players running on for flicks, whilst not overcommitting on our left hand side as they have a real threat from that flank.

We survived.  More luck than judgement, sure, as Pretoria should have scored - Tebogo Reed missing 2 fantastic chances - but we can pleased that we restricted them and came away with a point.  Going forward we were awful.  Despite an 8" mis-match between our Target Forward and their centre-back, the lads seemed determined to send long balls towards pretty much anyone else.  Frustrating is the politest thing I could say.

I also accidentally selected the wrong Dlamini at right wing-back.  He played surprisingly well.  There's some food for thought there.

GW14: Casric Stars

Another top half showdown, but possibly a more favourable match-up after 14 day break.  Casric play in a 4-2-3-1 but their double pivot looks like defensively vulnerable and this is something we can exploit.

Karma is real.  After holding Pretoria to a fortunate draw, we've come away from the game with Casric Stars ruing our wasteful shooting.  It was possible our best performance of the season if you ignored that tiny detail.  Casric struggled to deal with our attacking formations, as their defensive midfielders failed to track the runner on a number of occasions.  Unbeknownst to me, the players had clearly had a bet before the game to see who could blaze their shots higher over the bar.  We had to rely on a penalty for our goal, and then an awful defensive lapse allowed Casric Stars to get their equaliser.  Oh well, onto the next game.

GW15: Baroka

Another 14 day break allows us to get Msibi back from injury, although Jooste had done well in his absence.  Baroka currently sit in 10th and have lost their last two games.  They are a threat going forward, but their 4-3-3 is vulnerable, especially on their left side.  Although none of that matters, as they have just sacked their coach, so it's difficult to know exactly how they'll set up.

Urgh.  We got the win, but I think I've aged about 10 years.  Baroka, whose pass completion rate sits at 14th AFTER this game, have been transformed under their caretaker manager and the ball stuck to them like glue.  We could not get near them, and no adjustments we made seemed to have any meaningful difference.  I know we won - a sensational goal from Rambuwane who picked the ball up on the half way line, turned his man, and carried it forward until launching an absolute peach into the top corner - but this was a very frustrating experience.  It seems to be a pattern, too - we play well we draw, we play poorly we somehow do better than expected.

Ah well, somehow we've finished the first half of the season unbeaten.  We have drawn 40% of our games, though.  Thankfully Pretoria have lost both their games since we played and the gap is down to 1 point.  We have a cup game midweek, and then a winter break - which will be my chance to really dig into the numbers and perhaps reassess our approach for the 2nd half of the season.

Edited November 30, 2022 by GIMN

[GIMN]

4 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Great work! I’m enjoying the variations. Are you finding major differences in the play? Are you getting the overloads/isolations you’re hoping for?

It certainly sounds like you’re making a difference to the play!

The short answer - I'm not sure.

The longer answer is I can see elements of what I'm trying to achieve.  I can see space opening up when I have a striker clearing out the space behind, I can see the overloads on the flank, and players at separate horizontal levels to create options and stress the defence.  What I don't see are the passages of play that should follow, and I don't know if that's a tactical issue or a quality issue.  Here's a prime example:

The first part of the move has worked.  We have the bunch on the right, the ball was sent long to the TM-S (Nikitaridis) who headed the ball back to the DM-S (Myeni).  Myeni played the ball into the path of Phewa who is currently playing as an AM-S.  I have an IF-A (Rambuwane) who you can see has broken into the space created by Nikitaridis and a WB-S (Dlamini) who also has space as a result of Rambuwane's movement.  This is almost a perfect execution of what I want to see with this formation.  If Phewa is aware, he could play Rambuwane in on goal (although it would be difficult), or he can play Dlamini down the wing and then he and Nikitaridis should join Rambuwane in the box as targets for a cross.

Instead Phewa tried to pass back to the defence.

It could be easy to write this off as Phewa not having the vision or decision making skills.  In this phase we are playing with an attacking mentality, no specific team passing directness setting, and he has been instructed to Take More Risks.  However, this seems to happen time and time again (not just with him).  We'll create an overload on one side, and there's a chance to play in the wide man on the other flank, and we'll just pass up the opportunity, or we'll get into crossing position with targets in the box and recycle possession instead.

This becomes problematic because when we're trying to engineer chances in very specific ways, and the team isn't set up during those phases to be able to create any other way.  If we're not making the right decisions when those moments play out, we're a little screwed.

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Often times I've had to dig deep into the numbers to get an understanding of what we're doing well and where we're struggling, but a quick look through the league stats paints a pretty accurate picture - only reinforced by the analyst visualisations.  We're effective at getting the ball forward and creating chances, whilst on the other end we're pretty good at the whole "last-ditch-defending" thing.  We are, however, too passive defensively.  Some of this is based into our tactical approach with the "run-game" element of our game plan is all about conserving energy and restricting space to allow us to attack with intensity when we switch things up.  With a low block and moderate press it is perhaps no surprise that we've allowed a lot of final third passes against.

I've got to consider this a positive indictment of the tactical approach, although unfortunately there isn't an easy way of correlating these stats against the various different formations deployed.  This is further exacerbated by what appears to be a bug in the analyst report section, apparently showing that no chances have been created by either us or opposition when breaking down by formation.

Whilst that's all well and good, I've mentioned that we seem to be inconsistent.  One week we play really well, the next we get lucky.  A lot of this I feel is structural - there are some fundamental elements of our setup that allows opposition to get a foothold in games:

This is a scenario that has come up a few times. 

In many respects, there's a lot to like here - our midfield line is reasonably straight, there's decent compactness, and Moslane's passing options aren't great.  Except for one.  It would be easy to single out Slawula (red) and wonder why he is so deep compared to the rest of the defensive line, but the issue here is Gwala (blue), who has been sucked into no-man's land, and there's no real reason why.  This isn't a counter-attack, there isn't a threat that he needs to step up and deal with, and the passing lane to their right-sided striker is already blocked.  Gwala's position means there's now a gaping hole for Moslane to play in the striker, and this should've been a goal for Black Leopards.

Another issue that has popped up can be seen above, from the same game. Firstly, Slawula (red) once again is in a horrible position - having been dragged out from his central position despite their already being two players out there to deal with the threat.  Secondly, we're not putting pressure on the ball carrier.  Whilst I'm not actively instructing them to stop crosses, I'm also not actively encouraging them to invite crosses either.  Finally Myeni (blue) has taken up a decent position, or would have if he was our right-sided defensive midfielder.  Unfortunately he's meant to be on the left, and having got sucked too far forward there is now an absolute void on the edge of the area.  This is something that seems to happen commonly, that the defensive midfielder on a defend duty drops too deep into the box and this is something we need to address. 

Once again this was open-play.  We were in a position to fall-back into our shape and contain the situation, but we've been caught out by bad decision making.  We can count ourselves fortunate that Black Leopards didn't take advantage.

With this in mind, I've made some changes to the foundation of our formations.  As mentioned a couple of updates ago, we've dropped the wide midfielders into the wing-back position as we were struggling to contain opposition wingers.  I've now changed the defensive DM to a BWM, and put the CD on Cover.  I hope this will allow us to do a better job of restricting chances in behind, whilst preventing our DMs from dropping on top of out defenders.

Players

Tactics are only half the battle, and with half the season gone, I should really have a better handle of which players I can rely on and will make up the backbone of the team.  I'm a big fan of the per 90 stats, and looking at the underlying numbers, there are 3 players who have deserve a mention.

The standout player has been Amado Gulele.   He leads all my defenders in Tackles, Clearances, Blocks and Progressive Passes per 90 and is 2nd in Interceptions and Headers per 90.  All whilst being the youngest player in that backline, at the tender age of 21.  His greatest asset, however, has been availability.  Gulele is the only player to start every game for us so far this season.  That's not just testament to his fitness, but also the consistency at which he's been performing.  He needs to improve his passing, but I've got hopes that we can build around Gulele for years to come.

 

Further up the pitch, former South African international Zama Rambuwane has proven to be a great addition.  In 10 appearances since signing, he's made 5 goal contributions, whilst his versatility has seen us play him all along the attacking midfield strata and at wing-back.  He's 2nd in the league for Chances Created, and considering we didn't pick him up until after the transfer window closed, that's pretty good going.  He is very much proving to be the creative fulcrum in the team, and his ability to carry the ball or break beyond the front line really helps us be more adaptive during games.

Finally, Mfanafikile Dlamini looks to have beaten out a lot of competition to be my favoured option at right wing-back.  He leads the team for Dribbles per 90, whilst only being 0.15 Open Play Key Passes per 90 behind Rambuwane.  More importantly he's proving to be a willing contributor defensively and has scope to improve at only 23-years old.

As we move forward, I'm not just looking to build around these 3, but hope to use them as the baseline for recruitment.  With a limited scouting department, and an added fog of war on attributes, we're going to have to take a data-driven approach, and Gulele, Rambuwane and Dlamini have shown the standards we want to build upon.  Of course, that doesn't cover all positions, but it's a start.

One position in particular that isn't covered, is DM.  With 4 players fighting for 2 spots, I was hoping that at least 1 would separate themselves from the rest of the pack, but in reality it feels like they've all been much of a muchness.

That might not be entirely fair, as Mfanafuthi Ntozelizwe has kind of separated himself, but not in a good way.  Whilst he does lead the way out of the unit in terms of interceptions and headers won per 90, he also falls behind the pack in tackle % and pass %.  I'm hoping that the slight tactical tweaks will see an uptick in some of the defensive numbers for Myeni, but this is definitely a position I want to improve in January.

Edited December 1, 2022 by GIMN

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

I'm abandoning all attempts at conciseness, and will now post on a game-to-game level.

Nedbank Cup: Preliminary Round - NB La Masia

The preliminary round of the Nedbank cup is up next and the real last fixture before our winter break.  The board expect us to reach the Nedbank Cup proper, so there is pressure to get a result here.  It's also our first repeat fixture, having beaten NB La Masia back in October.  We were lucky on that day, with their left winger Yusuf Jappie causing us a whole host of problems. 

A lot has changed since then, however.  As a direct result of that game, we've moved our wide midfielders into the wing-back positions, and our goals conceded per game has dropped from 0.77 to 0.5.  More significantly, however, is NB La Masia parted ways with their manager, Dalano Hendricks, and his somewhat novel for this level 4-4-2.  His replacement, Morgan Gould, is another 4-2-3-1 advocate.  This is his first managerial job, and he's only been in charge for 1 game, so we're heading into this with little information at our disposal.  That 1 game was an impressive 4-1 away win against the bottom side All Stars in which La Masia showed their counter-attacking strength, albeit aided by some generous defensive mistakes.

Going forward it looks a lot like a 4-2-4, with the AM pushing up into a striker role, whilst there is very little offensive support provided from their full-backs or double pivot.  Whilst we don't have to face Yusuf Jappie again, 37-year old Khethokwakhe Masuku looks to be a real handful whose pace belies his age.  Industrious youngster Fuad Johnson hit a hat-trick against All Stars, and will be a handful.  That said, if there is little threat offered from the deeper roles, we should be have numerical advantage when defending.

Last time we played, our best chances came when Phewa was being marked by Tsheop Tema.  The 34-year old centre-back has been one of their best players, and has good positioning and anticipation, but he's undersized and slow off the mark, and I think we can get a lot of joy if we target him.  It looks like he'll be playing on the left-side of their defence, so that's the area we're look to stress.

Game Plan

As with every game, the first half will be "scripted" - that is to say, that I have a rigid plan of how and when I will deploy the formations during the opening 45 minutes.  Obviously the hope is that this will give us a nice comfortable lead going into the break, but it's also about seeing how the opposition respond and identifying possible opportunities later in the game.  For La Masia, the script is as follows:

0-15 Minutes: Empty
15-25 Minutes: Alt 1
25-35 Minutes: Empty
35-40 Minutes: Alt 1
40-45 Minutes: Alt 2

The plan is simple - we're trying to find ways to get Phewa played in behiindnd from through balls and flick-ons.  Alt 1 is a chance for us to change the angles from which we're doing this, whilst Alt 2 will see us switch to targeting that area for crosses, hoping to take advantage of a defender whose focus up to that point has been denying the space behind him.

Match Day

33-year old centre back Msawenkosi Silangwe pulled an abdominal muscle the day before the game.  He'd only just returned from an achilles tendonitis injury, and having played the full 90 against Baroka was likely to be rested for this game anyway.  There are no other fresh injury worries, although we do have 7 players requiring fitness tests.  Only 2 of those, Slawula and Reggy Zondi make the bench.

The team sheets are in.  Hands on hips, I face the boys and tell them to stick to the plan.  I expect the strikers to have big games tonight, and I've told them as much.  The dressing room is usually a little bit more stoic than I like, and I appreciate I've got some work to do in that department to properly resonate with the lads, but there's been a decent reaction this time round.  The midfield seem in high spirits, especially the Dlaminis.  Nikitaridis also seems up for the challenge.  Let's secure qualification for the Nedbank Cup...

0-15 Minutes (Empty): A couple of early chances, Nikitaridis heads over M. Dlamini's cross, whilst Rambuwane was denied by a great last ditch block after P. Dlamini had played him through.  La Masia have an effort from 30 yards out, but it's tipped round the post by Msibi.

15-25 Minutes (Alt 1): First change, and some words of encouragement.  Nikitaridis has the ball in the back of the net, but M. Dlamini was offside for the cross.

25-35 Minutes (Empty): Mbutho gets free down the left on a couple of occasions; the first cross was poor, but the later effort was drilled into the path of Phewa who'd got ahead of his man.  Ndledla gets down to make the save.  We should've scored.

35-40 Minutes (Alt 1): Nikitaridis gets a yellow card for his 4th foul of the game.

40-45 Minutes (Alt 2): We're starting to turn the screw.  Nikitaridis flicks it on and Rambuwane is through.  Laqwela dives in and is judged to have won the ball.  I'm not so sure.  Nikitaridis then has a chance of his own, but once again heads over when well placed.

At half time, and it's been a pretty comfortable affair.  We've only registered 4 shots but I like what I've seen.  We've been defensively tidy, and we're getting in good positions offensively.  Just the last ball needs to improve.  Nikitaridis has been a handful and we need to keep him central in the 2nd half, so Alt 1 is now likely to see Rambuwale out wide as an Inverted Winger.  I am mindful that the ball has been sent long to Phewa a little bit more often than I would've liked, but this should improve in the 2nd half once I've stopped pushing Nikitaridis into a wide position.

Arms outstretched, I praise the lads.  I'm happy with how we've performed, even if we haven't got the goal yet.  I want us to start the 2nd half as we ended the first, so I send them out with no new instructions, just the words of praise ringing in their ears...

45-55 Minutes (Alt 2): M. Dlamini earns a yellow card for an innocuous challenge.  The referee only seems to be interested in awarding La Masia free kicks.  Mbutho sends an absolutely delightful cross into the box, but it's just Nikitaridis' head and the chance is gone.

55-70 Minutes (Empty): Phewa gets free down the channel but his near post shot is turned behind easily.  A series of corners and free-kicks follow.  Khanya Gwala gets to the 2nd ball before laying off to Rambuwale on the edge of the area - his 20 yard thunder bolt nestles into the top corner. GOAL!!!!!!!!  Zondi replaces M. Dlamini, Moloi is booked.

70-80 Minutes (Alt 1): Fresh legs needed, so Zakari and Molhamme replaced Myeni and Phewa.  Nikitaridis up top on his own.  Gwala becomes the 4th player booked, and Msibi makes a great save from the following free-kick.  Mbutho flashes a great ball across the box, but no-one's near to it.

80-90 Minutes (Spread): Want to see the game out now, so we'll go back to a more standard shape with 2 AMs.  P. Dlamini joins his namesake in the book.  A Gwala error almost allows Mo May in, but the centre-back recovers and makes the tackle.  Nikitaridis and Rambuwane come off for Shezi and Baloyi, Mbutho pushes forward into the AM position.  Baloyi has a chance at the far post, but his header is saved by Ndledla.  A 20-yard effort a minute later sails harmlessly over.  5 minutes of injury time, but La Masia are unable to muster an effort.

A good performance and we've secured entry to the Nedbank Cup - all in all a good day.  Statistically, it doesn't look that impressive, as we only generated 0.86 xG, but there were a number of good crosses that just missed the mark, and a few occasions where we broke the lines but a poor touch let us down.  Rambuwane was deservedly given the MotM award, but a mention for Mbutho who contributed 3 key passes, 7 interceptions and led the team in pass completion from the left-wing back slot.  La Masia might not be the toughest of opposition, but they came into this game in good form and we restricted them to only 3 efforts and 0.13xg.

I face the team, finger pointed.  I make sure to look everyone of them in the eyes.  "Well done lads, that was a good win for us".  I don't need to say anything else.  I'll let them enjoy the win the best way we know:

 

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

The timing of the winter break is wonderful.  The players are on holiday and I can enjoy the World Cup final.  I say "enjoy" - England were knocked out in the Semi Finals by Spain as we played our last game against La Masia.  I did at least, get to see them win the 3rd place play-off against Morocco.  I think I might have been the only person in Africa rooting for England.  Ramsdale had just joined the Bournemouth youth setup when I started my coaching journey, so it feels a little surreal watching him in a World Cup.  The final was between Spain and Netherlands.  An absolute cracker, too.  Spain coming from behind twice to eventually win on penalties.  Oranje yet again denied at the final hurdle by the Spanish.

Back to work, and I've taken the opportunity to scour through the scout reports that had been piling up on my desk.  With players limited to a 1-year contract, I don't see any great benefit to signing players from other clubs if they can then leave in the summer.  Free agents it is, and 7 players have been brought in on trials.  I feel we've done well so far with this approach - Rambuwane, Nikitaridis and Moloi all having made themselves regular starters in the team.

There's a nice mix of youth and experience, and each player looks like they could offer something different.  We'll see how they get on in friendlies for the reserves, and hopefully there's one or two we'll offer full contracts to.

GW16: All Stars (Away)

Our first game back is against the cellar-dwelling All Stars, who were considered among the favourites to win the league before the season started.  Unsurprisingly, they've sacked their manager since our season opener and have lost all 3 games under the replacement, Innocent Mayoyo, including that 4-1 demolition by La Masia that we reported on last time around.  We're expecting them to play a direct 4-4-2, although they don't really have the pace or aerial presence up front to make the most of this.  They do, however, seem to be good at getting to the second ball, so we'll need to stay focussed.

Defensively, they've not been awful, but it does appear that their left-sided centre-back Thabang Molaoa is a weakness.  There should also be a decent amount of space between their midfield and defensive lines.

Game Plan

0-10 Minutes: Alt 1
10-25 Minutes: Main
25-35 Minutes: Alt 2
35-45 Minutes: Main

We're going to look to start on the front foot, with one of our attacking variants from the off and then look to settle down after 10 minutes.  I want to try and alternate the type of striker that Molaoa has to face as it was effective against La Masia.

Match Day

Knowledge Myeni has gone down with a hamstring strain and will be out for at least 6 weeks.  Hamza Zakari takes his place.

Let's get the blood flowing.  I try and motivate the lads - pumping my fists as I tell them that we WILL continue our fine run of form.  They're unmoved.  I let the defence know of my faith in them, and the strikers my expectations that they will score.  That seems to have stirred a response in some.  I suppose that's better than nothing...

0-10 Minutes (Alt 1): A tepid start.  We're struggling to maintain possession, repeatedly sending it long, but nowhere near our target man.  All Stars have the first chance, an ambitious 30-yarder from their right back.

10-25 Minutes (Main): Better as we eventually string some passes together, but Nikitaridis is feeling as ambitious as the opposition, blazing over from the edge of the area.  All Stars find some space down the right from a free-kick and the cross is headed against the bar.

25-35 Minutes (Alt 2): A succession of All Stars free kicks, and a succession of headers easily saved by Msibi.  Nikitaridis knocks it down to Rambuwane, who plays back into the target man's path.  He's in the clear, but screws it wide.  That should've been a goal.

35-45 Minutes (Main): Another All Stars free kick, another tame header easily held.  Sesane is causing us problems, and we don't seem to be marking him despite instructions to mark their tall players.  M Dlamini ends the half with a wild effort from distance.

Quite frankly a shocking first half.  We've put very little pressure on them and when we've had the ball we've gone long to the wrong man.  When we do aim for Nikitaridis, he's winning his headers, but we then dally on the ball until we're tackled.  I need to be firm with the lads.  This isn't good enough, our passing has been awful.  I've told Nikitaridis to keep dropping deep, but for us to not consider him as a target man.  I've told everyone to pass it shorter and maintain possession, and when we're in attacking formations we need to be more intense with our press.  Phewa's been non-existent.  He knows he's only got 10 minutes or he's coming off...

45-60 Minutes (Main): Rambuwane's free kick forces Mtshali into a fine save.  Another Rambuwane free kick finds Nikitaridis but he heads over.  Mbutho gets free on the left and his cross is volleyed wide by Rambuwane.  Much better stuff in the opening 10 minutes of the second half

55-65 Minutes (Alt 2): Phewa and M Dlamini come off, Baloyi and Zondi on.  Baloyi makes an instant impact - Rambuwane volleys a beautiful first time pass into the path of the substitute and he gets there before the keeper to open the scoring.  1-0!!!!  He should have another, but hooks wide from just inside the box.

65-75 Minutes (Main): Shezi and Ntozelizwe replace Mbutho and Zakari.  P Dlamini fires direct at the keeper from the edge of the area.

75-85 Minutes (Alt 2): Baloyi gets onto a Nikitaridis flick on but his shot is weak and easily saved.  Munganga has a shot for All Stars, but he was 35-yards out.  It would've taken something special to score there. Nikitaridis is replaced by Molhamme.

85-90 Minutes (Main): All Stars have an equaliser.  Ndwandwe is unmarked and easily turns in Mofokeng's cross, but it won't count.  Both players were offside.  I suppose that explains why he was unmarked.  The final minutes pass without All Stars mustering another decent chance.

It's another win, but a very frustrating game.  We constantly sent the ball long - more often than not to Phewa or Rambuwane rather than our target man.  We continued to do so even in the second half after switching Nikitaridis to a Deep Lying Forward and instructing the players to pass shorter.  Sure, this isn't the most technically talented team, but it feels like they abandoned the basics under little to no pressure.  Rambuwane picks up the MotM award for the third game running, and that seems fair.  He seemed to be involved in all our best moments, although I can't ignore the massive impact Baloyi made off the bench.

I'm don't want to hurt morale, though.  I tell the lads I'm happy with the win, despite us not being at our best.

For all my doom and gloom, I must say that we did play better in the 2nd half.  We might not have controlled the game as much as I would like, but we did restrict All Stars to low quality chances, and nearly doubled their xG from the same number of shots.  We made changes and they were effective, and our goal was created by Baloyi exploiting the space vacated by Nikitaridis.  There is definitely still work to be done, though.

Also...

 

Edited December 2, 2022 by GIMN
Formatting

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

A defeat for Pretoria Callies means we've now got a 2 point lead at the top of the table.  That's now 3 losses in a row for the previous league leaders, and a 7 point swing in our favour.  I'm keen to see how the lads respond to the additional pressure.  We'll almost certainly have a target on our back now.

I took the opportunity to watch our reserves game this week and see a little bit more of our trialists in a game situation.  Our reserves manager, Charles Masuku has free reign to set the team up how he wants, but it felt at times like watching the senior team.  Some good play undermined by poor finishing, as they ran out 1-0 winners over semi-professional FC Sivutsa.  Two players caught my eye, and it's no surprise it was the two current internationals.  31-year old Mozambican, Kambala, looked assured at the base of midfield - comfortable on the ball under pressure, sensible with his pass selection and occasionally making some nice progressive passes.  Richard Mbulu, a 28-year old Malawian winger also looked good carrying the ball and was surprisingly effective in the air.  He didn't add to his 2 goals from the last friendly, but looks like someone who can make things happen.

Contracts have been offered to both, although it will be interesting to see if they can get work permits.  The remainder have been allowed to leave without an offer on the table.

GW17: Magesi FC (Home)

Another team who have changed manager since we last met, Magesi should be a stern test.  They now play in a 4-4-2, which is a formation we've struggled for possession against.  They appear to play quite narrow, too, so we'll need to look to find ways to win the central battles.

37-year old poacher, Vuyusile Wana leads their line and has a remarkable 17 goal contributions in 16 league appearances this season.  His movement is elite, and we'll need to keep a close eye on him. Malian playmaker, Daouda Touré, has also been recommended to us by our scouts.  The 22-year old is the other stand out player in this Magesi squad and we'll do well to restrict his time on the ball.

Defensively, they seem quite passive, dropping deep and allowing the opposition to get touches in the box.  They are particularly weak on their left and seem to struggle with balls from central positions out to the right wing.

Game Plan

0-10 Minutes: Main
10-15 Minutes: Alt 1
15-25 Minutes: Main
30-35 Minutes: Alt 1
35-45 Minutes: Main

We're going to do things a little differently this time out.  I'm expecting this game to be decided in central areas, so we're going to look to wrestle control by ensuring numerical advantage in those positions.  We're also going to look to try and set-up for later in the game, by prioritising only Alt 1 in the first half; hoping to unleash the Alt 2 in the second half.  It's probably the least variation we'll have deployed this season with the only positional change being the right-sided AM pushing into the wide position.

Match Day

Two changes as Silangwe returns to the heart of the defence, and Phewa makes way for Molhamme.  Baloyi can feel unlucky to not get the start after his goalscoring heroics last week, but I can't overlook Nikitaridis' physical dominance at this level.

It's a fan day, today, so there's even more pressure to put in a performance to invigorate our community.  Nearly 1,500 people have turned up, and fans are spread across the banked grass around the main stand.  I try to pump the lads up.  Nothing.  Let's see if they show some response on the pitch.

03' GOAL! - We clear a Magesi free-kick and the opportunity to counter is on.  Zakari has space to carry the ball forward before playing the ball through into the path of Nikitaridis and the big man side pokes it past the onrushing keeper.  A perfect start.  Uthongathi 1-0 Magesi.
06' - Gulele loses out in aerial challenge, and Magesi's left-winger is able to break into the space behind him.  It should be an equaliser, but Msibi saves well with his feet.
34' - Rambuwane cuts in from the right hand side before playing it out wide for Mbutho.  The winger whips it in early and Nikitaridis rises high to head against the bar.
43' PENALTY! - Another move starting wide right before a switch of play to the left.  Mbutho breaks into the box, but Makgoga has a nibble and that's a clear penalty.
43' GOAL! - Mfanakile Dlamini steps up and fires low to the keepers' right.  Mbaeva guessed the right way, but it beats him for power.  Uthongathi 2-0 Magesi.
45' - Rambuwane picks the ball up in his own half, beats two players, then shanks it hideously wide from about 30 yards.  Enigmatic.

HALF TIME - Uthongathi 2-0 Magesi.  A great first half; we've looked solid at the back and a threat everytime we go forward.  It is, as expected, a bit clogged in central areas, but we're doing a good job of finding pockets of space and dragging Magesi out of their shape.  More of the same is in order for the 2nd half.

83' - Our free kick just evades the head of Moloi and Magesi break.  Letlotlo gets down the side of Gulele, but his shot is from a narrow angle and easily beaten away by Msibi.

FULL TIME - Uthongathi 2-0 Magesi.  The game petered out in the 2nd half, but I'm fine with that.  We controlled the ball well, which is a considerable improvement on last time out.  It helps that we didn't need to apply pressure in the 2nd half and could spend a greater amount of time in our base shape.  Nikitaridis got the MotM award, but for me Rambuwane was the star of the show.  He lead the team in Key Passes (4), Dribbles (3) and Successful Tackles (5).

Statistically it looks kind of even, which is to be expected when Magesi needed to push in the 2nd half, but they only really created two decent chances in the game.  We gave away a lot of fouls, and we'll need to be mindful of giving the opposition too many opportunities to send the ball into the box.  Our passing, tackling and aerial numbers are encouraging though.  Of course another victory means 1 thing...

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

The contract situation here is weird.  With the entire squad coming into the last 6 months of their contract, I cannot offer them extensions.  Players can, however, be signed on pre-contract deals.

This leaves us in a bit of a bind.  How can I plan for next season when I don't know who will still be at the club?  Especially when I don't even know which division we'll be in.  Sure, this could be advantageous as we're not tethered to long-term contracts for players who lack the ability to be a part of the first team, but we don't have the reputation to capitalise on this.  There's a few players at our level that I have my eyes on.  It's looking like we've got a good chance of playing in the DStv Premiership next season.  Yet those players have little to no interest in joining Uthongathi.  Similarly, when "bigger" clubs come calling, it's going to be hard to keep our own.  Stellenbosch offered a contract to Msibi, which he surprisingly rejected.  Either we have a slight chance of keeping our star keeper next season, or he's got his sights set even higher than a top half Premiership side.

One of the ways to improve that, outside of earning promotion, is to improve the profile of players currently at the club.  Free agents Kambala and Mbulu have accepted our contract offers, and the wait for work permits is underway.  We won't know until 27th December.  Anxious is an understatement.

GW18: Tsakhuma (Away)

In what is seemingly becoming a trend, we once again face a team who have replaced their manager and switched to a 4-4-2.  Hopefully the successes of the last game will provide the blueprint for this week.  Obviously no two teams play exactly the same way, and Tsakhuma are a much more defensively active team, pressing from the front and looking to create opportunities for quick breakaways.

Issa Sarr appears to be the player who sets the standards.  The experienced centre-back-cum-midfielder was a Uthongathi player the previous 3 seasons and has been ever-present for his new side despite now being 36-years old.  He doesn't offer any real attacking threat, but he's an effective screen in front of a sturdy backline, and we may do well to try and focus our attacking intent away from his position on the field.

They don't necessarily have a player who standouts as a weakness, but they do appear to be vulnerable on their left-hand side.  Winger Shaquille Abrahams offers little defensive cover, whilst their right-footed-left-back Cheslyn Jampies doesn't look comfortable facing traditional wingers.  That is also the side traditionally away from Sarr, and so this will be the focus of our attacking plan.

Game Plan

0-15 minutes: Main
15-25 minutes: Alt 1
25-35 minutes: Main
35-45 minutes: Alt 2

Given some of the similarities to last week, there's going to be an element of sticking to a similar plan.  Tsakhuma aren't as vulnerable aerially, so I'm keen that one of our attacking midfielders is making runs in behind from deep at all times.  That will be focussed on the area where Issa Sarr is expected to play so that he is put in conflict between the attacking AM and supporting DM.

Match Day

An unchanged lineup for what might be the first time this season.  Phewa went down with a pulled hamstring the day before the game, but wasn't likely to be recalled to the starting lineup anyway.

01' GOAL! - Molhamme breaks down the left, lays it back to Mbutho whose cross finds Rambuwane 10 yards out.  His header is steered back across goal and nestles into the corner.  Tsakhuma 0-1 Uthongathi.
07' - Dlamini gets free down the right and swings the ball in towards Nikitaridis but his header lands on top of the net.
15' - Nikitaridis with a hospital pass back to Silangwe, and it's intercepted by Sekola who is through on goal.  Msibi stays big and gets a toe to it.  A huge let off!

HALF TIME.  Tsakhuma 0-1 Uthongathi.  We're good value for the lead, but some carelessness almost let Tsakhuma back into the game.  Our alternatives haven't worked quite as well as we'd have liked, but it appears that Issa Sarr is playing on the side we're trying to exploit.  We're going to mirror the formations in the 2nd half in the hope that we can mitigate his effectiveness.

58' GOAL! - A corner is cleared, but Philakahle Dlamini is there to keep the play alive.  He sends a ball over the top and Molhamme is there to bring it down and flick it past the keeper.  Tsakhuma 0-2 Uthongathi.
62' GOAL! - Molhamme picks the ball up midway in the Tsakhuma half.  Nikitaridis drops deep taking the defender with him and occupying Issa Sarr.  Rambuwane times his run perfectly for Molhamme to send the ball over the top.  He takes a touch and fires it across the keeper with his weaker foot.  Tsakhuma 0-3 Uthongathi.
80' GOAL! - Tsakhuma are back in it.  A speculative 30-yard volley slams against the bar and lands at the feet of Sekola for an easy tap-in.  Tsakhuma 1-3 Uthongathi.

FULL TIME.  Tsakhuma 1-3 Uthongathi.  We made the changes at half time and took control of the game.  Whilst it wasn't necessarily perfect, I feel like this has been the most successful in terms of putting our plan into action.  We used the first half to see what the opposition were doing, adjusted accordingly and reaped the rewards.  Rambuwane deservedly got the MotM award, and he's the first Uthongathi player this season to also receive Player of the Week accolades.

News filters through that Pretoria Callies have drawn their 2nd successive match.  They've picked up only 2 points in their last 5 games, and we now have a 6 point buffer.  There's only 1 way to respond...

(As an aside, you can see Issa Sarr in this video.  He's in the back left corner with the mighty fine afro.  Number 5 is our assistant manager, Philani Shange.  Still trying to identify some other players if possible)

Edited December 13, 2022 by GIMN

[Guest]

I watch the changing room victory celebration every time you update 

[GIMN]

4 minutes ago, Fudal said:

I watch the changing room victory celebration every time you update 

It's absurdly catchy!  Definitely my favourite part of this save.

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

I am enjoying the pacing of a 30-game season.  1 game a week feels like a luxury compared to the hectic squeeze-in-as-many-games-as-possible approach of European and South American football.

There are knock-on-effects, however.  There's a lot of players who have not even come close to getting senior game time, and that's just wages being unnecessarily spent.  We've made the decision to release a couple of players after buyers could not be found.  4th choice keeper Xolani Ngcobo and left-back Khanyisani Ndlovu failing to make the cut.  Sabelo Xolo and Xola Moseia have also been granted transfers to lower division clubs as I continue the culling of numbers started over the summer.

There's been some pre-contract activity, too.  Khanya Gwala, who had indicated he was planning on leaving on a free transfer even before I arrived, has agreed to join DStv side Martizburg United.  We tried to negotiate a buy-now option, but Martizburg weren't interested.  We play them in February in the Nedbank cup, so I'm now targeting that as a game to show everyone that the grass might not be greener.

We have agreed to bring in a replacement already.  With versatile All Stars defender, Ryan Baartman, joining in July.  To the outsider, it might seem an odd move.  Baartman has only played 270 minutes for the team who sit rock bottom of the National First Division, but he did play the opening game of the season against us and impressed playing as part of a double pivot.  He was magnificent on that day, winning 13 headers (100%), 2 tackles (100%), and 4 interceptions.  He also managed 2 key passes.  I honestly don't understand why he hasn't played much more since, as he's not had an injury troubles and has performed well when called upon.  His ability to play multiple positions is a bonus, and I think he can be a solid rotational piece, even at DStv level.

GW19: Cape Town Spurs (Home)

We had to come from behind in the reverse fixture earlier this season, as one of our least successful experiments, a strikerless variant proved utterly ineffective.  I feel we've come a long way since then, but this is a good Cape Town Spurs side.  Currently sitting 4th, they're on a 11 game streak without defeat.  They're very solid defensively and despite lacking height, they lead the league in headers won %.  They're expected to play in a 4-2-3-1, so it might be difficult to find success with the double AM shapes we've fielded in recent weeks.

Clayton Daniels is their key man.  The 38-year-old, left-sided centre-back has the bravery and determination to instil confidence in his teammates, is comfortable on the ball and is often the starting point for their attacks.  We'll look to restrict the passing lanes and force him to push the ball out to less capable passers early in their attacks.

Once again, this is a team that doesn't necessarily have a weak link, but are more vulnerable on their left hand side.

Game Plan

0-10 Minutes: Main

10-15 Minutes: Alt 1

15-25 Minutes: Main

25-30 Minutes: Alt 2

30-35 Minutes: Alt 1

35-45 Minutes: Main

The first half is yet again going to be a research mission - a little bit more bitty than in previous weeks, we're going to look at breaking things down into smaller spells so we can see how they react.  I'm keen to see if we can be effective matching up Nikitaridis against their left bank in spells, but also want to see Rambuwane out in that position and see if we can get him in space away from their double pivot.

Match Day

(I forgot to screenshot the teamsheet)

Baloyi comes in for Molhamme as we switch to a two-up top shape.  It's a case of more of the same, and that's exactly what I tell the lads.  There's a positive reaction.  Maybe I'm getting through to them.

01' - We start on the front foot again, Baloyi drops deep to get the ball and Rambuwane breaks into the space.  The pass is good, but the finish is wild.  That was a good opportunity.
12' - Good work down the left by Mbutho but he can't work space for a cross.  The ball works it's way across to P Dlamini and he takes aim from 25 yards.  It looks like it's going to find the top corner, but there's not quite enough pace to beat the keeper.
38' - Radiopane drifts away from Silangwe and his found from deep.  He's got space to run into but is pushed wide and his shot is easily tipped round the post by Msibi.  The resulting corner is headed goalwards by Morton, but our keeper is equal to it once again.
44' - A free-kick half way inside our half is sent to the far post, and Radiopane forces another good save from Msibi.  Cape Town Spurs are starting to look dangerous.

HALF TIME.  Uthongathi 0-0 Cape Town Spurs.  Another fast start, but we've been wasteful with our shooting.  We've seen a lot of the ball, and Nikitaridis is having joy against their defenders, but they've done a good job at keeping Baloyi in check.  For the third game in a row we have been saved by Msibi after a centre-back switches off and lets the opposition in behind.

59' - Silangwe meets a free-kick at the back post, but it's saved well by Pieterse.  There's a scramble inside the 6-yard-box, but we can't get squeeze it in.
60' GOAL! - Msibi sends it long, and there's a mix-up in defence.  Zondi playing as a striker, having replaced the disappointing Baloyi, races onto it and fires it low into the corner.  Uthongathi 1-0 Cape Town Spurs.
91' GOAL! - From hero to zero.  Zondi is caught in possession, and Cape Town send it long.  Ashley Cupido, a player we've been tracking for a while, is through on goal and sits Msibi down.  Uthongathi 1-1 Cape Town Spurs.

FULL TIME.  Uthongathi 1-1 Cape Town Spurs.  Heartbreaking end to the game, but we can't keep making mistakes and expect to get away with it.  We got caught out by long balls on a few occasions when there wasn't really any pressure.  That said, it was probably a fair result.  We created chances, but our shot distribution was nowhere near as good as in recent weeks.  Far too many shots from outside the box and far too many opportunities that failed to hit the target.

Our 4-game winning streak (league) comes to an end, but we are still somehow unbeaten.  No singing allowed this time.

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

Potential free agent signings Kambala and Mbulu have both had their work permits rejected.  We waited 3 weeks for that!  An appeal has been submitted but we won't find out until next week.  We have secured another pre-contract signing, though.  This time a young winger from Black Leopards, who currently sit in 3rd.  Unlike Baartman, who was ultimately signed because he played well against us, this was a recommendation from our scouts.  Whilst not the most consistent performer, Makgopa has mustered 8 goals contributions in 21 appearances.  More importantly he leads the league in Key Passes and Successful Dribbles, is 2nd in Crossing Completion % and 5th in Clear Cut Chances per 90.

The upcoming game against AmaTuks marks the 2/3 mark of the season and also falls on my (Callum Peters) birthday.  The pressure is on for the lads to mark the occasion with a return to winning ways.

GW20: AmaTuks (Away)

Lying in 14th, it is perhaps no surprise that AmaTuks, also known as University of Pretoria, are yet another team who have changed managers this season.  It's another 4-2-3-1 - AmaTuks like to maintain possession and their double pivot is a key part of this.  Their wingers tend to stay high and wide.  Defensively, they could perhaps consider themselves unlucky.  They've conceded 40% more goals than their xG allowed.  I would perhaps be a bit harsher, and suggest that it's an indicator that their keeper is a liability.  A save percentage of 63% is the 2nd lowest in the league, and I'm keen to put him under pressure as often as possible.

For all their possession, AmaTuks are also the 2nd lowest scorers in the league this season.  That's not to say that they don't have threats - Samuel Julies leads the way with 7 goals from the 10 position and does muster up 2.54 key passes a game.  I may regret saying this but...whilst we're not going to game plan around shutting him down, we do need to be mindful of his ability.

Game Plan

0-10 Minutes: Alt 1
10-25 Minutes: Main
25-35 Minutes: Alt 2
35-45 Minutes: Main

We're going to look to attack from the off and see if we can wrestle control of the game early.  I think we've looked better in recent weeks with 1 up top, and I want to see if I can get Rambuwane into space by having him cut inside from wide.  I'm also keen to see how we get on with one of our defensive midfielders being given freedom to join the attack a little bit more to try and overload those central areas.

Match Day

Silangwe is suspended after picking up 4 yellow cards so Gwala steps in.  Molhamme is restored to the starting lineup in place of Baloyi as we go back to a 2-AM formation.  Words of encouragement once again fall on deaf ears, but I lay down the gauntlet to the midfield.  I expect them to dominate the game.  I know that's going to be a tough ask against a team that likes to control the ball, but we should have the numerical advantage in central areas.

02' GOAL! - Their left back is caught between two players and tracks neither, allowing Gulele to slip M Dlamini through down the right.  He drills it across to Nikitaridis and he makes no mistake from 6 yards out.  Another early goal, and the perfect birthday present. AmaTuks 0-1 Uthongathi.
18' - It should be two.  A loose touch by their centre-back and Molhamme nips in to take the ball away.  He squares it for Nikitaridis but his effort is too close to the keeper.

HALF TIME.  AmaTuks 0-1 Unthongathi.  We're ahead and deservedly so.  We've created the two best chances but we have struggled to keep possession.  They've had a lot of the ball in deep positions which isn't the worst thing, but it does give them time to work overloads down the right.  I've made some tweaks, Zakari will be responsible for keeping an eye on their winger, allowing Mbutho to focus solely on their right back.  We'll also look to mark their double pivot to try and make them less appealing options in transition.

68' GOAL! - An overload on the left and Mbutho is free down the flank.  His cross finds Rambuwane at the near post, who flicks it on for Nikitaridis.  An unstoppable volley into the top corner from close range.  AmaTuks 0-2 Uthongathi.
79' GOAL! - AmaTuks are back in this.  Our low defensive line is once again caught out by a ball over the top.  Dube is able to race onto the through ball by Ngcongco and fire past Msibi.  Gwala definitely deserves some of the blame, but most of it should fall on Rambuwane.  He completely neglected his marking responsibility, and it was his man who made the assist.  AmaTuks 1-2 Uthongathi.

FULL TIME.  AmaTuks 1-2 Uthongathi.  A victory for pragmatism, I suppose.  Despite a breakdown in defensive responsibilities for their consolation, we also did a good job of restricting the double pivot in the second half.  They still saw plenty of the ball but they were in deeper and wider positions, forcing them to go backwards or try riskier passes.  I'd have loved us to have more possession, but we made do without it and did well in creating space for our wide players.  We only mustered 6 shots all game, but they were good quality chances and we nearly doubled AmaTuks xG.  There is something very pleasing about that blue dot on pass map, showing we were getting the ball into what is, ultimately, the most dangerous part of the pitch.

You know what's coming next...

 

[anagain]

I like this approach. I know my own tactical knowledge needs work and this story makes me feel I need to spend some time this weekend looking at stats more. Might find out why my own team has such a poor conversion rate. I'm definitely learning reading this. 😁

Love those stats screenshots. That skin is a work of art. 

 

[GIMN]

On 15/12/2022 at 21:53, anagain said:

I like this approach. I know my own tactical knowledge needs work and this story makes me feel I need to spend some time this weekend looking at stats more. Might find out why my own team has such a poor conversion rate. I'm definitely learning reading this. 😁

Love those stats screenshots. That skin is a work of art. 

 

Ta very much.  It's good fun having a look into the teams in a bit more detail before each game, especially as I know absolutely b****r all about the South African domestic league, so it helps to give a little bit more of a flavour on what's going on in the game world. 

I'm not sure it's worth the extra effort, though.  We're so damn inconsistent, I've got to conclude that I'm making poor decisions/wrong assumptions and riding our luck.  It also probably helps having a 3-man-defence in a league that seems to lack the quality of crossing to take advantage down the exposed flanks.  I can't even say that was by design, either - as the only reason we did that was because of the absolute dearth of options at full-back.

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

With the transfer window drawing to a close, the first business to attend to is the appeals for Kambala and Mbulu.  Delightfully both have been successful, and will add some genuine quality to our promotion push.  Both were also part of the Baroka side who were relegated from DStv last season (as well as earlier free agent signing, Tristian Nikitaridis), so should we win promotion and both players opt to stay, we have players with experience at a higher level.

 

Kambala will hopefully add some composure to the base of our midfield.  An adept ball-winner, he is also comfortable on the ball and whilst he doesn't offer much in terms of attacking instinct he impressed with his progressive passing in friendlies whilst on trial.  More importantly, he's consistent and makes the right decision more often than not.  Mbulu might be the star addition though.  Not so much for his talent - he appears to be a more than capable winger/striker - but because of his ability to play both positions.  Despite my desire for versatility, we don't have any strikers who can play in the AM strata, and Mbulu changes this.  This will make it easier to play two-up-top and have variations that push players into wide positions.  Whilst he doesn't exhibit great aerial prowess or strength, Mbulu's frame and balance means he could be deployed in a deeper striker role, such as DLF or F9, taking some of the onus off Nikitaridis.

Those arrivals did see the departure of 3 others.  Tshanini, Chili and Goldstone were all released, having mustered 3 starts and 5 substitutes combined.  All 3 had stated their desire to leave, and I saw no reason for them to keep drawing wages whilst so far down the depth chart.

GW21: JDR Stars (Home)

Next up are the league's in-form team, having won their last 5 games and currently sitting in 6th.  It's a gegenpress-inspired 4-2-3-1 with a lot of their attacking success coming from quick transitions.  Whilst we normally set-up quite low, we do tend to step up when in our more attacking phases and we'll have to be wary about their threat on the counter.

Defensively, they conceded nearly 1.5 goals per game, and seem to be quite vulnerable against 2 striker formations.  Experienced centre-back Sipho Sibiya will be suspended for picking up his 4th yellow card, so they may be even more vulnerable at the heart of their defence.  Up top, they don't have an out-and-out goalscorer, with no player having scored more than 5 goals this season.  Left winger Tsehpang Moremi is possibly the biggest threat.  He's got absolute bags of pace, and has 9 total goal contributions in 21 apperances.

Game Plan

0-10 Minutes: Main
10-15 Minutes: Alt 1
15-25 Minutes: Main
25-30 Minutes: Alt 2
30-40 Minutes: Main
40-45 Minutes: Alt 1

A lot of focus into 2 striker set-ups for this week as we know JDR stars tend to struggle in these situations.  As they are a threat on the counter we're going to be a little bit more cautious with our deployment of the alternatives - only using them in 5 minute spells.  We're going to see how it pans out early, but we may need to roll some protection over on the right hand side to deal with the threat of Moremi.  If needed, the right-sided DM may be given man-marking responsibility on their left winger to try and prevent our wing-back being isolated against Moremi's pace.

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry"

The day before the game, JDR stars manager Nnditsheni Nemasisi agrees to take over at Cape Town Spurs.  Assistant Manager Lesly Baloyi will be in charge for our game.  We'll have to see how things shake out!

Match Day

Two changes as Silangwe returns from suspension and Phewa returns after a hamstring injury.  Gwala and Molhamme drop to the bench.  New signings Kambala and Mbulu are not fully match fit, but will hopefully make an appearance.  I ask the lads for more of the same, and single out the defence as needing to put in a stellar performance.  Mainly blank faces look back at me, but there seems to be a sign of life in one or two of them.

28' - M Dlamini beats his man on the right wing and hangs a cross up to the penalty spot.  Nikitaridis attacks it well, but his header grazes the top of the net.

HALF TIME.  Uthonathi 0-0 JDR Stars.  A pretty insipid first half of football.  We've controlled the game, but not really had much penetration.  It's felt like we've been playing with 10 men as Phewa has been atrocious.  Mbulu comes on at half time to replace our captain and make his debut.

46' GOAL! - Mbulu makes an instant impact, putting pressure on the backline and winning the ball back.  He finds M Dlamini on the right wing, who plays it back to his namesake.  P Dlamini's cross is a peach and Nikitaridis is there to power home from just outside the 6-yard box.  Uthongathi 1-0 JDR Stars.
67' - M Dlamini seems to be involved in everything.  Gulele plays it into his path, he rolls his man and is away down the flank.  A deep cross and it's Nikitaridis again at the far post.  His header strikes the outside of the post.
74' - Good work down the right hand side, and another cross in from M Dlamini.  It's cleared, but only as far as debutant Kambala whose effort from 20-yards is narrowly over.
86' - A direct ball forward is flicked on by Mbulu.  Nikitaridis is free but his volley is inches wide.  That should've been a goal.

FULL TIME. Uthongathi 1-0 JDR Stars.  A much improved second half, and great to see the new boys get out there.  Mbulu might not have troubled the scoresheet, but he was a considerable improvement on Phewa, linking play up well and putting pressure on the JDR Stars defence.  Nikitaridis got the MotM award, but it should come as no surprise that M Dlamini was the star player in my opinion.  5 Key Passes, 3 Successful Dribbles, 3 Tackles, 5 Interceptions and 8/8 for Headers Won.  He kept Moremi quiet and was at the heart of everything we did well.

It is no secret that the most dangerous area of the pitch is inside the box within the width of the 6-yard box.  Our 2 striker system helped to keep JDR pinned deep and we managed t get away 9 of our 15 shots from that area.  Whilst we only created 1.12 xG, I think we should've come away with at least 2 or 3 goals today.

Take it away boys...

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by GIMN

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

As the months roll on, the more unsettled I get by the idea of being unable to offer contracts for next season.  I have a reasonable idea of who I want to keep around - just absolutely no idea if I'll be able to.  The scouts are doing a wonderful job of building up a large database of potential players so should we be unable to rely on the services of someone key next season, I'm confident we'll be able to unearth a reasonable replacement.

No major developments during the week.  With the transfer window closed, and the business end of the season upon is, the focus is just on the upcoming games.  3rd choice keeper, Kagiso Ramadivhane has twisted his ankle and is likely to be miss the next month or so, but Knowledge Myeni has returned from his hamstring strain.

GW22: Polokwane City (Away)

Polowane have dropped off a little since we first met them, although our victory last week gave them the opportunity to jump back into 6th.  That keeps them in the playoff hunt, and this should be a tough game.  Polokwane are the league's joint top scorers (alongside us) and favour quite a direct approach.  Mohau Mokate is a handful upfront, having scored 1.25 goals per 90, whilst Tumelo Mangweni is a call back to yesteryear playing as an Enganche.  Not something I expected to see in the 2nd tier of South African football.

Holding them back, however, has been their defence.  They've conceded 29 goals and look to be vulnerable especially on their right hand side.  They don't press much and tend to sit deep, protecting those central areas, so we might have to look at ways of getting Rambuwane into space.

Game Plan

0-10 Minutes: Main
10-20 Minutes: Alt 1
20-30 Minutes: Main
30-40 Minutes: Alt 1
40-45 Minutes: Main

We're trying out a new shape with the Spread Wide formation.  We don't have many symmetrical attacking set-ups, but it might be necessary with space crowded in central places.  I want to switch between the two symmetrical shapes in the first half to see how successful they are and then look to use Alt 2 in the 2nd half.

Match Day

An unchanged starting line-up.  Phewa can probably consider himself lucky to get another start, but he is our leading scorer with 13 goals this season so I know he can be effective.  Midfield is going to be the key battleground, I think, so the challenge has been set to them to put in a performance.

14' - Mokgope cuts in from the left and plays a long ball over the top.  Mokate hits it first time, but Msibi is able to get down and save easily.  He was offside anyway, but Silangwe seemed to be asleep on that play.
30' GOAL! - Patient build up play deep, and Moloi sees the opportunity.  It's a delightful raking pass and Phewa races through to fire low into the far corner.  Polokwane 0-1 Uthongathi.
43' GOAL! - Polokwane are level as Kumalo breaks from midfield and fires in from the edge of the area.  Msibi got a hand to it and maybe could've done better, but responsibility falls on Zakari.  He got sucked out of position and left a huge hole for Kumalo to move into.  Polokwane 1-1 Uthongathi.

HALF TIME. Polokwane 1-1 Uthongathi.  A pretty even encounter so far, although a lot of that has to be with us being a bit sloppy in possession.  Mbutho and Silangwe have been particularly culpable and both will be replaced for the 2nd half.  I'm quite a fan of this 5-substitute rule as it allows us to be a little bit more pragmatic when it comes to making changes.  Gwala and Shezi come on.

58' - Mokate rises for a freekick at the far post, but his effort is wide.  Looked like Msibi had it covered.
60' GOAL! - M Dlamini is free down the right and swings it into the 6-yard box.  Phewa gets there first and his header slams against the upright.  He's able to react first, though, and taps in his second of the afternoon.  Polokwane 1-2 Uthongathi.
76' GOAL! - Substitute Mbulu sends a free-kick in from near the half way line and Moloi gets his head on it.  He's about 12 yards out, but gets enough power to steer it past the keeper and into the far corner.  Polokwane 1-3 Uthongathi.
90' GOAL! - The comeback is on.  A stunning pass from the right wing by Gooavadia cuts through 4 players and sets Ngobe through on goal.  He fires low past Msibi to set up an exciting end to the game.  Polokwane 2-3 Uthongathi.
92' - Shezi collects the ball on the left, beats his man than cuts it back to Kambala on the edge of the area.  His curling effort is narrowly over.

FULL TIME.  Polokwane 2-3 Uthongathi.  Not one for the faint-hearted, but a deserved win.  We were much the better team in the 2nd half, especially after bringing on Mbulu just before the hour mark.  He allowed us to switch to the alternatives more frequently, courtesy of his versatility, and that allowed us to wrestle control of the game.  We struggled, as expected to make inroads in central areas, as can be shown below - note the lack of completed passes (green) in the final third into central positions- and really came alive when we were able to create overloads in the wide spaces.

We've now got an 11 day break before our cup game against DStv Premiership side, Maritzburg United.  Until then, sing it boys...

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

We have a welcome 11-day break before our game against DStv Premiership side, Maritzburg, in the Nedbank Cup.  It's given me an opportunity to give everyone some time off over the weekend.  I've always found it weird that being a footballer comes with an expectation of burnout over the course of the season, yet I've been putting those expectations on their shoulders myself.  Sure, I give an additional day's rest for those playing in games, and those who aren't in the match day squad obviously have the match day off, but that's not much.  I imagine there's those who would say that it's an easy job, or my players are getting paid to play a game and therefore they can't complain, but we're all human.  People need time to themselves and their external interests, lest they run the risk of burnout.

Nedbank Cup: Rd 1 - Maritzburg (Home)

Definitely our biggest test to date.  Maritzburg are solidly mid-table in the DStv and have considerable more talent than any other team we've faced.  Two players in particular concern me.  Striker Richard Zumah is a physical beast - explosive, strong and good in the air - and we don't necessarily have anyone who can really go toe-to-toe with him.  Lucky Baloyi, at right-wing back, is their assist leader with 5 so far this season.  Similarly, he is a good all-rounder, perhaps marginally better defensively than going forward.  And he's good going forward.  We're going to need to have cover on that side.

Tactically, we're up against a 3-man defence that has, at times, struggled this season.  Maritzburg are a patient team, and are very comfortable on the ball, but they can be vulnerable to the counter.  I think we will be served well by trying to keep them in front of us, and then looking to press intensely in spells to cause turnovers in dangerous positions.

Game Plan

0-15 Minutes: Main
15-20 Minutes: Alt 1
20-35 Minutes: Main
35-45 Minutes: Alt 1

With the above in mind, it's going to be a game we prioritise the more cautious approach for large swathes of the first half.  Much like the Polokwane game we want to save our 2nd alternative for later in the game, possibly when Mbulu is on the pitch and offers us more tactical flexibility.  If we can get in to the break level, I feel we have a good chance of causing an upset.

Match Day

Kambala makes his first start, whilst an injury to M Dlamini sees Zondi come in at right wing-back.  This is a big challenge, but I want to temper expectations.  I've told the lads to relax, enjoy the game and play without inhibitions.  I'm not sure I was quite as calming as I hoped to be.

(For clarity, I watch games on full, but then watch the highlights on Key to determine which "highlights" make this section)

06' PENALTY! - Keegan Ritchie plays a one-two and he's into the box.  Gulele comes across to make the challenge and Ritchie goes down.  Looks to me like Gulele got the ball, but a penalty's been given.  Where's VAR when you need it?
06' GOAL! - Friday Samu steps up and fires it high.  Msibi guesses the right way, but has no chance of saving that.  Not the start we wanted.  Uthongathi 0-1 Maritzburg.
35' - Mashikinya has a free-kick 25-yards out.  It's struck well, but curls past the post.  A few inches left and that's a goal.

HALF TIME. Uthongathi 0-1 Maritzburg.  There's no sugar coating here.  We've been awful.  Whilst we know Maritzburg are the better team, there's no excuse for a lack of effort.  We've been passive, and far too quick to lump the ball away.  Haas comes on to replace Zondi and P Dlamini has been asked to stay a little deeper to help us try and get control of the ball a little bit more

73' GOAL! - Rambuwane picks the ball up on the half way line and plays a beautiful slide rule pass into the path of Phewa.  One touch to steady himself before firing low into the far corner.  Game on.  Uthongathi 1-1 Maritzburg.
85' - Mbulu drives to the right wing, before laying back to Gwala.  He swings it in from deep and Phewa gets up to meet it.  His header is narrowly over.

END OF 90.  Uthongathi 1-1 Maritzburg.  That was a much better second half.  We looked more comfortable in possession, and got the equaliser we deserved.  Momentum is in our favour.  Let's put this to bed in extra time.

91' - HOW DID WE MISS THAT?  Immediately from the kick off, Shezi plays Phewa in down the channels.  He crosses and Mbulu is unmarked on the edge of the 6-yard box.  He can't get enough on it, and his header trickles just past the post.  Agonisingly close.
107' - Gwala is caught on the ball and Ritchie decides to take an immediate pot shot which goes harmlessly wide.  A fresher player might've driven into the box and scored there.  Lucky.

PENALTIES!!!

- Mbulu takes the first penalty.  It's too close to the keeper, but he can't get a strong enough hand on it.  1-0.
- Samu's already scored from the spot today.  This time he goes for the bottom left corner.  Msibi guesses the right way again, but this time he's able to turn it round the post! 1-0.
- Kambala thumps it straight down the middle as the keeper dives to his left.  2-0.
- Ritchie sends Msibi the wrong way and keep Maritzburg in the hunt. 2-1.
- Phewa goes for power and it's an absolute bullet into the top right corner.  No chance for Hoffman. 3-1.
- Bongani Sam aims for the bottom right corner, and it's perfect.  Msibi goes the right way, but wasn't getting close. 3-2.
- Haas goes the same way, and it's enough to beat the keeper.  We're 1 penalty away. 4-2.
- Pressure on Kewuti.  It's a short run up.  And it nestles right in that bottom right corner. 4-3.
- Shezi can send us through here.  He puts his foot through it, and that bursts the top of the net.  Unstoppable. 5-3.

FULL TIME. Uthongathi p1-1 Maritzburg.  GET IN!!!  A pretty tense game, but we did it in the end.  Despite our awful first half, I thought we did a great job of restricting Maritzburg.  If you take their penalty out of the equation, we managed to do a good chance of keeping them out of our box.  The second half introduction of Mbulu was probably the game-changer as he was able to pick up the ball in between the lines and help connect our midfield and attack.  Moreover, he helped create space for Rambuwane, who was my MotM.  Everything good went through him, and he finished with 5 open-play key passes.

Our next game is less than 72 hours away, so not much time to celebrate.  Nonetheless, we'll enjoy it whilst we can.  Take it away boys...

[GIMN]

Routes & Combos: An NFL Experiment

  

Post game rest means we head into our next game with little to no preparation.  Thankfully, also little to no news either.  Mfanakifile Dlamini returns after a bruised shin.  Our reward for beating Maritzburg is an away trip to fellow First Division side, Casric Stars, in 2 and a half weeks time.

GW23: City Rovers (Home)

Platinum City Rovers are on a 4-game losing streak and sit just 1 point off bottom.  In fact, they've only avoided defeat in 2 of their last 9 games.  On paper this should be an easy win.  They have had a 14-day break since their last game, and will be coming into this fresh, however.

We're expecting them to play a conservative 4-4-2.  They're not specifically counter-attacking, however.  When they do have the ball, a lot of their play goes through Oupa Manyisa, often deployed as a deep-lying playmaker looking for balls out to the wings.  We will do well to stay close to him and restrict his time on the ball.

Defensively, they're a mess.  Having conceded 3 or more goals on 6 occasions this season.  As with most 4-4-2s, they seem notably vulernable in central areas, and we'll look to get our creative players into those spaces between their midfield and defenece.

Game Plan

0-10 Minutes: Alt 1
10-25 Minutes: Main
25-35 Minutes: Alt 2
35-45 Minutes: Main

It's a pretty simple plan for this game.  I want 2 players in between the lines, and I want us to start on the front foot, try and get an early goal.  I'm hoping by deploying a wider shape at the start, we can open up things even more in central areas later in the game.

Match Day

With 2 games in quick succession, a handful of changes.  M Dlamini returns from injury, whilst Gwala, Zakari, Shezi & Mbulu come in for Silangwe, Kambala, Mbutho and Phewa respectively.  The players must think I'm a broken record, as I once again tell them that I want more of the same.  A few extra words of encouragement to the midfield elicits a slight reaction as I send the lads out into the torrential rain.

HALF TIME. Uthongathi 0-0 City Rovers.  The less said about the first half the better.  We've had a shot, which is more than City Rovers can say, but it's been absolutely turgid.  I can't blame the players too much as the conditions are far from ideal.  I'm not going to tell them that, though.  I remind them that if they don't shoot, we can't win, and ask them to play with a little bit more directness.

57' - A defensive mix-up sees Rambuwane get the ball just inside the area.  He cuts inside and squares to Mbulu but his shot is blocked from point blank range.  There's a scramble, but somehow the keeper is able to eventually gather.
62' GOAL! - A series of passes from the back eventually makes it's way to Rambuwane just inside their half.  He looks up, and spreads the play to Shezi on the left wing.  He crosses to the near post and Nikitaridis is there to head home.  A lovely move.  Uthongathi 1-0 City Rovers.
68' - Mbulu picks up the ball in space on the right and he's able to find Zakari breaking from deep.  It's a speculative effort from 25-yards out.  Narrowly wide.
94' GOAL! - Molhamme plays a one two with fellow substitute Zondi and he's away down the right.  He cuts it back from the byline and Nikitaridis is running onto it from deep.  A first time strike from near the penalty spot and that's wrapped up the win.  Uthongathi 2-0 City Rovers.

FULL TIME.  Uthongathi 2-0 City Rovers.  All things considered, a good win.  A lot of players had played 120 minutes only a few days earlier and the conditions weren't exactly conducive to our more patient approaches.  We focussed on our more attacking shapes in the 2nd half and got the rewards.  Nikitaridis bullied their backline and deserved his goals.  I really like what he offers as a lone striker both in terms of goal threat and opening space behind him. 

I want to single out Amado Gulele for praise.  The 21-year old made 11 interceptions and, more importantly, was much better on the ball than usual.  His 85% pass completion was a considerable improvement on his season average 70% and his ball into Rambuwane set us away for our opening goal.  Probably the greatest indicator of our dominance was that NONE of our centre-backs even attempted a tackle all game long.

Here we go:

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by GIMN