[FM23] Bees of Brentford: A Taste of Honey

[john1]

Wow what a epic ending on final day of the season! Monster budget for the summer!

[warlock]

Seems I'm popular in Italy. After being head-hunted for the Roma job after season 1, I've just been tentatively approached by Milan:

[Jogo Bonito]

Just caught up with this. A slightly uneasy end to the season, but despite the mounting injuries you got some good results and great to see you claim 3rd. 

A massive transfer budget is a fine reward to help you challenge on domestic and European fronts. And with Toney still banging them in, a few good additions should see you do well again.

Well done Nobby Charlton!

[warlock]

13 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

a few good additions should see you do well again

Yes, but... a new wrinkle has appeared in our squad management. Many of our key players got a free pass last year because they were under 21 years. This year several have ticked above that so now require squad registration for both PL and Europe. The lack of homegrown players is really starting to hurt.

An interesting challenge 

[warlock]

Must admit, this one gave me pause for thought...

[karanhsingh]

6 hours ago, warlock said:

Yes, but... a new wrinkle has appeared in our squad management. Many of our key players got a free pass last year because they were under 21 years. This year several have ticked above that so now require squad registration for both PL and Europe. The lack of homegrown players is really starting to hurt.

An interesting challenge 

Yes , i believe IRL Brentford don't focus on their academy at all as they believe it's not worthwhile. In game your long term fix could be signing a few good young players as soon S they hit 18 so they can eventually qualify as HG. 

5 hours ago, warlock said:

Must admit, this one gave me pause for thought...

Booooo

[warlock]

7 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

In game your long term fix could be signing a few good young players as soon S they hit 18 so they can eventually qualify as HG.

Already in progress 

As for PSG, after a few moments to ponder all that money the offer was quickly declined.

[warlock]

August 2024

A long and difficult transfer window would have gone easier had I not - late in pre-season - decided to switch tactical systems again. Before we get into the complications, let's take a look at how I saw the squad:

Goalkeeping

My issues with Reya have been well-documented here, in particular his determination to come out for crosses and corners while lacking the pace to reach them. This was an issue in season 1, although for much of season 2 he seemed to have put that behind him. But as the season went on, some of that frailty re-emerged and he was often rating either 6.1 or 7.5. He was good more often than not, but I never knew what to expect, and that's hard on the nerves. Backup Thomas Strakosha was a reliable understudy but wanted first-choice status and was transfer listed at his own request.

Defence

I was largely happy with central defence where Sutalo and Pinnock were ever-reliable. For much of the season Lienhart was their equal or better but his performances dropped off massively towards the end of the season partly, I suspect, because he attracted a lot of transfer interest that proved a major distraction. My coaches rated Ajer highly as a CB, but he'd spent much of the season at RB covering for Costinha and when not required there, I prefer him as a DM. Also, only Pinnock is a natural on the left, so that was a minor issue. Of greater concern were performances in the fullback positions. On the left, Rico is rated as one of our best players but hadn't shown it in two full seasons, usually found wanting in defence and contributing almost nothing going forward. Hickey, now 22 and no longer a youngster, hasn't developed at all in two seasons. He still has time to improve, but the coaching staff no longer believe he can be the great player he seemed when he arrived.

Things are better on the right where Costinha is a consistent presence in both defence and attack, and Esteves, who joined as backup in January, has been okay when called on.

Midfield

Although we were blessed with a solid crew of reliable pros, too many were natural DMs of the BMW type. Only Jensen, and to a lesser extent Dasilva, offered us much creativity although we were helped by the arrival of Enzo Le Fee last summer. But it remained a problem whenever we had to plug holes for rotation or injury.

Attack

Toney continues to be our star player and key source of goals. However, I noted in a previous post that we were often too reliant on the big striker and when he had an off-day or was marked out of the game we struggled to score. I signed Dion Drena Beljo to help ease that burden but after a bright start at Brentford his development has been much slower than I would have liked and last year he found the net just 4 times in 25 appearances. In real life Mbeumo playing at AMR has been a source of goals, but in FM he tends to disappear too often and missed the entire first half of last season injured. On the opposite wing, Damsgaard is our most reliable source of assists but his scoring ability appears to have deserted him. He bagged 11 goals and 10 assists in his first season, while last year he contributed 11 assists but scored just once. And Keane Lewis-Potter has a similar story - 8 goals and 4 assists in season 1; just 2 goals and 4 assists last year.

I'm hoping for great things from Roony Bardghi but a 3-month injury meant he missed all of pre-season so it will surely take him a while to get going again.

The plan

Simply stated: sell Strakosha and recruit a GK who was happy to be Reya's backup but with the potential to replace him in time; upgrade LB; find another young striker to give us a third option up front; bring in more creativity in midfield; find a backup to Damsgaard at AML in the event that KLP doesn't improve.

First complication: Henry at LB is a team leader and would be difficult to remove, possibly leading to a squad meltdown.

Second complication: Even a generous transfer budget of £90-odd millions would be stretched to sign 5 or 6 quality players.

Third complication: The ever-present need to sign hot prospects who can become homegrown at club.

I have a feeling this has been a long read and short on pictures. So continue to Part 2...

[warlock]

August 2024, part 2

The outs

Strakosha was moved on, signing for Burnley for a paltry £1.5m (but all profit as we signed him on a free). Apart from a large number of loans for youngsters, that was the sum of our outgoings until transfer deadline day when DM Frank Onyeka attracted the attention of Ajax and departed for £24m, potentially rising to £28m, and fellow DM Vitaly Janelt was loaned to Real Sociedad in a deal that might be worth as much as £12m plus his wages for the season.

The ins

With Strakosha first out, his replacement was first in:

The young German was no bargain at £33m but has the potential to be our forever-goalkeeper and will become homegrown. The scouting team were adamant he was the best option available and he was happy to accept backup status.

Next in was the solution to both AML and CM requirements:

I wanted creativity and he brings it in boatloads. He broke my ad-hoc wage structure but I believe he'll be worth it.

Next came the backup to Pinnock on the left side of central defence:

Big and strong yet lightning quick, Esteve was a genuine bargain at just £12.75m from Montpellier and still with room to grow.

The final signing for the first-team was a young German striker:

Definitely one for the future but both scouting and coaching teams believe he has solid 5* potential and he might just prove to be the long-term replacement for Ivan Toney.

With an eye on that need to sign young prospects, we made two other signings who were immediately loaned back to their clubs:

Borset is a Norwegian defender who is equally adept at both LB and LCB, although he'll need to develop those dribbling and crossing attributes for the former role.

Bergvall is a Swedish midfielder, already boasting impressive playmaker attributes and with a "model citizen" personality. I'm sure he's a star of the future.

Total spend: £88m, however with the fee for Onyeka and sundry other income we still have a transfer budget of £35m and £158k a week available for wages, a serious sum for any required winter transfers.

As for that change in tactics, see part 3.

[warlock]

August 2024, part 3

The sharp-eyed might have noted that of the identified problems, the signing of a young striker and a potential star midfielder did not offer much by way of a solution. And they may also have wondered about the departure of two experienced DMs in Onyeka and Janelt. Here's my cunning solution (largely but not entirely stolen from @Cleon's marvellous website (View From The Touchline):

The modern 442 inspired by Unai Emery's Villa (and Villareal). And here's why:

1. It helps Toney by providing him a strike partner, moving Mbeumo alongside, with both young backups capable of covering both AF and CFs roles. Although I expect Toney to continue as our main goalscorer it spreads the burden and doesn't allow the opposition to nullify a single threat. I've always been a fan of two-striker systems but don't like 3ATB setups. In previous FMs I've used variations on the 442 diamond but we have too many good wide players to allow that here.

2. It greatly simplifies our midfield with one role - the RPM - providing the creative force, and his partner - a DM - providing support in both attack and defence. Although both Le Fee and Jensen look weak in the RPM role, they both have the attributes and are performing better than the graphic might suggest. There's also the classic FM issue of showing players as uncomfortable in certain positions/roles/duties even though their attributes are fine. As a bonus, it allowed me to move on Onyeka and Janelt for additional transfer fees and wage savings.

3. With both wide players coming inside, it plays as a 4222, providing even more support to the strikers while also allowing the WMs to take the play to the outside if the opportunity presents itself. But it also defends as a traditional 442.

That's the theory... how is it doing in practice?

Not the toughest of opening months, and that home draw against Leeds was particularly disappointing. On the other hand, a point away at Arsenal is always an achievement. Most importantly, it shows the greater strike threat, not only with two goals each for Toney and Mbeumo but also from widemen Szoboszlai and Conceição. It also puts us into our now-traditional third place in the league, one point behind Liverpool and Man City and with the meanest defence in the competition.

So, a good start, and I'm hoping that as the squad get used to it, and the new signings gel, it will get better. A great thing, hope... 

[karanhsingh]

Excellent signings, really moving up a level. And as you probably know, i am a big fan of the 442

[john1]

Superb signings you have brought in Decent start to the season!

[rich ruzzian]

Some really nice signings.

What is de goal for this season? 

[warlock]

13 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Excellent signings

5 hours ago, john1 said:

Superb signings

2 hours ago, rich ruzzian said:

Some really nice signings

Unanimous support!? Thanks all.

2 hours ago, rich ruzzian said:

What is de goal for this season? 

Realistically? I'm hoping for another finish in the European spots (third or fourth would be fantastic). I'd also like to win a cup - the Carabao would do - since we've come pretty close in the last two seasons; just need to make that final push.

[warlock]

Think some people in Brentford are getting carried away:

This is a PSG side that now features the £230m Declan Rice at the heart of their midfield.

[warlock]

Well, I wasn't wrong about our chances but we gave them a fright:

We should have been 3-0 up inside 15 minutes when first Toney missed a sitter from 10 yards, and then Mbeumo - free at the back post - hit the post when it was easier to score. Eventtually Dom gave us a well-deserved lead. But I suppose half-a-billion quid's worth of forwards buys you a bit of luck . Bitter, moi?

[john1]

Closed game by the look of it

[warlock]

54 minutes ago, john1 said:

Close game

It was. But after a good night's sleep... I'm still bitter

[Jogo Bonito]

Rubbish signings. Oh, OK. I agree with everyone else, they look good bits of business. Seimen is now my first choice in goal at Stuttgart (season 3) and was immense for @Carambau who also took Popovic if I recall correctly. The other recruits seem good too.

Tactically that is interesting and it seems to be performing well for you. The HG issue is always going to be a problem it seems, but you're finding a way to overcome it so far!

[warlock]

4 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

The HG issue is always going to be a problem it seems, but you're finding a way to overcome it

I've found it isn't really a problem in the league, but Europe is a headache. I've had to leave three empty spots in the Champions League squad because I only have one eligible homegrown player (Rico Henry). But as a consequence I have two senior players unhappy because they had to miss out on European football. Not unhappy enough to kick up a major fuss, but still... We all love a challenge, eh?

[warlock]

October 2024

A busy month saw us play 6 matches in three competitions: 3 in the league, 2 in Europe, and a Carabao Cup tie.

We opened with a trip to Copenhagen where we dispatched the Danish champions with ease:

A brace from Toney gave us a 2-0 lead at halftime, and another from Damsgaard after the interval clinched the victory. A very late fourth from Conceição rubbed it in a bit but was no more than we deserved against opponents who were lucky to finish with 11 men on the pitch.

We returned home to face Tottenham in the league. Spurs have been rather... Spursy so far in the save but look a different proposition this season under the managerial hand of one M. Pochetino and significantly reinforced by the arrival of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, wonderkid Alex Scott, Celtic's Liel Abada and - weirdly - Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City.

It was a close game that could have gone either way but Popovic's goal after 75 minutes proved to be no more than a consolation. The defeat also brought the end of a 10-game run without loss.

Four days later we made the trip to Craven Cottage for the latest derby match against neighbours Fulham.

In the event, this one was closer than it should have been and the victory owed much to Mitrovic's inability to stay onside. But Damsgaard continues to shine and clinched the win midway through the second half.

Next came the European tie against a gilded PSG side, which need not detain us any further here. Three days later it was back to league business and a trip to Leicester.

After the PSG result I wanted to give somebody a thumping and the lads indulged me. We had the possession, they had the better chances, but some utterly ruthless finishing from Toney and KLP, plus a welcome goal from Beljo, gave us a ridiculous scoreline. Toney picked up another PoM award, but I'd have given it to KLP who added an assist to his two goals in what was probably his best ever performance for us.

And to end the month we faced Spurs, again, in the Carabao Cup:

I wanted revenge for the month's opening defeat and told the lads as much in the pre-match teamtalk. And they delivered. Damsgaard gave us an early lead after just 6 minutes and then, midway through the second half, popped up again to put the game beyond doubt. I'd like to win a trophy this season and the Carabao Cup is the likeliest target so to reach the quarter-final for the third year running is pleasing.

With just one defeat in the league, how does that translate to position?

Very well, actually. Liverpool, inevitably, are at the top of the table but we're still in touch for the moment. Unfortunately, we have lost Toney for the next month after he suffered a back injury, and that's a month that begins with a visit from Newcastle, who are hard on our heels, and our next two Champions League matches. Oh, we also face Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool - it could be a season-defining four weeks

[karanhsingh]

Great start to the season there mate! 

Will Roony qualify as HG ultimately or you didn't get him in early enough?

[warlock]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Will Roony qualify as HG

I believe he will, as will Seimen and Jobe Bellingham. But I'm having doubts about the two Scandinavians who were loaned back to their clubs. The fact that they're officially Brentford players but not physically here at Brentford seems to be working against them (based on what's showing on their 'homegrown' status in the squad view). But since neither qualified for a work permit there was no point in having them here since they couldn't play. It's all very frustrating and very unclear.

I'm increasingly of the view that the work permit system is nothing more or less than a money-raising scheme by the government . Twenty grand a pop!

[Carambau]

Sorry for being late to the party again, but what a nice development  

Some of your signings look very familiar  

[SixPointer]

Lovely transfer business. The well thought out tactical switch had paid dividends and you were extremely unlucky against PSG. 

Huge run of games coming up like you stated could make or break the season. 

[warlock]

November 2024

As expected, this month turned out to be one of the toughest of the save so far. And to make matters worse, we had to do it without our star man as striker Ivan Toney missed the whole of the month with a back fracture that means he'll also miss the first few games of December. But in the event, we probably did better than expected...

The opening game of the month saw the visit of promotion-chasing Newcastle:

We emerged from this one with a creditable draw, although a win might have been the fairer result. Isak gave the visitors the lead on the half-hour mark but Mbeumo had an equaliser chalked off for offside before the interval. In the second half we dominated possession and chances and it was no less than we deserved when Roony bagged the equaliser 8 minutes into the half.

The midweek match saw us travelling to Italy for a daunting Champions League tie against Lazio:

We did our chances no favours by allowing the home side to grab an early lead when SMS scored after just 4 minutes. We were back on terms midway through the first half when Dom fired home a through-ball from Enzo but the Hungarian let us down just after the hour when he put a tame penalty into the hands of the Lazio 'keeper. Immobile secured the win for the Italians on 70 minutes and we headed for home with nothing to show for a good away performance.

With barely enough time to throw a change of clothes into our suitcases we were off to Manchester to face City:

Whether it was the fabled European hangover or simple fatigue we were never at the races for this one. Raya did well to keep the Citizens out but finally succumbed in the 62nd minute and that was that.

We then enjoyed a welcome week off before near-neighbours Chelsea made the trip to Brentford Community Stadium:

The match was an even affair but we came away with a priceless 3 points as we took our chances and Chelsea squandered theirs. One thing that has become apparent over the course of the season is a problem with individual consistency - when one striker plays well, the other is poor; when our wide players excel, the defence is often careless. It's one thing when we're simply outplayed, as we were against City, but we could do much better if we weren't relying on individuals for the occasional great performance.

As witnessed by our next match, a Champions League tie that saw German side Freiburg come to Brentford:

Despite playing most of the game against 10 men, we were never comfortable. Szoboszlai gave us a first-half lead and had another effort ruled out, but the fact we could only earn an xG of less than 2 from 13 shots on target shows how wayward our finishing was. Beljo and Mbeumo were constantly caught offside and the final whistle came as something of a relief.

And we finished the month with another home game, against league-leaders Liverpool:

I expected a thumping in this one, and it looked like we might be in line for one when the visitors opened the scoring midway through the first half. But another good performance from Raya in goal - and some stout defending from Pinnock - allowed us to keep it within a single goal margin before Roony - on as a substitute - grabbed an equaliser after 70 minutes.

If you'd offered me a league record of one win, one loss and two draws at the start of the month I'd have taken it with thanks. Despite my grumbles about what could be, I'm delighted with our over-performance:

Qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages might be tougher - we currently sit in 16th place after 5 games, outside the byes for the next round and with Celtic, Real Madrid and Napoli to play in the new year. But in December we also have a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa and our first silverware remains within reach.

[Jogo Bonito]

Still having some HG issues then. Sorry to hear that.

Tremendous league form and even if Europe looks tough, the domestic cups might, as you say, bring you close to something noteworthy.

[warlock]

29 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Still having some HG issues then. Sorry to hear that

Yeah, cheers mate. December is turning out to be brutal, too - another 8 games this month

[SixPointer]

Still well within striking distance after tough month!

[warlock]

December 2024

If November was tough, December was a meat-grinder - two games a week from start to finish. We began the month with Toney still missing with his injury and over the course of the month the knocks and muscle strains mounted - nothing major but enough to keep players out of matches and out of training.

We did pretty well in the first part - the defeat to Villa was a disappointment but we recovered well to beat Southampton, and put in a battling display to see off Celtic in the Champions Leaague with a late winner from Damsgaard. But then the wheels fell off:

For the first time in my stint at Brentford, we lost three consecutive games - all of them away, and a trip to Old Trafford is never easy, but we were never in the game against Brighton, utterly collapsed after the returning Toney gave us an early lead against Villa, and surrendered to what felt like an inevitable loss to Man Utd. Out best chance at a trophy this season was gone, and I was worried.

In the first post of this season, I outlined the theory behind my switch to a 442 system. It was a good theory and it produced some excellent results. In practice it never quite delivered what I hoped, which - essentially - was to increase our attacking threat by swapping the DM for a second striker. But it was also meant to get more out of Mbeumo, who looked good in bagging a brace on the opening day but did little or nothing thereafter. So, with a pressing need to stop the rot, for the visit of West Ham I reverted to the 433:

Yes, the Hammers went down to 10 men midway through the first half, and down to 9 soon after the restart but we looked and played so much better. We dominated the ball, and even with 11 men the Hammers couldn't manage a shot on goal. We ghosted around and through their defence, and the red cards were the result of desperate attempts to win the ball back. It would have been a cicket score if not for the heroics of the West Ham 'keeper.

We followed that with a trip to Bournemouth who represented the kind of pitfall we'd often stumbled into:

Another commanding performance! We need to work on our finishing, but limiting the home side to a single shot on target was a measure of our control. And Mbeumo contributed 2 assists in his best performance since opening day. Those two victories sent us back to our usual 3rd place in the league table, behind the usual suspects of Man City and Liverpool, and ahead of Brighton, Newcastle and Chelsea. My tinkering days are behind me... it'll be 433 forever!

A glance ahead to the transfer window: it looks like we'll have to do some business as City just sprang a surprise bid for Sutalo. He's wanted a big move since the summer and, since I'm not in the business of keeping wantaway players, I agreed he could go if we got a bid of at least £32.5m. I've agreed a £39m deal with the Manchester outfit so I'm now on the lookout for a left-sided CB. (To my surprise Esteve, the left-footed CB we signed in the summer, turns out to prefer playing on the right.) Sporting's Ousmane Diomande would be my preferred option but he's currently out injured so Stuttgart's Dan Axel Zagadou might be the man.

[lfds89]

4 goals from 4 shots on target and 0.72 xG?! Is that correct or is it a bug? If that's correct, there's no need to work on your finishing 

[warlock]

18 minutes ago, lfds89 said:

there's no need to work on your finishing

Well, there was nothing wrong with the 4 shots on target... it was the other 11 I wasn't too impressed with!

[warlock]

January 2025 - wait, are we in a title race?!

Another stupid busy month, another 8 games played, plus a transfer window. Let's start with the quick and easy bit...

Transfers

Well, not exactly easy. One item on the to-do list was straightforward - our best CB, Sutalo, wanted away and Man City came in with a £32m offer. I'd already agreed he could go for £32.5m so I decided to chance my arm with the rich suitors and managed to push them up to £35.5m, rising to £39m. Having decided that I wanted a left-footer (for reasons explained above) I had identified Ousmane Diomande of Sporting as my preferred option. He was duly signed for his £22.5m release clause... and only when he arrived did I realise he's actually right-footed. I am an idiot, but he'll be a brilliant signing for us, I'm sure. I granted myself forgiveness:

The second pressing need arose at RB. Our summer signing for the backup role, Portugal youngster Esteves, turned out to have a major attitude problem. After twice criticising him for unacceptable training performances and having him walk out of the meetings, I dropped him to the u21 squad in an attempt to turn him around. In December, with first-choice RB Costinha out with flu, I recalled the youngster but encountered exactly the same issue. He was immediately transfer-listed and shipped off to Mallorca for the remainder of the season. I'll reassess his attitude when he returns.

Unfortunately, I failed to find a good replacement, most of my identified targets were now beyond the available budget. Because of injuries and other circucmstances, we've played with Kristoffer Ajer at RB for many games in the last two seasons, so I felt comfortable in using him there again, but that also meant we were short a good option at DM. Here I did have a target and he was duly signed:

Sohm joins us for £15m from Parma and, with 25 full caps for Switzerland on his CV, he'll do a fine job for us.

The squad has also been bolstered by the return of out two summer signings from Scandinavia who were loaned to their clubs to see out the season there:

Borset should be the long-term solution to the LCB slot and will be given opportunities whenever possible, and should achieve homegrown status in time.

Bergvall has made an immediate impact since his arrival, scoring on his debut and adding another in our most recent game, giving us two victories in those matches. I love him already!

In other youth news, Jobe Bellingham is developing well and has moved on loan to Turkish outfit Başakşehir until the summer.

January results

Since reverting to the 433 our form has been remarkable. Setting aside the defeat to the Galacticos of Madrid and the routine victory over L1 Coventry in the FA Cup, we have now recorded 7 straight wins in the league, and not conceded a goal in the process. The fly in my ointment is Toney who has now played 5 games without scoring and is in terrible form, averaging just 6.3 since his goal against Spurs. For now, I'm choosing gentle encouragement as my man-management strategy.

So, about that title race:

Okay, we're just 2pts ahead of Liverpool and they have a game in hand, but we're in excellent form and they - and Man City - are not:

No-one will be more astonished than me if we're still there in a week or six. But for now, let's enjoy Brentford being Premier League leaders .

[karanhsingh]

Wow - great going! Here's hoping you can somehow fight off the big guys and stay on top. 

By the way what does your 433 look like now?

[warlock]

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

what does your 433 look like now?

Not massively changed from the first season... shorter passing/normal tempo compared to normal passing/lower tempo, although I often switch them up and down depending on how we're playing. Both fullbacks now WB-sup, and both central midfielders as Mez-sup. I often switch the duties of the wide attackers, depending on who's playing - Roony on the right is usually an IF-att, in which case Damsgaard/Szoboszlai become inverted wingers. The idea is to have one side more attacking and one side more creative. If we need a goal I'll usually switch one of the mezzalas to attack.

[Jogo Bonito]

Superb performance in the league. 'Say we are top of the league, say we are top of the league'.

Keep it going Nobby, make them work hard to edge past you.

[warlock]

Just a note for hard-core Bees fans, I'm now in Spain for a week of r&r and laptops are verboten on family holidays so there will be a temporary hiatus. Our unlikely title challenge will resume on my return.

Your continued support is appreciated 

[SixPointer]

Sublime form! Shame a family holiday is getting in the way of your charge to a title.

Real life getting in the way 🙄

[karanhsingh]

On 01/06/2023 at 22:18, warlock said:

Not massively changed from the first season... shorter passing/normal tempo compared to normal passing/lower tempo, although I often switch them up and down depending on how we're playing. Both fullbacks now WB-sup, and both central midfielders as Mez-sup. I often switch the duties of the wide attackers, depending on who's playing - Roony on the right is usually an IF-att, in which case Damsgaard/Szoboszlai become inverted wingers. The idea is to have one side more attacking and one side more creative. If we need a goal I'll usually switch one of the mezzalas to attack.

Nice i like it, very well balanced. Enjoy the family holiday, even if you are undoubtedly keen to get back to the important business!

[Jogo Bonito]

Have a great time in Spain! If I didn't know you better, I'd have thought the R&R was standing for rock and roll 

Hopefully you'll come back well rested and ready to see the job through.

[warlock]

Thanks all. I am keen to get back to it but I'll be using the time to research a summer rebuild 

[Hootieleece]

3 hours ago, warlock said:

I'll be using the time to research a summer rebuild 

Spanish Wonderkids incoming?

[warlock]

February 2025 - what title race?

I always suspected our grip on the top of the table was tentative. But I didn't expect to fall so far, so fast. Although the month began on a high as we faced 3rd placed Brighton, who were level on points with 2nd placed Liverpool:

I certainly didn't want to drop two points at home but for 90 minutes it looked as though we were going to. Despite us largely controlling the game we couldn't find a way to score until CB Pinnock popped up in the second minute of added time to head home a precious winner.

Next up we faced consecutive games against the mighty Reds, first at home in the FA Cup, then away in the league:

After the game the press wondered aloud whether we had been lucky and I had to admit we were. If wonderkid striker Vitor Roque had been able to stay on onside Liverpool would have been out of sight before halftime. In the end a PoM-winning display from 'keeper Seimen kept us in the game before young hero Bergvall bagged another late, late winner.

If that gave us any confidence going into the league game at Anfield it didn't last long:

Jurgen Klopp must have lit a rocket under his players because they came at us like a pack of starving wolves:

The stats tell a clear story about this one - we were never competitive and Sohm's dismissal for a second yellow killed any hope of a fightback. And it was another game where Toney had an absolute stinker, made worse by the fact that all of our forward players were straightjacketed by the Liverpool defence.

That defeat saw us drop from the top, and Liverpool still had their game in hand, but I hoped we could respond in our next game, away at Southampton:

Nope. We had more and better chances but our finishing was awful. Toney was dropped for this one but Beljo did no better, finishing the game with a 6.2 rating.

Things didn't get any easier - four days later we travelled to Porto in the Champions League for our fifth game in three weeks and given our poor form and lack of goals, confidence was low:

Another game we deserved to win but at least we stopped the rot and avoided a third consecutive defeat. And once again it was young Bergvall who played the hero, grabbing the equaliser in the second half. When Toney stepped up to take a penalty six minutes from time i expected him to clinch the victory and take a big step towards a return to confidence and form. Instead, he scuffed a tame shot into the arms of Porto 'keeper Diogo Costa.

For our penultimate game of  the month we entertained our bogey team, Aston Villa, at the Community Stadium:

Toney was dropped again and with understudy Beljo doing no better, I turned to third-choice striker Matija Popovic to see if he could provide a spark up front. He couldn't but, fortunately, Damsgaard was in sparkling form and would likely have scored a hat-trick if he hadn't twisted an ankle midway through the second half. With time ticking away, our defence dozed off allowing Martinez to grab a late consolation goal for the visitors but this was a welcome return to winning ways.

Finally, for our seventh game in a short month, we played host to Porto in the return leg of our Champions League tie:

As suddenly as he had declined, our towering striker rose again and was unlucky not to score a hat-trick. Even better than his return to form - after 10 goalless games - he looked like the Toney of old, taking his chances with confidence and authority.

But having started the month ahead of Liverpool, where did we finish the month?

A disappointing 7 points in arrears. clinging on to second place but likely to lose that when a resurgent City win their game in hand. We find ourselves again fighting for third place in the league and another tough month ahead with an FA Cup tie against Brighton, league games against City and Chelsea, and two legs in the Champions League against as-yet-unknown opponents.

As for that summer rebuild, I think we have to make changes if we're to progress. Our problem positions remain the fullback spots with neither Henry or Costinha justifying their squad places. Lewis-Potter is also under threat after a disappointing season so far while my coaches reckon he has now reached his full potential as a 2.5*, "decent" Premier League player. DM Norgaard has been usurped by Sohm as first-choice DM, as has Reya at GK. The Spaniard is unhappy with his game time but Seimen is undroppable and our former No1 is unlikely to accept backup status.

[dido53]

@warlock ı thınk thıs ıs one of the best career here  specıally gıvıng tactıcs ıdeas and stuff keep ıt up mate ı wıll probably start a brentford save myself

[warlock]

1 hour ago, dido53 said:

ı thınk thıs ıs one of the best career here

Woah! High praise indeed. Thanks a lot

[warlock]

Curses! Just watched our Champions League draw...

Spoiler

 

[Jogo Bonito]

A tough draw! But still a fine season even if your form has dropped off from what it had been.

[warlock]

2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

still a fine season

It is, and I need to remind myself that we're still overperforming massively. But I can't escape the feeling that we need a big squad shakeup if we're to progress. We're now pretty well established as "the best of the rest" but can't consistently compete against Man City and Liverpool. That's our next challenge.

[karanhsingh]

That's the worst type of draw, if you're going to play a top side at least it should not be an English one. Anyway, still a great season so far, and nice to see Brighton also doing so well. 

[warlock]

10 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

nice to see Brighton also doing so well

They're turning into a real stone in my shoe

As you're about to see...