13th Man Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Finding those quality backups is often more of a challenge then bringing in a new first choice player. You need quality, can’t break the bank, and need them to be okay with less game time. Well done with all that business! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixPointer Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Going along nicely. Cause for concern with the money should be solved after one or two good seasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 20, 2023 Author Share Posted May 20, 2023 (edited) On 17/05/2023 at 00:28, warlock said: Yup . Good management all round, I think. I have grown to hate the African Cup, since it often takes players away for ages at a time when you're already struggling with injuries and fixture congestion. I terminated Schade's loan early in the Brentford save. Couldn't get a tune out of him in AM roles - seems like I should have playing him as a striker. I assume you've one eye on a European spot, so I wish you well with that while recognising that European football too early can be a huge burden on the squad. At least in Germany they have the winter break so the impact is a little less, but yes it has stopped certain clubs signing African players in the past. It will soon be a summer tournament. Top seven was the aim, with or without help from Schade On 17/05/2023 at 04:33, karanhsingh said: Good going - you are continuing with the strong form. I've actually scouted Schade a couple of times too, look forward to seeing how he does for you. And lastly, i had to pinch myself when i saw where Bayern are on your save! What in the world is going on there!? Thanks. It's the first time I have managed Schade so time will tell if it works out. A fairly low risk move given the modest transfer fee though. Bayern are having some competition this year, for sure. @13th Man Agreed, all about finding the right balance. But we were pleased with our transfer business certainly. @SixPointer Not really concerns, more just that we had dipped slightly in to the heavily guarded cash vaults to do a bit of business. Financially we remain in good shape. You're right, nothing to be worrying about Edited May 20, 2023 by Jogo Bonito Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 20, 2023 Author Share Posted May 20, 2023 Season 2023/24 - Part 3 A good run of form had kept us in contention, but the only win in five February games came in the DFB-Pokal March was better as we just about remained in the Cup and went unbeaten in three league games (even grabbing a rare away win in the process) In April we had some tough fixtures, the only two losses coming at the hands of Bayern Munich (including an exit at DFB-Pokal Semi Final stage) The difficult run-in continued in May, but a battling point at home to league leaders Borussia Dortmund left us needing just one point to claim 6th spot And despite losing concentration after being 3-1 up on the final weekend, we managed to get that point we needed at FC Koln Confusion has hit our administration department as the news article says Europa Conference League, but the Bundesliga table says we made the Europa League As you will see, Borussia Dortmund claimed a fine title triumph with a three point gap, and FSV Mainz had a fantastic campaign to claim 3rd spot Poor Kaiserslautern ended with just four points (no wins, four draws) after 34 games - not what they would have wanted after securing promotion back to the big time Here is the performance graph (quite steady), key player stats, club stats, and financial status at season-end - all of that looks very satisfactory We still believe we will be playing Europa League football next term, certainly Alexander thought so when confirming how we had been rewarded for finishing 6th Here are the player stats for all competitions, which reveals the impressive contributions of Ouwejan, Silas and Adams in particular Talking of Adams, here is his profile at the close of the campaign - impressive numbers indeed Anything else? Continuing the theme of random Manager of the Year awards, this time Schalke boss Reis won it Adams was announced as Bundesliga Signing of the Season - he won our fans Player of the Year award and was second top Bundesliga scorer Left-back Ouwejan delivered the highest number of Bundesliga assists too We sit 18th in the 'Wages to Turnover' chart which yet again demonstrates the strength of our economic business model As a result, we took the small liberty of asking to improve our training facilities when we met the board for our de-briefing session Our U19 team had finished a close 2nd to FSV Mainz last year, but this time we did the double by winning both the League & Youth Cup And finally, we learned our budget for next season - a very healthy 56m Euros transfer fund and a sizeable 800,000 Euros weekly wage budget 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 20, 2023 Author Share Posted May 20, 2023 (edited) I've progressed to the start of pre-season now, so time to launch the third season. Edited May 20, 2023 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 The Future looks so bright, you need to wear shades! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 20, 2023 Author Share Posted May 20, 2023 2 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: The Future looks so bright, you need to wear shades! Thanks. Small steps, but 10th and now 6th, so hopefully heading in the right direction at least Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: We sit 18th in the 'Wages to Turnover' chart That's impressive - suggests a huge over-performance A good season and, hopefully, the extra fixtures in Europe won't take too big a toll. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 21, 2023 Author Share Posted May 21, 2023 12 hours ago, warlock said: That's impressive - suggests a huge over-performance A good season and, hopefully, the extra fixtures in Europe won't take too big a toll. Thanks mate. As you know, I'm not the most experienced European manager so it wouldn't be a major surprise if it's over quite quickly. But Champions League qualification will have to be our lofty target if we can improve our away form and consistency in the Bundesliga. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 That's a great season all things considered, and a nice little transfer budget as well Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 21, 2023 Author Share Posted May 21, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, karanhsingh said: That's a great season all things considered, and a nice little transfer budget as well Good enough for me. My standards and/or managerial skills are lower than yours Season 2024/25 - Season Preview Pre-Season Friendlies An early season stroll against local opposition - only marred by a 37th minute injury to striker Akor Adams which would see him miss the rest of our pre-season A three-game tour of Switzerland against decent opposition built up more momentum We returned to Germany to hold off strong Belgian opposition And the friendlies were completed with a resounding away win in Hamburg against a side only just relegated from Bundesliga 1 to the second tier Transfer Business The first of two January deals after successful pre-contract negotiations saw Spanish striker Fran Navarro arrive after several good seasons in the top flight of Portugal The second pre-agreed Bosman deal completed last winter saw promising young winger Diego Moreira arriving (he'll be mainly playing for our 2nd Team) Another arrival on 1st July 2024 was Danilho Doekhi from Union Berlin for €7 million, and the Dutch central defender has also been appointed new club captain German right-back Kilian Fischer signed from VfL Wolfsburg for €2.6 million on 27th July as cover, and he will be made available for our 2nd team to aid his development On 12th August we concluded our business as €5.5 million was paid to AGF in Denmark for ex-Koln central defender Yann Aurel Bisseck Departing the club was central defender Konsantinos Mavropanos (to Almeria for an initial €6.25m rising to €8.25m) as we wanted to shake up the defence Ex-captain Wataru Endo was released after excellent club service, along with Pascal Stenzel & Fabian Bredlow who were both squad-fillers Some significant sums were also received for several Stuttgart 2nd Team players, but unfortunately none of these can be found in the transfer history pages Squad for Season 2024/25 Below is the squad assembled for the new campaign (the four highlighted will play mainly for the 2nd Team) Many of our players are now tied down to long-term contracts on sensibly improved wages, something we have done step-by-step when necessary We've also made good progress in our philosophy to retain and increase our number of German players, but don't aim to make that contingent 100% There may still be a couple of departures as we would be willing to allow Dan-Axel Zagadou, Bernard Mensah & Enzo Millot to move on if suitable offers were made Due to ongoing improvements, we have dropped strikers Thomas Kastanaros and Max Wagner to the 2nd Team so they can build up more competitive minutes German central defender Tim Oermann (20) also goes in to the 2nd Team after paying a fee of €3.5m to RB Leipzig to acquire his services The Stuttgart U19 squad sees six new arrivals (either for free or minimal amounts) as we wish to keep the young talent coming through our system We had reverted to a 532 formation during the final few months of last season after our earlier tactic had been worked out by our opponents During this pre-season we have freshened it up again and for the time being we will be running with this 4132 version It seems solid in defence, protective and progressive in midfield, and explosive in attack (aided by the raiding wing-backs out wide) Edited May 21, 2023 by Jogo Bonito 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 I am liking the Ideas of your Out of Possession Instructions in the New Tactic. Also the new Club Captain was that one of his "requests" to get him to sign? I usually look for one with a better personality than balanced if possible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 21, 2023 Author Share Posted May 21, 2023 19 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: I am liking the Ideas of your Out of Possession Instructions in the New Tactic. Also the new Club Captain was that one of his "requests" to get him to sign? I usually look for one with a better personality than balanced if possible. Thanks for reading and your positive comments as usual. Actually, no that wasn't a condition of the transfer. We allowed our captain to be released as he was 31, and the VC is not a nailed-on starter so we picked the best leadership rating of what we expect to be the regular starters. He's an experienced player, familiar playing top-flight football in Holland & Germany and is expected to be a leader through performance rather than anything else. But generally, I agree your point and if we cave in under pressure then maybe we will have to address that. Time will tell, I guess. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 @Jogo Bonito Some good recruitment there, I think. Surprised you can put Moreira into the B team - I have to say he'd be a first-teamer for Brentford. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 21, 2023 Author Share Posted May 21, 2023 13 minutes ago, warlock said: @Jogo Bonito Some good recruitment there, I think. Surprised you can put Moreira into the B team - I have to say he'd be a first-teamer for Brentford. Thanks mate, I'm happy with the recruitment too. I feel we are stronger year-on-year, but by evolution rather than revolution. Talent-wise, you are right about Moreira (saw he joined Chelsea in real life recently) but we already have players we don't really want to leave out and unless we play wingers he is a natural for development (and squad status means he should not complain). Having said that, we have converted a few wide midfielders in to mezzalas (Fuhrich and Ulrich compete with Egloff for one of these roles), and Knauff was dropped back from winger to attacking full-back, whilst Silas performs as a striker unless we play 433 with wingers. We may take the option to give Moreira a run of games as left-sided mezzala, as we have a bid to take Mensah on loan with a future fee. The jury is out on these two calls though. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carambau Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 (edited) Sorry for being late to that party, but let me congratulate you for a nice 6th place finish! European football awaits The new signings looks sensible and on point for their positions. Surprised to see Knauff as a right back though but then again he will race the line up and down Edited May 21, 2023 by Carambau 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 21, 2023 Author Share Posted May 21, 2023 3 minutes ago, Carambau said: Sorry for being late to that party, but let me congratulate you for a nice 6th place finish! European football awaits The new signings looks sensible and on point for their positions. Surprised to see Knauff as a right back though but then again he will race the line up and down You're welcome at any Stuttgart party Thanks, we are looking forward to the new season. As for Knauff, I know he has played winger more often than not, but also as a wing-back. If you look at his profile, he has 10+ in tackling, marking and positioning (plus strength, aggression and stamina), which made me think he can do the role well as an attacking wing-back using those dribbling traits. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 10 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: Good enough for me. My standards and/or managerial skills are lower than yours Season 2024/25 - Season Preview Pre-Season Friendlies An early season stroll against local opposition - only marred by a 37th minute injury to striker Akor Adams which would see him miss the rest of our pre-season A three-game tour of Switzerland against decent opposition built up more momentum We returned to Germany to hold off strong Belgian opposition And the friendlies were completed with a resounding away win in Hamburg against a side only just relegated from Bundesliga 1 to the second tier Transfer Business The first of two January deals after successful pre-contract negotiations saw Spanish striker Fran Navarro arrive after several good seasons in the top flight of Portugal The second pre-agreed Bosman deal completed last winter saw promising young winger Diego Moreira arriving (he'll be mainly playing for our 2nd Team) Another arrival on 1st July 2024 was Danilho Doekhi from Union Berlin for €7 million, and the Dutch central defender has also been appointed new club captain German right-back Kilian Fischer signed from VfL Wolfsburg for €2.6 million on 27th July as cover, and he will be made available for our 2nd team to aid his development On 12th August we concluded our business as €5.5 million was paid to AGF in Denmark for ex-Koln central defender Yann Aurel Bisseck Departing the club was central defender Konsantinos Mavropanos (to Almeria for an initial €6.25m rising to €8.25m) as we wanted to shake up the defence Ex-captain Wataru Endo was released after excellent club service, along with Pascal Stenzel & Fabian Bredlow who were both squad-fillers Some significant sums were also received for several Stuttgart 2nd Team players, but unfortunately none of these can be found in the transfer history pages Squad for Season 2024/25 Below is the squad assembled for the new campaign (the four highlighted will play mainly for the 2nd Team) Many of our players are now tied down to long-term contracts on sensibly improved wages, something we have done step-by-step when necessary We've also made good progress in our philosophy to retain and increase our number of German players, but don't aim to make that contingent 100% There may still be a couple of departures as we would be willing to allow Dan-Axel Zagadou, Bernard Mensah & Enzo Millot to move on if suitable offers were made Due to ongoing improvements, we have dropped strikers Thomas Kastanaros and Max Wagner to the 2nd Team so they can build up more competitive minutes German central defender Tim Oermann (20) also goes in to the 2nd Team after paying a fee of €3.5m to RB Leipzig to acquire his services The Stuttgart U19 squad sees six new arrivals (either for free or minimal amounts) as we wish to keep the young talent coming through our system We had reverted to a 532 formation during the final few months of last season after our earlier tactic had been worked out by our opponents During this pre-season we have freshened it up again and for the time being we will be running with this 4132 version It seems solid in defence, protective and progressive in midfield, and explosive in attack (aided by the raiding wing-backs out wide) Not at all! I'd say you're just more patient than i am, which is probably a good thing some very good transfer business there and i am a big fan of the tactical shape, look forward to seeing how it pans out Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13th Man Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 Adding to @Hootieleece's comments on out of possession. At fist the other instructions + drop off more are odd, but then there's something to be said about pressing high and hard, but keeping the backline cautious and ready to retreat if the ball over the top comes? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 25, 2023 Author Share Posted May 25, 2023 On 22/05/2023 at 05:07, karanhsingh said: Not at all! I'd say you're just more patient than i am, which is probably a good thing some very good transfer business there and i am a big fan of the tactical shape, look forward to seeing how it pans out Not sure if that's a good thing or not. But I'm a slow player, limited time etc. Yes agreed, it looks like good transfer business, the shape and tactics looked great in pre-season. Which all means.... On 22/05/2023 at 07:28, 13th Man said: Adding to @Hootieleece's comments on out of possession. At fist the other instructions + drop off more are odd, but then there's something to be said about pressing high and hard, but keeping the backline cautious and ready to retreat if the ball over the top comes? You nailed it with that analysis. We are good at pressing and attacking (even from deep via the wing-backs) but for two seasons we have been very fragile with balls through and/or over the backline. So we have to try and eliminate the space behind the central defenders. Any good coach would say the lines should not be so far apart, but we have to see whether in FM these variances can be less than perhaps they would be in reality. And so, on to a small update which was ready several days ago but was delayed by work and a long overdue (1 year+) return to playing actual football. So now as I try to recover from that.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 25, 2023 Author Share Posted May 25, 2023 (edited) Season 2024/25 - Part 1 Below are the targets set by the board for the third season in Stuttgart So far we have finished 10th and 6th, so it has been slow progress but we are heading in the right direction After a nice run-out in DFB-Pokal Round 1, we felt confident ahead of the new Bundesliga campaign But our smooth new tactic gave plenty of cause for concern as we had to come back from 0-2 to salvage a home point against Augsburg and then lost our first away game We finally grabbed three points at home to FC Koln but were crushed 3-0 by Borussia Dortmund to make it 10 conceded in just four league games Hopes were not high as we made our Europa League bow in Hungary, but we displayed some spirit to come home with a fine 3-2 away win That was backed up with a better league display against Hertha Berlin, but RB Leipzig halted our momentum with another poor defeat on the road By now we felt the tactic was not going to work, but sheer stubbornness prevented such an early abandonment And then October came, and delivered two more wins in Europe and two more Bundesliga maximums We dropped the level a bit in the final two matches, drawing at home to Hoffenheim and then a much-rotated side could only beat Heidenheim on penalties in the Cup In fairness we have endured a lot of injuries which have affected our team selections, but we still should be able to cope with those kind of issues better So we aren't really sure if we have turned a corner or not yet, but we are at least competitive in Europe so far The key to any success will be how we perform defensively, the last month has shown a big improvement but it remains our 'weakness' So after the mediocre start, we have dragged ourselves up to 9th after the opening nine league games And one thing that does remain constant is the form and goals of star striker Akor Adams - a truly fantastic low-cost signing for our club last year Financially, we are doing very well with TV & European 'win money' boosting our balance at an impressive rate Edited May 25, 2023 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 3 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said: Financially, we are doing very well Crikey, that's a lot of money . On the pitch, more Octobers is all you need Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 25, 2023 Author Share Posted May 25, 2023 7 minutes ago, warlock said: Crikey, that's a lot of money . On the pitch, more Octobers is all you need Haha, yes it's big rewards. I've heard of a month of Sundays, but perhaps a year of Octobers will catch on Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13th Man Posted May 26, 2023 Share Posted May 26, 2023 Pretty decent start even with the setbacks - in 9th but only 3 back from the leaders in terms of points! Steady the defense and you'll be challenging for the CL places. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted May 26, 2023 Share Posted May 26, 2023 14 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: Haha, yes it's big rewards. I've heard of a month of Sundays, but perhaps a year of Octobers will catch on Really didn't know what to do with all the money in Germany after a point! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 29, 2023 Author Share Posted May 29, 2023 On 26/05/2023 at 08:36, 13th Man said: Pretty decent start even with the setbacks - in 9th but only 3 back from the leaders in terms of points! Steady the defense and you'll be challenging for the CL places. Right about the defence, we just have to do it without killing our attacking threat. The good thing about Germany is it's very competitive to get any kind of European football. On 26/05/2023 at 10:15, karanhsingh said: Really didn't know what to do with all the money in Germany after a point! True. We are very rich, but still working on sensible wages and not going for big stars. Having the 4th/5th best average attendance in Germany also helps. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 29, 2023 Author Share Posted May 29, 2023 Season 2024/25 - Part 2 Heading in to November, we were 9th but within touch of the group ahead The defensive part of the team looked to be getting slightly stronger, and we had 100% from our first three Europa League games The month didn't get off to the best of starts with three draws, but Akor Adams scored a fantastic hat-trick as we beat Schalke 3-1 We lost our first match in Europe away to Leicester (deservedly) but picked up some good Bundesliga results on the back of the improved defence We also picked up an invaluable 1-0 away win in Norway against Rosenborg to book a play-off place in that competition We wrapped up the year with a good win over SC Freiburg and a very promising 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich (3rd) before FSV Mainz (4th) beat us in our final outing The performance graph shows we had hit 5th, but that last loss has seen us drop to 7th at the half-way point of the 34 game season Adams is (as usual) our star player and continuing to plunder goals at a regular rate Our attacking returns (8th) have dipped slightly, but the defensive numbers have pushed us nicely up that chart (9th) And financially, yes there is absolutely nothing to be worried about there with significant sums available if we choose to use it In early December we felt something had to change with our formation, and we now feel and look better than at any time this season with this 532 formation The defensive stability seems to have been improved with the libero, the wing-backs are now full-backs (still with attack duty) and we dropped the DM (half-back) entirely Anything else? On 10th December 2024 we gave a well-deserved new long-term contract to Adams which sees him tied down to 2029 Unbelievably, he has still not been called up by Nigeria despite his goal-laden career in Germany Young goalkeeper Dennis Seimen, who ended last-season as first choice has also signed a contract until 2029 (with no release clause) Today is 1st January 2025, so the transfer window is now open, and we will look to move a few players out so that some of the younger Germans can be pushed up a level As soon as the office opens, Dan-Axel Zagadou will be first out of the club as he completes a move to Shakhtar in Ukraine for 1.8 million Euros Bernard Mensah (injured for three months now), Enzo Millot and Wahid Faghir (from our second team) are others we would be happy to sell on Our vice captain Waldemar Anton (28) may also decide to move on at the end of the season as the central defender isn't getting as many minutes as he deserves Arrivals are not really being sought as we have a strong group already, and want to promote some promising youngsters in to the senior squad if space is freed up 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted May 29, 2023 Share Posted May 29, 2023 It seems like you steadied the ship defensively after the slow start. Was it vacation hangovers or adjusting to a new system that led to the bad August and September? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted May 29, 2023 Author Share Posted May 29, 2023 4 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: It seems like you steadied the ship defensively after the slow start. Was it vacation hangovers or adjusting to a new system that led to the bad August and September? Thank you. Not sure, really. Our away form has been a bit weak ever since arriving and we take the odd battering on the road. But yes, we seem (for now) to be getting harder to score against. And if we can keep the opponents at bay, we do always have an ability to create and score goals. Time will tell if this improvement lasts or if we soon need to change it up again! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 2 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: we had hit 5th, but that last loss has seen us drop to 7th That's a shame, but plenty of reason to be optimistic going forward. Onwards and upwards (hopefully) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Well firstly, I always love a Libero but having him plus a DLP(d) seems a bit counter intuitive? Also that's the first 5-3-2 I have seen with the wing backs in the DL/R positions - did you make that change due to the goals being conceded? Interested to know if they are still getting forward enough for your liking. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 3, 2023 Author Share Posted June 3, 2023 (edited) On 30/05/2023 at 02:46, warlock said: That's a shame, but plenty of reason to be optimistic going forward. Onwards and upwards (hopefully) We have to expect defeats as we are not quite 'at the next stage' yet, so inconsistency remains. On 30/05/2023 at 09:08, karanhsingh said: Well firstly, I always love a Libero but having him plus a DLP(d) seems a bit counter intuitive? Also that's the first 5-3-2 I have seen with the wing backs in the DL/R positions - did you make that change due to the goals being conceded? Interested to know if they are still getting forward enough for your liking. I'm not sure. You mean the DLP (d) might take up his space? My main reasons for the libero were (a) we needed to tighten the defensive vulnerability and the libero starting role is deeper than the other central defenders (b) we wanted to get our best three central defenders on the pitch and five at the back was a chance to do it (c) he has an ability to step up and carry the ball out. The 532 was chosen for exactly those reasons. Being too open and conceding too many goals negates many of the good things we do going forward. The full-backs are now starting from deeper to close the holes, and be more capable of snuffing out attacks and counter-attacks by not being so high so often. Both are still asked to get forward and contribute well to the attacking play as the left has a TI to cross earlier and more often, the right has a TI to dribble more. The two mezzalas are also on attack so can drive forward and given the role duties they can move laterally too. All sounds good in theory right? But it will only be a matter of time until it stops working, then we will shift again. Edited June 3, 2023 by Jogo Bonito Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said: All sounds good in theory right? But it will only be a matter of time until it stops working, then we will shift again. I like the theory. but I'm not sure I agree with the change. My biggest change to become more defensively sound, was just changing the Mentality to Defensive from Positive against Big Teams. especially in Away matches and in the late second half of matches where we have the lead. There was really nothing wrong with my formation at PNE defensively except for general lack of pace. Also, I now have the best Positioning in the Championship now as well for this season on the comparison chart. I hope that the new formation works out for you as you pursue your goals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 3, 2023 Author Share Posted June 3, 2023 (edited) Season 2024/25 - Part 3 As the season re-started after the winter break, Stuttgart were in 7th position and still in the DFB-Pokal and going well in the Europa League After battling back from 2-0 down to draw away at Augsburg, our earliest DFB-Pokal exit was delivered by Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig next time out But four straight wins (2 x Bundesliga and 2 x Europa League) saw the rest of the month play out very impressively indeed February also started really well as Borussia Dortmund (2nd) were brushed aside by a brace from Akor Adams This was followed up by an away win (these were once rare but recently come more often) and a draw at home to leaders RB Leipzig (they were 11 points clear of 2nd) The month ended with a narrow defeat away to VfL Wolfsburg who are level on points with us Here is the progress summary at the end of February 2025, showing a steadying performance graph and an excellent financial position Our entry season of Europa League football has gone better than expected with a 6-1-1 record from the eight league fixtures earning knock-out qualification We have been drawn against French side LOSC (Lille) in the knock-out stage, which we expect to be a tough one Anything else? Whilst deploying four at the back, regular starts had been hard to earn for stalwart centre-back Waldemar Anton By the time we had reverted to three central defenders, the VC had decided he would leave at the end of his contract We would have liked him to stay, but on 9th January 2025 he signed a pre-contract deal with Bundesliga side Union Berlin On the same day as the Anton deal was announced, our first choice 'keeper Dennis Seimen was rocked by a season-ending injury Florian Muller (our previous Number 1) was reinstated as starter, but for some months had been unsettled (would not sign a new deal with a reduced squad status) And so, we looked at a couple of options to play in goal during the winter transfer window We wanted a player who could at least challenge Muller - or ideally start instead of him, given his preference to be moving on in the summer But all parties had to be comfortable that any new arrival would accept back-up status, with Seimen expected to return to the side after injury by the start of next season After narrowing down the choice to several potential men, we went against the plan to sign a German player when we eventually made our move on 17th January The deal struck saw RB Salzburg's starting goalkeeper Philipp Kohn return to Stuttgart (and he also has HG status after being on our books from 2013-2017) The transfer fee was a modest 600k Euros and his wage demands were reasonable too, as he accepted 'backup' status at the club Here is the player profile of the Swiss signing captured at the end of February after making six appearances in his second spell at VfB Stuttgart Edited June 3, 2023 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 3, 2023 Author Share Posted June 3, 2023 33 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: I like the theory. but I'm not sure I agree with the change. My biggest change to become more defensively sound, was just changing the Mentality to Defensive from Positive against Big Teams. especially in Away matches and in the late second half of matches where we have the lead. There was really nothing wrong with my formation at PNE defensively except for general lack of pace. Also, I now have the best Positioning in the Championship now as well for this season on the comparison chart. I hope that the new formation works out for you as you pursue your goals. I do drop to very defensive to close games out (plus about six or seven other changes made when switching to that), but have preferred to go 'toe-to-toe' with our opponents in order to benefit from our attacking strength. I don't feel we are strong enough to go defensive at the start of matches as it would just invite trouble. And losing without laying a glove on our opponents would be against our swashbuckling philosophy Having said all that, your comments and thoughts all make sense and I am pleased it has been working well for you with PNE. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixPointer Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 A real shot at the Europa league! Always nice to see Bayern trailing except for when it’s Leipzig in the lead!!! Your still more than capable of a top four finish and all that, that brings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 16 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: I'm not sure. You mean the DLP (d) might take up his space? My main reasons for the libero were (a) we needed to tighten the defensive vulnerability and the libero starting role is deeper than the other central defenders (b) we wanted to get our best three central defenders on the pitch and five at the back was a chance to do it (c) he has an ability to step up and carry the ball out. The 532 was chosen for exactly those reasons. Being too open and conceding too many goals negates many of the good things we do going forward. The full-backs are now starting from deeper to close the holes, and be more capable of snuffing out attacks and counter-attacks by not being so high so often. Both are still asked to get forward and contribute well to the attacking play as the left has a TI to cross earlier and more often, the right has a TI to dribble more. The two mezzalas are also on attack so can drive forward and given the role duties they can move laterally too. All sounds good in theory right? But it will only be a matter of time until it stops working, then we will shift again. Yes I mean that, with the ball the Libero I suppose is expected to step out of defense and play a bit like a deep regista. Usually I prefer to combine Libero with roles like Vol & BBM, or if using a DLP then go with the CB + WCB combination instead. Anyway seems like it is working well for you! Nice season so far. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13th Man Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 Definitely doing well in Germany here. The 5-3-2 is doing it's job. I've been avoiding symmetrical systems for the last few years, but there's certainly a benefit to being balanced and flexible. On the DLP and Libero thing, I think that having the DLP in the midfield strata itself should give the Libero space to operate in, right? Interesting that the FBs are doing better defensively coming from deeper. I had the opposite issue as they'd be dealing with runners coming at them at full sprint too often. If you have aggressive players with good anticipation, however, seems like you could have the best of both worlds. Also - having players either (a) with space to get a head of steam or (b) arriving late in space is also an underrated part of a system and it seems your FBs would give you both. Anyway, just some ramblings. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 4, 2023 Author Share Posted June 4, 2023 4 hours ago, SixPointer said: A real shot at the Europa league! Always nice to see Bayern trailing except for when it’s Leipzig in the lead!!! Your still more than capable of a top four finish and all that, that brings. You would think a gap of 10/11 points would be enough, but this is Bayern. All the neutrals would want Dortmund to win it I think. 4 hours ago, karanhsingh said: Yes I mean that, with the ball the Libero I suppose is expected to step out of defense and play a bit like a deep regista. Usually I prefer to combine Libero with roles like Vol & BBM, or if using a DLP then go with the CB + WCB combination instead. Anyway seems like it is working well for you! Nice season so far. Interesting. I've never used a libero or segundo volante in FM so this was just my view on how to balance the side better. I wouldn't want WCB as we have attacking full-backs and two mezzalas on attack, so I think the WCB would not be best suited for my tactic. But I understand what you're saying (and that's why you win things and I don't haha). You're right though, it has been working well for me. 2 hours ago, 13th Man said: Definitely doing well in Germany here. The 5-3-2 is doing it's job. I've been avoiding symmetrical systems for the last few years, but there's certainly a benefit to being balanced and flexible. On the DLP and Libero thing, I think that having the DLP in the midfield strata itself should give the Libero space to operate in, right? Interesting that the FBs are doing better defensively coming from deeper. I had the opposite issue as they'd be dealing with runners coming at them at full sprint too often. If you have aggressive players with good anticipation, however, seems like you could have the best of both worlds. Also - having players either (a) with space to get a head of steam or (b) arriving late in space is also an underrated part of a system and it seems your FBs would give you both. Anyway, just some ramblings. I've often used asymmetrical formations and have no issue with them either. Yes, I haven't found the DLP negatively affecting the libero - but maybe it is and I am not seeing it! In respect of the deeper full-backs, the main reason was I wanted the barrier of them being (our) goal-side of their opponent, whereas the WB/CWB was often caught the other side of their direct opponent in the transition or counter-attack and had to be chasing back. The theory of setting them deeper was to prevent direct running at my central defenders. With the ball, both of the FBs still contribute a great deal, so the balance seems to be much better for now. As you say, the reason I rarely play with AML/AMR is that I love my FB/WB pair to be free to attack from deep, seeing the play and open spaces ahead of them. It's good on the eye and generally quite effective. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 36 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said: You would think a gap of 10/11 points would be enough, but this is Bayern. All the neutrals would want Dortmund to win it I think. Interesting. I've never used a libero or segundo volante in FM so this was just my view on how to balance the side better. I wouldn't want WCB as we have attacking full-backs and two mezzalas on attack, so I think the WCB would not be best suited for my tactic. But I understand what you're saying (and that's why you win things and I don't haha). You're right though, it has been working well for me. I've often used asymmetrical formations and have no issue with them either. Yes, I haven't found the DLP negatively affecting the libero - but maybe it is and I am not seeing it! In respect of the deeper full-backs, the main reason was I wanted the barrier of them being (our) goal-side of their opponent, whereas the WB/CWB was often caught the other side of their direct opponent in the transition or counter-attack and had to be chasing back. The theory of setting them deeper was to prevent direct running at my central defenders. With the ball, both of the FBs still contribute a great deal, so the balance seems to be much better for now. As you say, the reason I rarely play with AML/AMR is that I love my FB/WB pair to be free to attack from deep, seeing the play and open spaces ahead of them. It's good on the eye and generally quite effective. Well you're definitely on the right track mate! And btw you get extra points if you win something with a libero in your tactic 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 4, 2023 Author Share Posted June 4, 2023 4 hours ago, karanhsingh said: Well you're definitely on the right track mate! And btw you get extra points if you win something with a libero in your tactic Season 3 is now complete, time to see how it played out.... Season 2024/25 - Part 4 Heading in to March 2025 we were hoping to rise to 4th and secure Champions League football Now harder to beat, we went through the month undefeated and also put LOSC (Lille) to the sword in Europe But three league draws out of four was not the return we needed to close the gap on FSV Mainz in 4th Less goals and fitness issues for Akor Adams continued in to April and whilst we beat Napoli in Europe, we also lost at home to Union Berlin and away to FC Bayern in Munich That left us a bit to do in May, where we would also face Newcastle in the Semi Final of the Europa League Unfortunately for us, not only did we fall just short in Europe - we also suffered from injury and fitness setbacks that contributed to a defeat at SC Freiburg We had a chance for revenge on the final day as we hosted (and comfortably beat) FSV Mainz, so at least the season ended on a green marker Our Europa League adventure far exceeded expectations, but even so a cruel Semi Final defeat to eventual winners Newcastle was hard to take In the first leg we were 2-1 up until Isak levelled after 84 minutes, and then in the away return we were 1-1 until Joelinton scored a 90th minute winner to edge them home Unlucky, but where did this leave us in our Bundesliga campaign? Unfortunately we couldn't bridge the gap to a once-again impressive FSV Mainz outfit - ended in 5th (one place improvement on our 6th of last year) Adams of course was top scorer again, hitting 27 goals in all competitions (18 x Bundesliga and 9 x Europa League) That is now 40 goals in 65 Bundesliga appearances over his two years at the club, a magnificent return for such a bargain fee of just 1.9m Euros Financially we are going from strength to strength too, and this has to go down as another good year for the club despite missing out on two big achievements Going in to the last match day, three teams had a chance of winning the title, but FC Bayern were leading after nullifying a 10 point gap held by RB Leipzig Whilst the Red Bull outfit did their bit by beating the other contenders Borussia Dortmund, the mighty German juggernaut also won to retain their top status by two points Here are the player stats across all competitions, omitted from the list is Bernard Mensah who made just 11 appearances before heading to China on loan on 28th February A second German Manager of the Year award in three seasons was nice personal recognition, but mattered little at the time of delivery The board are happy, as we are making money by sensible governance and relatively successful when held up against their expectations Anything else? Our impressive forward Silas made Bundesliga history on the last day of the season with a goal after just 13 seconds But more disappointing was news that he will explore his options at the end of his contract on 30th June 2026 as we had been unable to get him to sign a new deal We had been trying for many months and even turned down bids of 40m Euros for him this season, such was his importance to the club The fact that he announced this the day after the Newcastle game suggests he may have stayed on had we made the Champions League We turned down the opportunity to re-sign former loan man Sehou Guirassy on a free transfer despite having terms agreed with the player But at 29, we feel his best years may be behind him and we have been told that another healthy budget of 68m Euros is available for next year Stuttgart 11 and Stuttgart U19 review Our second team is not in a competitive league, but I set a series of friendlies through the course of the season They were unbeaten in those matches, with only a couple of draws in that - and here are the player stats ranked by appearance order for the main outfield players Our Under 19 team had won their league last year after finishing 2nd the year before, and do play in a competitive league It was a comprehensive double for our impressive youngsters, unbeaten in the league and topping all the player charts too Here are the player stats ranked by appearance order for the main outfield players in the U19 squad And one that we are keeping an eye on is this striker who has had two good years after coming through the youth intake 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanhsingh Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 That's a very good season mate. Interestingly, Newcastle did the exact same thing to me in my Braunschweig save! I think finishing 5th may be a blessing in disguise because it seems like the Europa league is a possibly winnable competition for your team right now. What i hate about this new uefa format is that you cannot start in the champions league and then drop down to europa anymore. Also the young striker does look quite promising - great name too. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 4, 2023 Author Share Posted June 4, 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, karanhsingh said: That's a very good season mate. Interestingly, Newcastle did the exact same thing to me in my Braunschweig save! I think finishing 5th may be a blessing in disguise because it seems like the Europa league is a possibly winnable competition for your team right now. What i hate about this new uefa format is that you cannot start in the champions league and then drop down to europa anymore. Also the young striker does look quite promising - great name too. Yes you are right, we would not last long in the CL but with a bit of luck should remain a decent Europa League challenger. Actually, I think the run in Europe harmed us claiming 4th, it was tough navigating such important games at the end of a long season. Yes, Flammersheim is a fantastic name. Him and the Austrian striker Olivier (an original youth player) were lethal in attack. Edited June 4, 2023 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
13th Man Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 Disappointing end to the season, between the narrow misses in the league and Europa campaigns and having Silas likely to leave on a free. Still successful on the whole and building for the future. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 Flammershein should be training as a CF-A while in the reserve teams. (It is the best all-around training for a young Striker) Also takeover his training and have him train PPM's you want him to have when in your First Team. After this upcoming season of training and playing in the reserves. I would send him on loan to get game time. Then he should be ready for your first team about 2 seasons from now. If you were playing a lower league team and not in Europe also, I would suggest playing him now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carambau Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 Congratulations on a wonderful season! Damn unlucky against Newcastle in the EL semi final! I see your U19s are coming along very well too, Flammersheim looks like a real gem... not long until you will have some first teamers available surely Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 I can understand a bit of disappointment but this was another good season. Once more into the breach! (Would post more but tiny phone keyboard) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 On 04/06/2023 at 18:56, 13th Man said: Disappointing end to the season, between the narrow misses in the league and Europa campaigns and having Silas likely to leave on a free. Still successful on the whole and building for the future. Yes a story of 'what could have been'. Silas was a big part of my decision to manage VfB so really disappointed that he might leave. I've been hijacked by a rival on a minimum release clause for another first team regular during the summer too. As a result I took me some time to decide whether to end there or give it one more season. On 04/06/2023 at 19:19, Hootieleece said: Flammershein should be training as a CF-A while in the reserve teams. (It is the best all-around training for a young Striker) Also takeover his training and have him train PPM's you want him to have when in your First Team. After this upcoming season of training and playing in the reserves. I would send him on loan to get game time. Then he should be ready for your first team about 2 seasons from now. If you were playing a lower league team and not in Europe also, I would suggest playing him now! Useful tips there. I prefer to keep my young players when I feel my youth coaching is good, as long as the squad size means they will get enough action. The CF-A and PPM ideas are probably good ideas. On 04/06/2023 at 19:44, Carambau said: Congratulations on a wonderful season! Damn unlucky against Newcastle in the EL semi final! I see your U19s are coming along very well too, Flammersheim looks like a real gem... not long until you will have some first teamers available surely Yes we cannot complain about the season, even if we got close to achieving something better. Flammersheim is a talent, although we have a few of them in the U19 group now. On 04/06/2023 at 23:14, warlock said: I can understand a bit of disappointment but this was another good season. Once more into the breach! (Would post more but tiny phone keyboard) Yes it was a decent season, I should not be too disappointed. I fought off any urge to move to a new career (due to the Silas situation and loss of a key first-team player in the summer to a rival club), and have concluded pre-season now. Ready for Season 2025/26. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 (edited) Season 2025/26 - Season Preview Pre-Season Friendlies Our 532 formation seems still to be working well, but good pre-season results often lead to a slow start in competitive fixtures Spanish striker Fran Navarro has missed the build-up through injury and fellow striker Kevin Schade has now joined him on the sidelines Central midfielder Amadou Haidara was away all summer on AFCON duty, but striker (and new club icon) Akor Adams is still snubbed by Nigeria which has kept him fresh Transfer Business Leaving the club during the summer were midfielder Enzo Millot & respected VC and central defender Waldemar Anton on free transfers Millot was talented but had not been able to command a regular place in the side, whilst Anton joined Union Berlin after signing a pre-contract deal some months ago A host of 2nd Team and U19 players were released or sold as we tried to trim those squads to more manageable levels But the biggest loss came when FSV Mainz triggered the 17m Euros release clause of attacking right-back Ansgar Knauff on 9th July 2025 Knauff had been a key component of our side since signing from Borussia Dortmund for 10.5m Euros in 2023, and we were rocked massively by this action We picked up left-footed central defender Marton Dardai on a free transfer from Hertha Berlin, although he will only be a squad player and not a regular starter We looked at some right-back options to replace Knauff but eventually pulled the plug on some moves and decided to let Killian Fischer & Josh Vagnoman stake a claim We also felt that we could do with another mezzala option and had to decide whether to go with one or both of the following Christoph Baumgartner was available for 11m Euros following the relegation of TSG Hoffenheim Meanwhile ex-Stuttgart man Orel Mangala was available for 17m Euros less 2.5m Euros discount for a clause inserted when he left the club in 2022 Both had their pros and cons and would command similar wages, and the comparison didn't really suggest a clear verdict - or should we get both? The first decision we had to make was on Mangala, but this was delayed whilst we made up on our mind on Baumgartner The extra attacking threat from the Austrian just tipped the scales in his direction, and so his move was confirmed on 31st July 2025 Meanwhile we dithered about whether to seal the deal for Mangala to return, until eventually we chose not to go ahead with the below transfer So with Mangala rejected, the only other new arrival was Kenneth Schmidt (23) after we paid 250k Euros for the left-footed central defender The German is a decent young player who has made some first team appearances for SC Freiburg already, but he will be joining our 2nd Team Squad for Season 2025/26 Although the transfer window is not closed, we are starting the new season with these 24 players in the first team squad We also have plenty of talent in our two other squads so there is no cause for concern on squad depth Florian Muller is on a rolling contract, as he is now 3rd choice goalkeeper and would not agree to sign on again with back-up status The eve of the new season is upon us, and we start off with a tasty DFB-Pokal clash with local rivals Stuttgarter Kickers Our odds to win the title are 50-1 this season with a prediction of 10th meaning we can go about our business with minimal pressure again And below is a reminder of the three seasons league performance (the trophies are Manager of the Year awards) Edited June 6, 2023 by Jogo Bonito 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 Josh Vagnoman is a handy player. I have had him in other saves. Good Luck with the season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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