Help with 433

[Numenor]

Hello,

I recently got promoted to Premier League with my Bath side and i could use some assitance with my tactic. My 433 worked fine in the lower leagues and championship but now i get pummeled. Im prepared to lose, but i would atleast like to get some shots and have a chance to win the game... 

What changes can I make to the tactic to give myself a fighting chance? Any help would be appreciated.

. 

[Cloud9]

3 hours ago, Numenor said:

Hello,

I recently got promoted to Premier League with my Bath side and i could use some assitance with my tactic. My 433 worked fine in the lower leagues and championship but now i get pummeled. Im prepared to lose, but i would atleast like to get some shots and have a chance to win the game... 

What changes can I make to the tactic to give myself a fighting chance? Any help would be appreciated.

. 

I did a Bath City save one year! Do they still have Tom Smith around? 

I'd switch to a counter attack style when you've taken a journey up the leagues and finally find yourself in the prem. Get rid of Play out of defence, the high defensive line, counterpress, and the fancy fullback rolls. Tell the boys to hit it into space, fairly narrow width and go a bit more direct. A WTM instead of one of your wide players can be a great asset. 

That's a pretty good starter pack in how not to get pummeled. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Cloud9

[Numenor]

I tried. I removed play out of defence, went standard defensive live, sometimes standard, removed counterpress, went for ordinary fullback-support with slightly more direct passing and pass in to space - they still cant string a simple passes together to get into the opponents half. I conceded so many goals by the defenders trying to pass the goalkeeper or the centerback trying to pass the midfielder i cant even start explaining it. Its mental. Doesn't matter what i do, im getting utterly screwed. The team morale is down the drain. I cant even beat league one-two teams now in the cups and the board even expects me to lose. Even against them i barley even get on the opponents half. What am i supposed to do?

  

[Eccentric_Ed]

When you are using Inverted Wingers and Inside Forwards you simply cannot also use inverted wingbacks as well, that just makes the tactic far too narrow and they are never going to score goals. So I would change the wide players to Inside Forwards on attack, and change the IWBs to full-backs on support. In my experience a BBM has never worked in a 433 so I would change that to a CM on attack. For your team instructions I would go Regroup and Counter, and do Mid-block and lower defensive line. 

[Cloud9]

22 hours ago, Numenor said:

I tried. I removed play out of defence, went standard defensive live, sometimes standard, removed counterpress, went for ordinary fullback-support with slightly more direct passing and pass in to space - they still cant string a simple passes together to get into the opponents half. I conceded so many goals by the defenders trying to pass the goalkeeper or the centerback trying to pass the midfielder i cant even start explaining it. Its mental. Doesn't matter what i do, im getting utterly screwed. The team morale is down the drain. I cant even beat league one-two teams now in the cups and the board even expects me to lose. Even against them i barley even get on the opponents half. What am i supposed to do?

  

Hm a tricky situation. The biggest thing you can control is getting the morale back up to perfect in between matches.

Your recruitment may also be the problem. Looking at Sousa & Joel Colwill, they're nowhere near the level you need to be competitive in the top flight. 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Cloud9

[Numenor]

Yea, the sad thing is that its hard to get people that actually wants to join your team when ur newly promoted. Joel Colwill is a squad player, he doesnt play unless everyone else is injured, i think i even sold him in the january window, but Sousa, was one of the highest scouted ac/amr i could get that actually wanted to join my club.

Now when im writing this post i got 18 or - 19 losses in a row and i actually beat Liverpool at home 2-1...  i play balanced with 2 wingers on support now with slightly more direct,  counter, lower loe and standard defensive line and goalkeeper distribution fast down the flanks for counters. Since i made the changes i have started punishing teams on quick transitions, still not enough to win games but atleast ive started scoring. Lost few games 3-2 in a row.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Numenor

[Numenor]

These are the core of my squad that im rotating, i have more squad players that fills in aswell. They are obviously not the best, but the best that I could get for this season. 

[Halbraum]

Looking at the core, to me it seems like your problem is not mainly tactical. These bunch lacks quality for any style of football on Premier League level. I guess you have to hope for the best in this season. Transitioning into a real force in tier-1 football is as hard as a rock 

Beside the quality, only thing i can say about the tactic is that the play is so congested in the centre. You need at least someone who offers real width. You have a defensive pivot, you might want to try a more adventurous fullback role that will occupy the wide spaces when IW or IF comes narrow. Other than that, the tactic looks solid to me.

[Cloud9]

1 hour ago, Numenor said:

These are the core of my squad that im rotating, i have more squad players that fills in aswell. They are obviously not the best, but the best that I could get for this season. 

Hm there are pieces here I like, the goalkeeper is nice which is important and you've got a goalscorer who can do the job. Those are the two pieces required to stay up. If you keep grinding it out it's possible to turn it around still! Usually once you break a losing steak you can put together several positive results. It'll come down to the wire though, so watch games on full and make sure you're rotating players properly. 

Regardless of if you go down or not, I think you need to address how your scouting networks are setup. Even if w/a low reputation club like Bath you can pull great talent. That's esp. important since most of the players who are decent quality & start in the game aren't going to be interested. Looking at newgens is pivotal. 

Here's a little tutorial on how I set things up. I'm sure there are more efficient ways to do it, but this system has worked well for me and avoids exploitative recruitment styles:

• In previous years you didn't have to have your Scouting Range on for the Recruitment Focus to work, this was reworked in 23 I believe but the price of it was also reduced. You want to prioritize topping up your scouts and demanding more from your board on your journey up the leagues. it's expensive (the fee for the scouting range is 360k + whatever you need to pay your scouts), but if you don't do this you can end up in the situation you're in now. 
• Big nations like Brazil, are harder to poach from even with promotion. A high calibre newgen from a nation like Colombia is a lot easier to get and you can pick up a world class player even when you're in the Championship. 
• A lot of the talent you find might not be interested, but it's about creating a list of potential targets so that when you do get promoted you can capitalize on that window. If you do this properly you can cherry pick who you actually want (personality, attributes to fit a style of play, consistency, and player ceiling) and not feel forced into signing players. 
• I try to sign players immediately after you get the promotion/wage budget notification. This is the best way to do things imo so you can beat anyone else who might come in for the player (big reputations you don't have a chance against). I then do a second round of offers right after reputation is adjusted in the summer.

This is how I set up the Recruitment Focus (although the Minimum CA I forgot to adjust down here):

If you've got 10 or so of these running year round by the time you hit the Premier league, you can bring in a crop of young players who will not only keep you up but let you use that season as key develop time and then you can look to launch an early European charge the following campaign  

Edited November 24, 2023 by Cloud9

[Numenor]

I just asked my board of directors for additional scouts which they allowed and raised to 11. The downside is, the board does not allow nation scouting. I have to do region scouting. I have set up region scouting with ages between 15-23 with current abillity 2-4 just like you. This is my scouting coverage at the moment, it will soon get bigger as i have 2-3 more scouts coming in.

 Truth be told tho, i havent focus that much on players between 15-17 because even if they would be amazing, i wont get them until theyre 18 (unless theyre english) and i need players that can make a difference right now.

[Numenor]

FA cup against Aston Villa with a heavy rotation. Its slowly getting there... If only the defense wouldn't leak more than a sive xD The goalkeeper and a center-back and 6.0 rating :X 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Numenor

[Poison]

I'm not sure I like the midfield setup personally, it's too attacking, I'd use more static roles like a dlp or a cm-su somewhere there, both mez and BTB tend to lose their position, if you still want this, maybe use an rpm to have a focal point in attack. Use short or even ultra short passing and use more direct to certain players. Also try more disciplined and a lower mentality, cautious or defensive. Finally I'd make the forward a pf-su to give a little bit of defensive ability up front, I don't like any attack role at a 4-3-3 to the forward, support is much better imo. From the screenshot your passing is good, however you may want to try "run at defense" if they misplace too many passes in highlights.

[Cloud9]

31 minutes ago, Numenor said:

I just asked my board of directors for additional scouts which they allowed and raised to 11. The downside is, the board does not allow nation scouting. I have to do region scouting. I have set up region scouting with ages between 15-23 with current abillity 2-4 just like you. This is my scouting coverage at the moment, it will soon get bigger as i have 2-3 more scouts coming in.

 Truth be told tho, i havent focus that much on players between 15-17 because even if they would be amazing, i wont get them until theyre 18 (unless theyre english) and i need players that can make a difference right now.

I'd go with .5 stars CA, error on my screenshot there. 

Either way yea not a quick fix, but can help you with squad building going forward. If you identify them 15-17 you can try to swoop in immediately when they're eligible. You can put a notification on them for the date and then add them to a longterm shortlist. 

If you've got 11 scouts I'd look to reprioritize them. You probably want half of those going to South America and Central America. That's where there's tons of cheap, gettable talent. Then the Nordic countries and Eastern Europe are also accessible areas for you (Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, Norway). Western Africa / Northern Africa (Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco etc.) also deserve a couple scouts. Finally East Asia (Korea/Japan/Thailand) are quite nice so a focus in that area will help. I'd avoid scouting the big European countries at the moment, most of their talent is out of your reach unfortunately. If you can talk to the board into nation scouting it'll help a ton.

Probably helpful to be out of the cups when you're in a relegation scrap  

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Cloud9

[Numenor]

Yea, i got a scout for the scandinavian countries, also south america, USA + Mexico, Japan + China and most of europe. The new scouts i was thinking of sending towards africa.

[Numenor]

Dear god, the goalkeepers this year really are bad... Im up 2-1 against man city and my goalkeeper throws the ball in the back of his own net with no opponents nearby from a simple cross... Puts the rest of my team in a fckin frenzy and next highlight i get a person sent of because his morale went **** because of that. Ended up losing 2-3

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Numenor

[robot_skeleton]

Sounds like you are slowly improving. I am kind of invested now in this save How does your current tactic look like?

[Numenor]

This is my current set up. So the idea is that the bwm will try win the ball and pass it to the dlp who will direcly force it wide on to one of my wingers for a quick counter. The attacking CM will then push up and help in the attacks. I used to play with a lower loe but it invited to much pressure and once i changed to mid block it got more stable. The opponents can still play easily through me and im still leaking, specially down the flanks in 1 on 1 situation, they cut in, dribble past 3-4-5 players that dont close down or win the ball back and curls it in the far corner.  

I use normal fullback-support roles becacuse both my fullback got traits "get further forward" so i dont need to use a more aggressive role for them.

[Dadecane]

Right when getting that promotion is when I woulda hit the market as a free agent and landed a better gig lol. 
 

youre already a club legend by taking them to the Prem, but its a situation in which u almost cant win, youre a small club with a small budget with small-time talent trying to compete in the EPL. I mean sure u may get it right but u also may get fired trying to get it right. 
 

Get yourself into a proper Prem club, with proper budget and talent in place, and go cause havoc!

[Numenor]

Well thats just typical...  with 4 games left its already offical, im getting relegated down to Championship again. So i scrapped the 4-3-3 and to start getting the boys familiar with the new tactic i will use in the championship, a more balanced 4231. Guess i should have tried it earlier o.o First game with new tactic vs Aston Villa.

 

[Numenor]

The game after against Sheffield United. Last two games of the seasons will be against Chelsea at home and Arsenal away. Screenshots will come when games been played

 

[whatsupdoc]

Make one side more attacking and focus play down that side. Measured risk. E.g. 

[bosque]

21 hours ago, Cloud9 said:

If you've got 11 scouts I'd look to reprioritize them. You probably want half of those going to South America and Central America. That's where there's tons of cheap, gettable talent. Then the Nordic countries and Eastern Europe are also accessible areas for you (Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, Norway). Western Africa / Northern Africa (Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco etc.) also deserve a couple scouts. Finally East Asia (Korea/Japan/Thailand) are quite nice so a focus in that area will help. I'd avoid scouting the big European countries at the moment, most of their talent is out of your reach unfortunately. If you can talk to the board into nation scouting it'll help a ton.

Is it worth to scout those countries even if you don't have their leagues uploaded?

[Numenor]

I found a few wonderkids in some no-name clubs in Africa and one in bulgaria, they carried a salary on 2k per week and none of them wanted to come because apparently championship didnt meet their standards xD Oh jeez.

[Cloud9]

1 hour ago, bosque said:

Is it worth to scout those countries even if you don't have their leagues uploaded?

These nations have strong youth development so scouting them will be worthwhile. They'll still produce newgens but at a reduced rate I believe (than if they were loaded). If it's a short term save, then a lot of the players who you would find won't be loaded into the game. 

I think it's also worth noting then when you're setting up your scouting networks you'll need to decide on the parameters you want to play in. How much immersion are you looking for? There are more efficient approaches to vacuuming up wonder kids, but they can take away from the experience imo. I used some of these methods in the past (u23 teams, XGN list etc.) and found I was completely uninvested in the development of the players I'd picked up. On this note I would add playing with additional self imposed restrictions adds a ton to the game. I personally use the restrictions of "no future fees" and "only sign who the scouts bring in or openly transfer listed players." 

I would recommend spreading as wide a net as possible when setting up your scouting networks, partly for immersion and partly so you can find really cheap wonder kids (which is esp. helpful in @Numenor situation with a low reputation). When you're a low reputation club, this wide network becomes hugely efficient since you really just need to find 1-2 gems willing to join you to kick start things. The countries listed above are some of the priority targets for my limited scouts, before trying to set assignments that cover the smaller countries.

There are also some nations I would recommend not loading/or scouting for the quality of your save, like Mexico, who SI has given busted youth development numbers in the past. 

One of the best aspects FM has to offer is your scouts bringing back a gem from a tiny country, who you can integrate into your team and develop  

[Numenor]

Im scouting all over the place  

[Cloud9]

1 hour ago, Numenor said:

Im scouting all over the place  

Nice! If the scouts don't have direct knowledge of the country, speaking the language is the second best thing.

I'd keep an eye on how it progresses, I think I ran into some issues with regional scouting the last time I used it a few years back. Found nation scouting to be much more efficient. 

1 hour ago, Numenor said:

I found a few wonderkids in some no-name clubs in Africa and one in bulgaria, they carried a salary on 2k per week and none of them wanted to come because apparently championship didnt meet their standards xD Oh jeez.

Sorry to hear about relegation. Recruitment will be a little tougher in the championship. Keep them on long term shortlists lists anyways, if they start to push for a move they may become interested and you'll receive a notification. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Cloud9

[Numenor]

Yea, i would prefer nation scouting, but the board dont allow it. I tried setting it up anyway - but nothing turned green so not much i can do but make it regional until they allow nation scouting  I assigned my director of football to stalk some of the younger 17-17 year old players i want, and when theyre schedule comes up with friendlies ill send him to them aswell to unnerve them some more and hope i can peak their interest in a move. I learned that from fm 23, that if ur persistent over a few months, and show serious interest then the player may shift

 

[Cloud9]

58 minutes ago, Numenor said:

Yea, i would prefer nation scouting, but the board dont allow it. I tried setting it up anyway - but nothing turned green so not much i can do but make it regional until they allow nation scouting  I assigned my director of football to stalk some of the younger 17-17 year old players i want, and when theyre schedule comes up with friendlies ill send him to them aswell to unnerve them some more and hope i can peak their interest in a move. I learned that from fm 23, that if ur persistent over a few months, and show serious interest then the player may shift

 

Hope it goes well

I might avoid declaring interest for a young gem you've found as a low rep club if you can. Imo this is a feature (unsettling a player) that works best once you're an established big side. As a small team they're likely to sign a new contract or a bigger fish may swoop in if the transfer becomes public. 

I try to be as stealthy and quick with transfer business as possible w/a small reputation. If I get a partial scouting report that I really, really like, I'll sometimes gamble and sign the regen ASAP. Always tricky, but if anyone gets an idea of what you're doing it's over.

IRL you see Brighton running into this problem as well.

Edited November 25, 2023 by Cloud9

[Numenor]

Oh dear god... Now my best players are starting to get poached through their release clauses  Guess they werent good enough for Premier League but apparently Serie A thinks differently... xD

[Cloud9]

10 minutes ago, Numenor said:

Oh dear god... Now my best players are starting to get poached through their release clauses  Guess they werent good enough for Premier League but apparently Serie A thinks differently... xD

Looking over the players you posted:

• I would try to retrain Acuna to a BWM(d) for a double pivot. His height will be a great addition to playing as a DM and he is a bit meh as a right back. Aside from him everyone can go aside from Melo and the GK Doumbia. Would fight to rebuild around those 3. Taking fees for players who aren't good enough isn't the end of the world. 

Doumbia is the one real standout so try everything to keep a hold of him. 

Edited November 26, 2023 by Cloud9

[Numenor]

I managed to renew Doumbias contract - no release clauses, phew! As for Melo, i had a buy option in the loan-deal but after the relegation he no longer wanted to join so now i have a mediocre striker. I have a loan-offer out for a striker from Arsenal, which i hope will join.

[Numenor]

I think i found a true gem. Base on age, attributes and personality i think this guy will turn out to be a world class player in the future. I instantly bid, didnt even scout him, hopefully i will get him before some1 steals him xD He's a 17 year old, Iranian with a model-citizen personality.  His natural position is center midfield, and he is accomplished in the DM. So the question is if i should play him as a Segundo Volante or retrain him as a AM eventho he lacks flair. Opinions?

[Cloud9]

3 hours ago, Numenor said:

I think i found a true gem. Base on age, attributes and personality i think this guy will turn out to be a world class player in the future. I instantly bid, didnt even scout him, hopefully i will get him before some1 steals him xD He's a 17 year old, Iranian with a model-citizen personality.  His natural position is center midfield, and he is accomplished in the DM. So the question is if i should play him as a Segundo Volante or retrain him as a AM eventho he lacks flair. Opinions?

Looks great if you can get him. I wouldn't consider him an SV, his main strength is his ability to play the ball. AMC doesn't play to his natural abilities either imo.

I'd pair him with Acuna in a double pivot (DLP(s) + BWM(d)). Alternatively as a CM(s) he's basically a Toni Kroos regen if you end up wanting to go back to a 4-3-3.

[Numenor]

I got lucky on the last day in the winter window and got him  These are some other additions to the team. I also got a player through my youth recruitment that i have a feeling can make it big. He's currently training with the senior squad while playing games with the u21 becuase the coaches are better at first team. What u think? How do i get the most of Reza to benefit from his passing?

 

[Cloud9]

5 hours ago, Numenor said:

I got lucky on the last day in the winter window and got him  These are some other additions to the team. I also got a player through my youth recruitment that i have a feeling can make it big. He's currently training with the senior squad while playing games with the u21 becuase the coaches are better at first team. What u think? How do i get the most of Reza to benefit from his passing?

 

I'd prefer him as a CM(s) I think, setting him on an individual training regime will help.

You've got a year to develop him in the Championship so make sure you don't overplay him and manage his game time. Promotion should be pretty easy with that group, taking the time to work on your style of play / u23 player growth will make survival in the prem in the next year a lot less taxing.

You don't have a striker though? That's a bit of a concern.

[Numenor]

My striker is South Korean, 20 year old. He's not the best, but his potential is premier league standard, and he was miles ahead of the ones i had already. I found some younger, and better, but they didnt want to join the club so far. Striker is the one position im still searching for a player with high enough current ability that wants to come and walk straight into the team, but there arent alot of them out there. Still got to low reputation sadly.

[Numenor]

Winning the championship this season is already out of the question, Leicester is cakewalking it. Best i can hope for is a direct promotion or hopefully playoffs. 

[Cloud9]

3 hours ago, Numenor said:

My striker is South Korean, 20 year old. He's not the best, but his potential is premier league standard, and he was miles ahead of the ones i had already. I found some younger, and better, but they didnt want to join the club so far. Striker is the one position im still searching for a player with high enough current ability that wants to come and walk straight into the team, but there arent alot of them out there. Still got to low reputation sadly.

For a solo striker I'd look for some height + pace (for next season especially) and some good old off the ball. Think the Korean kid looks like a decent IF sort of player.

If you can't find one, you might look to run a formation with a striker partnership.

Avoid the playoffs like the plague, finishing 2nd looks pretty doable!

Edited November 30, 2023 by Cloud9

[Numenor]

This is the formation im trying out right now. As always, when it comes to team instructions, thats my achilles heel and where im at a total loss. I always need and try to figure out what works as the game progesses. 

[Cloud9]

4 hours ago, Numenor said:

This is the formation im trying out right now. As always, when it comes to team instructions, thats my achilles heel and where im at a total loss. I always need and try to figure out what works as the game progesses. 

Looks workable! I think you might want to avoid the DLF(a) role at the moment if you're playing Kim there. A good DLF will need strength to hold up the ball which he lacks.

Aside from that, you've got two wingbacks going forward which will leave you pretty exposed at the back. If you want to run a CWB, I would have the other one stay back. 

[Numenor]

I managed to get automatic promoted with 2nd place. Leicester won the league easily. I already made 2 signings before the transfer window opened. 1 is currently waiting for work permit, and im in contract talks for a fourth singing that nearly all top teams are after. I will probably lose Acuna though sadly, he wants to leave and move to a bigger club. I told him im only gonna let him go if i get a good enough offer that he accepted, and this time i dont have any clauses - so that offer needs to be 81£ because he is worth alot now. If he gets happier with the new signings i will move him up as single pivot in the midfield as anchorman.

Im also trying to sign a new striker but so far he doesnt want to join. Maybe when the transfer window opens and the game updates that im in Premier league he will change his mind.  I think Schotte would be a perfect signing if i could get him.

 

 

 

[Cloud9]

1 hour ago, Numenor said:

I managed to get automatic promoted with 2nd place. Leicester won the league easily. I already made 2 signings before the transfer window opened. 1 is currently waiting for work permit, and im in contract talks for a fourth singing that nearly all top teams are after. I will probably lose Acuna though sadly, he wants to leave and move to a bigger club. I told him im only gonna let him go if i get a good enough offer that he accepted, and this time i dont have any clauses - so that offer needs to be 81£ because he is worth alot now. If he gets happier with the new signings i will move him up as single pivot in the midfield as anchorman.

Im also trying to sign a new striker but so far he doesnt want to join. Maybe when the transfer window opens and the game updates that im in Premier league he will change his mind.  I think Schotte would be a perfect signing if i could get him.

 

 

 

I like Schotte as well, but I'd only utilize him in a striker pairing in your first season back in the premier league (unless you intend to take the game to the opposition). He has decent pace, but acceleration 11 will leave him fairly hamstrung on the beak as a solo 9.  

He's a good enough player where I'd consider changing the formation to suit him. 

 

[Numenor]

What formation are u thinking about? 424?

[Cloud9]

53 minutes ago, Numenor said:

What formation are u thinking about? 424?

I'd look to run a 4-4-2 counter attack for the first season in the premier league. 

That should give you plenty of defensive stability and help you get enough goals to stay up.

[Numenor]

I think i will try stick with my 433. I could use some help with team instructions tho, This is the set-up im currently using - im currently learning my wide attackers traits to cut inside, until then i use it as a PI. I already used thetransfer budget i had at my disposal so i wont be able to get a decent 2nd striker to run a 442. Then i wont have a backup incase of injuries.  

[Cloud9]

1 hour ago, Numenor said:

I think i will try stick with my 433. I could use some help with team instructions tho, This is the set-up im currently using - im currently learning my wide attackers traits to cut inside, until then i use it as a PI. I already used thetransfer budget i had at my disposal so i wont be able to get a decent 2nd striker to run a 442. Then i wont have a backup incase of injuries.  

You can put the wingers on their opposition foot and then you don't need to wait for the "cut inside" trait. I would recommend that role/combo for wide players.

I'd clip a couple of the TIs: "Counter, Prevent short GK distribution, and Pass into Space" could all be dropped for a bit more control. 

[Numenor]

Well so far ive started well in the league. Lets hope i can keep this up  Last time i got 20 points in total from 38 games  Must be a good sign.

[Dadecane]

Inverted wing back, inverted fullback, inside forward, inverted winger, like someone else mentioned, why so congested inside? U want to try and have a balanced attack.
 

Something I do that seems to work for me is on the side where I have an inverted forward, or inside forward, put in a wingback or fullback in attack behind them. The fullback will occupy wide areas abandoned by your inside fwd. do the opposite on the other side, if u have an inverted wingback, them go for a wide winger in attack in front of him. It will give u a better balanced attack I think. 

[Numenor]

I dont have inverted wingback or invetered fullback? that was along time ago when i was relegated :P Now i use standard fullbacks/wingbacks on support-attack :P Look at screenshot again  Latest change is that a changed AML to inverted winger and AMR to inside forward-s and that made alot of difference.

[Numenor]

So far its going much much better than expected. First 8 games of the season featured Liverpool, newcastle, chelsea and man city. Nearly half of the season played and right now im way off relegation spots. I hope i didnt jinx it now, and stay that way!