FM24 – AC Milan (A Tactical Save - Bringing Back the Old Days, Wingless Style Only - 4321 Xmas Tree)

[g1nh0]

 

FM24 – AC Milan (A Tactical Save - Bringing Back the Old Days, Wingless Style)

Tactical Save – My Football Brand (4321 Xmas Tree - with special players at the core)

I’ve got to the point of the game where rather than produce several of my own systems that aim to play football that is more reactive and gives my sides the best chance of getting a result, I really wanted to take a different approach to how I manage things.

One of my favourite club sides back in the day that boasted world class talent across the pitch was AC Milan under Ancelotti.

They were renowned for playing the 442 diamond and Xmas Tree formations, playing a brand of football that would allow their star individual players the freedom to express themselves.

So in this save, I will only be allowed to use the 442 diamond and 4231 Xmas Tree. However, it is the Xmas Tree I want to use, because it’s the style of football I really want to create and watch on the pitch and it is a formation I think can use more individualistic roles.

(I also plan to watch games at a much slower pace, so my updates will probably be more frequent during the year)

We know in FM generally these more exquisite roles are not the most effective. So part of this challenge is to simply try to build a Milan team that plays football in a way which utilizes these now modern day redundant roles, but trying to adapt this team to play in a more today style of game, and one which matches my own vision if I was to play this system.

I expect this will be a much more stressful experience, where getting the sack is indeed an extreme possibility! But, I hope with the right recruitment and players of good enough quality to thrive in these weaker FM roles, I can bring Milan back to their glory days and make Serie-A a prized league to play in again.

But I do fear one big stumbling block will be finding those players, especially ones good enough to play the Regista and Trequartista roles effectively. I'm not sure there is a Pirlo or Ronaldinho about in modern football.

I also decided to play a different FM mode from the start to give it a try – I’ve gone with My World, never tried it before, so I’ll have the funds prior to the start of the new season to invest in some players that will be geared to the squad I want to play my brand of football with.

Tactical Vision - 4321 Xmas Tree (Patience / Control)

I always like to try and create such a system imagining the players I want playing in it. So the players I have picked is very much an Ancelotti based squad, but with the addition of a couple of players that were at Milan but not in their prime – Ronaldinho & Ronaldo Luiz Nazario.

With the current squad I’ll certainly need a few additions to be able to play this football in order for me to help Milan become competitive again, I will certainly need players of leading league quality, and some world.

The tactic is very player reliant, with a higher degree of flair, having players that can make the difference in tightly contested affairs.

So my line up and roles would be something like this:

SK – DIDA

WB - CAFU

FB – MALDINI

BPD - NESTA

BPD – STAM

BWM – GATTUSO

REGISTA- PIRLO

MEZ - SEEDORF

TREQ – RONALDINHO

SS – KAKA

P – RONALDO LUIZ

Some Clips of the System at Work

*WIP*

Clip 1 (Right side – poacher excluded)

This amazingly completely excludes our Poacher/ goalscorer in the build up – he doesn’t even score the goal. So that to me is quite a promising sign that we can score a goal without perhaps the most important player of the team getting on the end of it.

The goal comes from the right hand side of the pitch which brings our right wing-back into the play.

 

Clip 2 (Left side – poacher goal)

This clip works the ball on the opposite side of the pitch (being the left) and instead results in our left full-back in an advanced position up the pitch, but without the need to attack the byline.

He rather looks to deliver the ball in when in a position to do so, finding our poacher in the 6 yard box to convert the ball home with his head.

 

Clip 3 (Central – Front Trio combined)

This clip is built up from the goalkeeper, with the Regista dictating the play initially with an offensive focus centred through the midfield offensive trio of the Treq, Shadow Striker and Poacher.

It eventually sees a through ball by the Treq leaving the Poacher one on one with the keeper.

 

Clip 4 (Swift Transition)

This clip shows a swift transition after regaining the ball centrally and looking to quickly take the opportunity of finding our front trio quickly, using crisp passing to find either one of our x2 AMs using their off the ball movement to find space, and play a through ball to our Poacher trying to breach their back-line.

He then had the quality to hold off the defenders and clinically convert the one on one opportunity created.

System Explained

The aim of the system is to be able to play controlled and patient football on the deck, utilizing the extra man in midfield and a regista & trequartista to both control the game and provide the creativity. My main approach will therefore be one on a more positive mentality, but using others depending on the profile of the game and current match circumstances. (So I will be changing some roles here and there, but the screenshot above is my primary setup to start off a game).

Being a highly narrow system, both full back / wing backs will be looking to get up the pitch on a very regular basis. They will be tasked to provide the service for both the Poacher and Shadow Striker roles. The Treq and Mezzala roles will also provide service to our two strikers with the room the wingbacks should try to create by providing the width / stretching the player.

Having an aggressive ball winner will be tasked to cover for the deeper laying regista and wing-backs, whilst being able to retrieve possession and be able to lay off simply passes to his team mates. With the roles all surrounding him being those which you would want players having the attributes to be able to keep / not waste possession  and be able to make forward strides up the pitch, it should hopefully mean we will be able to maintain the ball effectively and cope a bit better with teams aggressively pressing us once immediately losing the ball.

But if our players don't have the required quality - oh my, I will expect my team to get exposed very badly!

We will be most vulnerable on the left side of the pitch. I'll need a very intelligent left full-back to be very capable supporting the play going forward, but also be smart enough to know when to not go too far forward. I need a Maldini.

If I'm finding we are being exploited far too much, If I make any changes to being more pragmatic it will be on the left hand side of the pitch. 

Flair / PPMs to make the difference

Our game will be a very short passing game with the aim of control, looking for our flair players in those exquisite / and more redundant roles to make the difference.

I will also need to make sure I can bring in players that have some good Player Preferred Moves to get the most out of the system, whilst adding in a different dimension / variety of style to our play.

Things such as dictating tempo, switch the ball to each flank, playing killer balls often will be handy for the Regista.

Wing-back will be very important with providing the danger from out wide, so both will need to be competent in the opposing final third, and be willing to get forward frequently.

And for the times we are under pressure and need a more direct ball out from our flanks, both AMs will need to be comfortable moving into the channels to open up options both with moving the ball up the pitch progressively or exploiting the more direct ball every so often.

Requirements

Such a system I’m employing will most certainly need players with good composure, decision making and generally needs to be a highly intelligent squad.

This especially where this system is very dependant on players, and such a formation isn’t really that effective of one. And to maximize the chances of achieving a degree of consistent with such a brand of football, the team must be creative enough with the ball, able to maintain it as a form of effective defense and minimize the chances of other teams to counter, and be clinical enough in the final third with only one real striker being relied upon.

--

My Last FM 24 Save

Hopefully I'll be watching a brand of football I enjoy I can get more immersed in a squad and save. I'm probably going to watch on extended mode, or even full match for some

It will be my last game I will start on this year’s FM. I have some others in case I want to carry those on, but with this direction being one more tactical and I expect a lot more difficult to achieve success with, hopefully this will keep up my interest for the longer term.

If I’m struggling and I get sacked, I’ll probably put this one to bed – but I will probably end up moving to a 442 diamond to try and save things first.

This system is created to be more of a blend of the old AC Milan and the New Skool Real Madrid.

==

Managerial Honours

AC Milan (24/07/2023-present)

Domestic

-

European

-

Managerial

-

 

Season	Club	League	Position	Domestic Cups	European Cups	Awards
1	AC Milan	Serie A		-	-
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

 

Edited June 23 by g1nh0

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Preview – AC Milan

Board Objectives

Serie A: Quality UCL

Coppa Italia: Challenge

Media Prediction: 4th

--

Transfers

The original budget I was given was 57.45mil GBP – fantastic! I very rarely play with a big team at all nowadays, another reason why I thought I might enjoy playing as Milan in this save too.

I didn’t want to go silly – but in the end, that unfortunately was what I did. Especially when really I want to try and develop a squad that can really play the brand of football I want.

However, our current squad was lacking a good Mezzala and I also did not want to rely upon 36 year old Giroud up front.

I was able to bring on Joao Neves in midfield. He does need work on being more expansive / effective in the final third and is more of a ball-winner. But with training I think he could become a decent Mezzala on support which would be perfect. At only 18 years old, he’s got bags of time and will be a starter. 47mil GBP wasn't cheap though, and I did go in for other players half the price before I pushed this one through.

The Poacher posotion was also a real real problem. I wanted a few players at a reasonable price – but they all went to bigger clubs. That left me with only one option available, who wasn’t even really most suited to play this role. But I felt I needed someone that has the ability to be a match winner in this league, and over time maybe he will be more comfortable playing in the role.

So in came for 105mil GBP!! Alexander Isak. He doesn’t have the worst attributes for the role and the way I’m playing the poacher, with a bit of work on the training pitch he could do a decent job.

But long-term, he’s someone that if a really good offer came in to cover most of what I’ve paid, I’d definitely consider selling down the line – unless he really does perform miraculously – which I can ‘t see happening.

Sadly I wasn't able to bring much money in at all with outgoings - I got rid of Origi and Rebic I was able to send out on loan. So not a good window financially, but at least I feel I have enough depth at a decent enough level to certainly try and reach our media prediction of 4th spot.

Squad

With the game mode I chose, I didn’t actually have a clue who would form part of this squad. But overall, the balance wasn’t too bad and with a few players trained to fill the roles in my system, they could do a decent squad job which is more than I could have hoped for coming in blind.

De Ketelaere I can see being a long-term squad player, but he’ll be starting as our Trequartista this year.

Leao I can see playing in the Shadow Striker role long term. He likes playing on the left side when playing centrally, so I think he can make this role his own long-term at a really high level.

Unfortunately Bennacer is out for several months who would be our Regista, but Adli can do a decent job here but his off the ball movement certainly need works on.

Defensively I’m happy with Tomori and Thiaw as our first team CBs. Hernandez at left back is top class, and Pobega is a good ball-winner for us and I see him eventually as a long-term squad player but he’ll start this year. And Maignan in goal is a good enough keeper for us.

Our biggest weakness I would say from our first XI now is Calabria. He is a solid WBR, but he’s not great going forward. I do have Saelemaekers a RW in our squad. I will end up training him to be a Wing-Back. And perhaps I’ll end up using him as an impact player if we need a goal in games.

But a first XI RB is certainly something I’ll need to fix – maybe in January if the board give us any more funds. Florenzi is another option there who is better offensively, but at 32 years of age he won’t be here for much longer. Having 3 players that could play here though is why I chose not to invest at this point.

Apart from the finances which I will need to balance at some point, for the purposes of trying to achieve a top 4 finish it was a decent window that has improved our initial squad. 

Edited June 22 by g1nh0

[g1nh0]

Game Week 1 / Debut Match – San Siro Derby!!

It was funny how our first fixture of this season panned out. So for my first official game in charge of AC Milan, saw us have home advantage against our fierce next door neighbours in Inter.

Can’t say it was the ideal first game. With my two new additions coming in a little later than I would have liked in the Summer Window, it’s meant there hasn’t been a lot of time for A- them to gel in, and B– having a few of my current squad members learn roles to suit my Xmas Tree.

So I wasn’t sure what to expect performance wise. But if we could just remain solid and let our players express themselves in the final third, with the home fans giving us some support maybe we could take something from this early encounter.

AC Milan 4 – Inter 1

And well we had the perfect start. Some nice patient build up play eventually saw us play the ball through the middle of the pitch with Neves’ through ball finding Leao to gives us the lead after just 14 minutes. That was the only goal in the first half to give us a 1-0 lead going into the break.

Immediately into the second half, Inter were still sleeping after the interval, with us doubling our lead from CDK, converting in a cross from Hernandez. With is now 2-0 up, Inter really needed a quick positive reaction to get themselves back in this derby.

However just 7 minutes later, Leao scored a belter from outside the box, smashing the ball into the top right corner. Only a lack of concentration would see us throw a 3-0 advantage after 53 minutes now played.

In the 77^th minute, Inter did grab a goal from a wide free kick situation. Disappointing to not keep a clean sheet from a cheap goal given away. Still 13 minutes to play of normal time, it was important we kept our concentration levels up, as I didn’t want any nervous finish to this one.

And come the 90^th minute, there was one final goal in the game, and it came from debutant Neves. Quite simply, a really good individual effort, where the Inter defense gave Neves the time to run at the defence, before finding himself free once having approached the edge of the area. Placing a shot into the bottom corner, it saw us go ahead 4-1 which was the final score in this one.

A Promising Start

Some really good signs in this game, despite our short time together as a squad. There were some good passing patterns already in play, and debutant Neves with a goal and an assist is a great start and will hopefully help him settle in nicely, especially having a fairly high price tag for an 18 year old.

Leao in the SS position grabbed a brace which is fabulous to see him already able to make an impact in a new position for him. And although statistically with the game appearing tight, we did create the better xG and greater clear cut chances.

I couldn’t have asked for anything more in this one. But as always, I’ll only ever start to judge things properly once we’ve played each team once. Can we consistently perform like this? I'm not sure yet, as this style of football is a very demanding one.

Edited June 22 by g1nh0

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Update – August/ Sept 23

League Progress

vs Torino

We were able to follow up our excellent 4-1 start with an away 0-1 against Torino. Leao gave us the lead after just 4 minutes. However we were lucky in this one, where it needed a spot kick save from Maignan to give us all 3 points.

vs Verona

Verona came to frustrate us, and for over 80 minutes they did that. However super sub Loftus Cheek who came on in the 80^th minute, scored the winner for us just a few minutes later with a curling strike from the edge of the 18 yard box.

vs Bologna

Best performance of the month. Playing well away from home, creating 4 clear cut chances and having a good control of the game. We had 4 different scorers in this one. Leao grabbed a brace, and Thiaw, Neves, and Hernandez scoring the others. Calabria surprisingly got 3 assists - I thought he may be weak offensively at WBR, but if he continues to perform this well he'll definitely retain this starting spot.

vs Atalanta

This came after a UCL midweek game. With Atalanta in Europe as well, using home advantage and rotating the squad a little we showed greater energy in this game which gave us a well earned 2-0 win. Although it was very lackluster in the first half, some harsh words got our team into gear with Isak and Leao the scorers.

vs Udinese

This was a hard away game, and they were the better side. We didn’t perform well, and didn’t really look threatening going forward. But a counter-attack swiftly through the centre of the pitch saw Isak convert his one on one opportunity to give us the win. We also had to hold out from some severe Udinese pressure late on.

vs Cagliari

A much better performance now playing back at home. Controlling the game and having a large amount of possession, we were able to use the ball well creating a few clear cut chances and amounting a large 4.67 xG. Giroud started this game as I wanted to give him minutes in a game we should be winning, and he didn’t disappoint scoring a hatrick. Pulisic and Neves also got on the score sheet.

--

Perfect Start

A really good first seven games for us with results. But we were fortunate in a few of the games, and away from home we are struggling to perform well, which in this system I’m trying out is more likely to occur with how it functions.

But with moments of brilliance and a good defensive display, at this moment in time at least we are taking valuable away points. But we may not be so lucky in these closer games next time.

Our defense has been really good in fact, with only Inter registering a goal against us so far. There is currently a 5 point gap at the top, but it's still very early stages. 

Coppa Italia Progress

No games yet have started here, with the competition due to commence for us in December where we will play either Monza or Brescia.

European Progress

We’ve just had the one UCL game so far which saw us win comfortably away against Copenhagen 0-4

Although statistically things were quite even with general play, we had over double their xG by way of producing quality / clear cut chances. We were very clinical in this game.

It is the last year of the old UCL format, with Sevilla and Dortmund making up the rest of our group. It won’t be easy, but I’m hoping we’ll have enough to get through to the UCL knockouts.

Best Performance (away win vs Bologna)

Edited June 23 by g1nh0

[g1nh0]

xG Summary So Far

I think this is a good summary of where things are with us.

We're doing well enough when it comes to our xG offensively. This especially with the knowledge our style is to try and create more clinical chances whenever possible.

However defensively, we have been fortunate and are conceding a lot less than currently expected.

So despite our good start and having 7 clean sheets in 8 games all competitions, this could easily turn around and it would undoubtedly increase our chances of dropping points and losing games. 

But with a very good keeper at the helm and for this particular league, a high quality & solid back-line, hopefully having these qualities will see us continue to be a hard team to break down, despite us likely to give away more chances than I would ideally like.

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Update – October 23

League Progress

vs Napoli

Another good month for us in Serie A. This Napoli away game was a brilliant and important result. A tightly contested affair as you would expect, and not a lot of chances in the game. Setting up a bit more disciplined and expressive than usual, we controlled the game well with 60% possession, and created the only CCC of the 90 minutes. Giroud bang on half time tapping in a parry from the keeper gave us an important lead, and then Thiaw in the last quarter of the game from a corner then secured a very valuable 3 points for us.

vs Monza

Two early goals in the 6^th and 12^th minutes saw us take command very early on in this game. It was then a matter of not getting complacent, and we did this well with Monza failing to register a shot on target all game. Loftus-Cheek, Giroud and Leao grabbed our 3 goals.

vs Empoli

We have at times, been highly unconvincing away. But Empoli are a team favourites to go down, so providing we performed well enough it was a game we mustn’t drop points in. Again we started strongly, and after 18 minutes we raced into a 2-0 lead from Giroud and then Pulisic with a great 20 yard strike. Pulisic then scored again 5 minutes before HT to give us a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break. They also got a red card just before HT too which killed off the game completely. Giroud and Hernandez both scored in the second half to give us a 0-5 win away from our home turf, which was very pleasing.

Coppa Italia Progress

No games yet have started here, with the competition due to commence for us in December where we will play either Monza or Brescia.

UCL Progress

We had two important group games here, and both potentially tough games. But importantly we had home advantage in both.

vs BVB

BVB we faced first, and a penalty converted by Isak just before HT gave us an important lead at the break. We then scored early on in the second half from Theo H rampaging into the box and scoring from close range giving us control. And with 10 minutes to go we got a third to put the icing on the cake giving us a 3-0 win, with Isak getting a brace nodding in from 3 yards out.

vs Sevilla

Sevilla was the other game. We took an early 11^th minute lead through CDK tapping in from close range. We were then able to double that 8 minutes before the break with Adli from a 20 yard free kick. Having the ascendancy going into the second half, we repelled anything they had, and secured the win scoring our third in the 71^st minute with Isak nodding in from close range.

--

So after 3 group games, we find ourselves in a strong position. A home win vs Copenhagen should see us qualify, though we have to go away to Sevilla first in the fourth group game which if we lose will make things interesting. We face BVB away in the final game.

Best Performance

Some good performances this month, but the Napoli win at their place given the importance of a big clash away from home was our best for this reason.

[rich ruzzian]

The Christmas tree seems to work very well. 

[g1nh0]

35 minutes ago, rich ruzzian said:

The Christmas tree seems to work very well. 

It's a formation that I love to just watch at work, and I really liked football 20 or so years ago, so it was a must create system for me  

But it's probably not the most effective formation about. Really does need good players for it to work well. Even then, the famous Milan team although won the UCL with it were disappointing in the league. I am surprised we're doing well without Bennacer, as he's got some great attributes and PPMs to play at the base of the Tree.

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Update – November 23

League Progress

vs Inter

Quite oddly we’re facing our neighbours in the Serie-A again, even though we’re not even half way through the season.

Well we were twice leading this game, but twice failed to defend our lead. Pulisic’s goal in the first half was cancelled out by Lautaro, and Calabria’s in the second half was cancelled out by Correa just 2 minutes later.

Statistically we were outplayed in this one, and fortunate to get a draw. That said, we had two opportunities to defend a lead – clearly need to work on defending better against superior teams.

That said, generally we are a clinical side in how we play and what we create, so in that respect it’s good we punctured them twice.

vs Lazio

A very lacklustre first half saw me have a pop at the team at half-time. This seemed to do the trick, as there was a lot more possession with intent in the second half.

Neves gave us the lead after 56 minutes, got a second in the 58^th and completed his hattrick in the 70^th! Meanwhile Hernandez grabbed a goal just after the house, and I gave a chance to 21 year old Colombo in the final 10 minutes off the bench – who scored in the 91^st minute to give us a 5-0 win in the second half.

vs Genoa

After a good win last game, we were contrastingly disappointing in this one. We fell behind after Albert G scored from close range. We really never got going at all in the first half and they were comfortably sitting on their 1-0 advantage.

Second half things didn’t start off great either. So on the hour I made four changes, and they were starting to make an impact. We were then able to grab the equalizer on the 69^th minute with Isak diverting a low cross into the box at the near post.

We tried to push for the winner, and had a glorious chance to nick it, but sadly failed to convert our one on one which left the game tied at the FT whistle.

vs Sassuolo

Our last game this month came after a 2 week international break. It was important to get back to winning ways. And fortunately, it was another one of our games where we started off very well in.

Giroud gave us the lead immediately in the first minute climbing above the opponents CBs to head home from 8 or so yards out. He then grabbed his second in the 19^th minute but finished from close range this time with his feet. And in the 40^th minute Loftus-Cheek scored a somewhat carbon copy of Giroud’s second.

So 3-0 up at HT, and then in minute 49 they went down to 10 men – the game was as good as over now. With no need to really push we just played out the rest of the game until the end.

--

The game against Genoa was disappointing. But I’d have taken that and a draw at Inter rather than lose at Inter and win against Genoa.

The Inter game was also annoying after throwing away the lead twice. So I’ll need to see if there’s a better way of managing the game next time against these superior teams when that situation crops up.

Currently we remain top, winning 12 and drawing 2 of our 14 games so far. Napoli our are closest challengers 7 points behind as things stand.

Coppa Italia Progress

No games yet have started here, with the competition due to commence for us in December where we will play either Monza or Brescia.

UCL Progress

vs Sevilla

A tight game across the general statistics. However the xG really showed here, with us creating 3 clear cut chances. With our finishing clinical this year, we took these well and it saw us win with a very convincing 0-4 scoreline on their own turf.

CDK gave us the lead after 12 minutes, with Calabria scoring our second just 3 minutes later. Isak then grabbed a brace all before the 28^th minute of this game. So 4-0 up at this stage of the match, the home crowd must have been stunned with what their home team had conjured up. The second half ended 0-0, but still for Sevilla it was very poor from them.

vs Copenhagen

We didn’t have the best start in this game. Although in control of proceedings, we weren’t really creating much to trouble the Danes and it was 0-0 at HT.

However a bit of fortune with us getting a penalty in the 58^th minute, which Giroud converted to give us the lead. With time ticking away, more gaps were being left late on in the game, which eventually saw us put this one to bed. Leao grabbing a double in minutes 81 and 86 saw us win this game 3-0 in the end.

--

So the results now see us qualifying out of the group with just BVB away left to play. Our win against Dortmund in the first game should see us come through in first spot as I can’t see BVB overturning our vastly superior goal difference.

Best Performance

With the chance to quality out of our UCL group and the importance of not losing this tricky game, our clinical performance at Sevilla for me was the highlight.

[john1]

Intersting tactic you have gone for Always wanted to create that xmas tree too!

[g1nh0]

1 hour ago, john1 said:

Intersting tactic you have gone for Always wanted to create that xmas tree too!

Haha, yeah gone back to my old roots with this one. I like to picture a team of some of my fav players, and try get em going in a cohesive and stylish fashion that fits the vision I have in my head.

I also liked Italian / Brazilian styled football back in the day too and love the old but sadly now redundant roles in the modern day. I guess it's kind of a hybrid that tries to replicate that. As I used to say, it's not the winning that matters - it's how you win too

But tbh I'm surprised it's working this well at the moment - I'm sure though when  the second half of the season comes around, FM will undoubtedly send over a few surprises to contend with! 

[El Payaso]

That Milan defense is really mean even under the AI but you have certainly taken it to another level. 

Nice to see the traditional Italian roles utilized. I tried to do the same thing with Palermo but failed at it. 

[g1nh0]

42 minutes ago, El Payaso said:

That Milan defense is really mean even under the AI but you have certainly taken it to another level. 

Nice to see the traditional Italian roles utilized. I tried to do the same thing with Palermo but failed at it. 

For the moment  That's my biggest fear when hitting second half of the season. Teams will adapt to try and exploit the formation weaknesses, which will definitely be a roaming Regista and the left side of the pitch where I'm playing a Mezzala in midfield, on the transition.

At the moment I do change the Regista to a DLP depending on the game circumstance and my opponents. I also considered using a carillero on the left rather than a Mezzala, but I prefer a DLP that is more stationary if looking to simply control a game and be a bit harder to break down, typically when I have something to defend.

It's also why I marked Calabria as a weakspot potentially at RB. He's done really well so far and is getting loads of assists too, a lot more than he should do with his stats.

Purely basing his attributes though, he's a low flair player and isn't the best at crossing and dribbling (though he's not awful, there's a lot better). So again when teams setup a bit more pragmatic we'll be more reliant on a player providing quality crosses, as well as a real clinical finisher.

Hopefully I have enough up top with Isak now there rotating with Giroud. I'll soon found out whether our potency diminishes especially on the right side and consequently drop more points. But I am training him that should help him a bit offensively, so with any luck it will be enough to negate that. 

Edited June 24 by g1nh0

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Update – December 23

League Progress

vs Salernitana

Three goals within the first 19 minutes saw us stroll to victory in this one. Fully in control of the game with the ball, it was disappointing we couldn’t keep a clean sheet in the end.

But a 1-5 win was a great start to this busy month. Tomori grabbed two, Leao scored again, with CDK and Isak also grabbing a goal each.

vs Frosinone

Our second Serie-A game of this month saw us score yet another 5 goals. But this time, not only did we keep a clean sheet – but they didn’t register one shot on target, nor even have a single attempt at our goal.

Amounting 78% possession and complete dominance in every statistical department, there were five different scorers in this one. Leao, Isak, CDK and Thiaw were our scorers – with their own player Marchizza chipping in to give us a fifth. A very comfortable 5-0 win in the end.

vs Fiorentina

Unbelievably, we again scored 5 goals making it 3 Serie-A games on the trot we scored five. I had rested most of our players in the European game before this, as I expected it would be a tough game.

But yet again, 3 goals within the first 20 minutes gave us complete control of the game. They lost the plot too with Igor getting sent off after 44 minutes. We soon got a fourth just before HT to see us 0-4 ahead at the break.

The second half saw us play out time, whilst being able to add the icing on the cake with that fifth, coming from an Isak penalty seeing him grab his second of the game. Other scorers for us was Neves (who gave us the lead), and CDK also grabbing a quick brace.

vs Roma

This ended up being our hardest game this month. Roma came to stifle us, and they did a really good job – until the 88^th minute.

First half we really didn’t create anything much at all. It was very much a snoozefest of a half. The signs were a little better at the start of the second half, but again after the first 15 or so minutes not a lot was happening.

Using all subs between the 67th-77^th minutes with a change of mentality, I hoped the extra energy and approach would ask a few more questions in this last quarter of the game. And although I wouldn’t say they had to defend a barrage of chances, we were certainly causing them more problems – with the pressure eventually giving us that breakthrough, with their keeper fumbling a low cross into the box, leaving Bennacer to pounce from close range.

We then added a 2^nd in the 94^th minute after a parry from the keeper after a 25 yard free kick, saw Loftus-Cheek tuck away the rebound to make it seem like a comfortable win, but it was far from the case.

vs Leece

Leece actually started very positively this game. And after the first 20 minutes, we couldn’t get in the game and they were taking several shots on our goal.

But after berating our players and then demanding more, we slowly got a foothold in the game and in the 30^th minute some nice play through the middle of the pitch saw Neves strike and give us a 0-1 lead.

It was important for Leece to not let that affect them. But then into added time of the first half, Leao scored from close range to double our lead. Now we were in the drivers seat.

Second half we didn’t give them a look in at all. A professional performance in keeping our advantage, with CDK also scoring for us to give us a 0-3 lead by the end. A great way to end the year.

--

It was a busy month both here in the Serie-A but also in the cups. Winning all games in all competitions this month, it saw us add another 15 points from the 15 available in the league to give us a very strong 12 point gap to second placed Napoli.

We’re still undefeated at this half-way point. I do however expect a tough second half of the season. With teams likely adapting to us and making it more awkward to play them, still going strong in both cup competitions, but also a few changes to our squad (detailed further down) for this second half of the season, we need to continue to perform well, keep disciplined, and hope to avoid any long-term injuries. If we can achieve this, it will be very hard for us to lose control of this position.

So far, our discipline has been excellent and we haven’t had any real long term injuries – most certainly helping us have a really good first half of the season.

Coppa Italia Progress

vs Monza

With Monza struggling it was an opportunity to rotate several players, but still I hoped the side would be strong enough to comfortably go through to the next round. It was also a chance to give Bennacer who very recently returned, a full 90 minute game.

And well, he in fact got MOM , assisting twice and scoring a goal as well in a 3-1 victory. Loftus-Cheek very much a squad player also grabbed a brace. So it was a good game to play whilst giving some squad players some valuable game time.

The win sees us face Salernitana at home in the Quarter Finals.

UCL Progress

vs BVB

With us being already qualified and in first spot too, I played as much of a rotated team as possible, especially as we had a tricky away game to play vs Fiorentina whom have no European commitments.

To my amazement, our side were able to win this game in a close game 1-2. I really expected it to be our first loss of the year. But an early-ish goal after 13 minutes from young CB Gabbia gave us something to hold onto.

Then in the 37^th minute, Adli had the chance to take a pop from a free kick a little over 20 yards out – which he buried into the top corner to double our advantage, which we took to the HT break.

BVB came out more purposeful in the second half and were able to get one back after 57 minutes. But that goal was the only shot they were able to get on target all game, and we held on to the end of the game securing a really good 1-2 away win.

RBL – Last 16

I was hoping after getting through first in a tough group we may get a nice tie in the first knockout round. Sadly we’ve drawn RBL – which given how they will likely gegenpress, isn’t the profile team we wanted to draw.

Nevertheless, with our board only aiming for us to be competitive in the UCL, this board objective has already been achieved – we’ll just try our best and see how far we can go.

Best Performance

Although the BVB with a B team was very impressive, the 0-5 away win at Fiorentina just about pipped it for me. What potentially could be a tricky game, that was on the back of a Euro fixture too, we made very light work of this game and it has helped us maintain the driving seat in the Serie-A.

Club News

I have decided to do some wheeling and dealing in the market. I was hoping to try and make some money from some players I don’t see at the club long term, whilst also bringing in a few of our younger players from our U19 / B sides into the fold.

This has seen Krunic, Florenzi, Messias and Kjaer leave. Promoted to our main squad is Bartesaghi, Simic and Romero.  All good youngsters that if they progress well enough, I will want to keep in our squad long term. They’ll especially be handy when coming to UCL registration rules.

And our additional signing was to try and improve on Pobega in the BWM position, after deciding to place faith in Calabria at RB long term. It was a hard position to find a target that I could afford and was interested to join, but given our style of football is more technical, I ended up bringing Alan Varela in from Boca Juniors at 15mil GBP.

22 years old, Argentina capped, good with both feet and generally solid attributes across the board, he’s more likened to Ambrosini at Milan back in the day. Most suited to a Carrilero role, but very competent as a ball winner too, with us playing effectively 5 in midfield he should be able to bring more to the table when we are in possession of the football. His main weakness is defending aerially.

He is considered a leading Serie-A player, so it is a slight upgrade on Pobega. I hope he can develop a little further and become an integral part of our first team long term.

I am still looking to try and snap up one or two players. Ideally I'll be able to bring a striker in end of the season as I've decided to let Giroud go on a free, now at 37 years old. I also want to invest in a good backup keeper to Maignan and hopefully be Italian trained too.

Carnesecchi in goal and Marcos Leonardo up front are my prime targets. 

[rich ruzzian]

Really interesting to see what will happen from January till the finish. 

[g1nh0]

2 hours ago, rich ruzzian said:

Really interesting to see what will happen from January till the finish. 

I'm eager to see whether we can get over the line too

Here's an update xG table at this halfway stage. It's quite clear we are scoring more than we should be scoring, and also conceding a lot less than we should be.

I guess by having roles that should create more clear cut chances, we should be creating less but higher xG chances that we're currently converting very well. So that makes sense.

At the same time defensively, given it's a very narrow formation it naturally makes us very hard to play through (like the diamond), so teams will have to focus their play more out wide and be highly predictable, and consequently will probably create less clear cut opportunities from it (Providing we can defend well aerially too) - but also have more shots as a result by getting in and around our box more often.

However with the Regista role at the base, we will definitely be more vulnerable on the transition. I'm just hoping that we are still able to create enough clear cut opportunities and still take these, whilst having good enough defenders to cover teams that will look more to exploit us on the break.

It's why this system can only really work with top class players - I hope I have enough quality and depth in the tank  

Not sure whether it will be sustainable longer term though, I may try out my diamond version next year. See how this goes first.

 

Edited June 25 by g1nh0

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Update – January 2024

League Progress

vs Juventus

Given the magnitude of the game, we actually performed pretty well. We stifled them for the majority of the game, and created some decent chances of our own.

We were able to take the lead just before HT after some excellent intricate play through the middle, CDK then found Isak with a through ball who converted his one on one clinically.

We were managing the game well in the second half – until a moment of real Sunday League football defending cropped up. A hoof down the field from the hands of Szczesny, saw tiny Kean get above Tomori. With Thiaw going walkabouts miles out of position, Milik strolled through with an eternity to pick his spot passed Maignan. I was obviously fuming.

Fearing Juventus might steal a winner, I hoped the team could regain their composure and disappointment. I didn’t chase for a winner, as a point would still be a good result away from home. Both sides took a couple of shots, but there were not really any clear chances to score a winner and the game ended 1-1.

vs Torino

A good performance going forward saw us put 5 past Torino. We went ahead in the 22^nd minute from Neves, with Isak scoring just before HT which gave us a nice buffer.

We started off the second half very well, with Isak and Leao scoring to put us 4-0 up. Torino then grabbed one, but we got a fifth through Leao to re-establish our 4 goal advantage. That didn’t last long though as 1 minute later Torino got a second – pure lack of concentration.

I can’t say I was pleased with our defensive effort this game. But going forwards we were extremely good, creating 5 clear cut chances and looking good in possession.

vs Verona

This was disappointing. A team struggling at the bottom of the table, but as with some of our away games, were causing us problems especially earlier on. That said, Maignan was injured and Tomori at CB was suspended – so I guess it would explain us being a little shaky in this game. 18 year old Simic was Tomori’s replacement, and our new backup keeper Carnesecchi made his debut for us.

We actually did take the lead in this one on 50 minutes through Isak – I’m actually very happy with how he’s developed this year, and I do feel he’s good enough to play in the poacher role at this moment in time.

But again, just a few minutes later after we scored we went asleep. It seems our players lack concentration at times.

We tried to push for the winner, but we were struggling to create anything at all in the later part of the game. A lacklustre performance, and perhaps the first signs teams are now starting to adapt successfully to us. It has also meant our lead has slightly reduced, now down to 11 points.

Coppa Italia Progress

vs Salernitana

A fortunate draw to have in the Quarter Finals. I felt we could play a heavily rotated team, especially as a lot of our squad players have been involved in a lot of games this year.

Having home advantage also made this very helpful, and we comfortably dispatched of the little resistance Salernitana posed.

We went ahead just after 3 minutes through a Giroud penalty, and debutant 19 year old Romero also got on the score sheet in the 33^rd minute.  Giroud then added a third 15 minutes into the second half, with the game ending a comfortable 3-0 home win.

Fiorentina will be our opponents in the Semi Finals, with the other being contested between Lazio and Juventus.

UCL Progress

No UCL games this month, with RBL our next opponents in the Round of 16.

Best Performance

I’m not sure there is really one this month. The Juventus point was a good one, but we were very good offensively against Torino. Despite our defensive frailties I would have to pick that game.

Club News

The transfers I intended to push through in Carnesecchi and Leonardo were successfully made. Leonardo though will join us at the end of the year, when we are allowed to register one foreign player (I used Varela earlier in this window). Both to an extent are gambles, but with some training I hope I can make them to be very good squad players. 

The doubt I had with Carnesecchi was his PPM of starting counter-attacks from long throws. With our style of play, I'm hoping to build up more from the back bringing our Regista into play. So I'm trying to remove that trait.

And with Leonardo, he really will need some game time. I expect win I do play him next year, there will be some frustrating times - but I'll just have to place my faith in him and use him in the correct games, hoping he'll gain some confidence and then start to see some good improvements.

I also decided to let go of our LB Ballo-Toure, a Senegalese international. He went to Benfica for 7.25mil GBP. With all the money spent and looking to try and develop Bartesaghi, this seemed to be the wisest move. He was also on African Nations duty at the time.

Edited June 25 by g1nh0

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Update – February 2024

League Progress

vs Bologna

A very good start to the month securing a 3-0 home win. We controlled the game from the start to the end, nearing 70% possession and creating a handful of clear cut chances.

CDK saw us on our way scoring in just the 2^nd minute, with Isak converting a penalty five minutes later to put us 2-0 up after just 7 minutes. Leao then grabbed us a third in the 66^th minute. A very comfortable game, with Bologna only having a couple of attempts at our goal.

vs Atalanta

Our first defeat of the campaign. A really poor performance in this game. We created nothing, and they nullified everything we tried to muster. Teams are definitely trying to adapt to us, and our players just did not perform both from the start, or our players coming off the bench failing to make any positive impact.

They created several chances in the first half, and eventually they got their well deserved breakthrough just before HT through Pasalic. They even went down to 10 men after 74 minutes after a red card, but that seemed to make it even harder for us as they then just held on comfortably until the end solely looking to protect their advantage. They ended up winning 1-0.

Fortunately the teams below us aren’t making up any ground since Xmas, and we’re still 12 points ahead at this point.

But this is the sort of game I feel that we need to be more able to break those stubborn sides down, and feared this would start to happen. A better Trequartista and a better WBA-R going forward I feel is what we are lacking (the lack of an offensive WBR a real concern of mine at the start of the year).

They are perhaps the roles which require high levels of creativity / and quality when coming to deliver service to our Poacher and being able to patiently open teams up in the final third. With teams remaining solid and giving us less room to exploit, without having that quality in the final third it means we will at times struggle to break some sides down.

vs Udinese

It was important for us to bounce back quickly after our first league set back, and we did just that in this game. Giroud gave us an early 12^th minute lead, and he then scored a penalty 5 minutes before half-time. The game was very comfortable so far, with Udinese not really offering any threat at all.

The second half went much the same way, with Girous, leao, and Pulisic all grabbing goals to give us a 5-0 home victory. A much improved performance with our midfield controlling the game from the start to finish, and Udinese failing to register a single shot on target.

vs Cagliari

Our final league game of the month saw us come up against 4^th from bottom Cagliari at their place. The sort of away game we have struggled in this year to grab all 3 points.

Well things weren’t as bad from the start here. We weren’t giving away early chances as we often have done, and we took the lead in the 27^th minute through Leao. The score was 1-0 at HT.

Second half Leao got a second in the 51^st minute, and with us looking quite solid it felt like we would comfortably see out this game. But of course, we then conceded just 4 minutes later. Fortunately for us, CDK replied within 2 minutes of their goal to re-establish out 2 goal advantage…to then give Cagliari a second goal in the 87^th minute.

It left for a potentially nervy last few minutes of the game. They were piling men forward going very top heavy with their formation, whereas we ended up parking the bus to try and see the game through. Fortunately we were able to keep them quiet and they failed to register that chance that could have given them a draw. We held on to win 2-3.

Coppa Italia Progress

No Coppa Italia games this month, due to face Fiorentina in Semi Finals.

UCL Progress

vs RBL Round 16 KO (Leg 1)

This is a hard game to assess. It was a tight affair statistically in the first half, but we were so clinical the scoreline really wasn’t a fair reflection at HT. Leao gave us the lead after 18 minutes, and doubling our lead 15 minutes later. CDK then just before HT gave us a 0-3 lead and I was quite astonished in all honesty.

RBL pulled a goal back in the 54^th minute, and I was telling my boys to keep focused. A second goal and they could really threaten a come back in front of their home fans. But CDK got his second of the game just 4 minutes after their first, and in the 93^rd minute Leao grabbed his hatrick to give us a bizarre 1-5 away win at their place.

So 5 goals out of 6 shots of ours on target. They had 7 on target and scored just the 1. They also registered 15 shots compared to our 7. That said, our xG per shot was higher, but really not to the point we should be winning by 4 goals.

We got lucky to an extent I guess, and their keeper Gulacsi had a real poor game averaging 5.5. But we’ll take it, and I can’t imagine us throwing a 4 goal advantage in the return home leg.

Best Performance

Perhaps not the best in terms of our football but any heavy win away in a UCL knockout game is a good performance, so our win vs RBL was our best game this month.

Edited June 26 by g1nh0

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Update – March 2024

League Progress

vs Napoli

Napoli at this time were in second spot, and to ensure we kept a good gap to our closest contenders it was important we didn’t lose this game.

However they started off punishing us after another defensive calamity where Kvaratskhelia took full advantage of Thiaw playing dozey at the back. Unforgivable in such a big game.

They were then very content trying to hold out, and despite us having now more of the game, we were struggling to break them down. We kept pushing, and with the very last kick of the game, a Bennacer corner met sub Girouod’s head, nodding in from close range to give us that late equalizer.

Not happy, but happy in the end is best way to describe this one.

vs Monza

It was important to win games we should be winning, and an away game against struggling Monza was a perfect opportunity to get back immediately to winning ways.

And we played a good game. Despite Monza being the home team, they did have 50% possession but they didn’t take one single shot at our goal. We otherwise took 11 shots and hit the target 8 times, of which three of these went in.

CDK grabbed two and Isak got the third giving us a comfortable 0-3 away win.

vs Empoli

We now had strugglers Empoli at our home place. Again a game we needed to not drop silly points in, and we didn’t.

Controlling the game and having almost 4 times the number of shots compared to them, it was another comfortable 3-0 victory with Isak doing the damage, scoring a hatrick which he completed in the 76^th minute.

vs  Lazio

This came right after the Internationals, so we had quite a changed line up – and it cost us.

We actually played very well and had a number of chances to go ahead. We also had a penalty too, but Giroud missed. That proved to be really costly.

Lazio then sucker punched us twice, with their only two shots on target. First in the 30^th minute, and the second just before HT.

It was then very easy for them second half, as none of our players offered any threat. Another frustrating away day, and it’s quite clear to see how player reliant this system and roles are when playing teams half decent and playing smartly.

--

This was a bad month for us, with the better teams now causing us major difficulties – but I expected this with the style of football and roles used in this year’s FM.

However with 8 games left we still have a 12 points buffer. But we have a lot of games left to play with the UCL and Coppa Italia competitions we remain in. Our squad will certainly be stretched, and I’m hoping we can just get over the line in the league.

Coppa Italia Progress

No Coppa Italia games this month, due to face Fiorentina in Semi Finals.

UCL Progress

vs RBL Round 16 KO (Leg 2)

With a strong advantage after the first leg, I felt we could rotate quite heavily for this one and the gamble worked fine.

Not the most exciting game, and not a lot of clear chances – which was fine by me.

There were no goals in the first half, but Loftus-Cheek got two in the second before Openda got a consolation for RBL, seeing us win this game 2-1 and the game on aggregate 7-2.

--

Great we’ve made the quarters, but we’ve been drawn against a vastly superior Man City – no chance to win that one playing the way that we do. But it will be a chance to measure how good our team actually is against the best in Europe.

Best Performance

It would have to be the Monza game away, considering they had zero shots attempted.

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Update – April 2024

League Progress

vs Genoa

A rotated squad after our first leg Italian Cup win against Fiorentina, saw us come up against Genoa. I wasn’t too concerned with what they had to offer at our place, and that proved to be warranted.

Being allowed the ball, with our players free to express themselves we grabbed the two early goals we needed to put us in cruise control, with Giroud getting a double after 20 minutes.

We kept our concentration and saw this game out through until the end, an easy 2-0 win without any fireworks.

vs Sassuolo

This game came after our 1-1 home draw v City in the UCL first leg. And I guess our efforts with 10 men and a weaker rotated squad out meant this would likely be a tough game.

And yes, it was one of those we didn’t really turn up. We did take an early lead, but after that it was Sassuolo for the most part. They got an equalizer in the 22^nd minute, and if any team was going to win the game it was them.

But we held on in the end for a point, which in the circumstances from our previous game, could have been worse.

vs Salernitana

This one came after our 0-2 away win at City in the second UCL leg. Fortunately being at home, despite a weaker side out I was confident we could get the 3 points without too much trouble.

And immediately in minute 1 Giroud set us on our way, firing passed their keeper following a Bartesaghi through ball. CDK then scored right on HT following a cross from the same man, Bartesaghi.

So 2-0 up at HT against a weak side at home, it was a comfortable second half. Not much action, but we didn’t need to really push and it was another safe 3 points .

vs  Frosinone

Our final game of the month, immediately after our 1-2 2^nd leg defeat in the Coppa vs Fiorentina. So I had a strong team out for this one after heavily rotating that cup game.

They were doing okay themselves, decent mid-table side that wouldn’t be a pushover. Isak gave us a very early lead after 3 minutes, finding himself free with the keeper following an excellent CDK through ball.

That happened to be the difference maker in the end. Frosinone did have a few chances to equalizer, but their lack of quality showed and it was an important 3 away points for us.

--

After a really heavy month with many games (8 in all comps), it was a very good month for us. Despite dropping points away to Sassuolo, we’ve made the UCL semi’s and made the Coppa Italia final.

Our gap with 4 league games left is 10 points – so it will need a capitulation of huge proportions if we don’t clinch the Serie-A.

Probably just as well, because we do have 3 somewhat trickier games left to play, with a home game vs Leece the one game we should win to see us through. Time will tell.

Coppa Italia Progress

vs Fiorentina

Both legs were played this month, and this was the very first fixture for us in April. I put out a very strong team for the home leg, and we could get away with it as we were due to face Genoa in the league.

And the first leg went perfectly for us. We raced into a 3-0 lead before HT with CDK scoring two and Isak getting on the scoresheet. We then made sure to keep solid in the second half, and sub Giroud came on to get a goal himself, which saw us already as good as ended the tie winning at home 4-0.

Second leg I again looked to rotate very heavily, to ensure we had a fresh squad to focus on our final league game of the month. We ended up losing this game in injury time 2-1, but in all honesty I wasn’t at all fussed, booking our place in the final.

Juventus ended up beating Lazio in the other semi final overturning their 1-0 loss they suffered in the first leg.

UCL Progress

vs Man City QF

As with the Coppa, both legs were played this month and I really wasn’t optimistic at all – can’t blame me though!

Leg 1 - Home

With the first leg at home, best we could hope for was a good performance to give us a chance to get lucky in the second leg. However it was us that was unlucky. We took a lead early in through Isak in the 8^th minute. But in the 25^th minute Thiaw got a red after a reckless challenge and far from goal too.

City then only 3 minutes later punished us with Grealish getting the equalizer. I was expecting the flood gates to open up, but to our credit we were able to contain them very well. They didn’t even register a clear cut chance all game, so we kept ourselves in the tie – but it would need a miraculous scoreline at their place to get through.

Leg 2 - Away

Given how we generally perform away from home, I was a little worried it could get quite embarrassing. But this ended up being one of my best FM’ing performances taking everything into consideration with the nature of this save.

Trying to frustrate them and breaking up the play whenever possible, although City were taking a number of shots we continued to repel them. And getting frustrated, we were able to pinch the ball and launch a smooth counter-attack up the pitch. Calabria eventually found space on the right and marauding into the City area he crossed the ball low into Isak who pounced from a few yards out. The score was 0-1 at HT.

With something to hold onto, that’s what we tried to do but whenever possible, to try get a breather whenever we could try to hit them on the break. Time was ticking away, and City were always knocking at our door taking several shots. But they again couldn’t muster that clear cut chance.

And in a moment of City madness, they committed so many men forward at a corner situation (something I’ve seen Bayern do IRL leave no one back from the corner), after clearing it the ball found Leao in an eternity of space, to just run from the half way line and to score passed Ederson one on one. We were now 0-2 up with 16 minutes left of normal time.

City at this point seemed devoid of ideas, and we were able from this point to comfortably play out the rest of time. Quite an amazing result really, especially as we really are inconsistent away from our place.

--

With the UCL draw made, we’ve been pitched up to face our rivals Inter with them the considered home team in the first leg.

The other semi is an all Spanish affair where Real square up against Barca.

Best Performance

No doubt with this one. A brilliant result at the Etihad saw us knock out Man City in the UCL. And a prime example of how xG can confuse people  

Our xG per shot would have been huge in comparison to Man City's. A thoroughly well deserved win, minimising them having good opportunities, whilst having some golden ones ourselves to make the difference.

[g1nh0]

Season 1 Update – May / June 2024

League Progress

vs Fiorentina

So 10 points ahead with 4 games to go, which meant a victory here would secure the Serie-A in my first season at the wheel. Although it was a home game, coming into this Fiorentina were 1^st in the league form table. We also had a rotated side as we just had a UCL midweek game.

And they showed why, as in the 32^nd minute they threatened to delay our title celebrations. Amrabat making a run from deep to get onto the end of a lovely through ball by Bonaventura gave them the lead. I tried to encourage the lads to not let it affect our game, as we had been the better side until that point.

And fortunately a few minutes before half-time Leao got on the end of a Bartesaghi cross after a marauding run down the left to see us equalize and go in that the break level.

We started well in the second half, and after some pressure Giroud was able to break the deadlock nodding in from a corner. We’re really going to miss his aerial prowess next year. Fiorentina though weren’t giving up, and were still creating some situations that caused our defense some concern.

But with time quickly passing, we were able to secure the game with Isak scoring from close range in the 87^th minute to release the tension in the stadium as this goal was the one that made our title triumph safe. The score ended 3-1, and it was nice we could secure it in front of our home fans with a little over 70,000 people attending this game.

vs Roma

This game came before our Coppa Italia final – and with the number of intense games we’ve had this year I decided to pretty much play a B team, apart from Hernandez who sadly is suspended for the final.

And it proved to be a good decision, as we had some squad players motivated to perform well in a tough game away. Pulisic opened the scoring after 18 minutes which we held on to HT. Bove for Roma then got sent off 10 mins into the second half, and we took advantage with Pulisic getting another 6 minutes later.

Isak rounded off the goals scoring one in the 80^th minute which saw us win 0-3 in what was a surprisingly comfortable away game.

vs Leece

Leece were already relegated by this point with only 17 points from 36 games. We made that the same point tally but after 37.

It was another chance to play our second side out for this game, and they performed well securing an easy 4-0 win on our home turf.

78% possession with almost 30 shots at goal and 4 clear cut chances, it was one way traffic. Loftus-Cheek grabbed two, Pulisic again got on the scoresheet and Isak added to his tally.

vs  Juventus

A replay of the cup final which was played at home. I felt it was important to give our first team a run out together for this game, as we had the UCL final booked in a week’s time. It was also important to try and get a win in this big game, to give us some real confidence heading into that final. And oh my, we sure did just achieve that.

It was a complete goal fest in this game. Juventus actually registered more shots and more on target in this game than the cup final. But defensively, they were woeful, and us extremely potent in attack, achieving a 5.68 xG in just 17 total shots taken.

Hernandez, Leao, Isak, and Varela all got on the scoresheet in the first half with the score 4-0 at HT. Kostic got one back for Juve in the 67^th minute, to make the score line a little less painful for them.

But then Isak decided to pop up with 3 goals in 5 minutes, between the 85^th and 90^th minutes which saw him grab 4 goals this game and the match ending in a 7-1 scoreline.

A great boost before the game against Real Madrid, I just hope we don’t go in over confident if anything.

Coppa Italia Progress

vs Juventus (Coppa Italia Final)

At this point we had the title secured, so it was a chance to complete the domestic double. With Hernandez suspended, in came our 18 year old Bartesaghi who had played really well for us since coming into the first team squad, so I was confident as long as he played without fear, he’d be fine.

But what a bore fest of a game this turned out to be. Juventus were clearly parking the bus, because they didn’t create anything at all, nor have much intent in taking the game to us. They setup in a 343, and although possession was very even all of the shots were being taken by us.

However the shots weren’t creating any highlights, with the only one being a free kick attempt which was saved. So 0-0 at HT.

Second half things were exactly the same. So in the 65^th minute and 77^th minute I made two double substitutions to see if anyone could bring some energy and make a late impact.

Still no chances being created and not a single clear cut chance was created by either team all game. But it was that aerial beast of ours who is leaving on a free at the end of the season, Olivier Giroud who popped up from a corner directed to the near post by Bennacer, getting his head to it first which flew passed their keeper to give us the lead in the 82^nd minute.

Then employing some severe time-wasting, we successfully killed the game at that point and the Coppa Italia was ours. The team that tried to win, ended up winning which isn’t always the case. So we did very well to come through in that respect.

UCL Progress

vs Inter SF

Leg 1 - Away

Not that there is too much difference being away, but having fan support is still an important factor. We played the away leg first, in what was an extremely cagey affair.

We started off very well, and would say we definitely edged the first half. We seemed to be passing well, and had a couple of shots at their goal. But we weren’t able to have any sustained pressure, and neither did they. The game was very tight at HT being goalless.

Second half however, Inter were clearly looking to improve their performance and were gaining controlf of proceedings. They were now the side having some shots, but there were a few instances where they were putting a bit more sustained pressure – which had me worried.

But MOTM our goalkeeper Maignan was thwarting any of their efforts that were on target, and commanding his area when he needed to. This layed the platform for the eventual clean sheet we were able to earn – but very unexpectedly a very very late winner came our way.

Winning a free kick 25 yards from goal in almost the last kick of the game, it was Bennacer who stood up to fire in a shot into the top left corner. I was of course very ecstatic, as any advantage especially going into a home leg is really useful to have. There wasn’t a single clear cut chance for any team all game, just a pure moment of brilliance that decided this one. 

Leg 2 - Home

I decided to play on the front foot from the off, as I felt we had a team now capable to take the game to Inter more, especially with them also needing to score a goal to equal the tie.

And well, we put in a brilliant performance in this game. Isak opened the scoring after 9 mins from Calabria’s low cross to give us an important cushion. Inter really didn’t have much of a choice now but to go for the game more aggressively – and so this left them highly exposed after hitting them on a swift counter to double our lead in the 35^th minute, Isak again the scorer.

Five minutes later a corner directed to the far post saw Thiaw climb up above everyone to nod in our third, and the tie was now truly over heading into the break 4-0 ahead on agg.

Our goals didn’t stop here, with Leao and Loftus-Cheek both getting on the scoresheet before the end of the game, although Inter did grab a consolation through Bastoni. That left the final score on the night 5-1, with a 6-1 agg win overall.

--

In the battle of the big Spanish clubs, it was Real Madrid who triumphed against Barca winning 3-2 on aggregate.

So the final due to be at Wembley will be us against Real Madrid – I’m really surprised we made it in all honesty, as I didn’t think this system would get me this far, especially with not having the strongest central defence.

==

UCL Final vs Real Madrid

Surprisingly, despite not having the most strenuous of training for this week preparation, both CDK and Leao were fatigued coming into this game, and both not at a great condition. Leao I felt could probably put in a bit over an hour or so, with CDK likely to try and come off the bench to make an impact.

Real Madrid were without Vini for this one, which gives us a greater chance of being able to hold them out as he’s probably their most dangerous player going forwards. So both sides a little hindered going into this one.

I decided to play a little more pragmatic for this game, as I tend to do when I don’t see us as favourites. The approach seemed to be working quite well, as in the first half we were definitely the side creating a few good chances – but we were not clinical enough in taking them. Scores were tied at HT 0-0.

Second half, although we were looking solid again, we were struggling to create the opportunities we had done in the first half. This perhaps in part to Leao not very fresh, and with us not really having the strongest bench to make an impact, that probably played it’s part too.

So it was definitely one of these UCL finals very boring, well certainly in the second half and it eventually went to Extra Time – seemed a game destined to.

Extra Time

I did make a few alterations given we reached this stage of the game. And well the whole of ET had zero highlights – apart from one in the 118^th minute, and no, it wasn’t a Milan one it was Real Madrid, who had a good opportunity to steal the game at the death, but Rodrygo couldn’t keep his composure and scuffed his shot passed the post.

At this point, all six subs had been used. The game stats really did show us deserving to win this game in normal or extra time, but it just didn’t happen. 2.45 xG to their 0.73, and 16 shots to their 11. We also had 3 clear cut chances to their zero. It would be painful for us to lose the game now.

Penalties

My record on penalties in FM a couple of years back was dreadful! But I’ve definitely improved my record on these, and I had my fingers crossed I could make the right selection and provide the team with the right words to motivate them as much as I could. We did practice penalties in our training over the last week, so now it was just seeing whether everything would now pay off….

First Penalty went to Real Madrid – Bellingham had it saved from Maignan! From this moment on, all of our penalty takers scored theirs up to the fourth. So that meant we were 4-3 up and on Real Madrid’s last penalty. They had to score to stay in the shootout.

It was another world-class player in Modric that walked up to take it, but like Bellingham it was Maignan the man between our sticks who dived the right way and stopped a somewhat tame penalty. He’s been brilliant for us this year.

And so that was it, we won 4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 game which I think we really deserved to win in normal time, almost lost it at the death, but held our nerve in the shootout to give us a UCL treble.

Best Performance

The Inter game at home in the UCL Semi’s, blowing our rivals away in such a fashion was great for our fans. The Juve game of course in the league was also fantastic, but it’s never as sweet against your derby rivals.

Overview / Next Season

Expect I will post a few screenshots in the next post showing a few season statistics of the side and general league stats. I'll also for next year consider using the other narrow formation Milan used back in the day being the diamond, unless I feel like playing another year with this.

With Giroud leaving however, I probably will be safer to try and play two strikers up front. This would also give Marcos Leonardo some valuable game time, whilst still having a good striker playing beside him. It would be a lot to rely on him as the sole striker in the games Isak won't be playing. But I'll see how I feel.

Otherwise it was quite a fun year this one playing with something very different. I had lost my faith in using more of these exquisite roles in FM, but I guess with the difficulty of the game this year not so high it was worth trying to get such a system working again.

 

[g1nh0]

Season 1 - 2023/2024 Overview

Players

We had a lot of good performances this year. The player I had my greatest concerns with was Calabria, but he averaged highest with 7.66. 28 assists in 31 starts from right wing-back was an amazing contribution.

Our two Registas Bennacer (who was out long term at the start) and Adli also contributed really well from our base of the midfield.

And going forwards, Isak scored the most for us with 35 in 36 starts (and was the league’s top scorer). Giroud despite being 37 years old did a lot better than I expected too, and he actually scored so many important goals for us. He’ll actually be a real miss next year. Leao also chipped in with a lot of goals from the Shadow Striker position. He has adapted very well to that position

Our other match winner this year was Maignan in goal. Not just for a few important penalty saves this year, but he was very commanding and I don’t recall him making any real errors. That’s very difficult to find in a keeper, and he’s definitely our star player in our back line defensively.

I would say the most error prone area was our two CBs in Thiaw and Tomori. The average ratings support that to an extent for our regular starting positions anyway. Thiaw I feel is generally more consistent though, so Tomori would be one I would be willing to part ways with.

Our signing in midfield Alan Varela has also struggled to settle it seems. But he’s been performing a little better more recently and we have competed very well against superior teams with him starting.

Defence

A very important area underrated perhaps, was our discipline. Despite us having the most yellow cards of all teams with 80, we also failed to have anyone sent off in the league, and I only recall one sending off happening at home in the UCL vs Man City. It was very key to our league form and undoubtedly helped with amassing a 12 points advantage.

Set piece wise we conceded very few goals when it came to these and from corners, we didn’t concede a single goal which was excellent. We only let one in through indirect free kicks as well.

The pressing in this particular formation despite having roles such as the Regista and Trequartista was surprisingly extremely good. We were the best at keeping the ball outside of our final third with teams having the least successful passes against us.

We were also extremely aggressive in our press, and in conjunction with the Opposition Instructions employed were able to successfully place pressure on opponents immediately with the lowest OPPPDA of all sides.

So despite us perhaps likely to be fragile at times defensively with this system, we were actually very strong defensively overall, conceding just 18 goals in 38 league games ending with 24 clean sheets the most of all sides.

Offence

Set Pieces again were strong for us, and we were the joint best team for taking opportunities from corners.  We were able to produce the most final passes in the opposing third as well, successfully being able to place pressure on the opposing back line.

Scoring the most goals in the league, Isak was also top goalscorer and Calabria our right wing back grabbed the most assists. Adli our backup Regista also had the most key passes of all players in the league too, despite him not being considered a starter for us, and showed what a good job he did whilst Bennacer was out for several months.

Long Term Aims / Plans

The board only wanted us to be competitive in the UCL, but after winning the trophy it’s important we try to bring Milan back to the level of being a real club force in Europe.

Making the Quarter Finals each year with how football is nowadays would be a good achievement.

My plans for next year will be to play with the squad I have already invested in for next season, which will include Marcos Leonardo replacing Giroud.

I will decide on our formation at the end of the Summer. Transfer wise, if there is any chance to improve our starting CBs then I will try to do so. It may need me to try and sell a player or two to generate funds. If any one is going to depart, it will likely be Pulisic and Tomori, but only for higher quality upgrades that will directly improve our first XI.

xG

Defence

Offence

 

[Robin97]

Great season, will you be showing the tactic in full, TI's and PI's? 

[TheJanitor]

Congrats on winning the league and UCL on first go! Made some excellent signings there.

[g1nh0]

@Robin97 @TheJanitor

Cheers both, it certainly surpassed my expectations. I did a bit of tweaking with my tactic before starting this save, and it was my first full playthrough exclusively using it.

Well, earlier in the thread is the base tactic with the roles. But I always tweak and I have so many variations, that I wouldn't plan to provide every little detail in one, as they will all differ to another variation. The TIs, The PIs, the mentality, and the roles all differ on each. So it won't really be much use, apart from people saying it won't work

My tactics are never plug and play based, just try to use my hunch when needing to change things and react to things in game and taking the right approach for each opponent individually.

[g1nh0]

Season 2 Preview - 2024/2025

Board Expectations

Serie A – Win

Coppa Italia – Challenge

UCL – Reach Quarter Finals

Supercoppa – Be Competitive

UEFA Super Cup - Win

Transfers

I decided to try and part ways with Pulisic in the end along with Tomori, and I was able to get some decent funds in.

Newcastle snapped up Pulisic for 51mil Cash, and Tomori went to Liverpool for 57mil Cash. I was also able to sell Loftus-Cheek for 12mil Cash to Napoli.

I didn’t realize at the time, but Marcos Leonardo’s loan runs till end of December. So with deciding to play with the 41212 diamond this year I bought Goncalo Ramos (SC) from Benfica for 59mil to help fill in the striker shortage.

Also came in was Samardzic (AMC) for 57mil, Zaire-Emery (MC) for 35mil and Diomande (CB) for 59mi.

So it was a very good window both with the positions I recruited in and also the quality too. The diamond is another system highly reliant on quality players to play it, with the addition of not having an option to really control the midfield against certain formations.

But it is another wingless formation I like, so I’ll see how it goes.

Here is a quick look at my 41212:

It won’t be so possession orientated, but generally a bit more solid and balanced in approach. So it should create more counter-attacking opportunities, and with having two strikers up front, potentially be a bit more free-scoring.

However again with no wingers we will easily be exploitable down both flanks. We have invested well with Diomande who with his pace will hopefully be able to cover the times we do get breached.

I think our biggest problem will actually be against those better sides that have the quality to punish us. Although the Xmas tree may rely on top players that can make the difference, there was a clear plan with trying to control the game which can cause certain profile teams more problems.

IRL Milan threw away the game vs Liverpool in the UCL using the diamond after Benitez made a tactical change that stopped the dominance Milan had. But Milan were able to get over the line using the Xmas Tree, which may have helped in the Istanbul final to try and wrestle back control of the game.

With the diamond, although it can be very strong in controlling games, vs certain systems it doesn’t work as well and thus can be at a greater disadvantage. Against teams superior, it will struggle to be solid enough to grind out a result / be solid enough.

We had some very good wins against tough opposition in the UCL with the Tree. I hope we can have another competitive year against the big boys with solely using the diamond.

My diamond idea, is perhaps a blend of Ancelotti’s Real Madrid of the modern day, along with AC Milan of old. It aims to bring a bit more solidity when defending, whist accommodating more natural strikers at the top end of the pitch, in the hope we will be more solid, and also more clinical.

[g1nh0]

UEFA Super Cup Final vs Liverpool  / Season 2 - 2024/25

Re-Birth of the Diamond @ Milan

With the UEFA Super Cup against Liverpool my first game with the system and a trophy to potentially add to the club’s collection, here is a quick overview of what went down in our first game.

Bennacer suffered a pre-season injury, but he was our only absentee for the start of my second year here. Starting debuts were handed to Diomande, Zaire-Emery and Samardzic, with only Ramos failing to make the first XI.

He will be a bench player for us, but someone who I feel is good enough to do a decent job in both differing forward roles that I use in this system, which offensively plays much like Shevchencko and Crespo/Pippo did back in the day.

Striker Function

Our complete forward will typically move to the wider areas, in an attempt to alleviate any pressure giving a more direct outlet available, whilst also acting not just as a goal threat, but also as a provider to our Poacher who will most of the time remain central and hold his position inside the box. He’ll also open up spaces for both the BBM and AM to move into.

This is very unlike how I created my Xmas Tree, where the poacher acted more like a Ronaldo Luiz, given the freedom to roam and find space to help that side keep possession of the football, which would be vacated by a Trequartista who also roamed all over the pitch trying to find positions to receive the ball. 

There was a great degree of intelligence needed to play the Poacher role in the Tree.

To The Game

Anyhow, both teams started off reasonably well but it was us that edged their noses in front quite early on in the 19^th minute. Nothing too intricate about the play, but when the ball found Zaire-Emery’s feet, he played a delicious through ball that left Isak one on one with the keeper to fire passed Alisson Becker.

That lead was however short lived, with Liverpool working the ball into the box, after struggling to clear the ball it eventually found Fabinho’s feet and he struck a well hit and placed shot into the corner from just inside the 18 yard box.

Then in the 38^th minute, our other new signing Samardzic also made an immediate impact, grabbing a corner assist which was directed to the near post finding Thiaw’s head. He’s a good dead ball specialist, and will be a real asset for us this year.

And just before the HT whistle we added a third to put us in good control of this game. A typical run down the right flank by Calabria crossed low into the box saw the Serbian tap in from close range. Things were going really well.

Start of the second half, we knew we couldn’t afford to let up against such a quality side. And we got a fourth goal to give us a really strong advantage. A simple throw in from the right, eventually found it’s way to Leao who was free in the box and from near the penalty spot hit a shot low and hard to the bottom left corner.

Liverpool did change things up to try and play more offensively to try and make the score more respectable. But they weren’t able to breach our back lline for a second time, and we ran out deserved winners taking this one home 4-1.

Promising Start

Very happy with our first performance with the diamond. Of course, it is one game and seeing how we fare over the course of the season, especially with sides likely to play a lot more tactically against us being the Champions, won’t be an easy task.

But two new signings made an immediate impact and I’m hoping that by the time half of the season has been played, our new signings and team will be in a good place and playing in a cohesive manner, which would put us in good stead for the second half of the year.

Our away form with the Xmas Tree last year, even though it was the best in the league, was at times far from convincing. Although the diamond won't have the numerical superiority we had last year, I'm hoping with our improved side and by playing a second striker, we may be able to be more efficient at dispatching the less capable sides in the league.

But I think the start of the year will be tricky for us. We have Lazio and Inter away with Juve at home all within the first four games. A bad start is very much a possible one with these games coming a bit too soon for my liking.

[g1nh0]

Season 2 Update – Mid Aug – Mid Oct 2024

Serie A Progress

I’ve played quite a few games now, and gotten a decent feel as to how we have adapted, and are generally performing with the 41212 diamond. Bit of a mixed bag so far, but it has generally been a solid start.

vs Lazio

With a new side coming up against Lazio at their place I thought it was quite a nasty game to kick off our season. But following our UEFA Super Cup success I hoped the team could carry on that performance and confidence taken from that game.

And to my surprise, we came up with a very strong solid performance. We had more possession in this game, whilst preventing them from having a single shot on target. We ourselves created two clear cut chances, and it was Isak who got us a brace giving us a 2-0 victory, one coming early in the first half with one early in the second.

vs Genoa

We followed our win against Lazio with a 2-1 home win vs Genoa, but this game we made really hard work of.

We went down after just 7 minutes on the board after hitting us on the counter. They were then quite content to continue to play park the bus for the rest of the game, with any positive result being a good one for them.

They went into the HT break 1-0 up, but just a few minutes into the second half Hernandez put us on level terms. We continued to try and push for the next goal but Genoa were defending valiantly.

With 15 minutes left I used our remaining two substitutes whilst changing our mentality, and within 7 minutes wew finally broke the deadlock, with our late sub coming on Saelemaekers scored a 20 yarder into the top corner. It was harsh on Genoa as they had been solid. But that moment of brilliance ended up being the decider to give us an important 3 points.

vs Inter

After the International break we were due to play our rivals again and away, Inter. And we had an awful start with Thuram firing them ahead just 3 minutes in. We were really struggling to get into this game throughout the half, and they really should have doubled their lead before HT but we were able to keep it to just the single goal difference.

Having some harsh words at half-time, our team seemed to come out with a bit more fire in their bellies… and in the 56^th minute Isak grabbed us an equalizer nodding home from a ball crossed to the far post.

After that initial rush, Inter did start to find their feet again and were the side with more control of the game, but they weren’t overly threatening, not until the last quarter anyway.

Then there were some moments they were looking the more likely team to get a winner. With the game going into the last 10 or so minutes it looked like they were going to try and pinch the game….however there was a nasty surprise for them.

They seemed to fall asleep from a free kick in our own half, allowing us to work the ball up the pitch and not pressing effectively, the ball eventually found Leao with time and space in the box to pick his spot to finishing coolly passed their keeper, and now had the advantage with just 9 minutes left.

Then looking to close the game down, we successfully defended our own box in an assured manner which saw us hold onto a really hard earned victory. They were the side that created the one clear chance in the game, but our willingness to fight especially in the second half proved decisive for us.

Not a game statistically we deserved to win, but being able to win without playing that well is a good sign, especially against Inter.

vs Juventus

Another tough game immediately with Juventus visiting the San Siro. And like the Inter game, it looked like we were getting off to a really rough start with a penalty being awarded to Juve.

However Maignan as he has already done often, saved a Soule penalty to keep the scores tied. This proved costly to them, as just 4 minutes later Thiaw climbed high at the near post and headed passed Szcznesny in the Juve goal to give us the lead.

From that point, although Juve had a lot more of the ball they weren’t taking many shots at our goal. They did however muster up one more clear chance compared to us in the game, but the goal by Thiaw proved enough with us registering a 1-0 win and Maignan getting MOTM.

vs Sassuolo

Finally I felt like we came up with an actual good footballing performance. Taking 21 shots with an xG of 4.10, although only hacing 46% possession, what we did with the ball was very productive.

The game was as good as gone by the 32^nd minute, as we had just hit our 3^rd goal at that time. Hernandez, Isak and Pio Esposito got on our scoresheet.

In the second half, we added another 3 more with Isak, Samardzic and Ramos grabbing a goal each to end the game with a very convincing 6-0 win.

vs Torino

This game came after our home win vs Porto, but with a few knocks taken a number of our players weren’t in a position to start the game, which meant a heavily changed side.

Torino at the time were flying high in 4^th spot, and this promised to be a very hard game given the circumstances – and they landed our first defeat on us this year.

Although it statistically was a tight game, our defending especially early on was just dreadful. They scored in the 1^st minute, with us responding in the 4^th. They then scored another on the 8^th, and grabbed their 3^rd right before half-time.

I was hoping for a response to try and get ourselves back in the game, but with a weaker starting team and players not really fit to impact off the bench, it saw us not show any signs of being able to make a fight of this game.

Torino held on quite comfortably in the end to give them a very well earned 3-1. This defeat also caused us to lose top spot in the table. With Bologna now sitting pretty up top and Torino right behind us in 3^rd.

vs Atalanta

This game came right after the International break, and although we needed to rest a few players I felt we had a strong enough side to ensure we achieved 3 points in a tricky game vs Atalanta.

And the break may have done us some good, as this ended up as one of our more impressive team performances. Although we had 48% possession, Atalanta didn’t attempt a shot the whole 90 minutes, whereas we took 21 shots creating 3 clear chances in the process.

Samardzic made the break through just before the half an hour mark, punishing poor play where Atalanta failed to play the ball out from the back and we countered quickly exposing their players out of position.

We continued to have shots, but weren’t able to get that all important to close the game off, not until the 78^th minute at least where finally we earnt some breathing space with Calabria firing in from just inside the 18 yard box.

Then to add a bit of gloss to the scoreline, Esposito got his goal in the 86^th minute after coming on with 20 minutes left of the game. So a good 3-0 win here, saw us return back to the top of the table on goal difference from Bologna.

--

I would say although we’ve had some pretty good results, the Torino one was a disappointment. But if you asked me would I prefer to lose to Torino or Inter, I'd prefer a loss vs Torino. However I would also say as a football team is, we are playing quite ordinary?

Perhaps I have designed it to try to grind out results and hope that individual brilliance and being able to be adaptable with our approach will see us achieve positive results. 

Well, we have done but I was hoping for better performances. From a footballing perspective, our best game was against Sassuolo where we created a lot of good chances. Atalanta more recently was also really impressive too.

But there have been instances where I feel if I didn’t influence things off the bench, then we most certainly will have dropped a number of points and may be laying in around the 5^th / 6^th spots in the league.

The games against Genoa, Inter, and Porto were the ones I felt my intervention was key. For now, it’s still hard to tell how well we will do this year. Can’t say I’m overly convinced with the diamond. But I’ll definitely play through the whole year with it, hoping it will prove to be successful to a good degree.

Coppa Italia Progress

No news yet of our first fixture due in this competition.

UCL Progress

vs Barcelona

Barca setup in a Brazilian Box 4222 and us with our diamond. A battle of two narrow systems.

And they pretty much nullified each other out in this tight affair. Very few chances in the game, with the one single clear cut chance coming our way which we couldn’t take. It ended as a 0-0 game, which I wasn’t too disappointed about overall. A decent point away from home for us.

vs Porto

Akthough we controlled this game and did nudge ahead in the 50^th minute, they equalized through a needless penalty given away in our box from a corner. Evanilson dispatched and the game was now tied.

We didn’t let that setback affect us though, continuing to play our football we again went ahead in the 72^nd minute, being Ramos’ second of the game, which we held on until full-time taking an important 3 group stage points.

Best Performance

Very difficult to choose, performances against Atalanta and Sasssuolo from a footballing perspective, but given the magnitude of the Inter game and how early in the season it came I’ve taken this result as being our best performance so far. It was a great comeback, and a game I think I made all the calls that needed to be made to turn it around.

Transfer Update

With the deadline day having loomed, I decided in the end to try and make a few late deals. This was the aim of creating a squad with more Italian players and trying to make a profit on some players previously invested in.

This saw Ricci join us from Torino for 40mil, Pio Esposito from Inter for 17mil and Fagioli from Juventus for 30mil.

Consequently Columbo was dropped from our first team squad, recognizing he just won’t ever cut it here long term. I also sold for cash, Pobega to West Ham for 19.25mil and Varela who I only just bought last year, for 28mil. This meant after buying him originally for 14mil, we’ve made the same amount of profit on him. He ended up joining Spurs.

--

So squad wise with all of the wheeling and dealing, I’m quite happy with the general balance and depth of the side. It does pose a problem though with Marcos Leonardo still due to join up with us once his loan ends end of December, as I wouldn’t be able to cater for him in our squad unless I let someone else depart.

The likelihood is I have to try find him a good place to go on loan – and not Esposito, because the times he has played he has made a real positive impact and already appearing to develop.

[leobiazzi]

What's left for you now? haha

I feel most of my saves die after I win the Champions League or the Libertadores.

I never had much luck with Marcos Leonardo despite signing him for a bunch of teams. My impression is that he's good for "tier-two" European teams, but once you're competing against the very best, he starts missing too many goals.

[g1nh0]

6 minutes ago, leobiazzi said:

What's left for you now? haha

I feel most of my saves die after I win the Champions League or the Libertadores.

I never had much luck with Marcos Leonardo despite signing him for a bunch of teams. My impression is that he's good for "tier-two" European teams, but once you're competing against the very best, he starts missing too many goals.

Heh, no I totally get it. My fun has often been trying to achieve success in a different way tactically, and I haven't played wingless systems in a little while. So I'd like to play a full year using the diamond. When I try to play a long-term career though, I do lose interest once that has been achieved as well. But this save is a bit different to that.

I've also always been more of a league man rather than the UCL, which I know is odd  But I think you need a bit more luck to win that, and I've always preferred consistency to luck.

Good to know with Marcos Leonardo, I haven't had him this year why I figured I'd give him a try. I haven't really managed a big side this year yet. But yeah, I may return back to one of my older saves here at some point.

But I'm not convinced I will succeed this year at the moment with this formation I have crafted, although it's a lot more fun trying than using a 4231 lol.

[g1nh0]

Season 2 Update – Mid Oct - Dec 2024

Serie A Progress

Oct / Nov

Our fixtures in the league going up until the New Year weren’t too bad. November was a month of games I would hope to pick up at least 4 wins from the 5 games. Bologna I expected to be a tricky game as they have been riding high in second place for most of the first half of the season.

And in this game, it was a very even contest where we took the lead but they were the better side over the course of the 90 minutes. We tried to hold out, but they put us under significant pressure the last 10 minutes and they eventually broke through in the 91^st minute. They also missed a penalty in the 85^th minute too, so we perhaps were lucky to get a point in this game.

December

We had a few potential banana skins in this month’s games, having to play Roma way, Fiorentina away and Napoli at home being the last game of the month.

I had made a slight tweak to the system which I hoped would help on the offensive front, and well our form in December was flawless.

Since, we won all five league games, and didn’t concede a single goal either. Perhaps our team has now gotten a better understanding,  whether it is the game time together with our tweak, we were generally performing better as a team, and it gives me a lot of optimism that we can retain our title.

The Napoli game was a very good team performance in all areas, and things do feel like they are beginning to finally click nicely - but guess we'll see if that holds true in due course.

Following my last update, we have played 11 league games, won 10 and drawn one – and so that’s prompted our now considerable 1 points gap between us and second placed side Bologna, who do granted still have a game in hand.

Coppa Italia Progress

We are due to face Torino in the next round.

UCL Progress

We’ve had four games since we were appearing to be in mid-table of the UCL group. We were able to win 3 games and drew 1, which was a home game against Real Madrid.

The wins came at home to Newcastle, Ludogorets and Real Sociedad, which was perhaps the most tricky apart from the Real Madrid game, but we did well to come away with all 3 points which I think has nicely negated the point we got against Real.

We are currently in 6^th with a confirmed playoff spot, but I hope we can secure a top 8 finish to avoid a knockout round game. We have games away to Benfica and at home to Celtic remaining.

Best Performance

There were a number of good performances, but the last game against Napoli we really made light work of. Created a good amount, and very solid at the back against a quality opponent was pleasing to see.

Club News

Marcos Leonardo has now arrived with us. As we have a number of U22 players in our squad, I am able to make some room for him. I need to spend time with him to try and train some traits that will be beneficial to his game, as I’ve felt whenever I’ve had him, his performance levels improves quite significantly when I have a few key traits added.

So I’m currently trying to loan out Pio Esposito to another Serie-A team as an important first team player. He has time to learn traits later down the line, especially when it’s a little clearer to see where his strengths will lay eventually.

[Jogo Bonito]

You've had great success here with Milan. I was close to starting with them or Juventus but I wouldn't be able to do this well with the squad they have, and decided to try a lesser side.

You're looking good for back-to-back titles, that's quite an achievement.

[g1nh0]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

You've had great success here with Milan. I was close to starting with them or Juventus but I wouldn't be able to do this well with the squad they have, and decided to try a lesser side.

You're looking good for back-to-back titles, that's quite an achievement.

I sure hope so, in a good position for now. First season I find is always a bit easier to overachieve. Although it looks comfortable this year, it most certainly at times hasn't been in certain games, and I've had to invest well I think to at least so far, do well again this year.

It's helped a lot though that none of the big sides have had a consistent year, and doing well in the big games so far has been important.