13th Man

It's not quite the MLS in terms of fixture congestion, but those extra midweek matches are killers. I really tried to come up with a pattern of rotation as best as I could, but it's never cut and dry when an injury pops up or you're forced to play someone more than you'd like just cause you need that goal or to hold that lead...

Much appreciated. I'll have to come by and take a look. Xavi Simons has mostly been playing as a BBM (Pablo Torre is the AP in the midfield 3. He's maybe not able to do everything he can from that role, but the balance made it worth it. Things might be changing though based on a few upcoming results...

You were so close to the top of the table there for a minute! Some high scoring games this past month too. You're firmly within the playoff spots though, and staying in touching distance of the leaders. Keep it up!

Harsh times indeed.

Pressure drop PSV were to be truly tested for the first time in the league as they faced 2nd place Feyenoord at Phillips Stadion. The “club of the people” had been almost as dominant as PSV, failing to win only once and having a GD of 14 after six matches. Though it was early in the season, there were still title implications as the previous season’s top two squared off. Even more so when results from elsewhere came in. Ajax had only managed to draw at Vitesse, so a win against Feyenoord would give PSV a four point lead at the top… The result was great, the finishing, not so much. The solitary goal came from a scramble after an early goal, with CB Syrota poking a loose ball into the net. PSV were dominant however, and really should have been 2 or 3. With the game technically in the balance until the end, the final whistle was a relief, especially when Feyenoord had no business getting anything from the match. The result widened the gap at the top to four. With Ajax away coming up to end October, the month might very well be crucial to the title race. A frustrating stumble away to NEC Nijmegen saw PSV lose its perfect record. Lindsay had rested some starters ahead of the midweek Champions League match against Rangers - which ended in a disappointing and boring 0-0 draw. They returned to form against Willem II, even with another rotated team as PSV prepared for their biggest match of the season so far. Win and the gap between PSV and Ajax stretches to 7 points. Lose and it’s only 1…

Thanks! It's the part of the game I'll be focusing on most for the next little while. The waste time etc was to just see out the match. Lindsay played mostly in the 4-3-3 and only switched after the equalizer. What was surprising is the PSV, on the whole, looked better after the switch in terms of movement. A seed has been planted...

That was definitely my experience. In Serie A you face some top sides that are just on another level like (usually) Juve, so I guess you’ll get a nice preview there. Otherwise, sounds like good old fashioned Italian tactical battles! Kind of miss it to be honest.

The Champions [League]! PSV’s first match of the Champions League campaign (and Lindsay’s first introduction to Europe's top competition) would be a trip to London to take on Arsenal. It could be worse, but it would definitely be a challenge. [Not going to lie, I’d forgotten that they had the CL music in this game, and got a bit excited when it started playing…] Arsenal would set up in a positive 3-5-2. They’d had a so-so start to the season and while Lindsay felt it was criminal to waste Saka’s talents as a WB, it was going to be a tough match. The supporters and the board didn’t expect anything from the match. Neither did Lindsay, but he felt like they had a chance of pulling an upset. Setting up in the old fashioned coiled spring, PSV would look to use Arsenal’s positive mentality and narrow shape to pull them out and hit them on the break. Arsenal were definitely the better side, and PSV were a bit fortunate to escape with a draw. Early on, Arsenal were able to get in behind PSV’s high line a few times, so Lindsay pulled the line back and that seemed to quiet Arsenal. Other than the goal - which was almost straight from a goal kick - PSV mostly limited Arsenal to low quality chances and wishful shots from distance. PSV did threaten on occasion as well - Haller had a first half goal chalked off for a narrow offside. Things were looking bleak for PSV midway through the second half, however. They were down and Lindsay was unsure about risking too much for fear they’d conceded more - knowing that goal difference could prove crucial in the tight CL league phase. Forward Haller had been kept quiet and was tiring, so Lindsay brought on backup forward Camello. It was a substitution that looked ahead to the weekend, keeping their goalscorer fresh for the weekend, especially as Camello was on a goal drought. Within a minute, however, he’d put the ball in the net after his fantastic run into the box was found by BBM Simons with a fantastic pass. Arsenal upped the pressure, and that’s when Lindsay decided to shift into a defensive 4-2-3-1 to solidify the central areas. This shape was not only defensively solid, but allowed PSV to control the final few minutes of the match. Something Lindsay took note of for later marches against top clubs. Maybe the 4-2-3-1 was best used against top sides? In the U18s CL, the youngsters did the club proud by going a step further than the first team and winning in London! Hertha Berlin (H) After their 1-1 draw in London, PSV hosted Hertha Berlin at the Phillips Stadion a few weeks later. While the supporters and the board only wanted PSV to be competitive in the Champions League, Lindsay had hopes of knockout ties. If PSV were to progress in the competition, these were the matches they would need to win. PSV certainly were the better team, creating lots of chances in the first half, but Berlin defended well and when PSV got through the keeper was up to it. It took a bit of luck to finally break the deadlock. LB Augustinsson picked up a clearance on the left flank and charged into the box, seeming as shocked as anyone as he beat three defenders on the dribble. His low hard drive would have been covered by the keeper, but a deflection wrong footed him. Berlin had a chance to equalize after a corner, but the shot bounced off the crossbar. Haller added another goal to his incredible start to the season as PSV executed a fantastic counter that made the rest of the match far less stressful. Madueke should have gotten one for himself too, only to get too cute one on one with the keeper, trying a lob when he was far too close. The finishing was unusually lackluster, but Lindsay got his first win in the Champions League so he couldn’t complain. Eredivisie Preview Up next, after a very successful first two months, was an October in which PSV would truly be tested domestically. They would face both 2nd placed Feyenoord at home and Ajax away. The first match would open October in a clash of the top two…

Little wobble but still in touching distance if the top of the table. Looks like Jester managed to stop the bleeding and hopefully keep things headed in the right direction.

Disappointing end to the season, between the narrow misses in the league and Europa campaigns and having Silas likely to leave on a free. Still successful on the whole and building for the future.

Thanks, and yeah - Awesome dude! Lindsay was definitely proud of the 3rd place WC finish. PSV’s been the perfect step as well. High pressure but also high profile with the ability to not only play in the CL, but the quality to actually compete (even if a deep run is unlikely). Lang’s been immense even if he’s not scoring at the rate of Haller and Makueke.

He's 32 in 2026, so this is probably his last year as a top level starter. Lindsay is definitely looking at potential long term replacements as he expands his scouting knowledge in Europe. A few have been picked out but are likely too expensive. Playing with one up top definitely means that a really good all around player is needed.

Love this writeup so far! And yes, I did very much enjoy the hack and slash photoshop Avengers thingy. I'm just blown away by Juve going down and the money they're throwing around despite being in Serie B. I'd have to wonder about someone moving from Man Utd to Juve even with all the money if they'd just been relegated? More on point, the system looks good - perfect for an Italian adventure - and it seems to be working quite well even with the jump to Serie B. I did a save a few years back and it seemed the jump between the leagues isn't as drastic in Italy, with so many clubs going back and forth. Obviously, the best clubs are in Serie A (other than Juve of course, ha!) but you're not guaranteed to struggle just because you're from the lower division.

Return of the Coiled Spring Tactics After the unsuccessful excitement using a 4-2-3-1, Lindsay returned to the 4-3-3. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. The 4-3-3 shape meant PSV could have their best players on the pitch, and ensure good depth. There might be a time or situation where he’d want to use the 4-2-3-1 again (likely with DMs) but it would not be his primary system. The shape and tactics would be familiar to Austin supporters, but had several important differences to bring the best out his new squad. Specifically, it would allow Torre and Simons to play alongside each other, unlocking defenses with their creativity, flair, and dribbling abilities. The Austin big club variant on the left, the PSV variation on the right. PIs - Both wingers - stay wider, roam from position AP(a) - roam from position, move into channels RWB - sit narrower LCB - Stay wider [new] By the end of August Lindsay had settled on his primary tactic. Comparing it to what he was running at Austin in his final year there, the first thing to note is that it is flipped. This is due to RW Madueke being the bigger goal threat while LW Lang was the better creator. At Austin, Lindsay wanted the ball at the feet of his wingers as quickly and often as possible. At PSV, he had two very talented and creative central midfielders in Torre and Simons, so he made what had been a CM(a) into a AP(a) to attract the ball more to central areas. With both of PSV’s RBs having good crosses, he didn’t want to discourage them with the IWB instructions, so he instead asked them to just sit narrower. The other change was making the LB a CWB. With PSV expected to win most domestic matches, Lindsay wanted to push forward. With a very solid Diof at DM, the LCB pulling wide, and the RB sitting narrow he figured the defense could handle a bit more of an adventurous LB. How it went A few things stand out from PSV’s early run under Lindsay. After missing a lot of chances in the first two matches, forward Sebastián Haller caught fire with the extra space he was afforded, scoring 8 goals in 6 league matches. The other two of the front three were looking unstoppable as well, with LW Noa Lang always dangerous on the dribble and RW Noni Madueke leading the Eredivisie with 8 assists to go along with a fantastic 4 goals. The duo of Xavi Simons and Pablo Torre was carving apart the Eredivisie with ease, hardly seeming to break a sweat as they cooled controlled match after match, and both had chipped in with a few goals themselves by the end of September.[Click below to see three delightful screenshots filled with pretty possession stats, passing maps, xG stories, and match momentums] The first three matches after Lindsay committed to the 4-3-3 were brutal for the opposition. They were, however, all matches PSV were expected to win comfortably. A match against a decent FC Utrecht side, however, ended no differently. With Utrecht effective on the counter, Lindsay decided to pull back his lines a little into the old Coiled Spring. It was brutally effective, with PSV getting 4 in the first half as they kept possession, pulled Utrecht out and either hit them with quick strikes or on the counter again and again. With 74% of the ball and a staggering 840 passes in the match, PSV were brutally efficient. This was even more impressive when considering the fact that RB Teze was red carded after only 34 mins. PSV were already 3-1 up, but were able to comfortably see out the rest of the match and even scored another goal despite being down to ten men. League Table Unsurprisingly, with a 100% record and scoring for fun, PSV sat top of the league after six matches. Ajax and Feyenoord were right on their heels. Both were unbeaten, but both had drawn with AZ and as such were two points back. Lindsay wasn’t going to get overconfident however, with Vitesse the only opponent that was in the top half of the table. Champions League Draw Going a little out of order here, with matches against Arsenal and Hertha Berlin already having happened in September, but those will be for the next update. The draw was a mix. There were four very winnable matches against the likes of Berlin, Rangers, Nice and Tel-Aviv. Then there were the matches that Lindsay expected his side to struggle in, with the opening match against Arsenal in London, as well as playing PSG in Paris. On the whole, Lindsay hoped to match his predecessor and at least make the knockout stage...

Transfer deadline day [We’re going to go a bit more thematic for the moment, and go out of chronological order. I’m looking to catch up to where I am in game. So here’s a brief transfer update, which will be followed by the first two league months, then the CL.] With no desperate needs, Lindsay went into transfer deadline with €20m available, but with no pressing needs he wasn’t itching to spend it. He looked into a promising left back, but he was a risk and at €14.5m it would make it hard to make any other deals if needed in the winter window. An agent offer, however, tempted Lindsay into making a bid. 22 year old Diego Coppola had been a solid performer on an Empoli team relegated from Serie A. The Italian defender was very well rounded, consistent, and had one attribute the club was lacking - aerial ability and strength. His very affordable €6.5m relegation clause gave Lindsay the confidence to buy him even if he wasn’t fully scouted. In his first training sessions he looked ready to take a starting role in the side… Lindsay didn’t make a move on him, but also amongst the agent offers was a hopeful line from the agent of Mohamed El Arouch - the midfielder brought in for a very successful half season loan to Austin. He was a player Lindsay very much rated and apparently the feeling was mutual. Creative midfielders were not a need for PSV however - he wouldn’t get much time behind stars Simmons and Torre. Lindsay would keep an eye on him, though, in case one of them was lured away from the club in the near future. Two hours before the window shut, Ajax came in with an €25.5m bid for PSV’s #1 Walter Benitez. It wasn’t quite out of the blue, Ajax had offers in the region of €12m and €15m rebuffed as Lindsay and van Oijen couldn’t find a quality replacement for that kind of money - along the general aversion to selling to a rival. The €25.5m offer for the 33 year old would have given Lindsay a headache, other than that there was no time to find a replacement - van Oijen accepted the bid, but Lindsay pulled the plug. REJECTED Another late move was unable to get finalized as a backup CB would have to wait until January for his €12m move to Germany.

@Hootieleece and @karanhsingh - Like Emperor Palpatine, somehow, the 4-2-3-1 will return. The 4-2-3-1 always does. Does Lindsay have the DMs or potential DMs to play it though? He's missed another as well a good bit later in game. Think he's going off penalty duties despite being supposedly quite good at them from an attribute standpoint. More balance must be brought before the 4-2-3-1 can truly return. In time it shall return.

Really strong start to the season. Massive improvement over the year prior if I remember correctly! Hope you can keep it up. Seems like it's all finally coming together. Now to avoid that...you know what, I'm not even going to say it...

Definitely doing well in Germany here. The 5-3-2 is doing it's job. I've been avoiding symmetrical systems for the last few years, but there's certainly a benefit to being balanced and flexible. On the DLP and Libero thing, I think that having the DLP in the midfield strata itself should give the Libero space to operate in, right? Interesting that the FBs are doing better defensively coming from deeper. I had the opposite issue as they'd be dealing with runners coming at them at full sprint too often. If you have aggressive players with good anticipation, however, seems like you could have the best of both worlds. Also - having players either (a) with space to get a head of steam or (b) arriving late in space is also an underrated part of a system and it seems your FBs would give you both. Anyway, just some ramblings.

Super Cup! Lindsay would be heading straight into the thick of the rivalry as his first match in charge would be against Ajax. The stakes weren’t especially high, however, as it was only the Super Cup… Ajax were predicted to come out with a pretty standard, if cautious, 4-3-3. Likely because the match would be at Phillips Stadion in Eindhoven. PSV Power Lindsay had admired Italy’s set up in the World Cup. While he would primarily train a modified version of the Coiled Spring, he also took inspiration from that Italy side to create a 4-2-3-1. The idea was to use the same concepts as the 4-3-3 overall, but use central overloads and have more players in forward positions for lightning fast transitions and to isolate the opposition defense from the midfield/forwards. Lindsay arrived late in preseason, only getting one friendly match against low quality opponents. He was glad to get a chance to test out tactics in a relatively low stakes match, but against a top Dutch club. Despite PSV having the better of the early running, Ajax appeared earned a penalty after only 6 minutes. Happily, VAR intervened and overturned the decision, deciding that it was a fair, 50/50 challenge. The other highlight of a fairly mundane first half was that new signing BWM Diouf was looking really good. He was locking down the left side, disrupting attacks and tidy in possession. At half time, Lindsay changed to the 4-3-3 Coiled Spring. He wasn’t especially happy with the 4-2-3-1. It had not led to many chances for PSV and though it kept Ajax quiet for most of the half, they seemed to start finding holes by the end of the half. Within ten minutes, PF Haller had a decent chance. With less bodies pressing high for PSV, though, Ajax are able to play out from the back easier and gain a foothold that way. Lindsay again changed to the 4-2-3-1, and Haller soon got even closer to scoring on 73 minutes. He got the ball behind Ajax and rounded the keeper. This gave Ajax just enough time to recover, though. One CB got a foot to Haller’s shot that took the sting off it, but it was still rolling into the goal before a goal line clearance from the other CB. After missing several good chances during the match, Haller capped a bad day at the office when missed his penalty. Ajax went 5 for 5 and the Super Cup would go to Amsterdam. PSV Power is powerless Lindsay’s new tactical experiment with the 4-2-3-1 system he called PSV Power was inconclusive against Ajax. PSV was generally on top throughout the match, but that seemed to be true in either shape. The 4-3-3 seemed to create better chances, at the cost of allowing Ajax to play out of the back. The 4-2-3-1 brought greater control, but also had a weakness behind the CMs. The problem could be solved by dropping them into the DM strata, but the club didn’t have enough players comfortable at that position. The first league match against PEC Zwolle, however, firmly made up Lindsay’s mind. They escaped with a win, but it was due to Lindsay switching back to a 4-3-3 at halftime after going 1-0 down. Zwolle were able to play right through the 4-2-3-1 and had close to 60% of the possession. Upping the pressure with higher lines and pressing got PSV back possession and control, but the chances they created were terrible, while Zwolle got a goal as they caught PSV out. The 4-3-3 resulted in less chances but far better ones, and though Zwolle got a second, it was from a corner and PSV created two great chances for the goals. The winner was quite lucky, with a defensive miscommunication between the keeper and CB leading to a miscue from a CB and sub Mattheus Taferne squeezing the ball into an open net from a tight angle to give PSV a lucky three points. The 4-2-3-1 experiment needed to be shelved for the moment. Lindsay had liked a lot of elements of it, but needed a rethink - or different personnel to play as DMs.

Nice start to your save! Young Boys will give you a good chance at a European run. Even if it doesn’t go well, though, remember that it’s not about wins or losses, it’s about making these Young Boys better versions of themselves, on and off the field.

The business The transition was certainly a jolt. Lindsay had traveled Europe a bit, and had a run in a the Paris FC II squad without ever making the cut. He was also from New York City, so he was more used to urban density. Still, the full density of Europe was a surprise. In the Netherlands, the furthest PSV would travel in the league is 261km (161mi) to FC Groningen, which is actually 4km less than Austin’s shortest away trip to Houston (261km/162m). [Eindhoven with the Phillips Stadion in the distance, to contrast it with Austin. The Q2 stadium is not in sight because it is 16 miles north of the city center.] The density of major metropolitan areas is something that is quite stunning to Americans, with a strip of the Eastern Seabord being the only equivalent, with New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC all in a 230 mile line. The density of football clubs is unimaginable in the US as well. The Netherlands boasts 18 top flight clubs with 17.8m population while the state of California (by itself over twice the population of the Netherlands) has 3 MLS clubs. Lindsay was very much looking forward to much, much less traveling. Budget To show just how far Lindsay had come, he was met with a transfer budget of over €40m and a wage budget over three times that of Austin at €47m/a, or, to put it into European terms, €900k/w. [Now that Lindsay’s in Europe we’re switching over to Euros and wages per week] With the club already over the wage budget, however, some maneuvering was required, especially when some players were entering the last year of their contracts. This level of transfer budget would also not come around every year, with the club bringing in a net transfer profit of €56m in the 25/26 season. Being new to Europe, Lindsay would be relying on DOF Nico van Oijen’s knowledge at first. Lindsay didn’t want a repeat of his early years at Austin, where Renya sold their star keeper during the business end of the season, though, so he and van Oijen would both have to sign off on transfers in or out. After the complexities of the draft, salary cap, and MLS registration rules, though, Lindsay found European transfer dealings refreshingly simple. When you buy a player, the only question is whether or not you can afford them. No need to buy down salary cap impacts with various funds and calculate everything… The business Contracts Lindsay arrived to find PSV over its wage budget, yet with several players asking for improved contracts. This included attacking midfielder Pablo Torre, who was on only €18k/w - a squad player salary - despite being one of the better players on the team. After diverting a good chunk of the transfer budget to wages, Lindsay and DOF van Oijen worked out a €65k/w contract that put Toree much more in the top bracket of earners as he fully deserved. Club captain Armando Obispo was inexplicably on the transfer list, possibly after falling out of favor with Van Nisterooij. Lindsay liked his overall skill set - best suited to a WCB - and felt like he would possibly be part of his first choice pairing. On the last year of his contract, a €30k/w extension was worked out. Transfer dealings DOF van Oijen was in agreement about the need for a DM, and brought in a solid looking Andy Diof from Stade Rennais for €11m with another €3.9M in possible appearance money. Diof was a solid all around player with no real weaknesses and was fit and, in an added bonus, quite good in the air. He was also quite comfortable on the ball and was pretty decent on the dribble, which would help PSV escape the high press. Looking for forward depth, they also tried to bring in a Brazilian starlet. After activating his €16.5m release clause, however, the 19 year old forward demanded €140k/w. This was comically outside PSV’s budget, especially for a player not fully ready to lead the line. He ended up at Everton instead… A bit disappointing, but PSV did have a decent backup forward in the squad, just no one especially physical. With the main squad need taken care of, however, Lindsay was able to head into the season feeling okay - and would work on adding to the squad as needed when he got more familiar. Backroom On the backroom side, Van Niesteroij brought a handful of the staff with him to Manchester United, so there was work to be done. After putting out advertisements, Lindsay and van Oijen brought in Sami Hyypia - a solid defensive coach who’d been on the Austin staff throughout Lindsay’s time there - and Robin van Persie who would coach technical attacking.

Oh well. With the save goals you had, it would have been a long and likely tedious save where you’d have to increase youth recruiting and coaching year after year while keeping the first team competitive, then bring in the new blood through the team…

Ha! Like the title switch. I’d misremembered the next stage of the challenge (not the CL!). Should be a good platform to increase your reputation and get to the next stage!

Great stuff! Even with the heartbreak, that’s a massive improvement on both the previous season and the early season troubles!

The squad is really something going forward. A but suspect at the back but looks like they can make up for it by scoring more. Thanks! Was quite a journey with the national team! And agreed on PSV. Couldn’t script it any better. Club Brugge, SK Sturm Graz or Levante seemed realistic on paper. Lindsay’s connection to PSV through Austin mean they would be much more familiar with him and his accomplishments in the US, and therefore more willing to give him a the job where Ajax didn’t even interview him. I actually forgot that Celtic also dismissed Lindsay’s interest instantly, though that was before the WC raised his profile.