Shrewnaldo

Ok, so I said I wasn't going to spend all that money but I decided to go a little crazy on deadline day. Ahead of deadline day, I signed one of those quality Mexicans I was talking about as diminutive ball-winner Jonathan González joins from MLS. Lemina is now 33 and Nacho Martin isn't quite hitting LaLiga quality so this is a nice bit of cover with a Mexican angle to fit into the Orlegi strategy. Similar Mexican influences can be seen in the loan signing of Juan Castro, who just provides some cover in the unders, and Abraham Meza - who I reckon is better than my coaches think. I plan to turn him into a right wingback - the only position where I don't have any Mareo newgen of quality. Meza already has good physicals and mentals, along with a positive personality and just needs a little Work Rate, Crossing and Dribbling to make a good wingback. Francisco Moreno will be taking the exact same journey but in the first team. Again, good starting physicals and mentals with a positive personality and not a million miles off on the technicals. Guille Rosas is the clear first-choice at right-back but there isn't much after him and some of the players have been complaining about a lack of depth in this position. Whilst Moreno is not an Asturian, he was born in Santa María de Cayón - just over the regional border in Cantabria. He makes the 100 mile switch from Santander and straight into the first-team squad. Where he will be joined by guaje Jorge Meré, who had been transfer listed at Olympiakos after returning to Europe from Mexican affiliate, but not Orlegi owned, Club América. His personality and Leadership aren't where I'd want them but he offers the experienced option we've lost with Pablo Insua leaving for regular game time in LaLiga2 with Burgos. The last signing is one that I wasn't sure about - not because of his ability but because it doesn't quite chime with the theme of the save. 6'8" Peruvian Daniel Bernal joins from Club Allianza for his ridiculously low release clause of £375k. He's already had three caps for Perú, scoring against Morocco and DR Congo in friendlies. In any other save, I'd have been all over him as he's exactly my kind of striker. But I'm clearly going to be prioritising my own strikers such as Polo, Rodriguez and Aguirre... so is there room for Bernal? Given this match engine and the way I play, I reckon Bernal would outperform all of them at 9 but I'm just going to use him as a cash cow. He's gone out on loan to Mallorca and he'll likely bag a hatful in LaLiga2 then give me another option next summer. In other news, the 4-3-3 has started pretty well.

OK, thanks. In that case, can I canvas opinions in here of whether this is OK, or a cheat? Reminder - the game has never let me ask for improvements to the youth facilities. Ever. They were downgraded to 3.5 stars when we were in LaLiga2. Conversely, I've been able to ask and have approved, improvements to Training Facilities, Youth Recruitment and Junior Coaching such that they are all maxed out The root cause appears to be reputation, which only applies to the Youth Training facilities for... reasons I am considering using the in-game editor to bump the facilities by two points this season, and charge myself £2.5m. If the problem persists, I'll then bump it again in 2 years at a cost of £4.5m Thoughts? Legit or cheat?

A gamble A Sporting Heritage - The Guajes of Gijón Since the start of FM24, I've consistently complained that I had don't have any money to spend. Through FeralpiSalò and Hellas Verona, then three seasons at Sporting Gijón I've been relying on finding bargains with the minimal funds at my disposal. This season, the Sporting board has given me over £12m to spend and I've decided not to use it. Go figure. Or rather, I'm not going to use it all. I've still brought in a couple of key cogs and overspent on at least one of them but much of the money will remain in our burgeoning coffers. Instead, I'm going to take the gamble of just throwing a few youngsters straight into first-team football. The board have very reasonable expectations and will be content with us just avoiding relegation, only expecting that we'll be an "established LaLiga team" by 2029/30 (in 4 seasons' time). This gives me licence to experiment with no pressure for immediate success and, with long-term success my priority, I decided to take that opportunity. Three youngsters who probably aren't quite ready are making the immediate step up - Lucas Ferreras, Enol Prendes and Francesc Polo will let me judge the impact of game time on three different profiles of player. Ferreras is about the right age and should make it as a good squad player; Prendes is probably past the point of optimum development but still has some growth; Polo has lots of potential but has slowed in the last year. They'll come into a first-team squad that is going to split its time between the 5-2-2-1 I've played so far, and the 4-3-3 I think we'll transition into in the long-term. This has made squad planning a little awkward as we need to fit into two system - 5-2-2-1 on the top of each screenshot and 4-3-3 on the bottom. All the green shows the number of players being promoted into the next team up, which is really pleasing to see. You can also see that we have, whether it's 5-2-2-1 or 4-3-3, 34 or 35 players in the funnel who are 'trained at club', i.e. Mareo graduates; 14-16 who are 'trained in nation'; and just 7 who are neither. This is even more pleasing when you see that at least 9 of the 'trained in nation' players are newgens who have come through the Mareo academy and will tick over into 'trained at club' within the next couple of years. Some of these players look the business and should represent an exciting future for the club and although I expect this season to be a bit of a struggle, personally I'm excited to start using the 4-3-3. This is probably just my preferred way of playing overall and, as I'd said above, uses my number one favourite role in all of Football Manager - the AP(S) from out wide. This is the basic starting system that I'm looking to use and I'm already really enjoying the shape. The ability to use an IFB has helped me reproduce what is becoming my favoured build up shape of a 3-1 / diamond. As opposed to the 3-2 or 2-3 build-up that I'd used before, this releases an extra player forward to play between the lines and link play to the front 5. The wingback also does this on the right, but I'm finding the box-to-box midfielder is fantastic at receiving the ball centrally in space. A random example from a friendly we've just played - and a particularly helpful example as the B2B doesn't actually receive it here but it's a handy indication. You can see the deep diamond with our 6, Damian, on the ball and he ends up playing the pass to Molinas, the AP(S) at AMR who works a 2v1 with over-lapping right-back Garcia. But what I am particularly liking is the left winger (López), mezzala (Lemina) and 9 (Sremcevic) are all making runs in behind which forces the defence deep. Whilst these are difficult low percentage passes, the B2B (Nacho) has dropped into space behind the opposition midfield. Another example which also shows why I am now preferring the 3-1 shape at the back. Here, the left centre-back Diego has reacted to a clearance and has taken the ball down the line with the left-winger (López) making the run inside. The mezzala, 9 and AMR are also in the box so Nacho is free to play the edge of the box and support the marauding centre back. The other two centre-backs have shifted over and the 6 is holding his shape to protect against the counter and make the out-ball to the opposition striker virtually impossible. So I'm pleased with how the 4-3-3 is working out so far, and the can see from the squad planning that it certainly suits the best newgens coming through - which is entirely the point. The first-team wasn't quite covered in every area and I've made two signings to cover areas that didn't have any promotable options. Diego Sánchez is an odd one. A guaje who left us for Southampton two seasons ago, but with a loan-back option for two seasons... he was then transfer-listed by Southampton for £2.2m and I've brought him straight back. It's definitely more than he's worth as he wasn't even our first-choice wingback last term. However, he has the ability to play both an overlapping wingback in the 5-2-2-1 and the inverted fullback in the 4-3-3... and he's a guaje. So not a difficult choice. Roberto López also covers multiple options - capable of playing as one of the 10s in the 5-2-2-1, or as the mezzala, AMR or AML in the 4-3-3. That's four positions of cover for £2.1m which I'm really pleased with. In the save's first season, he was on loan at Tenerife in LaLiga2 and had 30 goal contributions in 38 starts (17 goals / 13 assists). That phenomenal record earned him a move to Ligue 1 with Lille. Two mediocre seasons later, I'm hoping he can recreate his Iberian form. There's still potential for one more signing. I'm conscious that our Mexican contingent has dwindled this season as I've let Alejandro Gómez return home on loan, as well as permanent departures for Sebastian Valenzuela, Luis Guerrero and Kevin Picón. Having used the in-game editor to restore the cancelled affiliations with Atlas and Santos Laguna, I really feel like I should pay more attention to this side of the save. So I'm working on one or two deals for Mexicans of genuine quality but we'll see. Unlike last season, it's a tough start with Atlético first up. I'm anticipating a bit of a struggle this term but hopefully nothing too drastic and enough game time to encourage the development of our gems. Ferreras, Prendes and Polo may be the only three who have been added to the first team full-time, but there's a host of others that will come in for a game or two here and there. ¡Siempre Sporting!

Is it an acknowledged bug? I hate using the editor, even to fix this stuff as it feels kinda cheaty. So I'm really hesitant but it's holding my save back and feels like it's just an error in the game.

Love this. I find myself in similar situations where I will fall into a trial-and-error mindset of just finding something that works, unless I force myself into more strategical thinking where I have a defined end goal and some metrics to judge the success of that. This is right up my street - although we definitely have a few key differences in preferred approach, there are obvious overlaps. Will you be coming back at the end of each season to 'report' against these metrics? Amen.

I think you're both right. I'll use the editor to add them back in and see if I can properly set it so that they're permanent affiliations and linked by the same owners. And, of course, reinforce the newgen link from our previous successful renegotiation. The other one I'm considering is the youth facilities. The game has never given me the option to ask for improved youth facilities and they're currently stuck at three and a half stars. After a bit of experimenting, it seems this is linked to club rep. In my opinion this is just stupid - I was ok to ask for improved training facilities, youth recruitment and junior coaching until they're 20/20 - so why are youth facilities different? I'm considering using the editor to bump the youth facilities and remove, let's say, £3m from the bank balance to 'pay for them'. Thoughts?

The game has automatically cancelled our affiliations with the other two Orlegi clubs. This is truly, truly frustrating EDIT - I'm thinking of using the in-game editor to add these back in. They're owned by the same company, I just think this is the game's fault for recording the relationship poorly.

Cheers, always appreciated. I still like the longer posts as a way of organising my thoughts but the shorter ones are fine for the intermittent updates. Sames. I think the 4-3-3 with the AP on the right is going to align nicely with the rest of my thoughts. Helps me use a winger on the left and keep an AF or similar type of forward - both of which align with the styles of the best newgens we have coming through. We also have enough midfielders that I really think I need to use at least 3 in the middle. And lastly, there's a couple of centre backs who can play as an IFB on the left - this would balance nicely with the winger in front of him and get me back into the 3-1 / diamond build-up that I've been enjoying with the 5-2-2-1. Positives all round.

I didn't know that re the Rest option. Sadly, the icon would indicate that this would include Recovery. Otherwise, you could blast an Endurance session (which the utilised players would skip) and then Recovery for all EBFM's tests indicated Recovery sessions improved average injury time from 12 days to 8. Might not seem that significant if it were every spread as 4 days per player, but reducing injuries by a third sounds pretty good to me. Sorry for hijacking your thread Ben!

The only issue there is that Recovery sessions reduce injuries and injury susceptibility of the players who were picked on pitch day, cf a rest. Rest, meanwhile, is marginally better for fatigue and general condition recovery. But if you want that injury protection, then you can't rest players on MD+1

Third Season A Sporting Heritage - The Guajes of Gijón At no point were we in any danger of relegation whatsoever. Having started with the kindest of fixture lists, after 5 games we'd already won 11 points towards my season target of 32. We had a couple of sticky spells but that's to be expected from a newly promoted side. In the end, we were comfortably mid-table and only failed to qualify for Europe because I started experimenting with tactics in the last six games. 50 goals scored (10th best in the league), 50 conceded (6th best) and 7 points from Europe. I'll take that. Little surprise in our top performers: C.J. Sánchez - the extra game time I gave the Mareo graduate last season has paid dividends as Sánchez has proven himself to be a very capable goalkeeper, with 0.1 goals prevented per 90 (8th best in La Liga) José Gragera - really solid season for the returning guaje, slotting into his new position seamlessly. With 73% header win ratio and 78% tackle success rate, he was actually our most technically adept centre back. Guille Rosas - another guaje, Rosas has been our best player for all three seasons. Not quite as creative this term, he nevertheless ends with a creditable 8 assists and jount-top 0.69 chances created per 90. RB Leipzig did trigger Rosas' £22.5m release clause, only for the wingback to sign a new contract with an increased release fee. Aarón Molinas - the Argentine took a while to get going despite joining after last season's loan but ended the campaign with a team-leading 10 assists, not to mention 7 goals. Uroš Sremčević - the Serbian finally found some consistent form this season and exceeded his xG to score 14 league goals and 2 in the cup. The biggest surprise of the season was that Sremčević finished second in the NxGn awards - behind only Lamine Yamal as the world's leading wonderkid. There's a £15m release clause there waiting for someone to trigger - something I wouldn't be too disappointed by, despite the goals. All of this was achieved using the 5-2-2-1 shape, with two DMs and two AMs - and it's performed really well, probably over-achieving with the players at my disposal. It's also afforded me the opportunity to continue the progression towards a guaje-dominated squad. Yet my indecision has struck with a vengeance and I'm not sure that I'll continue with the 5-2-2-1 into next season. It's not just thoughts of what we might play in a few seasons when the newgens start to demand game time, it's also just my natural boredom with playing the same system for multiple seasons - and a perennial curiosity in how to get us playing better football. Regular readers of my threads will know that I never have any problems defensively but that I always, always struggle to combine that with sufficient attacking play. 50 goals in 38 matches isn't bad for a promoted side, to be fair, but a quick look at the 'combined' table shows something unexpected. We have scored 32 goals away from home and just 18 at El Molinón. We also conceded 35 against just 15 at home, but it is clear that our home form simply wasn't good enough and it looks like we can afford to be much more adventurous on home soil. That will likely mean that we dispense with the back 5 in home games (with obvious exceptions) and use the additional player in an advanced area - perhaps switching to a 4-2-3-1 or a system with two strikers. I'd particularly like to go with the latter as I think we will need to work towards this eventually. I'm a fan of midfield diamonds and I can see this as a natural evolution from the narrow midfield options that I'm currently using. That doesn't necessarily help when it comes to the newgens and those wingers that have arrived. Except I've been looking again at those wingers and reckon they could quite easily play central roles - Javi as a midfield runner and Aguirre as a 9. All that, though, ignores one crucial point. Reading Ben's thread, I'm so very tempted to bring back my absolute favourite role in all of FM - the AP(S) from out wide. With an abundance of natural wingers on the left and no corresponding option on the right, the space is open to retrain one of the creative 10s to play AMR. Polo and Ochoa would be the obvious options, being primarily left-footed - Polo perhaps the Attack duty to Ochoa's support. Both are players that I was considering bringing straight into the first-team in an effort to fast-track their development but will, at worst, join the B-team. And it is this move which is the most pressing for the long-term tactical conundrum. I plan to sack the current B-team manager due to under-performance in the Primera, missing out on the playoffs - and I'll need to find a replacement whose preferred tactic matches whatever my long-term vision might become. That is not always easy. So a summer of indecision and prolonged recruitment struggles. And I haven't even talked about signing players for the first-team. ¡Siempre Sporting!

I have spend approximately a million hours considering just this question - or indeed even more drastic changes as I'd outlined above. I've mucked around at the end of this season with 4-3-3s, 4-4-2s, diamonds... my indecision knows no bounds

Interesting that the game sees it as side-step - looks like La U have dropped down a bit, or maybe you'd just done so well with Deportivo to boost their rep. Phenomenal move either way. Looking forward to the deep dive and hopefully some tasty Chilean newgens

For the Schalke match, is the #11 the AP(S) on the right-wing? He seems to have held his width a lot more than I would have expected - which I'm assuming is down to the positioning of the IWB behind him. So I'm just wondering how that works through build-up - does he stay wide to receive the ball then cut into his left foot looking for the pass inside, or does he still roam off the touchline as he would if there were an overlapping fullback behind him? Love this idea. Definitely stealing that.

I'd agree on the first team - I'd like Ferreras and Polo to be making the step up soonish. No funds yet from the newgens but the IRL guajes have been attracting interest. Indeed, RB Leipzig met Rosas' £22.5m minimum fee release clause but he decided to sign a new contract with us instead - and his release fee is now £32.5m. I don't think it'll be long before a few of them start attracting bids though. I did consider it but I don't really like playing systems that the AI doesn't use - so I tend to stick to fullbacks or wingbacks. Even if I did go to a flat 3-4 at the back (with ML/MR) then I don't see the wingers' defensive attributes being enough to cover the flank. Unless and until we're a top team, I don't think that sort of vulnerability is viable. I like him too but think he needs to play in a two, or with someone at 10 - which might be a problem with the wingers.

The embedded pictures or the Gyazo links? They seem to be there for me, so I'm checking The old tutoring was way more effective - probably too effective. But, in classic FM style, it feels like they've lurched way too far in the other direction

Seeing as both you and the save are not dead, I'd be interested to see what happens with your left IWB. I'd have thought he'd clash with the libero and an IFB would provide better cover. Or perhaps the libero will move across? Be interested to hear what's been going on

That feels like a huge step up. How have La U been doing in continental competitions in your save? Was the job available thru underperformance or because the previous guy got poached?

Given the lack of attacking wingbacks coming through, this would make a lot of sense and I did consider it but have so far discounted it for exactly the reason you provide. The defensive attributes of the wingers are just way too far off and I don't think I could accept the inherent weaknesses that this would bring. I just feel that wingbacks would need to be more balanced.

Love it, you can tell that you've reignited your interest in the game after the waning at Elfsborg. That link with Brommapojkarna is fantastic, particularly given the state of their academy. I'm never sure if their real-life success translates into FM given the game's over-reliance on reputation as a deciding factor but it'll surely help. I'm liking the look of Carlos Molina - someone to build around?

Re-Assessment Part 2 A Sporting Heritage - The Guajes of Gijón Ok, so into midfield and things start to get more interesting. Take your pick out of these options for 6, all of whom came through the academy: I say for 6 because these are the four main contenders for the DM slots in the current system. Rojas and Quiñones are my current favourites, with the former being the ball-winner and the latter the ball-player. Escribano continues to be there and thereabouts whilst Chirpus was the first to seek a loan deal and convinced me that it was worth employing across the board. Of course, all of them could as easily play at MC as at DM and Quiñones could also play at 10 if he continues to develop - his 9 goals and 7 assists for the under-19s primarily coming from the more advanced role. At DM or MC, I think the three Spaniards would be capable of playing in a 2-man midfield given their work-rate, but Chirpus might become a liability and necessitate a 3-man centre (or 4 as we currently use). And that lack of work rate also applies to the IRL prospects - the likes of Diego Matabuena who hasn't yet kicked on and will be a luxury player at best. With a lower PA but sufficiently fleshed out CA attributes, Damién Caceres has already made the jump to the first-team and has performed admirably in La Liga. From 7 starts and 16 appearances off the bench, he leads the squad with 5.9 progressive passes per 90. Looking further forward again at the 10s, the likes of Angelo and Enol Prendes continue to get regular game time for the B-team but have struggled to perform. The latter is a particular disappointment as, outside of his physicals, I think he looks like he should be a really handy player. I suspect Prendes would benefit from a switch to a front two as he seems more suited to a deep-lying forward role than either of the 10 slots we operate just now. In the under-19s, Bravo, Ochoa and Soriano are the main prospects but all with drawbacks. With Bravo and Soriano it's his personality, with Ochoa it's physical. The bigger problem is that I'm less than convinced that they are natural 10s. Or to put it better - I've always tended to base my attack on maximising the strengths of my best players. And I don't think shoe-horning these guys, plus my new-found wingers, into a 5-2-2-1 is going to get the best out of them. Ochoa I can see as a bona fide 10 but Bravo and Soriano look far more comfortable on the wings. Add in Javi and Aguirre from this year's intake and I'm thinking that moving the 10s out wide is going to be inevitable. So wingers, perhaps? But then I run into another problem. The striking prospects are all born of the same 5'10" mould and can't jump. Polo is the most aerially dominant with Jumping Reach of 6 and he's not even quick. He seems to be the most creative though and the game fancies him as a deep lying forward. Polo and Rodríguez look like a front-pairing waiting to happen - with Polo dropping off into space and Rodríguez looking to get in behind. All sorts of thoughts are now going through my head about what we should built into and the pros and cons of each. I appreciate this has been a meandering ramble without much structure but I'd be very happy to hear what others may think of the prospects on show and how you'd build them towards the first team. Would you stick with the 5-2-2-1 and shift the players around? Or would you evolve towards another system - if so, what? A 4-2-4 / 4-4-2 with the inherent weakness of a two-man midfield? A 4-3-3 and accept that one type of striker will have to retrain to a wide position? How would you utilise the midfield options and how would you shape that defence noting the lack of out and out wingbacks? Of course, we can always supplement these players with recruitment - so if there's an obvious gap, at say wingback, then I know this is the area for the scouts to focus. I would, though, like to ensure that I'm absolutely maximising the potential of the guajes and prioritising their development at every opportunity. ---------------------------------- In other news, this is a bit weird. Just the game over-valuing the human manager's players again

Progress and a Re-assessment, Part 1 A Sporting Heritage - The Guajes of Gijón Per my post above, I wanted to re-assess the prospects that we have at the club from end-to-end. At the moment, all three teams are playing 5-2-2-1 (with wingbacks, two DMs and two 10s) - and the idea was to mould the newgen intakes towards this system. Through the RNG of the intakes and the natural development of the players at my disposal, I'm no longer convinced that this system will get the most out of the talent available. So I wanted to outline the general system we've been running and, in the process, look at who the best prospects are - then how they might fit together in a few years' time. So where to start? Perhaps just with the facilities because the very first thing we've done has been to ask the board to improve everything at every opportunity. This has worked fine for the Training Facilities, Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment which are all now maxed out. The Youth Facilities, however, are a major problem. I've discussed it a number of times in this thread but I have never been able to ask the board to upgrade the Youth Facilities - the option just never appears. After a bit of experimenting using the in-game editor, it appears as if the club's reputation is not sufficient - but it makes absolutely no sense why this would constrain only the Youth Facilities and yet I can apply for, and then max out, the other three facility options. If the option doesn't appear come the end of the season, then I might take matters into my own hands. In terms of staff to work within those facilities, my initial intention was to allow the Technical Director to recruit appropriate coaches etc. This hasn't worked out as he has hired some absolute shockers. I then raised job adverts for all the positions at both the B-team and under-19s, receiving precisely zero applicants after months of waiting. I just never got a news item to show me any applicants. This is just one of a number of bugs that seem to exist thanks to the way the B-team is treated in FM. It's also a little odd that first-team coaches can coach the B-team; whilst all the Goalkeeping and Fitness coaches at the club can work with the U-19s. Regardless, we have a full contingent with all the attributes that you'd expect. I've created custom schedules for the coaches to implement - using the same schedules for the first team and B-team, with youth schedules for the u-19s. There are four schedules which I just run on a rotation. I'm not claiming to be a training expert but the schedules I've created use a combination of the findings from Evidence Based FM's training videos and prioritising the schedules and attributes which I am aiming to mould the squad towards - so technical schedules primarily. Some of EBFM's conclusions I disagree with - for example on Recovery sessions. His results indicated that Recovery reduced average injury days from 12 to 8 over the season. Whilst he indicated that he was happy to accept 4 more injury days a season, I've interpreted it as reducing injuries by a third. It might be 4 days on average, but that could be representing one player across your 25-man squad with one fewer 100-day injury. Worth it for me. In addition to the team training, each player is given role-specific training - for this I train to improve the key attributes for their chosen role, rather than try to improve other gaps in their arsenal. The Additional Focus each player is given might do the latter, and this is rotated every three months. I'm terrible at remembering to this so have now added a recurring reminder to the Notes in my manager profile. I've tried to use Mentoring as much as possible - bringing in 38 year-old Model Professional Pedro and 40 year-old Professional Guillermo Ochoa solely for this purpose - but I rarely see much, if any benefit. In previous sessions, Domingo Escribano's Determination of 8 hasn't moved an inch; and so far Javier Bravo's Temperamental personality has yet to be influenced by Pedro. This is one of the biggest frustrations for me so far, with some of my best prospects having sub-optimal personalities. The final and most important consideration is game time. I am trying to run each squad so that every single player gets at least 25 games, or 2000 minutes. This means tailoring the squads carefully so that I don't have 4 strikers vying for the single 9 spot, for example. And I also want to make sure that the right players are getting the game time - so occasionally I'm dumping a higher CA player into the C-team so that a high-PA option will get the game time. Nothing too complicated but it just takes a little bit of care and admin. This season, I've also looked at loan deals as a bridge between u-19s and the B-team. I'd originally seen a direct transition between the two but, spooked by a lack of development in a handful of players, I wondered whether senior game time would be more effective than the juniors - which FM considers 'non-competitive'. As such, 7 members of the u-19s have been loaned out to various Segunda clubs - never accepting anything less than a commitment to be Regular Starter. I should probably point out one thing which I haven't been doing so far - which is assigning traits. I have no idea if learning traits reduces training time or the resulting CA / attribute growth, but I'm happy to wait until after the players have turned 20 and their attribute growth begins to slow. Traits are so, so powerful though and I'd really like to have the opportunity to get that extra 5-10% - but before I do that, I need to be sure what system the players will slot into... and that is very much up in the air. Currently, this is our most common starting system - although occasionally we push the 6s to MC or drop into a diamond in midfield, and sometimes I switch it from 2-1 to 1-2 up top. And, to be fair, it's been working out pretty well across all three teams. It's the fortunes of the B-team specifically which has given me pause for thought. Earlier in the season, they were comfortably top of the Primera - having been promoted from the Segunda last term. Yet it was clear from the Development Centre that the players had stopped developing, flat lines across the board, and then in December the results started to go awry. This is the team that's supposed to be providing the next wave of players to fit into the 5-2-2-1 so I thought I'd take a detailed look into what prospects we've got - in all three teams. Goalkeepers Christian Joel Sánchez is first-team's #1 and, at 26, can do a job for some years to come. Which is just as well because the immediate options are uninspiring. Damián García-San Pedro is ok for the B-team but I'll be surprised if he gets anywhere near first-choice; More has dropped off further and has gone on loan to Deportivo Caudal so he gets some game time. In terms of newgens, Roberto Vacas came through the first intake but seems to be going nowhere fast, although obviously with all the time in the world. And then we had Gil come through this year. All my focus will be on Gil as the 'chosen one', meaning that Vacas is either going on loan next season, or being pushed into the B-team to make sure the younger player gets game time. This doesn't mean much for the 'system' though - a goalkeeper is a goalkeeper and I'm never convinced by much difference with sweeper-keepers in FM. Defenders When I started the save, our best prospect was a centre-back. Unfortunately, Borja Montes seems to have gone backwards. Here he is at 19 and now at Horrible red arrows all across the technicals and mentals. I really have no idea why. He's had 30 games this season and does not appear to have any fatigue issues but for the last two campaigns has regressed to the point where I've more or less given up on him. And then I have the example of Lucas Ferraras, who is probably my favourite centre-back option: Last year he had exponential growth, including +5 for Composure, Concentration and Positioning. And then summer came and he had an almighty dip, something I wasn't too concerned about as I just assumed it was natural inactivity over the close season. Yet he hasn't recovered at all this term, with only one attribute point gain. Why? 29 games in the Primera for the B-team, I think he should be flying. Why the change from one season to the next? The Primera is a higher reputation competition than the Segunda and he's playing the same number of games. He's only just turned 20 and his performances, averaging 6.98, have been really good. It can't really be a morale thing either because at one point the B-team were flying at the top of the league yet his development had still stalled. So I'm a bit stumped. I still think Ferreras will be excellent and he's one of a contingent of promising centre-backs. Brazilian Welton, from our first newgen intake, has already been moved to the B team and continues to impress; whilst David Paz and Jaime Luis have each gone out on loan. I also brought in newgen Genar Puigdollers from Lleida Esportiu - not an Asturian but he has a Model Citizen personality and is quite the prospect. I'm hoping he rubs off on the players around him. And then we have Manuel Navarro from our second intake. I really like Navarro and think he, Ferraras and Welton could easily be starting centre-backs for us in three to four seasons. Looking at it from a system point of view - I think the main takeaway is that we have enough centre-back prospects to cover a shape that utilises either 2 or 3. Further, Ferreras, Jaime Luis and Navarro are comfortable playing at left-back as IFBs, Welton can already step into DM and David Paz could play right back. None of them, though, are really strong ball-players - adding to the disappointing development of Borja Montes. Looking wider at players who can only cover the flanks, we've had very little come through on the right. Rossano was at the club at the start of the save and is handy but is never going to tear up any trees. Moroccan Haddad came through the first intake and was considered an ok prospect - yet continues to perform miracles for the under-19s. So far this campaign, Haddad has 17 assists in 21 starts; last season it was 24 in 25. I expect this is down to his physicals and his clear technical deficiencies will hold him back at any higher levels. So again thinking of the strategy - we don't have any obvious successors to the outstanding Guille Rosas as a flying wingback. On the left, Mexican Valenzuela is starting to knock on the door of the first-team and then we have the afore-mentioned Jaime Luis who, along with Raimundo Montiel, can cover the flank and the middle. But we're in the same position as the right - there is not a single prospect at full-back / wing-back where I think a future system has to be built with a marauding player in mind. Sergio Muñiz might become that player but I think it's a bit of a stretch as he's already 18 and was unable to command playing time at Segunda club Compostela. So where does all that leave us? With really strong prospects at centre back, enough to accommodate a system with with two or three, and a number who could also play as inverted wingbacks, inverted fullbacks or liberos to create different shapes depending on what happens in midfield. And whilst our current first-team is full of flying wingbacks, there isn't much in the same vein coming through the youth system. ------------------------------------- This post has got ridiculously long, so I'm going to post this as Part 1 and then do a second post with midfield and attack.

Similarly, I've read people saying the same but I can't recall if I've seen any actual evidence that it does. There are an awful lot of people who say an awful lot of rubbish about this game, but say it with great authority and then are believed.

There's a handful of IRL youth players that are getting first-team minutes - the newgens are still just B-team and U-19 minutes, but I'll do a bit more on that shortly. Good question and I can't recall if the Evidence Based FM videos covered this. I'll go back and check.

Given the timing of the respective seasons, I'm assuming it's something like December or January? Any likely candidates other than Bochum? Cracking shirts at Bochum too.