Hi guys and welcome to my first blog post since the release of Football Manager 2017 Beta; I have decided to start a long term save in the Beta in order to get myself used to the new game and more importantly to blogging about the game (So apologies if it doesn’t meet standards). Anyway if you have read my other post then you will know that I am starting with newly promoted La Liga side CD Leganes with the other goal of the save being to eventually win the title.
Considering the start that Leganes have made in real-life (Best start to a La Liga season for a club in their first season in the top tier for 50 years), the expectations for the first season and very low and even made me doubt if this club was one that I could turn around;
The fact that the President isn’t even expecting us too stay up in the first season shows just how big a challenge this is, I myself am just aiming to avoid relegation and maybe even climb to 14th. The Spanish Cup is going to be almost like how the big clubs in England use the Capital One cup and is just an opportunity to rest star players and give the back-ups a bit of game time as the main focus is on La Liga.
Anyway after looking at the squad I realised why the President wasn’t very confident with no Under 19s what so ever, all the ‘B’ team players on amateur contracts and half of the first team on one year loan contracts with no future fee. I therefore looked at bringing in youth whilst also looking to fill voids in the squad.
Lucho is an 18 year-old goalkeeper who will be the back-up this season, he is currently 2 stars but has the potential to be 4 and a half stars; He should be our No.1 for many of the coming years.
Flavio Ferreira is a former Malaga Centre-Half who’s last few seasons have been pledged with back problems but I am confident that with the right training, the 24 year-old can be a critical player in our squad.
Jose Pozo is a former Man City youngster and at still only 20 he has a big future ahead of him, he will play mainly in the shadow striker role but will also be back-up for the Defensive wingers.
Juan Carlos Paredes is 1 of 2 deadline day signings as I felt our other right back Bustinza was not of the quality that I was looking for (He made the most mistakes in the opening 2 La Liga games). Even though he is currently in on loan, he was on the transfer list from Watford so we maybe able to strike a deal at the end of the season if he performs well.
Oscar is an Attacking midfield Spanish veteran who was brought in with an hour to go due to our high amount of injuries (8 so far), he is on a 12 month contract and I doubt he will stay past this.
In terms of the players that have left the club; Bustinza was mentioned before hand; Bianco was a very poor young defender I was surprised that such a highly reputable club like Udinese would take him, even for nothing. In addition to these two I also cancelled two loan moves, Brignoli and Unai Lopez. Brignoli was not needed after the purchase of Lucho and Lopez did not have the physical capabilities to play in my system (if I had known about the injuries then I would of kept him but Oscar is just as good).
So now on to the playing side Pre season; we played 7 games in total with a record of 3-3-1.
Clearly the main thing to see here is the 3-1 away win against Ligue 1 sign Bordeaux which was fantastic for my small, unfit squad. However, the very next game brought the main disappointment as we were beaten by Real Madrid B in a game that we did not respect the opposition correctly with us playing essentially our ‘Second’ team and were punished for it.
We have also played the first two games in our maiden La Liga season and I’ll let you judge our performances before I give my thoughts:
Well an undefeated start for a time that just has to keep its modesty aint half bad!!! If anything we were unlucky not to have won each of the game and considering we could only have 4 subs in each game due to injuries, things can only get better!
Now onto the tactics that will be used at the start of the save. All 3 slots have been used and each one has a specific function to serve the team.
Now before you go mad that this is the most defensive tactic you have ever seen be prepared for more further down. this tactic aims to frustrate opposition that tries to flood the midfield and play their way through. As it is on counter it allows the speedy wingers to take the ball from our 18 yard box to the other at the speed of lighting. This has so far been our weakest tactic but has been used the least and will need to be trained further to become prolific.
My attempt at developing Tiki-Taka in the new game. This tactic is one that I will base the youth development on (taking inspiration from La Masia) and I fully expect it to be our main tactic in a few years time. For now it will primarily be used in friendlies and cup games to allow current players to also get used so that they can adapt when we eventually switch to this style of play.
I told you it got worse… But in all honesty this tactic is already looking like one of the best I have come up with; this is what was used against Bordeaux and Villarreal. It works by have very fast wingers and shadow strikers who can run onto the ball against slower defences. Also defensively it is very hard to break down (the only goal we have conceded was from a corner). The plan is to use this in the majority of away games and against top half sides at home to try and grind out results.
Thanks for reading guys, I hope everyone is enjoying the new game and having success with the Beta. I will provide the next update at the end of the January transfer window. in the mean time please share the blog and follow us on Twitter @wedidntsignbaba .
We Didn't Sign Baba 