Great capture with Sirigu! Loving the story

What's your tactical setup? And how do you set up for tough games away from home?
 
Great capture with Sirigu! Loving the story

What's your tactical setup? And how do you set up for tough games away from home?

Cheers mate. In truth he was my second choice but still a great signing.

We usually set up 4-4-1-1, but I will drop the AMC back to a DMC against tougher opposition. I haven’t got FM with me but from memory I set up with a high press, get stuck in, closing down more, short passing, narrow, overlap and organised. I always give the GK instructions to throw out to wingbacks so we are able to retain possession more. I use Control for home/easy games and Counter for hard/away games. To be honest I make small tweaks before every game depending on my opposition.
 
Sounds good!

Do you find you create enough chances with 4-1-4-1? Using wing backs and wide midfielders? I'm looking to get a more resilient tactic away from home on mine.
 
Sounds good!

Do you find you create enough chances with 4-1-4-1? Using wing backs and wide midfielders? I'm looking to get a more resilient tactic away from home on mine.

Yeah, I wouldn’t say my teams are usually any weaker away from home. Although I did really struggled away from home when at Kaiserslaurten but my tactics were very different there, I experimented a lot.

With the 4-1-4-1 I use the wingbacks on support and have them play on the overlap, if your wingbacks have the right attributes then they can get a lot of assists from the wide arrears. To be honest I am no tactical genius though!
 
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September

One thing I do hate about football is the early season international break, players come back tired and in some cases injured. For some it can be treated as a blessing if the team are struggling for form but in our case it was undesired, we were in good form and could have done without breaking that cycle.


Results

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We went into the game against Watford as underdogs and clearly that was justified. We had no way of stifling Troy Deeney on the day, the guy was a beast. We took an early lead when Leigh Griffths coolly slotted away a finish at the near post, but that wasn’t to last long. Deeney was unplayable, grabbing a hattrick before half time leaving us with a lot of work to do in the second half. Substitute Ross McCormack did grab a consolation but in truth we didn’t threaten Watford enough despite dominating possession.

Up next was a visit from Leeds, a team who were struggling in 19th place and we were clear favourites to beat pre-match. We started brightly and Griffiths grabbed another early goal to continue his fine start to the season. We held on to our lead comfortably until the hour mark when Leeds equalised with what was really their first dangerous attack. Very disappointed we couldn’t take the three points and also worried about a few of the lads performances.


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Green has picked up a niggling training injury, something that is a real blow for us as he has been in superb form so far this season.



I fielded a weakened side against Leicester in the EFL Cup, although it should still have been strong enough to get a result with the likes of Sulliman, Antonio, Schoofs and Wendell in the team, not to mention our main man Griffiths up top. Yet again we started the better side, with Griffiths bagging his 7th goal of the season and scoring in a 4th consecutive game. It was a very similar story as we seemed to lose our concentration after taking the lead, Vardy and Mahrez were too much to handle, the latter was purely sublime and deservedly picked up the man of the match.

Five days later and we were playing the exact same fixture, this time we faced Leicester in the league. We seem to love scoring between the 30-40th minute at the moment, may be worth putting a bet on us to do the same in the next. This time is wasn’t our number 9, but instead an unlikely candidate in Maguire up from a corner. We gave the lead up once again before half time, but what was nice to see is that we didn’t give in this time round, Wendell with a rocket of a finish to secure the 3 points with only minutes to spare.


League Table

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October Fixtures

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A really exciting month in October, not only do we have to face the might of Man City, but then we have my new arch nemesis Everton, followed by my team Newcastle. As long as we bit Everton I will be a happy man.

 
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October Results

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What a bitter sweet month October turned out to be, we started off with an away day at the Etihad and Man City ripped us apart. We opened the scoring again with a ripper of a finish from Passlack after some neat interplay with Grealish, but from then on it was downhill. The shear class of Citeh was just too much for us, it is very clear the golf in class and in truth we did well to keep it to just the 3 goals.

MUHAHAHA!!! Take that McClaren you sack of sh*t. I am so happy we beat Everton after they rejected me for that moron. By pure coincidence McClaren even tried starting a war of words with me before the game stating we were over-achieving, I laughed it off but what I really wanted to say was ‘I would rather be over-achieving than under-achieving you utter, utter f*cktard’. Well anyway, we won the game and it never really looked in much doubt, we lead 1-0 for most of the game and when Augustinsson got the second, the game was ours. They did get a conciliation from Miralles late on but I had already popped the champagne at that point.

Now comes the bitter end, Newcastle have been my team since I was able to kick a ball thanks to my Grandad, so there will always be a part of me that would be content to lose to the Magpies. Nevertheless we did triumph on this occasion and with consummate ease. They offered absolutely nothing going forward and we bossed them off the park. Although Griffiths hasn’t scored in four now, he has still been integral to our build up play and has picked up a couple of assists this month.



League Table


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So we are still flying high at the moment with over a quarter of the season down. I am still aiming for a top half finish at this stage, anything above that would be a huge bonus.


Barclays Young Player of the Month
Felix Passlack

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Felix has been superb this month, one of our stand out performers for sure. After a slow start he is really starting to show signs of improvement. If only I had the money to make his deal permanent.


November Fixtures

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With Arsenal being unbeaten in the league and on fire I can't see us picking up any points there. Chelsea may be off the boil a little but that is still going to be a tricky fixture at Stamford Bridge. If we can grab 6 points next month I will be happy.


In other news..

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I have been waiting for the post Brexit message for ages now, at least it isn't going to affect our work permits.

 
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November Results


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Well I was expecting to be beating by Arsenal given their superb unbeaten form and their abundance of talent but this was a **** take, we just rolled over and let them walk all over us. Every player on the pitch was poor, except Sirigu, which says a lot. The player ratings, the match stats and the scoreline don’t really make sense either. The Gunners had a total of 19 shots with 9 on target, we had 16 shots with 6 on target and the possession was exactly 50-50. This result was purely down to mixture of individual brilliance and individual mistakes.

We needed a win against bottom side Wolves after our last outing but I was actually more aggrieved with this result. We were 2-0 up at half time and coasting, we then added another after the restart to put the game to bed. Then out of nowhere we conceded two goals on the 82nd​ and 84th​ minute, putting ourselves under a ridiculous amount of pressure for the last few minutes, only just holding on to the 3 points. It was however good to see Griffiths back on the scoresheet, but our defence continues to be poor.

Next up we faced a Chelsea side who were back in form and were devastating. We couldn’t handle Diego Costa who was back at the club for a second spell after a less then successful period at Real Madrid. The stats for this one were not as close as those at Arsenal and well and truly deserved to be trounced. Whilst I would like to say it would be a simple change of tactics to improve our defensive woes, I think it is more a case of our defence just isn’t good enough.


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We haven’t been lucky this month with injuries at all, losing Evander before the Chelsea game and now another 3 injuries to first team players before our next fixture against Stoke. With a hectic December coming up, this could be a bit of an issue.


Even with the above on the sidelines, we still took the three points from a struggling Stoke side. Jack Grealish was the man to step up and be our driving force which was great to see, a good assist for Chester’s goal and he scored an absolute worldie to seal the win. Whilst there are a few worrying signs, I am glad to see we have bounce-back ability, we haven’t let either of the big losses dent our confidence.


League Table


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Positives – 14 games down and we are sitting in the European places. We know where the goal is. New signings have gelled.
Negatives – 2nd​ worst defence in the league. Worst goal difference in the top half.



In other news..

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HAHAHA Yes! That didn’t take long! The only downside is they may turn their season around now if they get someone with some sense in.


December Fixtures

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A long and grueling month in December with no easy fixtures. I think the success of our season will be determined of the next six games.


 
Been away with work for couple of days so only just caught up now! was delighted to read you beat Everton, how they must regret over looking you now! Even better to see the Wally sacked!

I know what you mean about playing Newcastle, that's why I always manage them. But hey ho, you're doing well and proving the preseason stats/prediction wrong so far. KIU
 
Really enjoying this so far, hopefully you can find consistency now and keep it going. What are Gollinis attributes like before you sold him? Can't afford fm17 but found a updated database for this season and know he starts with a ton of potential to start. Also woodman and Augustinsson are superb signings, always go to signings when I'm managing in prem
 
Been away with work for couple of days so only just caught up now! was delighted to read you beat Everton, how they must regret over looking you now! Even better to see the Wally sacked!

I know what you mean about playing Newcastle, that's why I always manage them. But hey ho, you're doing well and proving the preseason stats/prediction wrong so far. KIU

I was very happy we won the first battle over our new rival, the war has only just begun though. Yeah I always feel like I have betrayed the Toon when I beat them, we have them in the next round of the FA Cup as well.

Really enjoying this so far, hopefully you can find consistency now and keep it going. What are Gollinis attributes like before you sold him? Can't afford fm17 but found a updated database for this season and know he starts with a ton of potential to start. Also woodman and Augustinsson are superb signings, always go to signings when I'm managing in prem

Cheers mate, glad you are enjoying it. Consistency has been an issue for us so far, once again our home for is much better than away. Gollini actually had very good attributes, probably better than Perin and Scuffet, I will try and post a screenie if I remember when I get home. Woodman is a terrific back up for now, hopefully he develops. Augustinsson is a really well rounded left back, although he is finding it difficult to dislodge Wendell at the moment.
 
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December



December is notoriously the most difficult month of the English football calendar, fixtures come thick and fast and most clubs are just waiting for the January transfer window to open so much needed improvements can be made.

Despite a few niggling injuries and some inconsistent form, I was still relatively happy with the squad in general. The harmony is right at the moment and for the most part everyone seems happy with my management style, I think I have a group of lads who are happy to be ruled with an iron fist.


Results

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I feel like we let ourselves down at home to Bournemouth, but it would only be fair if I took the blame. With the likes of Evander and Griffiths out, it meant we had to rely on Akpom and the so far disappointing Patrick Lucas up front, I decided on giving Lucas another start and he was for the most part very poor. Were it not for the individual brilliance of Andre Green, first giving us the lead and then equalising late on.

Next was West Ham at the London Stadium and this was yet another away-day game we didn’t deserve to lose. We have made Villa Park something of a fortress, but away from home we lack any clinical edge. A few key players were still out but that was no excuse, we kept the ball well but getting the best out of Aky and Lucas is proving difficult and with Grealish being out of form, it means we are relying more and more on Andre Green. Whilst I do not want to replace Griffiths, a new forward may be needed for competition.

Well I was not expecting the result against Man Utd. I opted to start with Aky as a lone forward, but I adapted our set up to utilise his pace and I have to say it was a bit of tactical genius, not something I am famous for. They could not deal with the sheer power and speed of our play, with both Akpom and Green ripping them apart with devastating effect. This will definitely go down as my best win to date and a very proud moment.

Back down to earth with another away loss, at least this time it was to a very good Tottenham side. There were still plenty of positives on display, Aky was superb again and Griffiths made an appearance, albeit for the last 15 mins. We could have had more from this game but such is our away form at the moment it just wasn’t to be.

A win against Sunderland was the perfect way to spend Boxing day for me. The game was settled by a superb Chuba Akpom goal, he has now scored in three consecutive games, 5 goals in total. Despite the low score line and the Mackems poor recent history, this result wasn’t as bad as it appears. Sunderland have been performing above expectations this season and as such will be going into the new year occupying a mid-table position for the first time in several years. Our defence was tight and despite the stats, there was only ever going to be one winner here.

There isn’t much I can say about our trip to Anfield, Liverpool were a class apart and it showed. With Evander and Griffiths now back in the starting line-up after a few cameo appearances, I was hoping our attack would have strengthened, as it turned out both were very poor. We never really looked like threatening and Sirigu had to pull off a string of world class saves to keep the score line to just three.

Our fans were treated to a New Year’s Day derby game against West Brom. We started the far more lively and given his great form in December I decided to give Aky another chance, he didn’t let me down grabbing another early goal. From then on we kept banging on the door but we just couldn’t break down a resilient Baggies defence. My rage was clear for all to see when we conceded a last minute equaliser through some sloppy defending of a set piece routine. This game was the perfect example of the importance of taking your chances when you are on time.


League Table

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We have to be pretty happy with where we are going into January, especially when you look at the teams currently sitting above us.



Awards

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January Results

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Another tie against my beloved Newcastle, this time it was a 3rd round FA Cup tie. Despite my love for the club, I really didn’t want to see us exit the competition early. We started off poorly and went into the halftime break 2-0 down and with only one shot on target. A ‘stern’ team talk in the dressing room and the team come out fired up with all guns blazing. Antonio hasn’t featured much at all for me this season but he was in sensational form, grabbing a brace and setting Akpom up for the winner in the last 10 mins. A superb performance in the second half, just a shame I had to stick a rocket up their **** to get a reaction.

Southampton were struggling in the league but I was just happy to get a point and a clean sheet away from home. To be fair the Saints shouldn’t be down in the relegation places but something is clearly wrong for them this season. We were impotent up top, particularly Leigh Griffiths, who has struggled for form since coming back from injury.

Before the game at Crystal Palace I spoke with Griffiths about his recent form, I felt as if he took what I had said on board and he would improve. Clearly our talk had no effect, his first half performance was abysmal, to the point where we were 2-0 down at half time again and I had to bring him off. Luckily for us we have Chuba Akpom at our disposal, who again was in sensational goal scoring form getting both goals to bring us level and salvage a point. I now have to question Leigh’s place in the team, especially with Akpom now topping our scoring charts.

I was extremely pleased with the manner of our win over Watford, we kept Deeney quiet all game and dominated every area of the pitch. It was also good to see Griffiths get the opener after what was becoming his last chance saloon. Antonio is on form since his motm performance against Newcastle, keeping Grealish out of the side in the process. The only negative was conceding a very late goal yet again, this is something of a problem for us.

The 3-1 away win to Leeds was the best result of the month, putting an end to a lengthy spell without an away win. Griffiths getting on the score sheet was a big positive in my eyes and he looks to find his feet again and build some momentum. We controlled this game from the first whistle and probably should have won by a larger margin. However, once again we conceded in the last few minutes of the game, complacency is clear a big issue for us.


League Table

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With 13 games to go we are just 1 draw away from the 40 point mark. We have managed to put ourselves in to a sort of grey area of safety, by that I mean we may not be able to enter the fight for European places with the top teams, but we have a remarkable 10 point cushion on Watford and Newcastle. I would like to think we can go on to secure an 8th place spot at least, the only thing left to do now is look up the table.

 
Another good month there, only down side is seeing both Sunderland and Everton safely in midtable. Akpom has been immense for you!
 
Chuba

What instructions and role do you give Chuba Akpom, just signed him and you seem to get the best out of him?
 
Still reading this, good to see you succeed in your move to England!
 
What instructions and role do you give Chuba Akpom, just signed him and you seem to get the best out of him?

I have been playing him in a Poacher role with an Attacking Playmaker support behind him. His pace and acceleration are too much for teams to handle.
 
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