Riding the Rhine | #13 - The End

October 9, 2022

Hello once again from Düsseldorf, in this, the final update on Frank Athlete’s career in Football Manager 22. Having made such strides in the Bundesliga last season, finishing in 3rd place and qualifying for Champions League football, Frank had his work cut out to prepare and strengthen his squad for what looked set to be his toughest test yet. How he faired took even himself by surprise, as he truly announced his arrival to the footballing world on the biggest stage. It was a great season to end on, and I’m looking forward to bring you up to speed with how it all panned out. Let’s get in to it…

Season Summary

Team: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Division: Bundesliga
Season: 2032/33
Players in: Benjamín Hernández, América (€9.75M); Valentino Anyoy, Racing Club (€6.5M); Ionuţ Dogar-Cernat, SC Freiburg (€5.75M)
Players out: None

Last season’s 3rd place finish and the resulting qualification for Champions League football, meant Frank really needed to focus on adding strength in depth so as to cope with the increase of games to the fixture list. Since the team had performed so valiantly to get the side into the top 4, it made sense to build on what was there rather than make wholesale changes. No departures from the first team meant the focus was entirely on who would be brought in.

Argentinian centre back, Valentino Anyoy (20), would act as understudy to the three more experienced central defenders (Rekik, Leković and Nakisa) ahead of him in the team, while Dogar-Cernat brings Bundesliga experience with him, and offers a deeper, more defensive option in central midfield if needed. He’s also versatile enough to play as a CM-A and even AP-S should the need arise.

The icing on the cake was the arrival of Mexican forward, Benjamín Hernández, who at first glance looks like an excellent acquisition and arguably one of the best False 9's on the market, even at the age of 20. He would bring some much needed creativity and deft finishing to the front line.

The media’s expectation was 8th, where they clearly saw last term’s league performance as something of a fluke. Frank and his team set out to prove them wrong.

As is customary in the Bundesliga, the season kicked off with the first round of the DFB Pokal. Düsseldorf were drawn away at lower league side, Plauen, and made short work of it, going 7-0 up in the first half and eventually winning 9-3 to set up a Second Round tie against Eintracht Frankfurt in October. The rest of August featured three league games, where the Fortunen managed 6 points from 9, beating Hertha Berlin and Kaiserlautern at home, and losing away to Darmstadt 98 in a shock result. That defeat would be the last until mid-October, with the side managing to go unbeaten in their next five league games to take them up to 1st place on 19 points.

September also saw the launch of the team’s Champions League campaign, with the group stage draw placing them alongside European heavyweights AC Milan, Arsenal and Villarreal in Group H. A narrow 2-1 defeat away at AC Milan was followed by a hard fought bore draw at home to Villarreal, before the side travelled to London to play last season’s Europa League winners, Arsenal. As expected, this was a tough test where the Gunners took an early lead through Bukayo Saka, and despite being pegged back in the 51st minute, regained the lead again in the 69th. As we entered the last ten minutes, all seemed lost, but a quick fire double salvo from Burbano and Alair put the Fortunen in front and on course for their first win in the competition. Sadly, it wasn’t to be though, as Arsenal new boy, Daniel Maria, bagged his second goal of the game in the 89th minute and rescued a draw for them. Düsseldorf could take heart from their performance, but a win was what was needed to keep pace in the group.

Back in Germany and the extra travel and bitterness of dropping points seemed to have an effect on the side, as they lost at home to Wolfsburg and slipped to 3rd in the league. A narrow win in the DFB Pokal next set up a Third Round fixture against Darmstadt 98 in the New Year, and that was followed by a 2-1 away win at SC Paderborn 07 to round off October’s fixtures.

November began with more Champions League action as Dusseldorf welcomed Arsenal for the return fixture in the group. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but Arsenal weren’t about to roll over too easily. Twice Fortuna took the lead and twice Arsenal equalised, but it was the German side’s turn to break hearts as Hernandez bagged his second of the game and secured victory in the 70th minute.

Bayern Munich in the league were the reward for their hard labour and once again they proved why they are favourites for the league title, comfortably winning 3-1 at Stadion München. Next up was Borrussia Dortmund who were yet another side not to be trifled with, and yet Fortuna proved their worth with a thrilling 3-1 victory of their own, with Dortmund never really looking like they were at the races. A crushing 2-1 defeat to Villarreal in the Champions League gave way to an even more disappointing loss in the derby against FC Koln with the scoreline at 4-0 and the side looking utterly devoid of ideas.

As it turned out, that loss proved the catalyst for the team to go on an incredible run of form, notching up seven wins and a draw in the league through to the end of January, and up into 2nd place, hot on the heels of Bayern Munich. Sandwiched in amongst those league games was the final group match in the Champions League, a home tie aganst AC Milan who had already won the group. Arsenal sat two points ahead of Düsseldorf in 2nd and would host Villareal at home where a point would be enough to see them qualify for the next round. Fortuna took an early lead but were pegged back at half time, with their lead restored in the 54th, only for it to be cancelled out again a minute later. What followed was frankly incredible. Four goals in the last 30 minutes saw Düsseldorf emerge as 6-2 winners against last season’s Europa League runners up. F95 had done all they could, but Arsenal once again returned to spoil the party, their game ending with a 3-1 victory and condemning Fortuna Düsseldorf to demotion to the Europa League.

As January drew to a close, Frank once again fended off interest in his players over the Transfer Window, and apart from one or two fringe players departing on loan, the core squad remained intact.

February saw the return of the DFB Pokal as Düsseldorf contested an away tie to Darmstadt 98. In truth it was a tough watch and Darmstadt’s 11th minute goal proved to be the only noteworthy action as they knocked out Fortuna. In the league, the good run continued with four more consecutive wins including a pleasing 3-0 battering of RB Leipzig on their patch. Düsseldorf had also drawn Italian outfit, Atalanta, in the First Knockout Round of the Europa League and over the two legs, the Fortunen were worthy winners, winning 5-1 on aggregate to set up a Second Knockout Round tie against Rapid Vienna. 5-2 was the aggregate score this time, and that would mean a Quarter Final match against PSG next month.

Before that though, Wolfsburg would take full advantage of the team’s focus being elsewhere, and promptly dispatched Düsseldorf 4-0, the side’s first defeat since late November. Usual order was restored in the next league match, a 4-3 win against SC Paderborn, and that was followed by a well deserved 0-0 draw at home to Bayern. Still in 2nd place, the title was a highly improbable target, although a 1-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund did mean that it would be a race between the top two come season’s end.

By strange coincidence, both Fortuna Düsseldorf and Bayern Munich would play four of the same teams in their last five games of the season, but despite wins against FC Koln (5-0), Stuttgart (3-2) and FC Nurnburg (3-1), a draw at FC St. Pauli and defeat to Monchengladbach would assure Bayern of the title once more, their 21st consecutive triumph in this competition.

Meanwhile, back in the Europa League, Fortuna had been handed the all but impossible task of defeating PSG to progress in the competition. As if to cast a dark shadow over the contest, striker Daryl Dike broke his leg in training two days before the first match and ruled himself out for the remainder of the season. In typical fashion, the French side took control of the first leg on the stroke of half time through João Félix, while Camavinga bagged another one, early in the second half. On 78 minutes, Alair came on as a substitute and instantly vincidatced Frank’s decision with an 80th minute consolation goal. Could that prove crucial?

A week later, it was Fortuna’s turn to do the hosting and despite some nerves in the opening exchanges, it was the Bundesliga side that took the lead through Hernandez. A 68th minute penalty to the visitors poured controversy into the tie and the resulting conversion from Vitinha meant that PSG were on course to progress. With the clock ticking, and time evaporating, it would take something special to salvage a result. Enter Samuel Burbano, who’s 87th minute winner sent the fans into raptures as a 2-1 victory cancelled out PSG’s win in the first leg and would mean the game would be decided via extra time and potetnially penalties. The following 30 minutes were a nervy affair, but it would be the latter course of penalties that would decide the fate of this tie with neither team able to find the net in extra time. Perhaps it was good luck, or maybe a sixth sense, but Frank had had the team practicing penalties the day before and evidently that extra training would prove to be the difference. PSG would see two of their penalties saved by cult hero Charlie Setford, while Fortuna Dusseldorf scored all four of theirs to ensure victory!

Up next was another tricky opponent, Benfica, who were eager for silverware having endured a five year barren spell. Once again the first leg would be played away at their ground, and sure enough it was an extremely tense affair. Defensively Fortuna were solid, but they offered very little by way of attack and in the end, the 0-0 scoreline was reflective of neither team willing to put on a show. The return leg was a similar story, although at least this time there was some goalmouth action, albeit no actual goals. 0-0 after a second 90 minutes meant another round of extra time and potentially more penalties, but a twist in the tale would ensure there’d be no shootout agony tonight. A loose ball from Jaramillo’s tackle was picked up by Burbano who’s driving run forward culminated in an inch-perfect through ball for Alair to fire in the winner on 108 minutes! Fortuna Düsseldorf, had found their way into a European Cup Final!

The other Semi Final had been played out between Marseille and Ajax, with Marseille drawing first blood with an impressive 4-2 win away from home, before then being left utterly perplexed at a 3-0 defeat on their own soil as Ajax came back fighting to lead 5-4 on aggregate.

So here it is, a mouthwatering Final between European supremes, Ajax, and little-league minnows, Fortuna Düsseldorf. The venue for such an occasion? According to the organisers, it’s a neutral ground called the Johan Cruijff ArenA, which you might recognise as the Netherland’s national team home ground. It’s also where Ajax play their home games!

Aside from the obvious issue that one team knows the ground signifciantly better than the other, UEFA did at least insist that both teams should have equal support and so just over 32,000 of the Fortunen faithful travelled to the Dutch capital for a once in a life time opporutnity at glory. Aside from the Bundesliga 2 championship in 2023, Fortuna Düsseldorf hadn’t won a trophy since the DFB Pokal win in 1980, over 50 years ago, and they had never reached a European final either, let alone won a trophy. Could this be the day that history is made?

By 8pm, the stage had been set, the anthems had been played, and the game kicked off. Early chances for both teams helped settle the nerves, but it was Fortuna Dusseldorf that broke the deadlock with Burbano turning in Renan’s stunning long shot from outside the box on 19 minutes. Ajax were unperturbed by going a goal down and their patience paid off as they equalised with a lovely team goal on 42 minutes. The second half had more of the same, with both teams creating chances but neither able to find the net. Tiredness was becoming a factor for Fortuna after such a long season, but the adrenaline was getting them through so far. With the referee blowing for full time at 1-1, the game would go to Extra Time with Düsseldorf looking increasingly likely to concede as their lack of fitness showed.

Extra Time began with both sides being slightly more reserved in their approach, but as tensions began to fray, Ajax’s former Arsenal centre back, Gabriel, committed a cynical foul on the edge of the area at 99 minutes, and was lucky to only receive a yellow card. Peruvian playmaker, Renan, placed down the ball and after a brief pause, rifled it straight into the top corner. A sumptuous goal, worthy of any trophy win, and despite Ajax’s best efforts to equalise, the damage was done and Fortuna Düsseldorf saw out the remainder of the match to be crowned champions.

And so there you have it, Fortuna Düsseldorf win the Europa League, and Frank Athlete bags his first trophy after 12 years in football management. Having started out at FC Dordrecht in the Dutch Eerste Divisie and seeing them promoted to the Eredivisie, he then moved on to Sparta Rotterdam before taking charge at Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga in 2027. In five and a half years, Frank has worked to establish the Fortunen first as a top half team, and more recently as contenders for European qualification and now the Honours to go with it. Whether Fortuna Düsseldorf can go on to usurp Bayern Munich as league champions is a question we can only guess at, but it’s clear, for now at least, that Frank M. Athlete can be very proud of his accomplishments.

Results Overview

Bundesliga

Expectation: 8th

Actual: 2nd

Summary: Another incredible season, where for certain periods it looked like we couldn’t lose and our run just went on and on. Bayern are tough though, and we’re still some way off their level.

Best moment: Might be odd to pick out a draw as the season highlight, but our 0-0 result against Bayern was the first point Frank secured against them during his tenure.

Low moment: Losing a derby to FC Koln is always disappointing, but getting thumped 4-0, especially by an opponent we should be beating, is really unforgiveable.

DFB Pokal

Expectation: 3rd Round

Actual: 3rd Round

Summary: I genuinely thought this would be our best chance of silverware this season, and so to be knocked out by Darmstadt 98, a side we really should be beating, was quite a disappointment.

Best moment: The season opener where we scored nine goals, seven of which came in the first half, was quite special. There were six goalscorers in the match as well. Impressive!

Low moment: As I’ve already alluded to, the defeat in the Third Round was hard to take. At the time we had been flying in the league and so to lose our form for one match was something of a shock.

Champions League

Expectation: Group Stage

Actual: Group Stage

Summary: Our first foray into Champions League football and we always knew it would be really tough, but in the end we can be very proud of our performance and were unlucky not to progress.

Best moment: The 6-2 demolition of AC Milan was very special, especialyl as Benjamin Hernandex bagged four goals on his own and recorded a 10.0 rating along with the PoM award.

Low moment: The Arsenal draw felt so unjust at the time, having done so well to get back into the game, and then to concede so late was a really bitter blow, and ultimately cost us qualification.

Europa League

Expectation: Quarter Final

Actual: Winners

Summary: This victory was the absolute highlight and pinnacle of Frank’s career, full of drama and near misses, and not to mention wins against some of Europe’s elite teams.

Best moment: It’s hard to look past Renan’s winning free kick goal from the Final as the highlight of the competition. The inch-perfect placement is sublime and fully deserved to be the match winner.

Low moment: I’m not sure there was a low moment in truth, the defeat to PSG was justified, and we got our own back in the return fixture anyway. Can’t be disappointed when we won it in the end!

Frank’s Favourites

FM22 has been a brilliant edition from my point of view. I really enjoyed building Fortuna Düsseldorf into a formidable side, although I probably leaned a little too heavily on South American signings, especially since byt the time of the final season, I actually didn’t have any German players in the match squad! This was something I had started to address in recent years, but none of the German youth players are ready for first team football yet.

The tactic is mainly intact from when I moved from Sparta Rotterdam, but with a few tweaks to the Team Instructions. The key factor is the mentality has remained cautious throughout. This was something of a neccessity at first, since we were largely outlcassed in the Bundesliga at the beginning, but even as we began challenging for European places, it continued to serve us well, drawing teams on to us and then hitting them on the counter.

Most of the roles and duties are fairly standard, but I was susprised to find such success using this particualr midfield pairing. An Advanced Playmaker alongside a CM-A might seem too attacking, but in fact with the cautious approach, it seemed to balance it quite well and rarely were we overpowered in the middle by our opposition.

Since this is the final update, I have highlighted a few of my (Frank’s) favouritie players below from our recent Europa League winning side. There are a couple of newgens in there, but also a couple of real world players as well, in case anyone wants to share their own stories on them.

Name: Charlie Setford

Nationality: English

Position: Sweeper Keeper (De)

Bought for: €3M

Current value: €38M-€45M

Manager’s remarks: Charlie is easily my favourite player of the entire save. Mr Dependable, I signed him intitially while at Sparta Rotterdam for just €14.5K from Ajax, before resigning him at Düsseldorf for €3M. He’s spent the last seven years as my first choice keeper and despite attempts at various points to “upgrade” him, I honestly couldn’t find anyone that offered what he does. I hope his real life career can emulate what he’s done for me in FM22.

Name: Mehran Nakisa

Nationality: Iranian

Position: Central Defender (Co)

Bought for: €325K

Current value: €62M-€78M

Manager’s remarks: Mehran is an incredible player. At 22, he’s still expected to improve on where he’s at right now, and yet his attributes are amazing. He is on the small side for a central defender, and that’s reflected in his limited jumping abilaity, but it was rare that this ever caused real problems, and he more than makes up for it with his speed, positioning and bravery. I’ve loved having him in the side and would be curious to see what he does in the next 10 years.

Name: Isak Hansen-Aarøen

Nationality: Norwegian

Position: Central Midfielder (At)

Bought for: €3.9M

Current value: €60M-€66M

Manager’s remarks: Hansen-Aarøen is another early signing from my time at Fortuna. He joined for the start of Frank’s second full season and quickly became indespensible, consistently delivering at least a dozen goals and assists a season, and doubling that tally in the last year with 15 goals and 8 assists in all competitions. He’s another player that on paper is clearly decent, but his on pitch performances prove that he’s more than just attribute ratings on a page.

Name: Benjamín Hernández

Nationality: Mexican

Position: False 9 (Su)

Bought for: €9.75M

Current value: €56M-€64M

Manager’s remarks: It was a struggle to replace Rodolfo Gomez when he departed the club and it took a couple of seasons to find the right player in Benjamin. His arrival changed everything. He contributed 33 goals and assists in his first season with us, and boasts a 7.18 average rating across 46 games. His attributes are to die for, but the highlight is definitely in his traits, with “tries killer balls often” and “likes to beat opponent repeatedly” bith in there.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

Northern Boys - Finale (Part X) - Madd FM presents his final update from his FM22 series. What a journey his Newcastle team have been on, a great end to a brilliant story.

Why AD Ceuta FC in #FM23? - Hard not to be excited by what FM Grasshopper has planned for next year - make sure you’re up to speed with his FM23 save

RCDM: Finding The Key - FM Adventure’s last update shares some recent successes from Mallorca and teases a potential for one final update for FM22

The Nigerian Gunman - Botev Plovdiv - FM Eadster returns with another update from the Efbet League as he looks to go one better than last season’ Europa Conference League qualification.

Ten years with Warta Poznan - It doesn’t seem five minutes ago that FM Rensie began his career with Warta Poznan, and yet here we are, a deacde on and still learning from the master!

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for reading this update, I really hope you enjoyed it. You’ll find more updates from me, as well as blogs from some other fantastic writers at CoffeehouseFM so make sure you check them out. Feel free to leave a comment below, or you can message me @fm_athlete if you feel like getting in touch.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘drinking champagne from a dusty old cup’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #12 - Breakthrough

July 1, 2022

Hello again from Düsseldorf where Frank Athlete is looking to build on last season’s top half finish as he makes a push for European football. Over the course of the upcoming season, he’ll also take charge of his 400th game in football management with the 2031/32 campaign his 5th in charge at the Fortunen. It’s been a great season, and has been so pleasing to see many of our young starlets begin to reach their potential. Let’s get to it…

Season Summary

Team: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Division: Bundesliga
Season: 2031/32
Players in: Stefan Kaplanović, Čukarički (€2.3M); Osmar Román, Chelsea (€6.5M); Roberto Jaramillo, América de Cali (€1.7M)
Players out: Florian Kastemeier, 1. FC Koln (€0); Matteo Meeus, Charleroi (€1.2M); Giuliano Bontempo, SpVgg Greuther Fürth (€1.6M); Pedro Malheiro, VTSC (€2.2M); Stefano Bifulco, Benevento (€1.8M)

The side’s 8th place finish last time out meant a slightly inflated prize packet for the club compared to previous years. The Board generously offered a transfer budget of €25M but thanks to the shrewd recruitment team, only a portion of that was used on new players. Stefan Kaplanović (DR) and Osmar Román (DL) join to provide competition in the full back areas, while wonderkid Roberto Jaramillo comes in from América de Cali and will play as an Inside Forward on the left hand side.

Several fringe players were moved on to make room in the squad, with Florian Kastenmeier (GK), Matteo Meeus (DC), Giuliano Bontempo (DL), Stefano Bifulco (DR) and Pedro Malheiro (AMR) all departing for a combined total of €7M. While this left Frank with a relatively small squad, it would mean managing playing time expectations would be that much easier to handle.

Despite a top half finish in the last campaign, the media were predicting a laboured 11th place finish this season, but Frank and his team had other ideas as they targeted that much coveted 7th spot which would open the door to Europa Conference League football.

Dusseldorf’s 2031/32 season kicked off with an away win at FC Erzgebirge Aue in the DFB Pokal with the score 2-1 at full time to set up a Second Round tie against Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of October. As attention turned to the Bundesliga, the Fortunen got off to a shaky start in their opening games, taking two wins, a draw and three defeats by the end of September. The point taken at home to Stuttgart was a highlight, but the 1-0 defeat away at rivals 1. FC Koln was a tough one to swallow.

As they settled in to the season, the next run of games returned an impressive tally of 13 points from a possible 18, with the score lines telling even more of the story as they won 7-1 against Union Berlin, 5-0 against 1. FC Nurnberg and 5-2 against Borussia Monchengladbach. The loss to Hamburg was disappointing, but the draw away at Mainz 05 was quite the spectacle as the side came from two goals down to draw at full time. Sandwiched in between those wins was a comfortable 2-0 victory in the cup as well, and so the team could enjoy their reward of sitting in 7th spot in the league and await a Third Round cup fixture against Borussia Dortmund in the New Year.

Coincidentally, the first league game of December was also against Dortmund and they showed what they were about, beating Dusseldorf 2-0 which then gave way to another defeat, this time at the hands of Bayer 04, the first time this season the team had suffered consecutive losses. They bounced back in the next game against Hertha Berlin, before salvaging a 2-2 draw in the 92nd minute away at Frankfurt. As 2031 drew to a close, the side had slipped a place to 8th, but were still in contention for qualification to Europe via a 7th placed finish.

The January Transfer Window was an uneventful affair with no first team signings in and no departures either. Frank took this as a win in itself as a number of the young players signed over the last few windows were proving they had the potential to perform at the highest level. In particular, Samuel Burbano and Roberto Jaramillo were delivering consistently alongside Isak Hansen-Aarøen and Daryl Dike, with many of the other players chipping in with goals and assists as well.

With the Winter Break over, January began with an impressive 2-1 win away at Stuttgart which was immediately followed by a customary defeat to FC Bayern with the score line at 2-0. Little did they know at the time, that this would be their last league defeat for 105 days as the following weeks and months would be among the most memorable and successful in the club’s history.

January was rounded off with a drab 0-0 draw to Darmstadt 98 and a superb win at home to RB Leipzig to see the side head into the Third Round cup game against Borussia Dortmund with renewed confidence. It was a close affair, but Jude Bellingham’s single goal was the difference on the day and it would be Dortmund who progressed to the Quarter Finals where they would eventually lose to Stuttgart after extra time.

With focus now firmly on the Bundesliga, the cup defeat proved to be a catalyst for improved performances all over the pitch and the results made for some great reading. Six wins from a possible seven and nineteen points secured through February and March saw the side climb to an unprecedented 4th place as they found themselves in danger of qualifying for the Champions League next year! Among the results were away wins at Wolfsburg (3-0) and Monchengladbach (2-0) as well as another hard fought draw against Mainz 05, with Renan’s equaliser coming in the 86th minute to make it 1-1.

As the season rolled into April, the side’s good form continued with another three wins and a draw secured, including a 3-1 victory over Bayer 04 and a well deserved draw away at Dortmund. This left Dusseldorf in 2nd place with two games to go, and with Champions League football already guaranteed for next season. An incredible achievement given the media’s pre-season prediction, and Frank’s own assessment of where they might get to.

The final two matches were nothing more than exhibition games. A loss to Hertha Berlin, the team’s first league defeat since mid-January, was followed by a win against Frankfurt. Dortmund managed a better points return and so they took 2nd place while the Fortunen secured 3rd place in a thrilling season, with little drama and some exceptional performances. Burbano’s 15 goals was enough to earn him the team’s joint top scorer alongside reserve forward Lazetic who bagged 5 goals in the last 4 games and always popped up when needed.

Among the accolades for Dusseldof’s strong performance in the league was a Manager of the Year Award for Frank himself. He accepted the award with grace, mumbling something about it being for the fans as he exited the stage.

Results Overview

DFB-Pokal

Prediction: Third Round

Actual: Third Round

Summary: A fairly lacklustre cup run in the end. We were hampered by being drawn against Dortmund but given our league form, i thought we were capable of winning, things just didn’t go our way.

Best moment: A nice, tidy win against Eintracht Frankfurt was very satisfying in the Second Round. We managed the game really well which was great to see.

Low moment: Of course, the defeat to Dortmund was disappointing. On paper they are a better side but on the day, they were poor. The problem was, so were we. Our defence put in a shift but in midfield and attack we really didn’t show up.

Bundesliga

Prediction: 11th

Actual: 3rd

Summary: It was an unbelievable season in the end, at times it seemed impossible to lose! I think the challenge will be how we maintain this level as we attempt to prove it wasn’t a fluke next season.

Best moment: The second half of the season was a real highlight with just three draws and two losses from January onwards

Low moment: The defeat to 1. FC Koln early in the season was a frustrating one as we were the better side but just couldn’t find the net. In the end it didn’t matter but at the time it felt like a big dent in our early season form.

Facts and Figures

It’s been a while since I shared the tactic we’ve been using, and over the course of the last few seasons it really hasn’t changed too much. The shift to playing two strikers has definitely seen a marked improvement in terms of chances created and goals scored, while the addition of the “Run at Defence” instruction compliments our dribbling ability, which many of the players in the squad are very adept at.

In comparison to the rest of the Bundesliga, we performed well in some key areas and ranked in the top six for Goals Scored (2nd with 71), Points per Game (3rd with 1.94), Shots For (5th with 508), Dribbles Made (3rd with 438) and Goals Conceded (6th with 36).

Financially, the club have never been in a better position. We’re extremely cash rich with €90M in the bank and that’s as a result of some big player sales in the last few seasons, coupled with our increased prize money as a result of our improved league finishes. We’ve also been very savvy in the transfer market, picking up cheap South American talent which in the vast majority of cases have proved more than capable of performing to a Bundesliga standard.

The main area of concern is our youth recruitment which has left a lot to be desired of late, and needs some investment if we’re to start bringing young players through the club and into the first team. We’ve upgraded our junior coaching and youth facilities which will helpful help with this endeavour.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

The Nigerian Gunman - Botev Plovdiv - FM Eadster returns with another update from the Efbet League as he looks to go one better than last season’ Europa Conference League qualification.

FM22 | Corner Kick strategy - FM Rensie sheds some light on his famous corner kick routines, and how best to set up when wanting to take advantage of a dead ball situation.

Casual Calcio | #6 | The (Likely) End Of An Era - Oaky_FM returns as he seeks to retain the Serie A title at Catania. Rumours are abound that this may be his last season at the club, but can he go out with a bang?

Northern Boys – Part IX - Madd FM shares the latest instalment from Tyneside as he attempts to return his Newcastle United side back to the top flight after two failed attempts.

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘on the edge of your seat’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #11 - No Progress Without Struggle

June 10, 2022

Welcome back to the beautiful and historic city of Düsseldorf here on the River Rhine. It’s been an eventful season for Frank Athlete and the club, with great progress made on the pitch and plenty to talk about as some of our exciting prospects really start delivering on the their potential. Let’s not waste more time here in the intro, let’s go straight through and get into it. Bring your drinks with you…

Season Summary

Team: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Division: Bundesliga
Season: 2030/31
Players in: Mehran Nakisa, Esteghlal (€325K); Samuel Burbano, Liga de Quito (€1.4M); Stefano Bifulco, AC Milan (€450K); Wesley Daniel, Borussia Monchengladbach (Loan - €230K)
Players out: Pascal Wagner, Schalke 04 (€2.7M)

The Board’s transfer budget left a lot to be desired again, but thanks to some shrewd scouting, Frank’s recruitment team had managed to unearth a few gems that were available for peanuts. Iranian centre back, Nakisa, signs to provide competition to Lekovic and Rekik, while Burbano will be retrained as a False 9 despite his low finishing attribute. Both see their value soar on joining the club, largely down to their wonderkid status. Bilfulco will provide cover at DL while Wesley joins on loan to back up Alair in the left Inside Forward role.

Pascal Wagner is the only departure as the playing time he desired wouldn’t be possible. That also means that Rodolfo Gomez stays at the club despite interest from elsewhere.

With the new signings now settling in alongside last season’s recruits, Frank’s squad is really starting to take shape with many players showing real potential in preseason, albeit with a lot of youth and inexperience among the team too.

Dusseldorf’s preseason friendlies returned a mixed bag of results, ending with a pleasing 4-1 victory over Napoli in the last warm up game of the Summer. As usual, the season opener would be in the DFB-Pokal where Frank’s men had drawn 1860 Munchen as their opponents in the First Round. Despite the gap in league places, Dusseldorf struggled to get a hold of the game, and it took until extra time for them to grab the winner, with the game ending 3-2.

The cup game was followed by three league matches across the remainder of August, with the side collecting two wins against Mainz 05 and Eintracht Frankfurt, followed by a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Wolfsburg. An unbeaten start to the season saw the Fortunen sitting comfortably in the top 4, hopefully a sign of things to come at the end of the season.

Back to back losses to Bayern and then Hamburg in the next games allowed a few teams below to catch up, but over the course of the next few matches the side notched up five more wins and only two losses up to the end of November, leaving the team in the European places heading into December. Sandwiched in between was also a comfortable 2-1 DFB-Pokal Second Round win against Hamburg, setting up a Third Round tie RB Leipzig in February.

Next, a difficult run saw the team secure draws against Dortmund, Bayer 04 and Hannover 96, as well as a win against Leipzig to remain unbeaten, with the final match of 2030 ending in defeat against Darmstadt 98.

As the Winter Break beckoned, so too did renewed interest in star man Rodolfo Gomez. His performances on the pitch had started to win him many plaudits off it, including the World U21 Footballer of the Year award and the European Golden Boy award, both for 2030. This seemed to pique the interest of a number of big clubs, but it was Wolfsburg who initially came forward and met his release clause of €54M, swiftly followed by Bayern Munich who did the same. It was the latter that proved to be Gomez’s first choice and everyone at the club took a moment to wish him well on his journey to the top.

With money in the bank, the Board were generous in allowing Frank to reinvest most of it into the squad. Off the back of the recruitment team’s newfound success of identifying cheap foreign players that could step up in the Bundesliga, Frank went about recruiting in a number of key areas while also opting to move on a few old hands to make room for the next generation footballers he was bringing in. Central midfield trio Morten Holst, Robert Wagner and Arne Meier were all shipped out for a combined fee of €2.4M, while Gabriel Coelho joined on loan from Porto to cover at CM-At and Peruvian playmaker, Renan, came in to challenge for a first team place at AP-Su for a mere €600K from Alianza.

The remainder of the budget was spent on improving our wide options. Argentinian forward, Manuel Pinero, joined from River Plate for €12M and will play as a right winger, while Brazilian attacker, Alair, signed from Coritiba for €3.3M as an Inside Forward on the left. Alair would free up Lazetic to cover as a striker, leaving Dike and Burbano to lead the line in the absence of Gomez.

January’s league fixtures began with a difficult 2-2 draw away at Mainz 05, followed by a bitterly disappointing 3-2 loss at home to relegation contenders, Eintracht Frankfurt. Not the best of starts after a promising first half of the season, but a win was secured in the next fixture as Dusseldorf battled to a 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg.

February began with yet another defeat to Bayern Munich, although the two goals we squeezed past them did at least show the progress being made under Frank’s leadership. Next up was the DFB-Pokal Third Round match against RB Leipzig who’s league form had been suffering and so an opportunity to progress was definitely on the cards, even though the game would be played on their patch. After an even start, a penalty was awarded to Fortuna before half time and Dike converted it to give them the lead at half time. Despite Leipzig equalising on 58 minutes, it was winger, Alexis Trouillet, who got the winner just 8 minutes later, booking a Quarter Final against Stuttgart in a week’s time.

Seemingly in preparation for the cup game, an away tie against Hamburg in the league ended 6-3 just a few days later, as Dusseldorf came from 3-2 down to win the match in emphatic fashion. With the fixtures stacking up, it was just a few days rest before the Quarter Final against Stuttgart, a third consecutive away match for Frank’s men. At half time, it was 1-1 and at the end of 90 minutes it was 2-2, Daryl Dike equalising in the 88th minute to take the game to Extra Time. Another 30 minutes of frantic football couldn’t separate the two sides and so it would come down to the luck of a penalty shootout to decide who goes forward, and thanks to Charlie Setford’s heroics in goal, Fortuna Dusseldorf advanced to the Semi Final where they would play Bayer Leverkusen in 2 months time.

Back to league action, and the last two fixtures of February ended in a win and a draw against rivals 1. FC Koln and 1. FC Nurnberg respectively, giving way to back to back defeats at the start of March, the first time since September that the team had lost twice in a row, and shipping four goals in each game in the process. Despite the downturn in form, Dusseldorf responded magnificently with an unbeaten run of five games, taking 13 points in total, and three each off of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.

With the side in such rich form, they headed into the DFB-Pokal Semi Final with plenty of self belief and confidence that a result against Bayer 04 was on the cards. Despite finding the net 14 times in the last 5 games, Leverkusen proved to be a stubborn opponent and after 120 minutes of football, the deadlock was yet to be broken. Unfortunately for Dusseldorf, the shootout heroics from the last round couldn’t be repeated and it was Bayer Leverkusen who stood firm to progress to the Final. It was a cruel end to an impressive cup run, but certainly gives hope for future success in this competition.

With the DFB-Pokal dream over, attention immediately shifted to the league where with a few more favourable results, Fortuna stood an outside chance of securing Europa Conference League football next season. By strange coincidence, the next league game was another home fixture against Bayer Leverkusen, just three days after the cup defeat, but instead of taking revenge the side succumbed to a 1-0 defeat, meaning that as they headed into the final two games of the season, it would take a slip from either Hoffenheim or Mainz 05 for Fortuna to secure 7th place.

The team rose to the occasion, bagging consecutive wins and two clean sheets to give themselves the best chance of success, but in the end both Hoffenheim and Mainz did just enough to stay ahead with Dusseldorf missing out on Europe by two points.

Considering where the team have come from, having only been promoted a few season ago and now climbing into the top half of the league alongside a successful cup campaign, this has been an overwhelmingly successful season and gives a really exciting platform for the team to build on next year.

Fans of the club could have been forgiven for feeling pessimistic when Rodolfo Gomez exited the club and Frank Athlete opted not to bring in a replacement striker in the January Transfer Window, but Athlete was vindicated in his decision as Daryl Dike really stepped up and ended up having his most successful season yet. An average rating of 7.4, no less than seven Man of the Match awards and 9 assists were capped off with 25 goals from all competitions, an impressive return from the American forward.

With one or two more signings in key positions, Frank and his side have the potential to continue their upward trajectory next season and hopefully go one better in the league and qualify for Europe. One thing is certain, the gap between what were Fortuna’s fellow relegation rivals a few seasons ago is ever increasing, while that gap to the European spots has shrunk significantly.

Results Overview

DFB-Pokal

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: Semi Final

Summary: A run to the semi-final was such an impressive feat, but in truth, losing to penalties made it feel like a missed opportunity. Hopefully next year we can capitalise and be a little more ruthless in front of goal.

Best moment: The euphoria of winning the penalty shoot out in the Quarter Final will be hard to beat, it was a great end to a great match.

Low moment: Hard to look past that Semi Final loss, with opportunities aplenty to score in the 90 minutes, but it wasn’t to be.

Bundesliga

Prediction: 12th

Actual: 8th

Summary: An 8th place finish is a big jump and proves that this squad, while young, have real potential to progress in this league. Aside from Bayern Munich and Stuttgart, we took points from all of our opponents which was really pleasing to see.

Best moment: Coming from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 away at Leverkusen was certainly a highlight, as was the 6-3 demolition of Hamburg, despite trailing 3-2.

Low moment: Missing out on Europa Conference League football was a bitter blow, especially as it was just two points in the end.

Facts and Figures

From a financial standpoint, Rodolfo Gomez’s departure has been life changing for the club and has seen our financial status upgraded to “Rich”. It also enabled us to do some upgrades to our youth recruitment and junior coaching which should help us in the future too. The valuation of our wonderkids Nakisa and Burbano (both €40M +) has also given us a future revenue stream, assuming they move on at some point in the not too distant future.

From a statistical point of view, the side have improved in almost every metric. One thing in particular that was really pleasing to see was our goals, where both in total goals scored (69) and goals per game (2.03), Fortuna Dusseldorf were the league leaders. We also increased our Shots per Game from 8.59 to 13.74, and still managed to keep 44.33% of those on target. Defensively, our stats were very simialr to the previous year so wit was good to see us not lose ground at the back, while improving in attack.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

Welcome to Bulgaria - FM Eadster announces the next chapter for Ruslan Chepiga as he heads to Eastern Europe in search of a place to lay low for a while.

"Heir to the Empire" - Faceless - FM Grasshopper’s latest update provides some closure on Bastardo’s story, but it feels far from concluded as his legacy lives on.

Casual Calcio | #5 | Looking For A Turnaround - Oaky_FM presents a mammoth update from Catania as Jens Richter looks to go one better than his Serie A second place finish last time out.

Ternana Calcio: 2026/2027 - FM Youth Intake returns with another instalment from Ternana as he bids to make it three from three Serie A league titles.

Player Comparison Visualiser - FM Stag and A FM Old Timer have been busily collaborating on a superb comparison tool that allows you to compare two players across multiple data points from within your save universe.

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘swimming against the tide’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #10 - Financial Troubles

May 13, 2022

Hello and welcome in to another update from the Rhine where Frank looks to build on last season’s 14th placed finish in the Bundesliga. With the club bleeding money at the moment, the scouting team had a great time identifying cheap transfer targets, so we’ll take a look at how they turned out. We also have the low down (and I mean low!) on how thing’s played out for the team over the course of the season, so let’s jump into it…

Season Summary

Team: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Division: Bundesliga
Season: 2029/30
Players in: Rodolfo Gomez, Independiente Medellín (€1.6M); Elvis Mosquera, Independiente Medellín (€2.2M); Isak Hansen-Aarøen, FC St. Pauli (€3.9M); Matteo Meeus, Beerschot VA (€2.8M)
Players out: Robert Andrich, Union Berlin (€600K)

As mentioned in the introduction, there was very little by way of transfer budget from the Board this season, and so reinforcements would have to come in the form of young, unproven players that could make the step up in the Bundesliga. First to sign were two extremely low cost Colombian players from Independiente Medellín, who joined for a combined total of €3.8M and would offer an alternative option up top in Rodolfo Gomez, while Elvis Mosquera would be a great backup in central midfield Mosquera was loaned back to Medellín until the end of their season in November so he could continue his development.

Elsewhere, Norwegian prospect, Isak Hansen-Aarøen, joins as an alternative option at CM-A from FC St. Pauli, while Matteo Meeus joins from Beerschot VA as a replacement for the outgoing Andrich to cover at DC or DM.

Beyond players coming in, Frank was able to keep hold of the rest of the squad during the Summer window, although there will be plenty of activity later in the update once the Winter window opens.

To the season proper then and as is tradition, the opening game was in the DFB Pokal where Dusseldorf thumped their opponents, Germania Egestorf, a resounding 9-1 in the first round. The league season would kick off with next a local derby, taking on FC Koln at home and securing a pleasing 1-0 win in the process. This was followed by three defeats and two more wins to round out September and take the side up to 8th place from their opening six games.

A draw away at RB Leipzig was an impressive result in the next fixture, but in truth would prove to be the start of a downward spiral, with the team going on a run of seven straight defeats in the league, with form only to be briefly halted for a 0-0 draw and penalty win in the second round of the DFB Pokal against second division outfit, Arminia Bielefeld. Having made a reasonable start to the campaign, Dusseldorf now found themselves in 17th place and bang in trouble in mid-December.

The press were having a field day at Frank’s expense, accusing him of being unwilling to experiment with his tactics, and criticising one or two player performances in the process. The issue seemed to be the Board’s blind determination to demand defensively solid, direct, counter attacking football - a playing style that frank and his team seemed unable to deliver.

As Dusseldorf lined up for the next fixture, there was an air of “do or die” around the squad. Darmstadt 98 were the opponents, and having had a crisis of confidence in mid week, Frank had all but ditched his usual tactic and had opted for something more in line with his own philosophy. The most significant change was the absence of a DM, and instead, a second striker lined up alongside Daryl Dike - was this the moment for Rodolfo Gomez to shine?

In short, yes it was. A goal from the youngster and a second from Lazetic were enough to secure a 2-0 victory and stop the slide in league performance. Two draws followed next, to finish up the first half of the season and see the Fortunen recover to 15th place, a spot above the relegation places.

Unlike previous January transfer windows, this one would prove to be a blockbuster. Continuing in the same vein as the tactical reshuffle of a few weeks ago, Frank sought to move on some disgruntled or underperforming players to free up some much need cash on the wage bill. The Board, in their infinite wisdom, had decided to move the goal posts somewhat, and reduced the wage budget (which Frank had already maxed out) by €300K a week! Omar Rekik was the club’s top earner on €75K a week, but the prospect of selling the club’s best 5 0r 6 players seemed too extreme.

Nonetheless, it was an opportunity to ditch some of the older players and promote a few of the kids from the reserve team. Ever reliant Kevin Mbabu had become upset at a lack of playing time, and so left for Mexico in a €215K transfer. Joshua Zirkzee followed a week later having never really performed at the club. He went to Korea’s K League for €3.4M, all of which was absorbed into the wage budget to help bridge the gaping hole that now appeared.

Club captain, Marvin Friedrich, went to AEK in search of a new challenge while Fredrik Jensen departed for Luzern after several months on the transfer list. Four first team players gone, €3.6M in transfer fees and around €160K off the wage bill was still not enough, but had at least gone some way to raking in some cash. Luckily for Frank, the story wasn’t over yet.

Arsenal had come sniffing around Advanced Playmaker, Burak Ince, and submitted an incredible €37M transfer bid to prise him away to London. Burak was easily one of the first names on the team sheet, however his performances were more often than not a long way shy of his potential. With the financial constraints still overshadowing the club, Frank reluctantly accepted the bid and he left on Transfer Deadline Day. No players were brought in but financial security had been restored and Frank had faith in his youngsters to step up and deliver.

That faith was well placed it seemed as the side continued their good form from before the break, and put a run of four straight wins together to take them up to 9th place int he league. The next game was a Third Round DFB Pokal tie against Kaiserlautern, and was expertly navigated to set up Frank’s first Quarter Final against Hertha Berlin following a 2-0 win.

Back to the league, and Dusseldorf were about to face their biggest challenge yet with Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, Bayern and Dortmund their opponents for the next four games. Suffice to say, it was a tough run with points being picked up at Stuttgart and no where else. Unfortunately the dip in form coincided with the end of the cup run as Hertha Berlin secured a 3-2 victory in a thriller of a game.

With the cup run over, attention turned back to the league where Dusseldorf were focussed on a mid-table finish. Currently in 12th place, they travelled to nearby Bayer Leverkusen and were impressive as they ran out 2-1 winners. Revenge was struck in the next game as Hertha Berlin were punished for their cup win with a 4-1 defeat to round out the March fixtures.

A draw to Mainz 05 and then two more wins against Hamburg and Werder saw the team solidify their place in 11th, and despite three straight defeats in the remaining games of the season, they were able to maintain their position and ended with Frank’s best league finish and points tally.

Long-time servants of the club Dike and Lazetic really impressed with their stats, and with the likes of Gomez and Hansen-Aarøen now settled at the club, there’s optimism for next season and how far this team can go.

Results Overview

DFB-Pokal

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: Quarter Final

Summary: Frank’s first really decent run in the cup, and ended by Hertha Berlin who on another day could have been beaten (just as they were in the league a few weeks later). Lot’s to build on provided we get a good draw next term.

Best moment: Reaching the Quarter Finals was massive but the emphatic 9-1 win on the opening day of the season was an absolute delight and a huge confidence boost.

Low moment: Although Hertha Berlin are a good side, I think losing to them was a real disappointment and could have been avoided with a bit more tactical prowess. They went on to win the cup beating Augsburg and Mainz 05 along the way.

Bundesliga

Prediction: 13th

Actual: 11th

Summary: A great season all things considered. A downturn in form led to a tactical overhaul and a decent finish in the end. Plenty of positives to take from some of the younger players’ performances too.

Best moment: The 2-0 win at Darmstadt 98 was the start of our recovery and it was a relief to see us string together some really good performances, and secure some wins.

Low moment: Losing our last three games was particularly disappointing. Although we didn’t lose our spot in the league, these were definitely three winnable games and would have seen us climb another place up the table and closer to the teams in the top half.

Facts and Figures

The sale of Burak Ince for such a high sum has definitely helped to steady the ship from a financial perspective. The club’s improved performance in the DFB Pokal and a higher league position also led to an additional 13M in prize money being received, and so while there are still some significant financial constraints in place, we’re definitely on the right track to improving our financial position and simultaneously establishing the club as a long-term participant of the Bundesliga.

In terms of our performance on the pitch, improvements were made to our shots taken, expected goals and actual goals scored, while our expected goals conceded did worsen slightly, presumably as a result of us looking to score more ourselves and leaving our defence a little more vulnerable. Our cross completion also improved, while the number of dribbles we made declined, which makes sense as we were attempting to play in a more direct manner.

Defensively, there were improvements across several key areas too. We committed less fouls, and made more blocks and interceptions compared to last season, and this is reflected in the results we got on the pitch, bagging three more wins compared to last season.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

“Original Pirate Material” - Faceless - FM Grasshopper returns with an update from Brazil and an overview of the 2025 State Championship, along with some insight into how he’ll be managing his side going forward.

Guns Go Bang - Portland Timbers - FM Eadster shares how things ended in his United States adventure from Ruslan Chepiga’s perspective

RCDM: ¡Hala Madrid! - FM Adventure reports on RCD Mallorca’s climb into European football contention as they qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League.

Tactically Inept - GansterKeith submits his mid- season review as he attempts to rebuild Palermo in Serie C and restore them to former glory.

Les Artistes Du Foot: Fin de la Saison 3 - TommysBoyonFM rounds up his third season with Le Havre as they perform well in the league and deliver an enthralling cup run too.

Fogão – Episode 3 – Darkest Before Dawn - Rocksend FM shares the latest from Botafogo, along with a few insights into how he deconstructs his sides performance on the pitch to work out where improvements are needed.

Kendal Athletic - One Kick Is All It Takes - KovieFM shares an update from Kendal Athletic as they look to push for promotion into the English Championship.

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘counting the beans’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #9 - Defensively Direct

April 22, 2022

Welcome back to Düsseldorf, where Frank Athlete’s ever-improving managerial skills have led the Fortunen to mid-table safety in the Bundesliga, as the side now plot their goals and objectives for the new season ahead. Frank’s had six months to get to grips with his squad now, and has a busy transfer window ahead as he looks to strengthen in several key areas. Let’s dive in…

Season Summary

Team: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Division: Bundesliga
Season: 2028/29
Players in: Alexis Trouillet, Brest (€13.75M); Stefan Lekovic, Man City (€10.25M); Charlie Setford, Sparta Rotterdam (€3M); Giuliano Bontempo, AC Milan (€1.8M); Pascal Wagner, RB Leipzig (€6.75M); Harun Soylu, Basaksehir FK (€800K)
Players out: Lennart Czyborra, VfL Wolfsburg (€5.75M); Christoph Klarer, 1.FC Koln (€2.5M); Mohamad Ali Ben Romdhane, Al-Gharafa (€3.6M)

Romdhane’s departure in April had left a big hole in the centre of midfield, which the team coped with through to the end of the season, but would definitely need filling over the course of the Summer. Czyborra (DL) and Klarer (DC) both wanted more first team football and so their departures were also sanctioned early in the window to free up funds for new recruits. Beyond replacing the vacant positions, there were two additional objectives for this transfer window. The first was to look at bringing in young players that could take over from their much older counterparts who would inevitably be planning their retirement in the next year or two. The second was to try improve on the personnel we had in the squad, rather than just buying players to make up the numbers.

Starting in goal, both keepers at the club are getting on and only Kastenmeier is really good enough to play in the Bundesliga. In comes familiar face Charlie Setford who Athlete had bought while at Sparta Rotterdam, and as his understudy, Harun Soylu joins at just 19 years old to take over in the future. At the back, Lekovic joins from City to provide competition for a starting spot and DC, while Pascal Wagner is also one for the future, but will definitely feature in some of the cup games as well. At full back, Bontempo joins form Milan to provide back up to January’s new recruit, Hadjam.

The final area of concern is the AMR position where we lack real quality. The scouting team seemed unable to find a suitable candidate for this position, but did eventually land on Trouillet who, although only natural at central midfield, possessed all the necessary attributes to flourish as a right winger. Within just a few short weeks, he would become natural in this position too, thus proving the point for Frank.

The 2028/29 season kicked off with a First Round DFB Pokal match against CfR Pforzheim. Despite fielding some of the less experienced players, the result was a thumping 7-0 victory which booked a Second Round tie against SpVgg Greuther Furth in October.

With a bounce in their stride, the team looked ahead to the first league game of the new season, a home tie against Hamburger SV. Despite their optimism, Hanburg comfortably despatched them 4-1, which was then followed by a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen, and a disappointing 1-0 loss to local rivals Borussia Monchengladbach. Three consecutive defeats in the league was enough to see Dusseldorf languish at the foot of the table as we headed into September.

With a week off for the international fixtures, the Fortunen bounced back with a nice 3-1 victory against SV Werder in their next game, before another defeat followed, this time at the hands of Bayern Munich. Despite a disappointing start, things would improve in the coming weeks with just one more defeat in their next eight games, along with five draws and two wins (including a win at home to RB Leipzig), to see them climb up to 13th place. In amongst those results was also a Second Round DFB Pokal win to tee up a Third Round fixture against Bayern Munich at the end of January.

Across the four remaining games of 2028, Dusseldorf were unable to bag a single goal, taking just one point in the process after a bore draw away to Hertha Berlin. Some serious work was needed over the Winter Break to get the team back on track, and working toward a mid-table finish. With the transfer window also reopening, the other challenge for Frank and his team to overcome would be to keep hold of their best players, with Burak Ince and Omar Rekik attracting attention in particular.

Furthermore to the team’s poor performances, the Board (and the Press) were quick to criticise Frank’s playing style. They were still insisting on playing defensively solid, direct, counter attacking football, which was proving hard to implement in a way that ensured victories at the same time. Despite his frustrations, Frank had expressed a desire to get the playing style right and so with a few tweaks to the tactic, we could expect to see some changes when the Bundesliga returned in January.

Unfortunately, as the season resumed, so too did Dusseldorf’s abysmal form. Four more defeats in their next five league games, save for another bore draw, this time at home to Bayer Leverkusen. Defeat in the Third Round of the DFB Pokal brought their cup campaign to an end as well, and it was clear to see that morale in the dressing room was at an all time low as they prepared to face Borussia Dortmund at home in the next match.

In fact, this fixture would prove to be the catalyst in a sensational run over the next few games. Having taken the lead against Dortmund, and then been pegged back a few minutes later, the team were able to see out the result, despite playing the second half with only 10 men after Joshua Zirkzee was given his marching orders in the 43rd minute. This performance seemed to awaken something in the squad, with four consecutive wins coming in their next four games against Hannover 96, VfL Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim and FC St. Pauli. These victories were enough to see the team climb from 17th up to 14th, a position they would hold for the remainder of the season.

Back to back defeats in the last two games of March was a minor set back, with the team going on to suffer just one more defeat of the season against Frankfurt, bagging two more wins against Mainz and Freiburg, and a couple of draws as well. In the end, the side finished in 14th with three more points than last year (37 points), a little behind where they’d hoped to be, but with a lot of potential for the next campaign if they can start well. The new recruits should be well settled now and that experience as a group could prove invaluable.

Results Overview

DFB-Pokal

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: Third Round

Summary: The Board were looking for us to reach the Second Round this year, and with the First Round draw being kind, it looked a certainty that we’d get that far, if not further. A cup win is a long way off for us but it’s good to keep doing well and improving each year.

Best moment: Although we won the First Round 7-0, the highlight for me was the Second Round win against SpVgg Greuther Furth which we did with great game management.

Low moment: Of course we were expected to lose to Bayern Munich in the Third Round, but I did hope for a little cup magic and thought we might get some as it was 1-0 for most of the match, with them adding their second in the 93rd minute.

Bundesliga

Prediction: 15th

Actual: 14th

Summary: A fairly disappointing season overall, with long spells of consecutive defeats leading to a very average league position come season’s end. The inconsistency in performances is probably the most frustrating thing, and is what needs working on most.

Best moment: The 1-1 draw against Dortmund was a real highlight, having seen out the match with only 10 men, and then teeing us up to go on a five game unbeaten streak!

Low moment: Prior to that Dortmund result, the team had gone 10 games without a win, and had only managed to score seven goals in the process, conceding 24. That kind of form is relegation level and we never want to be int hat position again.

Facts and Figures

Bundesliga football is definitely proving challenging from a financial standpoint, with the club continuing to manage debts of over €4.5M each season. That said, it’s a slight improvement on where we were a year ago, and if we can recruit well then we should be able to generate some profit from player sales as well. It’s a fine line between maintaining our ambition on the pitch, and selling the right players at the right time for the long-term health of the club. This is something i’ve never been every good at but i think it’s a necessity for Dusseldorf in the enxt few years.

In terms of statistics, we were almost identical to last season in the end. Below average in every metric apart from shots on target, with our ratio increasing to 49.63 (10% better than the league average). Defensively, we were slightly improved too, increasing our clearances, blocks, interceptions, tackles won and tackles attempted, while also reducing our fouls and goals conceded.

In attack, we were worse and therein lies the problem for us. We scored less goals, committed more fouls, completed less crosses and had substantially less shots compared to last year’s figures. Despite the downturn, there were small improvements in terms of pass completion, dribbles made and the shots on target ratio, but attack will be an area we need to dramatically improve on next year.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

Boats Go Bang - La Plata: Vice - FM Grasshopper returns with a captivating update from the world of Bastardo, and perhaps a hint at where he might go next?

North meets South - Portland Timbers bring Samba to MLS - FM Eadster provides his long awaited summary of Season 2 with the Portland Timbers. What a journey it’s been!

Valores Familiares – 4 – Time Will Tell - FM Stag brings us the fourth instalment in his Valores Familiares series as his Colo Colo side complete their second season in Chile

Fogão – Episode 2 – The Meaning of Glory - Rocksend FM shares the latest from Botafogo, along with a few insights into how he manages the squad long term.

It’s Only Estonia Throw Away - A Build a Nation Save - DGear86 returns with an update from June 2025 as he attempts to build Estonia into a major footballing nation.

Casual Calcio #4 - Of A Revolution And ‘What If’-Questions - Oaky FM shares an update on how Jens Richter’s Catania side have fared in their second season back in Serie A.

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘seeking out a long ball over the top’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #8 - Pastures New

March 25, 2022

Welcome in to another update from our journey along the River Rhine. Having resigned his post at Sparta Rotterdam in the last episode, Frank Athlete found himself unemployed and hungry for his next job in football management. After many month’s watching from the sidelines, he was finally offered an interview with Bundesliga side, Fortuna Düsseldorf, and having successfully navigated the initial meeting, he was formally offered the position on 6th December 2027 - he gladly accepted. In this update we’ll get to grips with the state of affairs at Düsseldorf and find out how Frank got on come the end of the season. Let’s dive in…

Season Summary

Team: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Division: Bundesliga
Season: 2027/28
Players in: Jaouen Hadjam, Olympique Lyon (€9M); Morten Holst, FC København (€5,75M); Lukas Weißmann, 1. FC Nürnberg (€3.8M)
Players out: Pape Gueye, Darmstadt 98 (€160K); Adam Ounas, Trabzonspor (€725K); Hauke Wahl, Jahn Regensburg (€8K)

Frank joined the Fortunen on 6th December 2027, five days before their next game away at Stuttgart. Before the match though, there was a lot to organise. Several of the playing squad were dissatisfied with their playing time and were seeking moves away from the club, while certain positions, in particular at full back, lacked any kind of squad depth and would need addressing when the transfer window next opened. The side had also managed just one win and three points from their last five league games, leaving them in 12th place on 15 points, just two points above the relegation zone.

Behind the scenes, a number of backroom staff roles had been vacated following Daniel Farke’s departure from the club and so several adverts were placed for new recruits. Per Mertesacker was retained as Head of Youth Development, with another household name, Phil Neville, joining as a coach to help Assistant Manager, Thomas Kleine, and his team in getting the most out of the players.

The Board had requested that Frank play defensively solid football, with a direct and counter attacking style and so he set up with a simple flat back four, a DM on defend, two central midfielders and a front three made up of an inside forward, pressing forward and a winger. The intent was to absorb pressure at the back, creating those counter attacking opportunities for the attacking three to hit teams on the break.

With little time to prepare for the Stuttgart game, Frank opted to go with the new system and use it as a means to test how things might work going forward. Unfortunately their opponents were more than ready for the encounter, scoring early in the 8th minute and then seeing out the tie with two second half goals to make it 3-0. The final game of the calendar year was at home to Bayer Leverkuesen, who were heavy favourites to win. Despite the odds against them, Frank’s players showed some resilience and after taking an early lead, would secure a decent 2-1 victory as they headed into the winter break.

As the transfer window opened, wide man Adam Ounas secured his exit from the club, alongside defensive midfielders Pape Gueye and Hauke Wahl. With almost €900K generated from player sales, and a transfer kitty of around €10M from the board, Frank was abled to bring three new players, with Weissman able to play as a right sided wing back, Hadjam ready to push for a starting place as a left sided wing back, and Holst offering cover as a defensive midfielder. All three options helped reduce the average age of the squad as well which was crucial as Frank looked to plan for several players that might look to retire in the next season or two.

With the new players now getting settled in the squad, attention turned to the return of the Bundesliga on 9th January. Fortuna opened with a bore draw at home to Hamburg, followed by three back-to-back defeats over the rest of the month. Despite the disappointment with results, it was evident the team were starting to gel and this was further proved with three 1-0 wins in the next few games against Werder, Monchengladbach and Mainz. This good run was followed by consecutive draws against Koln and St. Pauli making it five without defeat.

Although this spell showed flashes of the team’s potential, three defeats followed which demonstrated there was still a lot more work to be done. It must be said that the scheduling gods had not looked favourably on Düsseldorf, grouping Dortmund, Bayern, Leipzig, Leverkusen and Wolfsburg among their last eight fixtures of the season. Despite the odds against them, the team managed a draw against Wolfsburg and an emphatic 4-2 win away at Bayern Munich to end the season on a high, although it should be noted that Bayern had secured the title with 8 games to go and so were presumably already on holiday as the lined up against Fortuna.

Although 13th place is hardly something to shout about, it’s a decent finish when you consider the clear divide between the top half of the table and the bottom hlaf. The ageing squad at Fortuna makes this an exciting project for Frank and his team, provided he’s given the time to build a decent squad. That process is already well underway and it’s going to be very interesting for the fans too as we wait and see how far he can take this historic club going forward.

Results Overview

DFB-Pokal

Prediction: First Round

Actual: First Round (eliminated prior to takeover)

Summary: The fact that the Board had only set the expectation for the DFB-Pokal as reaching the First Round, showed how low a priority the cup was for them this year, which lucky given the manner in which the side had been eliminated.

Best moment: Hard to pick out a best moment since this game took place before Frank had started, but leading by two goals within 20 minutes must have been a plus point.

Low moment: To end up drawing the tie against such low opposition, and having been in control for so much of the game, was a shame to see. To then lose on penalties must have been gutting for the fans, although could also have been a blessing in disguise.

Bundesliga

Prediction: 16th

Actual: 13th (12th at takeover)

Summary: Frank’s appointment offered little more than stability at this early stage, but keeping the club in the top division and avoiding a relegation fight are both positives and have already given the club a solid footing as they look ahead to next season.

Best moment: Hard to look beyond the superb 4-2 win away at Bayern Munich. To come from behind twice and put it beyond doubt after 55 mins is impressive to say the least.

Low moment: Succumbing to defeat against the likes of Hannover 96 and Union Berlin were particularly disappointing as winning those games would have seen Düsseldorf shoot up the table and finish 10th.

Facts and Figures

As you’ll recall from the last post, Sparta Rotterdam’s financial circumstances were a major reason for not renewing their contract offer. The situation at Fortuna Düsseldorf is nowhere near as dire, although there is a small debt of around €10M which will need to be addressed, and should be largely offset by the revenue generated as a result of staying in the top flight.

That said, there is a greater urgency to address the likely challenge facing the playing squad as in the next year or two, a number of the starting XI will be looking to retire. Since their resale value is so low, Frank will be looking to the club to help bring in younger players who can step up into the first team as and when the older players choose to end their careers.

In terms of statistics, a very average season for Fortuna Düsseldorf is reflected in their numbers, where they scored below average in all but one General Performance category against their league counterparts. The exception was 42.86% shots on target, which was 3% better than the league average.

Unsurprisingly, the team performed better than average in defensive categories like blocks, clearances and interceptions, since they spent so much time under pressure from bigger teams. The team ranked 6th in the league for clean sheets, but still managed to concede 1.71 goals per game so this needs looking at if we're to improve next year. In an attacking sense, our dribbling and cross completion were both above average, but shots and expected goals were well below and would both need addressing in the season ahead.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

Three Cup Finals - A Tactical Evolution - FM Eadster takes us through the tactical evolution of his setup as he navigates his Portland Timbers side through three cup finals over the course of a season.

Ternana Calcio: 2025/26 - FM Youth Intake reviews his Ternana side’s 2025/26 campaign as he looks to build on the club’s recent successes.

Casual Calcio #3 - Back in the Big Time - Oaky FM provides a long awaited update on how his Catania side have gotten on in their return to the Serie A after a 19 year absence.

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘spying the green grass on the other side’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #7 - The Road to Nowhere

March 11, 2022

Hello again! We’re back with Frank Athlete as he looks to build on last season’s push for European football at Sparta Rotterdam. He’ll be hopeful that despite financial constraints affecting his transfer budget, he’s got enough quality in the squad to push on and go one better than last year. Let’s see what he can do this time around…

Season Summary

Team: Sparta Rotterdam
Division: Eredivisie
Season: 2026/27
Players in: Bram Lagae, AA Gent (€0); Liviano Comenencia, PSV (€0); Lin I-ming, Manchester City (€0); Mathias Dewaele, Club Brugge (Loan - €375K fee); Romain Sabater, unattached (€0); Charlie Setford, Ajax (€14.5K), Robin Horst, unattached (€0)
Players out: Jafar Bynoe, Vaduz (€50K); David Garden, De Graafschap (€61K); Mourad Bakir, De Graafschap (€175K); Mario Engels, SVS 1916 (€0); Jasper van der Burgt, PEC Zwolle (€235K); Anass Salah-Eddine, Helmond (€51K); Maduka Okoye, Borussia Monchengladbach (€3.6M)

Fresh from their challenge for European football, Frank set to work with his backroom team to ascertain which areas needed strengthening over the Summer. With the club needing to pay back the loan for the new stadium, budget’s were tight to say the least, with the Board granting a small increase for wages and a big fat “0” for transfers. The average age of the squad was still very high, and strength in depth was a major issue too, particularly in defence. In come Lagae (DC), Comenencia (DR) and Sabater (DL) to offer some alternative options at the back, although none of them are expected to usurp any of the starting back line.

In central midfield, I-ming (MC) joins as cover for last season’s star performer, Meffert, while Horst (MC) was a last minute acquisition to give a different kind of play maker in the middle. Dewaele brings pace and technique to the left side of attack, and finally Selford was brought in to deputise for Okoye, and eventually replace him.

In terms of outgoings, a lot of “dead wood” was moved on, all for a profit which the club absorbed to assist with the stadium loan repayments. On Transfer Deadline Day, an audacious bid of €3.6M came in from Borussia Monchengladbach for Maduka Okoye. Selling the number one goal keeper was a huge risk but the financial aspect of the deal was too good to refuse and so, with some persuasion from Okoye himself as well, Frank begrudgingly agreed. Selford would take on the number 1 shirt a little earlier than planned.

The Board’s ambition fort he season was about as impressive as the transfer budget they offered. Frank was asked to avoid relegation, but after some discussion with the squad, they agreed they were capable of pushing for a mid-table finish.

After a decent pre-season in which the team were unbeaten after six games, scoring 20 and conceding just once, the season proper got under way with a tricky away tie against Willem II. Sparta Rotterdam never really got going and the game ended in a 3-1 defeat, before a resurgence in the first home game of the season against ADO Den Haag where they were comfortable 2-0 winners. Another loss on the road next, this time at the hands of Heracles Almelo which was immediately followed by a second consecutive home win against PEC Zwolle (and on Frank’s birthday no-less) to see the side move up to 8th in the league.

The next few weeks were rough. It would be 71 days before the club would bag their next win, losing five in a row and drawing twice in the process. The run included defeats to PSV and Ajax, but also to VVV-Venlo, and the results had seen De Kasteelmen slide to 15th in the table. Sandwiched in the middle was also an early cup exit in the first round as well, a 2-1 defeat to Frank’s previous team, FC Dordrecht, with all the goals coming in the first half.

The November international break seemed to come at just the right time, and on their return the lads secured three successive wins against FC Groningen, RKC Waalwijk and NAC Breda, before a draw at home to FC Utrecht, and an impressive away win at Vitesse. The annual defeat to Feyenoord finished up the schedule for 2026, leaving them in 10th place before the Winter Break.

A quiet January Transfer Window didn’t include any new signings, but did see Roemeratoe depart for Swiss outfit Thun having complained about a lack of game time. When the season restarted, Sparta Rotterdam were met with the unusual scheduling of the same team in successive matches. A draw away to AZ led to a home win in the reverse fixture to keep their good form going, before another win in the next game against ADO Den Haag would be enough to see them climb to 9th.

Defeats in the next three matches was a bitter blow to the momentum the side had built up, and although a win in the next game against NAC Breda seemed to halt the slide, it would lead to a period of mixed results with further wins against VVV Venlo and NEC Nijmegen alongside defeats to PSV and Ajax.

Heading into April, there were six games remaining and still a lot to play for, with an outside chance of European qualification also on the table. Unfortunately, Sparta Rotterdam sat stranded in 11th and managed just three points from all six games, slumping to 13th place on the final day of the season having been defeated (again!) by Feyenoord.

It was a disappointing end to a lacklustre campaign and as the season drew on, speculation had been growing that Frank’s contract, due to expire at the end of the year, would not be renewed. He had taken some time to reflect on his position at the club as the season ended, ultimately wondering whether he would be able to take them to the next level given the state of the finances. With less than a month remaining on his current deal, the Board did present a renewal offer, however given the length of time they’d kept him waiting, Frank had already made the decision to leave the club and so declined to negotiate the contract.

Keen for a new challenge, Frank began looking at potential roles outside of the Netherlands. Although none were vacant, there were plenty of clubs of the right stature along the Rhine that would be a good fit, and so he kept a close eye on how things fared as he looked to further his career and continue his own development elsewhere.

Results Overview

Dutch Cup

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: First Round

Summary: For Sparta Rotterdam to to draw Dordrecht in the First Round should have made it a great occasion. It was a poor performance in the end, and Dordrecht were worthy winners.

Best moment: Maudo’s performance in central defence was a real highlight, but unfortunately it didn’t rub off on his defensive teammates.

Low moment: Once again we’re out in the first round which is a real disappointment, especially when up against lower opposition. We needed to be more bullish here but in truth, we made it easy for them.

Eredivisie

Prediction: 15th

Actual: 13th

Summary: A difficult season all things considered, with some brilliant moments and decent form giving way to some awful performances and abysmal results. In the end, they couldn’t build on last year’s foundations which was a shame.

Best moment: Between the end of October and the end of January we played 11 matches, winning 6, drawing 4 and losing just once. What a run!

Low moment: Ending the season with such a poor points return from the last six games was a real low moment. It was the difference between finishing in the top half and finishing in the bottom.

Frank’s Next Move

As discussed above, Frank opted not to renew his contract at Sparta Rotterdam after the Board took such a long time to offer him a new one. Without a job lined up, he’ll be keeping an eye on where his potential next club will be.

With that in mind, let’s remind ourselves of which clubs are based along the River Rhine, and get some thoughts on where Frank sees himself managing next. Since the start of this journey in the 2021/22 season, not many clubs have changed divisions for the 2027/28 season ahead.

FC Dordrecht we know were promoted under Frank, but have subsequently been relegated back to the Eerste Divisie where they finished in 12th place last year. Elsewhere Mannheim have been relegated to the Regional South West division below 3. Liga and Fortuna Dusseldorf were promoted to the Bundesliga and fought off a relegation scrap last season to survive for another year. Lastly, FC Schaffhausen have excelled in Switzerland and had been in the Super League until their recent relegation back down to the Challenge League.

Using the reputation score from FM21, I’ve opted to highlight the clubs which Frank wouldn’t consider in red, while in orange are the clubs that would be a bit of a sideways move. The clubs in blue are where Frank sees his best chance of progressing up the managerial ladder and finally, in white are the clubs that are beyond Frank’s reputation at the moment.

For the sake of variety, he’ll be discounting any offers from Dutch clubs so it’s improbable that he’ll go to Vitesse should they offer him the job in the future. The roles at RC Strasbourg and Fortuna Dusseldorf have been listed as ‘insecure’, either of which would be a good move, but in truth he’ll have to play a bit of a waiting game and see what becomes available.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

RCDM: The Wings of Change - FM Adventure oversees a shake up at Mallorca, but will the results be any different in La Liga?

FM22 | Three seasons with the false central defender - FMRensie reveals what he was trying to achieve with his 2-3-3-2 set up and where he feels it worked well.

Valores Familiares – 2 – The Aristotle of Arequipa - FM Stag returns with the latest update from Chile as he reveals how the first half of the season has gone and what work needs doing as Colo Colo head into the second half of the season.

Spirit of ’86 – Vindication - RocksendFM returns for the fourth instalment of this series, and shares how Vejle fair in another season in the Danish Superliga

Ternana Calcio: Ljubiša Dragićević - FM Youth Intake takes us through the development and success of the man of the moment, Ljubiša Dragićević, who has really come in to his own at Ternana.

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘scrolling the jobs portal on Ceefax’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #6 - Building a Foundation

February 25, 2022

Welcome back to the Netherlands where Frank Athlete’s first full season in charge at Sparta Rotterdam is about to get underway. As fans of the club prepare to move to the new stadium in 2027, Frank will be keen to leave them with some great memories to cherish in the future. Let’s hope he can deliver…

Season Summary

Team: Sparta Rotterdam
Division: Eredivisie
Season: 2025/26
Players in: Godfried Roemeratoe, FC Twente (€0); Jonas Meffert, Hamburger SV (€0); Romeo Vermant, Club Brugge (Loan)
Players out: Bryan Smeets, PEC Zwolle (€125K); Filip Rogic, Orebo SK (€88K)

As top flight safety was secured for another year, Frank wasted no time in preparing a recruitment strategy for the 2025/26 season ahead. With the squad’s average age still high and the defensive frailties exposed for much of the season, these two areas would be key to any incoming transfers, with the need to bring in strength for the bench as well as the first XI.

Despite the need to strengthen, any recruitment would be hampered by the budget available to the scouting team. The Board’s decision to build a new stadium had crippled the club financially, saddling Sparta Rotterdam with a €40M debt that would need paying back over the next few years. Without the help from external investors, the capital would need to be raised through cost cutting and player sales, which was further evidenced by a small increase to the wage budget and the non existence of a transfer budget.

With the only option being to recruit out of contract players and loan signings, Frank brought in Roemeratoe and Meffert on free transfers from FC Twente and Hamburger SV respectively. Meffert would slot straight in as a defence-minded central midfielder, while Roemeratoe would offer Mijnan competition in the other central midfield role as an attacking mezzala. The third and final addition was a back up striker, and Vermant joins on loan from Club Brugge to deputise for Tigges.

Heading out of the club were Smeets and Rogic, both very much back up players and had been on the periphery of the squad for the last season. They would raise some much needed cash for the club, although none would be made available for transfers.

The board’s expectations for the season were about as ambitious as their transfer budget: avoid a relegation battle. After discussion with the players, Frank persuaded them that they could aim higher, agreeing to target a mid-table finish come season’s end. Injuries would be a factor that needed attention right from the off, with starting full back Ricardo Mangas sustaining a cruciate ligament injury in pre-season that would keep him side-lined until the New Year.

The season kicked off with a tricky tie away to FC Utrecht, but despite the home side taking an early lead, it was Sparta Rotterdam’s resilience that would prove the difference as they bagged two second half goals to secure the win. Easier opposition lay ahead for the rest of August with NAC Breda up next at home before an away match against Heracles Almelo. Although Frank had earmarked both games as winnable, both opponents proved to be tougher than anticipated and so the Kasteelmann had to settle for back-to-back draws instead.

Keeping things positive, Frank was pleased with their unbeaten start but knew the next game would be a bigger challenge as they travelled to Ajax after the international break. A humbling 3-0 defeat to the Dutch champions was then followed by a loss at home to FC Twente. Back-to-back losses were followed by consecutive wins as Excelsior and RKC Waalwijk were comfortably beaten before PSV hit back from 2-0 down to defeat Sparta 4-2 in mid-October.

Before the month was concluded, a further 4 points were secured in the league against VVV-Venlo and ADO Den Haag, before a convincing 3-0 win over lower division Spakenburg in the Dutch Cup set up a second round tie against FC Eindhoven to be played in late December.

An early lead in the next fixture at home to Vitesse was quickly nullified as they fought back to win 4-1, but this defeat would give way to four straight wins in the league, including an impressive 2-0 victory over AZ in late November. All good things must come to an end though, and it was Willem II that would block a fifth consecutive victory with a 2-1 defeat of Sparta that was then followed by Feyenoord maintaining their winning streak over Frank with a 3-0 defeat of their own.

Despite the downturn in league form, a convincing 2-0 victory in the next round of the Dutch Cup had booked Sparta Rotterdam a place in the Third Round against second division promotion contenders PEC Zwolle in January.

The arrival of the winter break signalled the reopening of the transfer window and Frank used the time to secure some longer term contracts for his better players. Central defender Eric Smith had also picked up a nasty groin strain just prior to the game against PEC Zwolle, and so Quadri Okoye was brought in on loan for a fee of €375K from Bayer Leverkeusen to shore up the defence. He was an expensive addition, but one that was necessary if the side were to push on in the second half of the season, especially after they had performed so admirably in the first half of the season, bagging eight wins and three draws from seventeen games.

Despite his optimism, Frank would endure a dreadful January that featured two more defeats and two disappointing draws against NAC Breda and FC Utrecht to see his side slip down the table. Their poor form carried into the cup as well, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat to PEC Zwolle, a real let down having done so well to reach the Third Round in the first place.

Results across February and March would boost the team’s hopes of a top half finish as they bagged four wins and a draw from seven games, with the defeats predictably coming from AZ and PSV. The best was yet to come though as the team secured three wins from three in April, including a solid 2-0 win away at Vitesse and a superb 3-1 victory at home to Ajax.

With three games of the season remaining, a top half finish was almost a guarantee at this point, with even an outside chance of qualifying for Europe also a possibility too. An away win against FC Twente was followed by a draw against Willem II that meant a minimum 8th place finish would be determined by the final game of the season with Willem II the only side capable of overtaking them. A crushing 2-1 loss to Feyenoord put the ball firmly in Willem II’s court, however they were unable to win as well and so Sparta Rotterdam secured 8th and a shock place in the playoff for the one remaining European spot. Sparta Rotterdam would play against Vitesse while FC Utrecht would play Willem II.

Frank had his team fired up for the first leg at home and secured a huge 4-0 win to almost render the second leg redundant. A 2-2 draw in the return set up a play-off final against FC Utrecht who had themselves comfortably dispatched Willem II in the previous round. Sparta Rotterdam were again drawn at home for the first leg and after a rocky start emerged as winners with Mijnan’s 82nd minute penalty enough to bag a 2-1 result. A defensive performance in the second leg would see the side snatch victory, but FC Utrecht had a point to prove and despite their best efforts, Sparta Rotterdam succumbed to defeat with FC Utrecht winning 2-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.

Despite the bitter disappointment of falling at the final hurdle, Frank could take plenty of positives from across the season. At no point was relegation ever a likely outcome which shows tremendous progress over the last campaign, and the Board were delighted at having established Sparta Rotterdam as an Eredivisie team a season earlier than planned. Hopefully, with a little bit of investment in the squad, the team could push on again next year as well.

Results Overview

Dutch Cup

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: Third Round

Summary: The draw definitely favoured Sparta Rotterdam, with the side playing against lower opposition in all three rounds of the cup, but they were made to pay for their complacency when an impressive PEC Zwolle dumped them out of the competition.

Best moment: Getting through the Second Round with the win against FC Eindhoven was a real plus point, and gives hope to future cup runs that we might emulate that success.

Low moment: Having drawn PEC Zwolle, it should have presented a great chance to go further in the competition. Instead, fans had to deal with defeat to lower opposition and another year-long wait for a chance to challenge for silverware.

Eredivisie

Prediction: 13th

Actual: 8th

Summary: A mixed bag of results early on eventually gave away to a decent platform in the second half of the season, from which the team were really able to kick on. Having set out to achieve a top half finish, to go close to qualifying for Europe was a particular bonus.

Best moment: Despite the great run to the playoff final at the end, the real highlight was the 3-1 defeat of Ajax, Frank’s first win over one of the big teams in the league.

Low moment: Dropping points at the likes of NAC Breda and ADO Den Haag was particularly disappointing, particularly as these are teams Sparta Rotterdam have the ability to beat, and need to in future if they are to build on this season’s success.

Statistical Analysis

As mentioned earlier, there’s no doubt that the lack of transfer budget hindered the club’s progress this season. That said, it was pleasing to see them do so well, especially against some of the bigger, more established teams.

Generally speaking, we were fairly average compared to the other teams in the division, although our ‘goals per game’ and ’shots on target’ returns were both above expectation, ultimately proving the difference as we pushed for European qualification. Defensively. we were also much improved. clearances, blocks and interceptions were all above average, although too often we committed fouls which definitely cost us in some games.

An area that will definitely need improvement was our movement, and in particular our ability to keep the ball and progress up the pitch with it. In this sense we were one of the worst performers in the league, and so we can conclude that our inability to keep the ball is what led to us exceeding at blocks and interceptions. While that shows our determination and ability to recover the ball, it would have been preferable if we had kept hold of it in the first place.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

Marching On: Feeling 22-ish - FMSamo returns at the end of his third season in charge at St. Mary’s as he reveals how his team of young starlets got on.

FM22 | Far Post Corner Kick Routine - FMRensie shares his findings from another of his set-piece repertoire - this one being a far post corner routine.

“Miami Galácticos” - La Plata: Vice - FM Grasshopper updates us on how things stand at Inter Miami, and reveals how recruitment has gone following his data-led approach to scouting for this season.

RCDM: Trust The Process - FM Adventure reports on his progress at RCD Mallorca as he looks to establish them for growth in La Liga.

Valores Familiares – 1 – Welcome Home - FM Stag launches a new series at Colo Colo in Chile, told through FM’s only trusted source for new - theangrylinesman

thefmdb.com - The FMDB have revealed a searchable FM22 database on their website that enables you to conduct your own research outside of the game through a browser.

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘checking for subsidence’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #5 - Finding a Rhythm

February 11, 2022

We’re back in the Netherlands as Frank Athlete takes charge of his second club along the River Rhine: Sparta Rotterdam. De Kasteelheren find themselves in hot water after a disappointing first half of the season, and it will be up to Frank to turn things around quickly if they are to retain their status as a top flight club. Without further ado, let’s dive in…

Season Summary

Team: Sparta Rotterdam
Division: Eredivisie
Season: 2024/25
Players in: Yoram Boerhout, Ajax (Loan); Anass Salah-Eddine, Ajax (€4.2K); Ricardo Mangas, SpVgg Greuther Furth (€775K); Thomas Buitink, Vitesse (Loan); Maudo, 1.FC Hedenheim 1846 (€2.2M)
Players out: Lennart Thy, Kaiserlautern (€100K); Mohammad Osman, Roda JC (€0)

Sparta Rotterdam had been predicted to finish 13th in the league, but found themselves struggling down in 16th at the half way stage with the worst goal difference in the division at -25. They’d been enduring a downward trend in recent seasons, finishing 8th in 2021/22, but then following that with finishes in 15th and then 14th place in 2022/23 and 2023/24 respectively.

The Board of Directors’ objective for Frank was clear: avoid a relegation battle. To aid him in his conquest, he’d been handed a wage budget of €158,000 (roughly triple that of FC Dordrecht) and a transfer kitty of €1.6M. The Board had also stated a few additional preferences, including that the side play entertaining football and that any signings be either Dutch, based in the Netherlands, under the age of 23, or better yet, all three.

Since Frank had accepted the job on Christmas Eve, he had almost three weeks to assess the playing squad before their next league fixture - a home tie against fellow strugglers and local rivals Excelsior. The first thing he identified was the squad’s average age was very high, with several of the starting XI over the age of 30, and many more in their late twenties. The other obvious issue was the club had no left side full backs in their ranks, and had been making do with a utility player as cover. Elsewhere there were shortages in depth at central defence and striker, both of which would need addressing as well.

Having assessed the players at the club, Frank initially set upon a simple 4-4-2 system that would offer plenty in defence pack out the middle of the pitch and hopefully make the side harder to beat. His ethos at this stage was to shore up the defence first, then work on scoring more goals later, and with this in mind, he focussed first on filling the vacant left sided full back position. Despite not having access to a senior affiliate like FC Dordrecht did, he opted to utilise the mutually beneficial partnership the club had with Ajax and brought in young full back, Salah-Eddine for a small fee. Young striker, Yoram Boerhout, also joined from Ajax, on loan for the rest of the season, and both players would provide cover for the seniors when needed.

In terms of a starting full back, the scouting team picked up on the Portuguese Ricardo Mangas who joined for €775K on a 3 year deal. Elsewhere, central defender Maudo signs for €2.2M and Vitesse’s Thomas Buitink joins initially on loan, with an option for a permanent transfer, to challenge for a place in attack.

Heading outbound from the club were Mohammad Osman, who had been vying for a move since Frank’s arrival, as well as Lennart Thy who had become homesick and wanted to return to Germany. Despite their departures, Frank felt confident of the squad available to him, and with several potential stars currently operating in the youth and reserve teams, he had plenty of hungry youngsters to choose from if he needed additional cover.

As the team headed into the home tie with Excelsior confidence was high, especially with them being bottom of the league. A goal for the guests in the second minute provided an early scare, but Sparta Rotterdam hit back in the 19th minute to get back on level terms. Rather than this be the catalyst for a decent performance though, the team were instead pegged back again a few minutes later and would eventually concede one more in the second half to end up losing 3-1. Not the best start for Frank at his new club, and was especially tough to take at the hands of their rivals.

Sticking with the 4-4-2 system, the next opponent was to be FC Groningen who had been playing well below their best of late and so this presented another winnable game in Frank’s eyes. Unfortunately Groningen bagged an early goal and looked in control for most of the match, despite an equaliser that kept Sparta Rotterdam in the tie until the 83rd minute. Two defeats from two now, the only good thing being that striker Steffen Tigges had bagged a goal in each game having spent most of the season as cover for left back.

A slight change in system saw Frank employ a similar tactic to that which he’d used at FC Dordrecht. The two wide midfielders advanced into the AM strata while one of the striker roles was swapped out for a DM playing as a HB. This certainly gave the team more solidity at the back, but seemed to offer very little going forward as they beat N.E.C. Nijmegen 1-0 in the next game, with them riding their luck for most of the second half.

Up next was a familiar foe in FC Dordrecht. In the three games they’d played since Frank’s departure, they’d also only managed to secure one win so it should be a fairly even tie. Frank opted to swap out the DM for an AM to match the set up the Sheepheads would be starting with, and the change transformed the team. Defensively solid, but now offering much more in attack, Sparta Rotterdam were convincing 4-0 winners with all the goals coming in the first half.

Over the next few weeks, the team would return a real mixed bag of results, notching up two more wins and a draw among six more defeats, putting the side into 15th place and within touching distance of safety. As we entered May it was crunch time with sc Heerenveen, Excelsior and FC Dordrecht hot on the heels of Sparta Rotterdam, all vying for their survival from the drop. A home 2-1 win against RKC Waalwijk was followed by a humbling 3-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Feyenoord, however both Excelsior and sc Heerenveen had failed to capitalise in their matches as well and so Sparta Rotterdam had mathematically secured their safety with a game to spare. Finishing in 13th was impossible, but the side could secure 14th with a win and end the season just one place off the media’s pre-season prediction. The team didn’t disappoint, comfortably despatching sc Heerenveen 3-1 and ending the season in 14th and a place above rivals Excelsior.

Mission accomplished for Frank and his team, and now the real work could begin as they looked to strengthen for next season to ensure they avoid any such drama next time around. The board have announced plans to build a new stadium which will have an impact on how much will be available for transfers, but Frank is hopeful at this point it will be at least as much as he was given when he arrived in December.

Results Overview

Dutch Cup

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: Second Round (knocked out prior to arrival)

Summary: Prior to Frank’s appointment, Sparta Rotterdam had already made a Second Round Dutch Cup exit via a penalty shootout against SC Cambuur. Meanwhile, FC Dordrecht made it all the way to the semi finals where they lost 1-0 to FC Volendam.

Best moment: Not really applicable since Frank didn’t manage any Sparta Rotterdam games in the Dutch Cup, but was pleasing to see his Dordrecht side do so well.

Low moment: Although not in charge at the time, it’s always difficult to lose a game on penalties, and in fact Sparta were 2-0 up with 30 mins to go before full back Pachonik was sent off. Had he remained on the pitch, maybe the side would have held out for a win.

Eredivisie

Prediction: 13th

Actual: 14th (16th on arrival)

Summary: After a poor start, it took several games to find a system that worked, but after a while things started to pick up. The initial tactic was too cautious, but after a few tweaks the side were able to be much more positive which was the difference in the end.

Best moment: The side’s defensive record improved dramatically under Frank, conceding 22 goals in 17 games versus 41 goals in 17 games in the first half of the season.

Low moment: The Excelsior loss was a major blow, as were the defeats to Roda JC and VVV Venlo, both of which were winnable but for the red card received in each fixture. Those results ultimately put the team under enormous pressure to secure their safety.

Statistical Analysis

As noted above, Frank did a decent job of shoring up the defence on his arrival at the club. Despite losing 10 of his 17 games in charge, he almost halved the number of goals conceded compared to the first half of the season.

Our clearances, blocks and tackles attempted stats were all way above the league average too, not surprising for a team that spent a lot of time on the back foot, but we also committed a lot of fouls which is really something that needs addressing for next season.

At the other end of the pitch, our efficiency in attack shows that while our shooting is passive, we’re also clinical. In fact, our shots per game were a lot less than the league average but our shots on target ratio was 10% better than the average, and our crossing was marginally better too.

Despite our cross completion being decent, 56% of our assists came from through balls down the middle and only 19% came from wide areas. Also worth noting, 81% of our goals were scored from just inside the area which is something we may want to work on so we’re less dependent on one type of goal.

The last thing worth mentioning is the state of the club’s finances. Immediately on conclusion of the season the Board have announced plans to build a new stadium, increasing our capacity from 13,248 to 20,359 and at a cost of €43M. Whilst in the long run this move will offer the club a greater chance of securing matchday revenue, it’s all but crippled us in the short term as we look to repay the €40M loan secured from the bank. The stadium will be completed in July 2027 so it’s a few years before we get the extra gate receipts anyway.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

A Few Moments Later… - FMPressure returns with a detailed update on his time with Torino in Serie A, and what a time it’s been!

"Data-led Scouting in Major League Soccer" - La Plata: Vice - In this update, FM Grasshopper collaborates with FM Stag to identify some transfer targets through a data-led approach to scouting, similar to what is often referred to as the “Moneyball approach”.

FM22 | The opening two seasons with Warta - FMRensie shares the latest on his progress at Warta Poznan as he reviews how the first two seasons have gone in Poland.

MLS Football Manager 22 Guide - Acquiring Players - FMEadster shares yet more of his new-found wisdom on the MLS, this time looking at how to go about acquiring players.

PAS Lamia 1964 - 1.7: Passports At the Ready - Can DGear86 finally steer his team into the European football qualification?

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘bobbing along to the beat’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #4 - Christmas Come Early

January 28, 2022

Welcome back to the Netherlands where Frank Athlete’s FC Dordrecht are about to contest their first season in the top flight since 2015 following their promotion to the Eredivisie last term. As you’d expect, this update is full of all the usual up’s and down’s that go hand-in-hand with a relegation battle, but stay tuned for a plot twist at the end as well. Let’s get to it shall we?

Season Summary

Team: FC Dordrecht
Division: Eredivisie
Season: 2024/25
Players in: Mehmet Ozcan, Free Agent (€0); Jesse Bosch, Holstein Kiel (Loan); Kalidou Sidibe, Lugano (Loan); Kenny Coker, Norwich City (Loan); Maxime Esteve, Montpellier (Loan)
Players out: Tim Holscher, MVV (Loan)

As soon as promotion had been confirmed, Frank huddled together with his backroom team to ascertain what changes would need to be made so that FC Dordrecht could give a good account of themselves next season. No one expected the Sheepheads to survive relegation, but if nothing else this presented a great opportunity to reward the loyal fan base that had supported the side over the last few years.

Since survival would be a big ask, the recruitment team opted for loan signing where possible, so as to avoid the commitment of 2 or 3 year long contracts which could prove costly if things didn’t work out. The team had become incredibly dependent on Pascu and Miceli in the middle with no one really offering competition for places and so this was identified as a primary position to strengthen. Frank had been studying tactical theory of late, and wanted to apply some new thinking to the CM-A role after reading an article from fellow manager, Rensie. With this in mind, Mehmet Ozcan joined to challenge Pascu for a starting place after he demonstrated great composure, decision making and off the ball movement to the scouting team.

To provide depth for the more defensive Ball Winning Midfielder role, Frank brought in Sidibe and Bosch on loan from Lugano and Holstein Kiel respectively. Both would provide competition for Miceli but would also offer the team the flexibility to play three in the middle against some of the leagues better opposition. Rounding out the rest of the signings, Esteve joins on loan from Montpellier to give depth in central defence while Norwich City’s Kenny Coker will be an alternative striker option when Hansen is in need of respite.

One other area the backroom team identified for improvement was the coaching qualifications among the staff. Frank immediately approved the request from his team to study for their next badges, but for Frank himself he would need approval from the Board, something he’d been unsuccessful in gaining on the last two times of asking. This time was no different either, with the directors promptly declining his request to study for his Continental A Licence, citing their primary concern as the fact that if he is better qualified then he is more likely to attract job offers from other clubs. Frank was both angered and dismayed, and left the meeting abruptly.

Back on the training ground preparations were going well with the side bagging two draws against Fortuna Sittard and ADO Den Haag alongside two defeats against Go Ahead Eagles and, as had become an annual tradition, Feyenoord. Despite the results, Frank and his coaches felt suitably prepared for what lie ahead, but in fact the start to the season would be even harder than anticipated.

sc Heerenveen were their first opponents who scored early on and then again before half time, despite Dordrecht equalising for a short while. It would be over a month before the Sheepheads could find the net again, notching up back-to-back defeats against Sparta Rotterdam, RKC Waalwijk and Feyenoord before eventually scoring in a 2-1 loss away against Heracles Almelo.

Despite being rooted to the foot of the table, September would end with a win, a surprise victory at the hands of AZ Alkmaar which was enough to see the side climb to 16th in the league. In the next tie, Ajax would have the team firmly back in it’s place after comfortably dispatching the boys 4-0 and reducing their goal difference to -12 after just seven games. The loss prompted a rethink in terms of tactical approach with Miceli dropping deeper as a DM, Schuurman pushing wide as an Inside Forward and that AM role being swapped out for a second CM alongside Mehmet.

The change in approach looked to have been a failure in the next game as Willem II held a 3-1 lead in the latter stages of the match. Last season’s star man Sontje Hansen had other ideas though, scoring his second goal of the game in the 86th minute and then rounding off his hattrick in the 90th to secure a hard fought 3-3 draw. What felt like victory was enough of a lift in the next fixture too where the boys earnt another draw, this time at the hands of N.E.C. Nijmegen. Despite the up-turn in results, wins were what was needed if survival were to be a realistic proposition, but relegation rivals Excelsior quashed any thought of securing victory in the next tie as they won 4-2 in the last league game of October.

Before the month was out, Dordrecht had the small matter of the First Round of the Dutch Cup to navigate, and for the first time under Frank’s tenure they were playing a side from a lower division. Frank spotted an opportunity to rest a few tired legs and build some confidence in the process and so played a strong side against Groene Ster, notching up a superb 6-0 victory to set up a Second Round tie against Feyenoord.

Seven league games remained before Christmas and the winter break, the first of which was against Europa League hopefuls PSV. If the cup game was intended to be a confidence booster, the PSV match had the complete opposite effect. 5-0 the final score but it could have been more and morale in the dressing room was at an all time low. A quick team meeting was called to encourage the lads to keep their heads up, and miraculously things did start to improve. A win and a draw against Groningen and Twente in the next two games was enough to see Dordrecht climb to 15th in the league and outside of the relegation spots for the first time this season.

An away defeat to Vitesse gave way to a brilliant 1-0 win against FC Utrecht as we headed into December, but perhaps the most disappointment was to come in the next fixture, a crushing 2-1 loss to recently promoted, VVV-Venlo, who secured victory late on and sank the Sheepheads back down to 18th. While Dordrecht had been yo-yoing between 15th and 18th, the rumour mill had been in full swing, after Sparta Rotterdam and Excelsior had both sacked their managers earlier in the month and were on the hunt for a new Head Coach. Frank’s name had been bandied about on social media but as yet, no formal offers had come in and so he kept his focus on Dordrecht’s survival hopes.

The Second Round of the Dutch Cup would be played in mid-week, with Dordrecht hosting Feyenoord at the Riwal Hoogwerkers Stadion where almost 2,000 fans would be in attendance. The atmosphere was electric under the lights and Dordrecht found their groove early on with goals in the 21st and 35th minute from Hansen and Sidibe respectively. Feyenoord got one back just before half time but an expertly managed second half was enough to see the Sheepheads progress to the Third Round against VVV-Venlo in January.

Impressed by what they’d seen in the cup, first Excelsior and then Sparta Rotterdam offered interviews to Frank for their vacant manager positions in the days that followed. Frank found himself in a tricky predicament. On the one hand, results on the pitch were proving that Dordrecht still had a decent chance of engineering an escape from relegation, while selfishly he had an eye on furthering his career and knew that Dordrecht wouldn’t be the club to get him there, especially with their reluctance to let him study for his next coaching badge. He attended both interviews, but saw Sparta Rotterdam as the only real choice in terms of furthering himself and matching his footballing philosophies.

Before either club made any further contact, Dordrecht would battle against Roda JC in their last game of the year before the winter break ensued. The away tie was televised and the Sheepheads really put on a show despite the cold and the rain, scoring three first half goals and securing a 4-1 win in the process to take them back up to 15th to end the year strongly. The win had given Frank even more to think about, with the side now half way towards their points target of 30 which should be enough for survival.

The weekend drizzle had given way to snow flurries as the temperature dropped further into the next week, but the short rest had given Frank some much needed thinking time as he pondered his next move. On Christmas Eve, Frank finished his breakfast of porridge and honey before the quiet of the holiday season was interrupted by his mobile ringing at 8.52am. It was Leo Ruijs, the General Manager at Sparta Rotterdam, calling to discuss a contract offer and to request whom among Frank’s backroom team he would like to bring with him to Het Kasteel.

Frank afforded himself a wry smile as he finished his conversation. He had accepted the job offer, and while he would be disappointed to leave FC Dordrecht after what he and his team had started to build there, the possibility to manage a club that had won the Eredivisie six times in their history was too great an opportunity to pass up. It would not be without it’s challenges, especially given that Sparta Rotterdam were currently a place below Dordrecht in the league, but the potential to restore the club to it’s former glory was a mouth-watering prospect. As Frank sat back, clutching his lukewarm cup of coffee, he looked out at the cloudy sky and gave a curt nod to the big man himself, who had clearly begun his delivery of Christmas presents a little earlier this year.

Results Overview

Dutch Cup

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: Third Round (as of 24th December 2024)

Summary: It was nice to be handed a slightly easier tie in the first round for once, and the team took full advantage to then progress to the Second Round for only the second time under Frank. To then beat Feyenoord was an absolute delight and suddenly Dordrecht find themselves three games away from a cup final.

Best moment: It wasn’t just a win against Feyenoord, this was a convincing victory and a deserved progression to the next round.

Low moment: In truth, the only real disappointment in the cup will be the fact that Frank won’t be around for the Third Round tie against VVV-Venlo. The fixture presents a really good opportunity for both teams to progress and Dordrecht should fancy their chances.

Eredivisie

Prediction: 18th

Actual: 15th (as of 24th December 2024)

Summary: After a tricky start, the team finally got going towards the end of September with their first win coming against AZ Alkmaar. Progress was slow but by the end of December they were up to 4 wins and a pleasing 15th place in the league. Frank leaves the side in a strong position and with every chance of surviving the drop.

Best moment: Securing that first win restored hope in the team Frank had put together, and gave them some optimism that they might yet compete at this level.

Low moment: Losing to the likes of Excelsior and VVV-Venlo were particularly hard to take, especially at home where you’d expect the team to do better. This was six points dropped without a doubt and could have seen Dordrecht up in 10th place if they had won.

Welcome to Rotterdam

With Rotterdam a mere 30 minute commute North West of Dordrecht, Frank would retain his existing accommodation and will journey in to the city each day instead of having the hassle of finding somewhere new to live. A number of his backroom team would be joining him at Sparta Rotterdam as well, chief among them is his Assistant Manager, Gert-Jan Westerhout, who’s people management skills and ability to spot talent would be very handy indeed.

With a few essentials packed, Frank took Christmas Day to wander round the streets of Rotterdam and get to know the city he would be representing. Rotterdam is the Netherland’s second largest city and is situated at the mouth of the Nieuwe Maas channel leading into the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. The city was established in 1240 when a dam was built here across the River Rotte, and has eventually led to it becoming Europe’s largest seaport today. As a result of it’s connection to the rest of Europe through railways, roads and of course the waterways, Rotterdam has gained the nicknames “Gateway to Europe” and “Gateway to the World”.

As for the football, there are three professional clubs based in Rotterdam, the other two being Excelsior and of course Feyenoord, and both of whom are fierce rivals of Sparta Rotterdam. Sparta were formed in 1888 and according to Wikipedia are the oldest professional club in existence, however you may recall that according to my research, Dordrecht are in fact the oldest professional club having been formed five years earlier in 1883.

Sparta Rotterdam play their home games at Het Kasteel (The Castle) in front of a capacity crowd of 11,926 and are affectionately known among the fan base as De Kasteelheren (The Castle Lords) and De Rood-Witte Gladiatoren (The Red-White Gladiators). Frank Athlete becomes the club’s 49th manager, replacing Freddie Ljungberg who lasted less than a year in the post.

The 2024/25 season has not been kind for Sparta, despite a strong start to the season where they amassed seven points from their opening three games. Since then it has been a poor return with their only other win coming at the start of December against FC Twente. They currently find themselves in 16th place with 13 points and a goal difference of -25, by far the worst in the division.

The club are predicted to finish 13th which suggests there is quality at the club, but that it’s not being utilised. Frank is full of belief and optimism that he can quickly turn their fortunes around.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

Never Give In - Chapter 1 - FMBeats presents his new blog post through the eyes of Trent McCrimm who reports for The Asthmatic as he interviews Dan Beaton on his appointment as Dumbarton’s new manager.

“Angels Are Terrifying” - La Plata: Vice - FM Grasshopper returns with the latest update from Miami as Ángel Bastardo prepares to face Ruslan Chepiga in their upcoming MLS clash.

FM22 | Long Throw-In Routine. Yes or no? - FMRensie returns with yet more tactical insight as he explores the validity of long-throw routines in FM22

PAS Lamia 1964 - 1.6: Small Steps - It was more heartbreak for the fans at the end of last season as PAS Lamia failed again in their bid to reach the top 5, but can DGear86 go one small step further this year?

Ternana Calcio: 2023/2024 – Part 1 - See how FM Youth Intake builds on last year’s success as he prepares to go further still with Ternana in Serie A

The Nordic Journey | #6 | Third Time Lucky? - Can Oaky-FM’s Jens Richter go one better in his third season as he looks to surpass back-to-back second place finishes from the last two campaigns.

The 2023 Season - more success is on the cards for the Black Crow Corporation, but there’s a plot twist that could have long lasting repercussions in Seoul.

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘found underneath the Christmas Tree’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #3 - Familiar Territory

January 14, 2022

Welcome back to Frank Athlete’s third season in charge at Dutch side FC Dordrecht. With two seasons now under his belt, Frank has established the Sheepheads as a solid mid-table side in the Eerste Divisie, but with ambitions to further his career and reach the pinnacle of football management, can he build on last season’s play off qualification or it will be a year of further consolidation and foundation laying? Let us run, into the fray…

Season Summary

Team: FC Dordrecht
Division: Eerste Divisie
Season: 2023/24
Players in: Ilyes Chaïbi, Free Agent (€0); Alex Schalk, Free Agent (€0); Sontje Hansen, Free Agent (€0); Lewis Shipley, Norwich City (Loan)
Players out: Valentino Pugilese, Etar (€0)

With the team away on their Summer holidays, Frank set to work immediately on bringing in the necessary new recruits for the season ahead. A striker was the number one priority, but the AML position also needed filling and so after consultation with the Scouting team, three new faces were announced. The AML options in Alex Schalk and Ilyes Chaïbi offer some variety as both can play up top or just behind the striker as well as in the wider Inside Forward role, and both arrived on free transfers having been previously unattached to their former clubs. Despite their positional flexibility, Frank still wanted to name an out-and-out striker option and was delighted when Sontje Hansen put pen to paper on a 2-year deal. Having been released from Jong Ajax at the end of last season, Hansen had scored 17 goals in 36 appearances across the last campaign and so the hope was he would better that return for Dordrecht.

With the attacking line-up seemingly complete, attention turned to the defensive positions with just one vacancy in centre back after N’Diaye’s loan agreement was terminated after two years. Despite attempts to sign someone on a permanent basis, none of the candidates had the necessary attributes to help elevate the quality of the defenders at the club and so once again Frank turned to senior affiliate, Norwich City, to bring in Lewis Shipley on a season long loan.

From a tactical standpoint, two tweaks were made to Frank’s 4-2-3-1 set-up. The first was to switch from ‘mixed’ crosses to focus more on ‘low’, meaning they’d avoid losing the ball to taller defenders and give themselves a chance of bagging more goals from crosses. The second tweak was to push the defensive line slightly higher up the pitch, which the coaching team now saw as a potential advantage owing to the pace available at the back.

The final change required was to appoint a new Captain and Vice Captain as both roles had become vacant at the end of last season. Central midfield stalwart, Alessio Miceli took over as club Captain while young academy graduate, Jan van der Avert, would take over as his deputy owing to his extraordinary leadership attributes (20), even at such a young age.

Having completed the administrative tasks required of him, Frank then set about preparing for four pre-season fixtures and after some hard work on the training ground it was evident that that preparation seemed to pay off as Dordrecht bagged three wins from four, the defeat coming to Eredivisie side, Feyenoord. With that all out of the way, the league kicked off and the Sheepheads would maintain their best start yet under Frank Athlete with three consecutive wins from their opening fixtures, with the final game of August against Jong Utrecht coming in as a 1-0 defeat. This left the side in 3rd place in the league, impressive even for the early part of the season, especially considering the media had predicted a midtable finish.

As September commenced, the team seemed to be trying their best to prove the media right as the three wins from the opening games were swiftly followed by three consecutive defeats. In true flip-flop fashion however, another three wins would be bagged before the month was over, seeing Dordrecht climb back up to 4th place as we headed into October, and what would soon become a nightmare month ahead.

A dull 1-1 draw against senior affiliate, Fortuna Sittard, saw the side complete four games unbeaten but this is where the good form would end, giving way to a run of four consecutive 1-0 defeats to see the team in to November. A draw followed by another defeat to recently relegated Roda JC would be enough for the side to drop down to 12th place and a familiar feeling of underachievement set in to the dressing room. In fact, the team would bounce back remarkably well from this poor run, bagging 6 wins from their next 8 games, drawing the other two in the process. Advanced Playmaker Jari Schuurman and new recruit Sontje Hansen’s performances were a particular highlight over this period, with the pair netting 12 goals between them.

The January transfer window presented an opportunity for Frank to strengthen the squad, but in fact the only activity was the departure of backup midfielder Valentino Pugilese to Bulgarian side Etar. In truth, keeping the form players at the club was a job well done for Frank and his recruitment team and they were pleased to be able to look ahead to the remainder of the season.

The final game of January should have been a routine home fixture against a lacklustre MVV Maastricht, but in the end it proved to be a huge stumbling block. Despite an edgy battle throughout the game, the Sheepheads eventually succumbed to a miserable 1-0 defeat in the 93rd minute. The impact this had on the squad was plain for all to see, and across February and March, Dordrecht would go on to take a pitiful 7 points from 8 games, and finding themselves in 9th place with 6 games to go. Fortunately, the teams around them had also failed to capitalise and so it would be a straight battle for the highest play off places remaining between FC Dordrecht, ADO Den Haag and PEC Zwolle.

A nervy 1-1 draw against FC Volendam kicked off the April fixtures but as it turned out, the team had saved their best until the end anyway, delivering 5 straight wins including a 5-2 drubbing of PEC Zwolle in the final game of the season. 8th place was enough for a play off spot and with the wind in their sails, the team would coast to successive wins across both legs of the First Round, defeating NAC Breda 5-1 on aggregate. This set up a Second Round tie against Eredivisie side De Graafschap who were clinging on to their top flight status, but ultimately came unstuck against a clinical Doredrecht team, who comfortably despatched them 6-1 on aggregate.

For the first time under Frank’s tenure, FC Dordrecht found themselves in the the Third and final round of the playoffs, with two legs against PEC Zwolle the difference between another year in the second tier, or promotion to the promised land. The first leg was away and it took over 70 minutes to bag the first goal, a cool finish from man-of-the-moment Sontje Hansen who then doubled his tally in the 85th minute to see out the tie as 2-0 winners. Complacency would be a big factor in the reverse fixture, and it looked like a nightmare start when PEC Zwolle took the lead in the first minute of the second leg. A first half equaliser from Jacky Donkor meant the lads emerged at 1-1 after the break, and Sontje Hansen was on target again to project them into the lead on 47 minutes.

PEC Zwolle weren’t done though, scoring in the 76th minute and looking ever more likely to score more as the minutes ticked down. In the end, it was a late flurry of goals that sank them with Pascu and then Hansen again scoring in the 87th and 93rd minutes respectively. The boys had done it! A 6-2 aggregate victory and promotion to the Eredivisie for the first time since the club’s relegation in 2015.

The fans went wild, the Board were ecstatic, and even Frank afforded himself a wry smile as he contemplated a season playing the best teams in Dutch football. There’s absolutely no doubt that avoiding relegation would be a a monumental achievement next year, but for now at least the club could enjoy their 2023/24 success and the prospect of an exciting season ahead.

Results Overview

Dutch Cup

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: First Round

Summary: Despite an incredible season in the league, the team couldn’t match their efforts from last season in the cup, and even failed to meet the Board’s expectation of reaching the Second Round. A First Round exit to Eredivisie outfit FC Groningen was the price paid, but at least the scoreline was respectable at 1-0.

Best moment: Despite a narrow defeat, Ruggero Mannes’ performance kept the score low and he was unlucky not to create something at the other end as well.

Low moment: Despite one or two players doing well, it was the poor performances of the midfield and Inside Forwards that ultimately led to defeat. Even goal keeper Joey Koorevaar had a bad game, something that is almost unheard of lately.

Eerste Divisie

Prediction: 11th (excl. Jong clubs)

Actual: 6th (excl. Jong clubs)

Summary: When you assess the results across the whole season, it was quite a Jekyll and Hyde performance to be honest, impressive runs of form always giving way to the complete opposite. In the end though, the wins arrived when they needed to and the team got the rewards they truly deserved for their efforts.

Best moment: Winning the playoff was great, but actually winning all three rounds so comfortably was the real highlight. Dordrecht were undeniably the best team in the end.

Low moment: Some of the senior players had really poor seasons, and in the end it was the desire of some of the academy graduates that were the difference as Frank opted for form over ability, especially towards the back end of the season.

Key Facts & Figures

Looking at the league statistics there are two areas where FC Dordrecht performed particularly well this year: clean sheets and goals conceded. In both of these areas we were ranked in the top two for the season and in fact for 8 out of our 13 defeats the score line was just 1-0. This improvement to our defensive solidity is echoed in our clean sheets record, where we managed 14, two behind NAC Breda.

As we look ahead to the next campaign, we’ll need to improve even further in this area, especially when up against the likes of Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV. 31 points and a goal difference of -20 was enough for RKC Waalwijk to retain their top flight status, and in the two season prior to this, the same record would have been enough for survival as well. A change in tactical approach will also be on the cards as we consider how best to withstand the quality of our opponents.

We’ll need to improve our strength in depth too and will be saying goodbye to a few players that aren’t up to standard as we attempt to replace them with better players. Frank and his recruitment team will have their work cut out there and I can see our partnership with Norwich City being utilised once again as well.

In terms of finances, Frank has continued to sign players on free transfers or on loan and so the bank balance currently sits at a healthy €1.5M, that’s without any extra revenues earnt through Eredivisie fixtures and TV rights. What that means for us is that the Board have tripled the scouting budget, almost doubled the wage budget and have provided €200k for transfers. Most of the player contracts do not have a pay rise clause after promotion so we should have the majority of that budget available to allocate as needed.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

Searching for my ideal CM(A) player - FMRensie delves into the detail of how he’s gone about finding a suitor for that all important CM(A) role. Some great insight in this one, I only hope Frank is a subscriber as well!

East Meets West - FMEadster returns with an update on Chepiga’s progress at the Portland Timbers. Things are looking very tidy for Russian as the season begins to get going in the MLS.

PAS Lamia 1964 - 1.5: On the Brink - PAS Lamia are feeling the financial strain, but can DGear86 build on their previous success and reach those elusive European places?

Védelem! – 10 – The Seven Year Itch - After 7 years at the helm, manager Glenn Árnason has called time on an unbelievably successful tenure with Honvéd. Here FM Stag takes a look back at just how far the club have come in that time.

The Nordic Journey | #5 | A Rollercoaster Ride - the journey continues for Oaky-FM, as he strives to better last season’s impressive finish.

The 2023 Season - more success is on the cards for the Black Crow Corporation, but there’s a plot twist that could have long lasting repercussions in Seoul.

Miami & Timbers - although not a blog, make sure you tune in to FM Grasshopper and FM Eadster as they stream their joint MLS Save live on Twitch.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘having a déjà vu’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #2 - A Tale of Two Halves

December 17, 2021

Welcome back to Riding the Rhine where in this update we’ll be taking a look at how Frank M. Athlete has gotten on in his second season in charge at FC Dordrecht. After a decent start to his managerial career in the Netherland’s Eerste Divisie, Frank was keen to build on his mid-table finish from season 1 and try and push for a top half finish. Would he surpass the Board’s expectations of “be competitive” or would he suffer the ill effects of that dreaded “Second Season Syndrome”? Let’s find out…

Season Summary

Team: FC Dordrecht
Division: Eerste Divisie
Season: 2022/23
Players in: Seydine N’Diaye, Göztepe (Loan); Habib Oueslati, Free Agent (€0); Dylan de Braal, VV IJsselmeervogels (€0); Diego van Zutphen, VVV-Venlo (€0); Joshua Adney, Sparta Rotterdam (€0); Thomas Dickson-Peters, Norwich City (Loan); Luis Pedro, Free Agent (€0); Yahya Boussakou ADO Den Haag (Loan)
Players out: Devon Koswal, Heracles Almelo (€125k)

On reflection of last season, Frank Athlete set about looking to address some of the issues within the playing squad from the previous campaign. Chief among them was the general poor passing ability of his players, but he and his team had also noted that pace amongst the defenders and leadership within the squad were both low and in need of a boost as well. Recruitment began immediately once the season had ended and after the side’s decent league finish the Board had offered a modest transfer and wage budget to help get things moving in the transfer market.

Seydine N’Diaye was retained from his season-long loan last term and he’ll remain for another year ahead, while Dylan de Braal, who left the club prior to Frank’s arrival, returns on a free transfer after the Scouting Team agreed that it had been a mistake to let him go. Both N’Diaye and de Braal add some technical quality at the back but neither are particularly well known for their pace or acceleration. To address this the Director of Football suggested a look at Angolan defender, Luis Pedro, who was available on a free transfer despite a superb season for Nitra in the Slovakian Lower League. Pedro would add some pace at the back and at 30 years old, would also bring some much needed experience to a relatively young side.

Elsewhere, the team were in need of a backup at right wing-back, with this role demanding a player with the right attacking attributes as well as being defensively solid. Joshua Adney would fit that bill perfectly, unlikely to challenge for a regular first-team spot but a worthy replacement should the need arise to change the tactical approach mid-game. Elsewhere, promising 17 year old, Diego van Zutphen, joins and will be retrained to play as a ball winning midfielder, while Oueslati and Boussakou (Loan) both join to give some cover and variety for our inside forwards.

The final piece of the jigsaw was up top, with academy graduate, Thomas Schalekamp, keeping his squad place but in need of competition for places to aid his development. With the budget now very tight, the recruitment team turned to loan signings and unearthed Thomas Dickson-Peters at senior affiliate Norwich City. Having been unimpressed with the two loan signings from Norwich last season, this time the agreement was for 6 months, allowing Frank the flexibility to change things in January if necessary.

With the squad now assembled nice and early and suitable cover in place for each position, Frank could look ahead to preseason as an opportunity to bed in some of the new players. From a tactical standpoint, he opted to stick with the 4-2-3-1 that had served the side well enough last year, although as Dickson-Peters’ aerial ability is lower than Schalekamp’s, the ‘try floated crosses’ instruction was turned off to offer more variety with balls coming from wide areas. 2 wins, a draw and a loss in preseason was a decent return, especially as three of the friendlies were against higher opposition.

As the season proper got underway, Dordrecht were slow to get going, losing the season opener 3-0 against FC Eindhoven, a game Frank had earmarked as a simple 3 points. A draw followed by an away win in the next two games suggested the side had more to offer, before being promptly put in their place by recently relegated RKC Waalwiijk with a 1-0 defeat on home soil. As September loomed, the Sheepheads would return 12 points from a possible 15 in their next 5 matches, seeing the team climb to 7th place in the league and into the promotion playoff spots. Despite losing the next three in a row, Frank’s men would collect a further 13 points before the end of the year, including a thrilling 5-1 win over VVV-Venlo and a vengeful 5-0 dismantling of FC Eindhoven at home. Their impressive points haul was enough to see the team retain their place in 7th in the league, and despite 1 or 2 injury concerns, it looked like FC Doredrecht were set to continue their climb in the New Year.

With the Transfer Window open again in January, reserve goal keeper, Liam Bossin, made it known he wanted to leave for first team football and so Frank and his recruitment team identified Raphael Kozcor as his replacement on the bench. Elsewhere, Dickson-Peters had bagged 14 goals and 2 assists in 23 games across all competitions and was worthy of a follow up loan deal to see him through to the end of the season. Norwich were agreeable but to Frank’s dismay, Dickson-Peters had other ideas, opting to reject the renewal in favour of pushing for a first team place at his parent club (spoiler alert: he wouldn’t play another game for the rest of the season). Without time to stew on this bad news, the scouting team again turned to Norwich’s pool of potential loanees and opted to bring in Joe Duffy. Duffy’s first touch and passing were an improvement on Dickson-Peters, but came at the cost of the latter’s pace and bravery. Hopefully Duffy could pick up where his predecessor left off.

As the season resumed after the Winter break, Dordrecht would open with a tidy win against Top Oss, which was immediately followed by a win against Telstar in the Second Round of the Dutch Cup to set up a third round fixture against FC Volendam. Sadly this would be the extent of the cup run though as Volendam knocked the team out with an extra time winner on 110 mins.

This should have meant more time to focus on the league, but instead it turned out to be the catalyst for a complete collapse in form. The next 14 fixtures amassed a total of 9 points and just one win as Frank and his side slid down the table to 15th, their worst position all season, and the dream of reaching the playoffs was all but gone with three fixtures to go. It would take a mathematical miracle to qualify, with the Sheepheads in need of three wins from three and other results going their way, but against all odds Frank delivered, beating Jong Utrecht, Den Bosch and Telstar to bag a 12th placed finish and a place in the first of three of the promotion playoff rounds.

In truth, promotion was not something this team were at all ready for, but qualifying for the playoffs was an important stepping stone for the club and for Frank’s stature in the game. The lads were comfortably beaten by ADO Den Haag in both legs and graciously bowed out with a little more experience under their belts, ready for another season ahead where they might hopefully push on once again.

Despite a pretty dire end to the season, the Board had been mightily impressed with Frank’s leadership on and off the field and so proposed a 1 year contract extension that would allow him to continue building on what he’d started. Needless to say he accepted. This was a season of experience gathering and lesson learning as, on reflection, the premature departure of Dickson-Peters was undoubtedly the main reason the side bagged so many draws instead of wins in the second half of the season. It gave renewed focus for the year ahead though, with Frank eager to continue what he’d started and push the team to become playoff contenders instead of mid-table mediocrity.

Results Overview

Dutch Cup

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: Third Round

Summary: Surpassed all expectations by progressing to the Third Round having defeated Den Bosch and Telstar to tee up a tricky tie against FC Volendam. Having taken an early lead and then being pegged back late on, the boys showed tremendous courage to equalise and were unlucky not to take it all the way to penalties.

Best moment: A deserved equaliser in the 79th minute of the Third Round gave the lads real momentum and was enough to set up extra time where anything is possible.

Low moment: Conceding such a late winner in extra time of the Third Round having fought so valiantly for the majority of the match. It was a bitter blow and a tough one to take.

Eerste Divisie

Prediction: 11th (excl. Jong clubs)

Actual: 12th (excl. Jong clubs)

Summary: It was a superb first half of the season, with the team proving what they’re capable of. Ultimately though, a poor second half led to a sharp decline and descension down the table, with a late flurry of wins enough to secure a playoff spot. All told, hard to be disappointed and gives plenty to build on for 2023/24.

Best moment: Turning on the magic when necessary to secure three wins from three and bag a play off spot with the last game of the season.

Low moment: The departure of Dickson-Peters in January was hard to recover from with a large proportion of our goals coming from him before the winter break. Hindsight is a beautiful thing (apparently).

Key Facts & Figures

Last year FC Dordrecht found themselves excelling in certain aspects of their play, with their aerial ability posing the greatest threat to their opponents each week. Fast forward 12 months, and the team have performed at a very average level in almost every metric. Consistency is a key attribute of any successful side but perhaps the absence of that X-factor was the real cause for their slump in the second half of the season. One area that shows potential is in our possession stats, where among our league rivals we were one of the best at recovering the ball, but the numbers also show we were unable to capitalise on it.

By contrast, the team’s passing ability was severely lacking last year, something that Frank had tried to address this season by bringing in better passers of the ball. This change certainly had an impact, with the side attempting more than 500 passes per game (compared to 450 approx. last year), while the passing completion had increased from 86% up to 87.5%. These marginal gains could be key to the club’s continued growth in stature over the next few seasons.

From a financial standpoint, the club are in a very healthy position. Frank’s tendency to sign players on free transfers or on loan, rather than for cash, has meant that the vast majority of last year’s and now this year’s sponsorship income is very much intact. Giving the club a solid financial footing is essential if they are to start pushing for promotion in the next year or two, and with the risk that immediate relegation might pose if things don’t pan out, it’s great to have money in the bank to help us out of a tight spot if it comes to it.

As Frank looks ahead to the 2023/24 season, he’ll be looking to bring in some quality recruits that can help to build on what he’s started. In particular, finding permanent replacements for some key positions that have been filled by loan players this year will likely be crucial.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

Notes from Poznan and Twin Cities Idea - FMRensie drops his eagerly anticipated save reveal as he heads to Poland, while incorporating his brilliant idea of twinninghis club with others around the world.

“Welcome To Miami” - La Plata: Vice - the long awaited update from the world of FM_Grasshopper doesn’t disappoint as he reveals how the first half of season one with Inter Miami has gone.

Fénix 1.01: The Beginning, the End - FromElevenOne returns with the first instalment of his new series as he ventures into Uruguay, and shares a jam-packed first campaign that seems to have it all.

PAS Lamia 1964 - 1.4: Three Peat - PAS Lamia’s hunt for glory is still on as DGear86 looks to further develop their fortunes on a shoestring budget.

Védelem! - 8 - Two Steps Closer - It’s been non-stop success for FM Stag so far, but can Glenn Árnason keep the good times rolling at Honvéd?

The Nordic Journey | #4 | Expect The Unexpected - evidently success breeds more success on this journey for Oaky-FM, and what a journey it’s been so far.

The 2022 Season - the latest update from the ever expanding world of the Black Crow Corporation, with news from some of the franchises other clubs as well

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘caught napping’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | #1 - Using Your Head

November 19, 2021

Welcome along to the first instalment proper of Riding the Rhine as we reunite with Frank M. Athlete at the end of his first season in charge at FC Dordrecht. Frank’s humble beginnings saw him take charge of the Dutch club in July 2021 with nothing but a lot of determination, a Continental B coaching badge, and a long-forgotten professional playing career at local level. His impact on the club needed to be immediate with the ‘Sheep Heads’ expected to battle for a spot at the bottom of the table. Let’s jump in and see how he got on.

Season Summary

Team: FC Dordrecht
Division: Eerste Divisie
Season: 2021/22
Players in: Tim Hölscher, Top Oss (€0); Stijn Meijer, Excelsior (€0); Rugerro Mannes, Almere City (€0); Alessio Miceli, Piacenza (€0); Pascu, ADO Den Haag (€0); Joey Koorevaar, Feyenoord (€0); Seydine N’Diaye, Göztepe (Loan)
Players out: Dylan de Braal, VV IJsselmeervogels (€0); Quincy Tavares Mojica, NAC Breda (€0); Kevin Jansen, PAEEK (€0)

FC Dordrecht (affectionately known as the Sheep Heads) are an Eerste Divisie side founded in 1883 as the Dordrechtsche Cricket Club (DCC). The club later became Dordrechtse Football Club (DFC) and, although I’ve been unable to confirm it officially, I believe they are the oldest professional football club operating in the Netherlands (N.B. semi-professional side Koninklijke HFC play in the Tweede Divisie (3rd Division) and were founded in 1879). FC Dordrecht play their home games at the Riwal Hoogwerkers Stadion with a capacity of 4,235 and in the last 30 years, they have spent 4 seasons in the top flight with their highest finish being 15th in the 1991/92 season. Frank Athlete is the 43rd manager to take charge of the club, and is the first Englishman since Jimmy Hogan left in 1911.

With his feet firmly under the table, Frank immediately got to work on assessing the ‘state-of-play’ at the club. There’s no transfer or wage budget availability however, thanks to the previous manager who added to the squad prior to his arrival, the playing squad is of a decent size and standard, and there are a number of excellent prospects in the youth set-up as well, giving Frank plenty of options and an opportunity to start planning ahead for the next 2-3 seasons. The Board have requested the team establish themselves as a comfortable Eerste Divisie side which, while seemingly unambitious, gives Frank some time to work on improving the stature of the club without too much pressure on his shoulders.

The key area needing urgent attention is with his backroom staff. Most are seriously underqualified and some roles are vacant as well so after mutually terminating everyone’s contract apart from Head of Youth Development, Ben Kinds, adverts were placed for an entire new team. In just a few short weeks, everyone was in place from scouts and physios to coaches and a new Assistant Manager, Gert-Jan Westerhout.

With the backroom team now sorted, attention turned towards working out a playing style that would suit the players Frank had available to him. On taking the job, the Board had explained that there had been a high turnover of players recently and judging by the large influx of new players in July, it was clear that his biggest challenge would be in bedding everyone in and getting the best out of them as quickly as possible.

Since the side were predicted to finish near the bottom, Frank initially set up with a very cautious 5-2-3 system that centred around getting the ball wide to the wing backs and having them play through balls or crosses in to the Inside Forwards or Target Man. While this system seemed to make the most sense at first, it became apparent after a few friendlies that the flanks were being left exposed behind the wing backs and we were being overrun in the middle.

A switch to a more typical 4-2-3-1 set up brought more balance over all, while still allowing the wing backs to bomb forwards as and when appropriate. Despite the striker options not being quite at the standard needed, there are some good headers of the ball in these positions and so Frank encouraged the wide players to try floated crosses more often in a bid to take advantage of the sides aerial prowess.

The season kicked off with back-to-back games against three of the four Jong sides (PSV, Ajax and Utrecht) in which Dordrecht managed two draws and a loss without scoring a single goal. The first win came against Top Oss at the end of August but it would be mid-September before they’d bag another victory, a thrilling 6-3 win over Telstar which was to be the start of a run of four successive victories.

The team would only manage a further two wins before the winter break in December, and would also oversee a First Round exit from the Dutch Cup at the hands of eventual semi-finalists, FC Utrecht.

The New Year commenced with a bang with a deserved 2-1 win away against Helmond, but AZ Jong put a swift end to the partying with a wretched 1-0 home defeat a week later. Fast forward to February and the side went undefeated for the whole month, notching up draws against Almere City, Top Oss and MVV while also beating De Graafschapp in the process. Sadly, their good form was halted at the start of March as Roda JC thrashed them 3-0 at their place.

In their next six games, the Sheep Heads would only lose once, a humbling 3-0 drubbing at the hands of ADO Den Haag and they headed into the final three games of the season with an outside chance of making the promotion playoffs. Despite giving a good account of themselves throughout much of the season, it would be three defeats from three in the end, with injury woes and suspensions proving to have too much of a negative impact on the squad.

Despite a poor end to the season, Frank Athlete can take great pride in his team’s overall performance as they finished a valiant 14th out of 20, which is upgraded to 11th once the Jong teams are removed since they are ineligible for promotion. Most of their success was down to a relatively small group of players with too many others being carried by their teammates for much of the year. With that in mind, we can expect a few departures over the Summer and hopefully a few fresh faces in through the door as well.

Results Overview

Dutch Cup

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: First Round

Summary: Very disappointing to go out in the First Round, but it was always going to be tough against such a top side. FC Dordrecht were in control for much of the match and were unlucky to lose in the end, especially to an extra time winner.

Best moment: A deserved equaliser in the 82nd minute that had been a long time coming, despite a slow start. Should have scored more but wasn’t to be.

Low moment: Conceding so late on after battling valiantly was difficult to take and a penalty shoot out might have been a farer result to be honest.

Eerste Divisie

Prediction: 15th (excl. Jong clubs)

Actual: 11th (excl. Jong clubs)

Summary: It was a decent season, with a few key areas that will require some improvement. Too often we gave away good leads, or conceded late on to lose or draw. Had we had the composure to hold on, we’d have certainly finished higher up the table.

Best moment: Stringing together 4 consecutive wins fairly early on in the season, to set the team up for a decent mid-table finish.

Low moment: Sacrificing a 3-0 lead to end up drawing 3-3 at home to Almere City, with two of their goals coming in added time.

Key Facts & Figures

The club signed a new sponsorship deal at the start of the season which was worth €400,000. With no financial investment in the playing squad this year, the majority of these funds are still available which is something Frank and his team will look to build on next season, giving the club a good platform to grow from.

In terms of performance on the pitch, the 4-2-3-1 tactic was intended to maximise the aerial threat among the squad’s attacking players, and judging by the statistics at the end of the season, it seems to have worked. 34% of Dordrecht’s goals were scored from headers, and in fact Dordrecht topped the league table for Headers Won as well. In terms of assists, the vast majority came from wide areas with 39% being crosses. Again, the team topped the league table for cross completion with 29%.

One area the team really fell behind on was passing, with the side falling some way short of their competitors, both in terms of the number of passes made and their accuracy. This is one area in particular that Frank and his team will be looking to address next season.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

PAS Lamia 1964 - 1.3: The Bull - DGear86 continues his journey towards the top of Greek football in this, the third instalment of the series.

Girona FC – Part 6: The season so far, and a pressing matter - A statistical master class from Throwing Copper FM as he assess his Girona side’s ability in the press.

Ternana Calcio – Club Overview, Squad & Tactics - An in depth look at FM Youth Intake’s new team, Ternana

The Nordic Journey | #2 | The Second First Step - Oaky-FM begins again after the disappointment from episode 1. How will Jens Richter fare now?

Védelem! - 4 - Winning Ugly? - FM Stag delivers more insight and analysis from Honvéd where the 21/22 season has been concluded

Home is Where the Heart Is - A save reveal post and deep-dive into what SoggFM hopes to bring to Hearts in FM22

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘nodding in from close range’. See you next time.

Riding the Rhine | Prologue

October 22, 2021

Hello, and welcome along to a brand new series of my blog for Football Manager 2022. Before we get started on what I'll be blogging about his year, I thought I'd share a note on format first...

Despite enjoying the production of my fictional 'Trabzon Times' newspaper for FM21, I will concede that in the end it became too big a project for me to maintain, and that ultimately put me off writing it as often as I'd have liked. I enjoy writing about Football Manager, and while I hope you also enjoy what's on the page, to be honest that's not the only reason I do it. I find it therapeutic to empty my thoughts and musings into a blog and when I'm put off writing, I also get put off playing the game as well, which isn’t ideal.

This year, I'm returning to a more traditional blog format where I'll share updates from the in-game world of Frank M. Athlete. These will include, but won't be limited to, how the team are performing on the pitch, any exciting player developments from the youth setup, and my general approach to troubleshooting when things will inevitably go wrong for us!

About the Save

You may recall my FM20 save was a series entitled 'Down the Danube', whereby I loaded up all the playable nations that the River Danube flowed through and I played a journeyman career at various clubs based in those countries. In truth, it wasn't a strictly accurate save, in the sense I travelled randomly up and down the river (as opposed to just 'down' it), and most of the clubs I managed weren't near the water at all in fact.

My FM21 'Trabzon Times' series was great fun, and being at one club allowed me to get further into the details of how the club operates, which is something I don't normally do. While I enjoyed the change in approach, I've missed that sense of career progression you get from a journeyman save, particularly when you're starting off at the bottom and working your way up to the top.

So with all that in mind, this series I'll be returning to Europe's waterways and will be working my way up the football manager ladder in a typical journeyman fashion along the River Rhine. Learning from my experience with 'Down the Danube', I'm planning to be a little more prescriptive this time, if only to add a bit of an extra challenge to the save. I'll be loading up all the playable nations the River Rhine borders or flows through, and I'll only be managing clubs from towns and cities that are situated on the river itself. By my count, that's a total of 21 clubs from twelve leagues in five countries (technically it's six countries, but we'll get to that later).

A Geography Lesson

Before I go through the clubs and leagues I'll be playing in, I just want to give a more detailed introduction to the main character of this series, the River Rhine. For full transparency, I ditched geography at school as soon as I was able to and so I'm far from an expert on the subject, but naturally a quick look on Wikipedia has told me everything I need to know to now be able to educate you on the subject anyway.

The River Rhine is Central and Western Europe's second longest river, behind the River Danube. It is approximately 1,230 km (760 miles) long, and flows from the mountains in Switzerland through to the North Sea coast of the Netherlands. You may notice that I have referred to the river with it's English name, the Rhine, however it would be remiss of me not to mention that in Europe, not everyone uses the English name for things (insert "shocked" emoji) and so it is known by many other names, including, but not limited to, the Rhein (German), Rhin (French) and the Rijn (Dutch).

The river itself begins in the Swiss Alps, and although there is often debate around the true source of rivers, Lake Toma is often referred to as the source of the River Rhine. From here, it meanders out to the Swiss border to the east along what is dubbed the Alpine Rhine, where it meets Liechtenstein and then Austria before flowing into Lake Constance on the Swiss-German border to the north. The river here is known as the High Rhine and heads west into Basel, before turning north again and becoming the Upper Rhine as it runs along the French-German border through Strasbourg and on to Mainz and Wiesbaden.

Now the Middle Rhine, the river angles out slightly and heads in a north-westerly direction to Bonn where it becomes the Lower Rhine as it moves through Cologne, Dusseldorf and Duisburg on it's way into Arnhem in the Netherlands. As a centuries-old major shipping route, there are many towns and cities along the river's course, but the majority of industry can be found along this stretch of the Lower Rhine where historically the vast majority of goods were imported in to.

As the river heads into the Netherlands it merges with two other major rivers, the Meuse and the Schedt, to form Europe's largest river delta. However, before it spills out into the North Sea, it splits into several other key waterways that work their way through the north, central and southern regions of the Netherlands. For the purposes of this FM22 series, I'll be using the two largest bodies of water on this stretch of the river as the "main" route of the Rhine. These are the Waal and the Nederrijn (and their major tributaries downstream), both of which reconnect near to Rotterdam before emptying into the sea to the west.

The main reason for me limiting which parts of the river to follow, is that if I included all the diverging and interconnecting rivers and waterways along this section then I would inadvertently be including every single Dutch football team in the save as well, which essentially goes against what I'm trying to create for this series.

Football on the Rhine

And so, here we are. The main event. If you paid attention in the last section, you'll have counted six nations that the river flows through or borders. These are Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria Germany, France and the Netherlands and in FM terms, five of these nations are playable with twelve leagues between them. Although you can't load up Liechtenstein as a playable nation, we can still play as a Liechtenstein-based team in the form of FC Vaduz who operate in the Swiss Challenge League, presumably because they feel it's more competitive.

Map of the River Rhine, showing the approximate location of football clubs along the river

FC Vaduz are also the team closest to the source of the Rhine, and so following the river's course, the next club we come to is Austrian based SCR Altach currently competing in the Austrian Bundesliga. Sadly, Austria Lustenau would also have been included here had they survived relegation from the Austrian Bundesliga 2 last season, but it wasn't to be.

From Austria we head back to the Swiss leagues next with FC Schaffhausen, situated 50km west of Lake Contsance, and then FC Basel further west again, who play in the Swiss Challenge League and Super League respectively.

North from here we come to the only French side on the river, RC Strasbourg, who operate in Ligue 1, before reaching our first of nine German teams along the river, with four of them based along this stretch of the Upper Rhine. In the order we reach them, they are Karlsruher SC (Bundesliga 2), SV Waldhof Mannheim (3. Liga), Mainz 05 (Bundelsiga) and SV Wehen Weisbaden (3. Liga).

The Middle Rhine is surprisingly vacant in terms of football and so it is 159km before we get to the Lower Rhine where our next five German based clubs are. We start with 1. FC Köln (Bundesliga) and Viktoria Köln (3. Liga) before travelling on to Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga), Fortuna Düsseldorf (Bundesliga 2) and MSV Duisburg (3. Liga). Special mention at this point for KFC Uerdingen 05 who were relegated from 3. Liga last season, but otherwise would have made the list as well.

Finally, to round off our journey, we reach the Dutch clubs, and are immediately greeted by N.E.C. Nijmegen and SBV Vitesse, both of the Eredivisie, and who find themselves on the Waal and Nederrijn respectively. Next up is FC Utrecht (Eredivisie), just north of the River Lek, which we can follow into Rotterdam where we find FC Dordrecht (Eerste Divisie) to the south east of the city, along with SBV Excelsior (Eerste Divisie), Feyenoord and Sparta Rotterdam, both of the Eredivisie.

I think you'll agree, that among those 21 clubs we have a wide ranging variety of different levels of quality, wealth and reputation, which should make the save an interesting one to follow.

Where to Begin?

Clubs based on the Rhine, ranked by reputation

In previous years, I would have started off unemployed, but since I'm only looking to be hired by one of the clubs listed, it makes sense to start off at one of them and go from there. Given that I want to begin my career at the bottom, it also makes sense that I go with the lowest reputation team available, and so I've used FM21 to help me work out which club that is.

As you can see from the table on the right, FC Dordrecht are listed at the top with a reputation score of 3750, which is similar to that of a low ranked League Two side, and a full 550 points short of Viktoria Koln who are next on the list. By way of comparison with some of the bigger sides, FC Basel are at 6400, Feyenoord at 7000 and Bayer Leverkusen are at 7650.

FC Dordrecht were founded in 1883 and are located in the town of Dordrecht which is situated in the province of South Holland on the banks of the Beneden Merwede, one of the major tributaries of the Rhine. The club are affectionately know as the Schapenkoppen (sheep heads) and have spent the majority of their recent history in the Eerste Divisie, having only ventured into the Eredivisie for a single season in the last 27 years. Despite a barren spell of late, the club have some honours to their name, including two Eerste Divisie titles in 1983 and 1994, as well as winning the KNVB Cup in 1914 and 1932.

It's safe to say that Frank Athlete's first job in management will be quite a challenge, with the club having very little by way of financial resources, and a stadium capacity of just 4,235. If reports are to be believed, the club have also gone through a high turnover of playing staff in recent years so it will be interesting to see how or if this is reflected in the squad dynamics as well.

All that said, I'd like to think that with a bit of hard work we can try and win promotion to the Eredivisie within a few seasons, and I'll look to cover that and other aspects of FC Dordrecht in more detail in the next update.

And that's all there is it to it. I can't believe you've read down this far, but hopefully you did so because you were enjoying yourself and not because you were scrolling down for the "back" button (it's at the top, silly sausage). If you'd like to read more of the blog you can visit CoffeehouseFM, or you can find me @fm_athlete on Twitter and FM Slack.

I've been FM Athlete. You've been "Guest subscriber #134". See you next time.

FM22 Teaser | A Blank Slate

October 20, 2021

Frank Athlete stood at the window, looking out at the runway below and into the darkness beyond. There was little to see from this side of the airport in the early hours of the morning. No city scape or mountain ranges. No hustle and bustle of Trabzon's busy backstreets. Only black.

Frank breathed in deeply. He stared out at the Black Sea, feeling strangely comforted by the emptiness of it all. He smiled inwardly, remembering the little known fact he'd learnt that the sea's anoxic water makes marine life survival impossible here. While many consider the absence of life to be a despairing thought, Frank saw it as nature's blank slate. A place to start fresh and begin again.

As this thought crossed his mind he instinctively glanced away to his left. Although hard to discern in the darkness, just mere metres across the tarmac stood the silhouette of the Şenol Güneş Stadium, a coliseum rising up out of the ground. The city's new conservation project had insisted that all non-essential lights be turned off between 1.00 am and 5.00 am, and so he had a hard time identifying the important features of what had been his home for so many years. He squinted into the night, taking in the Trabzonspor stadium one last time.

He was sad to be leaving. For the first time in a long time, he'd found true happiness in Trabzon and had enjoyed the success he and his team had achieved. He was comfortable here and yet he also felt the hunger burning inside of him. He wanted more. To strip it all back and to start again, from the ground up.

Suddenly the airport public address system crackled into life, dragging Frank away from his thoughts and back to the sleepy airport terminal.

"This is a passenger announcement for Turkish Airlines flight TK 2823 to Schipol Airport via Istanbul. We would like to invite Business and First Class passengers to begin boarding the flight at Gate 107. Please have your passport and boarding card ready as you approach the desk."

Frank gathered his faux-leather carry-on bag and customarily patted his breast pocket to check once again that both passport and boarding card were still in place. He took one last look out at the runway and the blackness beyond, before turning towards the desk.

Once onboard, Frank retrieved his laptop from his bag before stowing the rest of his luggage above his head. He took his seat in the aisle, nodding politely to the woman sat at the window who caught his eye. She smiled, kindly. "Are you excited to be going to Amsterdam?" she asked, in what Frank believed to be a Dutch accent.

Frank smiled. "Of course" he replied politely.

"I hate it there" she said, turning to look out of the window before continuing, "It's too busy with tourists. I'm from the South, I was born on the waterways. I can't wait to get home."

Frank grinned as he busily switched on the computer and entered his password. "If it helps, I won't be staying in Amsterdam either" he said, jovially, glancing at the back of her head as she continued to look out of the window. "I've taken a job in the South, very close to the waterways" he finished.

The woman snapped her head around, angry at the stranger's taunt. To her surprise however, his smile showed him to be genuine, and she softened. "Where will you be working?" she enquired, curiously.

Frank didn't answer immediately. He opened his email application with a knowing look in his eye and glanced sideways at her. "We have a few hours. Can I get you a drink?" he asked. "Perhaps you can coach me on how to avoid becoming a 'busy tourist' while I'm there."

The woman smiled warmly. "A drink would be great" she said, "but the flight won't be long enough to coach you I'm afraid, Englishman."

Frank laughed loudly. He pressed the call button above his head and leant back into his chair. His fresh start had already begun.

I hope you enjoyed this update. Stay tuned for more details on Frank's next destination for FM22 coming very soon.

Thanks for reading. I've been FM Athlete. You've been "bamboozled". See you next time.