First Eleven | #4 - The Surprise Package

March 10, 2023

Welcome back again to Vienna where, having successfully nudged First Vienna to top flight survival last term, Frank Athlete is now looking to solidify their place in the division and start building a foundation for future success. This season he’ll look to avoid another relegation scrap and try to get more points on the board early on. Let’s see how it went…

Season Summary

Season: 2025/26
Division: Austrian Bundesliga
Expectations: Attempt to avoid relegation

Squad Changes

Transfers in: Mattia Novella (WBR), Gubbio (€0); Teun Wilke Braams (ST), SPAL (€0); Jannis Heuer (DC), VfL Osnabruck (€0); Lohann Doucet (DMC), Unattached (€0)
Youth promotions: None
Added to loan list: Antonio Paric (AMC); Tobias Quiroga (AMC)
Transfers out: Sebastien Da Silva (ST), JA Drancy (€0)

Preseason

Our narrow survival last season sees us pitched as heavy favourites to face the drop again this year and so Frank is looking to inject some quality into the side having stayed up largely thanks to the same team that won promotion from the second division. Sebastien Da Silva’s high wages and poor performances meant he was moved on and replaced by Wilke Braams, a quality Pressing Forward with some impressive stats to his name from the previous season. Novella comes in to strengthen our right wing back position and Jannis Heuer will play in the centre of our defence as a Libero. The final piece of the puzzle was an athletic midfielder to sit alongside Zuelli and help get us up the pitch. Lohann Doucet is an absolute steal, coming in on a free transfer.

League Performance

The team were keen to avoid a repeat of last season and so getting points on the board early on would be crucial to ensuring survival. A 94th minute penalty in our opening game was slotted home by Zaza to bag us full points against Lustenau and this was followed by a bore draw against Klagenfurt in the next fixture to take our tally to 4 points, almost half of what we’d managed across the whole of last season!

Defeats to Sturm Graz and Rapid Vienna were interspersed with two more wins against Altach and Hartberg so that come the end of August we were comfortably in mid-table with 10 points from our opening six games. Frank and his men maintained this form through to December with as many wins coming as we got defeats, and an impressive 2-2 draw in the home tie against Rapid.

As we entered the winter break, there was absolutely no doubt that we had improved dramatically and that our new recruits were playing a significant role in our ascension up the table. In one transfer window we had managed to transform the side from relegation strugglers to an established mid table side and while anything could still go wrong when the league resumed in February, there was every reason for Frank to feel optimistic.

Our central defence were lacking in depth and quality with both Bartley and Kreuzhuber starting to show their age. Frank brought in Madi Monamay on loan from Bayer Leverkusen and had intended that this would be the only bit of business done. Unfortunately, a bid came in from Kisvarda for goalkeeper Tobias Schutzenhauer and with the fee at €525K and the club really struggling financially, it became essential that the bid be accepted.

With only two days remaining until the Transfer Window slammed shut, the recruitment team scrambled to find a replacement but struggled to find a long term solution. Filip Ulrich was the short-term answer, signing on loan from Sparta Prague until the end of the season. He was no match for Schutzenhauer but was still an upgrade on the backup option.

The season resumed at the start of February but a combination of a new goal keeper still bedding in, and some tough opponents in quick succession, meant that our good form was left firmly in 2025. A win and a draw from five games was only enough to see us finish in 8th place, very comfortable in the end and only four points shy of reaching the Championship Group for the final stage of the season.

As it was, we qualified for the Relegation Group instead, but with ourselves and Ried finishing 11 and 12 points respectively above 9th placed Altach, we had a distinct advantage as we headed into the final stage of the season.

A defeat at home to Hartberg in the first game meant we got off to the wrong start, but back to back wins against Klagenfurt and then Ried saw us recover somewhat and return to 8th place. Unfortunately consecutive defeats in our next two games ensured we were in for a topsy-turvy ride, but what happened next was a real surprise and quite incredible considering where we were at the start of the season.

Four straight wins saw us climb to seventh in the league, and in pole position to qualify for a European Place Playoff. A point was required in the final game against Lustenau who had themselves climbed from 12th up to 8th, and a point is what we got! The reward was another game against Lustenau, three days after the last one where victory would see First land a place in the Playoff Final against FK Austria Wien. Remarkably, this was achieved with a 2-0 away win, while the final would be played over two legs in a few days time.

We’d not managed a win against FK Austria Wien all season and so despite landing a spot in the final, we were already resigned to the fact that we’d likely be well beaten. With the pressure off, and the first leg at home we did however manage to press our advantage and secured a 2-0 win with Wilke Braams coming through in the 89th minute to grab the second goal. The second leg would be a testy affair, and FK certainly showed their superiority, taking the lead in the first half and creating more opportunities than we could muster for oursleves.

Somehow, despite being outclassed, we kept the score at 1-0 and so across the two legs we managed to win and qualify for the Europa Conference League! Our on-field success also saw Frank recognised for his leadership as he bagged the Manager of the Year Award as well.

Cup Performance

Another poor showing in the ÖFB Cup saw us exit in the Second Round for the third year in a row, this time at the hands of LASK. I really hope that at some point we can string a decent cup run together but this year it wasn’t to be.

Conclusion

Yet another incredible end to a season, this time with the team qualifying for Europe! We’ve gone from relegation strugglers to European qualifiers in one year which is genuinely amazing. Looking ahead, next season will be hard to build on this campaign’s successes, and budgets are likely to be tight again as we try to steady the ship at the moment. The club are really struggling financially right now and so hopefully the prospect of extra income from European games will help us build a solid foundation for future growth.

Competition Overview

Austrian Bundesliga

Expectation: 12th

Actual: 8th & UECL qualification

Summary: A mid-table finish and qualification for Europe are both amazing achievements considering we only just survived in the division last season.

Best moment: Securing our safety with games to spare was the real success story this year, UECL qualification is a bonus.

Low moment: The premature departure of our goalkeeper, Schutzenhauer, was a bitter blow in January, but all worked out well in the end.

ÖFB Cup

Expectation: Second Round

Actual: Second Round

Summary: Another disappointing campaign, with a third consecutive Second Round exit. Very annoying not to be able to get a good cup run together.

Best moment: As the Second Round draw was made and LASK were announced as our opponents, it felt like this might be our year to progress.

Low moment: Our First Round performance was quite poor, and it took a 90th minute penalty to secure the win for us.

Finances

We ended last season with an overall balance of -€2.1M and as you’ll see from this graph, we’re now in credit with €2.2M which is quite a jump considering where the club are at the moment.

A Board takeover has helped inject some funds into the club, and our continued progress in the top division has definitely helped with sponsorship and other income streams.

As I mentioned above, we will look to get ourselves as many wins in the UECL as we can to help bring in some extra cash, although it has become clear in post-season that our qualification will include some playoff matches before we reach the competition-proper. Hopefully we have enough about us to continue this trajectory we’re on at the moment.

One major thing that the cash injection has helped with is our ability to renew player contracts earlier in the season. This means they’ll maintain their value rather than running their contracts down, and so we can potetnitally make some money from sales as well.

End Credits

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. Special thanks to FM Rensie for the use of his Rensie skin, and to FM Stag for his essential guide to statistics in FM23.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘tearing off the wrapping paper’. See you next time.

First Eleven | #3 - Against All Odds

February 24, 2023

Hello, we’re back in Vienna for Frank Athlete’s and First Vienna’s first season back in the top flight - the Austrian Bundesliga. Promotion probably came a season too soon for Frank and his side, but they’ll attempt to give a good account of themselves and try to stay up if they can. Let’s see how it unfolded…

Season Summary

Season: 2024/25
Division: Austrian Bundesliga
Expectations: Attempt to avoid relegation

Squad Changes

Transfers in: Mick Gudra (AMC), TSV Steinbach (€0); Johannes Manske (ST), SV Meppen (€0); Tobias Schützenauer (GK), SC Austria Lustenau Jun. (€0); Iron Gomis (MC), Regensburg (Loan)
Youth promotions: None
Added to loan list: Tobias Quiroga (AMC)
Transfers out: Jonathan Breinl (DL), FC Wacker Innsbruck (€175K)

Preseason

Bizarrely, despite our promotion, a number of our players opted to leave at the end of their contracts and so not only were we in a situation of needing to strengthen the first eleven, we were also now needing to fill out the squad as well. The most notable departure was Andreas Lukse, who even at 36 years old, was still capable of being a top division goal keeper. Evidently he decided to retire from playing and fancied himself as a Manager, although no one has been willing to test his skillset just yet. In came Schützenauer to take the number 1 shirt, and he was swiftly joined by Johannes Manske who would operate as an Advanced Forward, and Mick Gudra who would play through the middle as an Advanced Playmaker.

Our central midfield didn’t have much depth but with budget running low, we turned to the loan market. Iron Gomis joins as a CM but can fill in as AP when needed. We didn’t have any youngsters ready to take the step up but with Ramic, Paric and Abazovic all still developing, we had plenty to work with.

Tactically, Frank continued with the 4-2-4 set up with the mentality set to Cautious. This had worked well when in another life, Frank had led an underdog Fortuna Dusseldorf side to glory in the German Bundesliga. Hopefully the tactic would hold here as well.

League Performance

The mission this season is just to survive so we’re not too worried about bad results, provided we can steal a few wins against our fellow strugglers. The media had predicted a 12th place finish and we were heavy favourites to return to the second division come seasons end.

Despite some optimism in the dressing room, our first few results suggested that this task might be too big to handle after all. Two of the teams we played in our opening five were sides that were expected to struggle alongside us. These were Lustenau and Tirol, and with home advantage in both games we thought this would be a great place to get some points on the board.

Errr… no.

Defeat after defeat put the team in peril, and even with Frank’s experience of managing struggling sides, there seemed to be nothing that would stop our demise. The saving grace was the fact that everyone (except myabe Frank) had foreseen this, and so expectations were already as low as they could be. There were no calls for him to get the sack, no votes of confidence from the board, just a quiet acceptance that this was all too much for us.

Tactical tweaks, changes to personnel, switching instructions - nothing seemed to make a difference. After fifteen (yes, 15!) straight losses and umpteen adjustments to our tactic, it was time to start again.

Many of the goals we conceded were either from a ball over the top where our central defenders were too slow to catch them, or from crosses into the middle which we couldn’t handle. Frank’s first decision here was to play three at the back with two wingbacks. We would sacrifice our attacking prowess on the flanks for some much needed stability in defence.

The next change was in the central midfield pairing. We needed men behind the ball and so both players were pushed back into the DM strata where we could create a bottleneck for our opposition and prevent them playing through the middle. the AP switched to a BWM so we could be more compact, and the CM was changed to a Segundo Volante. This second role was one Frank hadn’t tried before, but with late runs into the box and a desire to dribble through the middle, the hope was this player could help us transition quickly into a counter attack when the opportunity would arise.

This left three spaces for players in the attacking area. Two up top, one to press and one to get on the end of good chances, and then to support them, an Advanced Playmaker would be the main creative outlet, feeding the front two as much as possible.

In terms of instructions, the idea here is to press the opposition, steal the ball and counter quickly. On the defensive, the only obvious opportunties for the other team are to try a ball over the top which we hope our Libero will cut out, or use the pockets behind the wing backs so they can cross, but with so many players waiting in the middle, I’d like to think the odds would be in our favour to win the header and clear.

As any tactical expert will know, it takes a few games for the players to become familiar with the approach and so expecting an immediate improvement would be folly. Imagine our shock then, when away at Lustenau we managed a 0-0 draw! Our first points this season, and our first clean sheet as well. The next two matches were against FK Austria Vienna and RB Salzburg and so of course, normal service was resumed, but we did look more resiliant despite defeat. Tirol were our next opponents and here we claimed a famous victory which we followed with a home draw against Wolfsberger.

By January, we were in need of some re-enforcements. Our squad was young an inexperienced and so some wiser heads were needed to help steer us up the table. We invested heavily in defence, bringing in Englishmen Kyle Bartley and Marc Roberts on free transfers. Both were 33 years old and brought some physical attributes and technical ability to our struggling defence. Manuba would bring some youth and energy to the wing back role, as well as a “big club” mentality, joining on loan from Bayern Munich.

The final addition was to bring in the ageing Simone Zaza. We needed someone with a great work ethic to master the Pressing Forward role and Zaza really fit the bill. At 33 as well, he would add some much needed experience up top too.

With the Transfer Window now shut, attention returned to the league and with just a few games left of the normal season, we secured another win and another draw to take our tally to 9 points. We were still in 12th place and 8 points adrift, but we’d proven that we could win games which was key.

The next stage of the season sees the league split into the Championship Group (contested by the top six teams) and the Relegation Group (contested by the bottom six teams). Crucially, everyone’s points tally was halved for this part of the season. Suddenly our 8 point gap from safety was only 5 points which somehow felt more manageable. Eight of our nine points had come against teams in the Relegation Group so surely it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that we could notch up a few more wins in the process?

We started with a win, a loss and a draw which kept us rooted to the bottom of the table, yet we’d closed the gap significatly on Tirol who hadn’t been able to find a win yet and who were struggling under the weight of fixtures as a result of their prolonged run in the Europa League. Our next game was a win away at Altach and we followed it with another win away at Lustenau - our first consecutive victories this season. This also dragged First out of the relgation spot for the first time this year, and gave a glimmer of hope that survival really could be on the cards.

A win at home to Tirol put us three points ahead of them, but back to back defeats in the next two matches allowed them to keep within two points of us heading into the final game of the season. Only a win would do, and this was proved essential when Tirol ground out a 1-0 victory to put the ball firmly in our court.

Our response? A resounding 4-0 win over Lustenau a place in the Austrian Bundesliga for next season!!!

Cup Performance

Our run in the ÖFB Cup was shortlived once again with the side exiting in the Second Round for the second year in a row, this time at the hands of Sturm Graz.

Conclusion

What an incredible end to the season! From starting out with 15 straight defeats to securing our safety on the final day, it really was a rollercoaster of a ride.

There’s a lot of work to do to make sure we’re not in this position next year, but with the players we brought in in January opting to stay for at least another year, I think we’re starting from a much better position now. Frank’s also been researching tactical changes ahead of next season and has been inspired by a fellow manager, CultofFM, who’s 3-4-3 system is very similar to the one First Vienna have been using, but is potentially more balanced in terms of the roles deployed. Preseason will tell whether a few extra tweaks to our own set-up might help us shore things up further.

Competition Overview

Austrian Bundesliga

Expectation: 12th

Actual: 11th

Summary: We survived, against all the odds. An incredible achievement really, given the gulf in class between us and our opponents!

Best moment: That first point on the board was such a relief, especially since it came from a change to the tactoc that almost had an immediate impact.

Low moment: Pick any of the first fifteen games! They were all low, and you start to question whether you have any idea what you’re doing.

ÖFB Cup

Expectation: Second Round

Actual: Second Round

Summary: Another early exit. Annoying that for both rounds we were away, maybe a home tie might give us a slight advtantage.

Best moment: We won in the first round, and since it was ourt first competitive game of the season we were blissfully unaware of the woe that would follow. Happier times!

Low moment: Defeated again, albeit during a run of the worst league form I’ve seen of any time!

Finances

I had thought that promotion might mean a bigger income through prize money, TV rights and sponsorship, and early signs suggested this might be the case. The larger spike towards the right hand side is the money coming in in the Summer as a result of our first division status.

However, it turns out, that since no one gave us a hope in hell of survival, we weren’t able to capitailse on any other potential increases to revenue streams this year. We’re still footing the bill for the undersoil heating that the league made us install as well so we are in real trouble at the moment.

In twelve months we’ve more than doubled our debt and no doubt this will start to impact us in terms of transfer budget for next season. I haven’t been able to secure anyone on long term contracts either so trying to sell players for profit is tough as well.

Our only hope is to continue to manage costs best we can and then to try and establish ourselves as a top flight side. Eventually, qualifying for European football will at least start to bring in extra monty but that is surely 3-4 seasons away at this point.

End Credits

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘listening to too much Phil Collins’. See you next time.

First Eleven | #2 - Dare to Dream

February 10, 2023

Welcome back to Vienna and to Frank Athlete’s second season in charge at First Vienna in the Austrian second division. After a surprising first season back in the league in which the side finished in 3rd place, now Frank looks to build on that foundation and attempt to win promotion to the Austrian Bundesliga within the next two years. Here we go…

Season Summary

Season: 2023/24
Division: Austrian 2. Liga
Expectations: Top half finish

Squad Changes

Transfers in: Enrique Wild, DL, LASK Amateure OÖ (€0); Prince Mumba, AMR, Istra 1961 (€0); Guillaume Furrer, AML, Freiburg (€0); Sébastien Da Silva, ST, Laval (€0); Zvonimir Vukoja, MC, Posušje (Loan)
Youth promotions: Tobias Quiroga, AMC
Added to loan list: Jonathan Breinl, DL
Transfers out: Bernhard Luxbacher, MC, BW Linz (€0)

Preseason

Having only recruited one player in the January transfer window, and with several more opting to leave at the end of the season, there were quite a few holes in the squad that needed filling. A back up left back was required to provide competition for Lercher and alternative options on both flanks was also needed, as well as an out and out Deep Lying Forward and a decent playmaker too.

Frank brought in a player for each of those positions, with the pick of the crop being Furrer who could really play on either wing and will offer competition to Itamar Noy. The players bedded in well during the pre season friendlies as the side lost one, drew three and won three.

League Performance

Three of our opening four games were against the three teams slated by the bookies to finish in the top three this season, and as First Vienna secured maximum points, it was clear that we would also be a team in amongst the promotion fight. Five more wins, a draw and three defeats saw the team in top spot by the end of October. The crucial differene so far this season, compared to the previous campaign, was our ability to convert draws into wins. Of the 27 goals scored in those opening matches, 11 of them had come in the last 15 minutes, suggesting that we were capable of overpowering our opponents in the latter stages of the game as they got more tired.

Despite the positive progress so far, the final few games of the calendar year were a nervy affair. The team managed 0 wins in four, with the results being a loss and three draws as we headed into the Winter break. Those poor performances had Frank considering the need for a plan ‘B’ for when the tactic wasn’t delivering as expected. It seemed the side were sometimes overrun in midfield, a consequence of having two advanced roles in the middle. With the transfer window open once again, Frank set about identifying alternative options for central midfield. Nicolas Zdichynec signed on loan from divisional rivals Ried, while Emanuele Zuelli came in on a free transfer. Both could play a more defensive role in the middle, and Frank’s plan was to deploy a Ball Winning Midfielder in the DM strata to provide additional cover when needed.

As the season recommenced in February, First Vienna hit the ground running. Draws against fellow title challengers Reid and Admira were the only points dropped in the next ten games, as the team restored themselves to top spot, albeit with Ried still hot on their heels. Entering the final four games of the season, First found themselves in a three way title race.

Crucially, Ried and Admira would play each other which might prove to be the pivotal match, although both would also play Amstetten who were wavering in mid table despite being tipped for a promotion push before the start of the season. With Rapid Wien II up first on Vienna’s fixture list, a local derby should be exactly what was needed to get the pulses racing. Despite Frank’s optimism, things did not go to plan as his side were defeated 3-2, despite leading 2-1 on 78 minutes. To make things worse, Ried and Admira both won and so First slipped to second place, 2 points off the top and 3 above third.

A win against Horn helped ensure the dream was kept alive, but with the two rivals managing to draw in their grudge match, First returned to the top of the table, level on points with Ried but ahead on goal difference. Two games left and all to play for.

Next up was another Vienesse side, Young Violets Austria, who were wallowing in the relgation zone and so surely wouldn’t pose much of a threat? Wrong of course! Vienna found themselves 3-0 down after an hour, and despite a late surge, the score finished 4-2 to the youngsters. Incredibly, Ried managed to lose their penultimate game too, while Admira were able to capitalise and take the three points in their match.

With only one game to go, just two points seperated the three sides. Ried and First on 57 points, Admira on 55. Reid were only able to draw, while Admira took all the points at home to Amstetten. Vienna needed a win, a draw wouldn’t be enough since Admira had the superior goal difference. After 17 mins, First were 2-0 up, but 13 minutes later found themselves 3-2 down! An equaliser on the stroke of half time made the team talk somewhat easier, and after a nervy 40 minutes in the second half, Noy converted a penalty and it was enough to win. Vienna were champions, despite their best efforts to bottle it!

What a fantastic end to the season. I really didn’t think promotion would be on the cards this year, especially given the squad strength of our rivals. We’ve now given ourselves a mammoth task for next season of trying to stay in the top flight.

Cup Performance

The ÖFB Cup was another short lived campaign. A comfortable win in the First round set up a Second Round tie against FK Austria Vienna. Despite the progress the team have made, we were no match for their superior technical ability adn they comfortably defeated us 2-0.

Conclusion

Next season will be a big step up for the team, and avoiding relegation will inevitably be the only objective. The Austrian Bundesliga is quite a split division, with 6 or 7 teams routinely competing for European qualification, and the rest playing for their survival. Points will be hard to come by and hard earned but hopefully we can scrape enough to stay there. Since budget is such an issue at the moment, we’ll be looking to reduce our squad size in favour of offering more wages to first team starters. Hopefully that will help attract some better players.

Competition Overview

Austrian 2. Liga

Expectation: 7th

Actual: 1st

Summary: A superb season, ending with a thrilling title race where the team were ultimately crowned division champions!

Best moment: The final game of the season. Momentum in the match swayed wildly back and forth, with Vienna eventually securing the win and the title in the process.

Low moment: A dreadful run in November allowed the other title challengers to stake their claim and ensure it was a close run thing.

Austrian Cup

Expectation: Second Round

Actual: Second Round

Summary: Not a great contest, but hardly our priority this season. We have a long way to go to be competitive with the top division sides.

Best moment: Errr…. I guess the wsole vicotry would have been the highlight, but not much to write home about given the oppositiion.

Low moment: Defeat in the Second Round is of course a disappointment, but as mentioned above, we’re not able to compete aginst those top division sides yet.

Facts & Figures

Given our title winning run, of course our statistics suggest we were one of the stronger teams. but actually we performed below the league average in both goals conceded and xG per game. This is definitely something we can try and address as we start to recruit for the Bundesliga, but I also think it’s linked to the tactic we’ve been using. Next year, the step up is significant and so employing a cautious approach will be essential to trying not to leak too many goals.

Financially, we are bang in trouble! The first season saw some sensible spending and careful management of the finances, but promotion to the Bundesliga means we have to invest in undersoil heating which has plunged us deep into the red. The impact this will likely have on the transfer and wage budget could be significant but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

End Credits

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First Eleven | #1 - A Fine if Unspectacular Job

December 2, 2022

Welcome to Austria and the beautiful city of Vienna where Frank M. Athlete has recently taken charge of Austria’s oldest club, First Vienna. In case you missed the introductory post, the plan here is to restore Vienna to the top division and win the title within eleven years. Let’s begin…

Season Summary

Season: 2022/23
Division: Austrian 2. Liga
Expectations: Mid-table

Squad Changes

Transfers in: Itamar Noy, AML/MC, Bnei Lod (€0); Dalibor Velimirovic, DC/DM, Rapid Wien II (€0); Felix Seiwald, DM/MC, Ried (Loan); Daniel Owusu, AMR, RB Salzburg (Loan)
Youth promotions: Kerim Abazovic, DC; Antonio Paric, MC; Edvin Ramic, ST
Added to loan list: None
Transfers out: None

Preseason

With the first transfer window switched off, Frank was left to work with what he already had in the squad. At its core, it’s quite a strong side, albeit with very little depth. Lukse (GK), Auer (DR), Kreuzhuber (DC), D. Luxbacher (MC), Grozurek (AML) and Alar (ST) are all over 30, but form a spine of experience and resilience for the youngsters to rally behind.

The previous manager’s newest recruits in Velimirovic (DM) and Noy (AML) bring some much needed quality to those two key positions, while First’s academy graduates add some raw talent to the mix in the shape of Steiner (DC), Paric (MC) and Ramic (ST). The loan additions of Seiwald (MC) and Owusu (AMR) add real strength as well, and as such the media are predicting a mid table finish of 8th.

Since the team are newly promoted this season, Frank set up with a structured yet cautious tactic in a 4-1-4-1 formation. This seemed to perform well during preseason with back-to-back 7-0 wins. The DM was very effective at tidying up any attempted through balls, while the wide midfielders were able to join the attack when we could hit teams on the counter.

What Frank hadn’t anticipated when taking the role, was the playing squad’s total rejection of his managerial credentials. To say they weren’t in favour of his appointment is an understatement, they hated him. In fact, their discontent with Frank seemed to be the only thing that actually united the squad in those early weeks and months. Results on the pitch, team selection for match day, even praising training performances seemed to have little to no effect on their feelings, and in some cases only made things worse.

League Performance

On the pitch, the season didn’t start quite as planned. Seven draws and one defeat from the opening ten games left the side in 7th place which was not bad at all, but with four of those draws ending 0-0, it was clear that our desire to defend was hampering our ability to score at the other end. Frank opted to stick with the process and didn’t make any tactical changes at this point, with his decision vindicated in the next match, a 3-0 resounding win at Sturm Graz II.

Unfortunately, two consecutive defeats followed and so a slight tweak in roles was made to the central midfield pairing for the remaining three games of this calendar year before the winter break. The DLP switched to an AP, while the CM-S became more advanced as a CM-A. The intent here was to get more bodies forward when on the counter attack, and hopefully bag a few more goals in the process. It didn’t fail, nor did it really succeed. Two more 0-0 draws and a win in the last few games left the team in 8th place by the end of 2022.

Since their current position was exactly where they wanted to be, it’s hard to say it was a disappointment at this stage of the season, but with so many draws amongst the results, it definitely felt like the team were under achieveing.

As the squad went off for a mid season break, their hatred for Frank was still rife as well, casting a shadow across the club. Several of the players had expressed discontent at not getting the playing time they wanted, and this was now adding to the adverse effects of the dressing room as well. Frank distracted himself by thumbing through the scout reports his recruitment team had sent him. A new DL was top of the shopping list as we currently only have one player able to play there, and he’s one of the more vocal ones when sharing his displeasure at Frank’s presence, not to mention being on loan and so hardly a long-term solution.

Lercher (DL) was signed, and not wanting to add to the dressing room problem, Frank opted to stick with just the one transfer for now. When the squad returned for training in January, three first team players announced that they would be consdiering their options at the end of their contracts in June. One of these was Andreas Lukse, the goalkeeper, and so Frank attempted to talk him round and get him to stay for another year. Big mistake. This only seemed to anger him more and so the conversation was cut short, and Lukse would indeed be considering a move away at the end of the season. The other two players were less of a concern, Frank had already decided they would be surplus to requirements next year, and their departure might actually help to improve the atmosphere around the club.

The other thing that Frank and his coaching staff had been working on over the winter was a new tactic. Having now played each team once, it was clear that defensively, First were more than a match for thier opponents. Where the team seemed to be lacking was with bagging some goals, and so Frank felt a need to take more risks in the middle by losing the DM, in favour of adding an extra striker to add more varierty in attack.

The wide players were also pushed into the attacking midfield strata which was offset by dropping the team mentailty from Balanced to Cautious, and the Work Ball into Box instuction was added alongside Shorter Passing so as to try and imrpove the team’s possesssion statistics which had been woeful so far. The overall idea was simple: with not much technical ability in the squad, the team could patiently probe the opposition to find the perfect opening, and then have 3 or 4 options in attack to apply the finish.

The season resumed in February and the tactic proved to be the perfect blend of risk and reward. Goals were no longer an issue and the side managed to take 13 points from the first four matches, netting ten times in the process.

Their form continued as they secured 4 more wins in their next 6 games, with the other two ending in defeat - both narrow 1-0 losses. Thanks to the winning formula, First Vienna climbed up the table and in to 4th place with just four games remaining. The media, desperate to give the end of the season more of a narrative, even included First in the “title race”, despite them being 9 points adrift of St.Polten in 1st place. All this positive press and results on the pitch had at least helped with the dressing room atmosphere and as the side headed into the their final few games they were able to remain unbeaten and secure a 3rd place finish. Not bad at all for Frank’s first season in charge, and for a newly promoted team back in the second tier.

Crucial to the team’s success were the performances of one or two key individuals. First and foremost, Itamar Noy started the season playing centrally, but once employed as an Inside Forward on the left hand side he really made his contribution felt in every match. It was also a great season for Edvin Ramic, the young striker who only graduated form the youth set up this year. He came in to the side in Febuary, netting 5 goals in 12 matches and showing that age is just a number. He’ll be one to watch next season I expect as well.

Cup Performance

The ÖFB Cup served as a good distraction during the early stages of the season. A solid win in the first round set up a good tie in the next one, with First able to overcome divisional rivals, Amstetten, 4-1.

The third round drew them against Admira, another side from the second division, but on this occasion they were just too strong and the game ended in a 1-0 defeat. Despite the loss, this was still ahead of the pre-season expectation so not too disappointed, especially as the cup was far from being a priority this season.

Conclusion

Lot’s to do in preparation for next season. It’s now clear that this side aren’t too far away from winning promotion and Frank’s aim is to have that done within the next two seasons. There are a lot of players leaving over the Summer and so recruitment will be tough in a very competitive market, but with the right recruits we should be capabale of matching our results from this season.

Competition Overview

Austrian 2. Liga

Expectation: 8th

Actual: 3rd

Summary: A season of two halves, with a fairly average start to the camapign, giving way to a superb finish as we rose up the table.

Best moment: A comfortable 2-0 victory over eventual title winner St. Polten in April was proof that we really could beat anyone on our day.

Low moment: The long process of winning over the players support made this a really tough season with a lot of careful man management required to keep everyone on side.

Austrian Cup

Expectation: Second Round

Actual: Third Round

Summary: Nothing to write home about, but a decent couple of wins, and an expected defeat in the third round.

Best moment: Seven goals scored and only two conceded from the three games. Not a bad return, but not enough to make it to the Quarter Finals.

Low moment: A narrow 1-0 loss in the Third Round came in between consecutive league defeats, which culminated a poor run.

Facts & Figures

First Vienna’s departure from the professional football leagues a few years ago was largely down to significant mismanagement of the club, and as such, from a financial standpoint, it’s been a long road back for them. Now, a year in to their first season back in the second division, and you can see that the improved access to sponsorship, match day income and TV rights has brought financial stability to the club. Over €300k in profit is a huge amount at this level of Austrian football, and although across the course of next season these funds will be depleted, they still give a good platform to build from.

Statistically, I mentioned already that possession was a big problem for First at the mid-way point of the season, but the tactical tweaks made during the winter break saw them keep the ball much better and that’s reflected in the league comparison, where they feature in the middle of the graph.

In an attacking sense, the team were above the league average in all categories except pass completion, while defensively there’s definitely some work to be done to make improvements for next season. In particular, tackles attempted and blocks made are both lower than the league average, which I wonder whether that could be an issue with bravery and aggression. Definitely something to explore further.

Around the Grounds

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

VVV-Venlo & Lone Central Defender by FM Rensie

Up The Invicta (Dafuge) | #1 | Prologue and Day One by FM Oaky

Magari – 3 – You Can’t Always Get What You Want by FM Stag

'Glory is a Carnival' - IACC End of Season 1 Update by Ed Lasso

European Journeyman – First Month in the job by Dan Gear

“Rebuilding Ceuta in a 433” - Plazas de Soberanía by FM Grasshopper

HFC HAARLEM GLOBETROTTERS: PHASE 1 by MaddFM

The Journey Person. From Field to Favoured Personnel by FM Eadster

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.

End Credits

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

First Eleven | Prologue

October 21, 2022

Welcome along to a brand-new series for Football Manager 2023, entitled First Eleven. This year we’ll be leaving the calming waters of the River Rhine behind and travelling back to the River Danube for what I hope will be a one-club save at First Vienna. I’ve been wanting to do this save for a couple of years now and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in. Let’s just hope it’s not a total disaster and I don’t get sacked!

Background

If you’ve followed the blog in recent years, I’m sure it won’t come as a great surprise to learn that I enjoy layering geographical and historical narratives over my FM saves. In the last few editions of the game we’ve travelled across the Nordic region of Europe, been up and down two of Europe’s longest rivers in the Danube and the Rhine, and headed south to Turkey to manage the historic club of Trabzonspor.

This year’s project adopts a similar theme at First Vienna, with the club being the oldest side in Austria having been founded in 1894. They’re a member of the Club of Pioneers as well, a worldwide network of the oldest continuing association football clubs from each country. Vienna is also where my grandfather and great-grandparents descended from, and so it’s a city that’s very significant to me personally.

The club have endured hard times in recent years, and it’s my hope that, with the help of my alter-ego, Frank M. Athlete, we can restore the club to former glory and once again challenge for silverware on a regular basis.

About the Club

First Vienna, also known by their nickname, “Vienna”, play their home matches at the Hohe Warte Stadium in the 19th Vienesse district of Döbling. The side were formed as a result of English and Austrian gardeners playing football while working on Nathaniel Anselm von Rothschild’s estates in the 1890s. The story goes that Rothschild grew tired of his gardens being damaged by the ball and so he granted them a plot of land where they could play freely. The team’s blue and yellow colours are taken from their founder’s riding stable who’s jockey’s also wore blue and yellow on race day. The club crest features the triskelion which was incorprated into the design by Isle of Man descendant, William Beale who worked for Rothschild and played in the inaugural team.

Since their foundation the club have enjoyed some great success on the pitch, particularly during the late 1920s and into the 1930s where they secured two national titles and an Austrian Cup win. A decae later and they were at it again, this time securing three consecutive title wins between 1942 and 1944. In more recent years however, the club have gotten themsleves into a lot of off-field trouble. Licencing issues in the mid 2010s resulted in the club being docked significant points, and as such, faced relegation from the 2. Liga to Regionalliga Ost in 2014. Flash forward to 2017 where more trouble awaited as their main sponsor became insolvent, resulting in Vienna being declared bankrupt. Although they managed to stave off bankruptcy, their third tier title from the same season was witheld and instead the club were relegated to the fifth tier of Austrian football by court order.

Since their demise, the club have enjoyed back-to-back promotions, although the global pandemic did force them to remain in the fourth division for an extra season owing to the league being canclled in 2021. Now, Vienna have re-emerged from the lower leagues and are once again back in the 2. Liga and looking to restore themselves to the Austrian Bundesliga as soon as possible. Their real-world form at the time of writing puts them firmly in contention for promotion, which certainly bodes well for Frank if he can emulate their current success on the pitch. The challenge with this divisiion however, is that only the top team gains promotion and so there are no prizes for second place.

In terms of rivalries, Vienna is of course a city with football at it’s core, boasting the likes of Austrian Bundesliga heavy weights, Rapid Vienna and FK Austria, both of whom are a cut above First Vienna’s standard (for now at least). Their true city rival is Wiener Sport-Club, who alongside First Vienna, is considered a “small” club. In fact, the derby’s name is the “Small Vienna derby”, but since Sport-Club are in the division below at present, we’ll have to hope for a favourable cup draw if we’re too enjoy the magic of derby day once more.

Objectives

Something that really appeals about this save is just how difficult it will be to gain promotion to the Austrian Bundesliga. Only one team goes up each season which, as Wrexham are finding in the National League at the moment, basically means you need a flawless campaign to ensure you come out on top. Because of this, and because of how I like to play FM, I’m really reluctant to set myself too many goals or restrictions this year.

New Recruitment Focus feature (Credit: Sports Interactive)

I will be disabling the first transfer window, and I’ll also be enabling attribute masking which I find makes the experience slightly more authentic. I’ll avoid using the search function on the Scouting page, and instead rely on the recommendations of my staff, as you’d expect to happen in real world football management. The recent feature updates from SI suggest some tweaks and improvements to scouting and recruitment too and so I’m hopeful this will enhance the immersion as well.

Of course, as a football manager, my primary objective is to win things. We’ll start by winning the 2. Liga title, and then look to follow that up with a cup victory, and eventually will attempt to wrestle RB Salzburg’s hold over the Bundesliga off of them. They have now won the last nine titles and look set to add a tenth this yar as well so this will be no mean feat, much like Frank’s battle against Bayern Munich in Germany last year.

I don’t normally think too much about tactics before I start a save. I like to see what I’ve got in the squad first, and then try and get them playing in a manner that wins games. Whilst I won’t change my approach to begin with, I will look to implement a style of my own as my stock within the club increases. I like fast players, and so a style that allows teams to come on to us where we can then hit them on the break is always enjoyable to watch for me.

The only real restriction I will impose is time. I normally set out to play as many season’s as I possibly can, but the reality is that tends to be around 9 or 10 seasons. This year I’ll cap it at 11 seasons, and will attempt to win the Austrian Bundesliga within that time. I’m hoping that by having a final end date in mind, it might force me to take more risks and be more ruthless with who I sign, and who i cut from the team in the name of progress.

In case you weren’t sure, it’s the limitation of eleven seasons, coupled with the club that gives this series its name: First Eleven.

Game Set-up

One thing I regretted from last year’s Riding the Rhine series was that the English, Spanish and Italian leagues were never loaded. Of course, I had no intention of managing in those leagues which is why I left them out, but there is something to be said for having the league history from the big leagues kept up-to-date while you’re in the game. I enjoy looking across and seeing how things are developing in those legaues and so with that in mind, I’ll be loading a lot more leagues than necessary this year.

Since we’re going to be based in Austria’s second division, I’ll only load leagues that have the same or better reputation from each of the countries I’ve added. To begin with, I’ve included all neigbouring nations which are Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy. To supplement these, I’ll also add England, France and Spain so we get to see what’s going on elsewhere in the save universe.

I’ll be going for a Custom database, set to Large that includes ‘current internationals’ from each continent, plus ‘players from top division clubs’ for Europe and South America. For Europe, I’ll also include ‘players from top clubs’ and ‘players with continental experience’ as well, which will bring our player count up to around 100,000.

In terms of Frank’s manager profile, I’ll keep this as realistic as possible too. His qualifications and experience will be set one level below what the game suggests for First Vienna, and in terms of attribute distribution, i’ll opt for more experience with ‘mental coaching’ and ‘motivating players’ since these are where I think my strengths lie.

Around the Grounds

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

HFC Haarlem Globetrotters - Madd FM resurrects a side from Dutch football folklore while the legendary Ruud Gullit is reunited with the club where it all began for him

Oaky Goes Dafuge - FM Oaky tells us of his plans to complete the Dafuge Challenge, beginning at the bottom of the English football pyramid with a newly promoted team and taking them all the way to the top!

Why AD Ceuta FC in #FM23? - FM Grasshopper reveals his plans for FM23 as he heads to Spain… sort of

An Idiot Abroad - Dan Gear announces his journeyman save as he plans to travel the length and breadth of Europe in FM23

Building tactics around one central defender with VVV-Venlo - FM Rensie shares his reasoning bheinf choosing VVV-Venlo for his FM23 adventure

Central America to the Arctic Circle - FM YouthIntake gives an update on his FM23 plans as he looks to nurture some of South America’s hidden gems in the far reaches of the Northern hemisphere.

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 ‘beta testing’. See you next time.