“Miami Heat” - La Plata: Vice #FM22 — CoffeehouseFM

Previously on La Plata: Vice, Ángel Bastardo assembled the greatest squad Inter Miami has ever owned.

In February 2022, Inter Miami moved to the 25,000 capacity “Freedom Park” (in FM22).

Intro

Hello! Chris (FMEadster) recently asked me on stream as to which I prefer: Blogging or Streaming. My response should not be a shock to anybody who knows me, it’s a resounding preference to blogging with words (with the occasional GIFGoal). I love to document my saves, and The MLS Save is no different. Whilst it’s great to catch up in a call with Chris and have some good laughs with others that drop in…there is something sacred about immortalising the save into words. I guess La Plata: Vice is my…erm…vice.

It’s why I am here to document at the halfway(ish) point of our second, and final, MLS season. Does Moneyball work? How good is Gonzalo Higuaín? Are the “Miami Galácticos” on course for more trophies? If you want to know my answer to any of those questions, then read on…

Does Moneyball work?

The in-game date of the save is currently 01 June 2022, and I feel I am now in a place to look back and evaluate on whether the data-led scouting approach is paying off for Inter Miami. We’ve played a lot of the MLS Eastern Conference teams already, and we’ve squared off against Chris’ Portland Timbers in the CONCACAF Champions League - who are arguably the second best team in the North American Continent. After 15/16 matches, the trends of the season are starting to reveal themselves. Just to recap on previous posts:

Part One introduced the data-led methodology, and proposed the 2022 recruitment targets.
Part Two updated us on how recruitment went.

Now in the third and final act, let’s see how three of the data-led picks are doing…

Oneil Fisher (Free Transfer as part of Re-Entry draft)

Defensively speaking, Oneil Fisher was one of the most solid players in 2021 MLS. He topped FM Stag’s data tableau for defensive performances, and he’s continued this form into 2022 MLS. His blocks and interceptions are way above the MLS average and he’s managed to find gametime at both Right Back and Left Back by being Natural in both positions. To get him for free via the Re-Entry draft was exceptional business, and fully vindicates the approaches Stag and I took back at the end of 2021. MONEYBALL.

Carlos Rivas (Free transfer from Colombian 2nd Division)

Without a shadow of a doubt, I would have overlooked Colombian Carlos Rivas when looking at expiring contracts…if it not for Stag’s data-led scouting. He hardly dominated the Colombian 2nd Division for goals, but there was a glimpse of magic there having topped successful dribbles and completed passes for any in-scope expiring Striker across all loaded leagues of the save. I didn’t need another expensive striker, after all I had Gonzalo Higuaín for that. Instead, I needed a guy who was willing to come on and stretch the play with good athleticism when Big G Man was tired or rested.

Carlos’ rawness is unrivalled (see Shoots With Power during the streams), and it made for some good on-air laughs between Chris and I. But Carlos is slowly easing his way into the realms of success as an effective Striker for us. He broke his MLS goal scoring duck in incredible style with 4 goals away at Montréal and he followed that up with a winner in his next match Vs Chicago Fire. That’s six crucial MLS points paid back already for his no-risk signature, and with Higuaín’s month long injury keeping him out of June…it’s time for Carlos Rivas to lead the Miami line!

Esteban Andrada ($12m Designated Player signing)

People make history, even when they don’t know they’re making it. The same could be said about us as FM players in our own Save Universes, right?

The signing of Esteban Andrada divided literally tens of people who follow the stream/blog save…because I went against the common approach of signing attacking players as Designated Players. I made history, and instead went big on an overlooked position within the side: the Goalkeeper (that guy between two vertical posts who can prevent goals being conceded). I already explained why I opted for Esteban Andrada last time out, so there’s no need to go over old ground. But, more importantly, let’s see how he is doing…

From the above plot we can see that Esteban is making saves and preventing goals, better than most of his peers. Unsurprisingly then, his MLS metrics are some of the league’s best:

1st in goals conceded per 90 (0.69).
2nd in xG prevented (3.87).
2nd in save % (86%) and 1st in xSave % (90%).
3rd in shutouts (7 goals conceded in 16 games).

To answer my original question: Does Moneyball work? Well, it’s working for me. The term ‘Moneyball’ is tongue in cheek, it means a lot of different things to different people…but being led by the data seems to have worked for us.

Gonzalo Higuaín - “The Scourge Of Portland”

It’s mad to think back to the time when Gonzalo Higuaín looked like he couldn’t kick a ball further than 2 meters in this save. Our Vice Captain led a couple of team mutinies in the early days of 2021, and I genuinely thought he’d have to be moved on due to him becoming the rotten apple in the side. Fast forward a year and he’s undoubtedly the first name on the team sheet…he’s become an icon of The MLS Save and a scourge to poor Chris Eadie (FMEadster).

Gonzalo Higuaín has scored EIGHT and assisted one goal in four competitive games against Portland Timbers. He’s scored 16 in 14 starts (all comps) so far in 2022, including four consecutive hat-tricks (a personal FM record for me thinking back). How, and why, has he blossomed like this at the age of 34? Well, it’s difficult to pin it all on one factor. Perhaps it’s a combination of the move to a front two…and recruiting better players supplying him with the chances to convert?

He’s the most advanced Striker, playing off the shoulders of the opposition as our Poacher. I had no doubts about his Technical or Mental abilities in FM22, he’s an absolute monster…albeit declining physically. It took me a while (maybe too long?) to realise that he needed to be front-and-centre in putting away the chances we created during Season 1. I’m therefore now playing three wide/wise men, who supply him in the 4-4-2 (with an intentional overload on the left wing, with an attacking Full-Back running into space vacated by our Inverted Winger). In addition, I’ve recruited Edwin Cardona as a creative specialist from set plays; whose delivery is one of the best I’ve seen in Football Manager.

At the age of 34, is Gonzalo getting better? 🍷

A more settled off-season, with our business being conducted early, maybe factors in too. The Inter Miami squad certainly has a better cohesion about it, unlike last season where it felt like I was walking into a new franchise where nobody knew/liked one another. A happy Higuaín is a hungry Higuaín, and the statistics/GIFGoals don’t lie:

MLS xG of 0.52 per 90, but has an actual of 1.03 goals per 90 🔥
61% shots are on target, with a 32.26% overall conversion rate from all shots.
16 goals in 14 starts (all comps), which include six goals in two CONCACAF legs Vs Portland Timbers. As shown below…

All six Higuain goals from the CONCACAF QF matches on loop.

2022, the story so far…

Major League Soccer

Back-to-back defeats Vs The Union left me a little fearful about 2022, but we’ve since gone on a really strong run. I’m confident we’ll make the playoffs (top 7), which is where the real fun begins…but there is a familiar foe at the summit of the Supporters’ Shield: Portland Timbers.

CONCACAF Champions League Debut

We’re embarking on a maiden voyage into the CONCACAF Champions League this year, with MLS and Mexican clubs entering at the First Round Knockout Stage. From here, it’s pure luck as to who you can get, so I was delighted to face-off against Canadian league side Forge FC. It was an easy two legs against Force FC, and a harder task awaited in the Quarter Finals: reigning champions Portland Timbers.

I’ve already mentioned what Gonzalo Higuaín did to FM Eadster’s Portland Timbers, but the Devil is in the detail. The two matches were a rollercoaster, and I felt Portland could/should have been a clear 2 or 3 goals up in the first half of the first match. They were electric. But as the matches went on, Inter Miami grew into the Quarter Final despite being behind four times in the tie. That’s quite extraordinary, isn’t it? Four times facing an exit…only to keep coming back. Eadie/Samba-ball (or whatever we’re calling it nowadays) must absolutley hate us.

Inter Miami 6-5 Portland Timbers.

The QF knockout tie were so enjoyable that I made a Jim Halpert meme about it…

4 months left…

With the 2022 Qatar World Cup causing a riot with the MLS scheduling, we only have four in-game months left of soccer to play. Games are therefore going to come thick and fast, as we juggle CONCACAF, US Open Cup and MLS [+ hopefully subsequent playoffs]. The two season save has been everything we’ve both wanted in terms of drama and narratives, and I am personally looking forward to see how far I can take this Inter Miami side before waving goodbye to this soccer nation.

If watching any of that interests you, check us out over on 📺 twitch.tv/fm_grasshopper (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays). Where Chris and I stream every kick of The MLS Save.

Waving goodbye in my terms also means a heavy dose of incoming CreativeFM™ in order to wrap up the story, and link previous La Plata threads together. We’re a trilogy remember, and Hugo Ojeda will soon need to make an appearance…

As always, thanks for reading/sharing/caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper