Latte Quarterly - a development ☕📖

Dear Readers,

In the last couple of years I have developed an intolerance to coffee, which sucks.  But at least coffee helped me through the first 6-7 years of fatherhood.  Whilst it irks me that I’ll never taste my favourite fruity Colombian blend again, there is a certain amount of comic irony in how I continue to administrate the coffeehousefm.com website, and co-edit the Latte Quarterly e-magazine.  It seems coffee and I remain inseparable

At the time of writing this, Latte Quarterly e-magazine has been going for three full years now.  A quarterly cycle has been maintained, and we’ve seen it flourish into a cult favourite for a fair few folk.  Matt (fmadventure) and I have always been guys to dwell on things (a trait that can be seen as both negative as well as positive in FM).  Afterall, the e-magazine itself took about a year to get off the ground,  but it's been a collaboration I’ll never regret.  It has always been our intention to one day print LQ…at a time when print is in decline and writing about Football Manager has been dwarfed by the visual side of content creation.  But that does not bother us, we’re still committed to doing this more than ever.

So, I am delighted to report we’re almost there.  A physical copy of LQ at a relatively low fee in order to recover its cost if a certain number of copies are sold each quarter.  That’s where you come in.  Do you want a physical copy sent to your door, ensuring you’ll be the coolest person in the coffeehouse next time you visit?  You’ll be an environmentalist too, as it’s printed on recycled silk paper, carefully edited and composed by the most ardent of FM fans.  I feel you want this…maybe even deserve it, for sticking by us.

A printed version of Latte Quarterly Issue 12 (August 2022) is now available to buy for £3 (plus £1.50 postage) for UK readers on coffeehousefm.com/lattequarterly.  We have a Patreon for £2 per month to support us too, with quarterly issues henceforth delivered to your door.  If none of this interests you, but you still just want to buy us a coffee…you can do that also on the coffeehouse page.

 
 

Our Patreon: www.patreon.com/LatteQuarterly

But please don’t worry if you do not have money to spare on this, or are worried about the future of the magazine, it will always be available to read online for free.  It continues to be Matt and I’s insanely geeky hobby, and we’ll strive to always do our best with this.

Thank you for reading,

Tony / FM Grasshopper

How 17th Century Japanese strategy can make you a better Football Manager

Intro

Inspiration can come from unlikely places. I have a continually expanding list of football literature to read, and whilst they are interesting on the most part; it’s rare for them to get my creative juices flowing. Instead, I often sidestep and read up on other subjects that interest me, and Japanese military strategy is an example of that.

Of course, I’m no expert in military strategy…but the subject of Japan, especially it’s martial arts, has always fascinated me. Miyamoto Musashi, the author of The Book of Five Rings (1645) that has loosely inspired this offbeat FM blog, was a swordsman of the Kenjutsu school. Despite being published in the mid-17th Century, Musashi’s thoughts on philosophy and life through the engagements of battle can not only be applied to many parts of modern day real-life, but also in Football and in Football Manager too.

 
 

In this post, I’ll share a quote from Miyamoto Musashi and explain why I think it can make you a better Football Manager.


“The principle of strategy is having one thing, to know ten thousand things”

In a broader sense, this quote (and its wider chapter) highlights the difference between Oriental and Western outlooks on education. Simply put, the East likes specialisms…whereas us in the West like to educate our children to have a broad sense of many specialist areas. Musashi wants the reader to know that total proficiency in one’s pastime/skill can bring about a greater knowledge of other things in life.

Specialise your save

There’s no link to FM here Tony?!?”, I hear you ask. Well, what if you accept that your new save is about focussing in one area of the game? Be it: being a journeyman, maintaining a philosophy, focussing on transfers as a Director of Football, training for gains or youth development. The staff responsibilities screen, and the ability to delegate can drastically alter your save. I would even go as far as saying that many people who have been absent from Football Manager series for a decade do not know about the levels of customisation to make the game more streamlined. This ought to be screamed from the rooftops to get legacy players (who feel they no longer have the time to play) back into the game. It’s ok to “know one thing”.

Specialise your players

My other Football Manager sidestep is how I now play the game and rate its players. From time-to-time I have managed at a low level; whether that’s Mexico’s 2nd Division (FM20) or Brazilian lower leagues (FM22). By managing in a lower level, you accept that players will be inefficient at certain things. But it’s also worth keeping in mind that so too are the league opposition. Everything is relative. If a Winger has great acceleration and pace, but not much else…he can still be effective in a lower league. A defender with literally no Technicals is fine, just keep his play simple…have him specialise as a destroyer or non-nonsense type player. The players become specialised. It’s ok that they “know one thing”.


“It is difficult to move strong things by pushing directly, so you should injure the corners”

Miyamoto Musashi’s comments here relate to large scale battle, but the principle of what he is suggesting can be applied on the football pitch. Sometimes facing up your strength against the opposition will not be enough. Perhaps you need to find a weakness and alter your attack to “injure a corner” …and thus not engage the opposition head on.

There are several ways to do this in Football Manager. One way is consulting the scouting reports of the opposition each week. Not got a staff member doing that just yet? Get him/her focussed on providing you with one ahead of each game, there may be useful insight included which you can exploit.

Another way is simply a brief squad overview or previous line up analysis. Who’s in bad form right now? Whose condition is weakened by a run of games OR is a player coming back from long-term injury? Who doesn’t match up well against one member of your squad? Align your troops and “injure the corners”.


“The mountain-sea spirit means that it is bad to repeat the same thing several times when fighting the enemy (…) If you attempt a technique which you have previously tried unsuccessfully and fail yet again, then you must change your attacking method”

Miyamoto Musashi quote is based on a chapter around 1v1 sword technique. In 17th Century Kenjutsu, you’d likely have a maximum of two opportunities to change from a failed attack. Repeating it a third time would, in Musashi’s view, lead to a defeat.

In Football Manager strategy terms, this has been a common piece of discourse on the GrassNGear podcast, as Dan and I have often stressed the importance of attacking in a varied way. It’s a common sight, a tactic that has duplicated roles on each side…completely symmetrical. It can work…but you’re relying on the difference of those players through traits and attribute make-up to make the attacks varied. The same could be said for set pieces (Hi Ondrej), having more than one tailored to your side will add variety and could bring about the marginal gain that changes your season.

 

Example of perfect symmetry.

 

It would be much better to mix up where, and how, you attack the opposition. ‘Swap Roles’ option is a great technique (and something I wrote about here).

But also consider if you replace players on a like-for-like basis when making in-match substitutions. Do you? I’ve certainly done this before, and it’s only natural to recruit similar players who can interchange easily with those in your squad if the tactic is ‘working’. But sometimes it may be better to take off, for example, a Target Forward and replace him (and his role) with a different style of attack, e.g. an Advanced Forward who will look to get in behind of the opposition. The reasoning here is that the Target Forward may be having a bad game against similarly strong defenders who have nullified his threat, so use the “mountain-sea spirit” and attack variedly.


“People are always under the impression that the enemy is strong, and so tend to become cautious. But if you have good soldiers, and if you understand the principles of strategy, and if you know how to beat the enemy, there is nothing to worry about”

I am guilty of playing Football Manager over cautiously. Miyamoto Musashi’s words echoed in my head for a day or so from reading this chapter, because it rung true. Even in most successful ‘defensive’ teams, there is always a plan to win the match. A route to goal. It is easy for setups to become naturally entrenched in a defensive mindset, with little thought in how to attack. Throw caution to the wind, find the combination that works in your side, and don’t be too cautious.

If you know the three of four ways you regularly want to attack (refer to that mountain-sea spirit as mentioned above), make sure you check that it’s flourishing. Your Attacking players, and the chances they get, are the temperature gauge of how good your strategy is. I’m not talking about number of shots; rather the number of high xG chances per game. If you have confidence in this, then “there is nothing to worry about”.


Concluding thoughts

Not my kids.

This post is neither an FM Guide or book review. But it’s intended to act as an aide memoire for me, and to hopefully to serve a purpose in helping others too. The Book of Five Rings was a surprisingly enjoyable holiday read, having only encountered it by chance in a ‘bibliothèque libre-service’ (a pop-up cabinet with books). It’s rare to find English books as good as this in them, inspiration really does come from unlikely places!

Thank you for reading,

Tony / FM Grasshopper

"Heir to the Empire" - Faceless #FM22

Previously in Faceless, Cuiabá achieved Série A survival.


 
 

Natasha

Cuiabá, Brazil

"If I loved you any less, I would have stayed"

The words came out of the metallic mask in a muffled manner, but Natasha Sibiski instantly deduced who sat in front of her. The voice belonged to Ángel Bastardo, although everybody else in the room only knew him as The Faceless: the protagonist of an increasingly popular urban legend circulating the continent. The rumours spoke of a dead body that washed up on the riverbank of Manaus: a corpse, nameless, faceless, that had floated down the river, shunned by The Shinigami. It was thus that the legend of The Faceless began: Faceless who rose from the dead and walked among the living; Faceless who went on to manage teams along the Atlantic coast, resurrecting many a football club from relative obscurity, before finding notable success in Brazil's Serie A, with Cuiabá. It was around this time that Natasha began to suspect who the masked wanderer was. Seeing him on a televised match made her leave Ruslan Chepiga in Gibraltar and head back immediately to the Americas.

"If I loved you any less, I would have stayed", The Faceless’ words echoed in Natasha’s mind. He continued:

"I was no father to you, Isabella Bastardo. That’s your real name. I left you with your Russian mother, a sister to Ruslan Chepiga. We watched over you in our different ways: Father and Uncle. I am sorry".

Natasha was unravelling her ancestry, along with the rest of the room's occupants, which contained various carers of the masked man. He was sick: her father. Now a dying man, he was nothing like the Ángel Bastardo she once knew.

An uncle too: Ruslan Chepiga. She digested the news of being both a Bastardo and a Chepiga, and it all strangely made sense to her now. The payment for her law degrees which no single working mother could ever afford, the protection she was always given from Hugo Ojeda, and the care provided by some of the most ruthless men in the world.

"Come with me. Come with me back to Ruslan and we will take revenge against Hugo Ojeda", she implored. The emotions were welling inside her, but no sooner did they rise than they were pushed aside in favour of stillness of mind. Was it her Russian coldness or her newfound Argentine fibre? Natasha could not tell…but she held her emotions in check regardless.

The mask facing her shook from side-to-side. "No. Only complete forgiveness from my people can end my suffering. YOU are my people, Isabella. I seek no revenge. Simply forgiveness and a merciful end. Please end the waning magic that is barely keeping me alive".

A male carer in white robes passed a blade to Natasha. His eyes gestured to her as they travelled from the blade’s edge to The Faceless' body, making sure she understood. The blade's hilt featured the plains of the savannah and depicted a bear and a lion chasing several bats and snakes into a jungle. Natasha contemplated the meaning it might have held for its creator, who had carved the intricate design.

Approaching Bastardo, she pulled back the blade before piercing it through his torso in one swift motion. “I’m sorry this happened to you, and I forgive everything”, she said, withdrawing the blade with surprising ease. It was as if no tissue or bones existed, and no sooner had the blade been withdrawn than the room was bathed in white light: a light so bright that Natasha had to turn her head away from Bastardo’s body and shield her eyes with her free hand. One or two seconds passed before the light quickly dimmed, and everything in the room could be seen again. That is, everything except the body, for only a mask and a set of robes remained on the chair that had seated Ángel Bastardo.


Hugo

Barranquilla, Colombia

Hugo Ojeda sat at his desk bemused as the bats took flight in the day, squealing past the high-rise apartment in central Barranquilla. Thousands upon thousands of the nocturnal winged mammals scaled up the building, just centimetres away from the tower’s glass façade, causing several people on the floors above and below to cry out in panic. The bats who had now risen above the Barranquilla skyline veered towards the sun, blocking it out temporarily as the sky turned black. It only lasted one or two seconds, but long enough for Hugo to ponder if something terrifying had happened elsewhere.

His left hand turned to his pills, whilst the right hand quickly reached for his whiskey.


Ángel

River Negro

As the blade entered his body, he was instantly transported back to the River Negro and was looking at the faces of The Shinigami once again. Their eyes burned a bright purple under the night sky. But unlike the first time, The Shinigami reached out for him now, as the Negro's current carried him closer towards their reach. With his bloodline secured through Natasha, the heir to his empire, there was no reason for the Shaman's magic to continue keeping him alive.

The Shinigami had him now, and this was the end.


Notes from the Editor

From Uruguay to Brazil, and all the bits in between, my La Plata series has come to an end. I set out in 2019 to have a creative arc that spanned three editions of Football Manager (FM20-FM22)…and I never would have predicted the World would have changed so much during this three-year-period. But I suppose the one constant has been the ability to release creatively with words, and I thank readers for the odd message or email throughout this period; telling me they have enjoyed the story etc. It’s been really appreciated. I also have to thank Arun and Chris, who have been a constant soundboard of ideas and have offered to sense check some [probably most] of the pieces that I write. Thank you guys, you are amazing.

But CreativeFM from me will be paused. I have not shut all the doors in the story, whilst Hugo Ojeda and Natasha (now Isabella) remain ‘alive’, but Ángel Bastardo is finally put to rest. But boy, did we have fun right? I am delighted I was able to set Hugo Ojeda up to be the heir to the empire in FM20, only for Operation Isabella to really be about the character that arrives a year later in FM21 cycle. Everything has been deliberate, most things foreshadowed and lots of unreliable narration to keep readers on their…thumbs.

I hope, if you have read this far, you have enjoyed it as much as I had fun writing it.

Thank you,

Tony / FM Grasshopper