"The Grasscopper 4222 Tactic" - Plazas de Soberanía #FM23

 
 

Intro

The blog post’s title is not a typo. It should become clear as we progress with the blog that I’ve had help tweaking a 4222 tactic, as I look to build on AD Ceuta FC’s third consecutive mid-table finish in LaLiga 2. The year is 2027 and this covers the first six months of my 6th season in Football Manager 2023.

If attacking midfielders, xG and goals are your thing, you may want to stick around…

Season 2027/28

July - December 2027

Due to a new President being elected to preside over AD Ceuta FC, all tactical Club Visions were removed; leaving me with a blank canvas of what I could do for Season 6. After evaluating the squad I decided to sign a left sided Full Back called Jonathan Gómez from Real Sociedad on loan and long-term AMC target, Iker Losada (a Free Signing from Celta). I now had 3-4 quality attacking midfielders, who are all suited to playing centrally. We also had no real out-and-out Wingers anymore, so I quickly decided that I wanted to play a narrow 4222 formation for Season 6.

The 4222 spine of the side would allow me to field two attack minded strikers up top, who would stretch the pitch by pushing back the opponent CBs with forward runs, affording two supportive No.10s the space to link moves together or run into half-spaces. The double pivot would hold it all together…allowing Wing Backs to get bomb forward. On a team level, I wanted us to defend deep and play cautiously, but then attack with a bit more impetus when we have regained possession (Run At Defence, Higher Tempo, Counter and GK Quick Distribution). The only extra player instruction selected was placed on the AM-S, asking him to Move Into Channels (more on this later)…my thinking here is that I wanted more channel running from one of our technically blessed AMCs due to the Poacher remaining central.

Here is v1 of the 4222…

v1 of the 4222

The first eight games of the season were pretty wild. We had the worst defensive record in the league, yet still found ourselves in mid-table (13th) with crazy wins against Mirandés, Leganés, and Córdoba. There were many elements I liked about my first draft 4222…the Poacher was accumulating a decent supply of xG (averaging 0.54 xG Per 90) and my Segundo Volante was getting involved in some nice exchanges offensively. Yet, that strength was also a weakness now that I look back. The Double Pivot wasn’t protective enough for the dual-Wing Backs who would often be caught out too high up the pitch to prevent the opposition counters.

CRAZYBALL!

The Grasscopper 4222 DM

I feel I could have continued with the bat-shit crazy 4222 v1 and ended up mid-table again, but luckily for me…somebody answered my frustrations on FM Twitter. His name is Matt/ThrowingCopperFM, welcome him…

Luckily I did not have to promote this tweet, in order to be saved.

I always maintain that a second pair of eyes on things is always good when it comes to FM (I even wrote about this before back in FM20 when I was struggling). Often I will commit to a Player Role or Team Instruction and be overly stubborn about not changing things, even when it is not working so well. When passing over the save file, my only comment to Matt was that I wanted to keep the 4222 starting shape. I still wanted to field two Strikers, and I’ve already mentioned the recruitment that has gone into attracting some great AMC talents. Over a cigar on a lazy Saturday afternoon, Matt got to work evaluating where he thought I was going wrong by rewatching highlights of my eight games and noted down what was working well and what was not so good.

Matt came back to me later that afternoon with his proposed revised tactic, which has 5 key changes:

(1) Change WBs to FBs, with the RB made attacking.

“Watched the goals conceded in the last game and the Alaves game and this backed this up as 4 of the goals came from the flanks. So, the first thing I'd do [if you want to keep the DMs as they are] would be to make the WBs into FBs and honestly you won't lose much attacking impetus”

…

(2) New Double Pivot

“Swapped players’ positions, I made Angong a DM-D and Alba a supporting DLP. They will cover the flanks more [than SV + DLP]”

…

(3) Change Theo Zidane’s role

“Theo changed to an Attacking Midfielder on Support - I didn’t like him as a playmaker as he was very selfish and wasteful so he looks better as a AM. Also asked him to move into the channels [like you had already done to Losada in other AMC slot], to give width and make use of his dribbling skills”

…

(4) Added Work The Ball Into Box

“Your Strikers were snatching at a lot of shots and there’s some good quality up there, so they can afford to take their time a bit more”

…

(5) Mentality moved to Balanced

“Turned off Stay Wider as result, and moved Line of Engagement to standard as they were pulled too deep for my liking. Also switched on Counter-Pressing”

The only further change I made from Matt’s comments was a tweak from Poacher to Advanced Forward. Despite the Poacher getting good levels of xG in v1…in v2 he was often on the periphery of our moves. The change to AF has helped him get involved more. Here is v2 of 4222, let’s call it The Grasscopper:

In v2 both AMCs now have Move Into Channels as added Player Instructions.

So, how did the rest of the first half of the season go with the new changes? In short: pretty spectacularly tbqfh…

Expected Goals (xG) Analysis: v1 Vs v2

Before moving on to individual performances, the xG For and Against analysis from each league game so far in Season 6 paints an interesting picture between the two tactics (below). Offensively there is not a great deal of difference between v1 and v2, in fact it’s a measly difference of +0.09 xG. However small the boost in xG For is, a 50% reduction in xG Against is exceptional tactical business. In the 11 leagues games with v2, Ceuta came out with more xG in 9 of them.

I have used colour scales in each of the columns to show how the results sit in the overall range of their respective xG type. As mentioned, the xG For will not be that noticeable on the eye…but a quick glance of the xG Against column should show you how defensively solid we have become under v2 of the 4222:

xG Analysis…green is the new orange.

Individuals

The upturn in form could see me single out a number of high performing players. For instance, Kevin has seven goals in the 11 games in the v2 4222 but I’ve previously written a lot about him on the blog. Instead, it’s time to wax lyrical about our new No.7: Iker Losada. As previously mentioned, 26-year-old signed on a Free transfer from Celta B this season, who had been a long-term target of mine throughout this save. Although his role was one that remained unchanged in the 4222 tweaks, he has sprung to life in v2 with twelve goal contributions in the 11 games. A combination of the Move Into Channels instruction, his player traits and his overall attribute make-up, has seen him play like a dreamy AMC behind the front two strikers…

 

Dream signing.

 

Iker Losada

So far in 2027/28 (16 apps, 6 goals/6 assists):

Highest squad Av.Rating (7.42) 🔥

Highest squad average xG per Shot (0.18) 🚀

2nd highest squad conversion rate (21%) ⚽

Assistant to FM Grasshopper 🤝

This post hopefully shows that even when a tactic isn’t quite firing on all cylinders OR, in my case, is leaky in defence; everything is salvageable. Matt’s proposed changes are logical, he did not rip up the tactic and start again…he tweaked in a way that kept a lot of the attacking threat and style of play, but crucially solidified the defence. If the recent few months have shown, it’s turned a mid-table side into one now looking to mount a promotion challenge. Seems incredible to think that LaLiga might be in our sights!

Can we do it? Check back here soon to find out how Season 6 concluded.

Thanks for reading/sharing & caring,

Tony / FM Grasshopper & Matt / Throwing Copper FM

 

Huge coup for Ceuta here, recruiting Nottingham’s best content creator.

 

"Kevin Forever" - Plazas de Soberanía #FM23

 
 

Intro

I am loving Football Manager 2023, but that does not necessarily mean I’m finding it easy. Season 5 concluded in the same way as the previous two LaLiga 2 seasons, AD Ceuta FC’s promising position had faded away by March/April. Another mid-table finish. This left me seeking reassuring support from pen pals over on FM Slack, who offered sound advice:

I am going to try and adopt some of the advice from Chris and Samo and whilst FromElevenOneGaming may have been joking (he was rewarded with a February Slack high of 4 ‘joys’), there remains a couple more Zidanes I could potentially sign too.

Welcome back to Ceuta, the year is 2027.

Season 2026/27

January - June 2027

Last time out I said I would interchange between 4141 and 442, and that is exactly what I did. Despite a few too many draws in January, I was confident we could maintain momentum and push for the playoff places this year. But we then had three months of torture as I grappled with injuries. My first choice strikers, Eythan and Kevin, only played together a handful of times as they took turns to be injured in 2027. The former (my top scorer for the season with 17 goals) tore a hamstring which meant he would miss the final three months of the league campaign 😭

Good to see Celta find the right guy!

Despite a few hammerings, there are some respectable results in there. Like the away draws at both Celta Vigo and Almería, who both achieved promotion this year. But the season’s good Ceuta moments arrived in the first two weeks of the season. The seasonal review was Jokesville:

Good to see we reached the good times within the first two weeks of the season ffs.

So, that’s my 5th season in FM23 laid bare. Perhaps Chris Johnson is right, I do need to try and sign some better players…

Kevin Forever

OK Chris, not just yet. Firstly, I will sign the same player for the third time in this save already: #KevinForever

But what would this blog be like without Kevin? Despite an average season, where Kevin scored just the 11 goals (all comps), I have decided to sign him permanently on a Free Transfer (hence the blog title of ‘Kevin Forever’). I’m willing to write off this season’s stats somewhat. Kevin suffered pulled knee ligaments and a hamstring strain in 2027 and never really got going this calendar year. The two goals scored for the second part of the year reflect that.

Now he is mine forever, let’s see if I can get him reaching the highs of 2025 again!

Kevin Forever.

Introducing Miguel

I have been frugal in the transfer market during my 5 seasons at AD Ceuta FC. Now with three years in LaLiga 2 under our belts, I decided to ask the Board to get my top transfer target ahead of Season 6…a 19-year-old unambitious Striker called Miguel. I did not think it would take 38% of the overall club balance, but they got my boy wonder for a whopping €1m.

Regardless of the fee (I was not part of that decision), why did I want Miguel so much? Well, despite being relegated from our league with Numancia…Miguel scored 17 league goals (just the one penalty), with a respectable conversion rate of 21% and an xG overperformance of 6.67. To do that in a struggling side is pretty impressive. But at this level there is always compromise when signing a player in FM. As previously mentioned, Miguel is unambitious…and this mentality could affect his development if I do nothing about it. The caveat though was his willingness to sign on with the same wage he was previously earning at Numancia. Good lad 😀

To improve his personality, I have paired him with Resolute and Fairly Determined personalities, which are the strongest I currently have in the squad…

This is the point in the blog where I share Miguel with you, and you let me know how good/bad he is…

He’s not a No.10, but it’s what he wanted. I’m not in the mood to argue.

New 2-year deal 📝

I have accepted a new contract that takes me to the end of the 2028/29 season, which is two seasons away. Fair play to the Board, they have backed me in the transfer market after Miguel’s signature and now it’s time to go get some loan deals to flesh the squad out. I want to break the mid-table curse, and I want to do it with AD Ceuta FC…the best team in Spanish North Africa.

Thanks for reading/sharing & caring,

Tony / FM Grasshopper

"Murder on Zidane's floor" - Plazas de Soberanía #FM23

Previously on Plazas de Soberanía, Kevin returned.

 
 

Intro

Please excuse the blog title. It’s not a new or inventive pun, and probably heavily used each year in Fantasy Football team names across the land…but it’s got some meaning behind today’s post. AD Ceuta FC enter their third year in the dizzying height of Spain’s LaLiga 2, and that’s where this blog post begins:

Season 5 - Summer of 2026…

Season 2026/27

July - December 2026

Before I update you on the nitty and gritty of LaLiga 2 results, there was one further signing after my previous post: Theo Zidane! ‘T16’ swoops in to join AD Ceuta on a Free Transfer, having left Real Madrid earlier on in the Summer. With one week until the transfer window softly shut, Theo was agreeable to joining his brother on the North African Coast. What a player we have here, albeit a luxury signing, Theo is an absolute monster at 196cm tall and Jumping Reach of 17. He also has a lot of his dad’s artistry (relative to our level at least):

 

Theo Zidane.

 

As mentioned last time out, I’d be setting up Ceuta in a 442 for Season 5. I was in total ecstasy after ten goals in the first 3 games, could we be on the way to LaLiga? Seems FM23 could sense my overconfidence, and duly brought be back down to Earth with Traffic Light FM'™. However, the sporadic wins are a lot better than the frustrating barren runs I had experienced within the previous two seasons in LaLiga 2. The most painful moment of the season so far is the 2-1 defeat away to Deportivo de La Coruña. A last minute header from Mangel (a €300k sale at the start of the season) came back to haunt his old club…a perfectly scripted "‘Against His Old Club’ FM moment that you just have to applaud 🔮

TRAFFIC LIGHTS 🚦

Kevin boasts a modest nine goals in 16 games, before taking a month’s absence with pulled knee ligaments. At this point I decided to play a 4141 with just Ethyan as the central Striker (more on this below) for the final three matches of LaLiga 2…and kept three much needed clean sheets! It’s now going to be a shape I will interchange with the 442, perhaps in challenging games away from home.

Murder on Zidane’s floor

I don’t usually update readers on the Lana del Rey trophy, as we’re usually out in the first round anyway. 2026/27 is no different, as we crashed and burned with the 4141 by losing 2-3 at home against Girona after Extra-Time. But an outstanding scissor kick was spotted when Xavi Sintes saw straight red in the 1st half…fair play to Miloš Veljković as he got up and saw out the full 120 minute match. The murder on Zidane’s floor (there we go, boom) was a classic ‘Tackle Harder’ player instruction you see on a Ball Winning Midfielder. So, I think it’s a role I will use going forward in 4141 to screen in front of our playmaker, and commit more atrocities.

🎵 Sintes, gonna burn this goddamn house right down 🎵

So, when it looks like I’m tactic hopping…I’m not really changing much from 442 to 4141 in terms of Team Instructions. The biggest tweak is positioning the playmaker at DM and having a little reshuffle in midfield. To give Sintes the respite when he is inevitably suspended in the future, I’ve used a large portion of the Mangel money by signing Cameroonian (but Spanish nationalised) Frank Angong for €165k. It’s quite a watershed moment in the save, as there is usually no money to go out and spend in the January window…but the Ceuta coffers are in their best position ever (€2m balance as of December 2026).

Frank Angong is physically strong, similar to Kevin, and I think his energy in the last few months could be crucial in maintaining our momentum. Despite playing a league down, due to Inter City’s relegation from LaLiga 2 last year, Frank is ranked 7th for tackles won, 8th for tackles attempted and 10th for possession won per 90. His Pressures Attempted per 90 stat is also decent (15.59 per 90), I am hoping he can be on the opposition like a rash when deployed as a BWM.

BWM-S in 4141. Sometimes balanced, sometimes cautious.

Groundhog Save

There’s repetition to the recent LaLiga 2 seasons in this save. Last season, AD Ceuta finished 13th…the same position as the year before. Last season, we entered the Winter Break in 8th…the same as this year. Can I therefore break the groundhog save curse this time round in Season 5, OR am I destined to have a post-January dip to finish 13th? Check back here soon to find out.

Thanks for reading/sharing & caring,

Tony / FM Grasshopper

"Kevin Returns" - Plazas de Soberanía #FM23

Previously on Plazas de Soberanía, AD Ceuta FC signed Fekir and Zidane in the same transfer window.

 
 

Intro

Season 4 is complete.

“A rocking horse moves backwards and forwards, but does not make any progress”. For much of the second half of the 2025/26 season it felt like AD Ceuta FC were a rocking horse. We have met the Board visions of Higher Tempo Pressing and Possession Football, but we failed to deliver the Defensively Solid Football that they also craved. What looked like a play-off season in December 2025, turned out to be miserable few months to kick start 2026…as we laboured to equalling the 13th place league finish like the season before. The rocking horse, just kept on rocking. Our familiarity with FM progression probably means we look at this Football Manager season as a failure. But, is a season of consolidation in LaLiga 2 a backward step? Probably not.

Now that I have inexcusably spoiled my short save update, you’re welcome to click off and go do something else with your day. If you do stay for more, you might just get excited about what I plan to do next at AD Ceuta FC…

Season 2025/26

January - June 2026

Conceding 54 league goals this season was not something I had in mind when fielding a DM with flat back four, but post-January 2026 was a shitshow. Especially the months of April and May:

May 2026 can get in the bin.

Usually I am finishing FM seasons in good form, but Season 4 ended a far cry from the 4th position high of match day 27 🤮 If Diego Mendoza is reading this blog post, I expect some abuse sent my way seeing as I broke the club’s transfer and salary record this season for Goalkeeper Luca F’ing Zidane! To then be so permeable to goals is quite sickening, and there is little wonder the Board were disappointed about us failing the club vision.

AD Ceuta past positions - Season 4.

It is hard to point the one problem in the skillset of the team OR the tactic. Whilst I thought it was well-balanced, I don’t think I was getting enough xG supply to my Strikers. When we did generate it our Attacking Pressing Forward of choice, Omar Faraj, did not really live up to the Ceuta strikers that came before him. He scored 11 goals and had a xG underperformance of -0.22. Our Attacking Inside Forward Ethyan at least got double figures for the first time in his Ceuta career (15 goals) and an xG overperformance of 0.44. However, to put into context how bad this is for AD Ceuta FC - check out a couple of strikers I previously had in this save:

  1. Lorenzo Gonzalez - 9.92 xG overperformance / 1.01 Goals Per 90 (Season 1 - 34 goals)

  2. Kevin Carlos - 2.70 xG overperformance / 0.64 Goals Per 90 (Season 3 - 15 goals)

The joys of blogging is that I can look back and reflect that Lorenzo G was a real freak of nature, but even if I can get half of that overperformance I will be laughing. Similarly, I know I can do a lot better than Faraj for the Pressing Forward role. This leads nicely on putting these two roles together, as I wave adios to 433…

Goodbye Possession Football 👋

Over the course of 2025/26 the Board were very pleased with the high-tempo pressing and possession based football. However, for obvious reasons, they were disappointed about how defensively solid we were [not]. In the negotiations for the forthcoming season I successfully convinced the Board to ditch the obsession with possession football. I have mentioned it a few times in the last few blog posts about how I would like to return to a two-striker system…and 2026/27 season will be that year. Ditching the DM and playing out from the back in favour for an extra central Striker means possession will a bit harder to achieve, so I’m delighted to do away with it as a board vision. I believe that I can now go back a 442, which is in keeping with the current higher tempo…but not be so hung up on possession. It means that AD Ceuta FC will soon play on the Counter, which probably suits our stature a lot more in LaLiga 2 anyway.

Season 5 Mission Objectives.

Kevin Returns

To return to the 442 glory days, let’s welcome back Kevin Carlos. The 25-year-old Ceuta born forward will be re-joining on loan this time for the whole 2026/27 season…and he is a perfect fit for what I want to do going forward: a relentless engine (King Kevin, see below) feeding a goal-obsessed Poacher (Ethyan, hopefully). Parent club, Torino, previously decided against loaning Kev to Ceuta for 2025/26 season, but I am not one to easily forget those glorious 6 months Kevin and I had together…and often kept an eye on his squad status.

 
 

This is how I will fit King Kevin (Pressing Forward on Attack) back into Ceutaball…

442, similar to Season 1.

442 Q&A

Why 442? Other than, you know, two strikers?

  • The shape means I have a squad depth of x2 players per position. For the first time in this save we now have 22 first team players!

Why Pressing Forward + Poacher?

  • Not only does Poacher suit Ehtyan’s strengths (Finishing 14, Off The Ball 13 and Anticipation 12), I want to have one striker moving into channels (Pressing Forward on Attack)…and another staying central and fixated on the goal.

  • For games where I need to give Kevin a break, or want more link-up with midfield, I have options to field a Deep Lying Forward (Fekir & Khaloua) instead of a Pressing Forward.

Why the Wide Playmaker on the right?

  • Luismi (the sole remaining player from Season 1) is best when cutting side from the wing, he’s a better playmaker than winger.

  • I’ve also signed Argentine/Spaniard Elías Contreras on a Free. Contreras has great Flair and Off The Ball for our level (both 15) and being either footed means he can easily cut inside and cause chaos for the opposition. When Luismi plays, Contreras can be shifted to the left wing, where he can become a traditional attacking Winger.

Do I think the 442 will help achieve the Board’s vision (high-tempo + defensively solid football)?

  • This remains to be seen, but tempo is slightly increased and I will keep an eye on how the Board react.

  • Anything should be defensively more solid than last year, although I will keep an eye on the midfield two (in case they are getting murdered) and would adopt my signature move of bringing off a Striker in favour of a Defensive midfielder in order to see out games in a flat 4141.

FM23 is bloody great fun

So, another quick-fire blog post from me…where I could have easily just skipped blogging and carried on playing, FM23 is bloody great fun.

But I know in 6 months from now I will be eager to go back and see what happened in order to satisfy my failing memory 😃 Season 5 could be special, I am really happy with the recruitment to bring in Kevin once again and I think we can build on the 13th place LaLiga 2 finishes. As always, keep an eye on the site for another post to see if the 442 really does fire…or sign up to the newsletter below for other great posts from various ☕🏠 writers.

Thanks for reading/sharing and caring,

Tony / FM Grasshopper

"North African Galácticos" - Plazas de Soberanía #FM23

 
 

Previously on Plazas de Soberanía, AD Ceuta FC survived their 1st season in LaLiga 2.

Intro

AD Ceuta FC and I enter our fourth season together in Football Manager 2023. My love for the save is probably quite apparent, I am zooming through the seasons and have enjoyed the various save scenarios I have encountered so far (promotions and relegation battles). As we enter the second consecutive season in LaLiga 2, a rebuild of sorts is needed to consolidate our position in Spain’s second tier.

The Board have tweaked the Club Vision in three of the four FM23 seasons, with this year’s tweak seeing the Board wanting more Possession Football. Luckily for me it’s not too dissimilar to what I have been playing anyway (a 433), but receiving the new vision guides my recruitment somewhat. This is the subject of today’s post…

Rebuild Part II

Seven new signings in one transfer window is quite a lot by my standards, but with stalwart Adri Ceuvas and Arturo Rodriguez retiring and a few others leaving the club after their contracts expire…I was back down to a squad number of just eleven again! The critical positions where I needed immediate cover were in Central Defence, Left Back and in Attack. I also wanted a new Goalkeeper, to replace Leandro who has negotiated a cheaper contract to stay on for one more year as a Back-Up Goalkeeper.

In short, I got a lot of my top choices. The Director of Football missed out on 1-2 to other teams offering more money, but largely Ceuta have made some decent signings within the same transfer budget as last year: €300k. The targets were a mixture of Recruitment Focuses and me running the numbers within FM23 itself, dialling in to the 2024/25 player data to help us with the Possession Football club vision.

Marcelo Djaló (Lugo) – Central Defender - Free

193cm tall Marcelo Djaló appeared in a Recruitment Focus for expiring Centre-Backs, and was head and shoulders above best for Passing and Vision. He is a Real Madrid graduate and I feel he has enough experience to take the Captain’s armband from the departing Ceuvas.

Luis Valcarce (Badajoz) - Full Back - €93k

Another bit of experience in the back-line was to bring in Luis Valcarce. At 32-years-old he is probably at his peak and his 2024/25 numbers reflect that: 91% pass completion + 4.46 progressive passes per 90 and he played every minute of Badajoz’s La Liga 2 campaign. The Director of Football has perhaps overpaid slightly with a €93k transfer fee, but I’m prepared to take the risk on him seeing that he’s been every present for Badajoz.

Andy (Burgos) – Midfielder - Free

Andy has been relegated with Burgos, but the 35-year-old playmaker has an Open Play Key Pass per 90 stat of 0.98. He has an 88% pass completion stat and attractive player traits of Dictates Tempo and Curls Ball which will also help with the Possession Football club vision. Usually a relegated player is a big turn-off for me, but Andy was creating chances in a piss-poor team…I hope I can give him one last dance in the sun.

Omar Faraj (Levante) - Striker - Season long loan

I always hoped that the poster boy from the last post, Kevin Carlos, would be attainable once more on loan. Sadly, Torino were not agreeable to him moving back on loan for another year…so with 7 days remaining of the window I plumped for Levante’s Omar Faraj and offer to pay for 50% of his €156k annual salary. He suits the physical Pressing Forward role in my 433 and can interchange with Ethyan for the central Striker position. Note - this is a departure from my Spanish/North African recruitment, but seeing as Omar has resided in Spain for 4 years and has Real Madrid as his favourite club, I’m classing him as technically Spanish.

"North African Galácticos"

There’s more! Whilst, the previous four signings mentioned above were carefully scrutinised in terms of data/reports…the next three players signed are a bit more romantic. Players that meet the self-imposed North African element of this save…

Luca Zidane (Eibar) - Goalkeeper - €100k (potentially rising to €140k)

The Director of Football (Albert Puigdollers) breaks a transfer record and also raises Ceuta’s top wage by €42k per annum. But it is quite the coup: Luca Zidane! Luca has decided to represent Algeria for International Football and meets the North African recruitment model, but he’s also a great Sweeper Keeper with First Touch 15, Passing 15, Technique 14 and Vision 11. I’m hoping he has as much of a role to play with Possession Football as the other ten outfield players. New Ceuta No.1 and also a new Vice-Captain.

Yassin Fekir (Betis Deportivo) - Attacker - €45k

Another North African Galáctico signing for Ceuta is Yassin Fekir, brother to France International Nabil. Yassin is a versatile player, as he can play on both flanks but also in midfield or upfront. In 2024/25 he has 2.85 dribbles per 90 and 1.85 Open Play Key Passes in the Spanish 4th tier with Real Betis B. It may be that LaLiga 2 is a step too far for him, but at 28-years-old I still think he has some potential to unlock.

Hicham Khaloua (US Touarga) – Attacker - Free

Wide Attacker Hicham Khaloua has played in LaLiga 2 before (Almería in 2018/19) but has since moved back to Morocco in real life, recently spending three seasons with Union Sportive de Touarga. Despite it not being a loaded league in my save, Khaloua has done well there: 30 goals in all 102 league games possible (perhaps his strong Natural Fitness of 15 means he’s a sturdy guy). He also has strong Flair and suits a fluid passing game with strong Technicals…including 15 in Penalty Taking. It’s a gamble, but we also fended off a lot of interest from other Spanish clubs to get him. Like Fekir, he can also play out wide or in the middle upfront…so the extra versatility means I have more attacking variety going into Season 4.

With the three North African arrivals, it takes my overall tally to seven Maghrébin players recruited to Ceuta. Three from Morocco and two from Algeria. I am relatively happy with this, even though we have missed out on a few targets, we have not forced the recruitment by bringing any old Jabbour in. Those seven players have been first team players, with the latest three players perhaps being the most exciting.

I think the next step phase of the save would be to target some of the North African Newgens that have entered the save Universe. Some will not come cheaply, so I need to make sure we are an established regular in LaLiga 2 before I decide to splash the cash on players that do not make an immediate first team impact.

'🎵 “This time for [North] Africa” 🎵

Season 2025/26

July - December 2025

As mentioned previously, I would once again stick with the 433 DM system that has been used for the previous two seasons. In order to meet the club objective for possession football, I decided to lower our tempo when in possession. But I quickly changed that back to a higher tempo as I did not like what I saw with aimless passing and nonchalantly dwelling on the ball in key areas. Consistency is a problem, but five wins in a row saw Ceuta surge up the table before another barren spell of finding the net. This has been my experience of LaLiga 2 in FM23 so far: ‘fits and starts’ of form…

Season 4 in LaLiga2…wild.

Despite my grumblings, AD Ceuta FC are in a really good position. To remedy the barren spell I’ve gone narrow, and have moved the two wider players into the attacking midfielder area behind Omar Faraj’s pressing. Two goals away at Santander saw me deposit a value three points, before three at home Vs Sporting de Gijón. Sandwiched between those victories is the defeat away at Alavés, but even then we held our own for 65 minutes and had lovely moments of play.

Despite the starting formation changing, the Mentality & Team Instructions remain exactly the same; meaning that the players do not require too much adjustment in playing it. Crucially, it also means that I can list our team metrics with a degree of confidence that it should not skew them:

  • Ceuta are 6th in terms of Average Possession (55%)

  • Ceuta are 6th in terms of Pass Completion Ratio (88%).

  • Ceuta are 9th in terms of Opposition Passes Per Defensive Action (5.15).

There are also lots of things we are not that good at too: Cross Completion, Shots Per Game and Tackling to name just three. But on the things we are being judged on, it’s going pretty well and hopefully the recruitment has played a part in that…

Board Feedback December 2025.

I honestly don’t know if we’re in a promotion race for the playoffs, or the start of a downward slide into mid-table…or worse: a relegation battle. But I’m thoroughly enjoying the save and I look forward to updating you on the climax to Season 4 soon.

Thanks for reading/sharing & caring,

Tony / FM Grasshopper