"For a Few Dollars More" - Return to La Plata #FM18 #WeAreTheCommunity

May 15, 2018

Previously in Return to La Plata, Bastardo's Estudiantes won a second consecutive Copa Libertadores title.

Intro

The 5th season (2021/22) in FM18 Argentina heralds the dawn of stability: a European-style 38 game season with 20 teams, running from August until May. As a European myself, it feels familiar. In real life, I expect the Argentina Football Association (AFA) to have drawn up further changes/tweaks to their league system by 2022. But in FM18, the year-on-year changes are over.

It's been a season to remember too. Last time out, we won the ultimate South American club prize...again. But the league title had eluded me in those previous 4 seasons...until now. Ángel Bastardo became a Argentine Superliga Winner on the 5th attempt. Move away Boca & River, Bastardo has finally arrived!

Today's post will recap this domestic success, summarise 5 seasons of drama & review our club finances (which is something I said we'd do again back in Season 3). This is for a few dollars more...

Season 2021/22

Argentine Superliga

An incredibly strong run towards the end of the season sealed our title, 17 games unbeaten with 14 of these being wins. There can be no complaints from the 'Big 5' of Argentina either, we only lost once all season (to San Lorenzo at home): 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Estudiantes de La Plata certainly supporting calls for a revised 'Big 6' to be adopted in the media.

Estudiantes de La Plata: the most potent attack meets the most water-tight backline (shared with Independiente).

This title win was hugely satisfying, especially in the way we responded to last year's disappointing 2nd place (when a title win was in our grasp on the final day). 5 trophies in 5 years now!

Copa Libertadores 2022

'The trophy' will always be the Copa Libertadores though, and we've had a near perfect start to defending our crown over in Group A. Due to the teams in the group, I was able to rotate our starting XI. They haven't disappointed either, with no goals conceded in 6 games. The only blemish was that home draw Vs Quito in La Plata. Maxi Pereira receiving a straight red on 51 mins after a horror challenge...he never played for Bastardo again. Not because of the tackle, but his insistence on claiming his €1k clean sheet bonus. Traitor.

The reward for progressing as group winners is a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to face Vasco da Gama in the Second Round which kicks off in early 2022/23 pre-season.

Copa Argentina

We're still in the domestic cup too. Knocking out San Martín de Tucumán & Argentinos Juniors in the 5th/6th Rounds. Up next is Primera B side Club Almirante Brown, Quarter Finals is to be expected here.

For a Few Dollars More

As previously mentioned, this is a sequel to my Season 3 post (read "A Fistful of Dollars" here). In that post I summarised the achievements/misdemeanors of 3 years graphically, so in order to remain consistent...here is a recap on 5 years in La Plata:

I ended the "Fistful of Dollars" post at the financial crossroads, I had built a team on a relatively tight budget and maintained a socialist wage structure. A structure that pays sensibly, with wage parity in mind i.e. there are no players earning ridiculous amounts over their peers. At Season 3 this was set at €50k per month (around €12.5k a week), and I was in two minds if I could (1) attract further players to take me to to the next level (a league title) and (2) retain my current best players.

I decided to keep at it, only increasing my wage cap to €55k per month in Season 4 (2020/21). I found satisfaction that we were still able to challenge for the title that year, and held the belief that Season 5 would be 'the year'. The rest is history, we're now a title winning team, and our top 5 earners are:

Emanuel Reynoso - €55k per month. Our mercurial No.10 talent. My fav #FM18 player.
Carlos Auzqui - €55k per month. A La Plata boy returning home (again).
Jesús Medina - €50k per month. Argentine Superliga Player of the Year 2021/22.
Raúl Rolón - €50k per month. Our 192cm 20 year old Deep Lying Playmaker.
Diego Polenta - €50k per month. Bastardo's Uruguayan rock at the back.

Seeing as I have won domestic and continental honours within the first 5 years of this save, I see no reason why I should upset the apple cart and ditch this wage model. I am aware that painful decisions may have to be made on some of my key performers, but sometimes we have to find new heroes, right?

Financial Highlights 2020-2022

So, our 5 year financial summary is found below. It is worth noting from the onset that Prize Money is not one of the top 3 earners in the first 3 years of this save (and thus was not detailed in Season 3's financial statement). But Prize Money from the two Copa Libertadores wins (2021 & 2022) and subsequent FIFA Club World Cup participations in both years has earned Estudiantes some serious income in Seasons 4 & 5.

But it is also worth mentioning that Prize Money is a risky income stream, it can never be guaranteed/taken for granted, which is further justification for continuing with the socialist wage structure that has brought success. We must keep the ship sailing straight & steady!

Note - Wage costs have risen between 2020-22, but this also takes into account bonuses paid out as part of the trophy laden 2 years in La Plata AND contract renewals to some key 1st team players (Reynoso, Rolón & Werner). — **Note** - Wage costs have risen between 2020-22, but this also takes into account bonuses paid out as part of the trophy laden 2 years in La Plata AND contract renewals to some key 1st team players (Reynoso, Rolón & Werner).

In the next 2 transfer windows a few big sales may have to be made, providing I cannot tie down players like Alexander Barboza, Maxi Lovera & Fernando Zuqui to long term deals. They all have 12 months to go now, so it will be interesting to see if they want to stick with Bastardo's Bastards or seek the money elsewhere. So this is a potential income that could be realised sooner rather than later, and become a top 3 revenue stream...something which is yet to happen in my save.

I have no specific cash reserve target in mind when ending this save, but it would be great to exceed €30m when I finally call it a day. It's ambitious, as I have found it incredibly hard to sell players in FM18, but there's hope that the Board behind the scenes can help me out too. After all, they've negotiated much better sponsorship deals since we've been representing Argentina in the FIFA Club World Cup. Here is €6m of sponsorship that has landed at the start of Season 6 (and therefore not included in the 2020-2022 financial summary previously reported above).

I originally planned to do a financial analysis at Season 10, but in truth I am playing slower this year. So I am now hoping to reach 8 seasons, anything else will be a bonus. But I will conclude this mini-trilogy of posts, whenever 'the end' approaches. Of course, do stay up-to-date in the meantime with the various tidbits of content I put out on Slack & Twitter:

Twitter: @FM_Grasshopper
Slack: #fmgrasshopper
Return to La Plata, the story so far: www.fmgrasshopper.com/fm18

GrassNGear is here

One of the reasons why my gametime has slowed a tiny bit is due to the GrassNGear podcast I record with fellow scoundrel Daniel Gear [of Bolivia fame]. I dubbed it "the best FM podcast you've probably never heard". However, once you have heard it...it probably won't be your best FM podcast. Nevertheless it's fun all the same!

www.soundcloud.com/grass-gear

www.twitter.com/GrassNGear

I rarely talk about my FM18 Estudiantes save on it, but I have covered some approaches in how I am tactically playing FM this year. I recommend Episode IV: "4141" for instance, where I talk about how Estudiantes play my interpretation of the 4141 formation.

There's no schedule/common release day, the pods simply drop when they are hot. The latest tracks can be heard below:

As always, thanks for reading/sharing & caring (and maybe even listening).

Until next time.

FM Grasshopper

"Anti-Destiny" - Return to La Plata #FM18 #WeAreTheCommunity

April 22, 2018

Previously in Return to La Plata, Bastardo's Estudiantes choked a league title win in front of their own fans.

Intro

"L'art est un anti-destin / Art is an anti-destiny"

The above quote from 20th Century French theorist André Malraux provides some philosophical jargon to start today's blog post. Malraux’s meaning was that art is a man's escape from their insignificance in this world. Through art we create an alternate life, one of our own making...separated from man's original 'destiny'. A parallel exists here with my Football Manager content, and all creators' content for that matter, it is our art. The art you are now reading & experiencing is set in a rival world, out on its own...acting as an 'anti-destiny'.

The anti-destiny does not behave like its polar opposite, as demonstrated in my FM18 saved game with Estudiantes de La Plata. In 2020 we had the chance to face off against Manchester United in the Club World Cup. A replica meting of the infamous 1968 World Club Championship, which saw Estudiantes triumph with the most brutal form of anti-fútbol ever seen (see below - with thanks for @Brazier25 for these images). Yet the save did not behave, there was to be no 'destiny'...Manchester United crashing out in the Semi Final to Mexico's Club América (who went on to beat Bastardo 1-0 in the final).

Fast forward 12 months and incredibly both Estudiantes & Man Utd make the tournament once again (a big spoiler on how my 2021 Copa Libertadores campaign went down by the way). But anti-destiny was there again to spoil the party, it was now La Plata's turn to bow out at the Semi Final stage...leaving Manchester United to take the World Club Cup crown with a 3-0 Vs Tigres of Mexico.

It is absolutely heart-breaking that I couldn't relive a repeat of that 1968 final. Not just once but TWICE, the narrative would have reached unreal heights. But maybe anti-fútbol goes hand-in-hand with anti-destiny? This save does not behave, there is no script, as 2021/22 has so far shown...

Goodbye Carlo

We came so close to winning the title last season, so I felt we didn't need to overhaul the playing staff. The incomings were minimal: Gabriel Rojas joins on a Free Transfer from San Lorenzo, who grabbed the No.3 shirt. Then two midfielders arrived: Éver Banega on a Free from Sevilla and no nonsense tackler Eric Remedi from Banfield (€3m).

We made some money too: Walter Bou moved to China for €1.1m, Federico Lértora signed for Nice in France at €1.8m...but the big deal was the sale of Academy hotshot Carlo Lattanzio to West Ham in a deal rising to €4.5m:

LATTANZIO AXED. After 57 goals for Bastardo's Estudiantes, we get an attitude. How do we respond...starvation, public hanging, torture? Nope, B-Man has something far worse lined up: WEST HAM UNITED! ⚒️

Deal rising to €4.5m. Goodbye stroppy boy #FM18 #WeAreTheCommunity pic.twitter.com/JEPsS8LXob
— FM Grasshopper (@FM_Grasshopper) March 28, 2018

We now look to young Renzo Taborda, who I identified last time out as an Academy jewel, who I believe can step up and push current No.9 (Maxi Romero) for the starting slot in our 4141:

It's taken 5 years, but we now have a Newgen in the La Plata XI: Raúl Rolón in at No.5! — It's taken 5 years, but we now have a Newgen in the La Plata XI: Raúl Rolón in at No.5!

Season 2021/22

2021 Copa Libertadores

I can't remember retaining a continental trophy in the Football Manager series. I certainly don't remember winning a continental trophy before a league title in either Championship Manager or Football Manager. But there we go, consecutive Copa Libertadores wins for Estudiantes de La Plata: 2020 + 2021.

It was a pretty wild run to the trophy too, a bore-fest of epic proportions against Atlético Nacional...edging the Colombian champions on penalties at home. Then away loses in both the Semi Final and Final away legs, only to score 5 in each of the home legs. Incredible!

Read the below Twitter thread to relive the drama of that home tie Vs Grêmio. A game in which La Plata No.10, Emanuel Reynoso, cemented his place in Estudiantes history with a 9.1 MOTM performance.

2021 Copa Libertadores Final 2nd leg Thread 👇🌎

It's 2-1 to Grêmio going into the Estadio Único, away goals do not count! We're the holders, let's smash them...pleeeeease!

Will play on Comprehensive highlights in a moment⌚️ #FM18 #WeAreTheCommunity pic.twitter.com/WaNXOOuFVp
— FM Grasshopper (@FM_Grasshopper) April 13, 2018

2021/22 Argentine Superliga

A faultless start to the league season saw us go on a 10 game winning streak, until we were brought down to earth with three straight loses in November as I rotated the squad between Copa Libertadores finals. It highlighted the fact that as an eleven we are ridiculously strong, but we lack a certain amount of depth during the busy periods.

We have some catching up to do, both in games and in points!

Annoyingly the glitchy nature of FM tells me that the Board are 37% satisfied with our domestic performance. It's highly frustrating considering our points-per-game ratio is best in the league. We have 11 points to catch Boca, but we have 5 league games to do it in!

Copa Argentina & Recopa Sudamericana

We could not retain the Copa Argentina, losing on penalties to Temperley in the Quarter Final. Nevermind, we're not the best in Argentina (yet), but we are officially now the best team in South America. If the Copa Libertadores doesn't confirm that, we beat 2020 Copa Sudamericana winners Santiago Wanderers 5-1 on aggregate to win the Recopa. Another trophy in Bastardo's collection. That's 4 and counting :-)

22 games to go!

The race for the title is still long, 22 games for Bastardo to be precise. But if we can recapture that early form and bring in 1-2 players to flesh out the squad, I genuinely think we can do it...in what will be my 5th attempt.

Of course anti-destiny will be rife, there is no script...it's what we make it. Vamos Estudiantes!

As always, thank you for reading/sharing/caring,

FM Grasshopper

"Sons of Scotland" - A.Bastardo On Holiday - Chapter IV feat. @FM_Samo #FM18 #WeAreTheCommunity

April 13, 2018

Intro

Despite being set in the World of Bastardo, this post is something different from my usual 'Return to La Plata' series. It's the long awaited return of the 'A.Bastardo On Holiday' story! A trilogy I started back in FM17, which is making a re-appearance on my blog. You can read the previous parts here:

But this On Holiday post is slightly different, Ángel Bastardo is not the one taking a break. The year is 2020: Bastardo is about to welcome a foreign team for an exhibition match in the summer sun, a team celebrating their 75 year anniversary. It promises to be a game full of emotions, subtexts and history. Will you join us?

Sons of Scotland

I have always been fascinated by people and places. In particular, the movement of people between places: the merging of ethnicities/social groups and the everlasting effects on the 'place'. My FM17 post 'Osu' on Japan looked at this subject at a different angle. Japan was shut off for large periods of its history, which has shaped the country we now see today. But at the other end of the spectrum we have Argentina, the home of my FM18 content.

Argentina is perhaps one of the richest places to study the movements of people. It has been born out of mass immigration from all over the World: Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Wales, Ireland, Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, Armenia, Greece, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia….and Scotland.

Alexander Watson Hutton - the father of Argentine football.

Scotland's impact on Argentina is the main reason why Ángel Bastardo has invited 75 year old Stirling Albion to La Plata. More people claim Scottish ancestry in Argentina, than in any other non-English speaking country (around 100,000 source: The Scotsman*). But it's one Scotsman in particular that stands out from this diaspora. A man who Argentina (and Estudiantes) should be indebted to: Alexander Watson Hutton. Watson Hutton introduced football at the Buenos Aires school he setup, formed Argentina's first competitive league, their football association still running fútbol today (Argentine Football Association - AFA) and gave Argentina his son: Arnold Watson Hutton. A 1st generation Argentine-Scot starting upfront in the blue and white for Argentina between 1906-1913.

Like many clubs in Argentina, Estudiantes and Scotland also have a direct history. After all, they have been managed by a Scotsman: Neil McBain who played for Man Utd & Everton. McBain managed La Pincha for three years: 1949 to 1951, succeeding Estudiantes legend Alberto Zozaya who was the leading striker in the 1930s 'Los Profesores' team. Scotland 'could' be the reason for the the ginger in Jonathan Schunke's beard, the 'Russian' in Santiago Ascacíbar's looks and the grit in José Luis Brown's 1986 World Cup Final performance - three wonderful footballers who have worn the La Plata shirt. It therefore makes sense for Bastardo to invite Stirling Albion over for an epic exhibition match in La Plata, celebrating all things Scotch. Vamos!

*Source: "Scotland's Influence on Argentina, Russia and Jamaica" (C.McCall 2016).

The Interview: Bastardo & Samo

Ángel Bastardo had never met a Scotsman, so there was a certain amount of unknown going into his pre-match catch up with Chris Samson (Samo), manager of Stirling Albion. Samo had brought a huge entourage of clansmen with him, most of them wearing kilts and drinking orange liquid in the Estadio Único's Members Lounge. They were loud folk, most of them seemingly inebriated by the orange drink, but it remained friendly...for now. Bastardo scanned the room, looking for their leader: Samo. Expecting to find Stirling's manager among the rabble, Bastardo headed for the crowd, clenched fist and expecting a confrontation.

Yet just as Bastardo stepped forward, a softly spoken 'Ángel' was heard from behind him. The man to which the voice belonged was nothing like the kilted men on the far side of the room. He was trim, young and dressed with the exquisiteness that only Bastardo could appreciate. This was a man that appreciate the finer details in life, Bastardo could tell. So instead of usual house red, Bastardo ordered the aged Mendoza from the cellar...which can only be brought out in special occasions. It was time for Bastardo to meet Samo...

AB: Samo, Welcome to La Plata, the freedom of the city is yours during your stay. Now onto Stirling Albion, why them in FM18?

Samo: Thanks Señor Bastardo, La Plata is lovely! It's certainly warmer here in December than in Stirling!

Anyway, I knew I wanted to go back to Scotland quite early on for FM18. I'm a big advocate of Scottish football and believe it gets a really rough time just because we so happen to share a border with the richest league in the world.

I like a long term project, and that's exactly what I've planned with Stirling. It's one of the smallest official cities in Scotland, but it is one of our cities that doesn't have a football club competing at the top end of Scottish football. I want to grow the club, I want to get the people living in the city supporting their local club and ultimately gain some success.

Note - All of Samo's FM18 journey can be re-read here: occasionalfm.wordpress.com

AB: How challenging was it setting up the edited DB - As I know you have taken this approach on FM18? Would you recommend this pre-save prep to others?

Samo: Restructuring the Scottish leagues is something I've done as far back as I can remember, even before I started writing about FM. Everyone in Scotland has an opinion on what the structure of our leagues should be, I'm no different, and I'm not saying my way on FM18 is necessarily the way I think it should be structured, but for the purposes of the game of FM, I like it and think it works.

I'd recommend it to anyone. Again, similarly to going back to Scotland and then going Stirling, I always knew I wanted to restructure the leagues. I played 10 seasons with Morton on FM16 and the way the SPFL is set up doesn't lend itself to a fun environment to play a long term save. You usually end up playing more than the 4 league matches against some teams with the two cup competitions as well.

AB: How long did it take to do - I imagine there is a great deal of testing/experimenting?

Samo: I've basically activated the vast majority of Scottish clubs, so putting them all together in a league system, based on their positions in the leagues they played in last season, took a fair bit of initial planning! I took a bit of an easy way out in terms of time taken though because I didn't introduce any regional splits of leagues, so teams from the most northern points of the country could well end up in a league with teams from the most southerly points. I'm more than happy for this to happen in my game, but in reality, it'd never happen in Scottish football. It'd never be agreed on! Grateful to FMPressure and Acidphire2185 for letting me run some ideas and questions past them on all things FM18 Editor. I've used the editor a bit more than some I imagine, but I'm by no means an expert and it can be an absolute minefield. My advice is to keep it simple if you're thinking of using it.

AB: Sounds complex, for those that didn't want to re-create the wheel are others now using your edited Scottish DB?

Samo: Nobody is blogging it right now, although @InvWingbacks did have an attempt early on with Third Lanark. There's a fair few playing it though, with them occasionally updating me on Twitter or Slack. It's great because they've been able to feedback on potential issues too which I've been able to go in and fix for others downloading it in future.

AB: Yeah, that's awesome. Now onto your save, what's your most successful achievement so far?

Samo: I think qualifying for the Europa League group stage, going through three rounds of qualifying to do it, is certainly up there. Beating Southampton in the last group match was a big achievement too, although we were already out. Gaining promotion to the top tier, my newly resurrected SPL, was up there too, in addition staying in the league was a huge achievement in my first season at the top tier.

AB: And you most ambitious target yet to achieve?

Samo: I'd love to topple Rangers and Celtic and win the top tier. The amount they spend on player wages and transfers absolutely dwarfs what we do though. That next bit of silverware would be amazing, alongside the Division Two title I won in my first season. Another ambitious target is to have a new stadium be built, we're unable to buy our current home and expand it. It's needed massively to be able to sustainably compete.

AB: How are you approaching this exhibition match? Do you know much about Bastardo's Estudiantes team, any threats/weaknesses you care to share with readers?

Samo: I’m approaching it like I approach most matches I play, we’ll set up in the way we like to play and see what happens. I don’t set any aims to win certain matches. It’ll be a great occasion to play against Bastardo’s famed Estudiantes side. A proper exhibition match celebrating our club and the special relationship our country has with Argentina. In terms of threats, I know all about Maxi Romero up top, and goalkeeper Mariano Andújar is on an incredible stretch of not missing a match. It’ll be tough to get past him. I’m also intrigued as to whether the 4-1-4-1 will be their starting formation, or whether our 4-4-2 will be matched up with Bastardo’s from the off, that he usually switches to to chase a game.

AB: So we're using the Versus mode in FM. Do you think this is an underused mode in FM? It's not often you see FMers go head-to head like this.

Samo: Versus mode is certainly underused, and it’s even more underused than before now they’ve relegated it from the full game into a standalone FMTouch game. SI resources seem to have gone into the draft mode as opposed to this one, where you get to export your actual team and face off against other FMers doing the same. It’s a shame, because I’d much rather watch two teams I know from reading and watching content battling it out rather than two randomly put together teams.

To play a Versus match with your FM18 career team, use this drop down menu option.

You will need to face-off against your opponent on FM Touch, using the Versus Mode (highlighted above).

AB: Totally agree, it's a special kind of excitement: knowing I am going to face-off against your Stirling Albion side that I have read about for the best part of 5 months. You mentioned the Fantasy Draft mode, this is yet to take off as an 'e-Sport'. Will it ever? Why/Why not?

Samo: There's been a lot of discussions around FM as an eSport, and of course there's been a few quite successful attempts so far at turning it into a spectacle from the Set Pieces and SI themselves. I don't think it'll quite take off in the same way that Fifa has as an eSport, or exploded like games such as League of Legends has, but there's probably a bit of space for it to keep operating on the smaller scale it has been in comparison to other more established eSports. The problem is usually the set up, the Set Pieces had SI's help with it and obviously SI ran their own one. But if they're not involved, how do you ensure a fair match when it's only really the manager's abilities facing off against each other, rather than one team being far better than the other?

AB: Interesting. SI have recently launched their own Twitch account, so we will have to watch this space in the coming months. Anyway, there's a highly anticipated friendly to play: Estudiantes de La Plata Vs Stirling Albion, Argentina Vs Scotland...Bastardo Vs Samo. Vamos!

The Match

It was great talking to Samo before the match, but I was keen to keep hold of my tactical plans and not give him too much insight ahead of the kick off. We'd match his 442 man-for-man: Maxi Romero as a Target Man to complement the shining light of the Estudiantes Academy: Advanced Forward Carlo Lattanzio. One surprise for me going into the match was seeing #Rog as the Deeper of the front two for Stirling, with Ryan Hardie playing as the Advanced Forward. I was happy not to see #Rog making regular runs in behind Diego Polenta, who struggles with this type of pacy player.

Ultimately Bastardo & Samo are mates, but neither one of us wanted to lose this one. This was a friendly played out in the hotbed of La Plata...Fire Vs Ice. It is now time for me to have a go at some FM analysis and report back on this match. Disclaimer: this analysis is entirely from my viewpoint, as Ángel Bastardo. In order to get a feel of what Samo’s 442 is all about then I suggest reading his great piece here.

Kick off!

I often pause in the first few seconds of a match, usually to look at the starting positions of players…and also to make sure I have the right widgets enabled for the game ahead. Unfortunately, I do not have a great deal of screen space and usually have just 2-3 enabled. For playing Samo’s Stirling, I thought it was essential to know his formation. By having that widget enabled I can see what tactic he is using, but more importantly, I can see when he makes subtle changes to players’ or team mentality. Other favourites of mine are ‘Estudiantes Team Stats’ (in order to see player condition and Av.rating at a glance) and Match Stats (namely to look at in-game possession stats, as my Estudiantes tactic seem to hit optimum efficiency around 38-45% possession).

1 min

As mentioned previously, Maxi Romero was shifted alongside Carlo Lattanzio in a 442 system to match Samo’s Stirling. After 1 minute, I was getting what I wanted out from it…Romero using simplicity in his game to take the ball and create space for his team mates by laying it off, classic Target Man role behaviour.

Romero accepts Zuqui’s crossfield ball and moves in field before making a simple lay off. Stirling’s Right Back, MacPherson, gets dragged infield.
This gap opens up space for my Winger on Attack duty (in yellow), Jesus Medina, which sadly is ignored. But the signs were there from the 1st minute that the Target Man was working.

4 min – GOOOOOL. Estudiantes 1-0, Carlo Lattanzio

On 3 mins and 9 seconds, the young starlet Lattanzio put Bastardo’s Estudiantes 1-0 up. At a quick glance it’s a very simple goal, all fingers point to Czech Centre Back David Jablonsky for his mistake. But football isn’t simple. Here’s the goal:

But a wider look at the whole pitch shows Estudiantes’ pressing and positioning was a driving factor in limiting Jabolnsky’s options. Yes he mucked up, but we forced a difficult decision on him…which combined with Composure 13 and Decisions 10, led to an opportunity.

Above shows our 442s clashing, mano-mano style. Not a great deal for Jablonsky to work with, and it’s not overly critical on Samo’s setup…we have to acknowledge that I have the stronger team ‘on paper’.

9 min - GOOOOOL Estudiantes 2-0, Maxi Romero [pen]

I have sympathy for Samo here (although I didn’t tell him that during the audio call), yes the 1st goal was some relentless pressing and flaky defending…but the second is nothing you can really control. A bit of a scruffy melee saw Irishman Aaron Bolger haul down Alexander Barboza defending a freekick. Was this really Samo’s gameplan? Did he really think he could rough it up in Bastardo’s back yard, ‘the cauldron of fire’?

Naaa mate, 2-0. Romero making no mistake from the penalty spot.

44 min – GOOOOOL. Estudiantes 3-0, Carlo Lattanzio

Things got cagey in the remaining 1st half, until a great Estudiantes move made it 3-0. It featured the most beautiful parts of Bastardo-ball: No.10 Reynoso dribbling, as he is instructed to do more often, in the CM-A role who fed our Target Man Romero. Keeping his simple game up, Romero unleashes the devastating Advanced Forward, Lattanzi-gol, with a one touch through ball.

There’s quite a bit to talk about here, for what is a very quick counter attackng move. Romero in the Target Man role will often drop deep into the AMC strata (as does other striking roles like Treq & F9). This causes a dilemma for Stirling’s Centre Backs. Specifically, for Jablonsky who was once again exposed in his decision making.

1, 2, 3: Reynoso turn of pace and pass into Romero.

Bastardo’s No.10, Emanuel Reynoso (who I wrote about here)…runs into space. His Dribbling is terrifying, opening up a window to make a pass into Romero.
Romero has positioned himself centrally, ready to receive the ball.
Carlo Lattanzio in the Advanced Forward role is only making one run…in behind Jablonsky towards goal.
Romero is pressured by Jablonsky, but there is enough time to pick a perfectly weighted pass to Lattanzio.
I’ve highlighted how the space has now shifted towards the AF in yellow, with Jablonsky’s pressing.
Lattanzio has everything in his locker to bring this under control and slot home (on entry to the 6 yard box): First Touch 14, Dribbling 15, Finishing 15, Composure 14. Goal number 2 for him on the night.

45 min – SCOOOOOOTLAND. 3-1, #Rog

This half wasn’t going to be all doom and gloom for Stirling, a good little move saw them hit one back on the cusp of Half Time. I was always weary of Spanish dangerman, Arnau Puigmal in the centre of midfield. He has high attribute scores in technical attributes First Touch (16), Passing (16) combined mentally with Decisions (15) and Vision (14). We had tighter marking on him, but Puigmal found space during an attacking corner, showing calmness to release Winger Lewis Vaughan. A good cross fell to Roger Griffiths (#Rog – the only FM18 Newgen with a dedicated hashtag), who was offered two bites of the cherry by La Plata Captain Marinao Andújar. Samo’s Stirling had a lifeline. Estudiantes 3-1 Stirling Albion as we entered the dressing rooms.

50 min - SCOOOOOOTLAND. 3-2. Arnau Puigmal

Arnau Puigmal is clearly too good for this Stirling side. It’s another move starting from a set piece, before homegrown academy boy Kevin Cairns whips in a dangerous ball. La Plata Left Back Álvaro Pereira makes a real hash of his clearance and it falls to Puigmal. The Spanish playmaker still has a lot to do…but he shows his class, shifting it onto his favoured right foot with a delicate touch. It’s fired home…could Stirling create an upset?

61 min – LANTANZIGOOOL. 4-2 Estudiantes, Carlo Lattanzio

Samo was probably hoping to leave David Jablonsky in La Plata after this match. Once again, a blip of concentration was enough to let Carlo Lattanzio find space to fire home his hat trick. It’s great wing play from Jesus Media, cutting inside and driving at the heart of the Stirling Centre Backs. But I imagine Samo would have wanted Jablonsky to perhaps be a bit tighter in his marking.

It was 4-2 and Samo rung the changes. Jablonsky (!) being hauled off and two surprises: Lewis Vaughan and Kevin Cairns who had a hand in each of Stirling’s goals. Samo kept faith with 442, whilst I decided at this point to go 4141 in order to place another guy on Defence Duty to help stifle Hardie & #Rog at DM. Hat Trick hero Lattanzio would be the man to make way for Defensive Midfielder Raul Rolón.

I brought out the dirty tactics in the final 15 mins. Time Wasting activated on the Defensive mentality, it was now all about disrupting the flow of Samo’s Stirling whilst adding caution to our own game.

Full Time

The match petered out, like a dying fire. But the embers were still enjoyed by the Stirling fans. Quite incredibly, 41% of Stirling’s entire population had travelled to celebrate their club’s 75 anniversary. They witnessed a cracker: 6 goals, absolutely no yellow/red cards in a backdrop of Argentine Summer sun. Stirling’s fans should be optimistic of what’s ahead for them, they have a loyal manager…a man keen to build on their meteoric rise up the Scottish league system. If Samo’s Stirling returned here in 5 years’ time with Champions League money could it be a different result? Quite possibly.

But they did not: Bastardo 4-2 Samo. Bragging rights remain in La Plata, with the Sons of Scotland :-)

Return to La Plata

So my next post will be a return to the regular La Plata series, but I hoped you have enjoyed the slightly longer and in-depth nature of this Bastardo On Holiday series. Big thanks again to Samo for the interview and the time out of his busy podcasting duties to play that epic Versus match. It's a game mode that sadly feels a bit wasted on FM Touch and I hope to see it return one day to full fat FM, we live in hope!

Thanks in advance for the likes/RTs/comments, Chapter IV has been fun.

Ángel Bastardo/FM Grasshopper

"Totally Tottenham" RTs Appreciated #THFC #COYS #FM18 #Spursy #WeAreTheCommunity

April 1, 2018

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Intro

Tottenham Hotspur, perhaps London's 3rd best club after Arsenal & Chelsea, have remained in the shadow of their closest neighbours for decades. Tottenham is the archetype Football Manager 'Sleeping Giant save' - a club that has not won a league title since 1961 (that's 20,819 days by the way), and which has remained dormant for so long. It's therefore time for an Football Manager Touch 2018 vacation side save…

When researching about this save, I could only find one person alive that remembered that glorious team of '61. I spoke to Colin (75) from Epping Forest:

"We had Les Allen and Bobby Smith...who at the time were akin to today's Messi & C.Ronaldo". Colin said, as he wiped off the dust on a TV set. "I used to watch this team here, on my first ever Black & White TV. The '61 team created modern football with its style and panache"

I want to bring back the style and panache that Colin talks about. I want to build a team based on: Bielsa inspired hip hop verticality, all the pressing triggers: high, low, narrow & wide with great emphasis on occupying the half space & other one dimensional areas on the football pitch. Before I go into detail about tactics, I first need to introduce my aim for the series and discuss the transfer deals I made. I’ll then conclude the post on a recap of my first couple of months in North London. COYS...

(1) Aim: The League Cup

A popular FM challenge known as 'The Pentagon Challenge' has inspired many FMers to chop and change their management career in order to appear fresh to the masses. In this save, I want to do something similar...but rather take it in another direction: 'The Monogon Challenge'. The Monogon's aim is to win a solitary league cup by 2020. If I achieve this, I will aim to win the same trophy within the next 2 years. The challenge will only be complete when I turn all of my Monogons into a 'Decagon' (10 league cups in 20 years). If I do this, I will have completed the challenge and will probs start playing Pokemon, as they sound similar.

Could the 'League Cup Decagon' rival the achievements of Real Madrid's European Cup 'Decima'?  I think so. — Could the 'League Cup Decagon' rival the achievements of Real Madrid's European Cup 'Decima'? I think so.

(2) Pre-Season Signings

After analysing the Tottenham First Team it was clear they needed an experienced head in the centre of midfield. Eric Dier is fairly young and English and Moussa Dembélé is incredibly overrated. So I turned my attentions to Cameroonian star Stéphane Mbia. Mbia (31) knows the English game well, starring for Mark Hughes' QPR side and came close to moving to White Hart Lane when Tottenham’s Legendary Manager Harry Redknapp was in charge. The fee is big, as I had to prize him away from Chinese club Hebei China Fortune: £18.25m...but it represents my commitment to Tottenham's short term ambitions.

Mbia is back in London and in his prime years, according to FM!

Following Mbia is 28 year old Giovani Dos Santos, an ex-Spurs man at the height of his powers. I wanted an accomplice for Harry Kane and I see this as the perfect Big Man-Little Man combo. Again, the fee is fairly big: £15m...as LA Galaxy had him on a fairly high contract. But bringing one of Mexico's greatest ever players back to North London is a coup for both the club's fans and the English Premier League.

The final deal, which concludes my Summer spending, is Southampton's Ryan Bertrand (28). He signs on for £23m and I hope to see him become England's 1st choice Left Back in next Summer's World Cup. Bertrand is ex-London after coming through Chelsea's famed academy, so I know he is going to be golden on the left side of my team.

£56.25m spent, it's time to discuss tactics…

I have negotiated a 7% coupon for us bloggers (and for your wives/husbands/partners/pets), just use 'BLOGS7' at the checkout and get hard...

(3) Tactics: the 1-1-4-2-3

We're doing this for Colin (mentioned in my introduction). I want attacking football in this FM18 side save, so Wing Backs and x3 Strikers are a must. Mbia will be there to hold, alongside Dier as Double Halfbacks. This means we only need one Centre Back - who will play as a Ball Playing one in order to transition quickly and pass more direct. This leaves room in the centre of the park for two Mezzalas in the MC slots to dominate the half spaces. So, 1-1-4-2-3 (as I count my Sweeper Rush Goalie as an outfield player...like a lot of Twitter tactic hipsters).

In order to replicate the swashbuckling Spurs of the 1960s, we are playing on the Attacking Mentality. Plenty of tempo and risk taking. We're also going to be Very Fluid, because we want to share the attacking mentality around the team, we will move together...blurring the lines between the 1-1-4-2-3...to the point where it's unrecognisable. I've pushed the defensive line up to the max too, and placed every player on Attack duty, with the exception of the two Half Backs (on Defend Duty), my Ball Playing Defender (on Stopper duty) and the two supportive Mezzalas. This really is a gung-ho tactic, emphasising my commitment to suffocating the opposition into early retirement. I call it the 'Mind The Gap' tactic:

(4) Season 2017/18, so far...

We're 10 games into the season (all comps) and the 1-1-4-2-3 has made for some great drama, none of which I saw however as I was using the Instant Result button on FM Touch. We opened up with a derby loss Vs Watford, but then had great wins against Huddersfield and West Brom. The formation is not so good against the giants of Bayern Munich or Man City, so I may have to be less attacking in the future.

In the English Premier League, we sit 7th. Behind both Manchester clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal, which is what we would probably expect. Realistically I hope to push on and displace Southampton from 5th. That has to be my aim.

We did have a great win Vs Swansea in The Monogon Challenge though, but it did require help. I've decided to spend £0.99 on dodgy lasagne for every Carabao Cup game. I figured this would be a great way to find retribution from when Arsenal poisoned us in 2006. Next up is Man City, who are the reason for us recently refunding travelling fans, as we were slaughtered 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium. Get the lasagne out lads!

[From left to right]: Home, Away & a special 57 year anniversary Third kit for the 1961 title win.  Big thanks to @FMPressure for making these beauties. — [From left to right]: Home, Away & a special 57 year anniversary Third kit for the 1961 title win. Big thanks to @FMPressure for making these beauties.

(5) Succession save

After playing 10 games I did hope to continue this Spursy journey over FM18's life cycle, but my Estudiantes save is literally too fun right now (do check my story out here: www.fmgrasshopper.com/fm18 ). So I therefore offer up this Spursy file as a succession save. DM me your details and I can send it over to you. Can you bring the Monogon home?

Thanks for reading/sharing/caring,

FMG

"Las Joyas de Bastardo: Segunda Parte" - Return to La Plata #FM18 #WeAreTheCommunity

March 23, 2018

Previously in Return to La Plata, Ángel Bastardo became only the 3rd man to win a Copa Libertadores for Estudiantes de La Plata.

Intro

It's been a while since I last wrote about Estudiantes de La Plata in FM18, and a lot has happened since. I left you last time a victor: a Copa Libertadores and Copa Argentina Champion. Two live finals played out on Twitch, both of which I won...it felt so easy then!

Fast forward 6 months and FM had brought me back down to Earth. Two more live finals played out on Twitch, both of which I lost 0-1...a Club World Cup Final (Vs Club América) & an Argentina Super Cup (Vs River Plate). There was also heartbreak too in the league, losing out to Boca Juniors on the final day...we would never get so close to the league title without actually winning it!

The hurt I endured has only heightened my desires to challenge again, as I enter my 5th season in La Plata. But before I do this, I would like to freshen up the squad with some more La Plata youngsters, this is the 'segunda parte' to my youth development ramblings. But first, Season 4 in a nutshell...

Season 2020/21

Argentina Superliga

We were only 11 league games in to Season 4 when I last wrote an update, due to the fixture schedule caused by the Copa Argentina & Libertadores wins. So below is how the remaining 31 games played out.

A strong run in the final 10 games simply wasn't enough to stop the Boca-River stranglehold on this league. That's 5 years in a row now where the Argentine giants have alternated winning the league. Infuriating, but one hell of a challenge to overcome! A challenge that Ángel Bastardo recently acknowledged as 'football heritage':

"I say to the fans that the fans are the fans and have the right to their opinions and reactions but there is something that I used to call 'football heritage' - 'football heritage', what a manager inherits"

"It is something like the last time Estudiantes de La Plata won the Copa Libertadores, which didn't happen a lot of times, was in 2009. In 11 years with seven different managers, they did not win the Copa Libertadores. This is football heritage"

"I understand that 2020 was really hard for the people who don't like me - 'here he is again, here he wins again, Copa Libertadores/Argentina Double' For 6 months I win nothing, I beat Boca, Racing, I draw against River and now is their moment to be happy, wankers" (Source: El Día - La Plata)

2021 Copa Libertadores

We were given a relatively easy Group Stage, which proved no problems. 14 games unbeaten now in the Copa Libertadores over 2020 & 2021, so we’re probably the team everybody wants to avoid at this minute. Up next: Nacional of Uruguay in the Knockout Round.

We’re still going strong in the Copa Argentina, reaching the 7th Round which kicks off again in August. There are also another two finals to look forward to at the turn of the year: Santiago Wanderers of Chile in the Recopa Finals (Winner of Copa Lib Vs Winner of Copa Sud). Another fortuitous chance to win yet another trophy (or lose it)!

Las Joyas de Bastardo: Segunda Parte

The Estudiantes Copa Lib winning team [ages in brackets].  Built on €5.8m, and fairly old in places! — The Estudiantes Copa Lib winning team [ages in brackets]. Built on €5.8m, and fairly old in places!

Last season I updated you on the healthy financial position that La Plata was finding itself in. Through sensible recruitment, and living within our means, we have now seen this cost-effective Estudiantes team (built on €5.8m if you include real life fees previously made) win South America’s greatest club prize. It's up there as one of my greatest achievements in FM...two Pereiras (Álvaro & Maxi) at Full Back in their mid 30s shuttling between both boxes, players signed on a shoestring with a point to prove (Diego Polenta, Emanuel Reynoso & Alexander Barboza) and an Academy boy becoming the hero of his generation (Carlo Lattanzio). It's the latter that Bastardo perhaps wants to be most remembered for, building a dynasty largely from La Plata. Seeing young Lattanzio shine was a real blessing - he's from the Academy and he loves the club.

Entirely homegrown XIs are a Holy Grail for me in FM…and I am not going to put that expectation on this current save, but we do have a crop of 18-20 year olds (who I will partially introduce you to in a bit) which have a serious chance to shine at Estudiantes in 2021/22. We therefore face a crossroads in my 5th season: this generation will be 23-25 by the time I close out my time in FM18 (around Season 10), so it's now or never to integrate them and build something good. Luckily I have been busy behind the scenes, laying the foundations for this group to come through, working with them on: player trait development, specialised role training & focused attribute development. I alluded to it in my "Las Joyas de Bastardo" post back in Season 3, but it is time to meet more of them this time round from what I call my Category Bs - the Academy Newgens (read more here). This is Las Joyas de Bastardo: Segunda Parte.

So my young guys in La Plata follow a certain pathway for development (with a disclaimer that exceptional guys like Nico Rosales, the original 'jewel of La Plata', slot into the First Team sooner). I usually work on the principal that they sit with me and polish their game via tutoring or individual training until around 17/18. This is usually the time where I am 'done' with them, and a time where they need first team football. So I turn to the loan market. The benefits are twofold (1) they grow at a faster rate when playing and (2) I get to see how they perform within a competitive environment, helpful in gauging their current ability.

The below graphic conveys my typical pathway approach:

Defenders

Let’s begin with the Full Backs, as this is a position that will need cover as the Perieras see out, what I imagine will be, their final year in La Plata. We'll start with Mateo Allione (Left Back) and Carlos Aparicio (Right Back) - who entered the Academy externally after being poached by Bastardo. They both have spent a number of months in the Academy being tutored and mixing in with the U20 team, before being loaned out in 2020/21:

Mateo Allione - Defensa y Justica (Primera B) - 30 games, 3 goals, 3 assists, 7.04 Av Rating (all comps)

Bastardo's reflection: A-

Despite Mateo Allione playing in the league beneath us, he performed well and was Defensa's 1st choice Left Back all season. This suggests that he could probably now cope with a few Superliga games in 2021/22, Mateo is already mentally strong and physically ready for the Full Back - Support role.

Carlos Aparicio - Newell's Old Boys (Argentina Superliga) - 14 games, 2 assists, 7.08 Av Rating (all comps)

Bastardo's reflection: B

Carlos Aparicio's loan was shorter in length, covering the final 6 months of the 2020/21 season. But he played a few games and was a starter in the Copa Libertadores Group Stage. This is a great test for him, playing at the highest level in South America! The aim for 2021/22 will be to get Carlos tutored with a more senior pro, but gametime will certainly be available following the end of Emanuel Brítez's two year loan from Unión de Santa Fe. It opens up a place, and I hope he can take it.

Midfielders

Another two guys who spent last season on loan are central midfielders: Ignacio Fernández & Kevin Lizaso...who have both featured for the Argentina U20 squad. Both Ignacio and Kevin came from the Estudiantes youth system and have the club in their hearts.

Ignacio Fernández - Defensa y Justica (Primera B) - 32 games, 6 assists, 6.90 Av Rating (all comps)

Bastardo's reflection: B

Ignacio has 23 U20 caps and is usually their go-to playmaker, at just 18. A Deep Lying Playmaker for Defensa's 3rd place league finish in Primera B, he's been steadily getting the minutes in at a competitive level. I am not too worried about his 6.90 average rating...after all, the withdrawn passers do not really get the average rating they sometimes deserve in FM (in my opinion). I am probably going to get some Player Traits in there to refrain him from tackling, that's his greatest weakness, whilst trying to also boost his already high Passing and Balance.

Kevin Lizaso - Independiente Rivadavia (Primera B) - 12 games, 1 assist, 6.82 Av Rating (all comps)

Bastardo's reflection: C-

Another short 6 month loan, this time for Kevin Lizaso. I am taking his loan stats less seriously, due to the AI playing him out of position as a Winger...despite agreeing with Independiente Rivadavia that he'd play centrally. (Note- you can check what role your loaned player is regularly used in via Reports/Form in the Player Screen). It was really too late in the day to recall, so I left him fighting it out on the wings. I still see some minutes for Kevin in 2021/22, but I may have to consider a similar 6 months loan in December 2021 if I fall short of that promise.

Striker

I have a number of upcoming Platense strikers coming through, but there's only one forward to talk about today...and it's not Carlo Lattanzio (for a change)! Meet Renzo Taborda, who came through the youth intake a few years ago and has been developing at an insane rate. We had already given him 2 loans prior to sending him off to Temperley for the 2020/21 season. The results are pretty conclusive:

Renzo Taborda - Temperley (Argentina Superliga) - 22 games, 18 goals, 4 assist, 7.52 Av Rating (all comps)

Bastardo's reflection: A+

It's a perfect loan to be honest. Renzo played his games in the Advanced Forward role, as requested by me (thanks AI). It's clear he is capable at my level, moreover I now know that he can play the Advanced Forward role effectively. This is useful knowledge as I look to interchange him with current Advanced Forward Carlo Lattanzio in the first team. Could 2021/22 be the year of Renzo Taborda? Quite possibly, look at that quickness!!!

Closing Comments

So today I have outlined how I manage my academy prospects, specifically loaning out young players in FM18, and the kind of review system I undertake after each spell. There is one thing however, that I wish we had in FM18: the ability to ask the AI to match certain senior pros with the loaned youngster for player tutoring. In my view, it would add an interesting dynamic to the loan process, and an added incentive to choose the right loan for a player. I'd be keen to hear reader's thoughts on this, so do reach out in the usual places if you have an opinion: @FM_Grasshopper on Twitter or my Slack channel #fmgrasshopper.

As always, thank you for reading/sharing/caring. We'll now start playing Season 5 in La Plata, vamos!

FM Grasshopper