“Miami Galácticos” - La Plata: Vice #FM22

February 14, 2022

Previously on La Plata: Vice, Inter Miami were led by the data.

Hello. Is this post a conclusion to Season 1? Or a sequel to the data-led recruitment post last time out? Or perhaps, it’s a prequel to Season 2. Let’s just say it can be all of those things.

It’s been a busy few weeks in Miami. This post brings readers up to speed on the 2021 MLS Playoffs and subsequent off-season recruitment as we look ahead to the second, and final, MLS season here in Miami. Let’s go out with a bang…

Inter Miami 1-0 Portland Timbers (2021 MLS Cup)

I suppose I need to start this post chronologically and update you on the 2021 MLS playoffs…which Inter Miami won 🎉 The playoff format was fun, although Chris (FMEadster) and I were hit with a rather frustrating bug that meant we played out the showpiece final between one another a few weeks after the Semi Final AND, more disturbingly, with only 11 players registered on both sides. A week old bug report, which remains unanswered/acknowledged at the time of writing, details the how/why this happened.

It’s annoying Chris and I couldn’t play out the pinnacle of Season 1 MLS with our best squads, and the match definitely suffered because of it. Neither side looked capable of a goal until a rare Inter Miami attack saw Gonzalo Higuaín run into the penalty area and cross low to Rodolfo Pizarro. Two Inter Miami Designated Players combining on minute 85 to crown Inter Miami the best team in Major League Soccer. Ever?

The goal that seals a famous treble (Eastern Conference, Supporters’ Shield and The MLS Cup).

By winning the Supporters’ Shield and now the MLS Cup, Inter Miami become the first side to claim both trophies concurrently since LA Galaxy in 2011. It’s probably fair to say we are the best team in North America, and that’s a bloody good achievement considering how we looked 6 months into the campaign. Here is the completed FM Season Print™ for you to download and stick on your fridge door…

Miami Galácticos

My previous post in this series detailed the data-led scouting approach that I wanted to undertake on the domestic market ahead of 2022 recruitment. With FM Stag’s help we identified a number of players that we’d compete for in the various MLS drafts at the end of the calendar year. In addition to this, a $20m war chest was handed out to me by England President David Beckham for that one marquee DP signing, who could push us on towards the main target of 2022: CONCACAF Champions League.

I’ll therefore detail below how we did in the various markets (Drafts/Trades and Discovery), and explain some of my reasonings for making these recruitment decisions.

Domestic Drafts, Trades & Generation Adidas

Oneil Fisher (Re-Entry) - One of Stag’s top recommendations was signed from the Stage 1 Re-Entry draft. Fisher arrives as our 1st choice Right Back, but also is natural at left back. I hope he can continue his high performances in tackles and interceptions that propelled him to the top of Stag’s data tableau for defensive performances 📈.

Carlos Rivas ($0) - Another Stag recommendation is Carlos Rivas. He arrives as a backup Striker for some much needed pace and acceleration. Although not strictly a domestic draft or trade, Rivas re-enters the league on a Free having being associated with Orlando City a few years ago in MLS. His high attacking stats detailed last time out were earned in the Colombian 2nd tier, so I am cautious with my optimism as to how this signing might turn out 🤞.

Andreu Fontàs (Trade) - I missed out on a Stag recommendation hat-trick by losing out to DC United on a trade for Atlanta Winger, Brooks Lennon. But we did make a good trade for a guy who can play both Centre-Back and Left Back instead. Fontàs joins from a brief visit at Columbus Crew, after being signed briefly from Kansas City.

I like Fontàs’ ability on the ball, and I think he can be brought into games as a Ball Playing Defender when I feel we’ll get more possession. With his good Technicals and Vision, he also suits a three at the back system with him pushing on or perhaps even slot as a DM when I need someone to sit and spread the play. He provides a lot of options. The only downside is his high salary, and he is perhaps the one signing where I’m not sure it’s definitely the best decision to recruit, as it prevents me from registering 2-3 lesser squad players.

Dirk Fritze (Generation Adidas) - I previously traded with Austin FC for their seventh 1st round Superdraft pick. With six Generation Adidas players (usually the best in the draft) available, I was hoping one of the AI clubs before me would not select one. This turned out to be the case, with Dirk Fritze being the final GA player selected on pick 7 🎉 . Fickle Fritze looks ok, and he’ll definitely be getting MLS and US Open Cup minutes across the season from the left wing.

Discovery Signings

Edwin Cardona ($0m) - Rodolfo Pizarro, who started out as a deeper playmaker in season 1, has ended up as a Striker alongside Gonzalo Higuain in my 4-4-2. It just seems to work better this way. So, I therefore moved quickly to get a creative presence in midfield before the season concluded having seen Edwin Cardona’s decision to leave Tijuana/Boca Juniors on a Free.

There is a lot to like about Cardona. A Midfield Orchestrator media description tag in FM usually gets me excited. He has great vision and technical quality, with the ability to play in various midfield positions.

His signing was my first foray into using Target Allocation Money (TAM) too. TAM is a pot of money from the league which allows me to bring down big salaries during the contract negotiations, meaning I’ve got a near Designated Player on Senior Contract terms 🤝.

Valon Behrami ($70k) - It must be about 10-15 years ago, but I once remember reading Valon Behrami described as “The Swiss David Beckham”. So, I thought it only fair to unite them both in Miami. Blonde hair dye aside, Behrami and Beckham are very different players.

Signed once again with TAM as a non-DP, Behrami is a great versatile option covering Right Back, Central & Right Midfield. He has the traits which suit what I want from the positions I’ll mainly play him in (central midfield + at full back), and he has a load of Swiss Fibra 🇨🇭👊🏻.

Esteban Andrada ($12m) - This particular signing got people animated over on FM Slack, as it seems Goalkeepers are not rated by those FMers who pour hundreds of hours into the game. The position is seemingly the fault of all goals BUT also so ineffectual that there is no point acquiring a good one. The duality of that previous sentence blows my mind, and I hope somebody can sit down with me and explain it in Jens Lehmann’s terms.

In short, we paid out $12m (just under $8m of it upfront) for the services of 30-year-old Goalkeeper Esteban Andrada, so that he could become our 3rd and final Designated Player for 2022, after Nani’s release. Now, there’s an emotional decision when signing ‘Discovery’ DPs in this league. Your transfer budget is largely dedicated to them, and you need to attract big players over on contracts that, for the most part, sit outside of the salary cap. There is a danger that previous ‘Moneyball’ can go out the window, and I wouldn’t begrudge anybody for doing that.

But despite all this upfront cash, I’ve still been partially led by the data: with Andrada’s previous club (Monterrey) sitting in a loaded league (Mexico’s Liga MX). I therefore can trust the player data a bit more, as it’s under the same processes to generate player and team statistics (in contrast to those leagues not loaded). So, why does Andrada appeal?

Ranked 1st for shutouts (11 in 22).
Conceded 0.72 per 90.
Ranked 5th in expected goals prevented (5.44).
Ranked 2nd in save percentages (79%).
(data from 2021/22 Liga MX Apertura)

Esteban Andrada is a great Goalkeeper in Football Manager 2022. He is a clear upgrade on non-DP Nick Marsman from Season 1, and he’s entering his prime years. The salary is also relatively low for a Designated Player (25% of Higuain’s for example). He’s the best ‘keeper in the league. Period.

Squad Building in MLS - my thoughts…

After taking into account the incomings above, and how they complement the wider squad…this is how we shape up for 2022:

I found putting the above graphic together helpful, even if it’s pretty much replicating the Squad / Team Depth Chart in FM22 (I was always one of those guys at school that had to write something down before I could learn it!). I’ve assembled a core 22, which contains cover in each position. I feel like I have managed to improve the First XI over the last few weeks…although it’s not been an easy task.

If you’re one to shout for a Football Manager Hard Mode, Major League Soccer squad building might just be it. Here are my thoughts as to why:

Deciding on whether you want a top First XI, or whether you build a solid 18.
It’s rarely both. I’ll have to waive solid 2021 squad members (Leerdam and Marsman) in order to fit people into the 2022 squad registration. In past FMs, I’d probably phase people out of squads, whereas MLS feels more ruthless. There is no point wasting International slots or wages on guys who you know you’ve replaced in the long run. They’re cut at the first opportunity.
Salary cap mean you miss out on targets.
Despite being rich, excess transfer budget and internal salary budgets are secondary to the $4.9m league salary cap that you sit within. I know for a fact there are a few players available that would improve my First XI, but you get to the point where not even bringing the salary down with GAM/TAM can save you.
Draft orders mean you miss out on targets.
This is alien to a lot of us non-North Americans, but a certain parity is restored to the poor performing teams of the league by allowing them to pick from the various draft pools first. It’s a nice way of limiting the monopolies of the richer/more reputable clubs. I warm to this way of operating more and more…but still, it still grates on you when you see a target plucked away from you in the draft!
Reputational challenges.
I should be all too familiar to this, having managed in FM South America. Given the choice, players will want to move to Europe or stay in Europe if they can. It’s logical, Major League Soccer isn’t attractive to the majority of those in their prime. Despite this, there is no doubt the league is less of the retirement home that it used to be. Nowadays a lot of top youngsters are willing to use the league as a stepping stone, accept it.
Superdraft quality.
I wish the quality of the Superdraft was a little better. Perhaps Chris and I just had a stinker, but the 2022 Generation Adidas felt a little underwhelming. Hopefully it’s not always as bad, otherwise squad building will be a real challenge for saves longer than our two years!

Season 2

It took us almost three(!) real-life months to complete Season 1 of The MLS Save™, sorry about that. But Chris and I have really enjoyed the chillaxed vibe of our streams, tune in if any of the above has interested you over on 📺 twitch.tv/fm_grasshopper (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays).

As always, thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

"Data-led Scouting in Major League Soccer" feat. @FM_Stag - La Plata: Vice #FM22

February 7, 2022

Previously on La Plata: Vice, Inter Miami made the 2021 MLS Playoffs.

Intro

“Moneyball”. It’s a recruitment concept that’s well known, and which has been adopted by a lot of FMers over the years (in varying levels of accuracy). However, I am here today alongside pen pal FM Stag, not to re-introduce Moneyball as a concept or explain what it is and isn’t, but rather we’re simply using data intelligently. We want to make sensible recruitment decisions for my Inter Miami side as I enter the 2022 season in Football Manager 2022. Welcome to Data-led Scouting in Major League Soccer…

Why bother?

Each year, Major League Soccer clubs go through a rebuild of sorts (rebuild: another commonly used term in FM circles) when forming their rosters for the season ahead. With a finite amount of international slots and a salary cap in place, I need to find value when building my squad from within the MLS bubble. Otherwise, I could go over budget very fast, or waste specialised squad slots, if I make rash/biased transfer dealings (e.g. signing a 37-year-old Carlos Tevez as one good/bad example).

So, with a full season’s worth of MLS performance data, I can now pass my save file over to FM Stag…who will drill down into the data to see if there are available players that can be recruited within the internal Major League Soccer system. His expert/unpaid analysis will allow me to recruit during two distinct MLS phases:

The Waiver + Re-Entry Drafts - this phase centres around players whose contracts expire on 31 December 2021. Their clubs will ‘waive’ them, meaning I can apply for them against an ordered draft between other MLS clubs. At a later date, there will be other players who will be expiring that will look to re-enter the league too. Again, an ordered draft will occur where players will either come on existing wages or have brand new contracts. For a concise breakdown of how this all works, please consult this guide from Chris / FMEadster.
So, can Stag provide a shortlist of a few names to look out for during these drafts? Is there value in giving these players another chance in MLS? Stag’s first task in Data-led Scouting is finding domestic players with expiring contracts.
2022 Player Trading. Trading allows me to deal directly with specific clubs for a more targeted approach to player recruitment. I wrote about my experiences of using Trading last time on the blog. So, using a full season of MLS performance data, Stag will provide a few ‘statistically best’ players for three squad positions, which will form part of Inter Miami’s transfer strategy for 2022.

The first of those three positions is Goalkeeper - Nick Marsman has been solid, but does take up an International slot. Is there a better domestic GK out there I can try to get?

The second position is Left Back - We have Joevin Jones as the 1st choice LB, but I noticed he was jaded due to the sheer amount of games he was playing this year. That's only going to get worse in 2022 as we will have CONCACAF to deal with also. So, I would like a back-up Left Back from MLS - who is an attacking outlet through crossing and effective dribbling.

Lastly, the final position I want to trade for in 2022 is the Right Midfielder - I believe Lewis Morgan would have become MLS Player of the Season had it not been for the 11 month injury he received part way through the second half of the season. I therefore need a Right Winger (Wide Midfielder on Attack) who can rotate with Robbie Robinson. I would have an added attraction to anybody who can also play left wing also (IW-A), so two good feet are desirable. Because I have the adjacent central midfielder bombing forward (CM-S with Gets Further Forward), I would like this player to be mentally mature with solid Decisions, Positioning, Teamwork and Work Rate.

Data-led Scouting - FM Stag

Taking on the responsibility of scouting on behalf of a team managed by someone else has its perceived challenges. I don’t select the players, define the tactical shape, nor decide roles or duties on matchday. Nor do I have the emotional attachment to certain players based on watching every match and celebrating each successful phase of play or chastising certain individuals for glaring errors.

I don’t see this as a negative, however. My job here is to see past the expressive element of football and to judge the current Inter Miami playing squad and the wider team by their performance numbers. This is to highlight gaps and then recommend recruitment options who theoretically fill these gaps within the parameters set out by FM Grasshopper.

Analysis of existing team

The first thing I did was set up the Data Hub in a way that primarily gives me a high-level view of how Inter Miami compared against other MLS teams on various offensive and defensive metrics this season. This also allowed me to compare the individual players against those plying their trade at other MLS clubs. This can help in identifying any existing strengths and weaknesses ahead of any scouting assignments.

Defensively

My first thoughts are that while the collective defensive performance has no glaring deficiencies, the team is ninth in the table for tackle success ratio. Also notable is that a high percentage of goals have been conceded from through-balls. This is 25 goals in 49 games, 47.2% of all conceded. Therefore, the most dangerous regular opposition threat is coming down the centre, on the turf, not in the air or on the counter, with incredibly only one goal conceded in 49 games from opposition long balls.

Offensively

Inter Miami have the highest headers won ratio in MLS, but the lowest number of attempted headers per game. This is coupled with the highest cross completion ratio in the league. While crosses and headers are exceptionally productive, they don’t occur nearly enough for this to be hugely impactful to results. This seems more likely a tactical preference. Given the low volume of headers, statistically I think the high success rate might be down to the small sample size and not that the team is blessed with giant target forwards and laser-accurate wingers.

Inter Miami have the highest goals per game ratio and best shot conversion rate in MLS, so attacks are regular and more clinical than their rivals, but the pass completion ratio of 88% across the team is only good enough for 10th in the overall table of 27 teams.

What does this suggest?

This suggests that defensively Miami need more imposing centre backs who are more proficient in winning the ball back in the tackle. They would also benefit from more accurate and creative passers in midfield. Although the attack has delivered excellent numbers that cannot be faulted, the strike force of Nani and Gonzalo Higuain will soon have a combined age of 70. Robbie Robinson may only be 22; but since moving from a striking berth to the right side of midfield in mid-October, he has looked much more confident and natural in that position. Reinforcements needed.

(1) Domestic players with expiring contracts

As a reminder, the brief is:

“Identify players who are eligible to be registered as ‘domestic players’ within the MLS whose contracts are expiring at the end of December 2021. Position and role-agnostic, I am hunting for statistical gems. Those who may provide a low-cost boost to Inter Miami, wherever it can be found”.

There are 67 players who are in this bucket who need our attention. I stuck with players who had played a minimum of 500 minutes this season, otherwise the statistical sample size is simply too small to be truly useful.

For me, the first thing to do is to map out their performance numbers on a scatter plot and see who stands out at first glance. This will compare the outfield players only, which is 59 of the 67. Goalkeeper analysis comes later.

Soon-to-be Free Agents (domestic players)

Attacking Contribution is a calculation of key passes, chances created, successful dribbles, assists, shots on target, goals and xG per 90 plus xG per shot plus adjusted average rating.

Defensive Performance is a calculation of interceptions, tackles, and headers won per 90 /2 plus adjusted average rating. I’d love to include blocks and clearances, but we don’t get straightforward access to those numbers.

A helpful overview, the plot combines these values to give overall general offensive and defensive ratings for each potential target, though each suggestion requires further inspection.

***drumroll*** My outfield recommendations are:

Honourable mentions worth a look are Callum Montgomery (24, CB, Minnesota), Nick DePuy (27, CB, La Galaxy) and Chris Wondolowski (38, AMC/ST, San Jose Earthquakes).

(2) MLS talents for potential future acquisition

As a reminder, the brief is:

“Identify players who are already registered in MLS, regardless of current contract status, who may represent quality improvements to Inter Miami’s squad in the year ahead, trade availability permitting. This is primarily to look for a new Goalkeeper, Left-Back and Right-Winger, but the scope of our search may extend a little further if there any treasures unearthed who stand out from the rough, statistically”.

When scouting for players already in your own division, the Data Hub makes this a lot easier to navigate through. The ‘Player’ tab allows you to compare your players performances to those of their peers in the same league immediately across various metrics. This can lead you to players you may have overlooked who you can then look at more closely. This is one of the methods used to identify the potential targets below.

Goalkeeper Recommendation:

Honourable mentions worth a look are Matt Turner (27, GK, New England Revolution) and Andre Blake (31, GK, Philadelphia Union).

Left-Back Recommendation:

Honourable mentions worth a look are Chase Gasper (25, LB, Minnesota) or Malte Amundsen (23, LB, New York City).

Right-Midfielder Recommendation:

Honourable mentions worth a look are Brooks Lennon (24, RM, Atlanta United) or Ignacio Aliseda (21, RM, Chicago Fire).

Bonus recommendations:

Additional recommendations based on performance statistics from players currently registered at MLS clubs are Franco Fragapane (28, LM, Minnesota), Donovan Pines (23, CB, DC United) and Kacper Przybyłko (28, ST, Philadelphia Union).

Conclusion - FM Grasshopper

Huge (immeasurable) thanks to Stag, who executed this data report expertly and pretty much inline with my vision for this post. Stag has offered a detached/unbiased view when scouting which has been purely led by the statistics, and it shows. Sure, there are names I recognise and would like to have at Inter Miami…but there are also diamonds there in the rough that I certainly would overlook at first glance.

I’ve got three names to look out for during the various end of season post-contract Waiver/Re-entry drafts, with a further three also in consideration. For the 2022 Trades, I’ve got three top targets to fill problem positions, and a further six as back-ups if the AI doesn’t play ball. Furthermore, Stag has cast a light on other positions I could recruit towards with a trio of names as bonus recommendations.

I had planned to withhold this post so that I could also update readers on the drafts/trades, in order to show you how I got on. However, the drafts do not arrive at the same time…and nor will the trading. So, my successes/failures in the market will be demonstrated in a subsequent post during Season 2 of The MLS Save.

Want to keep updated in the meantime? Why not jump into one of the streams Chris (@FMEadster) and I do each week (over on twitch.tv/fm_grasshopper) OR follow me on Twitter (@FM_Grasshopper) - where I will be certain to make noise about any new signing arriving on the Miami coast.

As always, thanks for reading/sharing & caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

“Trading Places” - La Plata: Vice #FM22

January 31, 2022

Previously on La Plata: Vice, Ángel Bastardo plotted towards war.

Intro

Make no mistake, I am loving this save. After a difficult 6 months in MLS (documented here), Inter Miami have finally accepted Ángel Bastardo as the Head Coach to steer them into the path of glory. Does this mean a first ever club trophy win? No sweat: a 2021 Supporters’ Shield for being absolutely the best side in the league. Most goals, most points and sexy football too. Inter Miami have been sensational in the final few months of the domestic regular season, I can’t wait to share it with you in this blog.

Today’s blog therefore brings readers up-to-speed on the happenings of the The MLS Network Save, which features fellow blogger Chris aka FM Eadster, as we look ahead to the climax of Season: the 2021 MLS playoffs. But firstly, I’m going to write about something that has been an enjoyable sideshow in the save so far: the league’s Trading system.

Vamos.

Trading Places

Think back to the 1990s school playground in the height of Merlin Premier League sticker season, you'd do anything to get that shiny Eric Tinkler sticker. If you're too young to remember those, or were yet to exist, think Pokémon or whatever it is nowadays…an NFT blockchain monkey John Terry dressed in a football kit?

In those times, we'd trade. We’d do anything to complete the set…money changed hands, favours…I even coaxed my dad into taking me to the McDonald's Fast Food chain to SitNSwap. My experiences in Football Manager 2022's Major League Soccer is a throwback to those times. 'Trading' is a unique way to build your side, a dynamic between MLS clubs that is similar to the 90s playground.

For trading to work well, not only can you use the league's dollars (from the pot known as 'General Allocation Money'), you can also trade ordered draft picks, player rights, international slots and also players themselves (read FM Eadster’s handy guide here for more info). In The MLS Save, I did a mix of some of these things in a busy September; as shown in the below graphic:

A critic (let’s call him Stan Fear) could say that giving away an International Slot for a DP of 4 months is desperate business, but I still feel I played the Trade System well having built up a surplus of International slots in the first place. I replaced a Right Back like-for-like. I swapped an unhappy squad player, and replaced him with a risk-free DP signing of Nani and ended up +1 International slots for next season (2022 year). To top all that, I have several early picks in the MLS Superdraft, meaning that I could possibly acquire a couple of promising youngsters to leave a little legacy at Miami. This system was really fun, well done Major League Soccer. Now how did those signings do?

Season 2021: Regular Season Climax

It’s often said that “a picture paints a thousand words”, so here is a quick high-level overview of the trophy laden drama of our first attempt at regular season in Major League Soccer. Obviously, we have the playoffs still to come…but this is a really impressive haul of success for Chris & I:

At the midpoint of the season, Orlando City were 15 points clear of Inter Miami. But the onset of their slide was caused by the Flordian Derby defeat to yours truly back in August. It obviously helped further when I took Nani from them via a trade. Weaken.A.Rival is probably the lesson learned here, as we traded places in MLS two weeks before the regular season ended.

13 wins (including one away at Chepiga’s Portland Timbers) in the final 19 games of the season saw us rise up to top both Eastern Conference, and also win the prestigious Supporters’ Shield. Inter Miami’s first ever trophy, built on entertaining soccer, is another footnote in the legend of Bastardo 😍

As for the incoming trades mentioned earlier, Graham Zusi played a lot more than I originally thought (8 starts/730 minutes). He has been solid and will probably feature in a few further playoff minutes (however a replacement Right Back is still a must for Season 2’s recruitment). Nani’s 4 month stay will probably be best remembered for his two goals Vs Atlanta, the first being linked below as a #GIFGoal. It’s one of the best strikes I’ve seen in FM22 so far, and you can read what Chris Eadie thought about it below. I’m hoping he can produce similar bits of magic during the playoffs, before we wave goodbye to him and use the DP slot on somebody a bit younger and more consistent.

**SUPER NANI USA**

*“It was lovely. Right up in the top upper 90 quarters”* Chris (FMEadster)

442 - “Going into Lockdown”

I mentioned last time in the blog that I was cautiously optimistic about how we’d do in a 4-4-2. Early signs were suggesting we’d be a threat on the flanks and produce more entertaining soccer (a Club Vision), and it’s certainly been realised with the amount of goals we scored over the regular season. However, an overlooked quality is the ability to see out a game in this 4-4-2, something I was keen to do after that horrific 3-2 home defeat Vs Orlando City (as mentioned last time out). Chris (@FMEadster) and I often use the term "lockdown" during the streams to mean shutting out a game. But what is it? I explain in the below Loom video…

So far Lockdown in the 4-4-2 has been a rip-roaring success, having sacrificed a winning position from minutes 70 onwards on just one occasion (Vs Columbus Crew which finished 2-2). Is it time you entered lockdown too?

Playoffs, Next

I am really liking the MLS league system, having a knockout competition after a league campaign is a throwback to both my Colombian (Junior - FM21) and Uruguayan (Peñarol - FM20) saves. Alongside CONCACAF qualification, another reward for winning the Supporters’ Shield is a bye to the Semi Final of the Eastern Conference playoffs. These are single legged ties, which I will play at home (another reward for topping the Eastern Conference table). ‘IF’ I make it to the Final and win…I’ll enter the coveted MLS Cup where I will face the winner of the Western playoffs.

Could that final be a rematch with Ruslan Chepiga? Tune in to find out: 📺 twitch.tv/fm_grasshopper (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays).

As always, thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

“Angels Are Terrifying” - La Plata: Vice #FM22

January 18, 2022

Previously on La Plata: Vice, Ángel Bastardo lost a Designated Player and survived a team uprising.

Portland, Oregon

Ruslan Chepiga's floating desk was a truly incredible and innovative piece of furniture, Ángel Bastardo mused as he ran his index finger along the metallic surface. With the magnetic forces to levitate it, Chepiga’s place for ‘accounts’ floated almost 1m above the floor with long metallic wires protruding from its four corners and into the floor. The final cost of development, construction and installation came to a monstrous US $1.6 million, all funded from Inter Miami Billionaire General Manager Herb Simon’s hospitality accounts.

Herb’s gift was just one strategy in securing the services of Ruslan, who would be needed when things escalated in America. Escalate they would. Hugo Ojeda had increased the amount of money that now need to be laundered, and Chepiga’s intelligence had identified Colombian operatives spying on all those that now sat in front of Chepiga: Nathasha Sibiski, Herb Simon, Carlos Valderrama and Ángel Bastardo.

The four men and the lady were discussing their next moves, on the eve of the crunch MLS tie: Portland Timbers Vs Inter Miami. How can they avoid the clutches of Hugo Ojeda and, in Ruslan's case, avoid the death threats made from the Ojeda-Barranquilla Cartel? Perhaps Ruslan did not need much convincing to get his hands dirty after all. He needed allies after defecting Mother Russia for the US.

“Do you know why I wanted a desk, Comrades?” asked Chepiga in his typical monotone Russian accent. His tone neither raising or lowering in pitch, and before anybody could answer, Ruslan continued: “It’s because I’ve spent my life doing the dirty work of men behind desks. Men who raised above their station from factories as part of the communist dream. Not anymore. Once we deal with this Devil called Ojeda, I sit behind the desk”.

Ruslan Chepiga finally understood the game, Ángel Bastardo thought. The days of the Russian Agent were over and Ruslan could have whatever he wanted after all of this. Bastardo’s fight was with Hugo Ojeda, and he didn’t care what came after that. The boy he left back in Mexico had acquired unimaginable wealth and power. With those luxuries came the biggest ego ever. An ego made of glass, Hugo’s vulnerabilities had made him dangerous and unpredictable. Public death threats were one thing, but his advances on Natasha Sibiski could not be ignored and overlooked. Bastardo had to look out for her whilst the tectonic plates of Bastardo and Chepiga rubbed up close against the Ojeda Cartel. People will die, and it could not be her.

“To take down an empire, you have to divide it,” Bastardo said to the group. “You’ve heard my plans. Natasha will head to Mexico to sow the seeds of discontent between the disenfranchised Cartels where Ojeda once called home”.

Natasha nodded, with a slight gaze to Billionaire Herb Simon who had clearly heard her siren’s call. No doubt, Miss Sibiski had men under her charm…but a near 90-year-old Billionaire was a surprise.

“Herb” Bastardo called, waking the old man from her spell, “You will continue to clean the money. Real estate, sponsorships…everything you’ve been doing for us. Once this is done, I promise assets will be reacquired back to you, and more”.

Turning to his Assistant Head Coach, a beaming Carlos Valderrama, “Carlos and I will continue to play the farce in Major League Soccer, but we will make sure Miami is ready for what’s about to happen once the money is to be shipped back to Colombia”.

Bastardo signed off with one last cold stare to the man behind the floating desk: “Ruslan. Ready Portland for war, you have 1 year”.

Ruslan rarely smiled. In fact, this was probably one of the only times Ángel Bastardo had ever seen it. The smile could have been lifting the desk itself, it was infectious. The Russian nodded and chuckled to his audience, as he wagged his index finger towards his audience. The finger wore a large pulsating red jewel, which displayed the hammer and sickle: “You know Comrades, I was not religious until I met the man they call Ángel Bastardo. But, let me tell you, Angels are terrifying”.

Notes from the Editor - Chris (FM Eadster) said I write some lovely placeholders. He has therefore allowed me to borrow his character in the shared Bastardoverse in order to show the plotting towards some of the climaxes of La Plata: Vice. I guess this is the definition of a placeholder, not much happens…but we are at least starting to see the journey towards the fireworks. Bastardo has brought together the right people that could bring down the Ojeda-Barranquilla Empire. But will they? That’s all TBA.

For more Football Manager specific Bastardo-Chepiga content, head to twitch.tv/fm_grasshopper TONIGHT. It’s Portland Vs Miami in The MLS Save.

Thanks for reading/sharing/caring,

Tony / FM Grasshopper

Football Manager Data Analysis: Trequartista feat. @afmoldtimer #FM22

December 15, 2021

Hi,

As part of my Football Manager Tactics series, I recently wrote about a 4-3-1-2 tactic with Western United, during a short one season save in Australia’s A-League. The system was partly based on replicating the 2000 Italian era three striker attack using Puntas & Fantasistas. At the heart of this side was 38-year-old Alessandro Diamanti as the Trequartista, the player operating between the lines of the opposition’s defence and midfield in the AMC position. It was only after publishing that I received a DM from A FM Old Timer (Chris), who suggested that it would be good to take a deeper [statistical] dive into Diamanti and the Trequartista role. I agreed, and sent him over the save file.

With this objective, Chris has produced a short report below that evidences the Trequartista role’s behaviour and output within the Football Manager 2022 Match Engine. This allows us to answer several questions we had about the role. Questions such as: How did Diamanti’s metric stack up against his peers? Was Diamanti good value as the sole Designated Player at Western United? And: Does the outcome from Chris’ statistical analysis align with the preconceived thought processes I had when embarking on the original tactical post?

If any of that interests you, then please stick around for more below. Over to Chris.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

Passing - Chance Creation & Retention

Taking a deeper dive into Diamanti’s attacking metrics, you can see how creative he was for his team mates, with 5.05 key passes/90. This was the second best in the A-League, and makes it little wonder that he averaged an assist every other game (0.50 A/90). His pass completion of 82.39% was also impressive, given he operated at the cutting edge of the pitch, yielding more pressure and an increased likelihood of passes being cut out by blocks from defensive midfielders or opposition defenders. It would be rare for an attacking midfielder to average north of 90%, because they simply don’t have the time and space due to opposition players pressing and looking to make tackles or interceptions.

Yet if you look at his passes attempted per 90, you begin to see how trequartista’s differ from advanced playmakers in the attacking strata. Whilst he looks for space, play isn’t run through him. Instead, he's looking for space to exploit and unlock the opposition defence. As such, he received the ball far less frequently, and this is played out in his 49.68 passes per 90, well below average for a midfielder.

Let's dive further into this - if he attempted 49.68 passes per 90, and 5.05 of these were key passes over the same measure, then 10.17% of the passes he attempted were key. Key passes are only passes completed, so he was even more prolific in his chance creation if that metric is used - a staggering 12.35%. This is a remarkable frequency of passes that led to a likely chance of a goal being created. Little wonder then that his creativity shows up in his assist numbers - 0.48, practically one every other game.

Yes, his turnover rate (possession lost) per ninety was pretty high at 9.79/90, but remember the type of passes he would be trying to make, trying cutting open defensive set-ups, unlike more defensive midfielders who have the option to lay the ball back to their defenders for a safe and easy pass. Even if he did have this option, it's not in the trequartista's make-up. Add to the fact that he is without the ability to run at opponents due to his lack of pace and acceleration to vary his attacks - they know he’s going to pass rather than take on the dribble, and they should be able to set themselves up accordingly. Digging into his dribbling, he only completed 13 dribbles (or 0.48/90) the entire season - if he could avoid running with it, he did.

Shot & Goal Creation

It’s not just that Diamanti was good at finding space and creating passes for his teammates, he also had a large number of shots for a midfielder - 2.35/90. These shots led to an xG of 0.23/90, which he did beat the xG, but only by 0.04/90 - though there are two penalty goals thrown in here, which would ideally be discounted.

By adding his actual goals to his assists on average over the course of the season, his goal contribution per ninety was 0.77 - an expected goal or an assist every 116 minutes. It's frustrating not to be able to compare this to his expected goal contribution due to the lack of expected assists in game, but one could imagine that with the frequency of key passes that Diamanti's expected assists could be even higher, meaning with better quality teammates, his actual goal contribution could have been higher still, despite playing on the twilight of his career.

Thanks to FM Stag for this handy infographic

Defensive Actions

Where things look a little less rosy on first inspection, if not that much of a surprise for a trequartista given their player instructions of press less, is Diamanti winning/losing possession stats. With his inability to quickly close opponents down to enact a press in an attempt to force a turnover due to his lack of a burst of speed, he yielded a net -6.27 gains in possession. Simply put, he turned over the ball to his opponents 6.27 more times than he won it back from them with a tackle or a block/interception. Equally, he only made 1.39 tackles and interceptions (combined) per 90 - the lowest of any player to play 1,000 or more minutes in the attacking central midfield berth - though there were only six players given the small number of teams and the fact that most teams opted not to field someone in this strata. That said, this figure of 1.39 is still 0.74 below the next ‘worst’ player.

However, this actually makes complete sense, at least in terms of why this number is likely to be below zero. He should be reserving his stamina for when the ball is given to him rather than going and looking for it in a hurry, instead relying on others around him to cease back possession. This is precisely because he lacks the necessary turn of speed over short distances that forces opponents into a mistake. Furthermore, in engaging in such a press, this would put him nearer to defenders such that he would find it harder to find the little pockets of space to make those defence splitting passes. It's speculation, but it's very probable that increased pressing, and as a result boosting his defensive actions, would very likely have resulted in a decrease in his attacking output.

It certainly would have reduced his ability to complete games, with Diamanti only being substituted on two occasions and missing the final A League game against Melbourne City entirely. Racking up 2,177 minutes out of a possible 2,340 across an entire league season is no mean feat for someone of his age. The mark of a class player doesn't always lie in their goal contributions, defensive actions or even saves percentages, it's in his availability. On this simple yet often overlooked metric, Diamanti had the stamina of someone ten years his junior, when players are said to be at the peak of their powers.

If this report interested you and you’d like a similar analysis of players, or even suggestions for recruitment based upon player metrics, DM me on A FM Old Timer on Twitter.