SuperClub Diaries (Vol.1) - The Swiss Model #FM24

The 2024/25 Swiss Model

On Wednesday 13 December 2023, European football said goodbye to the Champions League Group Stages; a system that UEFA have had in place for the majority of my life. But there’s no time for mourning, as FMers we have the opportunity to peek into the future and experience the new ‘Swiss model’.

In fact, it’s been in FM for at least two editions now…yet my first experience of it came in Season 2 of SuperCub Diaries in Football Manager 2024. I had always planned to spend some time writing about my experience with Swiss models, and why I actually liked them over previous models, but that was made certain when I saw a Scottish FMer shitpost about them. So, herein lies the purpose of this blog: why I like Swiss models…

It is probably worth clarifying that my view is solely from the point of view of a super club. Afterall, this is SuperClub Diaries. The experience of Swiss models may well be different if you’re (1) not elite (like I am) or (2) lack the Qatari billions of a top 5 GDP nation (like I do). Being aware of your biases is something I am increasingly more conscious of as I grow older, so it is probably worth thinking about your biases relating to any Swiss models before reading on further.

Thought about them already? Wow, that was quick. Let’s begin…

Variety

Should we frown upon a couple more games in the revised group format? Maybe, but let’s not forget this is the UEFA Champions League. This is the pinnacle of club football. I would rather have more games at this level than a domestic dead rubber. The new Swiss model now introduces eight matches, and all of them with different opponents. I quite like the variety this brings and the tactical match ups they allow.

 

My initial Swiss model opponents.

 

Temperature gauge

As an elite club, I found the Swiss model an effective gauge to see how good my PSG was in Season 2 Vs other Super Clubs earlier on in the UCL campaign. We faced Manchester City at home, arguably the toughest opposition in Europe during the 3rd UCL gameweek. I was quickly able to get a feel how good we really were, and that’s nice before going into the crucial two-legged knockouts.

Parc des Princes.

Bravo FFF

The French Football Federation is prepared for Swiss models (no Coupe de la Ligue and a reduction in Ligue 1 sides to 18). It seems other nations, like England, are not. This goes back to my first point, more games in UCL are compensated for by a reduction in French domestic games. I’m ok with that, most of you readers probably call it a Farmer’s League anyway. Shame on you, connards.

Feel rewarded

Again, in keeping the busy schedules in mind…as a super club I feel rewarded for doing well by finishing in the top 8. I try to gamify many things in my real life in order for things to work better (my own children finishing their meals, the girls I train at football, my work colleagues’ output etc.) and it is good to see UEFA taking a similar approach by incentivising the big clubs for performing well within the Swiss model.

Six super clubs made the top 8!

I appreciate that there will still be dead rubber matches, for example: between two top 8 teams cancelling one another out in order to both go through. But that’s not my problem. I simply enjoyed the gamification of finishing in that top 8 and getting a convenient bye into the Last 16.

Knockouts

Despite the introduction of a round before the Last 16 (for those teams finishing in places 9-24), the UCL then became familiar again with a two-legged knockout pathway to the Final. I appreciate this is not the Swiss model, but it’s worth once again praising UEFA for not changing everything, all at once. So, that means all the familiar FM heartbreak is still there to experience year-on-year…like this Semi Final defeat AET against Liverpool:

Eurgh 💔

The 2025 Club World Cup

Not to be outdone by UEFA, it’s now FIFA’s turn to revise their premium club competition: the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. If you are not familiar with the revised format, don’t worry…I am sure you can guess what it means: more clubs, more games and more excitement.

32 teams fall into eight groups, with the top two progressing to the Last 16, it almost feels (dare I say it) a lot like the pre-Swiss UEFA Champions League Group Stage format. PSG were not the only SuperClub Diaries representatives either with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Inter, Manchester City and Real Madrid joining them (that latter joining the Parisians in Group F)…

It’s fair to say that my PSG side found their groove in the competition, and although we didn’t quite get the big wins that some had in the tournament, we beat everything in front of us in a new-look 4222 shape. Rather embarrassingly, I think we have become the first side to win the Club World Cup without having won a top continental trophy. We really are trailblazers!

Note - I could go into how poorly this revised competition has been implemented in Football Manager 2024. Like the lack of training beforehand, or the bugs around the draw taking place after the groups are already visible in another window. Or the season reseting mid-tournament, which mucks up a lot of things like Board expectations, players’ statistical data etc. But I won’t, simply have fun with it 😀

England

Manchester City once again pipped Liverpool to the Premier League title on the final day of the season, and also boast a League Cup win. However, question marks remain over Pep Guardiola’s performance this season having exited at the Champions League Last 16 stage against Italian super club Juventus. Liverpool’s painful season continued with a 0-2 Champions League final defeat against Barcelona in Munich. Both goals came in the final few minutes of normal time. Chelsea and Manchester United qualify for next season’s Champions League, with the former also winning their 9th FA Cup.

France

A combined €85m January investment in Ousmane Diomande, Karim Konaté and Teun Koopmeiners energised Paris Saint Germain to see them lift a 4th consecutive league title. The Parisian outfit broke a defensive club record with 14 goals conceded throughout the Ligue 1 campaign. An improved performance in the Champions League saw the club exit at the Semi Final stage, but the management team’s greatest reprieve will be the club’s 1st ever Club World Cup trophy. Will it be enough to see them stay on for 2025/26?

Germany

The €100m signing of Victor Osimhen was not enough to grant Bayern Munich anything more than a Last 16 Champions League exit. However they did take back the Bundlesiga title from RB Leipzig, and also won the DFB-Pokal. The Munich Board will be expecting more from Thomas Tuchel’s men however, after allowing almost €250m to be invested into the play squad over 2024/25.

Italy

The Milan clubs occupy 1st and 2nd place in Serie A. AC Milan win their 20th Serie A title, partly led by a terrific campaign from Samuel Chukwueze with 16 goals and 5 assists. Inter fall short against Napoli in the Coppa Italia, and Juventus finished 5th for the second consecutive season. Only this time, the Turin outfits missed out on Champions League football due to the European coefficient changing adversely for Italian clubs.

Spain

18-year-old Endrick arrives for his debut season with Real Madrid and scores 19 goals in all competitions, he experiences his first taste of LaLiga silverware too with Real Madrid’s 95 point haul. 2nd place Barcelona will not grimace too much though, having beaten rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final and the big one: a 6th European Cup, courtesy of a 2-0 Vs Liverpool. Diego Simeone left Atlético de Madrid in the Summer of 2024, and replacement Antonio Conte can only achieve 4th place in the league. It’s enough for Champions League football at least.

That’s season 2 complete in SuperClub Diaries. Similar to the conclusion at Season 1: have I done enough to stay on? Personally, I feel there’s been enough progress in the Champions League to give the Champions league one last go in season 3, and the move to 4222 and subsequent Club World Cup win has me hopeful that I will finally bring the trophy to Paris.

As always, this will be the place to find out how we do.

Thank you for reading/sharing and caring. I hope you have a nice festive holiday with friends and family, see you in 2024 🎄

Tony / FM Grasshopper

SuperClub Diaries (Vol.1) - Season 1 Failure #FM24

 
 

It’s the 5th of March 2024 and the 1st season of the SuperClub Diaries save is over. There’s obviously still two and a half months left of the Ligue 1 season, but the whole save hinges on the performance of the UEFA Champions League. Yet here we are out at the Last 16 knockouts stage against Manchester United or Englandshire. Pass the bucket, je suis malade. It is unsure at this stage if I will keep my job here at Paris Saint Germain. We are strolling to the title and will probably win it by 15-20 points, but I sit on a Board Approval rating of C+.

So this post is carefully positioned between being a potential farewell to PSG, and also a look ahead to a possible second season of retribution. Who knows what our Qatari owners will decide to do next…

Selling to Saudi

I disabled the 1st Transfer Window on save startup, so my first taste of Saudi transfer action came in January 2024. Three of the Public Investment Fund came in for Presnel Kimpembe, a good defender but my 3rd best (imo) behind Marquinhos and Milan Škriniar. A relatively easy choice was made even easier by taking into account Presnel’s real-life injury problems AND the straight up offer of €60m from Al-Hilal.

A sizeable chunk of that transfer deal was reinvested into Fluminense’s André, who I would look to rotate with Manual Ugarte at DM. However, André is technically proficient enough to also play further up the field in my 433 (either as CM-A or AP-S). I am happy with him, and still am, even if his first meaningful moment in a PSG shirt was so cataclysmic for us…

The League of Champions

This save is defined by my performance in Europe’s elite club competition. I’ll be honest, if I go out in the Last 16 ever again with this side…I’d have to do the right thing and walk. But the Last 16 tie versus Manchester United is quite laughable. It’s not a case of PSG not turning up, we absolutely smashed them. I could sit here and write about Super ‘Keepers all day long after seeing what André Onana did during these two games (20 shots faced, 4 held, 12 parried and 2 tipped)…

Match Home xG Home Away xG Away Result MOTM, Av.Rating
Leg 1 PSG (3.31) Man Utd (0.61) 1-0 André Onana, 8.8
Leg 2 Man Utd (1.13) PSG (3.12) 2-1 André Onana, 8.8

We won the xG battle [a metric that my ex-stream partner often recites as a validation of a team’s superiority], but somehow we were taken to a penalty shootout with the sides level at 2-2 AET. Oh, and how did Manchester United get back into it with a minute of extra-time to go? Well, a different kind of André happened…

Good job we practised penalties then right? No, we were dreadful at them..despite the scheduled training session the day before. Paris Saint Germain were out. At the Last 16 stage. Merde.

Faire un come-back

I had to take a couple of nights off from FM24, I was hurt. It’s not strictly the PSG André’s fault either. He is, after all, just a few numbers dancing around in old code. With this in mind, I thought about switching to a 442, but a fancy 442 with Liberos and Inverted Wing Backs. But I quickly went back to a tweaked 433 DM hackz (below) after the 442 lost 3-0 away in Marseille.

IWB-A left.

IWB-A right.

It’s now June 2024, I have finished the season, and the 433 has shown me that I need to carry on in Paris (and I hope the Board agrees too). A rainy night in Manchester was just a blip, honest. Paris Saint Germain finished 22 points clear in Ligue 1, scoring 99 goals in the process, and then there’s #WelcomeXaviSimons to come. Who will arrive back in Paris soon…and it was always my intention to build around one of the best young midfielders in the game for Season 2.

The Last 16 exit has left me scarred and deformed, but I can assure you my resolve has never been stronger.

To be really ambitious as a SuperClub though, and that’s the intention with this save, you need to go against sound logic and the status quo. I could go and get the likes of Roony Bardghji on a cut-price deal…but a SuperClub does more than that (and it’s reflected in the FM24 club vision of ‘Spend the original transfer budget’ which I really enjoyed seeing). I’m going to sign the best I can get, so please welcome Yeremy Pino for €80m. It’s a different style of playing FM, I’ll admit…but I really enjoyed making that signing and just that feeling of being unleashed. Crème de la crème and all that.

Now let’s look elsewhere in SuperClub Diaries to see if there’s been any more fucks up (other than my own)…

England

Manchester City rule supreme in England, winning their fourth straight Premier League title. They also came close to retaining the Champions League, beating city rivals Manchester United in the Semi Final before coming up short in a penalty shootout Vs fellow SuperClub Bayern Munich. Despite a 5th place finish for Manchester United, they won the FA Cup on penalties against rivals Liverpool who will not complain too much having won the Europa League three days before against RB Leipzig (with Dominik Szoboszlai returning to haunt his old club with the match winning goal). Meanwhile, Chelsea continue the trophy theme with a League Cup victory and finish 3rd in the league (behind Liverpool and Manchester City).

France

Kylian Mbappé took his total career club goals to 278, with a 35-goal-campaign in 2023/24 for PSG. His Parisian outfit disappointed in Europe with a Last 16 exit to Manchester United, but a successful third straight Ligue 1 title means the 25-year-old now has seven league titles to his name.

Germany

Harry Kane’s 25 goals were not enough for Bayern Munich to retain the Bundesliga, who finished 2nd to winners RB Leipzig. Bayern did win the DFB-Pokal cup with a thumping 5-1 win against rivals Dortmund, however the best was yet to come…as on 01-June-2024 Bayern beat Manchester City on penalties to win their 7th European Cup.

Italy

Italian SuperClubs Juventus and Inter Milan fail to secure qualification to next year’s Champions League, finishing 5th and 6th in Serie A respectively. AC Milan won the Copa Italia but only finished 3rd in the league, as last season’s winners, Napoli, lost out to shock Serie A winners Lazio.

Spain

Barcelona won the title with a 95 point haul, and Robert Lewandowski once again the elite marksman in Spain with 25 league goals. In 2nd place is Real Madrid who slipped up to an Antoine Griezmann inspired Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey final. Diego Simeone’s men also secure Champions League football next term with a 3rd place finish.

So, that’s Season 1 complete in SuperClub Diaries. I may have done just enough to crawl into a second season in the French capital, but the pressure is now on.

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

Tony / FM Grasshopper

SuperClub Diaries (Vol.1) - Positional Play in Paris #FM24

Bonjour mes amis,

I think it is fair to say that many of us are enjoying FM24, especially with the introduction of Positional Play. Positional Play in FM offers greater tactical fluidity to our sides through role rotations, I wrote more about what that means for tactics in general during the FM24 early access with CF Monterrey…

 
Featured
Three seasons with Yokohama F. Marinos in Football Manager (2024 FIFAe World Cup format)
Three seasons with Yokohama F. Marinos in Football Manager (2024 FIFAe World Cup format)
Football Manager Tactics: Henry’s diamond 442 (France U23s) #FM24
Football Manager Tactics: Henry’s diamond 442 (France U23s) #FM24

A replication and Football Manager play through of France’s U23 Olympic Games, featuring Thierry Henry’s 442 tactic. Allez les Bleus!

HARD MODE: Euro 2024 in Football Manager #FM24
HARD MODE: Euro 2024 in Football Manager #FM24
 

But there is still more to say on Positional Play, so I thought I would use my SuperClub Diaries series to demonstrate how I plan to use a few more of the roles that trigger certain movements in the FM24 Match Engine. I will therefore share my three PSG starting formations, discuss my reasoning for using certain roles together and share a few screenshots on how it looks in the ME as I play through the pre-season. On y vas…

Tactic 1 - 433

There is a fair bit of rotation going on here. But I quite like that I can defend in a back four with a DM as cover but still have so many bodies going forward in a front four - something that PSG are constantly looking to do in real-life. Once with the ball, the IWB-S will move alongside the BWM-S in possession, forming a nice double pivot at the base of the midfield. The IFB-D behind will tuck inside and it will be a back three with Marquinhos as the ball player.

The CM-A moving into AMC position will keep the Winger wide, as part of the rotation, but this suits Ousmane Dembélé’s profile due to him being so good in 1v1s against opposing full back and crossing. Another subtle tweak in FM24 is the Winger role given the option to cut inside. Again, this suits Dembélé’s skillset…so he will be the modern day Winger: pushed out wide, until he uses his good Off the Ball and Dribbling to move into more dangerous areas. At times, the PSG attack will be a front four…allowing the AP-S plenty of passing options.

Intended use: This is the primary tactic, certainly the one I start big-ish domestic games and home Champions League ties. I really like the front three roles of IF-CF-W, which I used many years ago with INTER to great effect (remember Facundo Collidio?), but I feel like a revisit is necessary as a lot has changed in the ME since then.

 

433 PSG

 

433 in possession.

Attacks in: 3241 / 325

Defends in: 4141

Tactic 2 - 4231

The next rotation brings about a natural overload on the right hand side, with the attacking Wing Back linking up with a more central Ousmane Dembélé whose starting position would be more in the half-space area of the opposition’s half compared with Tactic 1. To accommodate this right sided attack, I am once again looking to tuck Hernandez into the back three using IFB-D on the left hand side. The 4231 also has a double pivot, and therefore more conservative…with a Deep Lying Playmaker holding position and with a defensively minded Ball Winning Midfielder to his right.

Intended use: The intended use of this tactic would be when I think the opposition will be a bit more aggressive against us…which could mean more space in behind for our Shadow Striker to advance into. Maybe something for the Champions League away nights? I’ve selected Pass Into Space and removed Work Ball Into Box, so that I can also make use of our explosive wide attackers in Kylian Mbappé & Ousmane Dembélé.

 

4231 PSG

 

4231 in possession.

Attacks in: 334

Defends in: 4231

Tactic 3 - 3421

The third, and final, tactic is one that sees both Wing Backs advance high up the pitch; stretching the play by staying wide. This tactic makes use of Nuno Mendes, who will be returning from injury a few months into the save. What I like in the 3421 is that I will have two central triangles: a base with the Libero linking up with the Central Midfielder & Box to Box midfielder and another in the attack, with Attacking Midfielder and Shadow Striker behind a Complete Forward. The key role is the Box to Box, who will move into the space vacated by the Shadow Striker and link both triangles together. I will most likely look like a 3241, with five in attack at times.

Intended use: I would most likely use the 3421 in domestic games where I want to suffocate defensive teams. It has the same Team Instructions as the 433, but it is overloading central areas with the two AMCs. This is probably the tactic I switch to from the primary tactic, when I need goals OR look to rotate players and use the likes of Lee Kang-in, Mendes, Vitinha et al. It’s probably is not a tactic I use too much at the start of the save, because I want to use it when Nuno Mendes is back.

 

3421 PSG

 

3421 in possession.

Attacks in: 235

Defends in: 5221 / 3421

Tactical Familiarity

Just a quick note to say that there is not a great deal of difference between the three tactics (more on this in a moment). Tactic 1 and 3 are identical in terms of instructions, with only the roles/starting positions themselves changing. Tactic 2, whilst different in areas, is not a drastic departure either from how I want PSG to go at teams and be positive. My advice would be to not have three tactics widely different from one another, as you may find players not adjusting when you’re switching systems about. This would adversely affect your overall cohesion, and you will likely see your players making lacklustre passes or not press as well collectively for example. We call this Tactical Familiarity in FM.

 

Tactical Familiarity in FM.

 

Tactical Styles

Do you use custom-made Tactical Styles? I am unsure if it’s a well used feature…but I find it rather handy when switching between tactics. Put simply, creating a custom style is like making your very own pre-set template; which you can load into any formation. For this save, I have two at PSG:

  1. ‘Style du PSG’ - the Mentality and Team Instructions that I see as our default signature style.

  2. ‘Plus contre-atttaque’ - Not too dissimilar (for reasons mentioned previously), but a dash more urgency in our build-up play.

There’s no limit to how many you can make, but just know that only one formation can have one tactical style at any one time. Have fun with it.

 

Custom styles in FM.

 

A common part of my SuperClub Diaries posts will be an update on the other eleven super clubs throughout Europe. I think this is a good way to stay on top of their state of affairs and could also provide context as to where I go next after PSG. The most important pre-season update from Paris however, is the €275m five-year extension to keep Kylian Mbappé in France. It’s crazy money, but it’s in keeping with the SuperClub Diaries save idea.

Elsewhere in SuperClub Diaries…

England

Chelsea’s £53 million signing, Christopher Nkunku, requires knee surgery and is out until at least December 2023. Liverpool finally refresh their midfielder with the signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai from Brighton and Leipzig respectively. Reigning English and Champions League winners Manchester City have had a relatively quiet transfer window with £100m being spent on Mateo Kovacic and Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol. A change in goalkeeping style is on the cards at Manchester United as they replace David De Gea with Champions League finalist Andre Onana.

Germany

Bayern Munich edge closer to completing a €100m deal to sign Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane. The England forward is expected to sign a four-year contract making him the most expensive signing in Bundesliga history.

Italy

AC Milan sell Sandro Tonali to Newcastle for €64m and immediately reinvest that money on three players: Christian Pulisic from Chelsea, Samuel Chukwueze from Villarreal and Tunus Musah from Valencia. Across the San Siro pitch, Inter Milan bring in Benjamin Pavard and Yann Sommer from Bayern Munich for just under €40m. Over in Turin, Leonardo Bonucci leaves Juventus stating “I have decided, after great suffering, to take the path of a lawsuit towards Juventus".

Spain

Whilst Diego Simeone looks to extend his 12 year stay in the Spanish Capital, Atlético Madrid also welcome back World Cup winner and former player Antoine Griezmann. João Cancelo continues to push for a move from Manchester City to Barcelona, whilst Ilkay Gündoğan has already made the switch on a Free Transfer. Real Madrid complete the marquee signing of Wonderkid Jude Bellingham for €103m.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief insight into how I am starting things tactically at PSG. I am unsure of the regularity of future diary posts…it will likely be whenever there is a sensible pause or moment in-game that merits a post.

Until then, thank you for reading/sharing and caring,

Tony / FM Grasshopper

Football Manager Tactics: 3241 magic in Monterrey #FM24EarlyAccess

 
 

Hola a todos!

The #FM24EarlyAccess is here, and the excitement ahead of the full release is now at fever pitch. But before I go an embark on my SuperClub Diaries save, I thought I would try out some sweet tactical goodness in Mexico, with CF Monterrey. Firstly, why Mexico? Well, it’s a fairly short Opening/Closing league system with the addition of the newly re-formatted Leagues Cup containing Major League Soccer franchises. There are also no relegations + promotions right now, so it makes sense to manage in this nation for a relatively short period…rather than a long-term save. Secondly, why CF Monterrey?

Squad review

It has been a four-year spell without a trophy for CF Monterrey in real-life, yet there is potential to challenge for honours from the beginning of this save due to some great players being present in the Day 1 squad:

  1. Esteban Andrada - a former Miami Galáctico in an alternate FM Universe. Not sure why, but I love this Goalkeeper. Tall, dependable with old school ‘keeping attributes.

  2. Héctor Moreno - Mexico seems to generate many players with 100+ international caps. Moreno is 6th on the most capped list, with 132 appearances for El Tricolor…he is a classy left-footed Centre-Back who can bring the ball out of defence and pick a good pass.

  3. Sergio Canales, Jesús Corona (‘Tecatito’) and Maximiliano Meza - Three technically gifted players here to build around, all three need to be in the First XI. All three have a decent mix of Flair, Technique and Vision.

There are a number of other players I have grown to like during this short play-through, but the five mentioned above are what drew me towards Monterrey. Here they are in FM24, (please do not mock the lack of club logos/facepacks…I’ve made no efforts to download them so far):

Building the tactic

So, the ideas of fitting the previously mentioned five players all went onto my tactical whiteboard. Here is the first concept of a tactic I had in mind for CF Monterrey:

 

My whiteboard.

 

The arrows crudely drawn by oneself hint at the kind of movement I was looking for, so you can probably guess some of the roles I intend to use. Maybe have a go at guessing before you read on?

4141 to 3241, with Positional Play

Positional Play, in my view at least, is not a new concept. I grew up with people telling me to pass as triangles on the football pitch, overloading a certain part of the pitch when in possession of the ball. Whilst I appreciate Pep Guardiola gets the modern day plaudits for Positional Play, in a lot of ways…it was already in grassroots football years/decades ago OR maybe it has always been in football? In Football Manager 2024 we now see players have a greater awareness of one another, so for the early-access content I wanted to use a few roles that trigger these transitional movements. Based on the previous screenshot I decided to try the below roles:

  • Libero (Defend) - moving CB to DM

  • Inverted Full Back (Defend) - moving FB to CB

  • Mezzala (Attack) - moving CM to AM

You can see clearly how the first couple of transitions work, the Inverted Full Back will slot in to the space vacated by the Libero (who forms a double pivot with my Deep Lying Playmaker). The final transition of the left sided Mezzala movement is not a new one, however the way Football Manager sees the players around him react to that movement has been tweaked. So, that means any wide player stays that little bit wider (to allow the Mezzala full occupancy of the half-space) and the Attacking Midfielder moving to the right slightly. Remember: FM24’s Positional Play is as much about the shifting of a role (e.g. an Attacking Midfielder) around a transitional role (e.g. Mezzala), than it is of the latter moving into certain spaces. I think it is important to bold this particular point, because I have seen a bit of confusion around the content creator community thinking Positional Play is the movement of certain roles themselves, which have largely always been there (think: Deep Lying Forward and Central Midfielder on Attack for example), nor is it the Enganche moving out wide under all conditions for example, rather it is the Positional Play from other roles forcing it to happen as a rotation.

Because Football Manager 2024’s user interface does not show you a general in possession shape, I made one myself (see below). In the far left image I have a stripped back 2D Classic view of the pitch in the various zones, which FMers on the forums from yesteryear sometime like to call strata. The middle is out of possession, i.e. the tactic that you see on FM24 and the far right is the general spaces the roles like to move into. I appreciate I have not yet shown you the actual roles in their entirety, nor the Team Instructions…that comes next:

There is a part of me that doesn’t sit well with showing an ‘in possession’ graphic, as there are so many subtleties that dictate the precise location of a player on the pitch at any one time. But that’s their general locations from the general patterns of play I see from an Opening Stage play-through with CF Monterrey. Below is how the wider tactic looks in FM24. Note - I’m not usually one for asymmetrical tactics as I feel the AI doesn’t cope to well against them, but the DLP-S is there for the progressive balls to Winger but also a nice cross-field switch is on for the attacking Mezzala. Anyway, all tactics are asymmetrical once we’re in possession…so I’m cool with it. Here’s how we set up:

CF Monterrey tactic.

As always, I’ve evolved the tactic…accepting that I never get it exactly how I want it right from the start.

Mentality - I’ve either been on Balanced or Positive in this save. Balanced is when I want to show slightly less urgency, usually when in control of the game already.

In Possession - I’ve always made sure CF Monterrey have been a team that play out of the back. It suits the skillset of the Centre-Backs and Inverted Full-Backs that are also capable of playing centrally. There were times I changed our approach play though, removing Work Ball Into Box when switching Deep Lying Forward to Advanced Forward. During this switch, I would also usually remove the lower tempo…increasing the chance of the Advanced Forward getting a forward ball sooner. Low crosses is also something I added to the tactic too, and for obvious reasons: we’re not overly tall or physical upfront, but rather quick and nimble.

In Transition - I think I also kept these the same across all games. But I did ask the Goalkeeper to slow down distribution during some gut wrenching Opening Stage Finals (more on this later).

Out Of Possession - The only change here is when I noticed long kicks from opposition goalkeepers reaching my Centre-Backs and beyond. One goal is the line in the sand for me to switch and drop lines deeper towards my own goal.

Player Role changes - the eagle eyed readers may have noticed that Jesús Corona was very advanced in my tactical whiteboard drawing in the Attacking Midfielder zone. I moved him down to the Central Midfield zone part-way through the season and he was on the ball a lot more as a result, which is what you want for somebody with Dribbling 18, Flair 18, Technique 17 and Vision 16! The move was justified, as he has topped our Dribbles statistic with 5.33 per 90 over the course of this Opening Stage campaign.

Now I should probably show you some goal highlights, and to do that I will do it in Loom - a video capture software that also allows me to to talk to you…

 
 

As for other bits:

  • I used default set pieces, except tweaked Defensive corner routines to help with counters - whereby two players are left upfield to break forward if given the chance. Surprisingly, I was amazed my Assistant Manager routine had everybody back, which kind of invited the pressure!

  • No Opposition Instructions used. Not against them, I just feel I did not need to mico-manage this.

  • Only two Player Instructions used: Defensive Winger set to run wide with the ball (stretch the play) and attacking Winger told to cut inside with the ball (overload central areas).

Magic in Monterrey

If you got this far into the blog, I’m guessing you want to know how it all went in the Opening Stage with CF Monterrey? Today is your lucky day…

Leagues Cup

The revamped Leagues Cup now contains all clubs from MLS and Liga MX and it offers a unique experience in FM by seeing two leagues go up against one another - dare I say it’s relatively unknown to FMers right now? It starts with 15 groups of three clubs, before 1st and 2nd places are then placed into four regions (Central, East, South and West) where it becomes a knockout tournament with Quarter, Semi and Final games. The four winners of these regional finals then enter the ‘Semi Final play-offs’. Here’s how we did:

Stay in your lane MLS…

Seeing that the Board only ever wanted us to be competitive, we surpassed expectations by making it to the regional final…losing on penalties to Tigres at home. Pretty devastated with that, but the main focus was on the Opening Stage domestically…

Opening Stage

One thing I struggled to do in the early access save was manage the fitness of certain players as we played every 3 days with Leagues Cup overlapping into the Opening Stage. Simply put, I probably needed an extra player or two during this run but I turned off the opening Transfer Window (damn). Once we only had the Opening Stage to focus on, the run was strong: 12 games unbeaten to finish the season in 3rd.

You can see that some little tactical tweaks from concept to finished tactic worked with the unbeaten run.

Opening Stage Finals

The Opening Stage Finals were a good reminder of the ‘h’ in FM-exico to grant the higher seed passage in the event of a draw. We made good use of that as Santos Laguna gave us a really good two ties.

Massive.

Seeing as Pachuca were our first defeat of the save in the Liga MX tie, I was keen to dial in a bit more and make some pragmatic changes. I decide to use the Focus Play Towards The Left vs Pachuca, because I suspected that they would play with IWB and an advanced Winger at AMR (based from Scout Report). With Canales returning from injury, it could be a good area of the pitch for us to exploit. So it proved too, with a healthy 5-2 aggregate score to take us into the final.

So, the Opening Stage Final: 3rd meets 8th. It’s classic Latin American goodness that I have come to love, whereby the league finish is really just a footnote. Bring your A Game when it matters, and you will do well my son. This is what Monterrey, and much to my surprise, actually did. With a depleted and tired squad, we had to show our mettle against a difficult Atlas side who had hit form when it mattered. Despite having five Moneterrey players in the match day squad needing a rest for the 2nd leg, we went to Atlas and won 2-0 (after drawing our home leg 1-1). It is time to celebrate the first trophy of FM24…

WE DID IT™

Too boring/long/short; did not read? I used three tactical roles that trigger Positional Play rotations: Inverted Full Back, Libero and Mezzala. We transitioned from a lop-sided 4141 of sorts to a 3241 in possession. Whilst we did not win the Leagues Cup, we managed to finish 3rd in the Liga MX and won the thing outright by progressing to the Opening Stage Final: beating Atlas 3-1 on aggregate. Gracias por todo, CF Monterrey.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy the FM24 Early Access.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

SuperClub Diaries (Vol. 1) - Announcement #FM24

 
 

Super Clubs

Most journeyman saves, or saves in general, that I see documented on blogs or on YouTube tend to follow the pattern of starting from the bottom before working upwards to the top. My Ceuta save is a quintessential example of that. The elite clubs are instead often reserved for short stints during the beta period of the FM cycle. But for most of 2023, I’ve had super clubs on my mind.

I have taken special interest in the absurd events over at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Bayern Munich, where it would seem that a league title win is not enough to clear the air of contempt and fan frustration surrounding both clubs. Simply put, winning most games in a campaign does not necessarily mean a Head Coach meets the expected minimum level of performance…super clubs appear to demand two things: (1) winning in style and (2) the ultimate prize: the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Something both clubs failed to do, who duly made wholesale backroom staff changes in the Summer of 2023.

Speaking of the UCL, along with the super club mentality comes a feeling of superiority and that was best demonstrated with the 2021 European Super League. The aforementioned clubs of PSG and Bayern are not guilty of that, but eleven other heavyweights* decided that they would be better served in a breakaway European league, void of relegation and a guarantee of competition profits through a sizeable percentage of income each year.

You are right to think that all of this can be a turn off from wanting to manage a super club in FM, as they often act like spoiled brats. But maybe there is an FM save here by behaving like a super club? It’s something I never really do, usually players in my FM saves are carefully recruited with the aim to get as much out of the budget as possible. A super club would, and absolutely should, be in the moment of building an elite XI each year, with the aim to win it all. I think that’s where my save idea begins…

*and Tottenham.

The save premise

A journeyman at the upper echelons of European football with ten of the twelve founding members of the European Super League, with Bayern and PSG replacing North London (because it’s stupid to call Arsenal and Tottenham ‘super clubs’ when they have not won a league title for so long). Here is a map of the clubs I can manage:

 

The 12 clubs I can manage in SuperClub Diaries.

 

I am not going to be too strict on when I move on in the save, a lot of it is down to circumstance and chance, but I will begin my FM24 journey with Paris Saint Germain, and I will explain my reasoning shortly. But the overall aim is to win as many UCLs as possible, with more than just one club and certainly more than Carlo Ancelotti’s four winning manager medals.

Why Paris Saint-Germain in FM24?

Choosing Paris Saint-Germain may seem like no real challenge at all, but there is work to do ensuring their 2023 Summer rebuild integrates smoothly.  The Parisian club also have the added complication of Ligue Un dropping to 7th in the UEFA rankings and the threat of Saudi Arabian clubs now competing for the World’s best talents.  Paris needs to rediscover their attractiveness once again, and move away from the shitshow of the last 12 months where, despite winning a record breaking 11th Ligue Un title, many adverse things have happened:

So, within each super club during “SuperClub Diaries” I plan to have some club specific aims. For PSG I would continue the policy of signing the very best players, but alternatively they have been criticised for having let such good talent leave their academy. I therefore plan to bring some of the best ones back again to Paris. Here’s a fairly long list of the talent that has recently left the academy:

  1. Adrien Rabiot (Juventus)

  2. Alphonse Areola (West Ham)

  3. Arnaud Kalimuendo (Stade Rennais)

  4. Boubakary Soumare (Sevilla FC on loan from Leicester City)

  5. Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea)

  6. El Chadaille Bitshuiabu (RB Leipzig)

  7. Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid)

  8. Jonathan Ikone (Fiorentina)

  9. Junior Dina Ebimbe (Eintracht Frankfurt)

  10. Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern)

  11. Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio on loan from Olympique de Marseille)

  12. Mike Maignan (AC Milan)

  13. Mohamed-Ali Cho (Real Sociedad)

  14. Moussa Dembele (Al Ettifaq)

  15. Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa)

  16. Odsonne Edouard (Crystal Palace)

  17. Sekou Mara (Southampton)

  18. Tanguy Nianzou (Sevilla FC)

  19. Timothy Weah (Juventus)

  20. Xavi Simons (RBLeipzig on loan from PSG)

  21. Yacine Adli (AC Milan)

Can I tempt some of the better ones above and bring them home? Can I then form a predominantly homegrown UCL winning side, think Ajax 1995 but Parisian? After all, ici c’est Paris! If any of the above interests you, be sure to check back later in the year, where I’ll begin the save and subsequent diaries here on ☕️🏠 FM.

Thank you for reading/sharing and caring,

Tony / FM Grasshopper