Three seasons with Yokohama F. Marinos in Football Manager (2024 FIFAe World Cup format)

September 1, 2024

For those living under a rock for the past few days, Football Manager is now an esport. The FIFAe World Cup with Football Manager was hosted in Liverpool, England last weekend, where twenty contestants from 19 nations were invited to compete for the inaugural championship. Those twenty managers (along with an assistant each) were split into four equal groups, and each had its own designated club to manage across a three season save. Seasons were capped at 9 hours playtime, with scoring applied to various achievements across the competition formats. After the three seasons, the tournament broke off to become a Fantasy Draft. Whereby the top four managers from each group played one another. But I didn’t watch that because I was at the beach all day.

Why Yokohama F. Marinos?

I wanted to do Japan in FM since it was launched at the start of the year…I just needed inspiration in getting me there. Well, that inspiration came in seeing what the five managers in Group A did at FIFAe. All five were good, but Germany were extra quality (SEHR GUT). They won it all: across 219 games (all comps) they lost only 5 times and finished the three season save with an astonishing 92.7% win rate. Is this unbeatable? No. But do I think I can come anywhere close to this level of elite FM’ing? Absolutely no chance, but I will give it a go.

It’s also the Group at the FIFAe I watched the less, with no English speaking representatives…I found myself naturally gravitating towards the two English streams and the French one. But most of my time was actually in Zealand’s stream, who rekindled his sports broadcaster love to do a brilliant job of summarising the event as a type of NFL Red Zone broadcast. If FIFA are reading (they won’t be) then please get him back next year.

So, not watching a lot of Group A has strangely made me attracted to playing the save afresh, experiencing the league + seeing how good I actually need to FM in order to maintain that insane win-rate! I mean, 92.7% is utterly ridiculous isn’t it? 👏

Save Premise

I cannot replicate the in-tournament conditions that Germany were experiencing (basically RDF shouting from the rooftops whenever he had a scorgasm). However, I’ll start with exactly the same save file that the guys started with, which can be downloaded from the FIFAe website. My seasons will be capped to 9 hours of play, but because I have a job, busy life and kids…I will have to undertake the save in 2 hour stints across the autumn of the FM24 life cycle. I broadly plan to devote the allotted time in this order, but I will ensure I use a timer on my iPhone:

Hours 1-2 (session one) - Backroom staff, Scouting, Squad Evaluation + Tactic Building and Training.
Hours 2-8 (sessions two, thee and four) - The season! Games on Key highlights, six hours of fast paced FMing to get done in time. Will it be enough time? No idea.
Hour 9 (session five) - Squad Evaluation, Contracts + Player Signings.

Scoring Mechanism

In keeping with the FIFAe competition, I’ll apply the same scoring methodology to see how far off I am from the Germans…

Thanks to Tery / FM.Zweierkette for posting this image on X

Note - the ‘Daily Challenge’ is as follows:

Day 1 - beat local rivals.
Day 2 - get a player to 12 assists.
Day 3 - sell a player for 2.5 million euros (no installments) to an European top flight club.

Below is the breakdown of how Germany did, and my seasonal FMing…which will be posted as-and-when I finish the seasons (if not sacked)!

Season 1

Here we go…you can listen to me talk about Season 1 via my Apple AirPods:

Here is the 4231 narrow tactic mentioned in that video…

Here are some trophy wins, which takes me to 124 points (which puts me level with Türkiye in 2nd place)…

League position - 1st (50 points)
All-Japan cup - Winner (10 points for reaching final + 5 points for trophy)
Japanese League Cup - Runner Up (6 points for reaching final)
National Supercup - Winner (5 points)
Champions League - Winner (20 points for reaching final + 15 points for trophy)
Challenge of the day - completed (5 points)
Managerial Rating - B (8 points)

Season 2

I did well, but not nearly well enough to keep up with the likes of the FIFAe contestants in Season 2 of Yokohama Marinos. Amassing 94 points in total for Season 2, the points score took me to a combined total of 218 from S1 and S2, placing me 5th behind Germany, Türkiye, Belguim and Norway. You can hear me talk about it a bit more below (soon)…

Here is a closer look at some of the players recruited as part of the monstrous €30m squad rebuild:

League position - 1st (50 points)

All-Japan cup - Winner (10 points for reaching final + 5 points for trophy)
Japanese League Cup - Quarter Finals (6 points)
National Supercup - Winner (5 points)
Champions League - Group Stage (5 points)
Challenge of the day - completed (5 points)
Managerial Rating - B (8 points)

Season 3

To be concluded… (+maybe)

SuperClub Diaries (Vol.3) - Zebre FM #FM24

August 27, 2024

Previously on SuperClub Diaries, Juventus with a 3 nil advantage were 90 minutes away from the 2030 Champions League Final.

Intro

I was six in-game minutes from calling it a day with Juventus, seeing my side drop out of the Champions League qualifying places in 5th. The thought of managing in the Europa League within the SuperClub Diaries save would have been an abject failure…especially with this being my third season with The Old Lady. Sports Interactive declared that “Progress Never Stops'“ in FM24, yet I seem to be doing my utmost to counter that claim.

Thankfully though, my first real big signing from two years ago, €41m Ibrahima Bamba, chipped in with an 84th minute winner to see my Juventus side leapfrog Roma into 4th on ‘head-to-head’ superiority. Wow, it felt good…but it showed the non-SuperClub levels I am currently finding myself within this save.

Three seasons, three top four finishes.

If Carlsberg did final day drama (which they do not btw), they'd probably do something like this because it's a shite pilsner.

What does this mean for the save? Well, the Juve Board in their wisdom have given me a four year contract a few weeks after a Champions League Last 16 exit against Paris Saint-Germain. Desperate for any kind of attention, I hastily I accepted but I would have left my position at the end of the season if not for Bamba’s 84th thunderbastard.

So, It’s time to go again. Perhaps one last season to see if I can get this Juventus side back to the top of Serie A and challenging for Champions League glory once again…

2031 Champions League

I have already spoilt my performance in the Champions League, but I will share below the up and down campaign for my own posterity…

Away from home something was clearly not gelling, a likely indicator that my 4231 tactic isn’t as all conquering as the ones I could probably download from FM Scout 😩. However, I was confident going into the PSG game with a new narrow 442. Later season form was good and deep into Extra Time my side had chances to get a goal and win it. But it was Federico Valverde, a €78m Parisian signing from yours truly, who scored with a couple of minutes before potential penalties. Unlike the Serie A campaign, a Last 16 UCL exit is much more disappointing for last year’s Semi Finalists.

2031/32 would have to be better.

Going Narrow, but keeping back line the same(ish)

Another season, another bloody tactic. With the FM24 embers slowly dying away, this may well be my last tactic of the cycle. It’s a narrow 442 and very similar to what I did with France U23s with Matt (FM Adventure) in a network save. Go read up on that Olympic success story here (if you want to).

Defence - in defence though I am very similar to the 4231 before it. There’s an Inverted Full Back at right back to form a back three giving a carte blanche to the left sided Full Back to do what he wants. He is essentially our wide attacker, with nobody in front of him. For that reason the Complete Wing Back is perfect for him in this formation, he can roam and simply find the spaces to be effective. Ahead of the back three, we have a Deep Lying Playmaker. I am perhaps a little conservative here, and dependant on the opposition I face I will likely give the DLP a support duty. International Football Association Board rules also mean I have to field a Goalkeeper.

Midfield - higher up the pitch we have the engine room. The left sided has a Box to Box midfielder. As we know, this role shuttles vertically up and down the pitch and will provide good support in both the build up and also some attacks too. On his right we have an attacking Mezzala, particularly essential to this tactic given the Mezzala's ability to drift into wide areas in order to stretch opposing defenses. ‘In the hole’ we have a bog standard Attacking Midfielder. Given the runners behind him (and also ahead, which I will get to in a sec), my feeling is that he doesn’t necessarily need to be running channels, or bombing ahead as an auxiliary striker.

Attack - I’m at my best in FM with two central strikers. Putting them both on attack duty is that extra sprinkling of salt to get the justices flowing. 31-year-old Dusan Vlahovic’s remaining years will be spent as an attacking Target Forward. Now that his more advanced years are upon him, Vlahovic will keep his Jumping Reach and Strength (as well as his good mentals) to play the Target Forward much longer than his Acceleration and Pace he’d need to play as the Advanced Forward. That pacier role is left for much faster Newgens now breaking into the First Team squad.

So, let’s think about what we have got in defence/midfield:

Back three. Let’s field big lads here so we’re menacing.
Holding DM, who can ping a ball or just keep things ticking over.
Strong midfield presence. An AM and a Mez who will press quite high up.

In attack we have:

A complete Wing Back being a nuisance crossing to a Target Forward.
A Mezzala taking the ball out wide, finding pockets of space to be effective.
An Advanced Forward pushing back opposition CB’s with forward runs.

Team instructions - I think we suit a fluid counter attack in the big games. But Vs lower reputation sides in Serie A/Copa Italia we will probably need to be more aggressive/controlling. I’m liking it, ‘on paper’. Let’s see how we do and what I end up with during pre-season and a few new signings.

England

Man City’s five year wait for a Premier League title ended, but last year’s Champions League runners up could only get to the Semi Final stage this time out. The 0-2 FA Cup final defeat to cross-city rivals Manchester United will also hurt Antonio Conte’s men and take the Charlie Sheen off a successful season. Manchester United incidentally are the only other English Superclub to qualify for next year’s Champions League. But they also experienced cup heartache to fellow Superclub Chelsea, who despite finishing outside of European places managed to enter the Europa Conference League with their League Cup win. Simone Inzaghi did not last too long in the Liverpool hot seat this season, sacked in January 2031…his replacement, Enrico Maaßen, improved the form and scrapped into the Europa League with a 7th placed finish.

France

For the first time in this save, PSG did not win the league ‘at a canter’/’petit galop’. Pep Guardiola’s men had to thank their lucky stars after dropping points on their final day of the season…only to see their bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille do exactly the same at home to OGC Nice. PSG win the league on goal difference, and by just the one goal too! The Qatari owners also seem to continue their frugality by operating a sell-to-buy policy. €300m was made in transfer sales, whilst €200m was invested back into the squad. Raheem Sterling’s Parisian stay was limited to 12 months in the end, as he became a Summer Deadline Day signing for Tottenham Hotspur.

Germany

In Germany, Thomas Tuchel wins back-to-back Bundesliga titles for his Bayern Munich side and added a DFB-Pokal win to his name. A disappointing Champions League Play-Off exit against AC Milan will add some pressure though. One other noteworthy item is the Bavarian side raising almost €60m in loan fees for the season, an incredible period of business management from new Director of Football Pablo Longoria.

Italy

Inter’s 96 point haul sees them win the Scudetto, the highest points tally of the save so far. There was no success in the Champions League, going out on penalties against Manchester United in the Last 16. So, there was no record 5th title for AC Milan in the end; and like Inter they also crashed out of the Champions League to Spanish Superclub Real Madrid. Juventus make do with a Coppa Italia win and a 4th placed finish.

Spain

Real Madrid’s Jürgen Klopp celebrated his seventh year in charge with a 4th career La Liga title, amassing a cool 100 point season in the process. However, it was 2nd place Barcelona who were their cup nemesis this season. The Catalans knocked out Madrid in the Semi Final stage of both the Lana Del Rey (and went on to win it) and the Champions League. 34-year-old Dutch legendary midfielder Frenkie de Jong had his best ever season too: 18 goals and 12 assists (all comps). But it wasn’t enough in the Champions League, as de Jong’s Barca was beaten on penalties by Arsenal after drawing 1-1. After a little dip in this save, Atlético de Madrid go three seasons on the bounce and qualify for the Champions League with a 3rd placed finish.

That’s the 8th season of this FM save universe summarised for your reading pleasure. Tl;dr…Three drab 4th place finishes in a row and a Champions League Semi so far for Juventus, I’ll await my invitation to next year’s FIFA e-sport comp 😀

Thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper

Football Manager Tactics: Henry’s diamond 442 (France U23s) #FM24

July 18, 2024

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

July 13, 2024

Hi everybody, a lot of people want a Football Manager hard mode. Whilst I can’t give you that myself, I can at least write about a little side save that my friend (FM Adventure) and I did recently alongside the real-life Euro 2024 tournament. The save parameters used have been a great test of our managerial abilities and we look forward to sharing it with you briefly (both here on my blog and his coffeehouse variant).

So, what’s it all about? 🧑‍💻

The save premise: pick a National Team squad of 26 players. Each player can only play a maximum of three games from Group Stage through to Semi Final. Even substitute appearances would count as a game played. Can you win the spiced up Euros?

I took the reins at England FC 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (I was born in London) and FM Adventure chose to manage Real Spain 🇪🇸 (due to him claiming citizenship from a recent holiday).

The squad selection was made easier (or harder depending on your opinion), by replicating the current Euro 2024 squads of England and Spain. The only deviation to that was Phil Foden’s 5 month injury meaning he was ruled out from the selection. Up stepped former Irishman Jack Graelish as the Fake Foden.

Managing rotations: in order to keep track of who needed an early flight back to England or Spain, FM Adventure and I managed it via a Google Sheet. I set up a traffic light system to alert us when a player is 1-2 games away from leaving the squad. You may think this is overkill, but it is absolutely necessary in order to utilise the full squad and plan our routes into the knockouts strategically.

Google sheet rotation: England, two games in. Is Bowen’s bag already packed?

The Group Stage 🚀

Initially I went in thinking I could have both a 433 and 343 tactic to sap the most juice out of the squad, with players like Anthony Gordon really only suitable for an advanced wide role. However, a complicated opening game Vs Denmark saw me ditch the 433 in favour of the 343 with about 30 mins to go and my England side never looked back. Coming back late on in that Denmark game to win 2-1, the English won the remaining games against Slovenia and Serbia with ease (both 3-1) and topped Group C.

I suppose it mirrors reality, England’s Gareth Southgate realising that his team is better off utilising two 10s centrally (Bellingham and Foden); as opposed to shifting one out wide. I came to the same conclusion. Anybody playing in the Shadow Striker role in particular seemed to do exceptionally well: Bowen, Eze and Palmer lit up the tournament with goals and assists and each had a MOTM winning performance.

The Knockouts 💥

My strategy was to field a strong XI and get a first win in the groups. Once on 3 points, I would rotate through to the QFs in the hope we would meet a lower ranked team in Last 16. With no disrespect to Czechia, that’s exactly what happened…facing them in the Last 16 (and winning 3-1) before realising I was in the ‘worse’ half of the draw with the likes of hosts Germany, favourites France and traditional dark horses Italy. FM Adventure on the other hand was stroking his hands together and eating paella by avoiding all of us on the other side. His hardest potential game was probably Portugal, who failed to progress from the Last 16, meaning Austria-Hungary or Serbia were his most difficult foe (go read the adjacent story over on coffeehousefm.com/fmadventure once done here).

L' assassinat du duc de Munich…UP HIS ASS CHEEK!

The Quarter Final was a nervy affair. The big named defenders of John Stones and Kyle Walker were back in the side, as were attackers Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Yet, it was Jarrod Bowen making his third appearance of the tournament that made the difference, as he calmly slotted in Jude Bellingham’s neat cross to see England beat 20th Century colonial rivals Germany 1-0. The jellied eel enthusiast had averaged a respectable 8.0 Average Rating over his three Euro 2024 performances…he would be sorely missed in the Semi Finals.

Perhaps the biggest game of Euro 2024 came in the Semi Finals, which saw England drawn against Eurovision 2024 Top 4 side France. It was perhaps the game of the tournament, which saw a 1st half full of Gallic swagger and panache. France were all over the English, it was like a Hundred Years' War packed into 45 minutes. But the seeds of French defeat were sown by one of their own in the last minute of additional time. Adrien Rabiot, perhaps worried about what his mum might think when he returned to court, decided to assassinate England’s top longbowman Sir Harold Kane in cold blood. England were buoyed at HT. Both Wing Backs were now on attack duty and English found very little resistance in the 2nd half, coming back to level the tie on 54 minutes. Extra time was surprisingly straight forward, with substitute Graelish taking a dive to win England the penalty that Kane dispatched with cold hard English grit. One for the late goal, Ollie Watkins savoured the moment and ended Catholicism for good with a 111th minute thunderbastard to send England through 4-2 AET to the Euro 2024 where Spa…Serbia (?!) would await in the final.

The Final 🏆

Prior to starting the network save, FM Adventure and I had agreed that the previous appearances would be wiped cleared for any Final. This was welcome news, seeing that I now only had six players who were yet to make their 3rd appearance. In-form Jarrod Bowen returned to the starting line up supporting Harry Kane in the Shadow Striker role. It was only fitting that the two combined to see England win 1-0 against Serbia…

It was a much closer game than the previous Group C top spot decider, but crucially “it came home”. I lucked out with the 343 formation, it was perfect for England and saw them play some really nice football. Huge thanks to FM Adventure who filled the empty nights between the various IRL knockout rounds over a beer, it was a really fun challenge and required us to fully delve into those 26-man squads.

Thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper 🏆🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

SuperClub Diaries (Vol.3) - Old Lady dancing to the rhythm #FM24

June 28, 2024

Previously on SuperClub Diaries, Juventus became the third club of this save.

Intro

My interest in a save usually takes a dip as Newgens enter the game universe. I see some odd attribute combinations, like the near-perfect 201cm Target Forward who cannot head the ball or the midfield general who has all the fibra…except for 9 Aggression. Their faces too are often a reason to wince at the screen, why are they covered in mud? But…you reach a point in a save where the Newgens take over and you accept the new generation for what they are. It is then when my interest creeps back up again. I get attached to the odd few Newgens, their attributes begin to correlate, their faces begin to…nah they’re still shit.

It’s at this point where I now find myself in FM24. I’m over my Newgen mountain, and I can now see the plateau of sexiness that they bring. Welcome to Turin, the year is 2030…

2030 Champions League

Save updates in SuperClub Diaries are intentionally brief, only the UEFA Champions League matters in this save. Right from the off in season 2029/30, things looked bleak after two opening home defeats in the League Phase. I therefore never expected to come back from that and grab 5 wins from the remaining six games to secure a top eight position! Avoiding the Play-Off place is essential in my opinion, I just hate how it’s sandwiched so close to the Last 16 ties and really disrupts the domestic flow. To draw my previous SuperClub Diaries club Liverpool in the Last 16 was a really good test for my fledgling Juve side. We answered the test, 3-2 away at Anfield…boom. De Zerbi’s Bayern were next up in the QFs, and beating him in two legs meant the Bayern Board ditched him at the end of the season 😎

I felt I had the right side of the draw for the Semi, avoiding the riches of English sides Chelsea and Man City. A nice 2-0 home win against Lens meant I had one foot in the 2030 UCL Final…but then a disastrous opening 12 mins away in France undid all of that good work. My side regrouped in the 2nd half, Dušan Vlahovic had a couple of good chances and he really should have done better. But FM is a cruel game. Up came Kevin Danso in the 88 minute to slap his meat head on the end of a corner delivery. My Juve side were ‘nearly finalists’ in 2030.

My Rebuild (aka manage a team, sell some players, buy some others)

Despite the UCL heartache, I once again secured Champions League football for next season. A 4th place finish shows that I am still some way off domestic honours, where we once again saw AC Milan romp to the title. Yet, I’m optimistic. I’m saying goodbye to the old guard: Angeliño, Federico Chiesa, Federico Gatti, Moise Kean, Nordi Mukiele and Benji Pavard all leave on Free Transfers. This frees up a sizeable chunk of salary to secure some youngsters on long term deals and also go and get a couple of exciting talents.

I’m not going to screencap every Newgen I am signing in this save, because my name is not Dan Gear. However, generational talents will be shared…and I believe Kağan Köksal is a good example of a generational talent. Just look at him ffs. At 18 years of age, he’s a mentally strong defender with attributes nearing an elite standard of Inverted Full Back already. He was my No.1 target in this Transfer Window, and the €24m release clause in his Galatasaray made it all the sweeter. Europe couldn’t bid either, something Dan and I have discussed before in private Q&A together…AI clubs are unwilling to make offers when the window is closed. Bully for me, but a bit of a Human Manager hackz.

Kağan Köksal slots into the side as the right sided Inverted Full-Back, and I’m sure he is going to be great. The IFB role just seems to allow everything else to flourish through Positional Play. Our starting shape is a 4231, but in possession we are a back three with good numbers in attack. The below tactic has Juventus playing at a good rhythm, and I think a full season with this 4231 could see us win trophies next season…

England

English superclubs had to once again see Arsenal win a third straight league title. There was some success in Manchester though: Man City made a Champions League final before being beaten 2-1 by surprise package Lens and Manchester United beat Fiorentina 4-0 in the Europa League final. Luckily for Chelsea, a 5th placed finish is enough for them to get Champions League football…but Liverpool are the English superclub to miss out on European football entirely with a 7th placed finish. Their infatuation of Italian Managers shows no signs of stopping either, with Alessio Dionisi sacked…Liverpool now appoint Simone Inzaghi for the 2030/31 season. Inzaghi will be their 4th Italian Manager appointment in a row!

France

PSG’s Pep Guardiola consulted the TimeHop App and signed a 35-year-old Raheem Sterling from Chelsea for €20m. However, it was Chelsea who were their undoing in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League. The Parisians make do with a domestic double once again, but there is now a growing sense of acceptance with how things are going. This is best demonstrated with the Qatari owners scaling back funding for the second year in a row.

Germany

in Germany, Bayern Munich continue to be ambitious…the Bundesliga win of 2030 is not enough to keep Roberto De Zerbi in the job. The Bavarians made a Quarter Final exit in the Champions League against Juventus, so their response is to re-appoint Thomas Tuchel. The man responsible for their 2023/24 in-game Champions League triumph.

Italy

30-year-old Dušan Vlahovic retires from International football after scoring 50 goals for the Serbian National Team. When the Serbian press asked him why, he simply stated: “So I can solely focus on wining something for the handsome guy in the Juve dugout”. That may take some doing for Juventus, who once again finish 4th and 19 points behind league winners AC Milan. Stefano Pioli has now officially reached ‘Legend’ status at I Rossoneri with a club record breaking fourth title in a row. Cross-city rivals, Inter, make do with a 3rd place finish.

Spain

Just like last year, Barcelona splash €260m cash in a bid to rival Real Madrid. Youssoufa Moukoko is the big January signing for €100m, who failed to live up the hype and who still has not scored a goal for the second placed Catalan side. Real Madrid win La Liga, with cross-city rivals Atlético de Madrid in 3rd. None of the Spanish superclubs make waves in the Champions League.

The longest run at a club so far in this save is with PSG (three seasons). But, I think Juventus and me may break that as I enter my second full season at the club. The UCL remains the target, but I am looking forward to seeing if I can topple this Milan juggernaut off from the summit of Serie A. If Vlahovic is true to his word and Köksal can settle well, we may just do it 🤞🏻

Thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper