Fuck me this has been a difficult version of FM to get into. I’ve tried many things, and ain’t none of them stuck with me for more than a season. You’ve read about Fénix here on CHFM. If you’re a member of my Slack channel, you’ve seen me flounder with attempted saves, and various ideas, the two most “serious” of which saw me manage at Lucchese and Austria Wien, but tap out after about a year (again).
In a last ditch attempt to salvage something from this particular Football Manager, I’m throwing caution to the wind, putting the cart before the horse, and torturing other metaphors as well. By which I mean, I’m writing the first part of this “series”, having not pressed :continue: even a single time. Rash? If there’s no part two, then definitely yes.
I miss writing more than I miss FM, and I’m hoping that putting words onto virtual paper and pressing “publish”, will help me to stay on target, and get beyond the promised land of July ‘23 in game. If not, it’s at least been a nice hour or so typing up some thoughts.
So who the bloody hell is Bagan? And why should anyone care?
Joel Bagan, complete with highlighted Shadow Striker attributes.
A pretty tasty left back, and only 19. In all my failed attempts to start a save, this fella seemed to make an appearance early doors, whether on the player search, or via a scout’s recommendation.
So what the hell has this got to do with Dennis Bergkamp? I have recently read and enjoyed the Bergkamp autobiography “Stillness and Speed”, and started thinking about his player roles, particularly from earlier in his career when he was very much a Shadow Striker. I’ve not had much success using any sort of central attacking midfield role in Football Manager of late, and thought this a chance to give it a proper bash.
I loaded up a failed save and did a player search for players under 21, with at least a 12 for the Shadow Striker’s attributes (plus Determination), asking to match 16 out of 17. And wouldn’t you fucking know it, there was bloody Joel Bagan again! That level of fate, combined with the always attractive alliterative alternatives, meant I couldn’t say no. I sure do love an opportunity to take two different ideas and smash them together, regardless of their compatibility.
And if there’s one thing that we can all be sure of, it’s that a young left back from a celtic nation, who has come through the Southampton youth system, has never, ever been converted into one of the best forwards in the world. Could not happen. No sir. Im-possible. :eyes:
Taking inspiration from both Diego Mendoza’s recent Luis Vazquez focus on Twitter, and TedRedwood’s less recent attempted revival of Ravel Morrison, my playing of this particular save will theoretically be far less about the club that I (and Bagan) happen to be at, and all about the player. If Joel wants to leave Cardiff, then so shall I. I did consider going in to the pre-game editor (now that I’m aware of its existence smh ffs wtf) and adding a couple of years to his contract length, but nah, I’ll just move myself if necessary.
The first look around at Cardiff suggests a bit of a weird squad. Four players who can only play at centre back, all regular starters, three players who can only play as a striker, all important players, and an almost total absence of wide attackers. Removing Bagan from the LB/LWB spot certainly makes things a little more difficult too. Still, as I attempted to form a tactic to make our boy the focal point, a shape seemed obvious considering the players on hand:
An early to-do list then:
Get Joel Bagan trained as an AMC.
Figure out a way of playing that gets Joel heavily involved.
Get the #10 shirt into the correct hands.
Sort out a first team role for the talented M(LC), Joe Ralls. Perhaps as a replacement at left wing-back?
Improve the coaching staff for the sole purpose of developing Bagan.
Try and enjoy myself and get to a second blog post…
There’s one good thing about being at Cardiff. If this attempt at converting a left back fails quickly and spectacularly, then at least from a Shadow Striker perspective…there is another…
