RSL in the WSL Part 28
I’m not sure how good we are, but I’m quite certain that we aren’t the worst team in this league.
With a jolt of offense, we proved to the world and to ourselves that we belong in this league. Victory today was oh so sweet, and I’m starting to believe in these youngsters like I never have before.
Match Buildup
We were on the road again today, this time going down to Deportivo Toluca. We know the drill by now – the media thinks we’re going to lose, the odds are against us, we have no players with any reputation, blah blah blah.
I suppose we could have stayed in Mexico instead of coming back to train, but, well, Football Manager just doesn’t work like that. I’m serious, by the way. This is what our training schedule looked like in-game:
I did notice that we gave ourselves only a third of a day to make the 34 hour drive, but I’m sure some of those rest periods made up for it. Wouldn’t it be interesting, though, if Football Manager actually made your team spend the time necessary to travel all the way?
Anyway, this is what our tactics looked like going into this:
Zhang Shilin on the bench is up from our reserves squad; he’s one of those ball playing defenders, a temporary replacement for Morales.
Match Reflections
Well, it was a great match, all in all. I highly recommend watching the highlights this time. I haven’t felt this good about this team in a long time.
Carmona looks like an absolute wonderkid, no questions asked. Burke played very well. Holm was in control, quarterbacking our offense every step of the way. And both of our wingers scored.
It was certainly one to remember!
Analysis
I’ve gone over the things that went right. What went wrong?
Well, not too much. We did have quite a few fouls, but that’s how this tactic was written. I guess we didn’t dominate the possession, but we don’t care. This offense is about moving forward in transition, not about passing the ball around in the back.
Oliveira had a bad game, so I put Papazov on. We scored 4 goals despite Tonin’s bad game. This should prove that we can play well even when our “stars” don’t live up to their potential.
We dominated the match, from start to finish. Still, 4 goals is kind of flattering, isn’t it?
I scolded Ryan Burke after his awful game against Santos Laguna. He really showed up today, and earned his Player of the Match award. He was simply excellent with his two assists.
Meanwhile, Zhang Shilin, our young central defender from Hebei, China, made his debut.
We’ll see if he’s really ready for this level or not. He has played well for our youth team; I just hope some of that will translate to the first team.
Meanwhile, Carmona was absolutely delighted that I praised him in front of the team for his two goals today.
I don’t think Carmona will be happy about this, though. He was snubbed from the Team of the Week selection. Ryan Burke made it, though I’d have to question that choice given how poor he was in yesterday’s match.
Cardozo
More bad news, as Juan Jose Cardozo’s ban has been extended by two matches. I didn’t appeal this ban given how bad that foul was. This means more playing time for Dirkner and Okpala, I suppose.
Standings
You know what? As poorly as we’ve played, we’re kind of still in this thing. We shot up to 16th place after a single win. If we can beat Club Atlético San Luis tomorrow – not an easy task – we might find ourselves squarely in the middle of the pack.
It’s late October 2020 in the game right now. The winter transfer window opens on January 1, 2021 – and we’ve got a few players coming straight in. If they are as good as I think they are, we just might have the strength to pull ourselves upwards before the end of the season.
And we’re going to be good next year – you can bet on that.
Right Midfielders
I’ll make this section a little bit shorter from here on out. We’re coming to the end, and most of the names we have left will be familiar to you.
As you probably guessed, this position is a mirror image of the left midfielder spot we looked at yesterday. Again, this is all about attacking – attacking until the other team can’t take it anymore.
Florent Shehu
Good old Shehu – our Swiss attacking winger who never seems to be fully fit.
In all seriousness, he’s a great player – a clear first team starter from the moment he joined the squad. We picked him up from Lazio for only £350,000, which I consider to be an outright steal. He’s managed a goal and two assists in 6 starts in the league – very good for an 18 year old.
Gustavo Barros
Barros is where the quality dips just a little bit. He’s naturally fit and has done very well in training, but he simply hasn’t played all that well for us. I look at this player on paper and think that he’ll be a star – but that’s because I forget that he’s still only 16 years old. He cost us £500,000, by the way – and I think it will prove to be a bargain in the end.
Patrick Okafor
Finally comes Okafor – the youth player in a team of youth players. Okafor is a Nigerian with a lot of potential. We paid £350,000 for him – again, kind of a high price, but it should be worth it in the end. I like what I see here.
Other Right Midfielders
There’s not a whole lot to see here. You’ve seen Britos before, but that’s it. Most of these players simply need more playing time and development.
Blog Roundup
FM Heathen presents Saving Preston 1946 – an incredible project that I hope everybody follows.
Oaky-FM brings us another season with Folkestone Invicta F.C. in the Dafuge Challenge.
It’s Coxie FM time again, with another season in Denmark complete.
View from the Touchline gives us a great statistical analysis of its most recent games with Almeria.
Finally, FM Blog gives us an analysis of well-known wonderkid Jude Bellingham.
Channel Watch
There’s a lot to feature today – perhaps these are New Year’s Resolutions on display?
The Cult of FM gives us another episode of this fascinating England DNA save with Burton Albion.
FM Scout brings us another wonderkid evaluation – Skye Vink.
CaptainGoodspeed is still pulling to keep Fulham from going down.
Nik FM brings us an “invincible” 4-2-4 tactic.
In contrast, FM DNA gives us a 4-1-3-2 to play with.
Clayts has a new save coming with Worcester City.
Oisty FM brings us more fun with Tranmere, in a series I really enjoy.
Jay Edworthy is a big spender, trying to get his squad ready for League One.
FM GNG gives us another episode in the University Challenge series.
Matty89 vies us another episode with Leeds United.
FM Russ is fighting for the top spot.
Zealand is back saving saves.
Personally, I’m waiting for Loki Doki’s journeyman save to really get going. Until then, you can see more of his talent factory save.
It’s cup season with WorkTheSpace.
Omega Luke gives us a rebuild compilation.
And finally, Lollujo just keeps on winning.
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