RSL in the WSL Part 29
We’ve got another tough road match today, this time against Club Atlético de San Luis. This means another one of those rickety bus rides south:
29 sleepless hours later, we were faced with this preview of today’s match:
We did make a few tactical changes, as you can see here:
I got a few things wrong in the video. Barros was in on the right side, not up front; he earned the start because Shehu was not fit once again. Paredes started on the left hand side in place of Ørsahl, who has also been struggling with fitness. Okpala got his first start in the DM role. And Wilson came in for Holm; Holm is yet another player struggling for fitness due to our schedule.
Match Reflections
It wasn’t great. We lost, and we managed to find a way to give up 4 goals.
Barros did have a good game, though, before being set off for a ridiculous tackle. He made that tackle mostly out of frustration after being beaten by his man. Barros is young and is improving – and he did score a very nice goal in the very first minute.
It’s always good to see Tonin score, too.
It was a loss, but it wasn’t as frustrating as some of our other losses have been. I think we may be destined for the mid-table after all.
Analysis
We only had 7 shots today, 5 of which were on target – and 1 that came in the opening seconds of the match. Paredes had a bad game, though I blame that on Shehu’s constant lack of match sharpness.
Paredes played poorly. Wilson also had little influence on the match. There wasn’t too much else to worry about today, though. It might just be an empty moral victory, but scoring 2 goals on the road against a team clearly better than us isn’t all that bad.
We had basically no xG at the start of the game, as I mentioned in the video. I think we did well given the few chances that we created.
Barros has been banned, of course – and for 3 matches, not just 1:
Monthly Review
We’re up to the beginning of November now, which means we can take a quick look at a few of our monthly statistics.
The finances don’t look great, but they will improve significantly if we manage to finish mid-table.
Our attack has improved considerably as October has progressed. The defense? Well, let’s wait until new players arrive in January before we pass judgment on the defense.
The board isn’t exactly in love with me, but they don’t seem to hate me, either. I think they’re more focused on selling the team. Speaking of which, we’ve heard absolutely no news on that subject in months.
We knew this already, but just in case you forgot – Nedum Onuoha is going to retire really soon. I tried to offer him a contract as an under 18s coach, but he wanted more money than we could pay him. We might be able to pick him up as a coach of some sort once our budgets increase in a year or two.
Standings
That poor performance puts us in… 16th place. That’s right – we’re in the same place we were after our last match. Go figure.
Attacking Midfielders
In a squad of attack-minded players, the attacking midfielder is surprisingly on a support duty.
As I told you yesterday, the idea is to have the attacking midfielder act like a quarterback running the option. He chooses one side or the other, brings the ball upfield, and reacts to whatever the defense gives him.
Odin Thiago Holm
And here is Holm himself, in all his 17-year-old glory. Holm is a good player who will only improve with time. I’m not entirely sure that we’re going to try to bring him in on a full-time contract, though. If we’re lucky we might be able to loan him again next year – if we need him, that is.
Felipe Rigazzi
Rigazzi is a player that I actually forgot about, and probably should have started today. He’s been out with an injury, which is the only reason why Wilson is even in the first team squad. Anyway, Rigazzi is a solid player with stats that actually look better than Holm overall. We should start him more often – assuming I remember. This is why I wonder if it’s even worth it to loan Holm again.
Rodolfo Fonseca
Last, but not least, is Fonseca – a good looking young player with a very good personality. He still has some work to do, but is young and certainly is capable of doing it.
Fonseca was also injured, which is why you’ve seen so many of our younger attacking center midfielders.
Other AMCs
Akcan and Wilson have both played in the first team due to the small injury crisis we had a little while ago. Neither played exceptionally well, though I do think Wilson will be very good in a year or two.
Blog Roundup
MaddFm brings us the latest in his Haarlem Globtrotters series, as he marches up the Dutch league system.
More Crystal Palace fun from Sad Panda.
The FM Rambler is going to turn Latvia into a football powerhouse nation.
CameronFM is pushing to make Sichuan Jiuniu the best club in China.
FM Blog brings us yet another wonderkid review – this time for Bukayo Saka.
Channel Watch
WorkTheSpace is gambling on a risky transfer – don’t do it!
FM Scout brings us wonderkids we need to sign right now. Little does he realize that I’ve already signed all the real wonderkids to RSL.
More of Oldham Athletic from Bood FM.
Gray Hair Gaming brings us more fun with F.C. Andorra.
Shaun Does FM gives us another episode with Cardiff City.
It’s time for more fun with FM GNG’s University Challenge.
Oisty FM ends the season with Tranmere.
Jay Edworthy starts his new life in League One with Forest Green Rovers.
It’s time for another great episode of Youth to Gold with Omega Luke – my personal favorite series.
It’s transfer window time for Fulham and CaptainGoodspeed – can he get them back up to the Premier League?
And, finally, Lollujo brings us one of his patented 45-minute transfer window specials. All I can say about Kev’s financial planning is that you shouldn’t give this man a credit card.
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