RSL in the WSL Part 9
Cruz Azul
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RSL in the WSL Part 9
This has got to be it. This is the day we put an end to our losing streak. This is a day that we show everybody what we’re really made of.
It’s a huge game, the first really big game of the season. It’s got nothing to do with our opponents, of course – though Cruz Azul out of Mexico City aren’t exactly pushovers. It’s got nothing to do with our personnel, or squad morale, or anything like that.
Nope – this is big because it’s our first game on television.
As you can see, it’s been a busy start to the season. And, as you can see, this is the first time we’re going to be playing for a larger audience. This is our chance to show everybody what we’re made of. This is my chance to show all the doubters and naysayers that my system actually works.
I even dressed up for the occasion.
Team Meeting
Now would be the time to hold a team meeting. We’re on a two-game losing streak. We looked bad in the first loss, but we looked at least somewhat respectable in the second. Surely, surely my assistant manager will agree that we should meet with the players, right?
Wrong.
Now, I should note that this feature changed in Football Manager 2022. It’s much easier to hold a team meeting in that version (and in 2023) than it was in 2021. My complaints are in vain. But, still, I would have held a team meeting in real life if I were really managing this team – especially when we’re playing in front of a live television audience at home!
Tactics
We’re going with the same formation, as you can see. Even after that awful performance last time out, I’m starting Papazov anyway. He’s a good-looking kid with a bit of determination in his eyes. I think he’ll be fine.
Golubka is our keeper. If he continues to perform well, he might wind up being our first-choice goalkeeper after all. It’s nice to have young players – you can let them duke it out without worrying too much about egos.
Aside from that, we’ve got a few of the older, more experienced players in. Toia, Everton Luiz, and Kreilach provide the experience and maturity that we need. I decided to keep Onuoha out of the squad, however, to ensure that we don’t overwork out elder statesman too much.
Up front, well, it’s all untested. We talked about Mills yesterday, of course. Munoz hasn’t done much yet, but I’ve still got faith in him. We’ll see how it goes.
Fancy Preview
Recent editions of Football Manager give you a nice intro screen when you start a key game. Apologies for not capturing the video directly – I’ll try to do that next time. Here are a few glimpses:
Here we are, suited up and ready to go – with victory in our eyes.
And here is Cruz Azul, playing what seems to be a defensive-minded 4-4-2.
The standings aren’t really that important at this stage of the season, of course, but I thought I’d show them anyway. There really isn’t all that much separating the two teams, is there?
First Half
Well, it didn’t look good in the beginning.
We gave up an absolutely gorgeous looking goal in the 9th minute. I love these lob goals, even when we’re the ones giving them up. I don’t know what in the world we could have done to stop it.
Note – I’m still trying to figure out the right way to link to GIF screenshots on Substack. You’ll probably see some experimenting over the next few posts.
Sometimes you simply have to hand it to the opposition. Well done.
The second goal came in the 25th minute, and it was a bit more frustrating:
I’m frankly not sure who to blame here. The defense looks like it simply decided not to show up. We can’t go out like this. We can’t just let our opposition roll over us like this. We’ve got to fight back.
Second Half
Boy, I let them have it at halftime.
Toia and Luiz were playing horribly. Kreilach wasn’t doing too bad, but he also wasn’t creating any kind of offense – a problem we’ve had in every game this season. I took all 3 of them off, and decided to go with our youngsters, with those kids who have the fire in their eyes.
And, well, the second half was different.
We pushed and pushed, and finally managed to score a real fluke in the 70th minute:
I never would have thought that Cardozo would wind up scoring today. I’m also not entirely sure that I understand what happened here. The ball kind of managed to find its way into the net.
And that was it – that was all the shouting. We came close to scoring several times, but were unable to put in an equalizer. Tonin came on for the last 20 minute or so and did a remarkable job – but it simply wasn’t good enough.
Analysis
The first half was awful, but the second half gave me reason to hope.
We didn’t do too badly in the end. We got our shots in, including several on target. We won the possession battle, though that really doesn’t matter in the end.
Rigazzi is making a really convincing argument that he should be our first-choice attacking central midfielder, and that I should consider selling Kreilach while he still holds value. He might turn out better than I thought when I signed him.
I’ll also note that we sold out our stadium again, despite the losing streak. I wonder if we’ll see an expansion sometime in the future.
As you can see, we really gave Cruz Azul a run for their money near the end of the match. We looked horrible in the first half, but looked like a completely different team in the second. This is important, and just might be a sign of things to come.
I’ve yet to see good performances from Toia, Everton Luiz, or Kreilach. With the end of the transfer window approaching, I’m asking myself whether their senior leadership and poise is worth their awful playing performances. Leadership intangibles are important, yes – but winning games is far more important than any of that. If the players aren’t playing well, I have to wonder how long I can keep putting them on the roster.
Oh – and, by the way, the transfer deadline is coming really soon:
Team Meeting (Again)
Surprise, surprise – my assistant manager suddenly thought it was a good idea to hold a team meeting.
The “meeting” wasn’t much of a meeting. I said one thing, and all the players agreed:
This is a huge contrast to the team meeting I had at the beginning of the season (apologies – I wasn’t able to grab a screenshot of that one). I told the players at that time that we could avoid being relegated. Over half the team disagreed, and our morale went through the floor.
This is much better – and this is what happens when you push to have professional players on your squad.
Sadly, in the end having our faces on television probably didn’t mean much.
£57,900 is absolutely meaningless given the size of our budget. Oh well – at least we gave it our all.