The Iranian Giant
Starting the December to Remember
RSL in the WSL Part 34
Three days after our last disappointment, we’ve got another big one for you. This time we’re hosting Seattle, and we can use all the help we can get.
As if our recent form weren’t bad enough, our lineup for this match leaves me even more concerned:
Shehu is finally back after his holiday. Ørsahl just simply doesn’t ever seem to be match fit. Cruz, Oliveira, and Cardozo have had a number of poor matches recently.
And, to top it off, we’ve got that Iranian giant, the 6’6” Falahian in the very back, making his first appearance for the first team. The medical unit tells me that he’s a long way away from being match fit. Desperate times call for desperate measures, however, and I don’t really want to start the much shorter and much less talented Semple in his place.
The Match
“Winning ugly” is kind of the motto this year. And, yeah, this was an ugly win.
Both teams had potential penalties that resulted in no call. I thought that we should have had that penalty in the first half. I’m still steamed about it as I watch it again.
The defense held on, though. Schubert looks better and better in goal as time goes on. We might be able to turn this season around after all.
Analysis
I want to bask in the glow of this win for as long as I possibly can.
We don’t have much time for that, though. That’s only the first of 8 matches this December – a month that is going to wear us down. We need to keep rotating, and we need to hope for more good performances from these kids.
It wasn’t exactly a match that we dominated – but we certainly did play better than Seattle. Carmona had a bad game, though I think that’s mostly due to youth and lack of experience. We’re going to keep starting him.
Aside from Carmona, nobody really put in a poor performance. In fact, we had excellent performances all around – including a very key performance from Cardozo. I’m telling you – with this training setup and with these players, we just might see this season turn around yet. Stay tuned: it’s going to be exciting!
I guess the two teams were even in xG terms. That’s actually great for us, since Seattle is so far ahead of us in the league table. We’re growing up!
And there it is – your confirmation that Falahian has joined the ranks of the professionals. I think he’ll be around our first team for a long time to come.
Football Manager News
Anitamui presents a completely revamped Hungarian league format.
Blog Roundup
Strikerless has written a guide on creating your own newgen faces.
Steinkelsson heads to the Netherlands to manage sc Heerenveen.
More from CoxieFM in Denmark.
FMBlog gives us 5 must-buy FM23 wonderkid defenders.
Passion4FM brings us an extreme possession-based tactic in the Josep Guardiola style.
And finally – View from the Touchline gives us the second part in his series on Match Analysis.
Channel Watch
FM Scout busts some FM myths for us.
BusttheNet Gaming teaches us about why halfbacks are important.
CaptaiGoodspeed is now with Leeds.
Speaking of Leeds, Matty89 takes them on an European push.
Time for more tactic testing with FM DNA.
Anderzbaz Gaming has started a new save with Atlas FC, who we lost to not long ago.
Sortitoutsi gave Wrexham a great team – which has pushed them into administration.
Shaun Does FM takes on the FA Cup with Cardiff.
Time for a season review with FM GNG.
Oisty FM takes us on a cup run… we hope.
Jay Edworthy cashes out by selling a star player.
Loki Doki discovers that his team in Ghana is awful.
Omega Luke’s Youth to Gold save rolls on – complete with new ownership.
FM Russ pushes for the double.
WorkTheSpace keeps pushing Guernsey up.
Zealand explains the new World Cup format.
RDF Tactics gives us a very effective training method. Honestly, though, I’ve tried his training schedules in the past – and have found that Max’s method with Evidence Based Football Manager is much better.
Lollujo finally starts losing.