Throwing One Away
Can't afford to do this too many times.
RSL in the WSL Part 36
Another day, another trip down south – this time to Tijuana.
We’re facing Xoloitzcuintles de Tijuana, another club in the top half of the league table that happens to be in good form. This means yet another bus ride – though we’re not going as far this time.
The grind of this December to Remember hasn’t really hit us yet. The boys seem to be in good health, and are in relatively good spirits. We could really use a win today.
Zac MacMath is actually our old goalkeeper, away on loan to Tijuana. He’s another Balanced personality player who is inconsistent and really isn’t appropriate for our squad.
We don’t have any major injuries, though we do have some match fitness issues. Our tactic looks like this:
We’ve got both kids up front again, anchored by Holm and our two star midfielders. Antunes makes a rare start at right back; we’ll see how he fares. The rest of the team should seem familiar by now.
Match Reaction
Yet another frustrating match.
I thought we were on target to score all match. We had ample chances to do so. Cruz drove me nuts in particular with ill-advised shots from range when he was facing great passing lanes. Holm was guilty of the same from time to time.
We’re a better team than this. We should have come out of this with a 0-0 draw, not a 2-0 defeat. Going strong for 85 minutes only to blow it at the end is really frustrating.
I was on a Twitter thread earlier today about whether using downloaded tactics constitutes cheating or not. If this is cheating, then why can’t we score?
Analysis
It was a bad game for Ørsahl – that’s for sure. There are some days when he just doesn’t show up. It’s worrying.
We won the passing battle, dominated possession, and yet could scarcely manage any effective shots on goal. It was a poor game all around – a very frustrating one to manage.
Falahian’s 6.4 rating was pretty disappointing in the end – especially since I thought he did so well in the first half. As has been the pattern so far this season, when the wings don’t play well nobody plays well.
In my mind, the xG here really tells the story. We were ahead in xG terms until the very end, when we inexplicably decided to let down our guard and let them in behind us.
Aftermath
It’s been a while since I’ve really laid into this team. It feels good to let them know how upset I feel. We should have won tonight.
Once again, our match was chosen as the key match of the day. I didn’t think it was a particularly tense match, but we could have at least put on a better show for the public.
There’s always drama at foot. For example, there are more takeover rumors swirling around:
I don’t think that there is any way to influence potential takeovers in Football Manager. I do know that the chairman wants to sell the club – and I certainly would like to see a board come in with a bit more cash. However, the wording of this article leads me to suspect that this is just our chairman hoping to stir up some interest.
And then we had this beauty:
We’re not going to see our youth intake for a little while – probably not until March or April (in game). It’s good to see that we have a good number of wingers and fullbacks with potential, since those are our problem positions at the moment. I’m always wary of youth intake, however – it often seems to be the source of players with consistency and injury issues.
Once we get to youth intake time, though, I’ll show you a few tricks that can help make it a smoother process.
Standings
After that frustrating experience, we see no change in the standings. We’re still clear of relegation land, but not as far clear as we would like to be. The promise of a turnaround leading to an eventual mid-table finish seems remote at this point, sadly.
Football Manager News
Elmanager Eiskandry brings us a full Egyptian database.
Themodelcitizen has created an add-on that turns the MLS into the NASL.
If you hate the new World Cup setup, use this to go back to 32 teams.
Blog Roundup
The FM Rambler is busy building Latvia.
CoxieFM is still in Denmark, trying to take over the capital.
It’s back to Sichuan, China with Cameron FM.
DPFM is still chasing glory.
Learn how to overcome the mid-season slump with FMBlog.
Also – learn how to sell those high wage players, also with FMBlog.
Check out this interesting 3331 tactic on Passion4FM.
Channel Watch
The Cult of FM brings us a title race with Burton Albion.
FM Scout teaches us about Karim Konate.
BusttheNet Gaming gives us a lesson on protecting the lead.
Come see all the drama with CaptainGoodspeed!
Time for Matty89 to start rebuilding Juventus.
FM DNA is testing a Knap tactic.
Sortitoutsi teaches us about the pentagon challenge. Of course, true FM masters only play hexagon.
Shaun Does FM gives us the playoffs.
FM GNG also gives us a Euro playoff in the new season of the university challenge.
Episode 1 of Worcester City with Clayts.
Oisty FM is pushing for promotion.
Sadly, it’s all falling apart for Jay Edworthy.
Loki Doki has concluded that he is the greatest manager of all time.
Omega Luke created a wonderkid for every continent.
FM Russ has made a huge career move.
Wroot1 FM gives us a homecoming for a local hero.
Second Yellow Card has an important signing to report.
WorkTheSpace is flashing the cash.
Lollujo’s not just staying up – he’s pushing for the cup!