Will We Ever Score?
Part 6 | Ingolstadt 04 | FM23 Hardcore Mode
Wasserburg
We need help.
We didn’t lose. However, we also didn’t dominate the way we should have.
We went the full 90 minutes with Wasserburg without really threatening. We had 12 shots, but only 2 were on goal.
We went to penalties after 90 minutes. We won the shootout, but it feels like a loss.
The fans are up in arms, claiming that the problem is the tactic. We continue to dominate possession, but we can’t seem to get any meaningful shots in.
Our performance analyst showed me yet again that our passing tends to focus in our own half of the pitch. Perhaps we should think about playing with a higher defensive line after all. I don’t want the players to necessarily take on more risk than they should, but, honestly, at some point we do need to move the ball forward.
I’d also like to see fewer shots from right outside the box. I’m not sure if the problem is the players or the tactics. It’s hard to say with such a small sample size.
Injury Update
Our injury crisis is almost done, and we’re seeing player debuts left and right.
Tobias Bech, the young Danish winger that the club purchased before I arrived, made his debut against Wasserburg. Bech is supposed to be a high quality player, but he didn’t seem to mesh with the offense right away. I’ll give him some time.
N’landu and Alysson also both made their debuts, and actually played quite well.
Domestic Bliss
It’s also time for me to focus on my home life again.
Charlotte is busy getting things prepared for our move in a few days. She asks me questions every evening about everything possible: the finances, home decorations, the local school system, the language — everything except for football.
Of course, football is the only thing I’ve got on my mind.
I do my best to feign interest in the mundane and ordinary topics that she wants to talk about. I think she knows, though, that my mind is elsewhere.
She gave me an angry glare at dinner the other night. I guess I was acting a tad strangely now that I think about it. We were having homemade “fengzhen” noodles, and I guess I was steering chunks of meat along in my bowl in a certain pattern, trying to replicate passing patterns in search of an opening.
And don’t even get me started on the scouting issues. We’re limited to 3 non-EU players on the roster at this level. The 19-year-old Alysson is our third — but our coaches think that he should be playing at a lower level. The scouts, meanwhile, keep telling me about a 22-year-old Brazilian striker who apparently looks excellent and is available on a free transfer.
You can imagine how Charlotte felt the other night when I started muttering in my sleep about young South American boys.
Osnabrück
We’re up in Osnabrück for our next match, another 3. Bundesliga contest. The drive is long enough that it makes sense to stay in a hotel. Of course, this means more time away from home for me.
As usual, we are expected to win. We’ll see how it goes. I’m starting to really feel the pressure of these expectations.
