RSL in the WSL Part 30
We’re back home again, this time hosting FC Dallas. Dallas is one of the worst teams in the division – almost as bad as we are, actually. Should be an interesting encounter.
I received a notice about a great performance for our Under 18s squad by a Spanish player named Kevin Rodríguez a few days before our match. Always in need of a good striker, I decided to move him up to the first team squad to see what he could do.
I thought I should move somebody down, and decided that I should send Rudolf Mensah back down to the Reserves. Mensah has only played in two games all season, and has been terrible in both of them. Looking at his attributes will show you why: he’s about as slow as they come.
However, Mensah got upset at the move. He was already mad at me for fining him after he put in a 6.2 performance in his last match. This time, though, he got a significant part of our first team squad to agree with him – so many players, in fact, that I decided to move him back up for the time being.
We signed Mensah on a free transfer during the summer. I think we can get money out of him if it comes to that, and I’m not too sad to sacrifice this 19-year-old for the good of squad morale. I’m going to give him one more chance; if he blows it, we’ll just sell him and move on.
November
Even though I’ve been playing this save at a relatively slow pace, we’ve already made it to November. Can you believe it?
Our schedule for November looks a bit sparse:
This is good, actually. Our players can use the rest. We do have a few players on international youth teams, but the majority of our squad should be able to get some well-deserved rest in. I’ll also arrange a few friendlies to try to help the bank balance out.
Match Preview
We’re “slight underdogs” for a change, though this match is really too close to call. You’d think the fans would stay away with two teams this bad, but, of course, we’re going to get another sell-out.
Tonin is back up front, and Shehu is back on the right. We’re going with Sabangeanu at right back instead of Cruz this time. And that’s really about it. I love Carmona, but it’s time for him to rest.
The Match
Well, we didn’t win, but we did play well.
Birus scored his first goal for us close to the start of the match. I thought we were going to roll on to victory, but we conceded again shortly before halftime, after giving up yet another silly penalty.
That was all the shouting, unfortunately. We did have a few chances in the later part of the match, and Tonin was called offsides at the very beginning in what I thought was a really dubious decision. Still, I’ll take this draw, thank you very much.
Analysis
Shehu had yet another poor game. I’m not sure if it’s inconsistency or if he just needs to develop a bit more.
Aside from that, we looked good. We had quite a few shots on target, we didn’t foul much, we dominated possession, and we looked like the more likely team to win.
It was hot, by the way, for a late October night in Utah. That kind of weather does happen from time to time, though it’s not really all that common.
Holm and Tonin were both quiet today. I really think Tonin’s consistency rating is pretty low, and I’m concerned for the future. I’ve made up my mind not to renew Holm’s loan contract no matter what happens from here on out.
Dallas had a higher xG than us because of the penalty; don’t read too much into it. Again, we played well – just watch the video if you don’t believe me.
This news always makes me feel good. Rodriguez is an excellent player, and should be a mainstay in our first team squad. He’s fast and very talented. You’ll see more of him soon.
Strikers
We’ve finally reached the end of our tactical and personnel explanation. This time we’re going to look at our two strikers.
Both striker positions are set for pressing forwards with an attack mentality. As I said before, we attack no matter what – rain or shine, whether we are dominating or being dominated. We always attack.
The one “instruction” you can’t see here is “Tackle Harder.” Having said that, these players really need to shoot the ball. That’s what they’re there for.
Riccardo Tonin
Tonin has been the mainstay of this save so far, though he does seem to have poor games on a frequent basis. I suspect that he is inconsistent, since his attributes seem to be good enough for him to play at this level. He has improved as a striker, though we are still waiting for him to score goals at his full capacity. He’s a good player for us now, but I strongly believe that we’ll have better players compete with him in the near future.
I’m going to skip over Mensah for now. You can see his profile further up in this post. I suspect he won’t be on the first team squad for long.
Robert Carmona
Carmona just turned 16, and he looks absolutely great. He’s got 3 goals for us in only 4 appearances, all of which you can see in earlier videos on this channel. He’s fast and is only going to become faster. This is one of my favorite Football Manager newgens of all time.
Drago Birus
We watched Birus score his first goal earlier today. Birus is excellent – he’s consistent, he’s got a great personality, and he keeps improving. He’s not really quite at that starter level yet, though I would argue that he’s getting there. We could leave him in the reserves, though I’d rather keep him up with the big boys and give him more game time at a higher level.
Kevin Rodriguez
Last, but not least, is Kevin Rodriguez, our newest addition. Rodriguez needs to work on his mentals, and he could use some better finishing – but that speed is simply awesome. I like this player a lot, and look forward to seeing Carmona and Rodriguez race past defenders in the near future.
Blog Roundup
On The Break reports another chapter in the Stabæk series, including some very interesting notes on Squad DNA.
FullerFM has an excellent guide on player interactions.
More from Coxie FM as he works to dominate Denmark.
Channel Watch
FM Scout gives us a guide on mastering transfers in FM23.
CaptainGoodspeed begins Season 8 with Fulham – here’s hoping they go back up!
Matty89 reports more from his save with PSG.
More from my personal favorite save, FM GNG’s University Challenge.
Oisty FM keeps on rising.
Jay Edworthy is suddenly top of the league.
It’s rivalry time with FM Russ.
WorkTheSpace is back with more squad issues.
Finally, Lollujo invades the Premier League with a squad made up of mostly teenagers.
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