Youth Movement
Part 3 | Ingolstadt 04 | FM23 Hardcore Mode
First Match
I’ve never been as nervous for anything in my life as I was for that first match against Bayreuth.
It’s a helpless feeling, really. Once the players are on the pitch and the game is underway, there is very little you can do as manager to influence what happens. Aside from shouting out a few words of encouragement and making a few substitutions, I found myself powerless and helpless.
What a job this is, one in which you are judged and evaluated based on the performance of others. It makes me wonder sometimes why I came out here at all.
Anyway, my nervousness faded 6 minutes into the match, when Tobias Schröck, our captain and star defensive midfielder, scored a goal on a free kick from just outside the penalty area. It was a real beauty of a shot, and there was simply nothing the Bayreuth goalkeeper could do about it.
We didn’t just hold on from there. We dominated the game. We kept hold of the ball, we slowly put together good shot opportunities, and we made Bayreuth look like a team that didn’t belong in the league.
We came up with a second goal in the 67th minute. That one was a beauty. The entire squad worked together to manufacture a goal on the right side of the point of attack, bringing the ball through to the box for a low cross, and then on to Jalen Hawkins on the left side of the keeper. His wide-open header put us up 2-0, and that’s all we needed.
Perhaps I’m a tactical genius. We wound up with a whopping 74% of the possession in the game, and looked like a team playing in a different dimension. Bayreuth barely managed a shot on target all game long, and looked robotic.
I suppose we could have scored more. I’ve felt a bit tentative in the early stages, and worry about leaving ourselves too open in the back. I told the players to take their time and make smart decisions with the ball, which probably explains the high possession rates.
There are always things to worry about, of course. I was up all that night worrying about the striker situation. Pascal Testroet, a 31-year-old veteran and media darling, did absolutely nothing in the starting striker role. We replaced him with Patrick Schmidt, a 28-year-old journeyman with extensive experience in the German lower leagues, who also looked like he didn’t quite belong.
The defense and midfield, in contrast, looked excellent. Lino had a clean sheet on his first outing, and our passing was simply terrific.
We also wound up with two players in the Team of the Week: Denis Linsmayer and Tobias Schröck. I would have also included Lino in goal, but they don’t ask me for my opinion.
Mike Krannich, one of our two assistant managers, quickly reminded me that the media considers Bayreuth relegation candidates. That’s exactly the sort of news I wanted to hear. My hands are sweaty again, and my stomach has rediscovered that familiar knot.
Personnel
You read correctly — our little club has two assistant managers. I don’t know how it happened, and I’m not going to mess with it. We’ll take it as it is and will make adjustments to the staff over time.
I’ve left most of the staffing decisions to Hubert Doebler, especially since I need to focus my attention on player transfers. In all honesty, can’t be bothered with deciding which recruitment analyst or performance analyst to bring on. It’s fine when you’re playing a video game, but I don’t have the benefit of unlimited time and endless turns in this world. Besides, it’s better to trust the staff you have than to micromanage.
There is one staffing change I did make, however. There was something about Ronald Reichel, our Head of Youth Development, that rubbed me the wrong way. He didn’t have a horrible personality by any means. He didn’t strike me as a real gung-ho kind of guy, though, and didn’t seem to have that special something that all great leaders and mentors have.
I think I did the wrong thing in Reichel’s case. I didn’t drop any hints of my plans. I simply looked around for options, discovered a Polish man named Tomasz Bochenski, quietly interviewed him, liked what I saw, and made the change. Reichel didn’t know he was being replaced until Bochenski was already in the door.
I’m not going to make a habit of this sort of thing, mind you. Youth development is absolutely critical, though, and I don’t want to take any chances. I just hope I didn’t make a long-term enemy.
Out With The Old
After that victory, you’d think that I’d stop fiddling around with ideas of selling players.
You’d be wrong.
Denis Linsmayer, who played well in that first game, agreed to a contract with Charleroi the very next day. He’s out the door, along with his salary. We were €220,000 richer because of it — money that I really wanted to put back in our scouting budget.
Linsmayer was technically another backup defensive midfielder to Schröck. The plan was to push for a more youthful approach in midfield and to find a backup defensive midfielder who wasn’t already over 30 years old.
I wanted to make a few other player sales, but held myself back for the time being. We had weeks left in the transfer season, after all, and I wanted to give the scouts time to find some real high quality players. Sometimes it’s better to go slowly.
In With The New
We did bring in a few new faces, however.
Our scouts had nothing but glowing things to say about Philip Fahrner, a central midfielder stuck in SC Freiburg’s second team. I jumped at the chance and signed him for a song — only €425,000, with a wage scale that starts off low.
Fahrner could be a real asset for us in the future. The scouts and coaches all thought that he might be a Bundesliga quality player in the future. I wasn’t convinced that anybody at this club knew exactly what a Bundesliga quality player looked like, but I figured I’d go along with it and see what would happen.
Benjamin Hemcke was the second new face to come in — another central midfielder.
Hemcke’s story was similar to Fahrner. He was rotting away at FC Viktoria Köln, with no real shot at playing in the first team squad. We managed to get him for only €200,000, and gave him essentially the same wage deal that Farhner received.
We’re weren’t done in the midfield by any means, but at least this ensured that we would have a little bit of depth.
And, finally, we found an answer to the depth problem at right back. Lion Semic came in from Borussia Dortmund II.
Our scouts really liked Semic, and I jumped at the chance to sign him. The thought is that he might be a 2. Bundesliga standard player in the future. I hoped that he would be more than just that, though we’ll see. We paid €215,000, which I thought was reasonable.
Next Match
We didn’t have much time to rest. Our next match was coming up soon, this time at Borussia Dortmund II. This would give Semic the chance to face his former team straight away.
It also meant more time away from home for me. I’m sure Charlotte and the children will be fine. They’ll have plenty of opportunities to get used to my frequent absences.