Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the first post, if you missed it, just click here to catch up.
Upon taking charge, as always, the first message received was from the chairman outlining the board’s vision for the future. I mentioned in the previous post that I would also be playing the role of Sporting Director, so regardless of what their vision had been I’d have been sticking with the club DNA and Recruitment Strategy, outlined in Chapter 1. This consisted of 2 sets of characteristics, the tactical set is relevant to the board culture, so I’ve listed it below as a reminder.
Tactical:
- We will be a high pressing side (not to the level of authentic Gegenpress), getting in the face of the opposition, not giving them time on the ball
- We will play at a high Tempo, moving the ball quickly to not allow our opposition to relax when out of possession
- We will look after possession, not passing for passings sake but moving it quickly to create chances
Fortunately our visions aligned although I’m not sure what they were thinking appointing Sean Dyche when their desired playing style is possession football but I guess that’s just more validation for why this series was required.
With the summer transfer window turned off, providing I didn’t get sacked I’d be working with the set of players I inherited until at least January. The window was turned off to allow me to build up a pool of players as part of our new recruitment policy but also because I wanted to experience the same challenges Sean Dyche has faced in real life after the shambles of a January transfer window that took place.
To fit how I want my side to play, my Goalkeeper needs to be good with his feet, I want them to be comfortable playing it out from the back but further to this they also need good vision to start attacks. Jordan Pickford possesses these attributes and there is no doubt he will be my number one. He’s someone I don’t envisage having to replace for a long time and being a Bradford City fan I’ve always had a soft spot for him, ever since he spent time on loan at Valley Parade prior to breaking into the Sunderland first team. He does make the odd mistake in real life but you’re not going to get much better than him for a side in the bottom half of the Premier League. Back ups Asmir Begović and Andy Lonergan don’t fit the bill and whilst my assistant feels Begović is best suited to the Sweeper Keeper role, his poor vision and first touch tell me otherwise. Both are in the final year of their contracts and neither will be getting new deals. João Virgínia isn’t listed above as he is on loan at Dutch side Cambuur. He is the only Goalkeeper from the youth team who has any real potential, upon his return I plan on focusing his training on improving his first touch and he could potentially fill the void left when Begović leaves.
In the centre of defence we have lots of options and I’d say its arguably the strongest area of our team but its been the other end of the pitch where Everton have really struggled.
With central defenders I want them to be strong, tall, fast and comfortable on the ball. Attributes such as positioning and marking go without saying but these are the 4 requirements that are must haves and then its a case of signing whoever can defend the best out of the players that tick the 4 boxes. I wouldn’t say any of the 6 centre backs tick all 4, some are closer than others but none are miles away. In summary I have more than enough options and they are absolutely fine in the short term but in the long term I will look to freshen things up. With so many to chose from it gives me the option of 5 at the back however with long term injuries to Mina and Godfrey I think I’m more likely to go with a back four to start with. Young Jarrad Branthwaite is someone I like the look of, on loan at PSV for the season, hopefully he gets some game time and with a bit of improvement could make the first team in the future.
At full back I look for a player with good pace and stamina, I want them to be able to not only get up and down but track their winger whilst making an impact at the other end. I never sign full backs who aren’t comfortable carrying the ball forward and putting in a cross however FM seems to have a thing for producing newgen full backs with poor crossing and dribbling so that often can be a challenge!
On the right club captain Seamus Coleman is on the decline with Nathan Patterson the ready made replacement already in line to take over. A year of mentoring then Coleman will leave once his contract expires. On the left Vitaliy Mykolenko looks like a good player but could do with improving his dribbling. Loanee Rúben Vinagre is his competition but looks suspect defensively, there is no chance I will be activating the optional £18m fee we have for him. Patterson and Mykolenko will be first choice and I have no real concerns regarding either of them. All 4 options can play full back or wing back which gives me different options tactically. None of our youth prospects in this position look like they have the potential to play Premier League football.
I’m going to cover off DMs, CMs, and AMs all in one go. I like to have a blend of 3 types of players. Player 1 is the workhorse, this usually comes in the form of a ball winning midfielder, box to box midfielder or carrilero. Player 2 is the playmaker, the player who always wants the ball and makes the side tick. Player 3 is the one who is going to break the lines, get forward and provide a goal threat from midfield. One of these 3 players must be able to provide a shield to the back 4 and operate on the defend duty, this will either be the playmaker or the workhorse dependant on personnel.
Out of my 6 midfielders all of them are hard working which is great and inline with my player DNA, so I could really use any of them in the role of player 1. In terms of the playmaker, player 2, James Garner is the best passer and the only one I would really call a playmaker, others could do a job there but not to the level I’m looking for. For player 3, the goal threat, we are really struggling. Alex Iwobi is the most attacking but his goal scoring record is beyond poor, Amadou Onana can dribble well but finishing really isn’t a strong point. It’s going to be an interesting run until Christmas as this is a position I’d really like to freshen up as whilst the work rate is there, the quality on the ball and goal contributions aren’t when looking at the squad on paper. Idrissa Gueye, Abdoulaye Doucouré and Alex Iwobi are some of my highest earners and if they don’t impress could quickly find their way through the exit. Tom Davies has the advantage of being homegrown, long term we want to become a European side, so he may need to stick around to help meet squad registration rules. None of the youth team have caught my eye, working out the best role for Onana will be key as he has potential to be a real asset although the club will have to grow to match his ambitious personality.
With the lack of a goal threat from central midfield, there will be an extra onus on my wide men to contribute. The issue with this is that we barely have any wide men which causes me an even bigger headache.
Andros Townsend who isn’t very good anyway is out for the majority of the season which leaves me with just 2 players whose primary position is as a wide man in Dwight McNeil and Demarai Gray. Both work better off the left with McNeil as a winger and Gray cutting inside, Rúben Vinagre can offer back up here as a winger but is primarily a wing back. With the first transfer window shut I checked out the youth teams, more in hope than expectation. Charlie Whitaker looks ok, will he ever be good enough to start in the Premier League? Probably not, but he’ll do a job off the bench and you never know he may develop more than I expect. Whilst I want to sort out my central midfield, that will have to fall behind wide men in the shopping list as we simply need more options.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin would be a top centre forward if he could stay fit. He’s currently out for 3-4 months and once he comes back he’s going to have to prove his fitness. If he can stay fit and play consistently till the end of the season, I imagine he’ll contribute a decent amount of goals. If he keeps getting injured I think its best to cut our losses, get some money in and find a replacement who may not be as good but will spend a lot more time on the pitch.
Neal Maupay will lead the line in his absence with Ellis Simms backing him up who I hope I don’t have to call upon. With the high number of centre backs at the club and the lack of wingers I could go with 5-3-2 but a partnership of Maupay and Simms is something I simply can’t get on board with. Further to this it would mean retraining McNeil has a wingback however I’m happy with Mykolenko on the left hand side.
Its really easy to see why Everton have struggled for goals this season, they have a lack of options out wide, only minor goal contributions from central midfield and when Calvert-Lewin is unavailable (which is quite often) there is a serious drop off in quality up top.
With 2 up top out of the question and long term injuries to a couple of my centre backs it felt quite an easy decision to go with a 4-3-3 dm wide formation. With no goal scoring midfielder there was no real value in playing an AM, especially as our only playmaker is a deep lying one. As a back up option I have pencilled in 5-2-3 WB wide however I like to have 3 in the middle of the park so we don’t get overrun, this will only be used if the 4-3-3 really doesn’t work.
Neither tactic fits my end goal but the 433 is certainly closer to it but we won’t be able to play exactly how I want until I bring in my own players further down the line. The midfield 3 in the 433 suits Iwobi, Onana and Garner, Iwobi is in their by default as being my only midfielder with an attacking mindset whilst Onana and Garner are the 2 I deem to have the most potential. Due to Doucoure and Gueye’s high wages I want to avoid building something where they start, as I’ll be looking to move them on early. Iwobi will probably follow suit but due to my initial lack of options, he has the chance to change my mind. I have added some PI’s to the CM attack role to encourage Iwobi to run with the ball and play riskier passes which are 2 of his player traits. The above images show the tactics with what I deem to be my best side when everyone is fit.
Having looked through the squad and determined how I felt we were best suited to play I then did a full review of the non playing staff. For me there are 2 ways that you can do this, fill the current empty roles with personnel of your choice and then naturally see a bigger turnover of staff as and when contracts expire or an instant culling!
I chose violence!
I genuinely think a large scaling axing was the best and most realistic option, despite our financial constraints. As I’m also playing the role of Sporting Director, I’ve just installed new values into the club as part of our new DNA and I only want staff who fit that to be here. What is the point in maintaining staff who don’t buy into what we are trying to achieve? Whilst its an initial large cost, the idea is that the mass majority of the new appointments can stay regardless of who the manager is as the manager should be appointed in line with the DNA that they fit into.
With the medical and recruitment team I just look for the best available in those roles however with the coaching team it was all about the club DNA. My approach to this is to hire staff with a ‘passing‘ playing style, you can go further than this by using tactical style as well however I don’t want my side to be authentic Tiki Taka or Gegenpress, what I like is to take elements of different styles so I’m happy with my staff covering a mixture of categories. I wouldn’t say I have a preferred formation but have a number that I am comfortable using so again I’m happy with my staff having a mixed range. Now as to what impact having the same playing style as your staff has on FM, I’m not entirely sure but in my mind you want your staff to be on board with what you are trying to do which is why I do this. Only 1 first team coach had a passing style and he was woeful anyway so it was quite the culling as basically I got rid of everyone! A couple of former players joined in James Beattie and Nick Barmby, they understand what it means to represent the fans of the Toffees and can pass this onto the players, whilst the appointment of Head of Youth Development Steve Weaver could be pivotal in ensuring we bring through players who fit what we are trying to achieve.
With my new staff in place it was time to crack on with pre season. I rearranged the friendlies so that we played on a Saturday and Monday to allow for a solid block of training during the week, the idea was to build up in difficulty level as we got nearer to the season and our fitness improved. Whilst it worked for the most part, I probably went to big playing Real Sociedad the week before the season started as they were far to good for us. A morale boosting victory against easier opposition is something I will probably go for in the future.
Whilst we didn’t concede many in pre season until the last game, we really struggled for goals. This was really reflective of the Everton we know in real life, I feel like my defence is ok for now, its further up the pitch where changes are needed. Thankfully the Qatar World Cup means that we won’t have to play as many games as we usually would in the first part of the season, so if things don’t go well to begin with, there will be plenty of time for me to correct it but this will be reliant on me selling players first as we currently have no budget.
During Pre Season my approach with training was to start with a boot camp before gradually bringing in more ball work. I like to focus on tactical familiarity and team bonding to create that team cohesion. For anyone who doesn’t do their own training, I can’t recommend doing it highly enough. If you leave it to your assistant they will train absolutely everything which includes styles of play you don’t even use. Below are examples of a couple of my weekly training schedules for during the season. I only started doing my own training about a year ago having watched some videos on YouTube by FoxInTheBox, whilst they weren’t for this edition of FM they are still applicable so give them a go. What I’ve done since then is adapt my schedules based on the results I’ve found and now I find it quite self explanatory. I take a more attacking based focus prior to a game I expect to win and a more defensive one for games where we aren’t the favourites for. As I tend to primarily use one formation, I think training is extra important to focus on the required patterns of play.
I’ve set up mentoring units to support the younger players in my first team squad and I’ve already seen one positive impact from it that made me smile. I mentioned when talking about full backs that Seamus Coleman would be mentoring Nathan Patterson his ready made replacement. Coleman has already passed on the trait to Patterson of ‘Gets Crowd Going’. In my previous post I referenced how players need to be able to handle the Goodison crowd and play at a high tempo to get them going. This falls perfectly into that and is exactly what I’m looking for.
With Everton having only just stayed up the season before, it was imperative that we got off to a good start in order to avoid being submerged in another relegation battle. With just 1 win in our first 7 games it suggested it was going to be another long hard season however thankfully we picked up 3 points at home to Spurs in the final game before the end of September international break moving us just above the dreaded drop line!
Whilst it may look like a poor start to the season, when you look at the fixtures I don’t think we’ve actually dropped many points that you’d expect us to have recieved. On top of that Spurs and Newcastle aren’t teams you’d back us to beat. Maupay was sent off against Burnley and then picked up a knock meaning I’d had to play McNeil as my number 9 with Vinagre on the left for a few games. That was until McNeil got injured and had to be replaced by Simms who is absolutely dreadful, emphasising the distinct lack of quality and depth in the squad. Finding the right player to partner Tarkowski has been difficult but more positively Onana has been really good and Iwobi has pleasantly suprised me although his wages still make me feel sick! One thing I did in a bid to get the fans on side was slag off Liverpool.
I probably went a bit to big there didn’t I? The 2-0 defeat to them at Goodison would definitely suggest so.
After the international break our fixture list was much kinder but would we take advantage or continue to struggle? Five wins from 8 games where we scored 4 goals on 2 separate occasions, we flew into the break for the Qatar World Cup, who are you and what have you done with Everton??
We even find ourselves in the top half….just! Something has clicked and things are going much better than I originally anticipated. At no point did I expect to be waxing lyrical about Alex Iwobi, he’s certainly proved me wrong, but that’s exactly what I’m doing. His partnership with Amadou Onana is becoming a thing of beauty and I’m all for it. Who says Everton don’t have goal contributions from midfield?
Finding a partnership at the back has been much more challenging, Tarkowski is my first choice, his average rating would be higher but for Man City and Liverpool games. I thought Mina would be the answer upon his return from injury but he was anything but, Godfrey looks like he could be the answer following the last 2 games. I appreciate I haven’t given many of them a proper run in the team but with the transfer window approaching I wanted to know who I could and who I couldn’t.
With the up turn in form it has coincided with a slight tinkering to the team instructions, this is what I’ve settled on and will be building my recruitment around in January.
With the fans and board both happy following our upturn in form, I decided to chance my arm and ask for the junior coaching to be improved. Its an area we really need to improve on. The board duly obliged, who in their right mind would slag these guys off……??
With the January window looming large it was time to assess my squad and see where I felt changes needed to be made. Those in black fit the role, blue are loan players, red don’t fit the role and those with an asterisk are out of contract in the summer.
As you can see left wing was the initial priority, the aim was to try and get that sorted before then looking at moving on those who didn’t fit the role or their contract was expiring in the summer. With nothing to spend I had to move players on first of all and this proved difficult, the board then decided to give me £30m, completely out of the blue. This caused a ripple effect of transfer activity which I’ll go through position by position.
Before I do that I’ll just cover off how I had built up a pool of players so that we were ready to make moves as soon as the window opened. Remember one of my biggest criticisms of Everton in real life is how they are reactive when it comes to recruitment rather than proactive! I assigned all my scouts the same focus however each would cover off a different country. The focus was on players who were 27 years of age or younger, I want new signings to have resale value and for any players older than that it could be a struggle. Although it doesn’t show on the image below, another filter I asked them to operate by was to only scout players valued under £10m. Once a scout had done as much as I felt they could in a country, I’d move them onto another. This list of countries was prioritised based on where I felt we could find the most bargains.
When Al-Sadd offered me £850k for Asmir Begović it was a no brainer to sell. Colombian Kevin Mier replaced him for £825k, he fits the mould I want, is happy being on the bench and has potential to improve.
Moving my surplus centre backs on proved much more difficult than I’d hoped. Michael Keane was due to sign for Udinese for £4.5m with Yerry Mina moving to West Ham for £8m. They then both rejected their contract offers, Keane did leave for Brentford but for just £3.7m however Mina couldn’t find another club on a permanent deal. I allowed him to join Burnley on loan right at the back end of the window, he then signed a pre contract agreement with of all teams Real Madrid! We’d gone from getting £8m to getting nothing…brilliant! At least his sky high wages wouldn’t be our concern any more.
At left back I terminated the loan of Rúben Vinagre and signed Francisco Ortega from Vélez Sarsfield for £6m. I’d been toying between Ortega and Aarón from Mainz, I actually signed both. Aarón will join in the summer on a free, Mykolenko has been slightly disappointing and it gives me the chance to make some good money on him. I don’t want two players who are clones of one another, I want different options so that I can change games for the better. Ortega is a really good athlete and will carry the ball where as Aarón is better technically and will look to deliver crosses in early.
In DM I wanted another playmaker to compete with Garner, Uruguayan Fabricio Díaz was the man at just £1.9m. As well as being a good passer he is better at carrying the ball than Garner which gives me a more aggressive option in this role. Despite Alex Iwobi winning over my heart I needed some competition for him and former Real Madrid youth Álvaro Fidalgo arrives for the largest outlay at £6.25m from Mexican side Club América. Fidalgo can also play out wide and has better vision than Iwobi. Unfortunately there was no interest in Idrissa Gueye, so he will just sit there picking up £130k per week but hopefully we can move him on in the summer. Abdoulaye Doucouré joined Osasuna on loan and will leave on a free in the summer.
Out wide Charlie Whittaker went on loan to Exeter, I’d only promoted him due to desperation at the start of the season. I don’t think he will ever be good enough but a loan should help improve him so I can at least make a good profit from him in the future. Andros Townsend returned sooner than expected from injury but went straight from the injury table to Turf Moor. I surprisingly got 2.9m for him despite his contract being up in the summer. Coming in was another young Argentine from Vélez Sarsfield in Julián Fernández at the price of £5.75m, he will play inverted from the right and former Scottish wonderkid Ryan Gauld arrives for £4.5m on the left. Gauld can also play in the number 10 role giving me another tactical option in the future.
All new signings fit in with my club DNA and were within the £10m rule that I set due to the overspending Everton have committed in the past. I won’t run through the rest of season now but will share our results from December and January.
We now sit in 8th with 17 league games to go, we couldn’t make Europe could we? If we keep giving the ball to Alex Iwobi we just might…
I’ll leave you with 2 bits of news. Firstly, during the window I turned down an offer from Spurs for Jordan Pickford. He’s now thrown his toys out the pram and has said he is considering his options . If he doesn’t get his toys back in the pram then I’m going to have to sell him in the summer with only 18 months left on his contract. Some more positive news is the youth intake preview, they’ve lured me right in with this and hopefully it doesn’t disappoint!
Thank you for taking the time to read this post.
Cheers,
The Last Throw.
LutterworthFox 