Season 134 - Are you ready?

[Arphaxad]

Still going strong halfway into the season. We suffered our first loss of the season a couple of rounds ago. It wasn't an important game though, as we fielded our reserve team in a CL game after securing the first place in the group stage prior to the game.

We're through to the quarter finals in the cup and the first knockout round in CL. League is going great. We're in first place and topping the top scorer ranking. We've created a gap to the runner up after beating them comfortably. They've drawn against another contender as well, so we have a two game advantage. It should be enough to seal the deal by the end of the season.

What's surprising this season though, is the fact that my ST has been firing on all cylinders. This is the first time someone is actually threatening to score more goals than my AML since we signed the current AML. As a matter of fact, going into day 15, my ST scored 5 goals. So he's surpassed my AML with less games played. I'm very excited for the ST. I think the main reasons are tactical. We've abandoned the classic 4-5-1v formation and have been playing the majority of the games with second strikers flanking the ST basically focusing the passes through the middle instead of the flanks. In addition, we've placed him further forward as well compared to prior season where his initial position was further back. Another reason is that the AML has missed plenty of free kicks this season, something he didn't do prior seasons.

My AMR hasn't been as productive as prior seasons either. He'll be replaced by the end of the season as we're looking for some fresh blood in that position.

We've been experimenting with different formations and tactics this season, catching our opposition by surprise. Some of the formations we've been having positive results with are

4-5-1 (2-3-2-3) with offensive fullbacks and second strikers combined with gegenpressing playing style,

3-6-1 (3-2-2-3/3-2-2-1-2) with a forward positioned libero in front of the traditional DCs being the link between defense and midfield and having a play making role, offensive fullbacks and second strikers,

5-4-1 (1-4-4-1) with a libero behind the traditional DCs and

2-5-2-1 (4-1-4-1) with forward positioned fullbacks and defensive wingers when trying to defend against stronger opposition.