A Quarterly Football Manager Magazine Issue 3 - April 2014

cl earcutchance.com @ClearCutChance
Clear Cut Chance
By Jarrod Birch, Editor
The first thing for me to do is to
apologise about the delay of this
edition.
I know there are a lot of you out
there who really enjoy Clear Cut
Chance so were really disap-
pointed that we let you down this
time around, but we have worked
as hard as possible to get this
on your e-readers and tablets
as soon as we could. Our design
supremo NakS has spent the last
month coping with the cleanup
of his apartment being flooded,
and - at the risk of making this
sound the poorly written plot of
a Hollyoaks episode - Cleon has
also been busy with his newly
born son. Both are excuses which,
I think you will agree, are as good
as any.
This edition is great - more va-
ried, more in-depth and more of
those I know exactly that feeling
moments than either of the pre-
vious two editions. FM14 has by
no means been my favourite edi-
tion of FM and I have clocked up
very few hours compared to re-
cent years but it has been great to
see that the invention, discussion
and love for the game remains as
strong as ever in the brilliant FM
community.
The next thing to address is the
future of the magazine. The de-
lays to this edition are by no
means reflective of falling en-
thusiasm, passion or effort - we
are as eager as ever to keep mo-
ving forward. As we suggested a
month or so ago on the Football
Manager Stories podcast, we
are hoping to introduce a print
version for the fourth edition,
alongside the digital version in all
of the formats we have offered
since the start. The digital ver-
sions will remain free and acces-
sible, and though we cannot give
a price estimate for the print edi-
tion, you will be able to get hold
of it for as little as it costs to print
- and we will be working hard in
the coming weeks to ensure that
is as low as possible.
As ever, email us on contact@
clearcutchance.com if you are
interested in contributing to the
next edition. We hope to see
some new names as well as those
who have already done a fantas-
tic job making this magazine as
good as it is.
Cheers,
Jad.
Editors note
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Clear Cut Chance, Issue 3
Introduction
2 - Editors Note, Jarrod Birch
Interviews and passion
4 - The coaches view, Louis Lancaster interview, Cleon Hobson
7 - Understanding staff roles, Principal advisor Jim Phipps, Cleon Hobson
12 - Assistant reasercher, Ajax Amsterdam, Chef Raekwon
Its just a game...isnt it?!
17 - Switching allegiances, RTHerringbone
20 - The world according to FM, Svenc
23 - Experiencing the lull, llama3
Opinions and Thoughts
24 - A world without sliders - a riposte, Shrewnaldo
29 - The new GUI - a slider discussion, Carlos Garca del Monte
Careers corner!
33 - An indonesian FM story, Ben S
36 - The silent, unspoken T, Matthew Robinson
39 - How Sergio Agero turned me into Football Managers version of Harry Redknapp, Matthew Kyle
Pointing at the tactics board
43 - Know your 4-2-3-1, The Hand of God
46 - How I learnt to love striker partnerships, Simon Boendermaker
48 - Strikerless, Guido Merry
56 - Width, llama3
Featured in CCC
58 - Book reviews, RTHerringbone
About clear cut chance
62 - Contributors, information and disclaimer
Contents
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T
o continue with our Real Life Meets Foot-
ball Manager articles, we recently caught
up with one of the top coaches in England
to ask him a few questions. In October 2011, Louis
Lancaster was selected as one of 16 candidates
with an A License over the past decade, to be one
of the first people ever to work towards the wor-
lds first Elite Coaching License (Level 5). This FA
pilot programme has helped him formulate a clear
coaching philosophy, develop his practical expe-
rience, expose him to new thinking - especially
around player development and test out his abi-
lities.
To give you a little insight into his previous expe-
rience, here are his former jobs:
U15s Coach
Watford
Current position
U18s Assistant Coach
Portsmouth Football Club Ltd
January 2013 April 2013 (4 months) Fratton Park
Work with the Youth Team on a daily basis to:
Plan challenging sessions to help players meet the
technical and tactical demands of the game.
Ensure the highest levels of analysis are carried out.
Recognise and develop individual programmes for
players within their specific position.
Deliver unit specific sessions
Youth Team Manager
Brentford Football Club
June 2012 December 2012 (7 months) Griffin Park
Devise and deliver a technical, tactical, unit specific and
individual syllabus to help players meet the demands
of the game. Ensure the highest levels of analysis are
carried out on a weekly basis to accelerate player de-
velopment. It is imperative I work closely with college
tutors and coaches within the academy. As the game
is constantly evolving it is important that I strive to be
creative and innovative. a better insight into the man
himself and his thinking.
Academy Coach
Jebel Ali International Centre of Excellence
January 2011 June 2012 (1 year 6 months)
C.H: You were one of sixteen talented coaches who
graduated from the first ever FA Elite Coaches
Award. As I understand this scheme was invite-on-
ly; how did you feel when you were approached?
L.L: My wife and I moved to Dubai in January 2011,
which was a fantastic experience. It was there I re-
ceived the email from the FA to be selected as one
of sixteen to work towards The Elite Coaching Li-
cense. To be invited was an honour and something
I am extremely proud of.

C.H: Now that you are one of the highest qualified
coaches in Britain, how has your coaching evol-
ved? Do you think outside the box more? Are you
more innovative?
L.L: Completing the course was a fantastic expe-
rience. Not only were we challenged by the tutors,
but also the other 15 candidates. As a group we
created a unique learning environment, where it
was free to criticise others work. Criticism was ne-
ver personal, and to be honest that is where most
of learning took place. Receiving feedback from 15
top coaches and two world class tutors was what
made the course such a success in my opinion.
My coaching methods have drastically changed
and for the better. I look at the game different-
ly, for instance. I always watched the Champions
League, however I am now fascinated by it. After
studying Bayern Munich for 10 months and seeing
how they operate, this really revolutionised my tac-
tical thinking and opened up the door for me to do
what I want, as long as I can justify it, and it works.
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Interviews and Passion
The coaches view: Louis Lancaster Interview
By Cleon Hobson
C.H: In a recent interview, you claimed that your
coaching philosophy was to help any player I am
in contact with to meet the technical and tactical
demands of the game, remembering to keep the
principles of the game simple because the game is
not. How exactly do you try and do this?
L.L: I try to achieve to this by making the training
environment as close to the game as I can. If the
game is hostile, aggressive and full of stress then
training must be the same. I used to deliver ses-
sions and just go through the motions, and Im sure
I am not the only one. Now I have an idea how trai-
ning will start and thats it. No session plan, I have
no idea what I am doing half hour into the session
because I have no idea how the session will unra-
vel. If my topic is playing out from the back, what
happens to my session if the players can do it in the
first five minutes, I used to carry on with the topic
for the next fifty five minutes, because that is what
my plan states. However it is my role to challenge
the players further and think of the next part of the
puzzle. My coaching sessions were too prescriptive
and now they are chaotic. I would advise any coach
to stay away from signature sessions and try to de-
liver session they cannot handle.

C.H: For Football Manager 2014, the tactical side
of the game has gone through a dramatic change.
We no longer use a slider system on a 1-20 scale
to set things like width, passing, closing down and
so on. One thing that keeps occurring in various fo-
rum posts, Twitter and Facebook is users thinking
theyve lost an element of control and not being
too fond on the new shout system. How does a
coach/manager translate his instructions to the
player on the pitch?
L.L: I think there is a place for all methods as long
as it can be justified. There are also many factors to
consider such as age group, sex, culture etc. Perso-
nally I feel there is very little you can do from the
side, and if we want to develop decision makers we
must leave them to their own devices. We have all
heard stories when the manager has a rant at the
players at halftime. My question is, does the mana-
ger do this for the benefit of the players or is it so he
can get things of his chest?

C.H: Lets say youve asked a player to play narrow,
how did you determine how narrow he needed to
be? What happens if he isnt as narrow as youd
like - would you then ask him to go even narrower?
L.L: Again this would depend on the age group.
I think as coaches we tell players what to do be-
cause we assume they cannot do it. I might want
him to play even narrower as you suggest, however
the player might have a better idea. If they solve it
great, if they dont I will trigger their thoughts and if
they just dont get it I may show or tell them.
C.H: How much of the above is also determined
by how the opposition are playing?
L.L: My role is to develop MY players so I ONLY fo-
cus on them, never the opposition.

C.H: Youve worked with both male and female
footballers and a variety of different age groups.
But how do you assess potential and learn how
good someone might become?
L.L: I would use the four corner model (technical/
tactical, physical, psychological and social) remem-
bering no box stands in isolation. For me the big-
gest difference is mental. I have met players far less
talented technically and tactically, nevertheless
they make it due to their drive, passion and deter-
mination. There are few good paragraphs on this in
Gary Nevilles book.

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5
Louis Lancaster at Brendford FC (brentfordfc.co.uk)
The coaches view: Louis Lancaster Interview
C.H: Football Manager uses attributes to deter-
mine how good the player is on a 1-20 scale. So
if I had a striker for example and he only had 11
for finishing and I was a top club, I know he would
need to work on this and improve. How do you
determine what a player needs to work on and
how do you judge how good he is at something?
Is there some sort of system you have in place for
such things?
L.L: To build rapport with your players, why not ask
them? They may have better ideas than us, if we
agree with them then great because it shows they
are on the same wavelength. If they mention so-
mething completely different then my job is to say
I think you should work on this, back it up with evi-
dence and then mention the benefits.

C.H: In the above scenario how would you try and
improve the strikers finishing? Would it be a case
of more shooting practice? Football Manager al-
lows me to use individual attribute training, so I
can focus on it that way. Is there anything similar
youd use?
L.L: I always used to work progressively.
Reading the pass
Movement
Finishing
I like to mix it up and sometimes work regressively:
Finishing
Movement
Reading the pass

C.H: How do you deal with players who might be
technically brilliant yet lack the mental aspects of
the game? Is there anything different youd do in
training to help them compared to someone who
is more all round in their game play?
L.L: There are many different training methods and
I believe they all have a place. I just feel you have
to get the dosages right. I used to find technically
gifted players only enjoyed the game at the end of
training, and they were disruptive during drills etc.
This used to get to me, but then as mentioned ear-
lier, if the game is hostile...then training must be.
The drills do not create this level of stress and the
players switch off. If I want to produce better foot-
ballers then surely playing football in training with
clever challenges would support this.
You can follow Louis on Twitter @LouisLancs

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If the game is hostile, aggressive
and full of stress then training must
be the same.
The coaches view: Louis Lancaster Interview
E
ver wondered what a principal advisor ac-
tually does? Then youll want to read this
article - we caught up with one recently and
put some questions to him. On 30 August 2013
Kevin McCabe announced that Sheffield United
had reached a deal with a foreign investor who will
become equal owners of the club and will provi-
de new funds. On 3 September it was confirmed
that Saudi Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdu-
laziz Al Saud of the royal House of Saud and for-
mer President of Al-Hilal FC had bought a 50%
stake in Uniteds parent company Blades Leisure
Ltd for the fee of 1, with the promise of providing
substantial new capital with the aim of returning
the Blades to the Premier League as quickly as
possible.
On 30 August 2013 Kevin McCabe announced that
Sheffield United had reached a deal with a foreign
investor who will become equal owners of the club
and will provide new funds. On 3 September it was
confirmed that Saudi Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad
bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the royal House of Saud
and former President of Al-Hilal FC had bought
a 50% stake in Uniteds parent company Blades
Leisure Ltd for the fee of 1, with the promise of
providing substantial new capital with the aim of
returning the Blades to the Premier League as qui-
ckly as possible.
Now as a die hard Blades fan, I have to admit I got a
bit excited at the prospect of some investment be-
cause the club has been through some hard times
recently. Not only that but I was genuinely excited
that I might have some money to spend on Foot-
ball Manager 2014 if I decided to manage my belo-
ved Blades.
In the weeks after the takeover happened more
info was released and on Twitter a guy named Jim
Phipps started interacting with Sheffield United
fans. At first many of us were sceptical to see
someone discussing what was happening behind
the scenes at the club. It turned out that Jim is ac-
tually the principal advisor for the Prince and was
building a rapport with the fans. It seemed slightly
odd at first that someone like this was listening to
fans and interacting with them on social media of
all places. But it has worked out well and the fans
feel like they are being heard. Jim has become a
great ambassador for the club and the fans like his
frank honesty.
To anyone now linked with the club this might all
sound a bit odd and for a while it did to me, but
Ive become used to it now and its a nice refreshing
change. It did get me wondering about the future
of the Football Manager series though. The game is
changing and quite quickly it seems this year with
the removal of sliders and the new addition to the
tactics interface. So what next for FM, will we see
more new roles? Would a Principal Advisor be a
realistic inclusion to the staff if that was the case?
I dont know about you, but I honestly had no idea
what a Principal Advisor was or what he did. So I
decided to try my luck and sent Jim a message and
he actually responded which shocked me. We got
chatting and he seems like a genuinely helpful guy
and said hed be happy to answer questions about
his role and what it entails. Here is what he had to
say:
CH: How do you become a principal advisor and
what does the role entail?
J.P: As Principal Advisor to His Royal Highness
Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,
I oversee all of his businesses, properties and inte-
rests worldwide and seek to help the Prince make
sound decisions about new opportunities and
existing investments. It is a strategic advisor role,
meaning big picture. At the same time, it is a very
hands-on tactical role. Sometimes I am asked to
step in and act as an interim manager or CEO when
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7
Interviews and Passion
Understanding Staff Roles: Principal Advisor Jim Phipps
By Cleon Hobson
a management team needs to be replaced and
other times it means serving as a consultant to ma-
nagers as they seek to address complex business
issues.
To be a strategic advisor, you need a mix of profes-
sional qualifications and (mostly) experience -- lots
of varied experience. My background is in law. I got
a Juris Doctor degree, which is the American law de-
gree, and practiced law in big law firms for a num-
ber of years. I also spent another stretch of years on
the business side.
Prince Abdullah asked me to join him as his main
advisor after interviewing me to be the CEO of a
company he was considering buying. I was recom-
mended to the Prince by his lifelong legal advi-
sor, who as it happens trained me in law practice
15 years or so before. The role I have today is not
typically the sort of role that is advertised. It is the
sort of role you get based on a reputation for inte-
grity, competence and creativity and on a network
of professional associations.
I do not think there is one path to this sort of role,
but you have to plan on getting a good education,
building up a good and interesting career and esta-
blishing a strong reputation.
CH: Just how closely do you interact with the first
team players, staff and manager?
J.P: I have met the players, but do not interact with
them directly on any regular basis. I do interact di-
rectly with club management regularly, i.e., with the
CEO, the Director of Football Operations, the Fi-
nancial Director and the Manager and his assistants.
CH: When reporting back to Prince Abdullah bin
Musaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, how much of what
you say is your own take on the situation due
to you being closely involved with the daily on-
goings. Because in a sense, you are better placed
to assess the situation as you see it as an outsider
so to speak?
I never pretend to be an expert on everything. I am
certainly not an expert on English football. I try to
report carefully what the experts and others say
and to distinguish that from what I think. The Prince
sends me out to work on his behalf, in part, because
he expects me to bring back more than just my own
impressions. He wants good solid information, out-
side perspective and hard facts, not just opinions.
I do share my own take on things, occasionally,
but usually try to stick to things I know. When he
wants it, the Prince asks me for my opinion, but on
the whole we both prefer facts and to let the facts
shape our decisions.
CH: Kevin McCabe said that Prince Abdullah bin
Musaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud becoming the joint
owner was down to pure luck and him (McCabe)
being in the right place at the right time. But what
sort of criteria do you consider before making any
decision whether its a good investment or not?
J.P: First and foremost, we look at the same things
we look at with all investments -- the market, the
competition, the opportunity, the risks, the likely
return on investment, the likely internal rate of re-
turn, the fit with what we are otherwise doing or
planning to do, the opportunities we are foregoing
by pursuing this opportunity and so forth. But when
considering whether to purchase an English foot-
ball club, HRH imposed an additional set of criteria,
which he had had in mind for some time. For exa-
mple, the club he wished to acquire would have:
To have a large, devoted following;
To have played in the Premier League;
To have Premier League infrastructure, inclu-
ding grounds, training facilities and the rest;
To have a brand capable of international ex-
pansion;
To be currently playing in the Championship
Division;
To have a sound management team;
To have sound management processes and
protocols, especially with regard to player
trading and retention;
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Understanding Staff Roles: Principal Advisor Jim Phipps
To have a strong academy, regularly produ-
cing players for first team football; and
To offer a controlling interest to him as a new
owner.
There were other criteria, but these were some of
the most important. We made two compromises
on the special criteria. First, we ended up buying
a League One club, despite Championship clubs
being available. Second, we bought a 50% interest
rather than a controlling interest. We made these
departures from our criteria based on the strength
of the fanbase, the amazing legacy of Sheffield
football and the great qualities we observed in our
partners, the McCabe family. We thought the value
proposition was there.
CH: It seems strange seeing you interact with
Blades fans on Twitter because Ive not seen
anyone interact with the fans this way as much as
you seem to do. Dont get me wrong its a really
good thing that you are but seems to go against
what we are used to seeing. How important is it
to know exactly what the fans are thinking and
seeing how they feel about situations? Is this so-
mething we can expect to continue over the years?
J.P: I certainly cant keep at it at the same pace
perhaps as in my first week on Twitter (hundreds
of tweets), but we have to do something to stay
connected. Like I said, the fans were a major consi-
deration when identifying which club to invest in.
They as much as the players on the field determine
the future of the club. They can be blunt, impatient,
hostile, supportive, on-point, off-point, whatever,
but at the end of the day, we have got to connect
with them and to stay connected. It would be cra-
zy to invest in players and coaches and in on-pitch
improvements without also investing something
in our fans. They need to believe, and it must be
true, that we are in common cause together. Be-
cause we do not live in Sheffield, but rather are half
a world away, we have to do something to close
the distance, to be present and accounted for, to
make ourselves available, and to demonstrate that
we are in this with them. At the end of the day, the
fans perception of this great club will be the ulti-
mate determinant of the economic success of the
club. If I can do any little thing to help them know
they are heard in the board room, and if that thing
steals a few hours of sleep from me now and again,
I am game.
CH: On Football Manager the board can set club
philosophies like develop players using the youth
system, sign high profile players and play pos-
session football and so on. How often does this
actually happen in real life that you are aware of,
where the board will set these kind of philoso-
phies?
J.P: On the SUFC board, this kind of value setting
and thinking is a part of what we do. It is written
right into the fabric of our partnership with the Mc-
Cabes. You have to know where you want to go and
how you think you are going to get there. Then,
you have to mechanisms to make adjustments to
that vision and methodology along the way as the
circumstances dictate. Like I said before, one of
our criteria for buying a club was the presence of
sound management protocols and processes. This
includes a driving vision and set of values -- appro-
ved by the board -- that informs everything mana-
gement does.
CH: During my time playing Football Manager 12
and Football Manager 13 I had a board take over
by a tycoon which ruined my game due to them
being the Roman Abramovich type of owner, were
they expected me to sign really big named players
and sometimes went above my head as the ma-
nager and signed a player without my input. This
ruined the game for me because I had invested
heavily into youth and it meant that signing big
names stopped them from playing. I know simi-
lar situations have happened at real clubs, do you
think this could be down to the new owners not
understanding the club and what theyve done
previously? Or from them being overly ambitious?
J.P: It can be both of those, Cleon, or neither. So-
metimes cultural differences in decision making
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9
Understanding Staff Roles: Principal Advisor Jim Phipps
styles drive these problems. Sometimes arrogance.
The key if you are a new owner seems to be to have
a clear vision, but also to be humble. Prince Abdul-
lah has been following English football forever and
a day. He has been involved for many years in the
leadership of a club with over 10 million fans. Still,
this is his first experience in owning an English foot-
ball club and there is much to learn. We chose our
partners and club carefully. We chose partners we
could learn and grow with. We chose a club with a
legacy and an ethos and more than a 124 years of
lessons learned. We need to learn from the club.
We need to act in ways that move the club forward,
but that do not cause the fans and players to ask,
What happened to the club they used to know and
love? At bottom, we need to submit and to become
a fully integrated part of the Blades family.
CH: How important was it to learn the history
of Sheffield United and understand everything
about the club? Is this something Prince Abdul-
lah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is still lear-
ning and trying to get his head around? Or did he
already have a bit of insight into the heritage be-
fore buying 50% of the club due to him being a big
fan of English Football.
J.P: The Prince was aware of Sheffield as the home
of association football. He is a sports intellectual and
devoured information and books on the clubs his-
tory. There is much to learn and plenty to get ones
head around. My guess is the Prince will always be
too modest to assert deep knowledge of the club,
but he cares to know it and troubles himself to read
up. As has been publicly reported, the heritage of
the club and its legacy were of great interest to the
Prince and weighed in his decision to move forward
with joining the McCabes in ownership.
CH: How much influence do commercial sponsors
etc have on which signings a club make ?
J.P: They can have impact. The most immediate
impact for the Blades is that sponsor revenue re-
duces the extent to which player trades are capped
by league protocols limiting the ability of owner to
poor in cash. The more sponsor revenue the more
room we have to maneuver and to focus revenues
on first team strength.
CH: Some fans of Sheffield United have been
saying the Prince should splash the cash and spend
ridiculous amounts of money but how frustrating
is hearing things like this when we have the Salary
Cost Management Protocol to comply with?
J.P: Exactly. Some fans do not understand that
the rules have changed. As owners, we cannot just
come in and dump a truck load of cash on the team
anymore. Under the protocol, we have to grow re-
venue to increase the amounts we can spend. It is
more or less that simple.
CH: How vocal will the Prince be? Hes admitted
he is a sore loser and wants to win things sooner
rather than later, so does this mean he could be-
come unsettled if this doesnt materialise on the
pitch in the next couple of seasons? Or is this more
down to your role and the Prince goes through you
to get his opinions across?
J.P: With management and the board, the Prince will
be vocal in support of winning tactics and strategies.
I have described him before as strategically patient,
but tactically impatient. You are right. He hates to
lose. He expects performance from management
teams. Wins are the measure in this business. He is
very direct about things he does not like or wants
changed. That said, he is a steady hand, very cool
under pressure and he is a good listener. The Prince
has acknowledged that the work before us is not
the kind of thing that can be easily achieved in a
couple of years. He knows how competitive English
football is and how hard it can be to get where you
want to go. He is committed and determined to go
where he said this club needs to go.
Thank you for asking these questions and giving me
a chance to shed a little light on Prince Abdullah. He
is glad to be a part, up for the challenge and excited
about the possibilities.
--
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10
Understanding Staff Roles: Principal Advisor Jim Phipps
Do we think this might be something we can see in
future editions of Football Manager? Im still unsure
but they are becoming more and more common
in football especially when foreign investment is
involved. You never know we might see this in a fu-
ture version of the game....
You can follow Jim on Twitter @JamesDPhipps
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11
Understanding Staff Roles: Principal Advisor Jim Phipps
Something non-tactic related, everybody wants to
write about those
With a clear mandate to avoid everything even re-
motely related to tactics, Cleon made sure I knew
what was expected of me. And since youre reading
this issue of Clear Cut Chance you are probably well
aware this tightly delineates a still pretty large por-
tion of Football Manager. Luckily, my experiences
as an assistant researcher to this beautiful game of
Football Manager allow me to write many random
words and other ramblings which I will now attempt
to connect coherently in order to paint a cohesive
picture of the Ajax Youth Academy culminating in a
piece on how I rate youth players.
As a fan of Ajax Amsterdam I cannot afford not to
know the ins and outs of youth development. You
are probably well aware of the legacy of the biggest
Dutch football club: every time a promising young
player is poached by a big international club two
new future Ajax stars are born. From the times of
Johan Cruijffs Golden Years to the ascent of Marco
van Basten and friends culminating in the superb
win of the Champions League with a string of ful-
ly developed youth players, intelligently scouted
foreign surprises and a few legends on their way
to retirement in 1995, scouting young players and
developing them into highly sought after top Euro-
pean players. Developing young players is the life-
blood of Ajax Amsterdam.
A Short History Of The Ajax Youth Academy
Somewhere around 2002-2004 something hap-
pened to the once fruitful Academy. Rafael van
der Vaart, Nigel de Jong and Wesley Sneijder were
among the last players to really make a dent in
international football (and in the case of Nigel de
Jong sometimes quite literally). It will not come as
a surprise that Ajax had not won a single Eredivisie
title following the year 2004 for seven years. It was
only after appointing rookie manager Frank de Boer
that Ajax were able to end the drought and string
together an impressive domestic run of Eredivisie
title wins. The aim of the first half of this article is to
determine what has happened in the first decade
of the new millennium to Ajax and, most impor-
tantly, to determine the role of the Youth Academy
in this prolonged period of young player paucity.
Between 1997 and 2004 Ajax were a shambles.
A reconstruction of historic events paints a very
double picture: even though Ajax were able to
reach the Champions League final in 1996 and the
semi-final in 1997 evidence of the decline in suc-
cess is easily presented. On the other hand, Ajax
was able to strengthen its financial position by
a successful emission of shares and a new multi-
functional, state of the art stadium (the Amsterdam
ArenA) was built. At de Toekomst (Dutch for The
Future, the home of the Ajax youth Academy) all
was not well.
The successful introduction of players such as
Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Ni-
gel de Jong to a declining Ajax, scouting vir-
tual-unknowns-turned-future-superstars such as
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Christian Chivu and subse-
quently selling these players for relatively high fees
were among the last smart pieces of business done
by an increasingly arrogant and complacent mana-
gement.
It is hard to assess the damage done to a Youth Aca-
demy in an early stadium. Imagine a group of eight
year old players. It takes, on average, ten years for
these players to reach the first team. Every year of
wrong training in the early stages of their develop-
ment can never fully be rectified as a burgeoning
young professional player. Once a player reaches
the first team there is often relatively little room for
these players to improve technically. Without get-
ting into the nitty-gritty of youth development, the
impact of ten years of mismanagement of a Youth
clearcutchance.com
12
Interview and Passion
Assistant Reasercher: Ajax Amsterdam
By Chef Raekwon
Academy cannot be understated.
And this is precisely what lays at the heart of ten
years of dysfunctional youth development at Ajax.
When the first team was achieving remarkable
successes domestically or in Europe the Academy
was neglected and mismanaged. Victories and high
scoring games became the benchmark of a good
Academy, in which youth coaches were boasting
about the games they were able to win with a po-
sitive goal difference of ten. Soon the focus of the
individual development of players shifted towards
the career-building of youth coaches (this sad trend
is still very much going on within the Dutch national
football association, the KNVB).
The effects of these policies and some disastrous
Heads of Youth Development have only recently
become common knowledge. Before, you needed
to be an insider to really know what was happening
but with the advent of social media; and time to
evaluate the level of youth players coming through;
it is clear that some things were amiss up until
Cruijffs Velvet Revolution and the appointment of
Frank de Boer as the first team manager.
You see, former Head of Youth Development Jan
Olde Riekerink (in position between 2007-2011)
did not understand one fundamental part of youth
development: physically strong players might win
you games in the short term, but will end up be-
coming just that when they reach the final stages
of the Academy. One illustration: the players of the
current U18 & U19 (mainly born in 1995) sides were
known to win many games and cups up until the
U17 because they were quicker and were physically
superior to their peers. Once they started coming
of age the comparative advantages disappeared
but they had no technical baggage to fall back onto.
The results were catastrophic, save for a few ta-
lented players, most were unable to complete the
famed Ajax Academy. After sacking JOR (as Olde
Riekerink is often referred to) the former Dutch in-
ternational Wim Jonk was appointed with another
old superstar (Marc Overmars) in charge of finding
and attracting top foreign talent. The Academy is
now showing early signs of recovery.
This in turn led to a complete overhaul of the youth
scouting department. Because the level of the
youth players was, in many cases, abysmal, many
players were attracted from other Dutch profes-
sional clubs including PSV (the Peeters and Bazoer
cases which garnered a fair bit of media attention)
and Feyenoord (the Lang case). The U17, U18 and
U19 teams were especially heavily reinforced with
outside players sometimes foreign as well. Even
though it is still too early to tell, the current expec-
tation of many youth watchers is that a few (very)
talented kids will break through over the next two
to three years. The chances of this being enough
to once again start competing in European Cup
competitions seem unlikely, with many top league
competitors anxiously following the footsteps of
these young soldiers.
Rating youth players, one at a time
So how do I rate youth players? Rating the best
talents in the Academy really is not that hard. It is
usually really easy to spot the top youth players.
These players dominate their peers regardless of
physicality. You often do not need to be a profes-
sional scout in order to spot these talents. All Ajax
Academy youth watchers know the names of the
biggest talents Nouri, Kishna and Cerny. The real
challenges can be found in two different areas: de-
termining the hidden attributes and finding slee-
per talents.
In my opinion hidden attributes can make or break
clearcutchance.com
13
Ajax Youth Academy player (uefa.com)
Assistant Researcher: Ajax Amsterdam
a players career, both in real life as well as in Foot-
ball Manager. If you know about how these hidden
attributes work in Football Manager it is relatively
easy to manipulate these attributes in order for
your youth players to become big breakout stars.
It is usually difficult enough rating hidden attributes
for first team players, it becomes even harder to
rate these attributes for youth players. In order to
accurately rate these attributes you almost have to
coach the team yourself. So unless I know about
some attributes beforehand I leave these attributes
relatively neutral. I then assess them on a year to
year basis. Has new information about a players
professionalism surfaced? How does a player
deal with pressure? Has the youth player proven
his loyalty by expressing his desire to stay or has
he blown off a deal with a big British club? I adjust
these attributes accordingly. I basically try to keep
all balls in the air and I dont try to make crass de-
cisions.
The sleepers I spoke about are the young players
who might appear to be utterly mediocre but
somehow develop tremendously in the course of
a season and are catapulted to first team fame. It
is pretty challenging to keep this from happening
too often it is hard to accurately predict a players
development one year in advance.
To give one example: Jol Veltman. Jol never was
one of the biggest talents of his generation. A re-
lative grey mouse, he was heavily injured for the
most important part of his U19 tenure. Almost re-
leased by Ajax, he recovered splendidly and has be-
come an undisputed first team starter in the past
six months and has already been capped for the
Netherlands.
However, there were some signs that Veltman was
not the ordinary mediocre youth player. As a cen-
tral defender Veltman is lacking in strength and he
lacks the commanding personality you would ex-
pect from your ace defender. His intelligence when
positioning himself on the pitch is what really set
him aside from other defenders even though he
still lost (and sometimes still loses) many one on
one situations against stronger strikers. Coupled
with good anticipatory and decision making skills
Veltman was correctly predicted by us researchers
to become a mainstay in the first team before his
actual breakthrough in the first team, which sur-
prised many fans and experts alike.
There are also cases of prediction gone wrong. In
recent history, most notably, the case of Davy
Klaassen. Klaassen, touted to be the next Dennis
Bergkamp (which would be a gross overpredic-
tion because Klaassen does not have the technical
finesse of the non-flying Dutchman), was always
one of the better youngsters of the 1993 genera-
tion. He captained the squad that comfortably beat
Liverpool and Barcelona sides and he was heralded
as one of the next big stars.
Klaassen is a fairly atypical Ajax player: not that
technical (though blessed with a good first touch)
and more of a classical 10 (a position that does
not exist in the current Ajax formation). He became
badly injured at the start of the 2012/2013. He
made his comeback in the last games of the season
where he played horribly. Then came the start of the
new season and, again, substandard performances
even with the second squad. As a response to these
awful games his CA and PA were downgraded be-
cause he seemed like a total train wreck. And then,
out of nowhere, he blasted into the first team with
many goals and fairly good performances overall. A
player who seemed destined for release from Ajax
recovered tremendously and proved us researchers
(and me in particular, his most vocal critic) wrong.
Another important part of rating youth players is
the way to interpret these negative potential abili-
ties (PAs) of youth players that we researchers hand
out. As you should know, the PA is one of the most
clearcutchance.com
14
You cannot accurately deter-
mine or predict the players course
of development unless you work
with that player every day.
Assistant Researcher: Ajax Amsterdam
important indicators of how well your youngster
will perform. A high PA means your player has the
potential to develop his attributes into world class
territory. It is then up to you as a manager to make
sure the player reaches his potential
The hardest part is to determine which player gets
which negative PA. This decision is compounded by
a few conditions: you cannot accurately determine
or predict the players course of development un-
less you work with that player every day. The nega-
tive PA ranges overlap each other and the ranges of
PA are very broad.
One common negative PA I hand out to promising
youngsters is -7. -7 means the player will have a PA
of at least 110 and at most 140, while a -6 means
the player at least has a PA of 90 and at most 120
and, finally, -8 means the player has a PA of at least
130 and at most 160. What you can learn from this
is that A) theres a 30 point range in negative PA,
which quite frankly is a lot and B) that within the 30
point range only 10 points are not overlapped by
other negative PA. What makes this hard decision
even more pain staking is the fact that at PA 110
the player has the ability to become a good Jupiler
League (Second Division) player or a decent Eredi-
vise player, while at PA 140 the player is a first team
player for the biggest teams in the league and can
perhaps even be transferred to one of the biggest
European clubs.
Researchers treat this matter with varying opinions.
Some of the more strict researchers will only hand
out a -7 rating if they are sure the player has the
ability to reach the higher parts of the -7 range.
Other more liberal, researchers could hand out the
-7 to any player they think will reach a minimum of
PA 110. I personally love the middle ground: if I be-
lieve a young player has the potential to reach the
median of a negative range (for PA -7 this would be
125) the player gets a -7 rating.
The pitfall of my reasoning, however, is that this still
leaves a 20 point gap (for instance between 125 for
-7 and 145 for -8) between medians. There are a
host of players at Ajax I would deem a to be worth
a -6.5, -7.5, or -8.5 PA. Due to current restrictions
I am unable to specify this even further, which in
turn leads to sometimes suboptimal ratings for
youth players. I have switched the PAs of some
youth players from -7 to -8 and eventually back to
-7, because I was constantly unsure where to place
the player in question.
Finally, I want to conclude this thinkpiece of mine
with my thoughts on when to switch a negative PA
to solid PA. Again, researchers have varying opi-
nions and practices in this area and my views are
far from official.
I hand out a solid number PA as soon as a former
youth player has had at least a full season of pro-
fessional football play time. Most young players
make an immediate impact when they have their
debut, then fall behind the curve for a while before
eventually maturing. This process usually takes at
least one and sometimes two seasons. It is some-
times attractive to hand out a big, solid number PA
as soon as the youngster plays a few good games
for the first team. Likewise, it is very easy to com-
pletely burn down a youth player after a few bad
games. In essence, you will want to give the player
enough time to hit his stride before branding the
guy with a single number.
I have already hinted at differences between re-
searchers on this subject. One player at Ajax si-
gnifies multiple visions: Dejan Meleg. This Serbian
kid joined Ajax almost one year ago. His arrival at
the club was clouded in controversy: his previous
contract looked more like a slave contract penned
in eighteenth century America. Not long after his
transfer we received the player in our database with
a set PA of 150. This player had never played a pro-
fessional game of football and at age 18 still had
many setbacks to overcome. We switched his PA to
a -8 to account for most future scenarios.
Through the course of several pages I have attemp-
ted to give a brief history of the Ajax Academy and
I have tried to take you on a trip through resear-
clearcutchance.com
15
Assistant Researcher: Ajax Amsterdam
cher-land. While I would not argue anything I do is
rocket science, I hope I have sufficiently explained
why we researchers can make mistakes and what
deliberations we make before coming to a final de-
cision on a youth player. Please be advised that this
piece was written according to my personal view on
researching for Football Manager and it does not
necessarily represent the vision of my peers. I want
to thank you, the reader, for your continued pa-
tience with me and hopefully I have instilled some
further knowledge in you without coming off as a
huge dick. Greetings.
Chef Raekwon is a member of the Sports Interac-
tive forums and is the assistant researcher for Ajax.
clearcutchance.com
16
Assistant Researcher: Ajax Amsterdam
C
3
W
hen Football Manager 2013 was
launched, hidden among the usual
swathe of features was the not insi-
gnificant addition of a new gaming mode. Football
Manager Classic was marketed as follows:
Designed for those managers who find that they
have less time to commit to playing Football Mana-
ger than they may once have had, this new Classic
mode is still the same game youve known and lo-
ved throughout the years, but is a more streamlined
approach. Focus on tactics and transfers and make
quicker progress through your career, making your
free time truly count.

At that point in time, I must have fitted the profile
of the target FMC player; I was the wrong side of
30 and I had a wife and child to occupy much of
my spare time. Indeed, it sounded like the perfect
solution for me and I spent a few weeks on Classic
Mode when FM13 was released, ultimately conclu-
ding that the limit of 3 playable nations was too
restrictive.

Fast forward a year and Im even older; my fruit-
ful loins have yielded a second child. When FM13
came out, my eldest daughter was two and a half
years old; she slept through the night and I could
burn the midnight oil on FM, knowing that a blissful
7 or 8 hours of solid sleep lay in wait.

How times change! My second little girl was born in
April last year, and doesnt sleep through the night
yet. When my head hits the pillow, it could be for
four hours, or it could be for four minutes. Im a man
who needs his sleep, so those late night sessions of
FM had to be annulled to preserve my sanity. Was
FMC now a viable option for me?

Football Manager 2014 included significant FMC
development. Interface changes made the Scou-
ting, Staff and Training modules a lot more intui-
tive and easy on the eye. Other additions included
Team Meetings, Unlockables, Transfer Deadline
Day experience and a Match Plans Creator.

Critically, the three playable nations limit was re-
moved. In its place, you can now select from as
many leagues in as many nations as you like, up
to a 50,000 player limit. It is a dramatic increase
in the options available and the ability to Add and
Remove leagues further increases the dynamism of
long term saves.

Having spent a few months switching from FMC
to Simulation Mode and back again, I can conclude
that FMC is now the mode for me. A few brief flings
with Simulation Mode occurred, lured by the seduc-
tive Analysis Tab to alleviate my frequent tactical
deficiencies. Once those yearnings were satiated, it
became clear that barring the occasional gripe, FMC
more than meets my needs.

For me, Football Manager has three main strands:
Tactics, Player Development and Squad Building.
FMC delivers completely in the former and latter
areas, but would benefit from loosening its Player
Development restrictions.

Tactically, FMC is refreshing. The concept of Tactical
Familiarity in Simulation Mode is poorly executed
in my opinion. It doesnt exist in FMC which grants
tactical freedom and is enormously empowering. In
Simulation Mode, performances can take a nose-
dive if you change Mentality or a Team Instruction.
In FMC, you can simultaneously change shape,
Mentality, Team and Player Instructions, and as
long as your changes are grounded in logic, they will
simply click into action. Football Manager is more
about adapting to the ebb and flow of a game than
ever before, and the removal of Tactical Familiarity
in FMC is aligned with that need to be reactive.

FMCs tactical module would benefit from some
clearcutchance.com
17
Its just a game...isnt it?!
Switching Allegiances.
By RTHerringbone
expansion. My flirtations with Simulation Mode
only happen because I miss the Analysis Tab. You
can actually load FMC .pkms into the full fat
Mode to use the Analysis Tab, which implies that
the required match data is already captured in FMC.
This is one of the main features requested in the
FMC2014 Wishlist thread on the Sports Interac-
tive Forum, along with the ability to use a custom
editor. In the same way as the removal of playable
league restrictions dominated the FMC2013 Wi-
shlist and was subsequently approved and deve-
loped for FMC14, Im optimistic that some work for
FMC15 will fill this void.

Player Development in FMC has good and bad
points. On the plus side, player attributes develop
at the same rate as in Simulation Mode, but training
is essentially defaulted to Role specific attributes.
You can still retrain the positions a player can com-
petently play in, simply by playing him in that po-
sition.

On the negative side, you have no control over
Player Preferred Move development. Players learn
PPMs seemingly at will and there have been rare
reports of inappropriate PPMs being learned (a
Poacher who Comes Deep To Get The Ball hardly
seems logical). Whilst a PPM isnt as consistently
influential as Team / Player Instructions, it would
be frustrating to be hindered by such an aberration.

Generally speaking, training in Football Manager is a
module which is in need of development. My pre-
ference would be an overhaul which allows user to
create custom training groups. You could specify a
set of attributes to be trained in a custom group,
and then drop a selection of players into that group
far more streamlined than the click-a-thon that
Simulation Mode training remains. FMC has the po-
tential to be a development prototype for Simula-
tion Mode, and Id happily test the introduction of
such functionality therein.

Squad Building in FMC is much the same as in Simu-
lation Mode. There is a degree of limitation as you
have a maximum of 8 scouts to survey the 50,000
player database, but when you place those num-
bers in context, it isnt a significant cross to bear.

In addition to these core elements, I am a fan of
the default skin, which is occasionally the target of
questionable critique on social media. In my opi-
nion, it is clean, intuitive and well designed. Unlike
with the Simulation Mode default skins, I have no
inclination to go to the Steam Workshop to change
the FMC skin.

Speed has always been a key selling-point of FMC,
and it does exactly as advertised on the tin. No
amount of delegation in Simulation Mode allows
you to progress at the rate you can on FMC. One
of my flagrant dalliances with Simulation Mode saw
me take three hours to progress to my first pre-sea-
son match on FM14. In contrast, the same duration
of time on FMC allows me to advance well into
September fixtures if playing in a European league.

That rate of progression can be accelerated further
if the Instant Result feature is used. Again, this is
an area that those with an elitist stance occasional-
ly deride, but that is a somewhat narrow-minded
view to have. It is an option for those who choose
to use it, and it certainly appears to be in demand
a fact borne out by the proliferation of custom
skins for full fat mode which include the Instant
Result button.

Whilst I dont use the functionality myself, I can
see the benefits of using it to whizz through bland
matches, such as some of the State Championship
games in Brazil. Indeed, Instant Result has been
extended in FMC14 with the introduction of the
Match Plans Creator presumably lifted from
the now defunct FM Live. This is a wizard enabling
you to exert greater control over the behaviour of
your team and your assistant in matches that you
clearcutchance.com
18
Swtiching Allegiances
choose not to control.

All of these features combine to form a thoroughly
enjoyable microcosm of the Football Manager ex-
perience. From all that I have seen and heard on
forums and Twitter, Im not alone as a long-term
FMer migrating from Simulation Mode to Football
Manager Classic. It captures the key elements of
the game, and whilst there remains room for im-
provement, Id argue that it offers a more enjoyable
experience than the intense immersion of its bigger
brother.
C
3
clearcutchance.com
19
Switching Allegiances
Brave New worlds
Football Manager is more than an opportunity for
you to live your footballing dreams. Even if many a
bedroom manager barely notices it all: It is a virtual
world that starts rolling each time you start a save
anew. Come join us and explore some of its details,
limitations and tragedies.
Penalties, its always penalties. On an unusually cold
summer night at Stade de France Team England had
just lost what was their biggest game since 1966:
the final of the European Championships. Being at
unease of the situation, Alan Pardew smirks. He has
to. Precisely fifty years of hurt, and it looks as if the
English were in for extra time. How bloody typical.
Pardew, the grey-haired veteran manager has been
overseeing Englands doings for roughly three years
now following an Andr Villas-Boas short-term
spell as England manager.
Things looked good and bright: England, for the first
time in fifty years not only made it to their first ever
final of a major tournament since Wembley 66
they were also clear pre-match favourites to nick it
all. But then things went wrong. Just horribly, hor-
ribly wrong. Dont they always do that? Ask anyone:
They sure as hell do. Welcome to Football Manager,
the video game in which bizarre and hugely enter-
taining parallel universes are created at the click of
your fingertips.
A tale of two brothers
It all started out in the early 1990s. Paul and Oliver
Collyer, two teenage brothers turned bedroom co-
ders, werent quite pleased with the football mana-
gement games they got ahold of. Eventually they
got a publishing deal for a management game of
their own. Back then, decades before crowd fun-
ding platforms could kick-start projects that never
would have been signed by traditional publishers,
that was still a remarkable thing to happen.
The resulting Championship Manager was as unique
back then as Football Manager is now: After swap-
ping floppy disks and making it past the MS DOS
prompt, players entered their name and got their
management jobs, such as they did in other mana-
gement games of that era. But when they got the
sack and were shoved out the door by their virtual
boards, something unusual happened: No Game
over screen would appear. The game didnt even
wink. It carried on as it did before, as if the player
wouldnt even exist. And it was the players task to
apply to another job, or leave the save for good.
Even the early Championship Managers didnt so
much create a traditional gaming experience, a
playground in which the human player takes centre
stage and in which everything centres around him.
They created spaces for the wealth of data inhe-
rent to management games to interact with. And
most of all they created virtual worlds for stories to
unfold both player related and AI manager related
alike. As Miles Jacobson, the studio director of now
developer Sports Interactive recalls:
These are the things that attracted me to the se-
ries. I didnt work on the first Championship Ma-
nager game and the big difference between what
Champ Manager did and the other management
games did is that they built a world. Some games
would reset at the end of every season.
The devil was in the detail, they say. And it still is.
Meet the Collyers: Oliver (left) and Paul (right)
clearcutchance.com
20
Its just a game...isnt it?!
The World According to FM
By Svenc
Years passed by. England lost to Germany on pe-
nalties. And Championship Manager turned into
Football Manager. Rather than being the love child
of two brothers turned bedroom coders, it is the
collaborative effort of a company employing more
than seventy full-time employees. Things havent
all changed though: Players of the game can still
largely miss out on much of it all. They can outright
ignore it. But it is there and happening, and it is
always influencing them directly and indirectly.
One of my favourite little things is that referees
will only officiate lower league games regionally.
A referee from Southampton wont travel to Car-
lisle for a non-league game, says Jacobson. The
eye for detail and strive for simulation means that
just starting a save and watching the fireworks can
be pretty entertaining. When the virtual selves of
Sir Alex Ferguson and the virtual selves of Roberto
Mancini engaged in mind games prior to City facing
United, Football Manager players could order a bag
of popcorn and take a seat in the front row.
When Fabio Capellos virtual stint as England mana-
ger came to an end it was Football Manager players
who could likely witness him losing his cool and
storming out hist last press conference. The game
tracks which player has fallen out of with what ma-
nager, it remembers which manager befriended
whom, it spawns an entire network of relationships
and pulls of trickery a lot of soap opera writers
would wish they had so readily available.
More than just a game to play along to
To this day Football Manager adheres to a design
philosophy harking back to those days. More than
a playground for your own fantasies, it is meant to
be a world to explore. When things got hot last au-
tumn and people questioned the decision of Sports
Interactive to remove the tactical sliders to replace
them with sets of mentalities, team instructions
and player roles, Paul Collyer replied: My problem
with humans creating customised roles is that they
will always be the pioneers, whereas FM is a foot-
ball world where you are incidental rather than the
world being incidental to you.
In other words: you are not meant to be The Special
One able to reinvent football as the world knew it.
Shockingly, you are just tiny part as everybody else,
one manager amongst many. How each save then
unfolds from this premise is largely unpredictable,
and the directions a save can steer into are limitless.
That is, almost limitless. For there is a catch. It is a
paradox, and one you might not have anticipated.
The curse of the five hundred and fifty thousand
Fast forward from the 1990s into the 2000s. By
now the wealth and quality of data that interacts
with each other in a Football Manager game has
shifted in numbers. So did expectations. The thou-
sands of players and dozens of managers occupy-
ing Championship Manager Football Manager
players would laugh them off now. Players and AI
managers can manage clubs in more than 50 na-
tions across the world, and the database has ex-
ploded into a something that professional clubs
such as Everton FC have licensed off of SI: Its
over 500,000 players and staff, twittered Miles
Jacobson, studio director of Sports Interactive in
the dawn of a recent release. Unlike the very first
Championship Manager, in which fantasy mana-
gers acquired and fielded fantasy players and were
sacked by fantasy boards, this is all real staff. But
with this added realism comes a catch.
There are some things that happen to regen players
that cant happen to real players, says Jacobson in a
STOP! Its Fergie time: Scottish charm 1 typical Italian 0
clearcutchance.com
21
The World According to FM
recent Interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Youre
more likely to have a regen who doesnt show up
for training because theyve been out on the lash, or
theres a possibility of a referee being pushed over
by a regen. Clearly if in the game Mario Balotelli
would be as much of a trouble maker he is argued
to be in real-life, justified or no, lawyers and the
players would object. This would be seen as bad PR
but also a violation of personal rights.
And yet: Thanks to a bug related to private conver-
sations in Football Manager 2012 players could wit-
ness now Stoke newcomer Marko Arnautovic fal-
ling frequently out with each of his managers. He
would frequently demand moves to bigger clubs
and question his managers ability. Arnautovic has
been known as a more difficult personality in the
real world of football to deal with, and he we was
offloaded from Bremen to Stoke for likely a reason.
Merely a coincidence?
Whatever the case: With realistic data there comes
responsibility. This is a paradox Gerald Khler, one
of the designers of the now defunct FIFA Manager
series points out also. In Khlers prior series On The
Ball, the editable database was inhabited by all fan-
tasy players initially. On The Ball tried to catch more
silly sides of football too, which means there was
bribery, doping, players pinching each others girl
friends. With FIFA Manager and all of its officially
licensed data we had to be a tad more serious. Like
Jacobson, Khler separated real players from re-
gens, that is players the game would generate to fill
the game world should the real players eventual-
ly retire: With FIFA Manager 2007 we started to
distinguish between officially licensed players and
generated ones.
Epilogue: Old familiar feelings
None of this ultimately matters for Alan Pardew
now on July the 10th 2016, 11:30 PM, FM Standard
Time. At the post match conference deep inside the
bowels of the Stade de France, amidst the tape re-
corders and cameras and pencils eager on capitali-
zing on a moment of loss, tragic, despair and anger,
somebody had to rub it in. Somebody always does
that. Approached by a journalist from the eventual
winning nation, Pardew let it sink in. Storming out
was not an option. And still Pardew couldnt get the
image out of his mind that would haunt him for the
rest of his virtual career: the one of Wales Captain
Gareth Bale lifting the trophy. It should have been
his! And all of Englands, at long last. Inquired by
Jason Griffiths of the prolific Welsh Football Free
Press he thus put on his smirk and mumbles: Lo-
sing on penalties is tough to take. The players have
to pick themselves up and keep going now. Indeed:
Penalties it always is. Even in the bizarre and fasci-
nating parallel universes that Football Manager gets
rolling with each save you start anew.
C
3
A boy called trouble: Marko Arnautovic on FM 2012
Welsh done: How Wales won the European Championships and
England lost on penalties
clearcutchance.com
22
The World According to FM
H
ow many of you have experienced the FM
lull? That moment where you load up the
game but have no motivation or interest in
actually continuing or starting a save where no
challenge or team or concept seems appealing
and you have (shocker) better things to do than
play FM. Well I have just had my first big lull
For those of you who dont know me basically
every single person reading this, I have emigrated
from the UK to Abu Dhabi in the last year for work.
I commute long distances to and from work, wor-
king 4 x 12 hour days a week, commuting nearly 2
hours each direction. On top of this trying to build a
social life means cutting down FM time as does the
usual things like friends & family visiting, extra work
projects & commitments, simply trying to clean
the apartment after 4 days of mess has built up
nearly forgot actually spending time with my Fian-
ce followed by my Christmas present, an Xbox,
sticking its head into the equation. So I suppose it
was just a matter of time before the remotest sense
of staleness would come and rip my motivation to
play down around me. Which is exactly what hap-
pened.
I think we all have the lull, sometimes it is perma-
nent for us, we have too many things to do, too
many commitments, families etc. and we need our
challenge to stay fresh sometimes it is tactical re-
plication or trying to compete against a friend and
their achievements or the sheer notion of trying to
be brilliant and the best.
My lull appears to have finished, I am back up
playing, eagerly awaiting playing the new patch
when it is released and trying to match what Arse-
nal have done this season before I try my usual
World Cup Campaign to try and upset the big guns
with the Ivory Coast. Suddenly I see things I want
to try and replicate again, such as: teams playing
with 2 strikers, good counter-attacking structures
and watertight defences. We all need something to
grab us personally and interest us.
I think that this game ties many of us to it for the
long term though and we may disappear for a while,
we may lack some motivation but the essence of
what drove us to pick up this game in the first place
can grab us all again at some point, getting us that
drive to make Bayern Munich win every single gap
or get Garforth Town to the Champions League fi-
nal or to get the Seychelles to a World Cup Finals,
scoring goals, keeping clean sheets and making re-
cord breaking numbers of passes in the process.
Once a FM player, always a FM player.
C
3
clearcutchance.com
23
Its just a game...isnt it?!
Experiencing the Lull
By llama3
In the last edition of Clear Cut Chance RTHerringbone
wrote an article entitled A World Without Sliders in
which he defended the latest development in the tacti-
cal interface of Football Manager whereby all trace of
slider instructions had been removed from the game.
After reading the article, I remarked to RTH on Twit-
ter that I disagreed with him almost entirely, that our
opinions were almost complete polar opposites and
we have, before and since, enjoyed some passionate
debates on the topic.
Here, in expanded form, is my riposte to that article.
Let me start this article by setting something rather
fundamental straight. Those of us who are/were
pro-sliders are not some sort of luddite Football
Manager dinosaur hankering after the good old
days when we could exploit a perfectly good match
engine and bask in the glory of our win-fest. Nor are
the anti-slider contingent the champions of real
football, the only ones who really understand the
game and are willing to take on a real challenge like
a proper football fan should.
Football Manager is a game, nothing more and at
the end of the day all I want to do is enjoy the game
I bought and which is likely to take up a lot of my
spare time. What makes me enjoy the game could
well be very different to what you enjoy. Does that
make either of our opinions less valid? No, of course
it doesnt.
So, and apologies to RTH for singling him out here,
but Im not having any of this attitude:
End of discussion. Live in the past and grumble,
or move on and adapt. I find this mentality enor-
mously sad. It wont change.
Its as patronising as it is dismissive. The choice is
made and you have to live with it is the last resort
of those who have run out of valid arguments. And
there are valid arguments for the removal of sliders
as well as against it. SI may have made the decision
and it may be irreversible but lets not pretend that
it isnt a debate worth having. Its a major change
to the game which indicates the general direction
the franchise continues to take and influences the
single most important part of Football Manager
the actual football match.
Let me add that I feel a bit bad for singling out RTH.
Hes a good bloke and I often enjoy what he writes
on the game. I just disagree, strenuously, with him
on this particular topic.
Before moving on to some of my own arguments
against the removal of sliders, here are some res-
ponses to excerpts from RTHs article:
Sliders are so far removed from the direction that
the game is taking and so far removed from foot-
ball itself that it is no longer acceptable for them to
be used as reference points.
A slightly different take on my point above but
more-or-less adds up to weve removed sliders,
therefore they arent relevant and theres no point
talking about them. Which is, of course, nonsense.
How can you possibly know how effectively you
have implemented something if you do not com-
pare it to what was used previously?
By applying generic, tangible logic such as Strate-
gy and Philosophy, we have a subjective inter-
pretation of a Team template. Selecting generic,
subjective player Roles gives us the foundation to
build a coherent combination of players. It is this
base of subjectivity, I believe, which is the source of
discontent among the pro-slider community. They
perceive it to force a lack of control; a subjective
strait-jacket which restricts our ability to tailor a
team in our own image; someone elses ideas in our
game.
The word subjective is used 4 times in that quote.
Subjective means based on or influenced by per-
sonal feelings, tastes or opinions. There is abso-
lutely, categorically and undeniably nothing sub-
jective about the use of the team instructions and
clearcutchance.com
24
Opinions & Thoughts
A World Without Sliders A Riposte
By Shrewnaldo
roles within FM14.
My personal opinion of what an Advanced Play-
maker is does not influence the instructions which
are applied when I select the role whatsoever. Ins-
tead, the instructions are applied according to what
someone at SI or SEGA believes they should be.
I cant even see anything other than a short and
rather flowery, meaningless in-game description:
The Advanced Playmaker aims to drop into the
gaps between the oppositions midfield and de-
fence, making himself available for his teammates
passes and aiming to turn defence into attack in
an instant.
All of which means very little. How much does he
close down? How often will he shoot from dis-
tance?
Yes, we can use team or personal instructions
to further influence the mode of playing. Again,
though, these are not subjective. Not in the slightest.
These are the options for an advanced playmaker
on support:
Youll see there are a number greyed out, either
because they are already implemented (e.g. more
risky passes) or because they are unavailable for the
role (e.g. get further forward).
What does the former tell us? Well, what it sug-
gests to me is that the old through balls slider is
set to often one of 3 options with the slider (of-
ten, sometimes, rarely). We now have one personal
instruction option to play fewer risky passes. Does
this reduce that old slider to sometimes or rarely?
Who knows? What we do know is that there are
only two options: default (more) or use the shout
(fewer). Two options where there were previously
three.
Its also worth bearing in mind that I might be com-
pletely wrong about the influence of the shout.
Does it only affect the amount of through balls?
Interestingly, the tooltip for more direct passes
reads:
encourages players to take more risks when
passing in a bid to find the ball which could unlock
an opposition defence.
More risks you say? And more risky passes?
encourages players to play low-percentage
passes in the hope that one or two of them will un-
lock the opposition defence in a potentially decisive
manner.
Forgive me if Im misunderstanding but those two
tooltips manage to say exactly the same thing
whilst simultaneously telling us absolutely nothing
meaningful. Quite a feat.
At least when the sliders were visible we had an ob-
vious, readily available resource with which to check
the actual impact of our instructions. As it is, I now
have fewer options and less information with which
to understand what those options actually mean.
Youll have to explain to me how that is subjective.
As a quick side-note to the original quote ge-
neric, tangible logic such as Strategy and Philoso-
phy when one of the key influences on the cur-
rent match engine suggests that the most suitable
Strategy / Mentality for re-creating Peps Barcelona
team is counter-attacking then the logic is far from
being either generic or tangible.
On the Sports Interactive forum, someone argued
that there arent enough options for setting your
Defensive Line any more. How many options do
we need? In real life football, it is generally accep-
clearcutchance.com
25
A World withouth Sliders - A Riposte
ted that we have the Low, Medium and High blocks.
That isnt twenty options, it is three.
You should have a word with SI then, because they
believe there are 5 much lower, lower, default, hi-
gher and much higher.
Actually, there are more than 5. There are 5 options
for each of the mentalities. So, 35. Or maybe more.
Maybe the defensive line is actually also influenced
by the closing down settings. Or are closing down
settings affected by the defensive line? If I play an
attacking mentality but ask my team to push higher
up and stand-off opponents what will happen?
Where will my defensive line be?
I dont know and without actually trying to imple-
ment it neither do you or anyone else.
I actually quite like the dynamic influence on de-
fensive line and closing down from the various
instructions. Its the groping-in-the-dark, hope-its-
what-I-want, not knowing of the text instructions
that bother me. Which brings me on to
The fact that we can no longer make a 5% ad-
justment here and there is not relevant. A common
pro-Slider statement is that Sliders represent rea-
lism. Im sorry, but that is absolute nonsense. Have
you ever seen Klopp, Bielsa, Mourinho, Benitez or
Guardiola ask a player on the pitch to do 5% more
of x and 15% less of y? Realism is a manager asking
a player to Push Higher Up, to Play Narrower, to
Hug The Touchline, to Mark Tighter. This realism is
provided by the new Player Instruction layer at the
same conceptual level as the Sliders of old but in a
more practical way.
Ill be honest. Ive never seen Klopp, Bielsa, Mou-
rinho, Benitez, Guardiola or any other manager gi-
ven any form of instruction to anyone ever. Yes, Ive
seen them talking to players at the side of the pitch
but they could be saying play 5% higher, push up
a little more or dont you think it was odd that Luke
Skywalker was supposed to be hidden from his dad
but then they gave him to his uncle and kept the
same surname? Surely Skywalker was a giveaway?!
And where did the uncle come from? Anakin didnt
have any siblings. Dont you think thats weird?
What I do know is that some coaches can be in-
credibly precise in their instructions. During training
matches, managers or coaches will stop the game
and re-position players or explain what they just
did wrong/where they should be positioned. Clubs
spend hours going through video replays of their
last game, again pointing out positional errors or
passes that the players should have made.
This all adds up to a precise element of influence
that I believe is not possible in the restricted sys-
tem currently available. The argument above looks
ridiculous because the argument is couched in deli-
berately ludicrous terms 5%, 15% more/less this.
Its representative of a higher degree of influence.
Representative being the operative word.
Do anti-slider protagonists actually believe that,
lets say, Arsene Wenger says to Mesut Ozil: I want
you to play as an advanced playmaker today? No,
of course he doesnt. The instructions within the TC
are representative of a set of instructions. Just like
the slider choices were representative of instruc-
tions. Only now, we have fewer options.
Going back to the question RTH posed do you
really think Klopp pulls Reus to the side of the pitch
and says right, play as an inside forward but try to
get into the channels oh no, sorry, cant do that as
an inside forward isnt allowed to move into chan-
nels (that shout is unavailable for an inside forward).
The realism argument just doesnt hold water.
Whether or not Sports Interactives interpretation
of a Role, Duty or Strategy is precisely in line with
our own expectations is by the by. We can change
every element of the defaults, so it ultimately isnt
that important. What is important is that the gra-
phical representation of the Match Engine is suf-
ficiently good enough to enable users to identify
issues with their setup, and to tweak them accor-
dingly via Shouts, Team and Player Instructions.
Theres a lot in this quote so bear with me.
clearcutchance.com
26
A World withouth Sliders - A Riposte
SIs interpretation of the role, etc is not by the by. It
is the absolute cornerstone of trying to understand
the match engine and what we are trying to do with
our game. Coming back to the Barca / counter-at-
tacking example I gave earlier, how can someone
realistically be expected to understand what is
going to be implemented with their instructions if
the interpretation of a concept as fundamental as
counter-attacking can be so inconsistent with po-
pular understanding?
Secondly, the graphical representation of the ME is
absolutely NOT sufficiently good enough to iden-
tify all issues. When so many glaring bugs remain
at retail release, how is the average FM player sup-
posed to gauge whether the errors in the team are
because of his tactics or a bug?
Dont believe me? Take a 30 second look at the
official forums Tactics thread, or even the general
feedback threads, and see how many people are
struggling to understand what the words actually
mean.
Could the game benefit from more detailed and
thorough explanation of the terms, their co-de-
pendency and impact on each other? Absolutely.
It could also, however, benefit from implementing
a robust and consistent match engine long before
removing the users opportunity to assuage any ob-
vious bugs with their own precise alterations.
Of course, the counter argument is that precise al-
terations of one or two notches make no difference,
back to RTH again (sorry):
Bobbins. 1 or 2 notches made feck all difference.
100% placebo effect.
Of course this, as I pointed out in the subsequent
tweet, is also nonsense because 2 notches of clo-
sing down is the exact difference in the FM13 tacti-
cal creator between a defend and cover duty for a
centre-back. So which is the placebo effect?
A couple of notches here, some precise influence
there and we had more control over our tactics.
Control which some of us prefer, to implement our
own ideas within the game. Without that additional
control we can only play within the stricter inter-
pretation of available roles, strategies and limited
shouts.
This may not be too much of a problem for some
players but there are a significant number of us who
want to play with a little more freedom. Lee Scott
from FM Analysis and Eds from FM Coffeehouse
are both fellow pro-slider types and both refer to
a lack of control as a key reason. When expert
FM-ers like that believe there is a lack of control,
something is amiss.
We want to try new instructions and experiment a
little. We want to have fun and innovate with our
tactics. So what if the innovations are unrealistic?
And who decides whats realistic anyway? Are SI ar-
rogant enough to believe that their interpretation
of football is right and is as evolved as its ever going
to be?
Of course theyre not. No-one, and I dont care who
you are, knows everything there is to know about
football and all we end up doing is playing a game
trying to figure out what the coders at SI believe is
the right way to play the game or, as my network
game nemesis Petr Uchio put it, figuring out how
to play the patch.
Which is a valid point there are glaring, some-
times game-breaking, bugs in every retail version of
Football Manager thats ever been released. At the
time of writing, I believe there have been 6 patches
for FM14. Six. And yet the Match Engine is sufficient-
ly good enough to enable users to identify issues with
their setup. At least with sliders we could try to alle-
viate the impact of the residual bugs by tweaking
our setup. Now, unless that possibility is available
using the restricted shouts and instructions, were
stuck with a game that just doesnt work the way its
supposed to.
The anti-slider brigade is getting it all wrong. There
ARE some valid arguments that could be made for
getting rid of sliders and I dont know why I havent
clearcutchance.com
27
A World withouth Sliders - A Riposte
heard more of them. Instead of arguing on subjec-
tive preferences like the lack of control or realism,
they should be looking at items which are irrefu-
table:
1.Instructions that cant be influenced by sliders
(half back, anchorman)
It is undeniable that there are certain things that are
implemented in FM14 which you could not do with
the sliders. One prime example being the impact
of the halfback. There was no possible slider ins-
truction to make the centre backs split properly and
form a back 3 alongside the halfback when you had
possession.
Of course theres a slight problem in that the match
engine, sufficiently good enough to enable users to
identify issues with their setup (remember?), fails to
implement this tactic properly the centre backs
split FAR too wide and the halfback plays too high
leaving a frankly child-like defence that could be
breached at will by a front-pairing as deadly as
Emile Heskey and Darren Mackie.
Nevertheless there ARE instructions which are li-
mited to the TC, particularly interdependent effects
where the instructions on one player have a pro-
found impact on the way a different player moves.
2. Allows the AI to react using the roles
This actually existed on FM13 without many of you
noticing but SI have made a big deal out of the AI
being smarter this year, more able to react to your
tactics and provide you with a reactive opposition
manager that gives you a new challenge. How?
By limiting your options to amend the default ins-
tructions it is far easier to code the proper response
to a midfield pairing of a Deep-Lying Playmaker and
Box-to-Box Midfielder. In combination with use of
the analysis results (i.e. high numbers of key passes
from a certain flank) this will allow the AI to com-
pute a response and use its own shouts to counter.
This should, in turn, provide you with a new
challenge. Great.
My only problem with this is that its a trade-off. We
lose precise influence so that there are a couple of
new options: interdependency of a few specific ins-
tructions and a more reactive AI. Surely the latter
should be a possibility without restricting the user
perhaps a more detailed analysis tab with more
stats and more interpretive tools such as time sli-
ders to limit the results to a particular time-span?
Interdependency of instructions could be imple-
mented with more sliders, not fewer.
Its been a clear choice from SI, in line with a vision
of the game that will give the human player less
and less control. Maybe it is a drive for what they
perceive as realism or maybe its just easier to code
this way. Whichever is the real reason, the simple
fact is that it seems to have been a conscious choice
to reduce the control available to the player.
Anti-slider types will tell you the control is still there
but the truth is irrefutable. Its not. Dont believe
me? Even the anti-sliders admit this themselves,
albeit inadvertently. Back to RTH and a quote from
last editions article:
We can now interact with a user friendly interface
and ask our right-winger to Play Narrow by default,
to create space for the Complete Wing Back to
overlap in
Well actually, RTH, no. You cant.

C
3
clearcutchance.com
28
A World withouth Sliders - A Riposte
clearcutchance.com
29
I
ts been already a few months since the release
of the new Football Manager with its removal
of sliders. That was an idea already mentioned
in wish threads before, one of which I have seen
as many people for as against. And one that, even
today, I have yet to read (note here, I havent read
through forums that much so I may just have
missed) texts purely in the right terms. Or that at
least dont include the absurdity of discussing rea-
lism of sliders per se.

The argument of sliders by their sole being sliders as
unrealistic is a concept that makes no sense. What
are we saying? That real managers interact with
their players with buttons instead? Is the issue that
the sliders had no tags attached for each setting or
when a user made a mod the tag were numbers
instead of the text labels the current buttons have?
If I had skills at photoshop I would take the picture
of when Mourinho stuck his finger in Vilanovas eye
and put in the eye a button that read declare your
aversion to rival manager. Sliders or buttons they
are both exactly the same: a form of graphic user
interface so the player can tell the software what
he want and any type of input that is implemented
for the game will be equally unrealistic. Because
managers dont interact with imaginary players as
expressed by programmed objects through a sys-
tem of buttons/sliders, they interact with the real
players themselves by talking. Even implementing
a voice recognition procedure so we would input
the instructions with voice would still be unrealistic
at the same level.

If the issue with the sliders is that the managers
dont tell their players to have a mentality four ticks
to the left were suggesting if instead of the num-
ber each state was labeled with text like dont move
forward at all, you may move forward a little, etc,
the issue then is with our imagination, that is not
enough for us to imagine what we would be wan-
ting to tell our player to do. Then figuring what sli-
Opinions & Thoughts
The new GUI A Slider Discussion
By Carlos Garca del Monte
der/button action and then make the change while
in our mind we tell the player we dont want you
to be so audacious and mind the distance you keep
from the players behind or whatever would be that
we would be telling our player.

A slider that has three states for tackling - easy,
tackling - medium and tackling - hard and two
buttons such that one is tackle easier, the other
is tackle harder that can be in three states (one
pressed, the other pressed, none pressed for in-
termediate setting) are, surprise surprise, exactly
the very same thing! Simply two GUI represen-
tations to choose one out of three options regar-
ding tackling. So I dont really want to read or hear
about how buttons are any more realistic than sli-
ders because theyre not. Not more, not less, theyre
the same. Graphical interfaces to set a three state
switch in the example used, twenty state switch in
other old sliders.

The terms in which the discussion should be held
is not about sliders, buttons, voice recognition or
steam valves. The terms are degree of precision,
degrees of freedom, availability of choices and
yes fortunately I have read quite of points in these
terms but always with meaningless references to
realism of the GUI presentation of how to choose.

So, the issue is, does a manager who wants to tell
their players to go more or less high up the pitch
from their starting position have closer to twenty
settings or three? How many do they have? I would
think they can tell their players dont move forward,
I dont really want to read or hear
about how buttons are any more
realistic than sliders because theyre
not. Not more, not less, theyre the
same.
clearcutchance.com
30
go up to the opposition area, dont get past the
pocket in front of the oppositions defence, get to
the midfield line, stay deep behind our midfield...
with some that might make sense for any position
or only for a handful (you wont be telling your stri-
kers the latest instruction). Maybe a manager would
be able to give more than three levels of precision
in terms of how much to go up in the field, giving
them in terms of DC-DM-MC-AM-ST layers. At
least as a maximum. That makes it clear that the
current three options (that may be considered to be
increased if one links defensive line with individual
instructions) are closer to the level of precision a
manager has in reality than the twenty choices sli-
der for mentality we had before.

Similarly, the more or less discipline or freedom in
three settings is closer to the degree of precision
that a manager can use in reality than the twenty
choices of the creative freedom slider to control
how much a player can drift laterally from his posi-
tion. Because past a point, two contiguous choices
would not be distinguishable by the players. Khedira
may know and play the difference between moving
between centre of the pitch and the left touchline,
from one touchline to the other, from the centre
of his side to the left quarter of the pitch or stay
roughly in the same longitudinal line; but surely
would not see any difference between staying in
that line and moving one metre to each side. Again
we find that a real manager would have a maximum
of around five separate instructions, which is closer
to the three we have now (that actually can reach
to be five coupling individual and team instructions)
than the twenty we had before.

So, it appears that in terms of how precise we can
be with the new GUI system we are closer to the
real managers than before. Not by removing of
sliders and using buttons but by the reduction of
choices (or level of precision) for each setting from
twenty to three.

The other issue to consider is the locking of some
choices away from our control. I will explain this
with an issue that I have always had with my de-
fence that I could solve before and I cant with the
new system. The issue is this: the covering centre
backs are the defenders that more often show for
me the issue that they run all the way to the centre
line of the pitch to tackle a midfielder with the ball.
In previous versions, when I had a player I wanted
to be cover that made that, I solved it by telling not
to move forward and not to get off his line to tackle
anybody, dammit! That is, I turned his mentality
and closing down lower than the default. That re-
sulted in my cover centre back starting to behave
like I understand a covering centre back must: let
his partner get to the first ball and stay back to co-
ver for any ball slipping through for the clearance.
In the new system: centre backs, in any setting,
have the button for close down less and stay dee-
per greyed out, so I cant solve that issue. The only
chance I have is the teams defensive line with the
four button-five states setting; but that changes
the behaviour of the whole defensive line, when I
only want to change the behavior of a single man
so it isnt really a solution. Instead, it forces me to
try to correct the issue through transfers, choosing
a player that hopefully will behave like I want. Or
to train the preferred move that would sound like
staying in position and not seek so eagerly to close
down opponents. Now the question in this one
example is: cant a manager take his covering centre
back and tell him to stop getting off his line? In this
we have been taken the ability to give an instruc-
tion a real manager could give, so its become less
realistic in this specific case to have removed the
access to the sliders.

There are other limitations that are just needing
some ingenuity to solve. Before I could tell players
to play like a team with two wingers and one poa-
cher then tell the team to distribute the ball to the
the current three options are clo-
ser to the level of precision a mana-
ger has in reality than the twenty
choices slider for mentality
The New GUI - A Slider Discussion
clearcutchance.com
31
poacher as if he was the target man by ticking the
Target Man - [player who is set as poacher]. Now I
cant tell the players to cross the ball using [player
set as target man by team instructions], they can
only do to one post, the other, the centre or the
target man as set by individual role. So to do that I
must set the striker to target man (or the winger to
wide target man) and then use the individual ins-
tructions to make him behave as closely as possible
to the non target man role I wanted. A brief test
showed me they seem to have available all needed
individual instructions to do so. Therefore, it ap-
pears I still can do that, but now I need more clicks
which is pointless in my opinion.
Similarly, if before I wanted an inside forward that
looked to cross the ball from wide first and dribble
inwards second, I could make him an inside forward
with cross often and maybe cross from deep or
a winger with cut inside instruction. Now inside
forward doesnt allow me to set cross to often, win-
ger doesnt allow me to set it to cut inside because
they affect defining behaviors of the role. Now if I
want to do that I have to make the player a wide
target man and set his individual instructions, ha-
ving to change the crossing distribution of the rest
of the squad so they dont work with him as target
man, again, its still possible, but I have to follow a
specific path and a lot more clicks. So two examples
in which realism isnt lost as I still can tell my players
to cross the ball to the poacher.

And so we get into another point of discussion: does
the new system allow for tactical creativity? Heres
an idea I could want to test: having a narrow forma-
tion, tell a central midfielder to run wide, stay wider
and cross often; a sort of reversed inside forward.
Save for the first instruction, that is currently not
possible. There were other sets of instructions I
liked to use to seal matches that arent now pos-
sible: I want you to clear the ball to the flanks first
and get it away from the area fast, but once its
in a safer location I want to keep hold of it in the
middle (clear ball to flanks, exploit middle, pump
ball into box, retain possession). Or were winning,
so I want you to waste as much time as possible
when taking set pieces; but I dont want us losing
the ball near our area (time wasting - high. tem-
po - high). Were those combinations truly voiding
each other or something that worked more or less
like I intended? Is that alien to football to ask a cen-
tral midfielder to run wide to cross the ball from the
wing? How many, if any, possible new roles and be-
haviors could be achieved and experimented with
the team and individual settings being fully acces-
sible and have become impossible to implement
with the new system that locks access to some of
them? What would be legitimate innovations and
which are too obviously wrong in real football as to
know they make no sense to try? Future versions
of FM can recover some of the legitimate ones by
unlocking instructions for some roles, mentalities
or philosophies? Or by addition of new player roles,
new team mentalities or new team instructions? My
bet is those ways would allow it without having to
unlock access to sliders.

There is one further thing that has changed and
that in some way resembles one request I made
for a third state (default, user decided being the
two already existing) for the sliders (user decided
but affected by shouts) with a nice addition. Before
I explain it, I must point that I could bet my neck
that the sliders, that is, the twenty states bytes are
still there, its just that now, instead of being visible
and allowing us to set them to all the twenty states,
were given buttons that increase or decrease them
by jumps of X ticks after the team instructions have
set them at the pertinent state.
We dont change them directly but through the but-
tons. So effectively were given the more realistic
reduction of choices while the system works fun-
damentally the same way. And the question I was
into is that with the sliders hidden from view and
by changing our access to sets of three states but-
tons, now the individual instructions weve given are
also affected by shouts in an elegant manner that
is also much more efficient from a programming
standpoint.
Making the third status of custom slider that is af-
The New GUI - A Slider Discussion
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fected by shouts would be opening a huge hole for
bugs, bugs that could be extremely hard to detect
and could break the engine, seriously hurting the
franchise and perhaps even forcing SI to go back to
FM13 and base FM15 on it; while in the way it is that
can be achieved in a much easier and safer way for
programming and bug hunting. I may not be quite
right with those thoughts but is what my brief expe-
rience programming tells me.
This new system doesnt only allow us to have cus-
tomized individual instructions react to touchline
shouts, it also allows for a very important novelty:
the ability to set completely different sets of role,
duty and individual instructions in each position
depending on what player we place there. If we had
two players for a given position and wanted them
to behave differently, before we would need to be
manually changing his role/duty/instructions every
time we made the sub or we changed the starter,
now we can go to the player instructions and set
each player for his desired duty/role/instructions
and when we make a sub or change the player in
the start, those instructions are applied automa-
tically. That is hands down an improvement (well,
two improvements) from the previous system:
there is no reason a real player whos been told to
behave in a specific way cant hear and react to his
manager shouts and a real manager also should
be able to tell his squad that if that player is used
in such position he shall behave in a different way
than if he uses another. The only thing one might
desire about it is that the player specific instructions
were linked to the tactic used, which is not. If you
have a 4-2MCs-3-1 and a 4-4-2 and set the MCR
to be AP-A-shoots often if Pogba is playing there in
the 4-2-3-1, it will also apply if you use him as MCR
in the 4-4-2.
In conclusion, determining whether the new sys-
tem is better or more realistic than the previous is
not a matter of whether it takes the form of sliders
or buttons, but whether it makes it possible to do
more things that a real manager can do and it does
so giving us a closer level of precision and freedom
that he can have in more aspects of the tactic crea-
tion process. I spent the first month and a half since
release of the game making a custom database,
then Ive been trying to adapt to the new system,
which I have done by now to a decent degree, I
think.
Im yet undecided as whether I like the new system
more than the previous, though I lean in favour to
the new more with the pass of time, though I may
still sway the other way at some moments depen-
ding on mood or realising or suspecting something
about the tactics, like when I found I cant tell my
cover centre back to close down less and stay in po-
sition. So I dont intend to convince you in either di-
rection, I only wanted to try set what are (some of)
the criteria that the discussion should adhere to and
remove once and for all from future discussions the
concept of a GUI being more or less realistic than
other purely by it adopting one or another gra-
phic shape, as if twenty buttons for a single setting
would inherently be more realistic than one slider
with twenty positions for the same setting.
determining whether the new
system is better or more realistic
than the previous is not a matter of
whether it takes the form of sliders
or buttons
The New GUI - A Slider Discussion
I
t was the final day of the season; May 19th 2013.
I was sat with my dad in the stands at White
Hart Lane. I had always enjoyed the beautiful
game in all of its forms and a small part of me - a
tiny part of me - had always thought that I should
do something to put this sport at the very heart of
my being. I was no different to the other thirty-six
thousand others sat around me, I suppose.
Yet a moment of brilliance changed everything. It
would set alight the fire to fuel my desire forever-
more seen only to others by the spark behind the
eye.
The 90th minute saw Gareth Bale cut inside and
attempt one of his trademark shots from outside
the area; Mignolet was lost. Spurs however, were
elated. A perfect way to round off the season we
were on to bigger and better things. So was I. The
joy which swept out of Bales outstretched arms
held the many white shirts surrounding in a warm
embrace; I stood up and pointed at the source like
he was one of my own. I would have this feeling
again. I would have this feeling a thousand times
more. I knew what to do next, I was to take the step
that none of the others around me were going to
take. I would climb the football manager ladder.
The next time I would point at a man like that, he
would point back at me!
Two months later, I broke the news to my family.
That is all it had taken, I was quietly impressed with
myself. I had applied for everything, it is not as if I
could pretend I had any experience I was a Sunday
League footballer at best. I was armed to the teeth
with enthusiasm and gnashed them at anyone who
tried to put me down. I introduced the world to
Sparks: Football Manager; CVs, dossiers, handbooks,
ideas, even the occasional phone-call, there was no
route I had not explored. One day, I would manage
the big leagues but today I will prove myself; I will
prove to myself that I deserve it.
So it came. Indonesia. I had not previously been a
follower of the football Indonesia has to offer but
having received word I was to be contacted by the
chairman of a club from their Premier Division, I sat
down and did my research. PSIM Yogyakarta is a
team with a rich history in the Indonesian Premier
Division (Liga Indonesia) it is important to note,
what I was soon to learn that the Premier Division is
the second tier in Indonesian football the Premier
League being the higher league to aspire to. This
was not the first mistake I was going to make.
What stood out about PSIM Yogyakarta? Why did
you want to manage here?
(They were the only club to offer me a job)
I thought there was a good opportunity to develop
as a club, and as a manager personally.
Wont it be tough to manage the side until you get
to grips with the language?
(Yes!)
Im not here to learn Bah Indonesia. Im here to win
games!
That was that. I was a football manager of a club.
My phone meeting with the chairman had gone
very well. I was tasked not to embarrass the club
and consolidate in the league; I was looking far far
beyond that. For the leagues standard I had good
staff around me, playing and coaching alike there
were a few changes I was keen to make (put my
own imprint on the club early on), but I was looking
at being more than merely competitive. The 475
the club was paying me each week was going to be
a good investment.
I had said goodbye to my wife and family and tra-
velled to South-East Asia; the whole fifteen hour
flight was spent fretting, wondering how long it
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33
Careers Corner!
An Indonesian FM Story
By Ben S.
was going to take until I was found out. I arrived
tired and emotional; I wanted to go straight to my
bed. Instead I was led eagerly by the hand to the
Mandala Krida Stadium where I first laid eyes upon
the guys who would call me their manager. None of
them had heard of me. Why would they? I was a
kid from seven-thousand miles away, but even so,
they looked at me with their eyes full of hope and
listened to my rambling words of introduction.
Everything was a bit of a blur for the few days af-
ter; a combination of excitement, fear and jet-lag
perhaps, but no longer any of those feelings from
the flight. I was everything I had promised: young
and inexperienced. If it was my ideas which had got
me this job, the days ahead were to be the most
important of my fledgling career.
Assistant Manager, one coach and one scout. I had
all three in my office during my first full week. I
wish I could remember their names; they were the
people I was closest to when I first arrived, but the
passage of time has made those details quite alien
to me. I spent the morning going through my mas-
ter-plan. We had strong defenders but were weak
upfront and in goal; the plan almost wrote itself:
We will play a 4-3-3 this season. It will be your
usual fare of a flat back-line, with a defensive-mid-
fielder sitting just in front to bolster and to link up
with the two central midfielders ahead of him. In
possession those two will feed the wingers on either
side of the park wholl cross into our lone striker into
the goal. Simple passing; possession football; pa-
tient and exploitative.
We will need a striker whos fast, strong and ca-
pable of a good finish. A big ask on a transfer bud-
get which went no further than a handful of ma-
gic beans. We also need, a goalkeeper a great
goalkeeper. If we can have an iconic goalkeeper
and striker this team should be well equipped for
the new season.
I know just the men, just what I needed to hear
from my scout. Henry Lewis is a revelation and has
been making his mark on the Malaysian League. As
for your goalkeeper, theres this youngster named
Emerson. Hes without a club at the mo, but he will
light up this team and he will get better.
We bought those two (and a few others) and started
to put together a great pre-season, a pre-season
which was, to my surprise, to last until October (my
second mistake as a foreign manager). As the weeks
rattled by I was pleased with my squad only occa-
sionally thinking of home when the Premier League
season got going (Spurs remained unbeaten until
an away defeat to Fulham in September theres
the true fairy-tale!).
My tinkering continued throughout autumn. I was
set against wholesale changes; nothing good could
come from coming in and changing everything. I
had arrived at the party, brought my own bottle,
and now wanted to watch the people dance. If I
could keep everyone in step, this would be one to
remember.
I had one day circled in my calendar. The days
running up to it were all blank this would need a
lot of preparation. So it came, 12th October 2013.
Having won all of the pre-season friendlies, I was
confident on the day of the first match of the Divi-
si Utima. Pre-game, I gathered the squad together
and spoke to them at great length. Yes, we are not
going to uproot any trees this year, and yes, this one
game would not make or break any season but we
should win because we can, and because we know
in ourselves that we deserve it. I looked over the
players as I finished speaking. Had my words made
their mark?
I waited for my assistant to translate into Indone-
sian before seeing a lot of thoughtful nods.
Go out there and show me what you can do! Se-
moga Beruntung! (Good Luck!)
I waited in the dressing room for a few moments as
the players headed out onto the pitch. This was the
first pivotal moment in my managerial career and
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34
An Indonesian FM Story
it was one I was going to savour. There was a clean
slate in front of me, waiting to have statistics and
headlines scribbled all over.
Were they to be good or bad; big or small? In the
next ninety minutes I was to find out.
Follow me at @Sparks018

clearcutchance.com
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An Indonesian FM Story
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T
actics and training, tactics and training, all
I ever see is discussion around tactics and
training. However, when playing my Foot-
ball Manager saves I never give much attention to
these areas. I rarely give any individual player ins-
tructions beyond their specific roles, and I certain-
ly never look at individual training schedules, but I
do pay an awful lot of attention to transfers.
Some of you may say that I am ignorantly over-
looking two key functions of the game, but I like
to take un-fancied clubs and within a few seasons
turn them into Champions League regulars, may-
be clinching the odd title, all through sound trans-
fer policy. Over the last few editions of FM I have
won the Italian Serie A with Lecce inside four sea-
sons (FM2012), qualified Spanish minnows Ge-
tafe for the Champions League inside one season
(FM2013), promoted Leeds United from the Engli-
sh Championship and then qualified then for the
Europa League in three seasons (FM2013), finished
2nd in the Premier League with Newcastle United
inside one season (FM2014) and my most recent
crowning glory was to win the Italian Serie A with
Catania in three seasons before moving to German
side Schalke and taking them from 10th to 1st in a
season and a half (FM2014).
When starting a new save one should lay out some
transfer principles by which they will abide. Notice
they are not rules, but principles. This means they
should be followed and used as guidance, but can
be diverted away from if needed one should use
common sense more than anything.
A set of principles may look like this:
Accept the budgets you are initially provided
with and do not haggle for more spending a
lot in the present will leave you short of funds in
subsequent seasons.
Listen to your coaches and scouts and pay at-
tention to their reports - they are real world pro-
fessionals and you are not! (Hence why you are
playing a game and not managing a real world
professional club.)
Implement a wage structure Ensure your hi-
ghest earners are your star players, and that your
non-starters do not out earn your first team
squad. Furthermore, try to structure wages in
a pyramid fashion have a select few star ear-
ners, then a band of well paid first teamers, less
well paid squad players, then your back ups and
youth team players at the bottom.
Do not give long term contracts to players over
a certain age (say 33) - a player aged 33 may
be good for one season and can then instantly
decline, so you want the flexibility to part with
them easily.
Do not spend more than spare change on young
players, and certainly do not give in to their wage
demands. Unless they will go straight in to your
first team, spending 20m on a youth team
player who earns 40k a week makes no sense
at all.
When on a low budget look no further than the
transfer list - there can be some excellent players
here at cut-price deals.
If a player is on the transfer list, but is deman-
ding a high wage and is not the youngest guy
around, then take him on loan for a season. You
can get quality players usually out of your reach
for a small supplementary fee and a portion of
his wages.
Keep an eye on signing-on and agent fees they
can be a killer to your bank balance!
Sell any player who made less than fifteen ap-
pearances in your previous season they are
either not good enough for your squad or get
injured too often. Either way they do not justify
their wage and may as well be cashed in
I am sure you would all agree that the above prin-
Careers Corner!
The Silent, Unspoken T
By Matthew Robinson
clearcutchance.com
37
ciples are just plain common sense, right? Yet I am
always amazed at how such simple ideas are de-
viated away from, maybe when an ageing Zlatan is
available on a free transfer, or when a 16 year old
demands 70k a week because they are billed as
the next Lionel Messi.
The point in laying out my transfer principles is
because I can no longer devote large amounts of
time to the game, so when I do switch on, I want to
achieve much in a short space of time. One may
argue that my saves show no longevity, and I would
have to agree with that, but I personally find little
enjoyment in dominating with a team for 30 sea-
sons, and having a squad containing the games best
regenerated players I achieve my short to mid
term success, then move on to the next project.
My principles also address another issue; a sort of
in game Corporate Social Responsibility. By im-
plementing sound financial policy through trans-
fer principles, one can guarantee the ability of their
club to continue as a going concern in the long term
fans of Leeds United and Portsmouth will know
exactly what I am talking about. I mentioned earlier
my recent save with Catania; I can assure you now
that when moving on to Schalke, after clinching the
Serie A title, I left Catania with a healthy bank ba-
lance, a rounded squad of exciting players and in-
creased revenue streams from Champions League
qualification and an increased global profile.
My save with Catania featured a mixed amount of
free transfers, transfer listed players and players un-
dervalued by their clubs. After self-appointing my-
self at Catania (we are all self-appointed in the first
instance after all) I was told I had no transfer bud-
get and no spare wage budget I would have to sell
in order to strengthen. I instantly sold my highest
two earners in the belief that they were mere squad
players and did not warrant their wage, and I sold
a couple of other squad players that I saw as being
overvalued within the game.
I then signed Franco Zuculini and Carlos Labrin on
free transfers, and the transfer listed pair of Antonio
Lopez for 450K and Mario Bolatti for 350k, both
on two year contracts (in line with my principle of
not giving older players long term contracts). These
are each high quality seasoned internationals, and
slotted into my first team nicely; Bolatti and Zuculini
would go on to form a formidable midfield trio with
Sergio Almiron whom I already had at my disposal.
During the January transfer window I strengthened
by signing Mbaye Niang on loan from AC Milan for
no supplementary fee. The squad overall showed
flexibility and a battling quality, with players like
Sebastian Leto and Lucas Castro putting in better
than expected performances each week compared
to their relatively modest in game status.
That season I came three points away from Juven-
tus at the top of the table, securing Catania their
highest ever finish (third), and all for a net transfer
spend of -1m. In other words, I brought in more
money than I spent and I increased the squad
strength, without doubt.
In my second season I built on this by signing some
of the best performers in the league who were un-
dervalued by their clubs Jorginho from Verona for
3.6m, Marco Sau from Cagliari for 3.2m and Ni-
cola Sansone from Parma for 4.5m. I signed Enzo
Perez from Benfica for 2.9m as a direct replace-
ment for the aging Sergio Almiron, the transfer
listed, yet impressive, Nassim Ben Khalifa for 140k
from Wolfsburg and Abdul Razak from Man City as
a very competent understudy to Franco Zuculini.
These signings were offset by the sale of two of my
highest earning players, who whilst being of a good
quality, were injured far too much in my first season
and did not contribute enough over the course. I
would strongly argue that all of these actions were
The Silent, Unspoken T
clearcutchance.com
38
in line with my transfer principles set out earlier.
I finished 5th in this season, but with a few final
transfers clinched that first ever title for Catania in
my third season.
I will admit that I made mistakes I signed Jimmy
Briand on a free transfer and Lucas Viatri for 325k
as a punt up front. Neither worked out as they both
put in a string of poor performances and did not live
up to their billing, but I did not break my principles
as neither cost much money and neither broke my
wage structure fortunately I managed to sell each
on for a small profit.
I gain enjoyment from this side of wheeler dealing
and love seeing a free transfer come into my team
and take the league by storm. I see it as having put
my faith in a player who was cast aside by their pre-
vious club, and have given them a chance to make it
at a high level. In this regard anyone could take the
games best regenerated prospect and put them in
their first team, but how about taking a former Hof-
fenheim or Palermo cast off and turning them into
a Team of the Season player?
In the real world much hullabaloo is made about
transfers, with newspapers and twenty-four hour
rolling news stations dedicating themselves to dis-
cussing the latest transfer rumours. The same ex-
citement does not seem to have transcended into
the FM community and almost seems subversive. I
am not trying to upset the established order, but I
just want to offer a different perspective to the ave-
rage FM gamer who cannot devote large amounts
of time to the game. My perspective is that more
fun can be had by not devising detailed training re-
gimes, and not scrutinising every single minute of a
game in detail in order to correct your tactical mis-
givings - I believe in signing players within a given
budget to improve the mean ability of your squad
and then seeing that squad upset the apple cart of
over the course of a season.
Now I want you all to go away and practice leaning
out of car windows, a la Harry Redknapp, you know
you want to.
C
3
The Silent, Unspoken T
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39
T
ransfers have become somewhat of an ob-
session for me on Football Manager. Buy
low, sell high, repeat. Entire playing squads
can change from season to season. And its all Ser-
gio Ageros fault.
My name is Matthew and I have a confession to
make: Im addicted to the transfer market. Buying
and selling players is my favourite aspect of Foot-
ball Manager by far. Forget winning the league. For-
get going on a great cup run or achieving back to
back promotions. For me, nothing beats the feeling
of discovering and signing a wonderkid from Sier-
ra Leone or of selling one of my best players for a
huge profit. My obsession also often leads me to
manage more than one team in the same career
just so I have the chance to buy and sell even more
players. This whole obsession can be traced back
to a young Argentine boy when he was making a
name for himself at Independiente.
Lets go back just a tad over eight years. Its approa-
ching my 16th birthday and, as you would expect,
Im pretty happy. However thats not the only po-
sitive about this particular period of my life. An in-
quisitive young man, I had developed an interest in
football played outside our beautiful shores. I soon
noticed that Channel 5 had started broadcasting
weekly football highlights from around the world. It
was here that I would see the goal that would have
an affect on how I play Football Manager so many
years later.
Its a goal that I doubt Ill ever forget. With a touch
which would make Ronaldinho proud, the 17 year
old Agero brings down the ball in his own half and
spins away from a challenge. He charges towards
the opposition penalty area. Weaving out, then in,
then out again, he finally slots the ball away with his
weaker left foot, leaving the defender on his knees,
defeated. This was the moment. I was hooked. I had
seen something special and needed to know who
this boy was. I had discovered Sergio Agero.
Obviously I informed anyone who would listen
about this new world superstar. I searched his name
in my copy of Football Manager and, lo and behold,
there he was. The thought hadnt occurred to me
that other people may also be aware of his talent.
The quality of the goal, produced at such a tender
age, coupled with the exotic and formerly unknown
Argentine league (at that time any country outside
the UK could be classed as exotic) had a real lasting
effect on me. It wasnt long before I started to rea-
lise that this probably wasnt an isolated case, that
there were, without doubt, youngsters all around
the world producing similarly impressive perfor-
mances. This was to be the beginning of my ob-
session.
From that point on scouting started to play a huge
part in the way I interacted with Football Manager.
Even though I had a terribly slow desktop computer
I would spend hours trawling through teams looking
for top young talent. With the arrival of a new
(much faster) laptop a few years later my scouting
took on a whole new dimension. I would regularly
spend an evening clicking through teams in Eastern
Europe or Southern Africa, not too bothered about
Careers Corner!
How Sergio Agero turned me into Football Managers ver-
sion of Harry Redknapp
By Matthew Kyle
I was hooked. I had seen so-
mething special and needed to
know who this boy was. I had dis-
covered Sergio Agero.
clearcutchance.com
40
whether I managed to play a match.
The feeling I got when I found one of these talented
young players in a distant corner of the world is
hard to describe. I knew my friends wouldnt know
who he was and they probably werent interested
either since this kid was definitely not good enough
to jump straight into Chelsea or Manchester Citys
squad. This didnt bother me in the slightest. I liked
the fact that I went against the norm. These players
felt like secrets which only I knew. Much like with
many things in life, theres a certain pleasure to be
had in knowing about something before everybody
else.
It wasnt until a few years ago that I realised I also
genuinely enjoyed selling players. It seems such an
odd thing to enjoy, especially when those players
being sold are in their prime. Most of the time I dont
even need the money. I could easily say no and the
player would happily continue to play for my team.
I had come to understand that every player was re-
placeable and that every player has their price.
A quick scan over my most enjoyable Football Ma-
nager saves from recent years would reveal one
common feature: a very high turnover of playing
talent. The type of talent arriving and leaving
would also be noticeable. Young, cheap players
would arrive either from the lower leagues or from
less high-profile countries; older, more established
players would depart (usually to bigger clubs) for
high transfer fees.
I had begun to form a habit of choosing sides that
presented me with an immediate challenge. I have
never been particularly interested in managing in
the Premier League or in England in general. Ins-
tead, I look to FM to help me broaden my horizons.
I aim to take over fallen giants, clubs in the se-
cond tier or clubs simply with ambitious and young
squads. Football Manager has led me to manage
teams in France, Ukraine, South Africa, Brazil, Mexi-
co, South Korea, Romania, Argentina, Germany,
Belgium, Chile, Ghana, Algeria, Spain, Ecuador,
Switzerland, Tunisia, Russia, Uruguay, the Nether-
lands, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia and Norway. Many
of these teams werent financially blessed. For
someone with an unnatural obsession for buying a
large number of players, this proved to be a bit of
a problem.
In his excellent book Moneyball, Michael Lewis pre-
sents the reader with a statement which seems
both obvious and irrefutable: the absence of cash
is always a problem for a man on a shopping spree
(p.194). Playing as poorer teams forced me to deal
with this reality. I soon learnt, however, that an ab-
sence of cash is not necessarily as severe a barrier
to success as it initially seems. Its not about how
much money youre given but about how far you
can make your money go.
My obsession with doing my own scouting enables
me to identify talented players before theyve
made a name for themselves (and subsequently in-
creased their price tag). I take great pride in promo-
ting members of my youth team to the first team.
I make frequent use of the loan market if I need
cover for certain positions or if I believe a player
can enhance my team. I regularly scan through
bigger teams reserve squads looking for players
who wont make the breakthrough or those on the
transfer list. I keep up-to-date with the contract ex-
piry dates of the players on my shortlist and look
to pounce as soon as they become available. I give
trials to players released by my division rivals to see
if theyve let go of a gem by accident. And when
selling players I always demand full cash upfront
(no future fees etc) so that this money goes directly
into my transfer kitty.
I always look to get the most for my money whether
in real life or in the FM world. Im not one for frivo-
lous or unnecessary spending and this is reflected
in how I play Football Manager. Although I always
buy a lot of players, I dont spend a lot doing it. Just
How Sergio Agero turned me into Football Managers version of Harry Redknapp
Its not about how much mo-
ney youre given but about how far
you can make your money go.
clearcutchance.com
41
like the Oakland As, I survive by finding cheap la-
bour (p. 22). Cheap, young labour with high poten-
tial.
The high transfer fees I receive, from selling the
players I deem replaceable, enable me to keep my
club financially stable. I then develop the young,
cheap players Ive signed and in a few years, after
impressing bigger clubs, they will also be sold on.
The cycle goes on because no matter how suc-
cessful you are, change is good. There can never
be a status quo. You always have to be upgrading,
otherwise youre fucked (p. 193).
Now dont get me wrong, my system hasnt always
worked. My first save on FM13 with Borussia
Mnchengladbach was an unmitigated disaster.
Having overachieved in real life in the previous
season, expectations were higher than I realised.
The team had also already had quite a busy sum-
mer before I arrived with Marco Reus, Roman
Neustdter and Dante all leaving and Luuk de Jong,
Granit Xhaka and lvaro Domnguez among others
coming into the first team to replace them. Due to
these expensive arrivals the club could only give
me a tiny initial transfer budget but, rather naively,
I still set about adding more players to the squad
without first making sure the team knew how to
play together. After a dismal season, which saw us
hovering just above relegation, I made the tough
decision to start a new, different game - tail tucked
firmly between my legs. Mistakes had been made,
lessons had been learnt. (As an interesting aside my
most impressive performer in that terrible season
was a Nigerian striker named Ranti Martins, signed
for a measly 500 from the Indian I-League. A
small victory.)
My most recent career in FM14 has seen me return
to what must be considered my spiritual Football
Manager home, a wheeler-dealers paradise: Bra-
zil. A land where the domestic transfer window
stays open for 9 months, a land where squads
can change completely not just in pre-season but
also mid-season when the European transfer win-
dow opens, a land where young, talented players
abound and forgotten gems can be plucked from
lower league teams for next to nothing.
Although having only previously managed Gr-
mio I have always had an affinity towards EC Bahia
for reasons I cannot explain. My choice, therefore,
wasnt difficult. Bahia fulfilled my criteria by pre-
senting me with a challenge: avoid relegation wit-
hout much money to spend. They also possessed a
young squad with players such as Jussandro, Mad-
son, Feijo, Anderson Talisca and talo Melo all dis-
playing great potential. We finished the year in 4th
place, reached the Final of the Copa Sudamericana
and won both the Campeonato Baiano and Cam-
peonato do Nordeste.
When arriving at a new club, I always begin in the
exact same way:
1. With the help of my assistant manager I identify
my strongest and most important players. My
tactics and formation will be built around their
strengths.
2. I analyse my reserve and youth squads and de-
cide which players to promote to the first team.
3. I look at any players approaching 30 (or those
already over 30) and decide which ones I can
milk for the biggest transfer fees. I will rarely
keep any player over 29..
4. I head into the transfer market.
Within the first month of my reign at Bahia I had
sold 8 players for a total of 900k. Over the course
of the season I brought in 7 players on loan and
signed a further 9 players for only 408K. Due to
the sheer number of games one plays in Brazil it
is important to have a large squad. Rotation and
strength in depth are both essential in order to have
a successful season. In contrast with the ubiquitous
4-2-2-2 system so prevalent in the country, I set
my team out in an adventurous 3-2-3-2 formation
which gave my wingbacks real freedom to bomb
forward. We ended the season as top scorers in the
Brasileiro with 64 goals. Victories over Santos, At-
ltico Mineiro, Botafogo, Corinthians, Racing Club
and Vlez Sarsfield as well as the double over ri-
How Sergio Agero turned me into Football Managers version of Harry Redknapp
clearcutchance.com
42
vals Vitria, were particular highlights. Although
undoubtedly overachieving, the season could have
ended on an even bigger high had it not been for
a brutal final schedule that saw us play 5 games in
7 days. After giving ourselves a comfortable 3-0
lead in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana Fi-
nal against Cruzeiro we were humbled 6-0 in the
return fixture.
Only a month after completing our successful
campaign the 2015 season was already underway.
To avoid the stagnation and status quo referred to
earlier 10 players were let go. When I hear people
talk about their Football Manager transfers the
same names seem to pop up time after time. Yet,
when my friends declare that they spent 30m on
one player, I take pride in letting them know that
for just 1.2m Ive signed 21 players. And Im pro-
bably not finished.
A poor team cant afford to go out shopping for
big league stars in the prime of their careers (p. 119)
but that doesnt mean it cant still go out shopping.
With a sound grasp of your strategy and a good
understanding of the market superior manage-
ment can still run circles around taller piles of cash
(p. 122). Im sure Im not the only person who takes
real pleasure in playing Football Manager this way.
I may, however, be the only one who has Sergio
Agero to thank for it.
You can follow Matthew on Twitter @Longpuntupfield,
or head over to his website www.longpuntupfield.com
How Sergio Agero turned me into Football Managers version of Harry Redknapp
C
3
T
he 4-2-3-1. Its very fashionable these days.
As a football fan, youre undoubtedly fami-
liar with it. In fact, you probably use it. Al-
most everybody does. The French wont leave
home without it. Kids are doing it in the streets.
Last night, my mother even called to ask me how
to get the television input back on satellite and
whether to play Gabi or Koke next to Tiago.
Sure, you might find the odd Sacchi protg drag-
ging out his well worn 4-4-2s like a stubborn old
man trying to squeeze a few more months of life
from that Fiat Tipo with the annoying rattle under
the dash but its no use arguing with him. Besides
we all know his classic has been running on new
parts for years.
Most Football Manager players have no such re-
servations about the inevitable march of progress.
Youve probably already upgraded to one of those
sleek German models that Jogi Lw was showing
off in South Africa and Im sure you already have
your teams match preparation focus set to conti-
nental sophistication. But honestly, really, just
between you and this pdf... how well do you know
the 4-2-3-1? Do you have a clear sense of what its
supposed to do and how to get the most out of it?
Obviously its a tactical system but unlike traditional
systems such as the 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 this system is
not necessarily based on a formation in the strict
sense. That is to say that a 4-2-3-1 doesnt always
represent a defensive shape in the way formation
primarily determines defensive phase positioning
in Football Manager. It is, rather, better understood
as a way of assigning roles within a variety of diffe-
rent formations.
The history of the 4-2-3-1 in terms of Football
Manager is a curious one. Historically, in actual
football, the 4-2-3-1 came into wide use in Spain
around the turn of the century. It was a defensive
innovation but unlike most defensive innovations
it did not change how a team lined up in the de-
fensive phase. Rather, it changed how a team lined
up to defend in the transition back into its standard
defensive shape.
The core of the 4-2-3-1 is the double pivot. This isnt
anything complicated. Double pivot is just a sexy
way of saying two holding midfielders. This comes
from the even sexier double pivot which is how
you say two holding midfielders in a thick Catalan
accent. At first glance this may seem like a parti-
cularly defensive way of setting up your team but
the 4-2-3-1 is actually intended to allow a high level
of attacking flexibility without throwing the whole
team out of balance.
There are two aspects of modern attacking play
that the 4-2-3-1 is designed to promote. The first
is the deep-lying playmaker also sometimes called
the regista or the what the hell are we going to do
with Gerrard role. Facing more teams using dedi-
cated defensive midfielders and more teams with
the athleticism necessary to press aggressively for
90 minutes, advanced playmakers have found life
increasingly difficult sitting just behind the striker
and over the last decade managers have realised
that creative players have more time to actually be
creative if they sit directly in front of the defence
instead.
Of course, asking your main creative player to be
your main defensive midfielder can be problema-
tic. First, obviously, your main creative player may
not be very good at breaking up attacks. Second, a
player who has just dispossessed an opponent of-
ten doesnt have the time and space to look up and
pick out a good pass. And so, playing a playmaker,
or as they now call playmakers who dont actual-
ly like to make plays a controller, next to a more
traditional defensive midfielder allowed managers
to adapt their players to the evolving nature of de-
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Pointing at the tactics board
Know your 4-2-3-1
By The Hand of God
fensive play.
The second aspect of attacking play that the 4-2-
3-1 facilitates is the attacking fullback. With two
holding midfielders the fullbacks have cover to
get forward and provide width to the attack. This is
particularly important for teams that utilize inside
forwards, inverted wingers or Ryan Babel. Without
attacking fullbacks these teams would find it dif-
ficult to stretch a compact defence and without a
pair of holding midfielders they wouldnt have the
luxury of simultaneously filling holes next to the
central defenders while screening the space in front
of them.
So thats the history of 4-2-3-1 as we know it in
the world of real balls and the feet that kick them.
Now, the history of the 4-2-3-1 in Football Mana-
ger is more of a virtual, alternative history than a
case of art imitating life. In Football Managers case,
the 4-2-3-1 is mainly utilized as a defensive shape
where two central midfielders sit behind three at-
tacking midfielders. Ideally those two central mid-
fielders are also attacking midfielders who have at
least an 8 rating in Marking and Tackling.
There are several reasons for this. First and fore-
most, along with the terms expert and analysis,
the whole idea of formation is used very loosely
by much of the football press and while formation
in Football Manager mainly defines the teams de-
fensive shape, players and many researchers natu-
rally and understandably assumed the best way to
play a so-called 4-2-3-1 was to set their formation
to what Football Manager listed as a 4-2-3-1.
Of course, in Football Manager the 4-2-3-1 forma-
tions are all very attacking. The most popular va-
riant, the 4-2-3-1 Denmark, is heavily balanced
towards rapidly overloading the opposition area
with Laudrup brothers and defensively it crumbles
faster than an old slice of Havarti. While this wasnt
much of a problem for big sides prior to the match
engine overhaul of FM13, improvements in collision
detection and pressing AI have made its inherent
flaws increasingly apparent. The other variations,
the narrow 4-2-3-1 and the 4-2-3-1DM, arent much
better. All three tend to lead to static, narrow play in
which a front four crowd the box and fullbacks stay
back, especially if midfield roles arent assigned in a
way that creates a double pivot.
Yet even with a double pivot these 4-2-3-1 defen-
sive shapes often leave the midfield outnumbered
against aggressive opponents while the four attac-
kers typically end up resorting to desperate long
shots if they fail to capitalize on the momentum of
their initial attacking runs. They are, in effect, 4-2-
3-1 variations on what is really a 4-2-, and without
sufficient numbers in midfield the 4-2-4 is not ea-
sily adapted to the demands of modern football.
Still, a 4-2-4 allows you to squeeze in lots of exci-
ting signings. So these 4-2-3-1s offered a tempting
option to Football Manager players trying to figure
out how to squeeze Messi, Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic
and Wayne Rooney into a single system. Moreover,
with the concurrent development and introduc-
tion of the Tactics Creator, the unfortunate lack of
an inverted winger or wide playmaker role at ML/R
also promoted certain misconceptions about the
flexibility of the wide forward position at AML/R.
This led to even more wide midfielders being in-
terpreted as wide forwards by researchers which, in
turn, has led to a vicious circle in which more and
more people use wide forwards because less and
less players in the database are able to play in the
wide midfield position.
So then, if the common approach to setting up a
4-2-3-1 isnt actually an effective way of producing
the type of football we normally associate with the
4-2-3-1, how do you set up a more accurate repre-
sentation of a 4-2-3-1?
Again, its not really a question of formation in the
sense of setting a specific defensive shape. Many
prominent teams associated with the 4-2-3-1 ac-
tually utilize a 4-5-1, 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-1-3 shape in the
defensive phase and that being the case, using a
4-5-1, 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-1-3 formation in Football Ma-
nager is the best way to accurately represent these
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44
Know your 4-2-3-1
teams. The 4-5-1 and 4-4-1-1 can be used with
either a DM or CM pair, though both should use the
ML/R positions not wide forwards. The 4-2-1-3 is
effectively a 4-3-3 with 2 DMs behind a CM as op-
posed to having 2 CMs ahead of a DM. This will al-
low you to make use of wide forwards with the CM
offering a creative link in midfield.
Once youve settled on a basic formation, the key
to the 4-2-3-1 is setting up the double pivot in mid-
field. This can be done in one of two ways. First, you
can simply play two players in the defensive mid-
field position with at least one on a defend duty.
Alternatively you can play two players in the cen-
tral midfield position with both on a defend duty.
The CM partnership will tend to press more aggres-
sively but this will leave your defence exposed at
times and may encourage your wingbacks to stay
too deep. The DM partnership will screen the de-
fence more effectively and provide better cover
for your wingbacks though you may need to adjust
your closing down and defensive line settings to
prevent your defence from standing off too much.
Finally, when you have the double pivot in place
you balance this by setting your wide defenders
as either attack/support-duty wing backs or at-
tack-duty fullbacks. This will ensure you get the
width and dynamic attacking movement that you
want from a 4-2-3-1.
As you can see, its really quite simple and its also
more consistently effective than the overly cava-
lier 4-2-3-1s that currently dominate the world of
Football Manager. Static football with minimal mo-
vement between the lines is easy to defend against
and, worse yet, terribly boring to watch. With a well
designed 4-2-3-1 your players will be able to pro-
duce a more dynamic and versatile attack without
compromising on defensive solidity but more im-
portantly, theyll look good doing it.
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Know your 4-2-3-1
C
3
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I
ts a scene many associate with the 1990s, tac-
tical naivetyan image still to be found in the
lower echelons of professional football. Two
strikers combining in an effort to unlock a stub-
born defence. In the era of 4-2-3-1, false nines and
tiki-taka is there still a place for strike partnerships
at the top of the modern game? I certainly think
so.
Its a scene many associate with the 1990s, tacti-
cal naivetyan image still to be found in the lower
echelons of professional football. Two strikers com-
bining in an effort to unlock a stubborn defence. In
the era of 4-2-3-1, false nines and tiki-taka is there
still a place for strike partnerships at the top of the
modern game? I certainly think so.
It all started with an injury to Niall McGinn and the
sale of Jonny Hayes in an Aberdeen save, the two
wingers in my 4-2-3-1 were cruelly robbed from
me. Assessing my options, I realised that the best
formation for the players I had left was a 4-4-2. To
give you complete context, I am usually a fan of
setting a side up in a 4-4-1-1 with an attacking AMC
so it wasnt quite the leap of faith Im making it out
to be.
However, the point still stands, with my plans in
disarray I decided that to compensate for the loss
of McGinn, one of the most consummate finishers
in the SPL, by playing two relatively good strikers
upfront in Scott Vernon, traditional target man,
strong on the ball, and Cammy Smith, an 18 year
old prodigy capable of playing as a poacher or ad-
vanced forward. With the midfield set up to allow
Jason Holt, my MC, to play the ball to feet and qui-
ck wingers in Gregg Wylde and Peter Pawlett, who
could cross, there was no lack of supply for either
striker.
But does that mean that the strike partnership, in-
dependent of their supply, was actually a success?
Well, in some terms, yes and in other terms not
really. We ended up finishing second in the league
with one of the best attacking records and Vernon
finishing as second top scorer behind Motherwells
John Sutton. More importantly, he was also our top
assist maker ahead of any of the trio of creative
players in midfield and many of them came assis-
ting Smith, scoring 15 goals in a breakout season,
often knock downs or flick ons. In that sense the
partnership was a success. The traditional target
man using his hold up play to bring in the poacher
who could score the easy goals.
However, another feature of these strike
partnerships is often that the poacher within the
partnership opens up the play with his pace to en-
able the target man to come in but this was never
really evident in the system, perhaps because Ver-
non had a support duty so didnt venture forward
but his goals often came as a more direct result of
scoring simple rebound goals or heading in directly
from crosses supplied from midfield. In that sense,
even within the partnerships there was a dominant
striker in Smith who was the focal point of the at-
tack and it was more a result of luck than any sort
of systematic reason that allowed Vernon to be top
scorer as well as the top assist provider.
Despite this apparent flaw in the system, I still
wouldnt play either striker as a lone striker with
another set up because, essentially, they still need
each other even if they dont fulfill the traditio-
nal roles of the strike partnerships apparent in
the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Vernon was
the top provider of assists and many of those fell
to Smith. He does have aerial prowess so against
some bigger opponents I attempted to play him as
a lone striker at the top of a 5 man midfield. Whilst
it added defensive solidity, his attacking impact was
usually very limited until the introduction of Vernon
to create space and provide those knock downs for
him. Conversely, even though Smith didnt have the
Pointing at the tactics board
How I learnt to love striker partnerships
By Simon Boendermaker
C
3
clearcutchance.com
47
same sort of direct impact in terms of assisting Ver-
non, his presence was quite vital to helping him up
his goals count. A criticism that can be leveled at the
lone striker system is that there can be a failure to
sweep up rebounds if the striker fails to score, when
a second striker will often be in a position to take
advantage if a goalkeeper fails to deal with the ini-
tial shot and a large portion of Vernons goals came
from being in the right place when Smith wasnt
able to convert the chance himself. Even though its
not something I directly thought of when setting up
the dual striker system it came to be vital in closer
games especially when the opposition goalkeeper
was playing well as it often took one converted
half-chance to make the difference between 0 and
1 or 1 and 3 points.
On the other hand, my preference for a 5 man mid-
field often led to one thing that became something
of a hallmark in my FM career: a very solid defence.
With the two strikers it always felt to me that I
would be sacrificing that solidity in pursuit of goals
which, considering the attacking success of many
lone striker systems, really seemed nave but that
never really transpired. Admittedly with a four man
midfield I lost the man advantage over many other
sides that also played a 4-4-2 but the reality is that
if you set up the midfield correctly there were many
clean sheets that followed.
The key, in my opinion, was variety. When playing
the 4-4-2 you create two very vital partnerships.
The DCs must be consistent, changing as rarely as
possible, and the same goes upfront, as I explained
throughout this article, even when the strikers dont
work in the traditional sense. Like the SAS of Black-
burns title winning side, the consistency must still
be there. Which means you already have the core
of a side in which sense you needed the ability to
rotate that central midfield depending on what the
situation needed.
Like I said previously, the traditional strike
partnership is dead and I doubt you would find
very much success going with that traditional big
man/small man combo. I mentioned previously
that Smith had aerial prowess, alongside Vernon
as a traditional target man, this immediately ope-
ned up the possibility of playing the long ball game
whilst playing the ball on the ground meant Ver-
nons goalscoring threat was discarded in favour of
opening up the game for Smith to come in and use
his pace to score. Thus we can see how the traditio-
nal partnership has slowly fallen by the wayside as
any potential system will inevitably suit one whe-
reas the canny manager will set up his partnership
in such a way that he can adapt his style without
altering the partnership. In the traditional sense any
massive shift from a balanced approach will imme-
diately diminish one strikers impact whereas, like I
have illustrated above, we can totally shift the sys-
tem one way or another and keep the same two
strikers on the field.
In short, it was an idea I approached with skepti-
cism. A stop gap measure until my top scorer re-
turned from injury. Almost 80 league goals later
and I dont think Ill ever go back. Lone striker? Make
mine a double
How I learnt to love striker partnerships
clearcutchance.com
48
H
ave any of you perhaps played FM Live?
Probably not and the game, despite all
of its brilliant potential, is now as dead as
Joey Bartons career prospects for England. Du-
ring its existence, however, I was introduced to the
dreaded 4-6-0 tactic or as it was known in many
GameWorlds - a fucking cheat or an unrealis-
tic, negative, exploiting piece of crap. Yep, it was
pretty much deemed the bane of normal gamers,
a formation exploiting some sort of loophole in
the match engine.
I have to admit I initially shared these sentiments.
I had grown up watching football clubs play in a
4-3-3 in the Netherlands whilst English clubs often
played in a 4-4-2 and German clubs fielded a 5-3-
2/3-5-2 hybrid formation. This tactic was so far out
of my comfort zone, it was almost blasphemous in
a way. And yet, it worked The clever minds who
came up with this tactic were dominating their Ga-
meWorlds often with very average players (read:
not the expensive real-life stars everyone else spla-
shed their cash on).
After overcoming my initial shock, I decided to step
out of my comfort zone and have a closer look at
this tactic. After all, if it made otherwise average
players over-achieve tremendously as well as sco-
ring a shit load of goals, it had to be doing something
right. And as Sun Tzu once said:
To defeat your enemy, you must know your ene-
my
I spent some time learning the various forms of
4-6-0 there were. You could play with a decapitated
4-5-1 where the striker dropped back into an AM-
slot, flanked by two wingers. Then there was the
4-6-0 where instead of a wide attacking line, you
fielded a narrow forward line, focussing on flooding
the center of the pitch. After a while the strikerless
formations evolved, mostly because people knew
how to combat them. The most-used formation of
these second generation tactics was a 4-1-2-3-0,
where an extra defensive midfielder had to provide
much needed cover for the sometimes stretched
defense, as well as providing an extra passing out-
let.
Pointing at the tactics board
Strikerless
By Guido Merry
The first of the more traditional 4-6-0 formations.
The second of the more traditional 4-6-0 formations.
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49
What I like to call the second generation of 4-6-0 formations
What I quickly discovered, is that not every varia-
tion of 4-6-0 was equally effective. In fact, some
people just copied a formation without knowing
what actually made it tick. As a result they got mas-
sacred by more experienced managers who by now
knew how to fight a strikerless formation. Other
strikerless teams seemed unaffected by peoples
efforts to fight their strikerless formations.
I needed to find out what the strikerless style of
play was. The style of play is clearly more impor-
tant than the actual formation. If you find the right
style of play then you can get almost any formation
to work. One of my fellow managers finally helped
me out by sharing his tactic with the community.
Not just a download but the actual idea, philosophy
if you will, behind the whole thing. Tnis Lhmus
was kind enough to help me out with my first steps
on the strikerless path and one of first things he
taught me is that formation is not that important.
The concept of an absolute formation does not exist.
Its a myth, crammed into our heads by analysts and
newspapers, oversimpliying things. Theres no such
thing as playing 4-4-2, no 4-4-2 is the same in the
way they actually take to the field and move around
on the pitch. Every team has at least an attacking
shape and a defensive shape. You dont play with a
back four the entire time, you play with three at the
back when going forward, as one of your wingbacks
joins the midfield, four at the back when transitio-
ning between attack and defence and perhaps five
at the back when defending as a midfielder may
drop back to help out the defenders. In conclusion,
style is more important than a formation, which can
change depending on the players you have on the
pitch and the instructions they are issued.
Style is important, but what consistutes a good
style for a strikerless formation? Obviously, your
players need certain skills to successfully pull this
off. In order to find out which skills are required, lets
first look at the philosophy behind strikerless for-
mations. The premise of a strikerless formation is
that instead of a traditional forward you play a Tre-
quartista as your most attacking man on the pitch,
position-wise. A trequartista tends to move into
the space between defence and midfield to receive
the ball, thus overloading the central midfield, es-
tablishing domination in terms of possession and
creating space for surging runs by wingers or other
midfielders.
AS Roma video : https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=vJOX9kuk7hw
(NOTE : please copy and paste the link in your browser)
Just look at the video above, which is a match clip
from an AS Roma side anno 2009. Romas Trequar-
tista was Totti as their manager Spaletti was forced
to play strikerless due to injuries. It worked out
alright for them as the clip above shows. What you
see is rapidly moving players, short yet incisive pas-
sing and a smooth, silky style of play. When Ruud
Gullit was raving on about sexy football, he was full
of shit and talking utter bollocks but be honest, that
clip above is showing some pretty sexy football.
There are a few concepts I find to be absolutely cru-
cial when you successfully want to play a strikerless
formation. These are, in my eyes anyway, the pillars
on which a successful strikerless formation is built.
Strikerless
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50
MOVEMENT
Good off-the-ball movement is an important ele-
ment of any good formation. For a strikerless for-
mation good movement is more than just an im-
portant element; its an absolutely crucial element.
Because you lack an advanced focal point for your
passing, as in some sort of forward to hold up the
ball, you have to rely on players movement into
space to either receive the ball or create space for
others.
Your key players in this effect are the central at-
tacking midfielders. The movement and positioning
of the attacking midfielders opens up space in the
heart of the defence. By playing in the gap between
midfield and defence they are either always open to
receive a pass or they drag the defensive line higher
up the pitch thus creating space for movement into
the space behind the opposing defensive line. Lets
take a look at the concept in action.
Video : https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=CS0COJpGj4A
You can see the patient build up in this video with
constant movement by most players to make
themselves available for the pass. You can clearly
see that there is no traditional forward on the pitch.
The goal-scorer starts out as a left winger cutting
inside. The space behind the opposing defence is
opened by the trequartista dropping into midfield
and drawing the defenders further forward. The
winger cuts inside and is launched by a brilliant
through-ball to score an easy goal.
This concept only really works if there is another
player moving to exploit the space. The whole
concept of a strikerless formation is that the various
lines in the formation are closely packed together.
This means that a single run by an attacking mid-
fielder can open up space for three or more others
nearby waiting to pounce on positional weaknesses
by the opposing team. Because of their close proxi-
mity to one another the lines are able to inter-
change quite fluidly. In normal people talk: because
the lines are so close together players dont have to
cover great distances to benefit from each others
movement.
An added benefit of a tight and cohesive formation
is the knock-on effect of movements. An attacking
midfielder dropping back into midfield creates
space for a winger to run into which in turn creates
space out wide for an attacking full-back or wing-
back to overlap.
Movement both on and off the ball is absolutely
crucial to the success of the formation and the style
of play. This particular formation and style rely on
the exploiting of space. When your players remain
static, no space can and will open up for others to
exploit.
Now the concept sounds quite nifty but how to
translate this concept onto the pitch? How do you
create movement? For me, this means I need to
assess two things. Who are the hybrid players and
where do natural overloads occur? A hybrid player
is a player who is in a specific position defensively
but moves into an entirely different position when
the team is on the offensive. During the transi-
tion phase from offence to defence and vice ver-
sa, these are the key players who need to position
themselves well. An overload is where there are
more players from one team in one area than ano-
ther. For example, when the left wing-back steams
down the wing to receive a flick-on by the left win-
ger you are creating an overload in this area. Any
time somebody has more players in one area, its
an overload.
In my eyes, the hybrid players are the wing-backs,
one defence-minded midfielder and your Trequar-
tista. By illustrating their movements during the
transition-phases from defence to attack I will try
to show-case their importance. Lets have a look at
another match clip.
Video : https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=MTilzSgmXGk
The clip shows a nicely executed attack where the
team goes from defence to offence to goal in one
rapidly-flowing move that lasts a mere 12 seconds
from start to finish. What I want to highlight are
the hybrid players, the players making a difference
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51
when making a transition.
To illustrate this, Ive taken screenshots from two
moments in the match clip.
This screenshot is taken briefly before we actually
recover possession. Van den Berg, our centre-back,
is ready to take control and before he even has the
ball two of the hybrid players have started the tran-
sition from defence to attack. Both wingbacks are
moving into forward positions, looking to back up
the wingers and create a potential overlap on the
wings. Now lets look at another phase in the attack,
a few seconds later.
Van den Berg has moved the ball to Surez in cen-
tral midfield. Both wing-backs have moved into
forward positions. When Surez plays the ball to
the left winger the left wing-back is already in a po-
sition to link up and overlap. The wing-backs arent
the only hybrid players though.
At the same time the wing-backs move forward, the
anchor-man drops back a bit. He covers the mid-
field space in front of the two defenders, shutting
down the supply towards the opposing forwards in
Two of the hybrid players are highlighted.
Offensive hybrid players are highlighted in red, defensive hybrid
players are in blue.
case Surez misplaces his pass. As an added bonus,
hes available for a pass in case there is no forward
passing option. The opposing forwards stick with
their defenders, leaving the defensive midfielders
free to receive a pass and aid the build-up play. So
even if a player does not have a direct role to play
in the offence his off the ball movement can be
crucial to the way the team plays as a whole. Thats
how the defensive midfielder highlighted in blue
works on the pitch. He guards the defensive zone in
front of defence when his team attacks, as well as
forming a reliable pass-back option.
The fourth hybrid player highlighted is the Trequar-
tista. His key movements are highlighted later on in
the match clip, in the final stages. Normally, he can
create space during the build-up stages of an attack,
this time he creates space with a run during the final
stages of the attack. Again, I have screenshotted the
phase I am referring to.
What we see now is that the left winger has found
the man in space, right winger Engelen. Engelen
can move forward unchallenged before crossing
the ball. This screenshot has been taken right be-
fore Engelen starts his run to cross the ball. The Tre-
quartista will make a run towards the penalty-spot
distracting all three players highlighted in blue who
will track his run. This means that the left winger is
free to cut inside and head the ball past the goalie
at the far post.
Attacking movements are highlighted in red, defensive players in
blue, the movement of the ball in yellow.
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52
PRESSING
With pressing becoming some sort of fashion in
real life at the moment, especially with Pochettinos
Southampton now playing an aggressive pressing
game in the Premier League, this whole pillar of my
strikerless style is going to sound a bit hipster-es-
que. Oh, look at me throwing around big names
like Pochettino, Bielsa and Lobanovskiy. The truth
is you have to play a similar style of aggresive fore-
checking if you want to have any sort of success in
a strikerless formation, so its not really a case of me
brandishing real-life names in an effort to compare
myself to them.
The philosophy behind the pressing game is to
press and defend high up the pitch, aggressively
chasing down opposing players, forcing them to
play either a long ball or play risky back-passes. By
playing a high defensive line, you can keep the dis-
tances between the lines small to stop your players
from having to cover great distances to effectively
close down an opponent. Lets have a look at the
concept in action.
Video : https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=N2a3JT_eqCE
Whilst only the Trequartista actively chases the ball
here, the defensive positioning is well organised.
As soon as the ball gets halfway into the defending
teams own half the entire team moves forward a
bit and pressurises the opposing team forcing them
into a bad pass which is pounced upon.
Every player either has a direct opponent closely
marked or has one nearby to put pressure on, thus
forcing an opponent to play a long ball or risky pass.
Defensive positioning and marking #1
So why is pressing an indispensable part of the stri-
kerless style? Allow me to show you with yet ano-
ther video.
Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
0h4D4Pw01DA
In that brief match clip my team snapped into
tackles, swirled around their opponents, pressured
them even deep in their own half. It was a remor-
seless, bewildering assault. The opposing team was
given no quarter, no respite anywhere on the pitch
not even when the ball was rolled by the goalkee-
per to a defender just outside the box.
Now imagine what would happen when the Tre-
quartista and wingers would not actively close
down their opponents instead opting to drop back
into midfield, maintaining the defensive shape. The
premise of a strikerless formation is that your side
is going to dominate by having more men in mid-
field, drawing in opponents and then exploiting the
space they give away. If an opposing defender can
take control of the ball and either pick out a pass
unopposed or, even worse, dribble into a midfield
position, negating the numerical advantage you
once had. By keeping the opposition pinned at the
back you force them into a long ball or reckless pass
and allowing your midfielders to win the ball.
Usually players are pressed when they cross the
halfway line and begin to threaten the goal or during
turnovers of possession. This makes sense, really, as
players who have just taken possession have usual-
ly not had a chance to assess their passing options
and are thus unwilling or unable to release the ball
quickly especially if they are facing their own goal or
the touchline with limited options available.
When youre playing strikerless youre almost forced
to play all-out pressing to hamper the oppositions
build-up game. Allowing them a proper build-up is
potentially opening up your midfield to a penetra-
ting run or pass by a defender, negating the nume-
rical advantage you once had and indeed require to
successfully play your own game.
Looking back at the match clip I used before, you
Strikerless
clearcutchance.com
53
can see this perfectly.
Lets just look at the situation again.
Every opposing player is marked and pressured,
either directly or by a player making a simple run
towards them.
Van Schie, the goalkeeper, was unable to distribute
the ball wide. Good pressing by the wingers shut
down the potentially safest passing option. A long
ball would result in the central midfielders reposi-
tioning themselves and challenging for the ball. All
the central players were marked by one of my own
players, the opposing wide midfielders were given
more space but should a high ball be played towar-
ds them one of the central midfielders would move
out wide and pressure this player, backed by the
wing-back. In this particular case, the goalie opted
for the short pass which ended in disaster for the
opposition. In most cases, the opposing goalie will
just hoof the ball forward.
For this pressing to work three elements are re-
quired. The players must be fit, they must keep the
spaces between the lines small and they must work
as a unit. It is no good when one player is pressing
and his team-mates are standing off. You have to
attack, defend and transition as a unit.
COHESION
I have called this third pillar cohesion but it really
boils down to the concept of universality combined
with keeping the formation compact. Again, I am
going to sound like a proper prick for referencing
real life managers but bear with me on this one.
People like Michels, Cruyff, Lobanovskiy and Sacchi
Defensive positioning and marking #2
strived for universality where every player on the
pitch takes a collective responsibility for each as-
pect of the game. Not in the sense that the forward
is now tracking back to help with the offside trap
but more in the sense of the example of the an-
chormans positioning to protect his defenders and
at the same time offer a safe passing option whilst
other team members move forward.
Anyway, since universality is closely associated with
Total Football its becoming a sort of buzz-word. In
a way, universality is part of some mythical style of
play which combines the aesthetics of short and
intricate passing, aggressive pressing, fluid move-
ment on and off the ball and positional interchan-
geability with the results that deliver trophies.
That really isnt what Im after. I want all players to
take equal creative and defensive responsibility du-
ring all stages and phases of the game resulting in a
very fluid style of play. Because of this style of play
and by pushing up the defensive line I try to keep
the lines compact. This means the players can press
without being too concerned about leaving huge
gaps behind them. I can show you want I mean with
another match clip.
Video : https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=qO0uNMYQ55g
Its a rather typical clip of our free-flowing and fluid
style of play, rapidly changing between defence and
attack. You can see the wing-back moving forward
a bit to intercept and a few seconds later the Tre-
quartista has dropped into space, received the ball,
drawn the defenders towards him and played a
brilliant through-ball for the onrushing midfielder
Eppenga to slot home. What I want to highlight
from this is how compact the formation remained
throughout the attack. Lets have a look at the de-
fensive stance first.
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54
You can see that even the most attacking players
drop back and move into a defensive position. Win-
gers, who are generally not known for their love of
tracking back, have moved along with the oppo-
sing wingbacks and taken up defensive positions
on the flank. As you can see in the match clip, the
left wingback will retain the ball soon and the whole
team will switch to attack in a matter of seconds.
Lets look at their positioning when attacking.
I had to change the camera view a bit to show you
the offensive shape of the formation. Even when
going forward, the formation remains relatively
compact. Yes, there are penetrating runs by players,
which is something we are actually going for, but
the team move forward as a cohesive unit to try
A defensively tight formation.
The players highlighted in blue represent the more defense minded
players, the red ones are attacking and the orange ones are playing
in a support role.
and keep the space between the lines limited.
POSSESSION
What I love to see in my teams is a rapid counter-at-
tacking style exploiting the space opponents leave.
When that is not possible you have to have a Plan B.
In my case, thats a calculated and meticulous build-
up from the back. Blindly hoofing the ball forward
la Stoke City under Pulis is not going to work mostly
because we have no focal point upfront to hold up
the ball and win headers. Trequartistas are generally
not renowned for their aerial prowess.
No, what I want to see can be explained best by a
movie reference (pop culture ahoy!). Have you ever
seen the Mighty Ducks movies? Once every mo-
vie, they performed a move called the Flying V, its
possession play in its purest form, moving the puck
between their various players in a murderously high
tempo until the space opens up for a shot.
Video : https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=-WZ0uRJOatQ
Thats posessional build up play in the same way
teams as Bara, Dortmund and Ajax use. Its moving
your players forward piece by piece and passing
throughout the lines to control possession as you
create overloads by possession rather than athle-
ticism. Its a style of attacking that aims to negate
risk at every possible section and with every pos-
sible pass which is a sensible strategy when youre
throwing 5 to 7 players forward most of the time
and every misplaced pass can lead to a lethal coun-
ter-attack.
Now can that be done in FM? I feel it is a very real
possibility to perform rapid moving attacks like the
Flying V in FM. Just have a look at the next match
clip.
Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
ZY20vpZ1DGE
What you see there is the FM equivalent of the
Flying V. Rapidly moving players, intricate passing,
possession play and lethal efficiency going forward.
Keeping possession is possible because the players
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clearcutchance.com
55
are taking their offensive responsebility to open up
space for others. The wingbacks and midfielders
are all moving along with the attack and are keeping
the pitch wide. Defenders absolutely hate balls that
move from one wing to another quickly as they
cant organise quickly. By maintaing a fair few wide
passing options, you are forcing the opposition to
maintain a wider defence, instead of just huddling
together for a compact defence.
CONCLUSION
When it all comes together a strikerless formation
can deliver beautiful and fluent football, aestheti-
cally pleasing and definitely what that smug prick
Gullit meant when he mentioned sexy football. The
strikerless success formula is quite simple.
Movement on and off the ball + pressing + cohesion
+ possession = lovely football
Just watch this final video with some match clips
displaying how simple, effective and lovely football
can be.
Video : https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=6wvFfjwbPBY
Follow me @MerryGuido and on strikerless.
wordpress.com
C
3
Strikerless
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56
W
e have various modern tactical trends
in football: 3 at the back, attacking wing
backs, false nines, inverted wingers &
playmakers out wide to name but the main few.
Most of these (not all) have profoundly reduced
the numbers of direct wingers or natural width in
teams whereby winning the possession battle be-
comes most important in the centre of the pitch.
This means teams are relying on less width than
before but, obviously, the flanks are still a large
amount of grass that we need to consider a game
is not only won in the middle. Then in recent weeks
I have noticed, anecdotally, that several people are
asking for help on the tactics forums at SI with very
centre-heavy systems, and a total lack of width and
movement out wide. So I thought it was time for a
few pointers.
Wingers & Wide Midfielders
The Wingers obviously provide the most natural
width in the team. The benefits of having a winger
in your team are:
they can stretch defences and midfields
opening up space for the rest of your team
they can transition play quickly
add a direct option to a more possession-fo-
cused side
they can still get into late goal scoring positions
they can supply tall strikers and more mobile
strikers just as easily
Wide Midfielders are stationed deeper generally,
but provide greater teamwork at the expense of
less directness to the team. With so many systems
employing lots of central midfielders, wide men
coming inside, and a striker dropping deep ha-
ving a man who can offer something different and
stretch the team to offer an alternative can be a
very rewarding idea.
Full Backs
A Full Back is sometimes the best source of width
if a wide man in front of him comes inside, tracks
and stays deeper or if there is no other wide player
in the team, e.g. the Full Backs in a 4-3-1-2 are the
only natural source of width. The key thing if a Full
Back is the most attacking wide player (or only wide
player) is he has to get forward enough to offer the
option. His mere presence, even for a simple out-
ball and return pass, can be enough to stretch a de-
fence and earn some space between the lines.
Too often people pick conservative roles and duties
for Full Backs with responsibilities which robs your
team of their presence in the final third. As long as
the defence has protection in the centre your Full
Backs should feel free to gallop forward as often as
your team needs it.
Here are some ideas how to use your Full Back roles
and duties:
Complete Wing Back (Attack) this player is pri-
marily for attacking, he is an effective player in
the final third, tends to be quite technical and
creative. Think Daniel Alves for this player. En-
sure if you have other wide players in your team
that they do not get in his way (i.e. do not select
a Winger with a CWB!)
Wing Back (Attack) not quite as final third
orientated as a CWB but tends to contribute
significantly in the latter stages of an attacking
move. Slightly more limited player than a CWB
is. Think Ashley Cole for this player. He should be
the primary attacking source on this flank.
Wing Back (Support) tends to provide an over-
lapping presence to continue possession high up
the pitch and capable of playing in teammates
too. He is not generally seen as great an attacking
threat or as direct as a CWB(A) but capable of
stretching play and providing chances. Think Pa-
trice Evra or Bacary Sagna. His mentality is lower
Pointing at the tactics board
Width
By llama3
clearcutchance.com
57
than the CWB/WB(A) and as such tends to be
less direct with possession.
Full Back (Attack) does not have quite the
technical freedom that an equivalent Wing Back
does but is encouraged to get forward and sup-
ply plenty of crosses from wide positions. He
will still be reliable defensively in general but his
combination play going forward and ability to
vary your approach and stretch opponents is not
to be underestimated. Think Seamus Coleman
or most other Full Backs.
Wing Back (Defend), Full Back (Support), Full
Back (Defend) & Limited Full Back (Defend) do
not provide enough presence in the opposition
half to be a serious choice as the main wide
threat and should only play with a more natu-
ral wide man in a more attacking duty ahead of
them.
Attacking Midfielders & Forwards
Your Attacking Central Midfielders or Forwards can
provide some of your width but should rarely be re-
lied upon as the primary source. They can be useful
wide contributors, pulling play wide to link up with
the existing wide player or providing a temporary
wide option during an attacking move. Players with
responsibilities such as:
Move into Channels
Run Wide with Ball
Roam from Position
If your team lacks true wingers then perhaps an
AMC or ST pulling wide or a CM driving forward and
wide to link up with a Wing Back can be an excellent
way around the problem also creating movement
and preventing your team being too static.
Conclusion
Make sure your team always has wide options
and movement to stretch play or to act as a direct
creative threat themselves. Good movement and
combinations can provide your team with many
attacking options.
C
3
Width
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58
Featured in CCC
Book reviews
By RTHerringbone
Barca: The Making of the Greatest team in the world
Hunter, Graham
480 Pages, 8.74 (paperback)
Graham Hunter is well known as a Sky Sports co-commentator and journalist.
Having lived in and around Barcelona for over a decade, he has forged close
links with the club, its players and backroom staff. His book focuses on Barce-
lonas recent era of dominance, and for this reason it has a number of simila-
rities to Guillem Balagues excellent Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning:
The Biography.
As Barca focuses on the club, rather than Guardiola, Hunters book more even-
ly addresses players, staff and boardroom struggles than Balagues account,
and so offers a more balanced chronicle of the last decade in Catalonia. In
particular, numerous well placed anecdotes relating to past and present stars
make the reader feel close to the superstar players of this outstanding gene-
ration of footballers.
As with Balagues version of events, the influence of Messi at the club is made
abundantly clear. Key decisions at the club in recent years have centred around
getting the best out of the Argentine genius, and the reader learns of Messis
early years at the club, his growth hormone treatment and early unrest, the
reasons behind the departures of Ronaldinho and Deco, and numerous other key landmarks in Messis Barcelona
career to date.
There is an excellent chapter on Andres Iniesta plus a lovely section detailing The Odd Couple: Puyol and Pique.
Where Hunters book excels is with its flow. It seamlessly moves through the years and intersperses key match
summaries with memorable quotes from the likes of Sylvinho, Mascherano, Xavi and Valdes.
All the usual areas are appropriately covered. Cruyff, La Masia, the underlying philosophy of the club (and challen-
ges to it), the rise and fall of the Rijkaard era. We learn of a potential surprise loan move for Iniesta, the clubs reluc-
tant discussions with Jose Mourinho ahead of Guardiolas appointment, and a number of defining moments in the
recent history of the club.

If Barcelona is More Than A Club then this is More Than Just Another Football Book. As with all Barcelona books,
it is sycophantic on more than one occasion so wont be to everybodys taste. However, it offers unrivalled access
to life at one of world footballs greatest ever club sides. It is expertly written and never runs out of steam. 9/10
clearcutchance.com
59
Bycicle Kicks
Hood, Simon
158 Pages, 7.99 (paperback)
I read this book after rattling through a few ghost-written autobiographies and
it made a refreshing change. Bicycle Kicks sees Simon Hood chronicle a season
where he attempts to cycle to each of York Citys games: 50 matches, 10,000
miles. For someone who doesnt even drive half that distance in a year, it is an
inspiring and frequently amusing anecdote-laden journal.

The book excels with its depiction of the warts and all nature of lower league
football, and successfully conveys the arduous nature of the cycling challenge
the author set himself. As you progress through the book, you get a real sense
of just how difficult that task was. He faces broken bikes, appalling conditions,
fixture rearrangements and long journeys in short spaces of time. Can he make
it through the season without succumbing to the incessant lure of public trans-
port?

There are occasions where the book strays into the dangerous world of filler.
As an example, the Peledao (Big Kickabout) is an amateur football tournament
held in the Amazon. It is a great example of the quirkier side of the Brazilian
football obsession, but it dominates sections of the book, and it loses momentum as a result.

There is a great sense of camaraderie and human spirit throughout the book whether in the form of people he
meets on the rides, rival supporters at the games or local hoteliers who support him on his travels. It is well balanced
and successfully blends the football, cycling and even a fair amount of non-league footballing history into a single,
coherent package. Highly recommended and a welcome break from the norm. 7/10
Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King
Auclair, Philippe
484 Pages, 6.79
Eric Cantona is one of my footballing heroes. He was a beacon of light at the
start of a period where English football was functional at best. His talismanic
quality inspired Leeds United to a title and then heralded the dawning of a
new era of unprecedented success at Manchester United. Philippe Auclair
comprehensively charts the enigmatic Frenchmans journeyman career and
tracks the development of one of modern footballs most complex charac-
ters.

Im guilty of not being aware of Erics career prior to him arriving on British
soil. Auclairs meticulous research fills that void and leads the reader through
Erics journey from Auxerre to Manchester and the many stops in-between.
Auclair is a well-respected French football journalist and this serves to pro-
vide some great insight into Erics years in French football and he captures
some memorable quotes along the way.

Controversy and Cantona go hand in hand and it is interesting to see just
how many incidents he was involved in, prior to the most high profile of
them all the infamous kung-fu kick at Selhurst Park. A highlight of the book is the way Auclair appraises the way
in which Cantonas various managers dealt with the explosive, impulsive and fragile man with the upturned collar.
This is a very detailed book and sometimes that detail does wander through periods of digression from the author
which easily add 30-40 pages of superfluous content. That aside, it is a comprehensive and fascinating view into
the character and footballing career of an iconic man. Unlike the player, it is very good but it is not a true great. 7/10
Book Reviews
clearcutchance.com
60
The Football Men: Up Close with the Giants of the Modern Game
Bergkamp, Dennis and Winner, David
272 Pages, 10.00 (hardcover)
In the same way as Eric Cantona inspired Manchester United in the early 1990s,
Dennis Bergkamp proved to be a catalyst behind Arsenals progression just a
few years later. His autobiography is slightly different to the usual footballing
memoirs in that it combines traditional autobiographical style, input from for-
mer colleagues and a series of short interviews with ghost writer David Winner.

When Arsenal signed Bergkamp for a club record 7.5m he was a household
name having signed from Inter Milan whose matches were televised on Chan-
nel 4s Football Italia in England. This book reveals the stark contrast between
his experiences at his respective clubs. At Ajax and Arsenal he was very much
a central creator whose mere presence elevated the performances of those
around him (Ian Wright provides a quote which alone is worth reading the book
for). His spell in Italy was prompted by a poorly executed attempt by Inter to
make ground on the peerless Milan side of the era and there are some interes-
ting appraisals of Bergkamp from former teammates and some direct ripostes
from the man himself.

His early years at Ajax are documented well and give insight into the ethos at
that footballing institution. The uniquely Dutch way of viewing the game features strongly throughout the book and
there are some captivating sections about the Dutch national team and all of its self-destructive qualities.
Bergkamp is portrayed as a driven, intelligent, technical and tactical man. As with many books of this ilk, there are
moments where the quality is spread a little thinly and the flow suffers as a result of this. In spite of that, this is a
must-read for any Arsenal fan and for any fan of one of modern footballs iconic Number 10s. 7/10
Book Reviews
clearcutchance.com
61
The Way Forward: Solutions to Englands Football Failings
Whitehouse, Matthew
259 Pages, 12.99 (paperback)
As an Englishman, this book is painful reading. Matthew Whitehouse holds a
UEFA A Coaching License and Masters Degree In Sports Coaching; this book is
not an unfounded rant. Instead, it is a well researched and thorough appraisal
of the myriad reasons behind decades of failure of the England national team.
The author articulately analyses problems in the structure of the game from
top to bottom and suggests solutions to address these perceived failings. He
looks at the irresponsible and unnecessary investment of 1bn in a national
stadium whilst the country has 10% of the number of qualified coaches that
Germany and Spain have.
We learn of the influence of short-termism at elite clubs, whose quest for
instant success overrides their perception of the importance of youth deve-
lopment. Infrastructure and governance loopholes result in club ownership
models which perpetuate these failings and exploit the ambiguity of Home-
grown rules.
Critically, the ongoing ineptitude of the FA and governing bodies throughout the English football environment are
exposed. A simple parallel of our inactivity relative to the proactive stance of the German DFB post Euro 2000 in
particular is uncomfortable to read and actually rather infuriating.
Consider if you will that Germany had won Euro 96 just 4 years prior to the Euro 2000 debacle with Englands only
notable success having been 30 years prior to that. Germany and England were eliminated from the same group,
at the group stage. The DFB immediately reacted by building 121 national talent centres run by qualified coaches to
focus on technical and tactical training. At a league level all clubs in the top two tiers were obliged to build acade-
mies with the stipulation that 12 players at each intake must be eligible to play for Germany.
England appointed a new manager.
It is a thought provoking and intelligently constructed series of observations. England fans can only hope that it isnt
just they who read it but the Old Boys club at the FA who may finally realise that they are largely to blame for 50
years of stagnation for English football. 9/10
Book Reviews
C
3
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About CCC
Contributors, information and disclaimer
Clear Cut Chance, Issue Three
Contributors and CCC Team
Cleon Hobson, Editor - @Cleon81. Cleon is an FM veteran who has been involved with the FM community for
over ten years.
Jarrod Birch, Editor - @PushThemWide Push Them Wide. Better known as Jad, Jarrod makes up one half of
the FM tactics blog Push Them Wide, where he writes frequent posts about tactics, training, team building and
FM management.
Matthew Fox, Deputy Editor - @matthewrfox The Away Stand. Foxo is one of the owners of FM forum The
Away Stand and frequently writes tactical articles on TAS and Push Them Wide.
NakS, Deputy Editor, Graphic Design and Layout - @NakSFM. NakS is the man behind the beautiful design of
CCC. He has also established himself as one of the most knowledgeable sources of information on tactics and
training in the FM community.
Shrewnaldo - @Shrewnaldo Football Manager Veteran. A long-time writer at The Dugout, Shrewnaldo has
gained greater exposure in the last year thanks to his tremendous blog, FM Veteran.
Simon Boendermaker - @Sibo373 - The Away Stand. Simon spends much of his FM time on The Away Stand,
where he is well known for his strong opinions and unshakeable tactical philosophy.
Reggie Herringbone - @rtherringbone When Seagulls Follow The Trawler, SI Games T&T forum. Tactical
moderator for FM14 on SI official forum, RTHerringbone is a true FM, FMC and tactics enthousiast.
The Hand of God - SI Games T&T forum. Tactical moderator for FM14 on SI official forum, THOG is a true FM
and football tactical thinker.
llama3 - SI Games T&T forum. Tactical moderator for FM14 on SI official forum, llama3 is one of the most
active and knowledgeable mind when it comes to tactics.
Guido Merry - @MerryGuido Strikerless.wordpress.com. Football Manager Fanatic and fond of strikerless
formation.
Matthew Kyle - @Longpuntupfield Longpuntupfield.com
Chef Raekwon - Chef Raekwon is a member of the Sports Interactive forums and is the assistant researcher
for Ajax.
Svenc - Svenc is a member of the Sports Interactive forums and provides regular and in-depth tactical help.
Ben S. - @Spark018
Carlos Garca del Monte.
Matthew Robinson.
Special thanks to:
Louis Lancaster @LouisLancs
Jim Phipps - @JamesDPhipps
Contact us
Follow us on twitter - @clearcutchance
Website - clearcutchance.com
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63
Disclaimer
Clear Cut Chance Magazine is intended for education and entertainment and is not affiliated with Sports Interactive, Football
Manager or SEGA. Sports Interactive, the Sports Interactive logo, in-game generated images and any other Football Manager
related items are registered trademarks and/or copyright material owned by Sports Interactive, or their respective trademark
and copyright holders.
SEGA and the SEGA logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. Football Manager, Sports Inte-
ractive and the Sports Interactive logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sports Interactive Limited. All rights
reserved.
Clear Cut Chance
www.clearcutchance.com