Not a Footium Blog

We all know what we’re looking for – that big win. Whether it’s 1-0 or 10-0, they all count. But what is behind a win? What data can we look at? How can we keep it going? Let’s have a look.

The Match

The match was an important one. With my 1st Team, Marrouck Villa, trying to hold on to 1st in Division 7 – League 40, it was important to get a good result against Beckwaft Rovers, who were 5th at the start of the match.

Formation & Tactics

Beckwaft Rovers played a 5-2-3A vs Marrouck Villa in a 4-5-1DM.

One of the advantages of a 4-5-1 is that it is ideal for controlling the midfield and the speed of the game. Against an opposition relying highly on wide players like a 5-2-3A with 2 wingers and 2 wingbacks, by having the extra central midfielder (either the DM or the AM) it can lead to extra control.

Beckwaft Rovers Starting Line-up

Marrouck Villa Starting Line-up

Squad Stats

Beckwaft Rovers:

• Average Player Rating – 28.9
• Average Energy* – 70.9
• 11 Commons
• Captain Leadership – 81
• Average Stamina – 68.9

Marrouck Villa:

• Average Player Rating – 34.8
• Average Energy – 86.4
• 7 Commons, 4 Bronze
• Captain Leadership – 89
• Average Stamina – 70.3
• Balanced mentality.

Notable Points:

• Beckwaft Rovers are playing 2 key players out of position.
• Marrouck Villa have 1 player out of position, but his DM and CM ratings are the same.
• Marrouck Villa are higher in all of the stats above.

Match Timeline & Thought Process

I managed the match in real time, and think this gives the best way of maximising your chances of success.

Here is the timeline. 1st Half:

• 6th Minute 1-0 to Marrouck Villa (Gaston Gomez, LB)
• 34th Minute Penalty Miss Marrouck Villa (Muhamed Markovic, CF)
• HT 1-0

Half Time Substitutes, Marrouck Villa:

• Subbed off Sanchez (41 Rated AM) for Rossi (51 Rated AM)
• Swapped Markovic (42 Rated CF) for Catalano (38 Rated CF)
• Swapped Raynaud (44 Rated DM) for Curic (46 Rated DM)
• My logic here was that I wanted more goals. I put on more energy and my star AM, whilst securing the midfield.

Half Time Substitutes, Beckwaft Rovers:

• Subbed on Kruger (31 Rated CB)
• Subbed on Bogdan (44 Rated CB)
• Subbed on Soares (37 Rated CF)
• I think the logic from Beckwaft Rovers was the same; get more goals and sure up the defence. Let’s see how that turned out.

Second Half:

• 47th Minute Goal Zoran Curic
• 62nd Minute Goal Luigi Rossi

I was very happy with two substitutes scoring, and very happy with a big result.

Match Stats

Beckwaft Rovers on the left. Marrouck Villa on the right. Things to note:

• 27 Shots for Marrouck Villa.
• Possessions stats not as good as you’d expect from Marrouck Villa.
• More Yellow Cards for Beckwaft Rovers.
• Beckwaft Rovers having more passes for the amount of possession.

In Summary

Whilst we shouldn’t be drawing huge conclusions from one match, there’s definitely some great things to look at!

• Two of the Marrouck Villa substitutes scored, and these substitutes were made for a specific purpose.
• Despite a higher rated team and a formation made to control games, the 4-5-1DM wasn’t as dominant in possession or passes as we may expect.
• Beckwaft Rovers defensive performance did not improve in the 2nd half, despite subbing off two out of position players in defence.
• Marrouck Villa won the ‘Big 5’; Average Player Rating, Average Energy, Average Rarity, Captain Leadership, Average Stamina.

We can’t win every game, but we can certainly try?

What have you learned? Make sure to share this post!

See you on the pitch.