Wonderkid Watch - Can Uzun

 
 

Another week arrives with a brand new episode of the 5 Star Potential podcast dropping in your feeds, and our Adventures in Wonderkid-land segment takes us to the second tier of German football to look at a young Turkish player who has started the new season like a house on fire; as a Football Manager enthusiast, where else would you rather be? That player is 17-year-old sensation Can Uzun who currently (and for now) plies his trade at FC Nürnberg in the Zweite Bundesliga, and who at the time of writing is enjoying a breakout season with 6 goals and 2 assists in just 4 games (263 minutes) for the senior side.

 
 

Born in 2005 in Germany but currently a part of the Turkish U18 side, Uzun is showing himself to be a shrewd technican either up front or in the number 10 role with excellent technique and vision as well as having powerful movement, agility and decision-making well beyond his 17 years on this planet. While his fellow compatriot wonderkid and AMC Arda Güler has been making all the headlines this year both in FM23 and in real-life following a move to La Liga giants Real Madrid, Uzun is very much making a case to be the next big Turkish prodigy scoring 3 league goals either side of a hat-trick in the DFB Pokal. One could argue that the level of football is obviously lower than Güler’s breakthrough at Fenerbahce, however there is little doubt that Uzun is already proving himself too good for this level even at 17-years-old, which has catapulted him into the limelight across the European football scouting network.

 
 

Not only are his stats adding up - Uzun very much passes the eye test as well; socks pulled down, tiny shin-pads and as Joe mentioned on the pod “the boy loves a ball roll” - it’s easy to see why Nürnberg fans have a new hero emerging and why Turkish football fans are drooling at the prospect of a Güler - Uzun - Kökçü midfield line-up after what has been a couple of disappointing years for their international side recently.

 
 

Unfortunately for us, it appears that Uzun’s undoubted quality and potential has been slightly missed or overlooked by the Sports Interactive research team in the build-up to FM23, as his profile does not truly reflect the levels he is showing in real-life currently. That said - at 16 his decent physical attributes, excellent determination and quite promising technical attributes would make him a bargain youth signing for any mid to lower level club across Europe, not to mention his contract ends in 2024 which makes him highly attainable for a relatively low fee. While it’s certain he will be upgraded by the time FM24 hits our screens, Uzun is still one to be looked at in this year’s game and if you have the managerial prowess to develop and elevate him in-game as needed, you may have a real asset on your hands who could turn out to be a surprise package for your club or at worst be flipped for profit a few seasons in; go on, you know it makes sense 👌.

 
 

Thanks for reading - let us know if you have had any interesting experiences with the lad and if you would like us to review any other potential wonderkids as part of our new “Adventures in Wonderkid-land” segment - drop us a line in the comments below or @5StarPod on Twitter 👌.

Wonderkid Watch - Mathias Kvistgaarden

 
 


On Episode 314 we recently discussed a Danish wonderkid who it’s safe to say has been enjoying his breakthrough at Bröndby IF in the Danish Superligaen, quite timely seeing as his fellow wonderkid and compatriot Rasmus Højlund had just completed a £70m move to Manchester United after his own breakout season at Atalanta last year. Let’s take a closer look at the 21-year-old who has rapidly shot to fame across European football commentators this season, and discuss if he is worthy of your time in Football Manager accordingly.

 
 

Though coveted by FC Nordsjælland as a boy, Mathias Damm Kvistgaarden signed for Lyngby before later opting to join the Brondby youth academy due to the apparent close relationship between his family and then Brondby manager Thomas Frank. Despite the latter’s subsequent move to Brentford, Kvistgaarden continued to impress at Brondby and he was rewarded with his senior debut in 2020 before properly breaking into the first-team squad in early 2022. Though not as burly and physically imposing as some of the more traditional Danish strikers (see Nicklas Bendtner, Youssuf Poulsen and Jonas Wind to name a few) - Kvistgaarden showed that age is just a number amassing 5 goals and 3 assists in 4 league games including a hat-trick against the aforementioned Nordsjælland at the end of what was largely a disappointing season for Brondby who finished 5th having won the league just two seasons previously.

 
 

By the end of that season Kvistgaarden had a tally of 7 goals and 4 assists across 21 appearances for Brondby, the majority of which came during an outstanding run of form in the latter half of the season as Brondby contested the Championship round of the Danish league. Widely regarded for his speed, explosiveness, comfort on the ball and calmness in front of goal, he has become a key player for Brondby this season starting all 5 of their opening league games scoring once and providing two assists to put Brondby in 3rd place in the early stages of the new campaign.

 
 

More recently (and most importantly after we recorded the episode), Kvistgaarden already looks set for a big move away from Denmark with Scottish giants Celtic the favourites to bag his signature if they meet the £6m price tag set by Brondby - as stepping stones go Celtic would be an ideal club for Kvistgaarden to prove his worth and take another step forward into the limelight if Brendan Rogers can get him playing to his full potential.

 
 

In FM23 it’s fair to say Kvistgaarden isn’t yet as highly rated and arguably rightly so as he only really began to show his goalscoring ability and potential after the winter update was released - that said he would be a bargain signing for a lower league club with promising all-round physical, mental and technical attributes that should rapidly increase if given the right coaching and development (the makings of a good Pressing Forward with that Natural Fitness 👀). If he continues his good real-life form he will surely see a big attributes boost in FM24, but why wait when you can say you saw him first?

 
 

Thanks for reading - let us know if you have had any interesting experiences with the lad and if you would like us to review any other potential wonderkids as part of our new “Adventures in Wonderkid-land” segment - drop us a line in the comments below or @5StarPod on Twitter 👌.

The Hometown Hero - IV

 
 

by @FMDoop

This part has been the hardest one to write (click here to find the first three installments of this new save adventure). Every game has been crucial. With the season's objections already met, any more is a bonus, right? The problem is, the minute you get a taste for success you want more. It's like a drug. With automatic promotion in our own hands, anything less will be a failure. 

 
 

We are 8 games away from the promised land.

 
 

Burton (h)

Burton are a strange team. They play 5 at the back with two DM’s which in turn makes them extremely hard to break down. I decided to switch the system around. I brought our DLP DM up into the AMC slot as a shadow striker. This should give the attacking players a better balance resulting in overloads with an IF on both sides and allowing us to create some space in the final third of the pitch. This looked to be working very well to start with. After 10 mins we created a lot of great chances, but we missed a sitter or two. After 14 mins of Cheltenham pressure, Burton's defensive wall started to crack. Our stand-in SS, Taylor Perry, found some space on the penalty spot after his late run into the box and a low-driven volley found its way past the Burton keeper. 1-0! Pause. With that goal, rightly or wrongly, I decided to drop the midfield three back into their normal position and roles. The way we have played all season. The way we have been so successful all season. On the next highlight however, we see Burton attack down our left-hand side, a ball whipped in for Gassan Ahadme to jump the highest and nod the ball past Southwood in goal. 1-1. I HATE THIS GAME! They have nothing. This was their first chance all game. Minutes after we take the lead. I know they say you are at the most risk of conceding straight after you score. But this was a kick in the teeth.

After their goal I reverted to the system we originally started with and freed up the shadow striker. However, after the sucker punch, the game slowed down. We struggled to break Burton down and this resulted in us sharing the points.

Lincoln (a) & Ipswich (h)

Lincoln was the best game of the season! (I have just realised that it is very hard to portray sarcasm in a text format). These two games took place over the Easter break. First up Good Friday. For a game that took place on Good Friday, the Friday was the only good thing about it! 5 total shots and that was all in the first half. If I could have got up and walked away, I would have. All that went in our favour was the fact that I had it on key highlights and the only highlight I got in the second half was when our goalkeeper booted it long. Say no more. 0-0. 3 draws in a row. The only positive is that the news piece popped up congratulating our team for going 20 games in a row unbeaten. A bit of a bittersweet moment after 3 draws in a row and seeing us drop out of the automatic promotion places and down to third.

We hosted Ipswich 3 days later, on Easter Monday. Can we resurrect our form versus the runaway leaders? No. Just no. We were outplayed on the day with Ipswich showing just why they already have the promotion bus cleaned and fuelled. The gap between us is huge. They were first to every ball and just seemed to want it more. That loss sees us drop to 4th. No chance of automatic promotion now. We f*cked it!

 
 

Our last five games consist of challenges against two relegation candidates and 3 promotion-chasing teams. No game is a given. We must turn up. The last few games have been so poor. It’s almost like once the lads knew that we were safe, they had the flip-flops on and headed to the beach. We started the first of the five games with an away trip to MK Dons. The Dons have been great this season. They have been sitting in the play-off places all year, and showed that class by beating us 2-1. This wasn’t helped by the fact that Sean Long (Our RB) was sent off with the scores level. Once we dropped to ten men, their second goal was just a matter of time. With the missing man, we were given the run-around. Yet another gulf in class. I feel it is just a little too soon to be setting our sights on promotion.

Morecombe (a) and Forest Green (h)

Both Morecombe and Forest Green are battling for safety, and it looks like one of these teams will go down. Looking at it, we could play a huge part in this. First up, Morecombe. If football was played on paper this is an easy 3-0 to us. We have better players, a better manager and yet we just couldn’t get going. Again! It was so frustrating and to top it off, we conceded the most bullshit FM goal in the world. Heads gone. What is this form? I’ve tried everything. Team talks, team bonding training sessions, playing more defensive, playing more attacking, I’ve even reset the luck modifier and nothing. In five must-win games, we have picked up 2 points. This isn’t promotion form. It’s relegation form. That 200-mile bus trip back down to the Cotswolds would have been fun.

On a side note, we were never meant to be in this position. To have 3 games left and be in with a good chance of playoffs is great. I would have snapped your hand off to be safe at this stage. But to put this in perspective, we are guaranteeing Cheltenham their highest-ever league place. Promoted or not. We have to be happy.

Forest Green at home is the first game that the fans would have marked on the calendar. We’ve mentioned the ‘El Glosico’ before. A win here will put the shitters on FGR. With results not going their way, they find themselves in the drop zone. Time to put one over on the Linda McCartney sausage eaters. I held my own individual players meeting, praising them that deserve it, criticising them that don’t, and praising the conduct of those whose performances were average. This is something I like to do after a bad turn of form. I feel it produces a better outcome than a group meeting. Plus, group team meetings are not always available to do.

We started the game strongly. Our wide players find a lot of joy against the Forest Green wingbacks. They seemed to be cheating. What I mean by that, is they seemed to be on attack. They focused more on being pushed up the pitch and left considerable spaces in behind. Cheating on their defensive responsibility. I noticed this on the first few highlights and put my plan into place. I swapped the IF into Wingers - At. I wanted the boys to push the width and space out wide and in behind. I also changed the attacking width to wide and activated "run at defence". The first half was great. We looked like the old Cheltenham. We did everything bar score.

The second half started just as the first ended, with us on the front foot. A long ball is played in behind the left wing-back and Broom sweeps it up. He enters the box and is brought down. Cheltenham penalty! Recently brought on Aidan Keena slots it home. Once the ball hit the net the Forest Green manager, Gary Monk, dropped his WBs back and they reverted to a more conventional role. So, we countered with the wingers swapping to Inverted Wingers. This didn’t seem to work for us until very late on. Sercombe turned brilliantly in the center circle. He delayed his pass allowing Ben Williams space to time an inverted run in behind the FGR now back-three. A great run paired with a beautiful pass. Sercombe found Williams and he slotted it home to make it 2-0. FGR offered nothing. I can see why they are at the bottom. But the performance was awesome. I’m very pleased. 2 games to go!

 
 

Wycombe (a)

This is the big one. If we pick up points, we are in the playoffs. If we lose, Wycombe leapfrog us into the playoff place. Now. A draw is enough. I would love to have a section about how I mastermind a 3-0 win to sprint over the line. But a draw is enough. I would love to tell you how I balanced an attack-minded system to try and win the game. However, a draw is enough.

Welcome to the tactic I made famous. The Highlight Killer!

 
 

35% Possession, 2 shots. 0 goals scored. But more importantly, 0 goals conceded. We are in the playoffs. We follow this game up with a very good win at Charlton too. This means that we will face Charlton again in a two-legged tie, with the hope of making a trip to Wembley to play either MK Dons or Sheffield Wednesday.

Charlton Playoff games.

So, it’s time to play dirty. We shouldn’t be at the top table. But we are. We have just beaten Charlton at home. So, my thoughts are that we need to still be in this game in the second leg. Therefore, it’s time to bring the highlight Killer back out. It was all going to plan, until the 9th minute. Charlton’s midfielder Corey Blackett-Taylor attempted to rearrange Alfie May’s left leg. Red carded! Charlton are down to 10. I reverted to my normal system and pushed to end the tie in the next 80 minutes. However, no matter how hard we pushed forward and created chances, we just couldn’t score. It’s just like the whole of this blog post. Very annoying. Time to welcome Charlton back to Whaddon Road just 9 days after the last time we had them over.

After two months of awful form and just downright terrible play. We needed to step up for this sellout. We opened strong, playing our way, our normal way. Looking great, working hard, and creating so many chances. After 15 minutes of knocking on the door, Keena breaks down the left. He finds himself at the by-line, He turns and floats a ball to the back post. Olayinka jumps the highest and makes it 1-0. Only 15 minutes later, May picks the ball up on the center spot and then does his best Forest Gump impression and runs with the ball past 5 Charlton players. He slots the ball into the bottom left corner. 2-0! Start booking the London hotel. Our high press and high intensity pays off just after the second half. Broom wins the ball very high up the pitch, plays it into the middle and Keena strokes it home to make it 3-0. Game over.

So, this is it! After all the ups and downs. The trials and tribulations. We are one game away from the Championship. A date with MK Dons in London. I sat on the tactics screen for a while. Let’s not forget, we played MK six weeks ago and they taught us a lesson. The plan was set. Let’s run the highlight killer, til 70/80 minutes. Stay in the game. Then go all out. Right at the end. See if we can nick it. A set piece. Something. Anything. I line the team up, with no suspensions or injuries. We had our best 11 to give it our all. However, are we giving it all if we park the bus and smash and grab at the death? No! So, let’s go with plan B. Let’s play the way we have played all season. The way that has got us here.

The first 5 minutes were tense. I was scared. I just didn’t want to see a silly mistake or some FM bullshit. In the 9th minute, Perry had a free kick down by MK’s corner flag. He lofts one to the back post and is met with a brilliant header by Taylor which produces a world-class save by the MK keeper. It drops to Baggott’s feet and he powers it home. 1-0 Cheltenham! What a start. Just four minutes later, MK created some space on their right with the wing-back overlapping. He carries the ball into the box. Freestone comes to meet him and in doing so, commits a foul. Penalty MK! They convert and it’s 1-1.

In the ten minutes since the penalty, it’s been all Cheltenham. We are creating chances and looking dangerous. It’s only a matter of time. Rea finds some space and loops a long ball over the top for Keena to slot home brilliantly. 2-1! But wait. There’s a flag. It was tight. So close. Right before the end of the first half MK start to get on top. Working the ball well. But struggling to break us down. Baggott wins the ball back after a long spell of MK possession. He hoofs a long ball up top to clear. The MK defender on the halfway line misses the header. May runs onto it and squares it to Broom who puts us back in front just before the first half ends. 2-1. Sometimes the FM gods are on your side. While the lads are tucking into their halftime oranges, I’m thinking about changing the system again. However, a quick look at the match stats convinces me to keep it as it is. More shots, more on target, more passes, and more possession. Something is right. I expect MK to come out with all guns firing this half. We are 45 mins away.

Amazingly the next time we see a chance is in the 86th minute. In the meantime, we have slowed the game down. Invited MK on to us. They haven’t had much. They are pushing and pushing which is opening up space for us all over the park. It’s playing into our hands. Freestone has all the time in the world as he walks into the MK box and powers a shot hard and low into the bottom corner. 3-1. This is followed by a highlight straight from kick-off. Which results in Keena scoring his 30th goal of the season. We have done it. Cheltenham town are playing Championship football next year!

 
 

We have shocked the world. What an incredible season. We have been given £3m to spend and double the wage budget. Can we survive in the Championship? Thank you so much for reading. We will see you on the next one. Much love!

Be sure to follow Doop over on Twitter and Twitch as well as catching him every Monday with the rest of the gang on 5 Star Potential, the longest running weekly Football Manager podcast.

5 Affordable Centre-Backs to sign in FM23

 
 

by MaddFM.

Everyone loves a bargain right? In 2014, Napoli signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Genk for €7.75 million. They got seven incredible seasons out of him and then sold him to Chelsea for €40 million. His replacement? Kim Min-Jae, who they signed for €18 million from Fenerbahçe and one season later looks set to move to Bayern for a fee of €45 million. There are others of course; Pau Torres (bought by Villareal for 500k from Malaga, sold for €35 million to Aston Villa), Sven Botman (bought by Lille for €8 million from Ajax, sold for €37 million to Newcastle). You get my drift - the list goes on, so why not see if you can replicate this in Football Manager by signing a potential world-class defender at a cut-price fee, who either goes on to run your backline for years to come, or who you can flip a few seasons later for a massive profit. This is what FM is all about right? Here are 5 affordable centre-backs for you to sign in Football Manager 2023 🔥🔥.

1. Mario Hermoso (Atletico Madrid)

 
 

Normally a Spanish international Centre-Back playing for Atletico Madrid would never be considered affordable, however the fact that Hermoso is 27 with only 1 year remaining on his contract opens up plenty of possibilities depending on the club you are managing. There is plenty to like about Hermoso - great Pace, Tackling, Positioning and Marking, Left-Footed, in his prime and only valued between £5.2m - £7.6m..this one is a no brainer if you can manage to lure him into contract talks either before or upon his contract expiring. He also enjoys a tackle or two…

2. Jerry St. Juste (Sporting)

 
 

Slightly higher up the value column at £12.5m - £15m but with good reason. Jerry St. Juste is a former Feyenoord & Mainz defender who has just completed his first IRL season at Sporting - this means it might be slightly trickier signing him early in FM23, but he is worth the wait and still extremely good value for what is an all-round solid-as-f*ck defender who also has rapid Pace & Acceleration in addition to his defensive and technical attributes, not to mention a ready-made Ball-Playing Defender who likes bringing the ball out from the back. The man is a saintly defender to say the least.. #JusteDoIt.

3. Josip Šutalo (Dinamo Zagreb)

 
 

We peak on the value spectrum at Josip Šutalo, the young Croatian defender valued between £14m - £21m and being honest, the player who inspired me to write this blog such was how impressed I was when I first stumbled across him in-game. In addition to being a Croatian international (who recently played in the Nations League final against Spain in real life), Šutalo is a 6’3’’ rock-solid defender with 16 tackling, 16 Jumping Reach, 17 Anticipation and 15 each for Positioning and Marking - remember, the lad is only 22! We are looking at a potential world-class defender if you can develop him right from the word go in-game, and although he isn’t strictly a cheap option he is very much attainable for most mid-tier Top 5 league clubs in Europe.

4. Mika Mármol (FC Andorra)

 
 

Call me lazy but because I already wrote about this chap in our “8 Left-Sided Centre Backs” piece a few months ago, I am going to regurgitate what I wrote previously as he is both an interesting and very affordable high-potential centre-back option in FM23. An ex-Barcelona graduate currently enjoying a breakout season with Gerard Pique’s FC Andorra - this has FM narrative written all over it and we are here for it. 21-year-old Mika Mármol rose through the ranks at La Macia to make his full first team debut in 2022, before moving to FC Andorra in the Spanish Segunda Division on a free transfer at the start of the season (if you think Barcelona don’t have a buy-back clause then you are sorely mistaken).

In FM23, 20-year-old Mármol is contracted at Andorra until 2024 and is both ready and affordable if you are in the hunt for a progressive left-sided CB; at 5’11” he is shorter than most but with decent Heading and Jumping Reach this shouldn’t be an issue - it certainly isn’t for Lisandro Martinez 😉.

5. Denis Vavro (FC København)

 
 

Now we are talking. A 6’2” centre-back with 16 Strength, 16 Bravery, 16 Aggression, 16 Jumping Reach and 16 Determination not to mention 15 Tackling, 15 Marking and 15 Pace - who is this guy?! The Slovakian international had a relatively unsuccessful spell at Lazio before København turned his loan into a permanent deal - that said, his FM attributes definitely reflect more of a Serie A defender rather than the Danish Superliga (no offence lads), and what’s even more interesting is that this lad has a serious eye for goal judging by his in-game player traits of Shoots from Distance, Shoots with Power and Tries Long Range Free Kicks..at £700k - £7.8m this lad is a steal at 26-years-old and could be great fun in the match engine. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

There we have it, 5 rock-solid quality centre-backs who offer a great value option if you are in the market for a defender who can either become a mainstay in your defensive line, or could be flipped for considerable profit a few years down the line. Why spend £70m on Gvardiol when you could pick up all 5 of the above for less? Take a chance and spend the rest of your budget elsewhere - you might just find that the juice is worth the squeeze a few years down the line 👌.

Thanks for reading - let us know if you have had any experience with any of the above so far in FM23 and also who else deserves to make this list either on Twitter or in the comments below 👇

Interested in becoming a Guest Writer on 5StarPotential.com? Drop us a DM on Twitter or reach out to MaddFM for more info 👌.

The Future of Football Manager - A Few Thoughts

 
 

Those of us who are as close to the game and who clock up several times more than the average couple of hundred hours each year have at times found it hard to place a huge amount of excitement and hype in recent new releases of Football Manager, mainly due to the somewhat simplistic (but very arguable) fact that the game doesn’t feel like it has changed a whole lot over the past 2-3 renditions and therefore has began to feel slightly stale or monotonous due to a lack of substantial variety or evolution year-on-year. Of course this opinion likely sits with the minority rather than the majority (especially considering the highly impressive growth the game has had over the past couple of years), and though it may sound like incessant moaning to some, it’s important to remember that as content creators/consumers, we look at and feel the game a lot differently to most, particularly due to the amount of time we spend navigating the mechanics of the game combined with the level of detail and meticulousness with which we play, watch, stream, blog, read, make videos or discuss on podcasts, streams, forums and social media each and every week throughout every game’s life cycle annually.

Personally I am probably easier to please than most, using blogs and save narratives to drive variation/entertainment and requiring less when it comes to graphics and visual representation to narrate and storytell accordingly; however having now blogged 6 or 7 long-term save adventures over the past 5 versions of FM - I too was beginning to have a slight feeling of repetitiveness and monotony when it comes to starting a new save and particularly committing to a new long-term adventure in-game. As we all know, once you complete a few seasons, attend several hundred press conferences, chair a multitude of staff/recruitment meetings, despair at several annual youth intakes and go through the motions each season in terms of climbing the leagues and/or competing in Europe - it can become difficult to approach a new save with the same level of enthusiasm simply due to that feeling of “more of the same” or “same but different”, hence why there has been increased online discussion and widespread commentary of late which echoes a similar sentiment in terms of stagnation and a lack of change in Football Manager overall.

The good news is, they are listening. While Football Manager is in itself a global phenomenon and effectively the sole market leader when it comes to Football Management gaming simulation, the people at Sports Interactive clearly make a concentrated effort to hear their community and be more involved and aware of the sentiment of their customers across all of the various platforms and forums on which their game is discussed vividly. Though not much of a “gamer” myself (the last FIFA game I was actually decent at was FIFA 2002 and we won’t talk about who was on the cover), I can say with certainty that no other gaming studio is as accessible and communicative as the folks at Sports Interactive, and regardless of how you feel about the game’s quality or progress in recent years, their commitment to understanding and liaising with their community has been unwavering, from Miles himself all the way down to the various Sports Interactive forums. 

That brings us up to this week, when on Wednesday 28th June 2023 Miles released a blog entitled “The Future of Football Manager”. As one of the lucky content creators who were invited to attend a special event the weekend prior to this and have the opportunity to speak with some of the studio’s key individuals, I entered the event with a similar sense of intrigue, anticipation and apprehension as many of the other creators present who were all of a fairly similar mindset based on our discussions the night and morning prior to the event. What is this about? Is something big coming? Will we be disappointed? After hearing all the team had to say and getting a sense of the excitement and genuine optimism from the staff we met (as well as knowing that there is still a lot to come and a lot of time to pass), I left with one overall concrete thought which still holds strong since the official release went out:

“This Feels Different”

What do I mean by this? Anything can sound different of course. What I mean is - the mentality, honesty, authenticity, passion and integrity that I observed both in Miles’ written words as well as on the day made it clear to me that something is certainly different. For what feels like the first time, we have seen SI come forward and say that although one of their games has been a huge commercial success (and the most played in the series’ history), there is a clear admission it did not transpire to be the game or gaming experience they wanted to deliver. They have put their cards on the table to acknowledge that they know it did not live up to many users’ expectations, and also held their hands up to say that they know that FM23 did not evolve the way many would have liked. Without going into reasons (which are included in the official blog), this is the first time I have really seen this level of openness and admission with regard to the quality of an FM release, and a clear signal of acknowledgement from the game's producers which we have not really seen in years gone by. 

What also feels different is that strategically, the studio is making a clear and transparent decision to implement a brand new strategy in terms of how the game is produced and in particular, the engine and platform upon which the game is built (i.e. the switch to Unity). Realistically they didn’t have to do this, or at least not yet anyway. While of course those of us avid players are the ones who demand change the loudest, it’s important to note that the game has basically more than doubled in size in terms of number of players since FM22 and while a core group of us are crying out for change, commercially it’s clear that the average player appears quite happy with the game in its current state and is less demanding of change and revolution in-game. The clear intent from the studio in terms of acknowledging it’s limitations and in particular the opportunities that a platform like Unity presents tell us that the studio are not content to remain as they are and that they are making a conscious (and no doubt difficult & expensive) change to better the game for the future.

Other things that are different - as mentioned above and in Miles’ blog, the game has more than doubled in users (from 2 million in FM22 to 5 million in FM23), and whatever way you look at it, this means that the level of investment and resources has naturally increased simultaneously which Miles himself mentions when referencing the increased growth of the studio over the past few years. Quite simply - the associated commercial income has and will open the gates for more investment into making the game better, be that through the hiring of expertise (you need only check the SI Careers page to see the continued hiring over the past few months and years), through the likely expansion of specific teams and functions, through new initiatives (e.g. Project Dragonfly mentioned by Miles on the blog) and of course through investment in technology and the planned transition to Unity, which no doubt comes at a huge cost but equally is clearly what is needed in order for the game to evolve and improve for future versions to come. The reality is that Sports Interactive are no longer a small gaming studio, and this level of investment and ability to spend more on the game is most certainly a positive change for all of us.

The Unity announcement also brings other aspects that instil that sense of “different”; for starters, it’s a clear sign that despite being the market leader in Football Management simulation, there is a clear vision which focuses on the future of the game and it continuing to hold a competitive edge beyond it’s database and simulation engine. When you are the monopoly in a particular area it would be easy to settle and stay in your comfort zone - the announced changes are the exact opposite of this. Similarly - there is a clear acknowledgement that the game has room for improvement in terms of graphics and user interface, especially when compared to the quality of other video games out there currently both football and non-football related. I used to think that I was someone who didn’t really need good graphics in order to enjoy Football Manager (especially as someone who doesn’t really play any other video games), and it’s only when I see things like this that I realise I care a whole lot more than I thought I did and start to imagine how much more this could bring to the beautiful game:

 
 

Football Manager willingly focusing more on graphics and interface in addition to features and functionality (and the move to an engine which actively empowers the same) definitely feels different, and unknowingly, I like it a lot.

Still with me? I only have two other takeaways when it comes to what I feel is different about the planned changes to the future of Football Manager. Firstly - the confirmed features of (1) Transferring saves between games and (2) Women’s Football clearly highlight that the studio is actively listening to its customer base, with both of these being highly (and vocally) desired by many users over the past few years. Though they sound simple, the level of technical changes and research/data needed for these are no doubt highly extensive and it’s a clear sign that the studio values the needs of what may not necessarily be the majority of their customer base but clearly important to many. Secondly - a really positive sign which definitely feels different to previous editions is that the FM24 feature set was confirmed and fully designed much earlier than previous releases, and everything seems very much ahead of schedule this year; prior to this it often felt like certain elements were rushed, that beta releases etc were unpredictable, that certain features were guaranteed to have bugs and that as time progressed, some new features had to be dropped in favour of releasing the game on time as per the usual SI schedule. Knowing that the FM24 feature set has already been locked in not only feels different but gives me confidence that we will see new things which perhaps didn’t make it into FM23, and that FM24 will indeed be “the most complete version of Football Manager to date”.

So to summarise:

✔️ Admission re: FM23 features not being good enough

✔️ Long-Term Strategy Change 

✔️ Investment & Resources (Technology and People)

✔️ Future & Competitive thinking in terms of raising standards

✔️ Graphics & User Interface focus rather than database and simulation

✔️ Listening to what users are asking for

✔️ FM24 early feature confirmation

I think that’s a fair amount of different to be intrigued about, right? Of course, a lot of what we have learned are just words, plans, intent, excitement - we still know very little and there is still a whole lot of time to pass before we will see any of the announced changes become a reality on our screens, so naturally there will still be that air of apprehension and relative cynicism of the level of change we will see in both FM24 and FM25 (and beyond). That said, things certainly do feel different and props to SI for their approach and hopefully their success in executing on this strategic change and overhaul. What we know for now will have to do as we wait for more information to follow..good things come to those who wait right? (ugh, he’s doing clichés now).

Thanks for reading - if you haven’t already, be sure to catch the full blog from Miles over on the Football Manager website here.


MaddFM.

Wonderkid Watch - Elye Wahi

 
 

by MaddFM.

19 goals and 6 assists in 30 odd games for a 20-year-old playing for a team who finished 12th in Ligue 1 isn’t a bad way to announce yourself as an elite prospect within Europe’s Top 5 leagues, and that’s exactly what Elye Wahi has accomplished this season, averaging a goal every 130 minutes for Montpellier which led to him finishing among the league’s top scorers as well as winning the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award.

French youth football enthusiasts may not be surprised by this with Wahi jumping to notoriety as a 14-year-old at Caen wherein he scored 89 goals in the 2016/2017 season across their U14 and U15 teams, and a move to Montpellier swiftly followed a year later before signing his first professional contract in 2019.

 

A young Wahi @ Caen Youths vs PSG

 

Fast forward a few seasons and Wahi has hit back-to-back double figures in Ligue 1 for Montpellier, and recently became the second youngest player to hit the 25-goal milestone in the French top tier behind (wouldn’t you know it), Kylian Mbappé.

In terms of playing style, Wahi has proven himself to not only be a lethal finisher but also has a unique ability to score all types of goals be it short-range finishing, headers, volleys or shots from long-distance (very much illustrated by his 19 league goals versus an 11.88 XG, second only to Folarin Balogun). He uses his pace and athleticism to make direct runs into channels, frequently cutting inside and showing instinctive off the ball movement to terrorise opposition defenders; he also shows no fear in taking on a player and is equally adept with the ball at his feet, clearly evident through some of the goals scored this season.

 
 

His progress and rapid ascent this season has been remarkable in terms of impact and confidence as a natural goal-scorer, and he shot to worldwide fame in an epic encounter between Montpellier and Lyon wherein he scored 4 goals either side of half-time in a game which saw Lyon emerge 5-4 winners courtesy of a 90+10 minute penalty from Alexandre Lacazette.

 
 

In FM23, Wahi starts out as a 19-year-old with already strong all-round attributes for a striker, readily available for first-team football at Montpellier or even at most mid-tier clubs across Europe’s Top 5 leagues; already valued between 20 and 29 million euros with a contract until Summer 2025, he will not be easy to attain however if you find yourself with an excess of cash, you are looking at a VERY wise investment for what will likely be your future #9 for many years to come.

 
 

15 Pace & Acceleration, 14 Finishing, 14 Off the Ball, 14 Technique..not bad for a 19-year-old no? We all know that Football Manager gets it right 99% of the time - but the fact that he already has “Attempts Overhead Kicks” as a Player Trait from the start of the game is taking the piss surely…

 
 

In my own save at HFC Haarlem where we have reached the year 2030, Wahi has quite simply evolved to become one of the best Strikers in the game. After managing to hold onto him for 7 seasons during which he scored 135 league goals in 251 appearances, he was signed by Real Madrid for for a cool €86 million and looks to be worth every penny as he scored 17 goals in 23 appearances either side of a 3 month hip injury, not to mention winning the World Cup 2030 Golden Ball as his 8 goals and 2 assists helped France win their third ever Jules Rimet trophy following a 2-0 final win over Austria (yep).

 
 
 
 

Overall verdict: Elye Wahi is one hell of a wonderkid, both in real life where his performances this season have resulted in the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and AC Milan all rumoured to be considering a bid for the Frenchman’s services this transfer window, as well as in FM23 where he is one of the top young strikers in the game and has the potential to reach elite status in any save universe. Guaranteed goal scorers are becoming rarer and rarer when it comes to Football Manager, however if you find yourself in need of a striker and with the means to spend big, you’ll do well to find a better prospect in this year’s game. Let us know if you have had Wahi in your save or if you have experienced him from the opposition bench this year in the comments below or @5StarPod on Twitter.

Thanks for reading.

Interested in becoming a Guest Writer on 5StarPotential.com? Drop us a DM on Twitter or reach out to MaddFM for more info.

The Hometown Hero - III

 
 

by @FMDoop

I was hoping to bring you an inspiring post at the end of March, full of all the stories of battling bravely against the normal relegation candidates, hoping not to get dragged into a relegation battle and maybe an impressive win now and then. Well, I might have got that a little bit wrong.

I've done something that I do a lot. I get into a save and then, it consumes my life. Over the last few weeks, I've spent far too much time playing the Hometown Hero save rather than writing about the next blog post.

In a previous piece, I spoke about my tactical decisions at Cheltenham and how we took on our former boss over at Barnsley. I dove deeply into a tactical post on how I looked at changing the system to try to suit the players that we had, and the challenging games that we had upcoming. I then ended the blog by discussing how well September went and how we found ourselves in a very unexpected position, in the playoff places. Well, I’m pleased to say that October also was a good month, but it saw us losing to Bristol Rovers, at home. This was an awful performance. The game saw us concede very early on, to a simple mistake. This was followed up by a second-half penalty and in a game of not many chances, we failed to create anything meaningful. Was this the pathway of where the season was heading?

 
 

We started our FA Cup journey in early November against Bromley away. My main overall priority for the season was to try and do as well as we can do in the league however, I wouldn't say no to a good cup run, that in turn will do wonders for finances and reputation. So, with a fully rotated side, we made our way down to Bromley of the National League. 224 away fans saw us book our place into the second round. This was followed up by a league game away to the runaway leaders, Ipswich Town. Who have been bossing League One. They scored either side of half-time, and their star striker George Hirst got both. I’m not even sure if they got out of first gear. We were then treated to a second-round FA Cup tie, televised, versus Dagenham and Redbridge, again away from home. With the Daggers being early favourites to be relegated from the National League, we sent another fully rotated side down there. This league and cup rotation is key to preventing overloads and injuries...with the TV cameras present to witness a lovely team performance, we saw ourselves into the third round. We have an incredibly busy Christmas period coming up, so it was time to put the FA Cup on the back burner.

December saw disaster hit, with eight games being played, seven in the league. We found ourselves only registering one win in the month, beating our local rivals Forest Green in the ‘El Glosico' derby. Yes, it’s a real thing. In a very even game, in the 75th minute we saw Aidan Keena breaking through the back line and popping the ball in the back of the net. There are only a few things in life that shows just how important football is and that's the local derbies. This was huge for the locals, and we did not disappoint. What we did disappoint the fans with though, is the four straight draws against Lincoln, Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth, and Shrewsbury. Games that in the latter part of the season could come back to haunt us. In the four games, we only conceded once, however, we only scored once. This midway point in the season hands me a dilemma. Do I try to take the positives out of this month and move on with a form guide that shows us unbeaten in four, or do I look at the negatives and say that we drop 8 points? The results against Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth were positive, at the time they were third and 4th in the league respectively. Chins up and we move on. With December now behind me, we enter 2023 in second place in the league. I haven't spoken about where we were in the league yet and actually looking back up this post everything seems so down and negative. But there is so much to be positive about. We are batting way above our station right now. With zero major injuries so far and some stand-out performances, we have been able to climb the table under the radar. We might be second, but we are miles behind Ipswich in first and we are only four points ahead of 13th. It's as tight as tight can be, a couple of losses could see us move drastically.

After Christmas we had a week or so to spare before a huge game in the first weekend of January against Derby, away from home in the FA Cup. A win against Derby could put us in the mix for a great fourth-round tie against a big Premier League side. So, in the lead-up, I decided to rest all the players from training for a few days. I decided to relook over the system, set pieces, and coaches. Every single part of the club that I could look at, got looked at. Not a stone is left unturned. The difference between a good season and a f*****g great season can literally be on just the tiniest of details. These seven days in-game took me two days to get through. I just spent the time seeing if we could add to our squad, if we could add to our coaching team, or if we could add anything in the world that can just give us that extra little edge against the rest. And then before you knew it, we had to get on the bus and head up to Derby.

 
 

Derby County (a) - FA Cup Third Round 🏆

Unfortunately, over the last few years Derby have dropped down the leagues, so this is not as big a fixture as I would like it to be. It wasn't even picked up to be on the telly. But for the first time this season in the FA Cup, I decided to put a full-strength side out. We host Derby a week later in the league, so it would be great to get one over on them early doors. The game was cagey, over 10,000 fans attended Pride Park. We looked nervous. This will be up there with one of the busiest stadiums we have played in this year. Derby started the game brilliantly, straight out of the blocks. This was compounded after the 12th minute when an old local rival, the ex-Swindon town striker James Collins, found himself some space at a corner and tapped it in from three yards out. A corner! We conceded from a corner! So much for f*****g trying to look at our set pieces hey. Bloody typical. The rest of the half went as follows: Derby attack, Derby attack, oh look another Derby attack. One thing I will say, as much as they found themselves in great positions, they never really looked like they would score again. We looked more dangerous with the few chances we did have. The first half ended, and I dragged them in. This is the first time in this save that I have thrown the water bottle. A lot of red came up on the screen. This wasn't the response I wanted. Derby had nine shots, four on target in the first half and an XG of over 1.5. This is in comparison to our one shot which missed the target. The only positive we had was we had lots of the ball, nearly double the number of passes and 60% possession.

Just after the second half started, we were on the attack. Long found space in the middle. An overlapping run from Broom found himself wide open the right-hand side. A late run into the box for Liam Sercombe, Broom manages to find him and we nab a tap in for ourselves. 1-1 game on. They say fortune favours the brave, WOW we were brave. We shifted to a more attacking mentality and in the 68th minute Broom found himself in a lot of space on the right hand side yet again. The ball was whipped in, with a very similar cross to the last time. The Derby defence was bamboozled and Eiran Cashin managed to tap it into his own net. 20 minutes to go. It’s ours to lose now. With just ten minutes left and after a few changes were made. Derby found themselves in our box and we bought one of them down. PENALTY. Harvey White steps up and smashes it down the middle. A nervous last 10 minutes. Do we try and bring them back to the Cotswolds or do we go for it and beat them here and now?

We pushed, and we pushed, but we just could not create a good enough chance to take the lead again. With four minutes added on it was all us. There was only going to be one winner. Alfie May found some space on the right hand side, whipped a cross and it was deflected out for a corner. 40 seconds left on the clock. Ferry whips the corner in, and from nowhere the young Dylan Barkers leaps the highest to get his head on it and the net ripples. Maybe all the work on the set pieces did work out in the end. Derby kicked off to restart the game with only two seconds left on the clock. But it felt like the ref let them have one more chance. One more attack. McGoldrick passes it back. The ball is humped forward and lands out wide to the left hand side. The Cheltenham fans are whistling. Roberts whips a ball in, finds McGoldrick, and McGoldrick buries it in the bottom corner. Pride Park goes wild hands go on the away fans faces. It's going to a replay.

But wait there's a flag. OFFSIDE!!!!! Followed by the final whistle and we are through, what..a..game.

 
 

That inspiring win saw us go undefeated in the league in January, beating Derby seven days later 1-0 at home, and beating Plymouth away from home who potentially could become promotion rivals. We did get a little bit lucky as they had a player sent off for a hack down on May in the box which saw us convert the penalty. At the time of sending off it was 2-1 to us in the 30th minute and that's how the game ended. The FM22 highlight killer tactic found his way onto the save. I'll be shocked if Plymouth don't go up this year.

The end of the month saw us play West Ham at home in the FA Cup fourth round. On TV and a complete sell-out. This was the dream. This is what we wanted. A Premier League side at home and on the telly. The maximum amount of finances earnt on this tie. Happy days! West Ham brought a fairly strong side. Declan Rice and co go 1-0 up after two minutes and we just could never get a good enough chance. Outplayed and outclassed, the FA Cup journey is over.

 
 

February and March saw us go undefeated in the league. Defensively so solid and dangerous up top, we had a recipe for success. If we wanted to get promoted this year this was the form we needed. We found ourselves second in the league at the end of March. 10 points less and one more game played than Ipswich ahead of us, they were as good as promoted. We were six points clear of 7th place with promotion in our hands. Another positive was local rivals Forest Green Rovers were in the relegation zone. Also, Aidan Keenan is currently the league's top goal scorer. This probably means if results don't go our way over the next two months and if we don't get promoted, he probably will.

Thanks for reading.

Wonderkid Watch - Alberto Moleiro

 
 

‘Dubbed the new Pedri’ - a lazy comparison or a compliment to the production line at Las Palmas? I’ll let you decide but there’s no doubting the comparisons between the two of them they even look alike!  

 
 

I’ve been an admirer of Moleiro’s since last year in FM22 where he was part of my successful Villarreal side, playing off the left hand side of an attacking three behind another beast, Benjamin Sesko.  

 
 

When you are as highly rated as Moleiro and have the comparison to Pedri, there will be no surprises that he’s been linked with some of the biggest clubs in Europe including Liverpool and Barcelona, he was always praised by Spain manager Luis Enrique during a Twitch stream when his analyst mentioned him:  

 
 

“I like the boy from Las Palmas a lot, Alberto Moleiro. He is very talented, he can play in the middle, he can play out wide, he interprets space very well, a player of quality.” 

“Ah, I like him a lot,” reacted Luis Enrique 

Alberto Moleiro in Football Manager 2023  

As I have alluded to before, you can find Moleiro playing for Las Palmas in the second tier of Spanish football and there is a chance that you will have to act fast in the transfer window if you want to secure his future potential for two reasons; 1 – he'll get signed by a big club and tied up to a decent long term contract & 2 – from the saves I have monitored him in, you’ll want him early so you can get the most out of his potential, I have seen him signed by Manchester City on numerous saves and he sits in the reserves for a number of years stagnating to no more than an average player at best, however when he is signed and developed he can become one of the best players you will manage for the outlay.  

With Brighton I had to wait until the January window for him to be willing to speak to me, a direct £5m offer was enough to Las Palmas to automatically accept however you can get a deal done with minimal outlay and future add-ons if you are playing poundstretcher. 

 
 

With regards to his best position, it really depends on how you develop him, I think out of the box he is best played in the number 10 position behind the striker but he is equally skilled enough to play anywhere across the front three attacking positions. At 5’7” he is your typical diminutive Spanish playmaker so don’t expect him to be leading the charts for headers won but what you can expect from him is excellent technical skills, his attributes for First Touch 15, Technique 16, Flair 15 & Vision 15 at the age of 18 tell you everything you need to know about this diamond ready for polishing.   

 
 

In FM23 this is how he has developed after a number of years in the Manchester City U23 side:  

 
 

In FM22 this is what he looked like 5 years into the game with my own development. 

 
 

Summary 

A Premier League bargain or an affordable transfer for leagues without massive finances makes him a go to for anyone in and around the top European leagues. I chose Brighton as the club to try and sign him as that feels like the kind of club he would sign for and be allowed to develop before making a £60-70m transfer to one of the elite clubs. I’ve enjoyed managing him across two saves now and I know he’s destined for a move over the next 18 months so get him while you can!

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