Career Subolo (Double Trouble) - Season 15 [The End]

[URz]

2 minutes ago, Rob2017 said:

One season for the 1kc too then!

It’s agonisingly close. Need another big season.......or a last minute postponement of their retirements 🤞

[Rob]

Which way have you asked them to reconsider?

[URz]

28 minutes ago, Rob2017 said:

Which way have you asked them to reconsider?

Using “Reconsider retirement”. They now both have a status of Definitely Retiring.

Is there another option?

[Kanegan]

Stellar season.  Too bad about the retirement though.

[URz]

45 minutes ago, Kanegan said:

Stellar season.  Too bad about the retirement though.

Thanks @Kanegan  I guess everyone has to retire sometime 😉

[Nucleus]

1 hour ago, URz said:

Using “Reconsider retirement”. They now both have a status of Definitely Retiring.

Is there another option?

I think that’s it then unfortunately 😢 unless someone has found another way then next season will be your last

[URz]

14 minutes ago, Nucleus said:

I think that’s it then unfortunately 😢 unless someone has found another way then next season will be your last

In funny way, having a definite end date feels good to know.

[Rob]

2 hours ago, URz said:

Using “Reconsider retirement”. They now both have a status of Definitely Retiring.

Is there another option?

Nah. Same thing happened with me with Asensio. It’s gutting.

[URz]

I’ve had a few requests for the tactics I am using (here and PM). I don’t mind sharing the tactics now the challenge is coming to it’s final season but I would warn everyone that these tactics will probably not work as “drop-in” tactics for another team because they evolved specifically around the players and team building I planned.

Subolo DT Tactic [OME]

Spoiler

And if you are doing a goal-based challenge, remember this

 

If anyone is interested, these are some of the thoughts and changes that went into this tactic

Spoiler

My preference on FMM has been OME and 433 for quite sometime now. So when I was creating a tactic for this DT challenge, I naturally started from the in-built 433 tactic 😛

I then adapted it:

• I pulled the BWM back into a DMC position. My teams have always been better defensively like this. In the past I’ve tried other roles for this position but usually end up back at BWM. I recruited players specifically for this role and not just general midfielders
• The right of the midfield 2 stayed as an AP all career but the left one changed role several times. Interestingly, while roles like BBM should intuitively have worked, I felt I got better results using plain old CM. These 2 players are the main engine room of my tactic and they were always my priority transfers. They also struggled to get through 90 mins in this formation so equally good cover was required.
• The full backs switched to wing backs and back to full backs many times. In the end I felt we were better defensively with full backs and if I recruited players who had joint fullback/wingback attributes I didn’t lose too much offensively.
• I had set myself the rule that my tactic would have exactly 2 strikers (and not be a cheat 433 by using an IF for example). So I had to move one of the default 433 strikers back. I didn’t want another midfielder and since I already had an AP on the right, a left winger seemed the obvious choice. This player and my AP have been the main assisters.
• For the strikers, I did try them offset (1 central and 1 next to him) for a while but it wasn’t as successful. I have a long-standing habit of setting strikers as Poachers when I want goals.
• The other settings were a reflection of habit and set that way out of routine/laziness: Attacking, Direct, Pressing, Offside

I tinkered for the first few seasons, but eventually the tactic became what is shown here and didn’t really change much towards the latter stages when things were gelling for the squad in general and Embolo and Success in particular.

 

[Rob]

Interesting you have used poachers. I can never decide if using an AF and hoping the team will score more and therefore he will score more or using a poacher that does nothing but sit in the centre is better.

[Nucleus]

51 minutes ago, Rob2017 said:

Interesting you have used poachers. I can never decide if using an AF and hoping the team will score more and therefore he will score more or using a poacher that does nothing but sit in the centre is better.

That has been a thorn in my side all year. The amount of offsides from an AF is unbelievable, plus I’ve always been wary of using a poacher since Ashez told me the myth that they weren’t good on the EME. Target Man has been my favourite role this year without a doubt.

Nice to see your take on tactics @URz!

[URz]

1 hour ago, Rob2017 said:

Interesting you have used poachers. I can never decide if using an AF and hoping the team will score more and therefore he will score more or using a poacher that does nothing but sit in the centre is better.

 

32 minutes ago, Nucleus said:

That has been a thorn in my side all year. The amount of offsides from an AF is unbelievable, plus I’ve always been wary of using a poacher since Ashez told me the myth that they weren’t good on the EME. Target Man has been my favourite role this year without a doubt.

Nice to see your take on tactics @URz!

Remember I’m still a Luddite on OME 😉

It’s funny with me and tactical changes. I manage to convince myself that A is better than B but it may well have been due to other external factors and not the change I had made. 🙄

Regarding the strikers - I have finished my final Subolo season now and hopefully without giving anything away, these are my final stats. The Goals For are not that high in FMM terms so maybe Poachers aren’t the best after all? (Love the low Goals Against and really believe the BWM DMC helps there.)

Sorry for rambling, I’ll stop now!

Thanks for taking the time to read the second part of my post by the way - for me it was more important than the tactics themselves.

 

[Rob]

Regardless of the goals for, you managed to make a tactic that focuses on two players. That, to me, is why the poacher works. 

[URz]

6 minutes ago, Rob2017 said:

Regardless of the goals for, you managed to make a tactic that focuses on two players. That, to me, is why the poacher works. 

Thanks @Rob2017 that focus on 2 strikers is what I’m most pleased with.

(Season 15 coming soon.....)

[URz]

Season 15 - 2031/2032  [The End!]

So Breel Embolo and Isaac Success have both politely declined my requests to postpone their retirement plans for the end of this season 😭

So did they make it a season to remember for the DT challenge and did Breel Embolo achieve a personal 1K ?

Transfers

No transfers in and a few out who weren’t needed for this season

Sell-Ons 

 

Results

Cups

A good start in the domestic season opener

...but not so good in the european opener

And I can say it one last time....we are Champions of the World! 😎

We just about scraped through the local derby in the Coupe de la Ligue semi

...but couldn’t repeat the same penalty success in the final

I do like early rounds of the cup 😛

And unlike the previous final, we made no mistake in the French Cup

 

Ligue

We were heading to an unbeaten season right until May. Then the wheels fell off 😕

We still won the Ligue - making it a Ligue title every season

 

Champions League

We started well in our defense of our Champions League title with convincing wins over Liverpool in the quarters

..but then we met a resolute Roma in the semis 😭

 

Overall Results

And this is the trophy cabinet after 15 seasons - not too shabby 😎

 

Double-Trouble Challenge

Breel Embolo

Spoiler

Just one small injury all year 😅

Unfortunately he didn’t hit the highs of last season but did he do enough?

And is that over a thousand goals I see in his total column?

.....unfortunately he scored 23 goals before joining PSG so only 995 count towards a 1K 😭

 

Awards

And a fond farewell 😍

 

Isaac Success

Spoiler

Like Breel, only minor injuries this season 😅

 

Back to a more “Isaac level” of goals after last seasons heroics unfortunately

Isaac scored 15 goals before joining PSG so his total goals for PSG are 736

 

Awards

 

Another fond farewell 😍

Double-Trouble Results

Spoiler

Goals this season: 68 + 46 = 114

Goals for entire DT challenge: 1617 + 114 = 1731

Really pleased with that result from 2 strikers who started in their 20s. 😎

I think that’s good enough to get mid-table in the leaderboard.

 

Other Notable Retirees

Spoiler

A couple of other original players retired while still looking strong - especially Henrichs who looks like he could have carried on for years more

 

So this brings my Subolo Double-Trouble challenge career with Breel Embolo and Isaac Success to an end. It was a shame Breel didn’t quite make 1K but the DT result was better than I could of hoped for after the first few seasons. Really enjoyed my journey with these 2 guys 😍

 

And finally I noticed this screen and think all challenges and careers should display this at the end as a health warning 😱

 

Thanks to everyone who has followed this career and especially to those who have commented, reacted and supported over the 15 seasons.

[Nucleus]

Heartbreaking!! Five goals short of the 1k 😢 gutted for you in that sense mate, but the Double Trouble Total is fantastic so kudos to you there. I personally love this challenge so it’s been very enjoyable following your attempt. Congrats 

[Kanegan]

That was too close for the 1K. Great job done on this career mate. Your DT score is solid though. Once again, nice job on this career.

[URz]

9 minutes ago, Nucleus said:

Heartbreaking!! Five goals short of the 1k 😢 gutted for you in that sense mate, but the Double Trouble Total is fantastic so kudos to you there. I personally love this challenge so it’s been very enjoyable following your attempt. Congrats 

 

3 minutes ago, Kanegan said:

That was too close for the 1K. Great job done on this career mate. Your DT score is solid though. Once again, nice job on this career.

Thanks @Nucleus and @Kanegan 

I was counting the goals off toward the end of the season and praying for one last goal fest. But I take consolation that 995 is still pretty respectable in a 2 striker setup.

[URz]

@danovic78 can you add this career to the DT challenge leaderboard please?

Mid-table with 1731 goals for Breel Embolo and Isaac Success 😉

[Rob]

Cracking career. Thoroughly enjoyed reading.

[URz]

9 minutes ago, Rob2017 said:

Cracking career. Thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Thanks for your support @Rob2017 and for giving me the sub-challenge of getting 1K with Breel Embolo. So near but no cigar! 

Glad you enjoyed the ride.

[URz]

Thanks @Titjes for following and supporting this challenge 👍