From acorns grow mighty oaks
Nottingham Forest are a team with ambition. They want to establish themselves in the EPL and push on to greater things. Let’s recreate Cloughie’s dream on FM24!
Welcome to the next episode of the managing Nottingham Forest in the first season series on FM24. This is part two of the season guide so far and the results of the season. The previous guides you can find here:
These guys are a team in a forward transition. Nottingham Forest are a team that has a good foundation and a fabulous history. It would be great to take this team back to more successful times by recreating Cloughie’s mentality. The foundations are here at the club, we just need to use them efficiently and collectively.
In this guide we are going to:
- Look at the end of season league performance and individual performances.
- We will look at the tactics which have been used.
- Where the team will go next.
Read on to see how Nottingham Forest pushed the Premier League on FM24!
Nottingham Forest results on FM24
In this section we discuss the team performances and how we measured to the Nottingham Forest board and supporter FM24 objectives. While this is fairly general data, it is a good indicator as to the strengths and weaknesses of this team.
Looking at the table below while it has been a positive season we have got a few confusing signals. The objective was to avoid relegation and we have done that very, almost getting Europe. The confusing thing is that we won 3 games for every 2 losses, but our goal difference is 0. We finished in the right place on the win ratio, but higher than our mid table goal difference.
In comparison to the team above us, we have some way to compete with them in the goals scored and goals against. This is probably a true reflection on the quality and consistency of the team. Of course we can work tactically and through training in these areas, but we will need new recruit too.
Individual Performances
This is the section where it gets interesting, player performance and what it means. Each player is part of the bigger strategy and little changes to each player can make dramatic effects on the team. With Nottingham Forest on FM24 we have a lot to talk about, some really inspiring performances.
The first thing we notice is that we have good sized nucleus of players playing over an average rating of 7. The two players on loan have optional transfer options, which I think may be worth taking up. Itten came in to beef up the strikers in January and has been great. Vlachodimos would have played a lot more, but he had a major injury mid way through the season.
Looking at the Xg data we can see that we have a number of players outperforming their XG. Itten is nearly 4 ahead of his Xg while Origi is just over 3 of his Xg data. There are lots of players achieving what they should do, and no firm worries throughout the team. Even Wood is achieving what he needs to achieve this season.
The pass completion data is really good too, the only real weakness is the wingbacks. The reason the wingback data is not as good, is because they cross the ball a lot each game. In the transfer window we need to be looking at players who can really cross the ball.
Nottingham Forest Tactics on FM24
So this is where we talk about the tactics that we have used for Nottingham Forest in our first season on FM24. We normally use the tactic we have built in the day one guide and then note any changes that we have made along the way.
This gegenpressing tactic had worked wonders this season, just look at the final league position. I hate to think how good this tactic would be using an elite club. I used two strikers as we do not have a striker that I can trust to score so many goals on his own. Two will help you achieve more goals, the same is true at the back.
We went with three centre backs as I believed the defenders to be quite poor in quality. As we all know, if you are playing a three that normally means they are not good enough individually. It does offer more protection for your goalkeeper and if you complement their skills can be very solid.
A lot of the play comes down the flanks, as that is where the space is, especially against mid blocks. I think that changing the attacking forward to the advanced forward could help us in the air. It would also give us a more balanced attack in terms of skill bases.
Conclusion
Nottingham Forest have far surpassed my estimation of them on FM24. If you like the underdog, battling relegation with a decent sized squad this team is for you. With the size of the squad you can carve out a number of different ways to play and gives you the options.
The strength of this team is the size of the squad. There are not many superstars in the squad, but a lot of players of the same skill level. This means that losing player to injury or suspension is not a big deal as someone of equal ability can step in.
The weakness of the squad is the strikers. While we are sorted now with a couple of new signings there was a struggle before the January save game where we couldn’t hit the target. We opted with a well balanced striker in Itten, but have a look for yourself as to who to buy.
The opportunity in the team is that there are a number of youngsters coming through. Murillo looks like he could develop into something special at the back. Bring in the coaches with great ‘working with youngsters’ stats, upgrade the facilities. Start to promote a development culture.
The threat in the team is that with so many players at the same skill level there is a good chance that some will become unhappy. This in turn upsets squad harmony and performance. Don’t let it happen.
I hope you enjoyed this guide, now go and start your journey with Nottingham Forest on FM24. Please comment any feedback below.
