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Shrewnaldo

@shrewnaldo.bsky.social

320 followers 180 following 970 posts

Gaming addict, mostly Football Manager, some other games at which I'm absolutely awful. Football, Football Manager and books. That's about it really. Misanthrope. "... to read without joy is stupid", John Williams

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Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · Jan 4

Thread of my reading in 2025

I'll include both fiction, which I read hard copy or kindle, and non-fiction for which I primarily use audible

All posts will be spoiler-free

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 13h

Pisses me off when NFL players get pushed out of bounds, take out some poor fucker standing at the side and then don't even check if they're ok. Proper twat behaviour

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 15h

Jeez, is Tua really bad? Getting thumped by the Browns is kinda mid, as the kids would say

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 15h

Book 45, Letters from a Stoic by Seneca (translated by Francis Barton Gummere, narrated by Julian Glover)

2/5

Another pompous, pontificating bore

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 18h

Yup

Also regret sticking with Vicario rather than doubling down on the Burnley clean sheet

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Captaining Salah over Haaland might have been a mistake though

Salah's record against Man Utd is pretty tasty, mind

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 18h

That is a sensational assist from Bruno Fernandes

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 21h

Was Vicario's positioning wrong for that Rodgers goal? Looks like he's offered an awful lot of space to the 'keeper's right. Decent hit but it goes in the net very centrally

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 23h

Radio 5 on Sunday is just so good

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Book 44, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

4/5

4 maybe a little harsh but it's not quite a 5* read for me

Enjoyed it for the most part and was a fun, fast-paced read - perfect for reading right after War and Peace

Enjoyed the earlier sections with the flashbacks most - would've liked more

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Don't shoot... square it... three in the box, square it... don't shoot... oh yer fuckin belter

What a goal #StandFree

Steve Brewer @sjbrewer.bsky.social · 1d

St. Mirren 0 -[1] Aberdeen - Lazetić 90+6’ Great Goal

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

But all-in-all, this looks really good and looks like it'll genuinely be a new and interesting system that could spark some renewed interest in the tactical side

Looking forward to experimenting with the IP shapes to get a 3-diamond-1 and marauding wingbacks on the go for build-up #fm26

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Bit of a lol at this though

That sounds a lot to me like there are some roles that are bugged so much they are worried they won't be fixed for release so won't publish them yet

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

This also sounds fantastic though

I am all for fewer restrictions and more customisation for the player - even if we screw up. FM has felt more and more automaton for years now, and any digression from that would be something I'd welcome massively

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

It's harder to tell with the OOP stuff. It still looks very limited but who knows what other options are going to be available once we can dig into it

This one was a bit odd though - preventing short GK distribution in a 4-2-3-1 and there's one player in the opposition third... I hope that's a bug

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

I also really like the look of some of these Team Instructions. In particular, being able to select the Dribbling during Progression is exactly what I wanted to see

And I'm intrigued to find out more about the Pass Reception and Supporting Runs options

All-in-all, the IP stuff looks great

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

It really annoyed me in previous versions that the IWBs would stay as fullbacks until the ball had moved into the middle third and I couldn't do anything about it. Now I can and that has to be a positive change

It's like this change has answered the exact complaint I was making last year. Great

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

In the example SI provide, it moves into 2-3-5-ish in the middle third. And would presumably stay as such in the final third. Maybe 3-2-5 if the fullback is coded to come deeper

I like being able to more precisely set the shape you want from goalkicks and deep possession

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

The IP formation is actually the basic set up for building from the back - or rather for having possession in your defensive third. Per the screenshot.

From this starting point in the 4-3-3-ish positions, the player roles then dictate the shape transition through the thirds

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

I was a bit confused by the initial text which suggests a 4-3-3 IP and a 4-1-4-1 OOP - I mean, they're the same shape really. Plus no-one plays with 4-3-3 in establish possession - it will morph into 2-3-5 or 3-2-5, maybe 3-4-3

Anyway, reading the article properly explained it

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

So I've been taking some time to read through the #fm26 article on the tactics changes

From what little we can tell from the article, it looks like a positive change to me. I've always said intrinsically linking in- and out-of-possession instructions for players was stupid and needed to change

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Ref in the Roma v Inter game seems to be speaking to (some of) the players in English, which is interesting

Also Manu Koné isn't moving around much. Looks incredibly lazy (I've just turned over)

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Back to regret over that -4 ffs

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Haha, looks like Iwobi says "some touch" as Saka pulls that out of the sky right in front of him

Arsenal really missing Ødegaard here. Link through midfield is just missing that fluidity

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Captaining Salah over Haaland might have been a mistake though

Salah's record against Man Utd is pretty tasty, mind

Shrewnaldo @shrewnaldo.bsky.social · 1d

Radio 5 having City v Everton as the featured commentary when Palace v Bournemouth is right there... bit weird