Introduction
The FM24 early access is finally here. For my early access save I have decided to take a trip to Italy with Roma. Roma fans have been starved of success for decades with the odd surprise taste of silverware such as the Serie A in 2001 and the Conference League in 2022.
I plan to run a single season of this save before the game comes out fully and trust me, it is worth the read. I’m treating this save as a tactical experiment to try different things out, seeing what works and what doesn’t.
Jose Mourinho has done a stellar job the last couple of seasons, but now I will come in and take Roma that extra step further attempting to achieve both National and European silverware.
Objectives
The board has lofty ambitions. They want me to finish in the Champions League place, challenge for the Europa League and win the Italian Cup. The media don’t fancy us at all predicting us to finish a measly 6th.
My personal goals
Serie A: Challenge for title. Champions league qualification is a must!
Coppa Italia: The board have said it: it’s a must win and the highest priority of mine.
Europa league: Would love to avenge last season’s penalty defeat and win this. Would be satisfied with getting to the semi finals, Liverpool will be a big problem!
I’ll tell you now, we are extremely competitive in all three competitions. They all go down right to the wire.
Tactic
My tactic is very unorthodox and very team dependant. This isometric tactic will switch in game to a 3-2-5 – I’ll explain which positions trigger this switch.
The IFB (N’dicka) will move into CB and act as a third CB.
The IWB (Karsdorp) will shift into CDM and play as a double pivot with Cristante.
The SV (Pellegrini) will push forward in attack and cover that space at CAM in between Dybala and Sancho.
The LW (Spinazzola)is instricuted to push forward when attacking, next to Dybala on the left side.
It’s designed to keep the traditional Italian team three CBs as well as being extremely positive and aggressive in attack looking to create different player movements, find space and create overloads.
Summer transfer
Recently instead of going crazy at the start of saves selling all the players I don’t like, I have transitioned into giving everyone a chance and looking for shrewd, smart signings to fill out the squad.
A couple of signings I made who barely feature were Boating and Kurzawa as cover for a couple of positions because we needed a bigger squad to compete in EL.
The first and easily the biggest, most important signing I will likely make all save is Jadon Sancho. The one position I wasn’t satisfied with was RW. This is because in real life Roma don’t play with wingers in a 3-5-2 so I was short in supply.
I had a quick peek at the loan list and was pleasantly surprised to see Jadon Sancho there. However, I was questioning a couple of things: would he want to join us and what kind of wages do United want?
I couldn’t believe my luck! United let me have Sancho completely free covering all his wages. Clearly the Ten Haag fall out had lead to them shipping him out at all cost. I was not complaining – what an incredible signing!
I had zero intention of changing my goalkeeper. Despite not rating Patricio in real life, he looks decent on FM. This all changed when Benfica tried their luck with a cheeky bid. Patricio was DESPERATE to join them – if he doesn’t want to be here then see you later.
I was low in funds and needed to find a new keeper quickly. Once again I scanned the transfer market and found Lunin. For just 2.8 million, I really liked the look of him. Well rounded, consistent and a model citzen, so I got the deal done on a fairly cheap wage.
Hat-trick hero
Big Rom came racing out the blocks with back-to-back home hat-tricks. Although we were up against weak opposition in Salernitana and Frosinone, it’s great to see the goals flowing early.
Start as you mean to go on
Just look at this sea of green – the first half of the season was textbook. The tactic was working beautifully. We were dominating possession and scoring goals for fun. New signings Sancho and Lunin were settling in brilliantly and green arrows were quickly starting to appear all over the pitch. Despite starting slow, Dybala found some crucial form and was the cog behind all our attacks. Romelu was gobbling up all of the low crosses and was an absolute demon in the six yard box.
There is one result that stands out from the others. The first Capitale derby and what a game it was.
The only slight concern was the high amount of games we were dominating, but the end result would be a draw. We are a tough team to beat but all these draws will catch up with us if we don’t start converting them into wins.
Europa League Group
We were gifted with one of the easiest European groups I’ve ever seen. Three very average teams, so it was the perfect chance for the B team to step up and prove their worth.
We comfortably won the group, despite losing our first game of the season away at Slavia Prague. The minimum expectation which means we go directly through to the last 16 and skip the tough last 32.
We are facing RB Salzberg in the round of 16, not sure how to feel as they are always quite a decent team. It could have been much worse!!
League Table halfway point
Top of the league, unbeaten can’t ask for much more than that. Restating the point on needing to turn draws into wins if we are to win the league. No clue how Verona have snuck up there! Going to be tough to keep this up, more and much tougher fixtures coming up, juggling three big competitions.
Milan humbling
Another bizarre thing worth mentioning was a friendly against Hull in the middle of the season, sandwiched between two games right before Napoli away, which I couldn’t cancel. No idea if this is game is taking place in real life, but either way very frustrating!
January started with two tough games against both Milan sides having somewhat underwhelming seasons so far. To win both games, coming out with clean sheets in each is huge as we keep the pace up at the top of the table.
January transfer window
I was very optimistic going into January. Top of the league, the board had given me some extra funds to spend as a reward. However this all changed when the inevitable happened. The Saudi raid came this time in the form of star man Paulo Dybala triggering his minimal £10 million release clause. Was fairly gutted by this, I had a couple of tricks up my sleeve on how to replace the phenomenum.
The signings I had made so far were all just off vibes with little thought and I continued this trend. I was flicking through the players with contracts expiring in six months looking for potential bargains and came across a certain Benfica winger Rafa. A player I have always rated, enjoyed watching on Champions League nights. He was available for a snip at just over 10 million.
We weren’t done there! Although Rafa had been bought in to play the shadow striker role, I still wanted to sign a traditional CAM. With the leftover cash on deadline day, I secured a deal for Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Gio). The Uruguay playmaker was also available at 10 million: thrilled to see that he has partially Italian personality. Can also cover at left wing which is a bonus.
The January transfer window was a successful one, despite losing star man Dybala. We added serious attacking depth and quality to ensure we maintained our free scoring start. Also we raided Inter of Darmian and Klaassen to add some much needed depth. Tammy is also back from his ACL, unfortunately for him Lukaku has been sensational so he will be an impact sub.
Coppa Italia update
A tricky draw against a good Juve team awaited us. From start to finish we were the dominant side in complete control. However, despite racking up an impressive 3.45 XG that crucial second goal just wasn’t happening. Just second before penalties Belotti (filling in for an injured Romelu) proved his worth, bagging our and his second to take us to the semis and keep the treble dream alive!
The streak is over
The unbeaten run was fun! Was never going to be sustainable for the whole season and it was AC Milan who handed us our first L of the season. Some games you just don’t turn up; this was one of them because we were by far the second best team. To have zero shots on target with 58% possession is far from ideal. I’ll chalk this off as one of those days.
Terrific response
The only right way to respond to a loss is to mount a run and that is exactly what happened. Seven wins in the next eight including a massive win to knock Napoli out of contention for the title. Despite this sensational form, Juve were also relentless and were giving up no change. With just seven games left, it looked like a two-horse race for the title.
Close shave in round of 16
Salzburg are a very decent team, I made a somewhat costly mistake of B teaming the first leg away and was brutally punished. A rare B team showing was rewarded with a toothless performance. The first team had it all to do in the second leg.
Skipper Pellegrini from the front with a couple of huge goals to level the tie, one a top bin free kick! Big game Bellotti came on to bag the winner late on in a must-win game once again. We were very lucky because somehow Salzburg didn’t score despite racking up a 2.82 XG! The FM Gods were shining upon me. A mouth-watering tie in the quarters.
Capitale galore
You couldn’t write it: in both the Coppa Italia and the Europa League we have been drawn against our fiercest rivals Lazio! Ending the month with the league game as well, five out of eight games this month against the neighbours. Both teams will be sick of the sight of each other. Both of the opening two games are away (technically at home).
The first of many meetings ended with a disappointing 2-0 defeat. Feel extremely hard done by here because we were by far the better team but just couldn’t find that finsihing touch. In contrast, despite creating so little, Lazio were clinical and ppunished us for not taking our chances. Need to dust ourselves off quickly for the Europa League tie.
Was a bit lost for words. Granted we were very poor and didn’t deserve anything out of it creating so little. However the second game in a row Lazio had been brutally clincal. 4 shots on targets, 4 goals, how’s your luck. Was never a 4-0 game and we need an absolute miracle to turn this around!
Cristante!!! His best performance of the season with a couple of screamers. We totally deserved this, Lazio unable to keep getting away with creating so little. A win of huge reward taking us through to the Copa Italia final where we will be facing a tough battle against AC Milan. Comeback number one complete!
My greatest comeback ever on FM. We had to play the perfect game and the perfect game we played. To score four goals in the first half to level the scores up. The tie was only heading one way and we wrapped it up in style with total domination of our rivals. Lazio pulled off a couple of lucky wins in the first leg of each comp. Nothing about either of our performances was lucky, Bayer Leverkusen in the Semi here we goooo!
Serie A collapse
It was always going to be hard juggling three competitions at once, we ended up drawing far too many games which inevitably cost us in the end. Fair play to Juve: they were relentless and hardly dropped any points in the second half of the season, deserved winners. Even AC Milan snuck up into the title race and nearly had it in the end. We finished a respectable third, too many draws cost us in the end.
Bayer battle
First leg was a tight game, barely any chances were created. I was quite happy to only lose with a one goal advantage, we have made the Olimpico a fortress and, after the comeback in the last couple of rounds, I have no doubt we will win in style.
We’ve done it again!! Romelu masterclass. Four goals to dig us out of another hole, the score line was overly generous and probably not a fair reflection on the game. Rafa and Gio proving their worth with two assists each, both have fitted into the team down to a tee so far.
The final is arguably the toughest game of the save so far! A mouth-watering clash against Barca, who are somehow in the Europa League. Barca have knockout out, what I expected to be our biggest competition for the title Liverpool as well as Newcastle. Our biggest test yet.
Coppa Italia heartbreak
A second competition slipped through the palms of our hands. An edgy and tight affair, one of those games that could have swung either way. Gut tingly Pulisic dealt the killer blow, no complaints from me because we didn’t do enough to justify winning on the night.
The season now lies on winning the Europa League!
A pure masterclass of a gameplan
Limbs. My gameplan going into the game was to not lose it in the 90 and then go for it in extra time with five subs and I can safely say it worked a treat. Barca, perhaps unfortunate to not win it in the 90 ran out of steam in extra time. They were not helped by a late Araujo two footer, which all but sealed the title.
It was poetic that it was Tammy of all players who got the winner. Since returning from injury Tammy had been nothing short of abysmal (important to note his only minutes were off the bench). Tammy was yet to score this season and to open his account with the most important kick of the season. Nerves of steel!!
I’m ecstatic with the win, every round of knockout stages was brutal. The run to the trophy really had it all, historic comebacks and an untarnished record at the Olimpico which saved us on countless occasions.
In Conclusion
Will keep this short and sweet:
Serie A
Goal = Challenge for title, at least quality for Champions League
Outcome = We gave it a good go, I’m satisfied with the Serie A campaign. We were incredibly tough to beat, however racking up a huge number of draws inevitably cost us in the end. 3rd whilst challenging for two other competitions is nothing to be ashamed of.
Coppa Italia
Goal: Win the title
Outcome: A tough loss in the final, a real 50-50 game. Sadly didn’t achieve the title and the cheek of the board to still be fuming with me for failing to get the win.
Europa League
Goal: Semi finals
Outcome: Winners, a truly phenomenal run which exceeded all expectations
Overall, I can’t ask for much more from a first season, so close to winning all three competitions. Would have been harsh if we came away with nothing so to win the hardest of the three is very satisfying
Player of the Save: Only one man for this, 37 goals for big Romelu. Serie A golden boot and Europa League golden boot. A world class striker on this game and a sensational complete forward.
Thanks for reading!