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Today I got this idea stuck in my head – figured I’d mess around with position choices for the Chelsea vs Liverpool match happening later. Just wanted to see what happens if you switch stuff up, you know? Started simple, just me, my laptop, and a messy desk.
Getting My Stuff Ready
First thing after grabbing coffee? Searched everywhere for yesterday’s scouting reports. Papers everywhere. Found half under a cold mug, the other bunch near the router. Mess. Stuck those messy notes on the board with pushpins.
Fired up the Football Manager 2023 save I’d been messing with – needed those virtual player stats. Took forever to load. While waiting, scribbled on a notepad:
- Chelsea’s left side looks weak with Cucurella pushing up.
- How does putting Konaté on the right mess with Sterling?
- What if Chelsea doubled up on Salah early?
Running My Messy Tests
Finally got the tactics screen open. Started dragging players around like they were chess pieces. Flipped Reece James from wing-back to a proper full-back, made Alexander-Arnold sit deeper. Clicked “Go”.
Saw Salah kept sneaking behind Chelsea’s center-backs. “That ain’t happening,” I mumbled. Moved Silva wider and told Kanté to stop wandering so much. Ran it again. Whole damn match simulation took 15 minutes of laptop whirring.
Tried flipping it for Liverpool next. Pulled Konaté over to the right, closer to Sterling. Thought it might shut things down. Simulation just ended with him looking lost halfway through. Tried again swapping Diaz’s position to mess with Chelsea’s shape. Same bad result.
What Actually Worked (Kinda)
Kept notes the whole time:
- Pushing Chelsea’s defence wider slowed Liverpool’s counters big time.
- Konaté only looked good staying central – shifting him ruined Liverpool’s shape.
- Benching Cucurella early for Chelsea changed their whole left-side flow.
The data looked shaky, honestly. Some runs made sense, others were chaos. Best combo was moving Kanté to shadow Salah early and having Silva cover wide areas.
Left Hanging
Really wanted to try pushing Gallagher further up for Chelsea to press Fabinho, but the clock beat me. Lunch bell rang. Packed up my scribbles feeling unsatisfied.
These tests felt incomplete. Real players don’t move like game engines. Got some rough ideas for tonight’s match, but I’m basically walking in cold. Simulations leave you out in the cold sometimes.