Season 2 comes to a close and overall it has been another solid season. Before we dive into the performance, I wanted to share the following:

AZ are recognised as the leading club in Eredivisie for player development and this has not stopped within the save. We continue to bring players though and provide a natural pathway into the first team. Although this save is moneyball driven and we expect to see a lot of bargain signings etc, there also is an element of utilising the brilliant youth system in place and eventually selling our own assets in the future. 

Season 2 Update:

Here is how things ended in season 2:

We improved on our finishing in the first season by one as we finished runners up but also creating more of a gap with the other big clubs around us. This was the finish that I expected and a natural progression from the previous season. So in season 3 I guess we should then win the league? I think we are 2-3 more quality players away from doing that or relying on Ajax to lose top players and not replace them well. 

We can see below that we have one of the best net spends in the league, Ajax being top for always selling big to the top tier leagues across Europe:

Season 2 stats:

Here are some stats for season 2 which provide some interesting insights:

The above is mainly contributed by the towering centre backs that we have, the eredivisie does not really have commanding centre backs, which clearly works in our favour on set pieces. 

For crosses complete, this will help with recruitment and when looking for full-backs as the majority of crosses would come from them and it seems we have a bigger emphasis on that vs the other teams.

The high intensity sprints makes sense with the type of system we have (Bielsa inspired). 

New boy Palacios was on fire providing much more key passes overall in the league, which helped contribute to a good amount of goals overall.

Pavlidis had another solid season despite being rotated quite a lot this season. A 36M bid from Inter Milan was rejected in the January window as I wanted to hold out for the 49M release clause. 

Squad View:

Here is a view of the overall squad:

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With a lot of demand from European football this year, the side needed to be heavily rotated and the majority of the players stepped up. Diattara stepped up into the first team, who joined last season and got settled in by playing in the B team first. Birlgea had a solid 2nd season and continued to bag the goals. 

B Team Update:

Our B team dominated again and our youth continue to show up the rest of the teams in the league:

Season 2 January Signings:

M Sow, another signing from Senegal came in the January window made an instant impact in the B team and another example of someone who can step into the first team already. This signing was data driven and another great coup. 

D Lazic was also signed in January but loaned back to his club TSC so he could continue to get first team action. He is the future 3rd choice striker and will initially play for the B team and wait in the wings for when one of the first 2 strikers end up leaving. Another example of forward planning and easily can integrate him into the side without having to rush in the market to replace a first team player. 

Recruitment At It’s Best:

I wanted to show a clear example of when the recruitment strategy worked its magic.

We sold our playmaking midfielder Mijnans for 18M who contributed with 6 goals and 9 assists and was one of our key players.

We used our data system to have a ready made replacement and it picked out Palacios who we signed for 2.5M. In the same amount of games, he managed to score 9 and provide 10 assists from the same position. 

So, we spent a fraction of the 18M to bring in a player who actually served us better and his value has shot up to over 10M at this point. 

This is what we are looking to replicate across the pitch and have done this in other areas, but the above is a like for like example. 

Season 2 Finances:

So, we had over 55M in the bank and then came to this news:

The overall bank balance is very healthy and I have no idea why this would happen! 

I mean luckily we’re in a position that we don’t need any players and would only buy if we sold but this in some ways is a good way to put our strategy to the test and prove it works even after our profits go to the owners’ dodgy banks. 

The plan recruitment wise next season is only to bring in players if really required, our B team is filled with top players who can step up. Season 3 could be a season of keeping what we have and working with it which comes in good timing with the budget issues we’ve got. But that also goes to show how good our recruitment has been so far and the players we are developing. 

Season 2 Squad Planner:

Here is a view of the squad planner so far:

Smit is a player that has strong interest from PSG so he will most likely leave but we have Sow who will step up to cover that slot, so again no need to go out and buy for the sake of buying. 

I will provide another update post season 3, it will be interesting to see how many of the above remain at the club by then and how many big clubs come in for our players again.