HOW TO BUILD A SPINE IN SMW

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Imma be honest with y’all, I’ve been doing so much editing and image content creation that I low-key feel kinda rusty when it comes to my blogging. But, this is a sport to me, so allow me to get warmed up and work out them kinks, lads!

Shout out to OnlyBGuy on Reddit for requesting that I create today’s blog!!! 👊

  The spine of a soccer team is without question the most important area in which we all should be getting the best of the best wether it be via buying the highest rated spine that we can afford (not a fan of this approach), or building a spine from players who fit our tactical approach down to a tee no matter their rating (my type of approach 😎).

Back in Season 8’s ‘The Random Season’, I briefly explained in episode 11 that in order to get the best cup run that you possibly can, it would require that you keep a crop of players playing every single match with the rotations happening around them (i.e, the spine). In today’s epi- I mean blog, we’ll be going into a bit more depth on the importance of a spine, the rules for building one, and why it’s important that you should be basing the rest of your team around them.

THE IMPORTANT 4 (or 5…)

The word “spine” is obviously a metaphor in footballing contexts since an original spine is the back of a human’s body that consists of the most important bones, muscles and nerves which ensure that the rest of the body functions how it should. In footballing terms, the spine of your team is essentially the men who ensure that the rest of the XI gain an extra bit of comfort knowing that they have the most important players within your team in and around them on the pitch throughout a 90 as well as what goes on in training and during half time intervals. It doesn’t neccessarily matter who or where the spine is located, so long as it consists of up to 5 players with the minimun being 4 (with some rare occassions having 3).

RULES OF THE SPINE

From Pep to Bielsa, every philosophy requires rules, and it is essential to identify the rules necessary for getting the best spine that you possibly can since they will be responsible for keeping your philioposhy in mind once your players are on the pitch.

Spine Rule #1: At least 4 players with one for each area of the pitch (GK, DEF, MID, ATT)

Spine Rule #2: Players within your spine have to be the most compatible to the tactics you are considering.

Spine Rule #3: The players within your spine should play 90% of the minutes available in the league and SMFA (aka, the Champions League or Europa League) competitions. Let me go into a bit more depth here since this rule is CRUCIAL! The spine of your team is essentially filled with the “captains” on the pitch who set the tone for the rest of the team, and although you can substitute or even bench these players every now and then, it should be paramount that they are on the pitch for as many minutes as possible since their presence alone is powerful enough to ensure your team performs admirably.

Spine Rule #4: The second choice option behind players within your spine should be either a back up (in case they get injured or suspended) or a promising youth player (who won’t get concerned about a lack of gametime).

Spine Rule #5: The spine of your team can be changed if you have a rotational player who is performing out of his skin, for example, but it MUST NEVER surpass the max count of 5 due to potentailly messing with full squad harmony (Oh, so that means that if Pedri is somehow being outplayed continously by Gavi, then Gavi gets the chance to replace him while Pedri becomes at best a rotational option with a potential selling scenario being considerd since, as a SMW Superstar, Pedri won’t sit lightly starting on the bench for an extended period. But, these are scenarios that happen over a couple of seasons and not during a one-off season. Oh, I’ve also got more on Pedri coming up in a future blog series… 👀)

LET’S BUILD A SPINE


Now that you’ve got the jist of the theroy behind your spine, Soccermanagerite, let’s make a few mock spines so you can pratically get a better idea of how their built:

SPINE TYPE UNO

We begin by building a traditional 4-prong spine down the central region of your XI with a decent pair of hands in Thibaut Courtois (I’m kidding, y’all… Courtois is the best GK in world football, and the Champions League version of him is an ABSOLUTE JOKE!)
David Alaba’s inclusion is a great example as to why you don’t neccessarily need players with the highest rating to operate within your spine since the Austrian brings leadership, composure on the ball, positioning off it, and tactical flexibility that only a few players of his ilk can comprehend.
Let me immediately contradict myself by adding the 95 rated Bellingham to this spine… 😅

In all seriousness though, there wasn’t another player who could’ve represented what will be needed from a 4-prong spine due to the Englishman’s mentality, temperament, and match winning qualities
And of course, we’ve saved the best for last! 🇫🇷

Side note: Would really love to hear your opinion on the Mbappe, Kane, and Haaland debate! You can leave a comment after reading or DM me on any of the major social media platforms (excluding IG and TikTok) @The Soccermanager Experience. Let’s debate the shit out of this, mate!!!

SPINE TYPE DOS

For this spine, we’ll aim to showcase how not every spine needs to be particularly biased towards the central regions of the pitch.

We start things out with the Italian Riccardo Calafiori, who has become a personal favorite of mine, with his on the ball intelligence and bravery as well as his no nonsense style of getting stuck in while defending
The second addition to this spine is Dutchman Jurriën Timber, who has really made a name for himself as arguably the best fullback in the prem (despite technically being a D C). The tactical reasoning behind this spine is to ensure that this team are as solid as it comes when considering operating down the flanks. Both fullbacks here provide a plethora of options in possession while also being as defensively sound as it gets
Since this XI will be focused on making the most out of those wide regions then it would’ve been crucial to have a player within the middle of the park represent  the spine as a box crasher, and we have one of the best ones in the modern game in Mikel Merino. The Spaniard has got to be underrated at this point since, not too long ago, he was being used as a ‘D.L.P’ but has somehow turned himself into a goal-scoring no.8 who could also play as a ‘D.L.F’ when needed. That’s some serious footballing IQ and he’s more than deserving of his role within the spine of this team
Who else could it have been?! If we’re talking about a mock Arsenal team aiming to play in those wide regions and will be in need of attackers who love isolating themselves against thier opposition, then Bukayo (BLOODCLART!) Saka is the first name on the teamsheet and the first name on this spine! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

SPINE TYPE TRES

The third spine will be a representation of the more riskier 5-prong spine style approach (and by risky I mean easier to get players being concerned about playing time), with the caveat of not having an established world class player to demonstrate the importance of your overall tactical set up.

We start with the ever reliable, 91 rated Gregor Kobel in goal who should keep things solid in between the sticks
If we’re talking about future SMW Superstars, then I have no doubt that German international Nico Schlotterbeck is destined to become one, and at age 26, he has enough experience to be your spine choice option in the defence despite only being rated 91
In front of Nico in the middle of the park is the man aging like fine wine, Pascal Gross, who provides solid distribution in both open and dead ball scenarios, and could possibly captain this team as the elderly statesman within the mix 😎
Another captain contender is Julian Brandt who seems like he’s been around forever but is only 29 y/o. The German will be one of the main attacking threats within this team as the go to guy for getting in between the lines and making things happen for the yellow wall
I know he predominantly plays outwide at the moment, but many have forgotten that Adeyemi actually made his name as a F(C) during his time with the Redbull group at Salzburg. In this team, he will be given the freedom to express his natural talent as the 5th member of the spine, and what that also means is that the player operating in that right pocket should be someone who won’t put up a fuss for minutes.

Not too sure if you peeped, but 4 out of this spine are all German which gives an additional boost to the club with homegrown players being the most important pieces within the entire structure 👍

SPINE TYPE FOUR… 😐

…

We end off with a look at the metrics that normally cause a 3-prong spine style. There is a plethora of “average to good” players within this starting XI alongside the three main stars in Dias, Rodri, and Haaland. This could be your approach if you happen to be in a gameworld where there is a dearth of available quality, or if you simply want to challenge yourself in some other way since having all the best players in your squad is quite boring, imo!

Right, here ends today’s blog, Soccermanagerite. The next set of blogs will be a look at some SMW Superstars as there have been some new 94+ ballers added to the club, and I’ve got around 20 new individualistic episodes that I’m currently working on from Bastoni to Isak, so strap in cause you seriously DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS SERIES!  🌟

In a bit… ✌️

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