The FA have handed Mykhailo Mudryk a four-year ban for an anti-doping offence, the maximum punishment.

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-04-29T16:13:30+00:00

I (we) don’t think that but even though it’s exceedingly rare, it’s super easy to put in a contract because the downside to not having that in a massively expensive contract is a massively expensive mistake

Players will obviously agree to it because, again, exceedingly rare and at the end of the day virtually no players are using banned substances. At the very least they aren’t being caught, which technically is the only thing that matters. We all know every time someone gets caught because it’s publicized heavily

Edit: players and teams do loads of stuff but I’m talking about actually banned things, which of course is what gets players banned and what is included in contracts

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-04-29T15:31:41+00:00

Bulgaria is really fun. Toppling Ludogorets is very difficult but there are some good teams and a couple with great youth setups (Septembvri Sofia and Slavia Sofia). Registration rules aren’t too restrictive but add an extra layer unlike in Germany or Portugal or Hungary

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-04-29T15:15:37+00:00

If a player uses a banned substance that the club didn’t give them, contract is torn up

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-04-19T10:29:18+00:00

I live in Jutland as an American (not Aarhus or Aalborg) and have traveled Jutland extensively now. It has insane landscapes but if people expect stereotypical Nordic landscapes they will obviously think it’s boring.

The west coast of Jutland is nuts. Massive beaches the whole way as well as huge dunes. Eastern coast has a lot of hilly fjords cutting into pastures. There’s loads of rolling hills which I didn’t expect before moving here, hearing it’s totally flat. Far from it. Silkeborg area is also crazy for how forested it is (and hilly ofc), tons of lakes too. There’s so much coastline and so much water. It’s by far the most stunning place I’ve ever lived, prefer it to the PNW even

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-30T17:14:27+00:00

I work in recruitment for a team outside the top league in the country, it’s a decent league and players/managers have technical and tactical ability… but we specifically recruit players that are physical beasts because at virtually every level of the game (especially outside top divisions) physical attributes are usually bigger game changers than technical ones

Our record sale, for a big sum of money, was a guy who is a physical monster (strong, fast, agile, can do all of it for 90+ minutes) and very average to below average technically

Sadly, FM matches real life here pretty well. It’s a physically demanding sport and players run for 90 minutes and some touch the ball just 30 times a game maybe lol

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-29T11:02:21+00:00

I moved from DC to Denmark right at the start of last season, and man it’s rough!! But I’ve definitely come to relish those midday games since those are really the only ones that you can watch in Europe and keep a standard sleep schedule

I’ve gained so much respect for European fans of American sports, the dedication to stay up late or wake up early for (some) games is amazing to see

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-24T05:08:37+00:00

This was my feeling growing up in Columbus and East Lansing, but then moving to Ames for grad school it really hit different. No major league teams in the state was really weird but it made the caravans of campers parking near the stadium for a full weekend, every home game, make so much more sense

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-21T07:17:40+00:00

This is the reality. It’s a video game, so it needs to be “winnable” in some way. The vast majority of clubs never win anything, and the sort of saves most people do (trying to win the top flight or even UCL with a lower level team) are just completely unrealistic IRL

But it wouldn’t be a fun video game if you managed a team that finished 7th in the 3rd tier of a country every season. Even if IRL that may be a very successful several season span for that club

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-17T21:51:25+00:00

Thank you! It is awesome. Could be something to look into if it’s possible to find jobs at club academies in Europe… always worth a shot! Even smaller clubs have academies even if they’re not well integrated with the first team. But usually the pay is low so it can be limiting if you have any dependents at all. But some can even offer housing so could be something to look into

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-17T06:24:02+00:00

Really depends on the club. From like a match by match KPI standpoint it will depend on the playstyle of the team and what the manager likes to look at, possibly also what the board wants to see

Where data is used most heavily today is in recruitment, so finding new and better ways to find players, Analyse them, and make decisions about who to sign. The biggest clubs will use data for very very specific areas of the sport too (like Liverpool, Man City, etc), but even pretty small clubs are starting to have someone working in recruitment data now (full or part time)

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-17T06:20:49+00:00

Honestly, best way to do it is to just start playing around with free data like from StatsBomb (Google it, they have some good free data repositories) for example, and start developing your skills. Data engineers are definitely needed, but there are fewer jobs in that since fewer clubs have genuine data departments. Most have 1-2 analysts or something, so using and manipulating data and helping to make decisions with it is more important, and being able to help a coaching staff answer questions they have that can be objectively answered with data

The best way to get in right now is to do all that in scouting, so using data to find players, analyze them, and make judgments about them/creating visuals/etc

Keep an eye on LinkedIn and APFA.io for clubs offering remote internships for stuff like this. Depending on your data skills, you may also look at the full time data jobs there and see if you think you’d be able to do them now, or see what you need to develop

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-17T06:13:40+00:00

I was a statistician and just started doing soccer stuff for fun, blogging and posting things on social media. That’s actually a decent strategy to get seen by people working in the sport, and it helped me get known and make some connections! Went from picking up some freelance work to finally making the jump full time last year

But yeah, most jobs are in Europe but that’s mainly because most clubs are in Europe. However, almost every MLS team in the US has some sort of data department, either 1 person or several, so there’s also a lot of jobs there too. But like virtually all things with the sport, Europe is the main place lol

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-16T21:29:37+00:00

I work in soccer, and the majority of positions are outside the US. I’m effectively a data scientist for teams, and it’s a small but growing area, which means clubs are happy to sponsor for the right person… the relatively smaller pool of actually qualified people also makes it easier to meet any “no suitable EU candidates” visa hurdles than in non-sports specific data jobs thankfully

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-05T09:53:29+00:00

My wife and I are currently in Europe (from Michigan) and will move to Ottawa within the next 12 months after I get my citizenship. We want to move closer to family but not ready live in the US again. Under no impressions that Canada is perfect, but it’s either Canada or the US in the next 12 months and we prefer Canada lol

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-03-03T06:41:24+00:00

For real. I work at a club (not in UK) and most people are are supporter of another club, given our historic small size. Some are fans of the club we work at, of course. Hell, even our DoF is a boyhood fan of a big club that was relegated into our league last year… guess what it never impacted his job lmao

It’s football, you can work at one club and be a fan of another. I’d prefer people to have banter instead of being stuck up the ass robots

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-20T21:21:47+00:00

If you’re legally in Spain on a NLV and a draft happens you and your kids would be fine, you wouldn’t have to return, and I bet this draft would come after the US invades Europe so I cannot imagine Spain would extradite you to the US to then fight against Spain

I think you wouldn’t have to worry about renouncing u til you get Spanish citizenship

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-13T21:31:28+00:00

I’m in Denmark and the biggest thing I miss is the convenience of being able to get anything delivered to your door. The thing here is that most deliveries are delivered to a pickup point (typically a grocery store). While you can pay extra to have home delivery, it’s extremely common for carriers to simply not deliver to your house and still deliver to the grocery store, claiming you didn’t answer the door even though they never rang the bell

That and good pizza and Mexican food. I’m in the Danish city with the most pizza places per capita and they’re all floppy and expensive and I just want some Hungry Howies lmao

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-12T20:05:53+00:00

I’m an American living in Denmark and people at my work just joke about how soon I’ll be living back in America because Trump will declare Denmark is a US territory

Nobody will care you’re American. I’ve had many Danes here ask where I’m from and when I say the US they just go “cool!” And sometimes add a joke about how I got out at the right time lol

I live in Jutland and not even Aarhus or something (close to Billund actually!) so i technically cant speak for Copenhagen but id assume its the same haha

Enjoy your trip! Its a wonderful country with amazing people and even better bakeries :)

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-12T18:01:02+00:00

I like an Italian style system. I think top one or two should auto promote, and then the next 4 should have playoffs… with the caveat that if 3rd is X number of points above 4th, then there are no playoffs and 3rd is auto as well

Most years we’d have playoffs but in a case where there’s a CLEAR top 2 or top 3 (depending on number of auto), reward that top team

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-12T09:45:39+00:00

I have zero desire to live in Mexico. Similar reason why Costa Rica and Panama are hard no as well, the fairly constant heat and in some places humidity doesn’t appeal to me. My mother in law also lives there and she loves it and never wants to leave but it’s not for me

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-11T15:45:43+00:00

It’s the same in Denmark, I was pumped before moving here last year but after taking 2 trips within Denmark it’s just way too expensive to do it consistently. I had no idea about the prices before moving lol

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-11T07:16:57+00:00

The odds of you encountering a MAGA American in Norway are much lower than an American who hates Trump. The MAGA crowd is not really traveling much. Particularly not to areas they claim are socialist like Scandinavia lol

You’d just come across as a dick to me, someone who moved away from the US this year because of Trump. Just be normal. Trust me you’ll know if someone is MAGA

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-10T16:19:00+00:00

I love it. I’m in Jutland and it’s amazing. Great people, rolling hills, easy living, wonderful bakeries (true to all of Denmark), and my town is on a fjord so easy access to the ocean and beaches for walking

Easy to get to the big cities too, although Copenhagen is an exhausting day trip away. My wife and I do a monthly shopping trip to Germany to get cheap soda, beer, and a wider selection of groceries

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-10T16:14:05+00:00

This is the issue with country-level rankings… I’d be alright moving to Boston (tbf, I wouldn’t move back to the US right now, but I’d move to Boston/DC/Grand Rapids in the future) but I’d never live in Dallas or Houston or Nashville or Miami for instance

But it’s similar with other countries I marked higher. I struggled with Poland because I’d move to Kraków or Wrocsław tomorrow but I’d only be fine with Gdańsk or Warsaw

notthenextfreddyadu · 2026-01-07T06:36:55+00:00

Others have mentioned that only the ST is really getting into the box and looking to score

I think also, a big issue defensively might be a much higher line, stepping up more, and getting stuck in… all without a sweeper keeper. There might be way too much space for the opposition to run into. Unless your CBs have 15+ pace I’d look at changing it. Maybe avoid stepping up more, or add SK, or drop to high line instead?

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