The following article is Part 1 in a multi-part series of guides on developing Possession-focused tactic in FM21. It is inspired by Pep Guardiola’s style but is not meant to be an accurate recreation of Pep’s tactics. Instead the tactic in this guide is largely inspired by Total Football and continues my quest to bring this style in all of its beauty to Football Manager games. Read on if you love Total Football and would love to see how it…
As you might remember last season, I extensively covered Total Football. Naturally, writing about highly technical, possession-focused system, inspired some complicated tactics. And the teams I tested with, while not world-beaters, were mostly in the higher end of the league pyramid. Leading an elite club has its challenges of course and winning any trophy is never a sure thing. Not even when you’re the top club in the country. With Lower League Management (LLM) the challenge becomes rather different in…
When one thinks of “simple” football, English 4-4-2 usually comes to mind. A long-time favourite formation in Albion, its origin was mistakenly, credited to Sir Alf Ramsey. It was also associated with the transition to modern football. A game that is currently, single-mindedly obsessed with possession, relentless pressing and teamwork. But what led us to the world where Gegenpress has become a household word? The answer is simple. It all began with Viktor Maslov and the Soviet invention of the…
Welcome back readers! Hope everyone had a productive off-season. Some might know me as Crusadertsar over on SI Games forums and Twitter. In short, I’m just another guy who spends a bit too much time playing Football Manager. I also double as a bit a sports history aficionado, and like to sprinkle in my research into my tactical musings. You may recognize my ramblings from Man United-focused series Young Devils which debuted on our site last year. And there was…
The advantage of using world-class team in FM20, is in the variety of tactics you can try on season-to-season basis. I started out my Benfica save attempting a more patient possession approach, reminiscent of Guardiola’s Barcelona. Yet as my campaign continues, I find myself experimenting with more adventurous tactics. So in 3rd year with the Portuguese giant, I attempt to show that Total Football does not necessarily equal boring possession-focused football. It can also be an exciting attacking style. In…
So far in my Total Football Journeyman series, I had covered some pretty great historic teams like Ajax, Barcelona, and Liverpool. But I feel that in recounting the stories of these giants, I lost track of something important. All those sides played beautiful fluid football but were already established world-class clubs. Yet the question remains, can a Total Football style be achieved by a club that is good but not world-class? And can Total Football be achieved on a budget?…
What is the English Way? A rather wholesome moniker, suggestive of hot tea and delicious hobnobs on a chilly autumn morning. It’s also a good name to encompass the bygone football style of the time and place that was 1970s England. It is not as poetic a term as “Total Football”, mainly because some might easily confuse it with the Hoofball “anti-football” that predominated the latter period of 1980s and 90s. But to me the “English Way”, evokes the great…
I could have called this piece, “Total Overloads Take 3.0” before settling on a more catchy title. Some might remember my old article exploring Pep Guardiola’s tactics and overloads. It’s okay if you do not, I don’t mind. There’s been so much change in my writing and tactics since FM19 that I don’t even remember everything myself. It has been an educative journey into football history and learning the intricacies of FM games. I prefer to think of my series…
In a series about Total Football, you might wonder why I am writing about Sir Ferguson’s Manchester United? While Ferguson’s Man United achieved amazing success between 2006-2009, they were not known for playing Possession-style, associated with Total Football. Or for that matter one cannot really pin point a specific style of play or formation to that legendary team. However, one constant that contributed to Ferguson’s success was his masterful management of his players. Sir Alex Ferguson was a people manager…
I pick up where I left off last time. Searching for the central striker role to complete my 3-4-3 Diamond formation. For this I will take a step back and look at the original inspiration for Louis van Gaal’s 3-4-3 formation. That is, Johan Cruyff and the Barcelona team of late 1980s and early 1990s. Also I will take a somewhat unorthodox approach to constructing my 3-4-3 Diamond Tactic. We will deconstruct the attacking formation by looking at defensive positioning….