My second season with Dynamo Kyiv has drawn to a close. Once again we have lost the title to our arch-rival Shakhtar by a margin of 6 points. There are definitely things I need to improve in the league. We have not been doing all that well abroad either. Our European trophy cabinet remains meager. Winning UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1975 and 1986, and UEFA Super Cup in 1975 are distant memories. In recent two seasons, there was some…
For a while now, I was planning to write about the new tactic that I have been working on in order to get the best out of my amazing regen, the Croatian diamond in my last golden generation intake (as seen in my previous article). As I started to write I realized that before the full tactics revelation, I need set a bit of context for the specialized role I intend to build the tactic around; the Regista. There are…
Every year, around January when the arrival of the Winter Update is imminent, I start asking myself the same question, and this year is no different; who should I manage on football manager 2019? Now that the game is fully-updated what long-term save do I do? Do I start a Lower League Management saga, or a campaign to revive a Sleeping Giant? Do I manage in top 5 Leagues with their guaranteed riches? Or in the more obscure ones and…
Since its introduction in FM2014, the Wide Target Man role always fascinated and brought out the tactical tinkerer in me. Sometimes I get an idea that takes over whichever save I’m doing, as I try hard to make it work. Most of the time it leads to a lot of wasted time playing around with the tactics screen. Even worse is the disappointment of watching game after game and seeing none of the hoped for results. My particular weakness has…
For some reason I always associate the month of December with playing Football Manager. Maybe it was because I started my first ever save on FM14 in December 2013. I still remember the glory of promoting Manisaspor out of the gloomy depth of Turkish 2nd division. Maybe by pure luck or some fluke of the plug and play tactics, I was actually able to win the league. I also happened to have a very good youth intake; my first ever…
Despite the positive start to the season, we had to contend with a bit of a crisis. Within a space of a month I’ve had 4 of my first team players receive long-term multi-months injuries. I could be bitter, blaming it on the playing with an earlier patch that made injuries too common. I am using a high intensity high pressing system that demands a lot from my players’ stamina and natural fitness. Injuries happen sooner or later. Instead of…
I was torn between two formations for my gegenpressing tactic: 4-2-3-1 DM wide or 4-5-1. In the end I chose 4-2-3-1. The 4-5-1 became my backup tactic againt superior sides in Champions League. Why not use Lobanovsky’s classic 4-4-2, you may ask? I’ve used 4-4-2 extensively in both FM 2017 and FM 2018. But while I always had some success with it, I noticed that Number 10s never played as I wanted. Or link up the midfield and attack as…
Club DNA The first question you might ask is what sort of player you will need to recreate Lobanovsky’s system? Or indeed in any kind of “gegenpressing” tactic. Primarily you want players with as much Stamina, Workrate and Determination as possible. I’m looking for something in 14-16 range ideally. Players with high values there should run their hearts out for you. It helps if you use fitting team instructions and roles to get the best out them.
Hi my name is CrusaderTsar and I’ve been playing Football Manager since 2013. Finally deciding to dip my feet into writing, I plan to discuss Dynamo Kiev club history and my tactics. I intend to post regular updates on my squad, results and musings on how to improve my tactics and training.