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Category: Analysis

Three Strikers: Breaking open defences in FM20 with a battering ram

Three Strikers: Breaking open defences in FM20 with a battering ram

Three strikers might seem an extreme way of going about things but there are many ways to break down a defence. Sometimes the creation of space, overlaps and overloads are less about tactical refinement and more about brute force. We don’t all manage a team of La Liga or top-flight superstars so sometimes a more direct approach is needed to force the issue for smaller lower league sides operating on a budget. In this article, we float the idea of…

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Mirror the Magic – 3 – Fabien Barthez

Mirror the Magic – 3 – Fabien Barthez

In this series, I highlight a much-loved and talented footballer from the past. I’ll tell you a little bit about what I think their key qualities were that made them so special. We’ll go on to look at how best to re-live that legend in Football Manager, by naming a few current players who may be able to ‘mirror the magic’ of the superstar and potentially become your new FM20 hero. Post one was Juan Román Riquelme, two was Ronald…

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Making the mobile move to FMM20

Making the mobile move to FMM20

I’ve recently made the move to playing FMM20. That’s not to say I’m not still loving the full PC version of FM20 but a recent change in circumstance has meant playing Football Manager on the fly. The mobile version of the game is something that I’ve tended to stay away from so using FMM20 this year has been a new experience for me, and I’m going to share how I’ve found it and whether I think it’s worth taking a…

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Mirror the Magic – 2 – Ronald Koeman

Mirror the Magic – 2 – Ronald Koeman

In this series, I highlight a much-loved and talented footballer from the past. I’ll tell you a little bit about what I think their key qualities were that made them so special. We’ll go on to look at how best to re-live that legend in Football Manager, by naming a few current players who may be able to ‘mirror the magic’ of the superstar and potentially become your new FM20 hero. Episode one focused on Juan Román Riquelme, and is…

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Roles: Do they matter? Part 3

Roles: Do they matter? Part 3

In the series where discuss the usefulness – or uselessness – of roles, we’ve already theorised that role suitability is just an opinion given to you by the scouts. Truly, what difference do these roles make? This is the quest we’ve set ourselves up for. Through thick and thin, rough and smooth, Leroy Sané’s insane pace and John Stones’ twisted knickers, this is: Roles, do they matter? Part 3!

Unsung Heroes: Complete Wing Back FM

Unsung Heroes: Complete Wing Back FM

In this unsung heroes article, I focus on the complete wing back role in Football Manager. A role which is commonly used around football, especially in recent times. The complete wing back in FM has been influential in my side’s success, offering offensive outlets and defensive stability. I will be applying everything to my Uruguay save, which has given me a lot of success.

Mirror the Magic – 1 – Juan Román Riquelme

Mirror the Magic – 1 – Juan Román Riquelme

In this new series, I am going to highlight a much-loved and talented footballer from the past. I’ll tell you a little bit about what I think their key qualities were that made them so special. We’ll go on to look at how best to re-live that legend in Football Manager, by naming a few current players who may be able to ‘mirror the magic’ of the superstar and potentially become your new FM20 hero.

Expected Assists (xA) and Received Passes in FM20

Expected Assists (xA) and Received Passes in FM20

Let me introduce you to the little brother of xG, Expected Assists (xG). Whereas xG tells you the likelihood of a goal being scored from a certain position Expected Assists tells you the likelihood of a goal being scored after receiving a pass. The two go hand in hand in real world football metrics, and there’s no reason why you can’t use them in FM20. We also add another metric to look at. There’s something to be learnt about where…

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Getting the Best out of your Striker Player Traits

Getting the Best out of your Striker Player Traits

FM20 has a huge range of player traits to change, improve or occasionally disrupt your players behaviour on the pitch. In our last article we ran an experiment to see what impact ability had on certain striker traits like lobbing or rounding the keeper, and placing or powering in shots. It was a bit of a bust as we found that ability alone didn’t seem to have an effect. It was useful for partly busting myths about certain player traits…

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How to Get a Head Start in Football Manager

How to Get a Head Start in Football Manager

In a race it is the one with the quickest reflexes, the one who gets going as soon as the race starts, that has that marginal advantage. This is why I want to get started on certain aspects of the game before I press that first continue. This article will give you an insight on how I get this head start. The examples will be from my current save with Toulouse FC in the French Ligue 1.