Professionalism in FM19: Welcome to the FM Stats Lab!

Professionalism in FM19: Welcome to the FM Stats Lab!

Statistics and myth-busting are the aim of the game in our FM Lab. We have set up a database and league to let us test what impact changing certain variables have on the actual game, to gather lots of data, and then test it statistically at the end. Specifically Professionalism in this first post. If like me you like seeing simulations and experiments, but also like me you want more hard figures then this is the experiment series for you….

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How to make your team a goal-scoring machine around a false nine in FM19

How to make your team a goal-scoring machine around a false nine in FM19

You want to know how to score goals with a false nine in FM19? Most people would show you their 4-3-3, spearheaded by an advanced forward or poacher. Those guys don’t get in my team. I don’t know about you, but if I try using a tactic that I would never set up manually, it never works. It might work for a few games, but then problems arise. I don’t know how to fix them.

Wide players in FM19: How to harness them in your ball-hogging side

Wide players in FM19: How to harness them in your ball-hogging side

Like watching your wingers and wide players bomb up and down the touchline, getting crosses in? Or your full-back beguiling the entire opposition, manoeuvring his way into the box unmarked? Well stop reading right here. Wide players in FM19. We’re looking for passing and moving, people. No player can move without passing first. That’s how I developed this spectacular tactical system My tactic with wide players Did you think any of that was true? It couldn’t have been further. If…

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Moneyball in FM19: Part 2

Moneyball in FM19: Part 2

First I want to start out by saying thank you to everyone who read Moneyball Part 1. The response was really overwhelming and while I tried to respond to most comments, there are undoubtedly a few I missed. As promised, in this post we will be looking at my January Transfer Window activity, the stats for the players I signed, and a closer look at my KPIs and statistical setup. Moneyball in FM19.

Dynamo Project: Mourinho’s Porto in FM19

Dynamo Project: Mourinho’s Porto in FM19

2019 will likely be know as the year of the Underdog. With Ajax’s fairy-tale Champions League run, lovers of the beautiful game will have great moments to remember. Who can forget the time that we saw European lightweight Ajax thump Real Madrid’s Galacticos 4 goals to 1? For me the giant-killer stories of football’s Davids beating the game’s Goliaths are always the most satisfying to read about. It is even more rewarding to experience them yourself with your favourite club….

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Finding young players in FM19: Lucky Leipzig’s Golden Generation

Finding young players in FM19: Lucky Leipzig’s Golden Generation

To add a bit of context to this piece, I’m currently managing RB Leipzig and I’m in my second season. After finishing a respectable 4th place in the league and reaching the Europa league final (but losing to PSG) I made some good additions to the squad including a transfer listed Reuben Loftus-Cheek, Benjamin Henrichs from Monaco and Donny Van de Beek from Ajax. Finding young players in FM19. After the summer we set out on another season in the…

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FM20 features: what we’d like to see.

FM20 features: what we’d like to see.

With any annual sports game, the Football Manager franchise always seems to hit a slight dip around this time. And usually over the summer interest is restored due to lots of people having time off of work and/or school. However it’s usually around this time that we start to review the current game after a fair amount of game time. As the 7th most played game on steam with around 60,000 players daily; we’ve definitely had a chance to enjoy…

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How to defend with a high line in FM19

How to defend with a high line in FM19

It looks like you’ve got enough men back. The next thing you know, someone ends up ghosting behind your flabbergasted defence. Your first instinct is to blame your players, but the game’s animation often makes players look slower, or less alert, than they actually are. High line in FM19 Your next instinct might be to change your centre-backs; either in personnel or roles. Nothing wrong with this at all. That said, without suitable protection, isolated centre-backs in a high line…

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A Different Way to Look at Camera Angles in FM19

A Different Way to Look at Camera Angles in FM19

Within Football Manager you can select a number of camera angles, which you think suits you best. These reasons could be to allow close-action game play or an angle which covers the whole pitch so you can see what players are doing what and when. Camera angles in FM19. This is something that I haven’t really seen many guides on, but I have always wanted to write about. Camera Angles: sounds fun, right? Well, I personally use two camera angles…

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Moneyball in FM19: Part 1

Moneyball in FM19: Part 1

I start a Masters Degree in Data Analytics this September, and recently I’ve been looking at how I can use Analytics to impact my favourite game, Football Manager. Cleon recently tweeted about Moneyball, and how no one has replicated it correctly when it comes to FM. Moneyball in FM19. Now, I had heard of Moneyball, and knew it involved using Analytics to scout players, but I didn’t know the true extent of Moneyball, or where the definition came from. So,…

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