Part 2. Using Cruyff’s 3-4-3 Diamond to Highlight New Wide-CB Role Now that we established that Football Manager is a simple game, let me show you an example of how simple it is to recreate a seemingly complicated historic tactic. We will do it step by step. So it might take a few articles to lay out the tactic completely. In this first step we’ll only take a general look at the newest FM role that inspired my FM22. Specifically…
From Barcelona to Bayern Munich to Manchester City, Pep Guardiola’s tactic have evolved football over the past decade. His key principles are rooted in ‘The Barcelona Way” possession, fluidity, and numerical advantages. His teams let the ball do the hard work and this has provided much success over the years, winning numerous Champions Leagues, League Titles and Domestic Cups. Today we will make an attempt at recreating Guardiola’s tactics in FM21.
When I set out to recreate Maslov’s style of football with Notts County, it started as a long-term project of developing an effectively simple 4-4-2. I was looking for a formation that could be successful in both lower leagues and the elite ones. For this to work the concepts of intense pressing, strategic possession and constant ball movement had to be central as they were essential in Viktor Maslov’s own tactics. In many ways, Maslov’s tactical ideas contained quite a…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Part 2 of Building a Total Football Club in FM20 It is not about how long you have the ball, it is what you do with it. When playing possession football, you should always have this mantra in mind. Although I am not one to obsess over getting high possession numbers. Of course it is always nice to see your team getting the higher possession %. I see it as proof that my players are imposing themselves on the opposition…
This articles continues my guided series on crafting the ultimate 4-3-3 Possession Tactic. I have been enamoured with this formation in FM20. I believe it offers the perfect balance of attack and defence while maintaining high possession. Possession has always been important for me when creating tactics although I have never been a fan of possession just for the sake of possession. Thus the main of this series is to find ways to optimize possession with intent within the limits…