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Total Football Journeyman: Creating My 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 Hybrid

Total Football Journeyman: Creating My 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 Hybrid

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The following tactical experiment drew inspiration from many sources. It would not be Total Football without its tactical holy grail of course. Ajax’ original 4-3-3 with Johan Cruyff centering the attack and controlling the whole formation from his iconic False 9 position. Then came the next natural evolution of this formula with Pep Guardiola’s Barca and the talismanic rise of its young Argentinian star. Finally, recently we witnessed an emergence of a renewed Total Football system at Ajax under it’s…

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Manchester United Club Guide

Manchester United Club Guide

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Are you ready for a real “Sleeping giant” challenge? If the answer is yes, you’ve certainly come to the right place. A club with a great legacy, perhaps to the extent of it becoming a burden. Struggling to find a new identity to get back to winning ways, but equipped both with finances and facilities to turn things around. Welcome to this Manchester United club guide.

Total Football Journeyman: Sir Alex’s Strikerless Masterclass

Total Football Journeyman: Sir Alex’s Strikerless Masterclass

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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…

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Total Football, Total Balance: The Most Important Attribute

Total Football, Total Balance: The Most Important Attribute

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Young Devils Guide Football Manager is a cultural phenomenon because it is a game that is built around numerical statistics and spreadsheets. And at the core of all the stats, are player attributes, representing their technical, mental and physical ability. Which in on themselves are simple collections of numbers. Yet they can make us whoop with joy, when you first see that wonderkid regen with green 16+ values across the board. Or sigh in frustration when confronted with down-pointing red…

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Jóvenes Diablos – The Spanish 4-1-4-1 Armada

Jóvenes Diablos – The Spanish 4-1-4-1 Armada

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And How to Use the Best PPM in FM20 The summer 2020 has been one of many changes at Old Trafford, both in the locker-room and tactical drawing board. As a result of endless tactical tweaking, I think I arrived at a tactic that I am finally happy with. It is a good old 4-1-4-1! This article will show you I think it is the best formation in FM20, and how one particular Player Trait can make it even better….

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Young Devils – Creating Overloads 2.0

Young Devils – Creating Overloads 2.0

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The Hammer and Anvil Tactic (download below) FM20 Followup To: My obsession with overloads first started in FM19 with Roma. At that time I fell in love with this simple and effective strategy. The consistent results it led to with the Giallorossi, made me even more respectful of Pep Guardiola’s football philosophy and his achievements. More recently while researching for my current Young Devils series, I started to realize how much of an effect Marcelo Bielsa’s ideas had on Pep’s…

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Young Devils – The Art of Keeping Tactics Simple

Young Devils – The Art of Keeping Tactics Simple

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I have been getting many questions about the team instructions for the two possible formations that I revealed in my last article. I answered some of you to the best of my ability but I think that this article will be my opportunity to clear some things up and to discuss a few important tactical goals/challenges that I have in mind for my Young Devils. First of all I intend Young Devils Project to be much more focused than either…

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Young Devils – Manchester United FM20 Guide

Young Devils – Manchester United FM20 Guide

As promised, I start this FM20 series with the comprehensive guide to my chosen club, Manchester United. Although it was started in Beta, I intend to update the player profiles (and injuries) to reflect the full release data. So be sure to check back on Nov 19! I hope you find this guide useful, especially if you are starting your FM20 career at Old Trafford. Red Devils are a great team with a lot of potential which should nevertheless provide…

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FM20 Story Prologue – New FM, New Tactic, New Club

FM20 Story Prologue – New FM, New Tactic, New Club

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It is that time again! The next release of our favourite football manager is around the corner. Time when many football fans start thinking about new saves, tactics and challenges. For me its a been a time of tactical introspection and tying up old saves. Looking back at what I achieved last year, I have to say that I mostly enjoyed FM19. It had its share of challenges and triumphs. Although I did not get a taste of success until…

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Five teams we can’t wait to try in FM20

Five teams we can’t wait to try in FM20

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Welcome back to the Dictate The Game Podca… oh wait, sorry… wrong intro. Anyway, are we all getting a little bored to with FM19 now? I know I am. It always gets this way this time of year. You kind of feel like you’ve done what you want to do in the current version of the game. Now, you’re looking new and exciting types of saves to try or new databases to sort out… You’re just passing the time until…

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