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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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The Beauty of Focus Play: Creating Overloads in FM21

The Beauty of Focus Play: Creating Overloads in FM21

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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…

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Total Football Journeyman: Back To Where It All Started

Total Football Journeyman: Back To Where It All Started

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I could have called this piece, “Total Overloads Take 3.0” before settling on a more catchy title. Some might remember my old article exploring Pep Guardiola’s tactics and overloads. It’s okay if you do not, I don’t mind. There’s been so much change in my writing and tactics since FM19 that I don’t even remember everything myself. It has been an educative journey into football history and learning the intricacies of FM games. I prefer to think of my series…

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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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4-3-3 Role Guide: Attack and Midfield

4-3-3 Role Guide: Attack and Midfield

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Only a few years ago, under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal was playing some of the most attractive football in Premiership. Over the course of his long stay, the visionary Frenchman changed the club DNA significantly. The Gunners went from playing boring park-the-bus to fast-paced short passing possession game. Before Pep’s Manchester City, there was Arsenal’s elegant Tiki-Taka-style that was making waves in England. Wenger turned English football on its head with his brand of attractive football that focused on technical ability…

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love 4-3-3

How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love 4-3-3

It seems that midway through the life-cycle of every Football Manager game there comes a time for change. It is usually when long-running saves start feeling stale. And a new challenge is needed to keep the game fresh. Sometimes it is a matter of changing up the tactics. The recent major Match Engine update has made me realize that my tactics were not doing what I wanted. We were winning games, but not in the way I wished. So I…

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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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