Going (Semi-Pro): Life as a Lower League Manager
I’ve gone Semi-Pro. I’ve taken everything I’ve learned in all my time at the top in FM, and now I’m in the wilds of Norway where my left-back is also my boss. How life has changed?
5-3-2: The ultimate underdog formation?
I became intrigued with the 5-3-2 after watching the Prime documentary, Six Dreams, which led me to research more about the then-Girona Manager, Pablo Machin. He guided Girona to La Liga and narrowly missed out on the European places, using a 5-3-2 and 5-2-3. He then moved onto Sevilla and implemented a 5-3-2 which beat Real Madrid 3-0. Upon expanding my research I looked at Inzaghi’s 5-3-2 at Lazio, when he took to Inter. After reading numerous articles about both…
FM Tactical Styles – Wing Play
Possibly the most famous manager to use this style and dominate is the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson with his use of 4-4-2. Is now the time to mention Mike Bassett? No, let’s move on then. 4-4-2 is the traditional tactic of the English game, epitomised by Sir Alex Ferguson’s treble-winning side. Consisting of the likes of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs controlling the wings at the forefront of this article. The 4-4-2 used by Ferguson was used by himself for…
FM22 – Tactical Styles: Vertical Tiki Taka
In this article, I discuss another tactical style available on Football Manager, Vertical Tika Taka, a style possibly best known as a tactical hallmark of everyone’s favourite chain-smoking Italian, Maurizio Sarri and his ‘Sarri-ball.’ How does Football Manager define Verticle Tiki Taka? “A quick passing style of possession and movement, with a narrower, more direct approach than the standard Tiki Taka.” Vertical tiki taka is a high pressing, possession-based style of play. The aim is to create vertical incisive passes, rather…
#WeAreHSV – Hamburger SV in Football Manager (pt 3)
Intro In part two of my debut season with Hamburger SV, we found ourselves in 2nd place in 2.Bundesliga. Whilst the season was going well I felt the team were only operating at around 85% so made some tactical tweaks. When I left off I was just about to navigate the perilous waters of Transfer Deadline Day before setting sail for the second half of our first season in a bid for automatic promotion. Bids were coming in for Jatta,…
Football Manager tactics for Hamburger SV (Pt 2)
The story so far… In the Part 1 of this series, I created Football Manager tactics for Hamburger SV, based on the strengths and weaknesses of the players. The formation settled on was a 5-2-3 with the following strategy. Use short passing to control possession in the opponents half. Use attacking wingbacks to pin back opposition fullbacks and create room centrally. Reduce the amount of space our “not very mobile” central midfielders have to operate in. Convert Bakery Jatta to…
Guide to the 4-2-4 Tactic in Football Manager 2022
A big reason for this guide is the feeling the 4-2-4 tactic is unappreciated, certainly when compared to the more popular tactics in Football Manager 2022. Yes, the 4-2-3-1 Gegenpress and 4-3-3’s will always be the people’s choice, but there are certain merits to a tactic which provides attacking overloads. As this is my first tactical guide, I wish to show you the very tactic that has brought me success so far in FM22. Let’s dive in! 4-2-4: The Preset…
FM22: What Type of Tactical Manager Are You?
Football Manager allows you to approach the game in many ways. What type of manager are you on Football Manager?
Ernst Happel’s 433 and The Invention of Total Football
From time to time my readers will ask me one particular question. Or a variation of it. Basically it goes like this. What is the absolute essence of Total Football? If I want my team to play Total Football, where do I start? How do I build it into a Total Football powerhouse? What foundation stones, in tactics, training and personnel, do I implement? The following article will hopefully answer some of these questions. To do so we might as…
Football Manager – Tactical Style – Gegenpress
Football Manager comes with a set of pre-set tactical styles. These styles were first introduced in FM19 and they support both the tactical novice as well as the tactical veterans out there. In this article, we’ll go through the creation of Gegenpress tactical style, its roots and its use in the modern game.