Asymmetrical Tactics; Tremendous or Trouble?
A look at asymmetrical tactics and their use in real-life and Football Manager
Asymmetrical Tactics; Amazing or Abomination?
Football tactics come in a variety of shapes. But, when it comes to looking at symmetrical and asymmetrical tactics one has to understand the difference between both symmetry and asymmetry. In this selection of articles, I’ll discuss the use of asymmetrical formations, their use in real-life football as well as their use in Football Manager.
Improving your FM22 tactic using the Data Hub
So if you’ve already got your hands on FM22 you will have noticed that one of the prominent features of this release is the shiny new Data Hub – a panel that allows you to digest a wealth of statistical information about your team’s performance with a broad range of segmentation and visualization options. Apart from proving to be a delightful step forward in aligning us as FM players with the modern realities of an ever data-driven footballing world this…
Recreating Guardiola’s Tactics in FM21
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.
The Five Channels: Attacking movement on Football Manager
As much as anyone loves the majestic performances of Maldini, Baresi and Bonucci, there’s nothing quite like a well-scored goal. Much like everything else in football, though, attacking and scoring are about movement as well as skill. What players do with the ball at their feet you can’t control, but you can control where they do it. Create overwhelming attacking movement on Football Manager with what I call the Five Channels..
Possession Football in FM21: A Tactical Counter
It’s an argument as old as football statistics: is it more important to play possession football, or can you get away with letting the other team control the ball, and taking your chances on the counter? If you’d asked me six months ago, I’d have said no. Possession football was a king in FM20’s match engine, making Tiki Taka and Control Possession enormously useful tactical styles. In FM21, though, I’ve found it’s quite possible to play well without controlling…
Football Manager Tactical Styles
Football Manager is renowned for giving its players a unique opportunity (among other things) to create tactics. Be that an experimental, never before seen inverted wingback diamond Christmas tree with 4 anchor men and 2 target men. Or a subtle tweak on everyone’s favourite Sunday league tactic; four, four, f**king two.But what about the tactical styles provided by our beloved game?
Winning titles with ‘unbeatable’ tactics, and how to get the most out of your FM21 saves.
Firstly, Happy New Year you Tactical Masterminds! I was really struggling for ideas; Christmas has been and gone, Coronavirus is apparently still and thing and is worse than ever in the UK, and New Years at Home seemed like hell on earth. I thought about making some stupid tactic using 6 midfielders or 2 defenders, “that’ll make for a funny article, that might even help some people”, I thought. But alas my horrific attempt of a “around the midfielder tactic”…
Three Strikers: Breaking open defences in FM20 with a battering ram
Three strikers might seem an extreme way of going about things but there are many ways to break down a defence. Sometimes the creation of space, overlaps and overloads are less about tactical refinement and more about brute force. We don’t all manage a team of La Liga or top-flight superstars so sometimes a more direct approach is needed to force the issue for smaller lower league sides operating on a budget. In this article, we float the idea of…
Mods and Add-ons: A little extra for your FM20 experience
Add-ons and Mods can give most games a little something extra. Football Manager 2020 is no different in that regard. FM20, and the whole Football Manager series, arguably gains a lot of it’s following and devoted players because of the depth and detail that already exists in the game. The stories and narratives that we add as players really flesh the game world for us and keep many of us coming back for more. That is just the…