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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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Total Football Journeyman: From Mighty Magyars to Flying Dutchmen

Total Football Journeyman: From Mighty Magyars to Flying Dutchmen

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Guide on Half-Space Control in FM21 What is the one historical football style you always wanted to recreate in Football Manager? If you, my dear reader, were to ask me then you probably won’t be surprised by my answer. Especially if you are familiar with my writing over the recent years. Mostly it’s been about recreating Total Football in the simulated world of Football Manager. Ever since FM14, I have attempted this. If my past tactical musings interest you then…

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Total Football Journeyman: Total Football on a Budget

Total Football Journeyman: Total Football on a Budget

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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?…

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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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Total Football Journeyman: How To Break Stubborn Defences

Total Football Journeyman: How To Break Stubborn Defences

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I pick up where I left off last time. Searching for the central striker role to complete my 3-4-3 Diamond formation. For this I will take a step back and look at the original inspiration for Louis van Gaal’s 3-4-3 formation. That is, Johan Cruyff and the Barcelona team of late 1980s and early 1990s. Also I will take a somewhat unorthodox approach to constructing my 3-4-3 Diamond Tactic. We will deconstruct the attacking formation by looking at defensive positioning….

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