axelmuller

Thank you for the insight! Segundo Volante is an interesting option, never really used it before. It could nicely bridge the gap between attack and defence, but my concern is that his aggressive running would make us too vulnerable in the middle. Against Braunschweig at home it could work wonders, but at Bayern München away it might be suicidal. What about Roaming Playmaker - I was thinking it may as well be an option for the left-sided DM? I actually started with the IW-s on the right hand side, but it felt like he wasn't doing anything meaningful with the ball. He was often coming even too deep and couldn't find any passing options, which resulted in him hoofing the ball to nowhere. After switching him to IF-S he became much more of a threat, leading the 2. Bundesliga in "open play key passes per 90 mins". After getting promoted, our media prediction is now 17th out of 18. I expect most of the teams to attack us hard, so at this point I'm leaning towards being less aggressive. Trial and error indeed is the way to go! FB-A had "Run Wide With Ball" to prevent him cutting inside. Sometimes I also played him as WB-A with no PI's.

After an atrocious run in FM23 which included getting sacked from Leeds, Hannover and Zaragoza, I continued my Hannover save and ended up in 2. Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern, obviously with a 4-2-3-1 system. First full season (2024-2025) was more or less the same struggle as before. Sack loomed all season long but luckily we managed to end up 14th and I kept my job. In the 2025-2026 season we started surprisingly well and kept the momentum going, sealing an unexpected automatic promotion to the Bundesliga. After a 14-year absence from the top flight, Kaiserslautern are now back where they belong. Not too shabby when our media prediction was 12th, and wage budget being 5th lowest in the league. It wasn't perfect though. Shots on target ratio (39%) remains a major issue, and Advanced Playmaker seemed to be quite isolated at times. Our main man for that role, Raul Paula, scored 10 goals but had only 4 assists. Somehow he was acting more as a second striker rather than "staying in the hole". I'm also unsure about the wide defender roles when playing out from the back. Fullbacks are good options in the early stages of the build-up, but especially on attack duty, they always tend to go narrower in the opposition third no matter what. Wingbacks, on the other hand, keep width much better but are rushing forward too early. How to get them to be effective in all stages of the build-up? Also, since we're in the top flight now, would it make sense to adopt a bit more cautious approach and revert back to Mid Block instead of a highish gegenpressing style?

First season done with Zaragoza in Spanish La Liga 2, using a 4231 shape throughout the whole season. After a horrible defeat in the first leg of the playoff finals against Las Palmas, ended up with this for the decisive match: And the rest is history

I would play Speirs as BBM and Wedderburn as DLP. Wedderburn's movement isn't good enough for a roaming box to box runner, especially in such a high-tempo system, but he could perform quite well in a sitting role. At least in FM22 he was one of the slowest players around, when I had a enjoyable save with Stenhousemuir.

One important thing to consider is the manager and his playing style/preferred formation. I assume Peterborough will be playing relatively risk-free defensive football since they are in a relegation dogfight, and vice versa for Huddersfield. What position does the youth prospect play in, and does he fit in the tactics of those teams?

Speaking of winning teams with a back three, Cleon's Ibis springs to mind.

That 433 has the makings of a decent system, but needs a bit of variety. In that particular system, IWB is the heartbeat of the team, the driving force. Roles and duties: Barry Bannan as a lone striker is an intriguing choice. I think he would actually make a great DLF-S. Your left hand side looks good with IF-A as the main goal threat and WB-S providing support behind. Looking at the players at your disposal, Tshimanga would be my choice for the IF-A role. The RPM role could also work, but for now I'd switch it to a standard Central Midfielder on a Support duty, so the play would be more varied and not forced through the playmaker all the time. On the right hand side, since you have the IWB-A, you need someone to stretch the opposition by providing width. I would play Ajiboye there as a Winger-S. CM-S is now switched to a CM-D with Stay Wider PI, balancing the IWB's gung-ho style of play. You have Ball Playing Defenders which suits a building from the back kind of style. I would switch the DLP-S to a Half Back to offer another passing option for the goalkeeper. This is what Cleon used in his Art of Possession Football, with tremendous success. Henri Lansbury would probably make a half-decent Half Back. Since you have an extremely high line, Sweeper Keeper on Attack Duty fits like a glove. In Possession: Let's keep Shorter Passing. It's a good choice for toning down the risk factor a bit. Low Crosses I would also keep, since Bannan and Tshimanga aren't exactly renowned for their aerial prowess. I don't really see a benefit for Early Crosses. Same for Run at Defence - the wide men + IWB already do that by default, and Bannan isn't probably the best dribbler in 2025 anymore. I would also remove Higher Tempo and Wider Width, since Attacking Mentality already plays extremely high tempo football, stretching the pitch much more. In Transition: Keep the Counter Press, it suits the formation and the style. I would add Distribute to Centre Backs to get the BPD's + Half Back involved, and drop Counter, because the players look to transition much more quickly by default due to the Attacking Mentality. Out of Possession: I would keep it as it is. In a nutshell, something like this: Tried it with Middlesbrough in a pre-season friendly, and it looked quite solid in action:

His concentration is horrible so he's prone to go missing during matches. Acceleration is also below par, but his off the ball movement balances that weakness a little bit. Vision, teamwork, passing not good enough to play any creative/supporting role. Work rate too low for a pressing forward. On top of that, he needs to work on his consistency. Could do a job as a Poacher in Conference North/South. In League One, emergency backup at best.

According to Lines and Diamonds, Shorter Passing reduces both width and tempo one notch. Is it still the case, because in preset tactics you can see, for example, Much Shorter Passing combined with slower tempo and narrower width? If yes, does Much Shorter Passing reduce width and tempo even further?

Another brilliant example of how a cohesive system is greater than the sum of its parts. Intrigued by this new system, it looks like possessional football on steroids. Creating multiple types of goalscoring chances and still managing high possession numbers. In the last piece, you contemplated upon dropping some team instructions such as Work Ball into Box - did you make those changes also?

Too bad it didn't work out. Here is a great piece of analysis about Positional Play under Lampard's era for all aspiring Chelsea managers out there: https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/features/2020/10/14/21515543/re-imagining-frank-lampards-chelsea-a-positional-play-game-model

Lines and Diamonds. Everything I know about Football Manager tactics comes from that masterpiece.

Excellent as always. One stupid question: Are you seeing any hoofballs from the defenders instead of controlled, patient buildup? In the possession tactic, you have both Much Shorter Passing and Play out of Defence with Positive mentality. When I go this short, my defenders and goalkeeper often hoof it long instead of passing short. Or does it come down to decisions, composure and so on?

Why are managers being 'fired' instead of sacked? Shouldn't the game be called 'Soccer Coach' instead of Football Manager.

I've been recently inspired by Özil's Grassroots tactics, trying to bring Özil-ball into Scottish League Two. I chose Stenhousemuir as my club, mainly because they have impressive training facilities for a club of that stature. The results have been mixed. First season was vastly disappointing. We finished 7th in League Two, mostly because we didn't have suitable players for the style just yet. Ian Evatt once said that his aim is to have a more stronger squad after each and every transfer window, and I've copied that page from his playbook, just like I initially copied Özil's base tactic. Second season started much better. Made some excellent signings to suit the style and we were smoothly leading the league for most of the season. However, in a typical FM fashion, computer suddenly sussed us out in the closing stages. Back to the drawing board we went. The changes resulted in Özil-ball with a Müller twist: The core of the tactic was kept with an emphasis on Shorter Passing and movement off the ball. Wing backs no longer stay wider, so they are a bit more closer to the other players in build up stages. Play out of Defence was also removed because that resulted to defenders stupidly hoofing the ball instead of, well, playing out the defence. Also switched to Wide Centrebacks with Support Duty to encourage more adventurous passing from the back, and support in attacking play. I know fluidity is meaningless these days, but with the supporting WCBs, it is now - in a vintage Özil style - Very Fluid. We eventually triumphed in the playoff final, overturning first leg defeat against Elgin City to seal the deal and go up. And last but not least, my RPM playmaker played his part to perfection with 12 assists: Hopefully we can continue in similar fashion next season, this time in League One!