In an ideal world, we’d all love our teams to play a dynamic, possession-heavy style driven by a patient build-up from the back. That idealised image of Total Football, of attacking with maximum width and then making the pitch as narrow as possible when transitioning to defensive actions, captivates most Football Manager players. 

Ihor Crusadertsar explains his concept of the ‘Mentality Ladder’ and how understanding and mastering it is one of the first steps in creating a successful possession football tactic in FM22.

Football formations are cyclical. When one system seems to be more effective than others it’s widely adopted, before another system comes in to take its place. Sooner or later the historical systems of old return to the surface again, albeit with some modern tweaks. 

Until recently, the back four was proving dominant but now it’s three-at-the-back systems (or back-five if you count the marauding wing-backs) that are becoming increasingly prevalent. It doesn’t take a brave Byline writer to predict that this trend will continue in Football Manager 2022. After all, the addition of the Wide Centre-Back role in FM22 makes a back-three system even more enticing and FM Grasshopper explains why that’s the case. 

Do you find that the same tricky winger always gets the better of your full-back every time you come up against them? Does a specific playmaker carve open your defence time and time again with lovely through balls? What about that striker who always seems to evade his marker and nod in a frustrating equaliser at the back post?

Sure, you could tweak your player roles and duties to be less attacking. You could lower the defensive line to try and prevent those pesky forwards getting in behind. You could even change your shape entirely and go with five at the back for extra protection.

But what if there was a more subtle way to minimise these issues? That’s where Opposition Instructions can come in handy. FM Stag explains how Opposition Instructions can give you the crucial tiny margins needed to get results. 

Game management has become more and more vital as the tactical side of football has taken on growing importance. Once a manager develops a revolutionary style, there will be a host of others adapting their own approaches to try and get results against them.  

One of the most under-utilised, but hugely valuable features in Football Manager 2021 replicates this process - Match Plans. On The Break FM explains how to make the most of them.

Central midfield is the battleground of this piece. It’s the area of the pitch where creativity stems, where defence transitions into attack, and where it can either go horribly wrong or wonderfully right. 

In recent decades football’s brightest minds have dabbled with two- and three-man midfields, and both systems have their merits. Which is better though? 

Sports Interactive's Andrew Sinclair and FM Grasshopper can’t hope to answer that, but they have done an experiment with two K-League 1 clubs to demonstrate two contrasting approaches to setting up your midfield, showing how they differ and offering insight into how the central midfielders complement your wider tactical approach. Andrew has implemented a three-man central midfield with Ulsan Hyundai, which caters for all kinds of offensive and defensive responsibilities. Meanwhile, FM Grasshopper has opted for the two-man dynamic with Suwon Samsung Bluewings - where being the shield and recycling possession are the primary goals.

It's an eternal debate among Football Manager tactics aficionados. Is it best to use a single playmaker in your formation or multiple designated playmakers? Do you use an Advanced Playmaker, Deep-Lying Playmaker, or a Wide Playmaker? Ihor Crusadertsar will tell you that the answer is not that simple. Unsurprisingly, it all depends on your desired tactical style and what you are trying to achieve with your tactics. Ihor explains both how to use playmakers in your team and to get maximum results from them.

The term ‘Gegenpress’ first entered the public consciousness after Borussia Dortmund burst back onto the European stage with successive Bundesliga titles and a continental cup final appearance. Their playing style was intense and entertaining, later defined as ‘heavy metal’ football. It captured the imagination of fans and pundits alike. It was an obvious candidate for inclusion when tactical presets were added as part of Football Manager 2019’s tactics overhaul. But what does ‘Gegenpress’ exactly mean, and how can we translate this into FM? Rock’s End FM provides a detailed guide.

After choosing your new club in FM21, one of the first things you should do is identify the key players in your squad. When crafting a winning tactic, the number one rule is playing to your strengths. Invariably, your best players are going contribute to these strengths.

If you have one particularly impressive, clinical striker, it would be logical to build your tactic around this player. That involves arranging other players in supporting roles so that they can provide him service and act as decoys, opening up space for him to run into.

Alternatively, you might have an exceptional playmaker. In that case, you’d want him as the pivot around which all of your runners and attackers move. As such, the whole tactic needs to be created with your playmaking Enganche at its heart. Such considerations will invariably influence both the choice of the shape you employ and the other player roles in the starting XI.

Ihor Crusadertsar from Dictate the Game explains how to build a successful tactic around your key players.

This guide from Ihor Crusadertsar is all about using generic player roles to achieve ‘simple’ but effective football.

By ‘simple’ I don’t mean football that’s very direct or devoid of beautiful play. Rather it’s a style that requires the least tactical input from the virtual manager.

So, you’ve decided to manage an underdog... a club which has to fight tooth and claw for every point and where draws often feel like wins. That might not appeal to everyone, but for some of us there’s no better feeling than giving the league’s big hitters a run for their money. 

Choosing an underdog isn’t too difficult, but how are you going to defy expectations and set them up for success? FMSamo walks us through the things we should take into consideration when setting up an underdog.
 

It’s all going so well. Your team seemed comfortable, even with a narrow lead. Now the opposition have equalised with a speculative effort that went in off your central defender’s backside. You’re chasing the game as the clock ticks over into added time and suddenly you win a corner. You need this to go in, you need just one goal to win the game because the referee has already checked his watch twice. As your central midfielder trots over to take it, you realise that your palms are sweaty and the ends of your nails are, well, not there anymore.

But then a serene calmness comes over you. You’re good at corners, you’ve scored plenty from them this season because you put the time in and worked on them. You set up your approach and then drilled the lads in training session, after training session, after training session to the point they could replicate them on the team bus. The ball floats over and there’s your target man at the back stick, unmarked, with enough time to down an espresso and a biscuit before heading the ball home.

Does that sound familiar? Probably not. Definitely not the espresso and the biscuit part.

AFC Fylde researcher and FM content creator @CharlieTangoFM is here to help you achieve that sense of calmness, with a beginner's guide to corners.

Why does football continually surprise us, when it’s essentially a game of 11 vs 11 on similar sized pitches played over 90 minutes each week? The answer is often related to how players and teams use ‘space’ differently; either in an attacking sense (creating it) or a defensive one (suppressing it). It’s why particular types of football are identified over time as ‘cultural styles’ or ’identities’.

It’s why I’ve come to The Byline to talk about space in an attacking sense. Firstly, looking at why it’s important and then explaining how you can create and utilise space to your advantage. You’ll learn more about your team in FM20 if you watch how your players move without the ball, as opposed to with it.

Words, advice and incredible insight from @FM_Grasshopper.