The Byline

There are few feelings in Football Manager like when you manage to sign a young player who’s labelled as a wonderkid. It’s the FM equivalent of winning the lottery or finding water in the desert.

These players mean more to you than any normal signing; these are the players that you’ll rave to your mates about, the players you’ll remember in years to come. Here are the six things we all do after signing a wonderkid.

This week's Wednesday Wisdom focuses on player recruitment, a vital part of any manager's responsibility. To recruit effectively you need to know what to look for. @FM_Grasshopper is here to give you five search filters you need to add to your scouting process. 

Our latest instalment of Why I Love FM features Greg Johnson, editor-in-chief at football.london who talks about how his love of Football Manager has taken him across the virtual globe.

There are times in an FM player’s career when distractions get too loud and those around can interfere. There are some standard things that those interferers say and to each of them, there’s a simple answer. 

We asked you, on social media, for your best examples.  

At times it can be difficult to spot why things aren't going the way you want them to. Just because a tactic makes sense in your head, doesn't mean it'll translate onto the pitch. 

Successful football management requires the ability to adapt. It makes sense, therefore, that the same ability is essential in Football Manager 2019. As things don’t always go the way you plan, today’s Wednesday Wisdom from @FM_Grasshopper is designed to show you how to turn the tide when things start to go wrong.

Welcome to the latest instalment of Why I Love FM – our regular series of interviews with famous fans of Football Manager. This week we sat down with Joe Lolley, Nottingham Forest’s newly crowned Player of the Season, who told us all about his pioneering 2-7-1 formation.

Our resident Agony Aunt is here to help solve your tactical troubles and management miseries. He once beat a Spanish side 5-0 with their own B team and was immediately given the first team’s manager’s job… or so he claims.

His credentials as a FM expert are backed up by a eight year unbeaten streak on FM17 although we haven't seen physical evidence of this. As a promising youngster, he went on trial to several top clubs but fell out of favour with most of them when they refused to implement his tactical philosophy. After a freak injury caused by his pet labrador he retired from professional football and entered the world of football management. Now he's ready to pass the knowledge that he's learnt from his time in the game on to you.

This week's Wednesday Wisdom comes from @FM_Samo who has discovered the keys to utilizing the 442 formation. The traditional system is making a resurgence in the modern game as well as in FM19. Here's how to get the best from a classic of football philosophy. 

If you think you've got what it takes to spread your own Wednesday Wisdom then drop us a line on byline@sigames.com with your idea and your work could be in the spotlight. 

Welcome to another instalment of Why I Love FM – our regular series of interviews with famous fans of Football Manager. This week, we sat down with Twitter sensation Jonny Sharples to discuss his love of the game and how it created a legend.

Our resident Agony Aunt is here to help solve your tactical troubles and management miseries. His team once won a game with 92% possession and in the 1998/99 season, he invented the pressing forward… or so he claims.

Got a question for our Agony Aunt? Use #FMAgonyAunt on Twitter or email byline@sigames.com

We're back with another edition of Wednesday Wisdom and this time we're focusing on the Mezzala role. We've brought in @JLAspey to explain how to best deploy the sophisticated midfield role.

We’ve all been there. That moment that it clicks. When everything comes together, you’re telling yourself ‘just one more game’ and before you know it, it’s 2:30 am.

When you truly believe you could ditch your nine to five job and lead your team out in a real cup final and not just a virtual one in your living room.

Whether you’re flying high at the top of the league table or struggling to keep your team afloat, there is always something that keeps you gripped. Here are 10 of the biggest signs you’re really into your Football Manager 2019 save.