Gaffer, congrats on your new position. It's tempting to leap right into your favorite FM22 tactics—choosing the club philosophy is nearly the first thing you do, after all—but you need to evaluate what's good for your club first. There's no point expecting Tiki-Taka from your new League Two outfit or those slow and fatigued journeymen to adapt your new pressing game seamlessly. Familiarity with a new configuration can be the difference between a lively dressing room and one on the point of revolt, and training time might be at a premium.
Your team should be proficient with at least two strategies in FM22 so that you may modify your approach based on your competition. For those who want to delegate, please check in on your colleagues and ensure that they're teaching every participant the intricacies of their position. You'd be astonished how often they're not.
This year, width is critical, particularly at wingback or in the new wide full back position. The watchwords are "use them or stop them." Keeping this in mind, here are this year's finest FM22 techniques.
What are the best FM22 techniques this year?
5-2-1-2 THE GEGENPRESS
While Klopp's Liverpool is most often linked with the Gegenpress, its origins date to Arrigo Sacchi's AC Milan in the late 1980s, when Rossoneri's domination was a regular part of the game.
The relentless press denies your opponents time on the ball, and your quick wingbacks—which function in FM22—bring the ball up to your attacking three, virtually bypassing the defensive core. It's fluid and adaptable, but it requires a squad of fit workhorses, not to mention strikers capable of capitalizing on their possession.
Additionally, it takes in-game adaptation; do not anticipate a panacea. Your injury count will increase, and your players will become exhausted. The 4-2-3-1 pushing formation is taxing, which ramifies the game's latter phases and the season's conclusion. Maintaining a 5-2-1-2 formation works well, but this is another high-intensity technique. Be prepared for your Forest Green to suffer from Bielsa Burnout due to this Football Manager 2022 approach.
RDF's replication of Klopp's title-winning tactics, a formation resembling a 4-3-3, remains sound. However, do you have sufficient players?
TIKI TAKA: 4-3-3
Tiki-taka is a high press followed by short, cutting passes to generate space for yourself in the opponents' defense. It's death by a thousand cuts because of how often it leads you to get walloped if executed wrong or not working as planned; however, this style can be very attractive and Chairman pleasing which helps with the success rate even more! To ensure that your team has stamina throughout all players (not just attacking flair), they need excellent technique while also having good decision-making skills, so offensive creativity isn't wasted through poor play, giving away possession too easily.
In order to maintain tempo during intense matches where every second counts – there needs some colossus ability-wise at DM who have great work rates/first touches etc., otherwise, things could get stagnant quickly. He'll clear the field for your wingbacks. Train for creativity, decision-making, and, of course, passing, even if your bank account is flush with cash.
CONTROL POSSESSION: 4-2-3-1
If you watched Arsenal in the 1990s, you saw this concept and formation done flawlessly. Then, as the years passed, you witnessed it crumble in a decade-long slow-motion car wreck, as they tried to walk the puck into the goal with finite resources and opponents that had long figured out how to stop them.
Their one-size-fits-all philosophy—if you have the ball, the adversary, whoever they are, cannot score—is theoretically accurate. Still, it necessitates the people, especially a clinical finisher, to capitalize on those few opportunities and a world-class number 10 to funnel the ball. Additionally, it requires complete devotion and patience on the part of fans and owners. Train for passing, poise, and vision, as well as inverting your wingers to allow them to cut inside.
FLUID COUNTER ATTACK: 4-3-3
This FM 22 strategy epitomizes Mourinho's early years when he truly was the Special One. While it appears defensive, it is all a trap designed to catch the naïve. Again, you'll need quick wingbacks and convince the top wingers to cut in an inside-forward role to create space wide.
It has the advantage of working without world-class players as long as everyone pulls in the same direction and tracks back with sufficient effort and stamina. This all-for-one spirit is also critical at the top. Ronaldo refused to track back for his new manager at the Bernabéu in a comparably taxing and counter-attacking 4-2-3-1, which perhaps cost them the Champions League under Mourinho.
CATENACCIO: 5-3-2
Mourinho in his youth must despise Mourinho in his latter years. In his youth, the Special One was a vocal opponent of lesser league buses stopped in the path of his steamroller. Now he is more often than not the valet, lifting in the penal zone. However, it is not as straightforward as that. It requires elite stats in spotting, tackling, strength, and heading.
However, when used correctly, the Catenaccio with wingbacks is a less taxing and more successful counter-attacking configuration. You'll need quick wingbacks who can track back, as well as two quick strikers, one of whom will play on the shoulder of the last guy. When Klopp, Pep, and Bielsa are in charge, it appears dour, but it is the resolution to those problems. Without Drogba's dominance and Lampard's 20 goals each season, it seems to be a bygone era. That is not the case, at least in FM22.
FINALLY, BUT NO LESS IMPORTANTLY: 4-4-2
It's not spectacular, but everyone understands how it works, and tactical familiarity can sometimes be advantageous. Nothing is happening that your players should not be prepared for or that they cannot readily practice for. It is frequently derided as being too protective, yet this is not the case.
It's solid defensively, but it can be anything you want it to be. Inquire of Simeone at Atletico Madrid or the Premier League's 4500-1 champions. Leicester absorbed the pressure and struck on the break, with Mahrez moved inside the wing to create an instant 4-3-3. Of course, not every team has Kanté or Vardy in his prime, but the shape and tactics continued to dominate the opposition even without those players.
Keep an eye on the space among your three lines, assign one central midfielder to attack and the other to defend, and keep an eye out for an attacking midfield of three that outnumbers them.
How to Make a Strong Football Manager Tactic
What determines the success of a tactic? Which variables can we tweak until we find a method that works? What are the next steps? Here we are going to make everything clear.
Competencies of the player
Each position requires a unique combination of skills, and some are more critical than others; for example, a striker's finishing is more vital than his tackling. If you can recruit players with the skills needed for the positions that require them, you can succeed.
To learn about the important attributes associated with a specific Player Role, navigate your Player's Profile and click the box labeled "Highlight key attributes for role" beneath the Attributes section. Then, select a role from the drop-down menu. Always bear in mind your player's attributes when assigning player roles. If your wide players lack pace, avoid transferring them towing positions. Give your players roles that are a good fit for them to achieve well in them.
To have a certain style, most players must possess a set of skills that correspond to your strategy. For example, Barcelona requires excellent passing, composure, technique, and vision, among other qualities, enabling the team to work proficiently when instructed to play to their strengths. Or the counter-attacking style, which frequently makes use of quickness, off-the-ball movement, and work rate.
Player skills dictate everything in a game, including set pieces. At the same time, a free-kick taker requires a high level of free-kick-taking ability. They also need effective decision making, long shots (if the free kick is far out), technique, and the possibly aerial ability for free kicks whipped into the box and waiting for a header. Numerous of these abilities have an effect on the outcome of the free-kick.
You can improve specific player skills on the training page through personalized training. This can be advantageous in certain cases, such as when a winger lacks dribbling ability, which is typically a need of a winger and increasing that ability will boost the winger's efficacy. You might even have a veteran player tutor a younger player to help the younger player learn particular qualities that the senior player possesses.
As a player ages, his mental abilities improve due to experience. This frequently does not diminish with age, whereas physical skills do. Natural fitness often affects how slowly players lose skill as they age. Bear this in mind when assembling your squad, as age jeopardizes a player's development and skill distribution.
Philosophy
Some individuals neglect the philosophy of play in Football Manager, and its importance varies amongst players. You can choose your philosophy (style) to Very Rigid, Balanced, fluid, or Very Fluid.
The more fluid your style of play, the more your players will attempt to contribute to both offensive and defensive phases of the game and break free from tactical constraints to add flair to your attack.
A more strict style of play forces players to stay in their assigned positions and follow their tactical instructions. This gives you greater tactical influence over your players and helps shape and stabilize the team.
Now, let us examine each of them individually:
Individual attitude instructions will be closely matched across all players on the team in a more fluid style, while creative freedom instructions will be greater for each player than for a less fluid style. This implies the squad will attack and defend as a unit, with more positional interchange, while also allowing for greater movement and flair when attacking. Attributes of tactical intelligence such as anticipation, decision-making, flair, off-the-ball movement, positioning, collaboration, and creativity will be critical. Defensive players should possess sufficient technical ability to assist in an attack, and vice versa for attackers.
Your players will adhere to the formation specified with a more rigid style. Players in more defensive positions will be assigned defensive mentalities, which will cause them to prioritize defense above attack. Those in attacking positions will be instilled with more aggressive mentalities and primarily focused on offense. Thus, a more strict technique is appropriate if your players' mental attributes are lacking and they are not technically brilliant. Due to the fact that your players must maintain their assigned positions, traits such as Handling and Anticipation are critical in assisting the team in maintaining shape. If players exhibit a great level of flair and originality, a rigorous approach will be unsuitable for them.
Players' mentalities will be determined by their allotted tasks and responsibilities in a balanced approach. Those assigned to defensive duties will be given defensive mentalities, while the reverse will be true for aggressive players. This enables you to establish a team structure while permitting more fluid offensive movement by efficiently allocating tasks and responsibilities to each position. This allows you significantly greater control over who defends, attacks, and assists during each match simply by modifying roles and duties per the match circumstances.
Formation
Without question, the configuration you use is the backbone of any successful or even unsuccessful technique. Of course, you could simply roll with a standard 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation and still reap some benefits, but occasionally the most unconventional arrangement proves to be the most successful. Choosing that "world-beating" configuration, on the other hand, is far from simple.
When deciding on a configuration, it is critical to remember that you must work with what you have. Allow for some experimentation with unusual formations, but there is little purpose in selecting a very defensive-minded system if your squad lacks defenders or a building that utilizes three strikers upfront if your club only has five strikers. Of course, there is always the transfer market to bolster specific parts of your squad, but keep in mind that you are not always guaranteed to acquire all of your transfer targets, so sticking to a formation that fits with your present roster of players is the safest approach.
Following that, keep in mind that your formation does not necessarily have to be symmetrical. Sometimes strange is the best, therefore don't be scared to experiment with one winger and one wide midfielder simultaneously. Pre-season is the ideal opportunity to test with new tactics without risking anything, so don't be scared to line up somewhat differently than usual. However, as clear as this may seem, avoid making dumb decisions — isolating everyone to one side of the pitch is not a smart idea!
Suppose you wish to have many tactics available to you for a single team, attempt to configure each one to a form appropriate for the situation in which they are used. For instance, if you're searching for a defensive strategy to employ against significantly better teams, going for five (or at least four) at the back may be the best option. The same is true for an all-out attack formation; just because you generally play with a lone striker does not mean you must do so here; when you are desperate for goals, you will need to attack despite your usual style of play in numbers.
Finally, and this is critical, we almost certainly all have (or will acquire as the safe signs of progress) a favorite approach, replete with a formation vital to its success. However, there is no "miracle strategy" for cheating FM to guarantee victory in every game. As a result, your favorite configuration is unlikely to succeed wherever you go. As a result, you must be prepared to change formation if something isn't working — if your preferred method isn't winning you games. Everything must come to an end, and if that means leaving your league-winning team, you must be ready to do so.