Overmars

I think 4-3-3 is the right formation for a F9, and you could adapt it to work for a regista by using three DMs: ST = F9(s) AML = IF(a) AMR = IF(a) DMCL = SV(a) DMC = HB(d) DMCR = REG(s) DL = WB(s) DCL = CD(d) DCR = CD(d) DR = WB(a) GK - SW(s) I would play this with shorter passing and higher tempo. I've tried it with lower tempo, but it is far too tame in this match engine. I would use mid-block against an equal or better opponent and high-press against a worse opponent. Either positive or attacking mentality works. The one key issue to using a F9 is that they can run into goalscoring dryspells that affect how FM perceives their form. They do get involved in the action a lot, though, and if they are dribbling wizards then they can make a big impact. I actually find these F9 4-3-3 tactics produce really pleasing football in FM24.

The key issue to me is that it feels unrealistic. What real life team would line up this way on the pitch? It would break immersion for me to use this in-game because the midfield doesn't cover the pitch laterally. The other obvious issue is the use of three advanced playmakers. That seems unbalanced to me. Of course, unbalanced can still work in FM, but it wouldn't feel very realistic either.

My favourites who often ended up on my teams: Martin Odegaard (FM15) Guido Vadala (FM15) Malcom (FM15) Mikael Dorsin (CM3) Kim Kallstrom (CM3) Lorenzo Crisetig (FM11) Matias Kranevitter (FM11) Jack Wilshere (FM11) Jack Rodwell (FM11) Suso (FM11) But Odegaard was the one who I enjoyed the most and then became a big of in real life.

It's not the worst preset out there. The shape and team instructions make sense. The player roles are not great, though: W(a) feels like a more direct tactical choice based around dribbles and crosses rather than controlling possession. The only player attacking the box is the striker. A CM(a) or IF could help. I would consider using a F9(s) and inside forwards with proper wingbacks and a halfback. Inverted wingbacks are a good alternative, but then you need to keep the AML/AMR wider or use mezzalas to maintain enough width. But it's a solid base formation and team instructions to start with. You can adust player roles based on the plays you are seeing and players at your disposal. It's not always easy to find technically skilled players who can make a possession-based system work well. Typically, it's easier to find an advantage in lower levels by focusing on physical attributes and playing fast and direct.

Out of curiosity, I counted the number of players within a certain CA range at the start of my England save in 2023 and later in 2029. The results surprised me, as there were more higher-rated players in 2029 than at the beginning of my save.

I agree with your observations. For FM24, the loan market is the least useful it has ever been. You can still find some clubs willing to pay and play your youngsters, but you have to endure the AI spamming you with free loan offers. The biggest change is the difficulty in finding any loans for yourself where you don't have to pay fees on top of wages. I think this has made building a competitive squad with a newly promoted team much tougher than in the past. In fairness, it never felt realistic that I could loan in a dozen quality players for very little cost. That exploit is mostly closed now. There are still free loans available for players who aren't atop the footbally pyramid, which makes sense.

I roleplay being offended/annoyed by my board. Some reasons: They pay me the lowest wage of anyone in the league. This almost always happens after promotion, and it winds me up! They block a transfer or force a sale I don't want. Can't wait to speak to the press about that one. They reject my requests. Don't they know who I am? They set ridiculously low wage and transfer budgets. Their lack of ambition is a waste of my time. I also like taking on financially distressed clubs or clubs deep in a relegation battle and in hopeless form. Scraping a point with a terrible team is a different experience from winning games 5-0 with a team of underpaid wonderkids.

The past versions I most enjoyed at the time were: CM3 -- It was text, but it was still fun. It was a lighter version of the current FM series, but it was still easy to get addicted. FM15 -- Lots of fun. The two broken bits were that there were way too many goals and the loan system was easily abused (ex. perpetual free loans of wonderkids). FM11 -- First version that felt "advanced" to me. The main flaws were the ease at which a poacher on attack could dominate and the excessive amount of near post corner goals.

So much gaslighting in this thread. If people aren't seeing gegenpress/high-press tactics performing better than others then I don't know what game they are playing. And yes, defenders in FM really do struggle to follow dribblers. They are like traffic cones out there, and the game doesn't accurately depict how much clutching and grabbing modern defenders are doing in real life in order to slow attacks.

My suggestions: Give him an IF(a) role and give your central striker a DLF or F9 role. Train him to be an AMC and let him be a SS(a) in a 4-2-3-1 with a support striker ahead of him. Play him as an AF(a) with a support striker in a 2-striker formation.

I love these narrow formations, but they are a struggle in FM24. My thoughts: You need at least one excellent attacking fullback, and preferably more since they will tire out and be injury prone. They need reasonable winger-like attributes or else your attack will be weak. At least one of your strikers should be great in the air. It really helps make the deliveries from the fullbacks more effective. Similarly, your strikers should have good quickness and anticipation to latch onto risky passes. I like using 3 DMs in this formation instead of 3 MCs. That allows me to use segundo volantes, which I find provides an optimal mix of defending and attacking threat. I find an AM(s) gets lost in the shuffle. I would much rather use an attack duty on the AMC and a support duty on one of the strikers. A DLF(s) helps link up everything. Better teams will kill you down the flanks. You might want an alternate formation for those matches. Work ball into the box is going to limit what your fullbacks can do in terms of crosses. They'll probably cycle possession, which isn't ideal for creating chances. In a two-striker formation, I would rather play higher tempo and use counterattacks. Lower tempo cancels out a lot of the advantage to having two guys starting that far forward in the first place.

Remove player role stipulations from loan negotiations. It is unrealistic and unfun to have someone tell you to play a player as a mezzala, as if that's a thing in real life. Make player form less predictable -- or its impact more subtle. Players don't often cycle up and down in form in 5-8 game increments in real life like they do in FM. Match ratings need to better reflect player performance and be more forgiving when playing aginst much better teams. A player's unhappiness about their contract should not impact the rest of the team unless they are a true team leader. Salah shouldn't badger Klopp because Bajcetic wants more money. Scouts should be less lazy on their assignments. Micromanaging scouts should not dramatically improve/increase their report output. Team training time should be allocated on a percentage of weekly training time basis rather than as three daily sessions that you have to micromanage with every schedule change. Improve newgen attribute distributions. Give us more attacking wingbacks and fewer short central defenders. Match engine -- This has improved in recent years, but we still have pass completion percentages that are too high and other deviations from real life that throw off the balance of the game. Add some variety to goal and trophy celebrations.

My lingering nitpicks for this game: Players should wait at least 10 months after signing a contract before demanding a new one. Stop hounding me 6 months into a 4-year deal. Player form irritates me. If a ST/AML/AMR goes 4-5 games without scoring then their finishing attribute of 15 seems to drop to 1 until they score again. The impact of form is too severe. Loan player role stipulations need to disappear. Unfun and unrealistic. Just make the stipulations all about playing time. I am enjoying most of the rest of the game. It has improved enough that the thought of playing an older version really does not appeal to me. I'd love it if the next version of this game had more "fun" parts in it. More variety in title-winning celebrations would be a good start. I don't want to see the identical cut sequence every time I win something. I'd also like a bit more variety in job interviews and player interactions. Anything to make the game less predictable would be a win.

General things I have noticed from using a 4-3-3 on FM24: The AML/AMR spots work better in support roles. Relying on them as main goalscorers is unwise. They work better in creative roles in FM24, dribbling and playing cutbacks to scorers in the middle. At least one of the MCs should be given a CM(a) (or maybe MEZ(a)) role. These attacking central midfielders will score as many goals as the AML/AMR will, often latching onto the end of cutbacks. The DM can be a HB if the wingbacks are particularly aggressive or a DLP otherwise. High decisions and composure are vital here. The wingbacks should be WB(s) or WB(a). You can go with CWB if you are really aggressive or FB if you aspire to be dull. I have messed around with inverted wingbacks, but I would only do this if playing a winger role on the same side as the IWB. I find an AF(a) for striker works best. In principle, a DLF or F9 role should be fine, but the AML/AMR players just don't score enough to make this approach reliable enough in FM. As for team instructions, the usual gegenpress instructions work great. Even when attempting to keep a lead late in matches, I will still press high and try to score insurance goals rather than sit back and hope to kill time. Again, that's an FM thing more than a football tactical thing. You will also be able to win lots of corners, so make sure you have a good corner delivery specialist and 1-2 players with very high jumping to head home near post corners.

You could keep the attacking trio the same and swap out an MC for another CD in matches against high reputation teams. I have also had some success with a 4-3DM-1-2 formation, but that requires 3 DMs and isn't always viable when you have pure MCs in the team. Have you tried a narrow 4-3-2-1? I gave that a shot in FM24 but never found the right combination. Maybe your two creative AMCs would pair well together in that formation.