BanOly

@Gee_Simpson I recognise you from when I used to write these reports 5 years ago, so I believe you hope you find it useful! @Karakartal1903 thanks for your enthusiastic support, I've begun working on the tactical analysis now and you can expect to see significant work in the near future

We both shared our tactics on the posts that you're quoting. Mine is pretty much an adaptation on RDF's Leverkusen tactic from FM23, with all the changes I mentioned in my earlier post, but I will also be putting it in my Leverkusen thread this weekend

I've been running BWM (Su) since - while it isn't the most creative role, in fairness Pala doesn't often attempt the same kind of high-risk passes that Xhaka does, so it still results in fairly realistic behaviour. It does everything except for cover the flanks, but Pala doesn't tend to move that far over anyway, just far enough to form a diamond shape with the wing-back and either AM or WCB depending on how far up the WB has pushed in the current phase. He also won't actively move around Xhaka, but this isn't too much of an issue, as long as you put him on the side with the WCB then he'll do his job. FM doesn't really have the mechanic for a DM/CM that acts in this way, so it's best to deploy the tactic one-sided like I have in my post above. If the game allowed for this type of movement from the DM/CM then you could get away with playing two WCBs. Inrl the overall team shape tends to shift from one side to the other, depending on the side that the attack is going through. For example, if we attack through the right-side, Frimpong will be pushing right up the pitch and Kossounou will come up with him to support, Pala will cover, meanwhile on the other side of the pitch Xhaka will move centrally and Grimaldo will stay in a defensive-minded position until the last moment, when he cuts into/outside of the box, into a central area, at which point Xhaka will cover the width. If we attack through the left-side, then Tapsoba/Hincapie push up behind Grimaldo as he hugs the touchline, and Pala again drifts wide to form that diamond shape. On the right flank, Frimpong moves inside to find the pocket of space from which he scored on the weekend against Werder Bremen, and again Xhaka covers that.

[in progress] Tactics Countering Germany You don't have to follow German football too closely to have heard of its reputation for high-pressing football. The "Gegenpress" (meaning 'counter-press' in German) has been made famous and spread across Europe by the likes of Tuchel, Klopp and Rangnick. Its primary aim is to position defenders high enough up the pitch to instantly close down the opposition the moment that possession is lost, in an immediate effort to win the ball back. As a result, German football has gathered a reputation for both physical intensity, and as an unfortunate by-product, often less-than-admirable defending. Players who possess high levels of pace such as Timo Werner, Alphonso Davies and even our own Kai Havertz have often found it easy to make Bundesliga defences look distinctly amateur, by breaking quickly on the counter and catching out these high defensive lines. It should then come as no surprise that Moussa Diaby enjoyed such a standout season last year, earning himself a move to Aston Villa to join Leon Bailey - yet another pacey player who benefited from the tactical nature of the Bundesliga. This season, Frimpong continues to be one of our best-performing players, and Werkself talisman Wirtz isn't exactly slow either. Attacking players and how quickly and effectively they break the defensive line (dribbling, off-the-ball positioning, acceleration, pace, stamina) So is that it - does a quick player essentially make a good player in the Bundesliga? Xabi Alonso knew immediately that counter-attacking football would be key to breaking down these high lines, but you can't have eleven pacey attackers in a football team. This brings us to the second part of Alonso's tactical philosophy. Upon looking at the Leverkusen squad closely, you might have noticed that there is a wide range of playmakers at the club. Xhaka, Palacios, Wirtz and Hofmann all possess fantastic passing ability, but looking beyond the midfield, we can also see that Grimaldo has fantastic passing, composure and vision. In addition, all the defenders on the team have fantastic ball-playing abilities, even Tah who will play a primarily ball-winning role in defence. Defenders and their ability to win the ball back (anticipation, teamwork, tackling) as well as their creativity (passing, vision, composure, decisions, anticipation) These are the two fundamental player profiles that exist at the club, and they define the way Leverkusen operate offensively. If you don't have the creativity needed to release the pacey players on the counter, then you better be one of them. The Alonso Philosophy [in progress] Tactical Layout [in progress] Set-Piece Routines Bayer Leverkusen have put in a lot of work on their set-pieces, and they take advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of every single player on the team. While deciding which players are most important in each role, you notice that Tah, Tapsoba and Kossounou are all fantastic aerial threats, who also possess a decent enough turn of pace to adequately cover the opposition counter-attack should possession be lost. This is invaluable to have when effectively executing set-piece routines, and really highlights how important it is to play these three as much as possible when you're rolling the set-piece dice to try and secure a vital three points. As the fastest player on the team, with more than adequate defensive instincts and good tackling ability but next to no aerial ability whatsoever, Frimpong always stays back and covers our own half, in the event of a dangerous counter-attack. At any one time or another, Bayer Leverkusen can be seen deploying one of the following three corner kick routines: 1. The Far-Post (Default) With multiple aerial threats in the team, often it can be as simple as relying on the corner-taking skills of either Hofmann or Grimaldo to perfectly whip the ball towards the far post, for the likes of Tah to get his head onto and convert into an easy goal. In case that fails, Kossounou and Tapsoba wait patiently in the centre for a rebound opportunity, while Boniface stalks the near post. Xhaka has fantastic anticipation skills, which he relies on to mop up any loose balls and bring back to Wirtz or Grimaldo on the edge of the box to recycle into yet another creative opportunity. Palacios can also occasionally be seen pacing outside the box, ready to cover the advance of any counter-attack should anything go wrong. 2. The Edge-of-Box This tactic is designed to position the players and appear as similar as possible to the first, in order to keep the defence alert and ensure they stay on the defensive inside their own box... but Grimaldo lurks on the edge of the area, with his deadly left-foot and a penchant for whipping in the most savage long-shots you've ever seen. This can frequently result in a surprise goal and, even if he isn't able to get the shot away, can often result in him picking up a clean assist instead by whipping the ball to the far post while the defence have dropped their guard and begin to press the edge of the box. 3. The Assistant Finally, we have often seen Hofmann and Grimaldo start a lot closer to each other on the outside, and begin an attacking movement by playing the ball short and moving inside together as a unit. Having two creative players working their way into a better passing position can be just as deadly as it sounds, and this method ensures greater control of possession, but on the off-chance that something goes seriously wrong and the opposition are able to start a counter-attack, you will be slightly more vulnerable with an extra player starting out wide. Because of this, you should keep an eye on the movements of both Xhaka and Palacios, to make sure they are covering adequately. Defensive Corners Again, the name of the game is 'counter-attack'. At this point, you'll be getting the idea - we're not the best team in a lot of respects, but it's about taking advantage of what every single player has to offer, and not putting them in a position where they are expected to contribute something that they aren't suited for. When it comes to defending corners, you want the biggest, toughest players in the middle forming a solid wall between the opposition and the goal, and then Xhaka uses his high Anticipation to react in case the ball sails right through. Finally, you have the best man-marker on the team, Palacios, tracking the run of the most threatening-looking players down the middle. Frimpong and Grimaldo help as much as they can with their respective on-the-ground defensive capabilities, but you don't want Frimpong too close to your own goal because his pace is vital for initiating the counter-attack. Wirtz and Hofmann need to be on the edge of the box and ready to go.

The Squad Overview Last season, Bayer Leverkusen had one of the youngest squads in the top European leagues. It was an impressive fact to boast, but while we looked formidable enough in our rise out of the relegation zone and into the top six, the lack of influence and experience in the team prevented us from making a real mark in the Europa League. Therefore, it came as no surprise that going into the new season we signed three proven veterans of the game in Alex Grimaldo, Granit Xhaka and Jonas Hofmann. One of the reasons that we were able to do this, was by breaking the incredibly restrictive wage structure that we had established over the past five years. Until recently, our wage was capped at €100k a week - however, when we agreed a contract extension with Patrik Schick, we realised that it put us in an opportunistic position to attract players such as Grimaldo and Xhaka, who we knew would demand higher wages due to their modest transfer fees. We managed this through a combination of selling established players for well above their values, and making smart signings. We are by no means Atalanta or Dortmund, but we have managed to make a few impressive acquisitions; most notably when we followed up the €100m sale of Kai Havertz to Chelsea with the signing of Florian Wirtz from rivals FC Köln for less than 1% of that fee. When managing Bayer Leverkusen, you will be expected to continue this culture of providing a stepping-stone to younger players, and in return collect massive fees so that you may once again find the next big thing. One of the most attractive aspects of the club is the reputation we have gained for providing young players with plenty of opportunity to play regular football at such a high level, and this continues to attract the latest young players out of the Americas such as Palacios, Puerta and Arthur. Goalkeepers Lukáš HRÁDECKÝ Position GK | Age 33 | First-Choice Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Despite his age, he still has the ability to be an important member of the team. A high Natural Fitness stat means he should last until his contract expires in 2026, at which time you should begin looking for a replacement. In real-life, he is one of the best shot-stoppers in the league and at time of writing boasts the highest save percentage in the Bundesliga. Matěj KOVÁŘ Position GK | Age 23 | Cup Goalkeeper Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Signed to eventually replace Hradecky, only time will tell if he can ever be good enough to feature regularly at this level. For now though, he is more than good enough to stand in for all cup competitions. Won't ever be as good a shot-stopper as Lukas but definitely excels at sweeping and distribution, so could eventually be relied on more to initiate the counter. Niklas LOMB Position GK | Age 29 | Emergency Backup Home Grown Status Trained at Club Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ As solid a third-choice goalkeeper as you're likely to get, Lomb is home-grown and isn't good enough to complain about a lack of playing time. You should keep him until Petrenko is good enough to replace him. Defenders Jeremie FRIMPONG Position RWB | Age 22 | Important Player Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Already one of the best players at the club, and will only get better. His pace and dribbling ability make him ideally suited to running down the wing and pulling back a cross from the byline, and as such should be played at right wing-back or as an out-and-out winger. Try to remove that release clause ASAP! Jonathan TAH Position CB | Age 27 | Regular Starter Home Grown Status Trained in Nation Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ The best central defender at the club, Tah has come into a league of his own recently. Holds down the middle of the defence, and provides the strongest aerial threat. His combination of strength and speed will be difficult to replace. The most well-rounded defender at the club in terms of ball-winning, ball-playing and athleticism. Álex GRIMALDO Position LWB | Age 27 | Regular Starter Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Hands down the best summer signing in Europe, capable of playing any role out on the left or even in central midfield, but best-suited to cutting inside from left wing-back and winding up for a long shot. Set-piece taker and playmaker, will score and assist plenty but needs cover. If he isn't taking the corner, make sure he's lurking on the edge of the box! Recommended cover: Valentin Barco (Boca Juniors) Edmond TAPSOBA Position CB | Age 24 | Regular Starter Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ An extremely solid Ball-playing Defender, also capable of covering as a Wide Central Defender. Provides an aerial threat from offensive set-pieces, and good Anticipation and Marking means he can defend them pretty well too. The best ball-playing and ball-winning centre-back at the club, doesn't have the athleticism of Tah but makes up for it with pace. Optional replacement: Adamo Nagalo (Nordsjælland) Piero HINCAPIÉ Position LCB | Age 21 | Regular Starter Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ In some ways the most promising defender at the club, he will always give 100%. Best-suited to playing as the Wide Central Defender but can also hold the middle of the defence, and provides cover for Grimaldo on the left wing. While he is one of the best ball-winning defenders at the club, his distribution and athleticism aren't as good as the likes of Kossounou. Optional replacement: Chadi Riad (Barcelona) Odilon KOSSOUNOU Position RCB | Age 22 | Squad Player Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Will start immediately due to Hincapie being out with injury. Fulfils a similar role to Piero, but on the opposite side, and since a lot of your attacks will be coming through the faster players on the right-side, I recommend sticking with Kossounou even when Hincapie returns due to his superior athleticism and ball-carrying ability. Josip STANIŠIĆ Position RCB | Age 23 | Squad Player Home Grown Status Trained in Nation Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Brought in to provide defensive cover for the injured Hincapie, fulfils the same responsibilities as Kossounou but suffers from poor composure which leads to him giving away the ball too often. Despite this, he is one of the best ball-winning defenders at the club, and due to him also possessing decent crossing ability, I would look to play him at RB in cup fixtures. ARTHUR Position RB | Age 20 | Breakthrough Prospect Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Needs game time to find out if he has the potential to cut it at this level. Doesn't possess the pace to fulfil the same role as Frimpong on the right wing, so you should look to utilise Tella instead. Could benefit from a loan move in the near future. Timothy FOSU-MENSAH Position RB | Age 25 | Fringe Player Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Doesn't quite fit the Wide Central Defender or Wing-back roles, and isn't good enough anyway. No home-grown status to save him, and prone to injury, which means you should look to get rid of him when his contract expires. Until then, the best he can hope for is being utilised as cover in midfield should Palacios and Andrich both find themselves out of action. Madi MONAMAY Position CB | Age 17 | Future Prospect Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Most exciting young player at the club, try to keep at all costs and give time when appropriate. Fast and strong enough to eventually replace Tah or Tapsoba, wouldn't say he's good enough going forward to be a WCD. Midfielders Florian WIRTZ Position CAM | Age 20 | Important Player Home Grown Status Trained at Club Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ The best player at the club, only 20 and homegrown, he has the potential to be one of the best in the world. Benefits from a free role in attacking midfield that allows him to roam and find space, but also an effective playmaker who excels at releasing the faster players on the counter-attack. Retain at all costs. Optional replacement: Martin Baturina (Dinamo Zagreb) Jonas HOFMANN Position CAM | Age 31 | Regular Starter Home Grown Status Trained in Nation Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Proven, experienced attacking midfielder who is mentally strong and should take a while for his attributes to fade. Can deliver a sweet corner or stand by to spray passes from the edge of the box. Great presser off the ball, lacks the pace to be effective on the counter. Don't be put off by low match ratings, he does most of his work out of possession. Granit XHAKA Position CDM | Age 30 | Regular Starter Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Experienced leader signed for his mental resilience and off-the-ball pressing ability. Best asked to sit in the heart of midfield and spray risky passes. High anticipation makes him an ideal Box Threat and Tracker for set-pieces, one of two central midfielders who can both win the ball back and provide effective creativity on the counter, so should play in the most important of matches. Optional Replacement: Fidel Ambríz (Club León) Exequiel PALACIOS Position CDM | Age 24 | Regular Starter Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ The second nailed-on central midfielder and currently the beating heart of the team. Capable of acting as either Ball-winning Midfielder or Deep-lying Playmaker, or both at the same time. Good passing and tackling allows him to cover all aspects of midfield. Better than his stats let on, should refrain from selling. Robert ANDRICH Position CDM | Age 28 | Squad Player Home Grown Status Trained in Nation Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Solid cover for the BWM role, but lacks the playmaking ability to be much use on the counter. Lack of versatility between roles and approaching career decline means he is easily replaceable at this stage. Signed for just €4m and starts off worth 4 times that, so worth considering to sell and replace, but if not, can also function effectively as cover in defence for cup matches. Nathan TELLA Position RM | Age 24 | Squad Player Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Signed for his pace and versatility, often acts as backup to Frimpong at RWB but definitely prefers being given even more licence to go forward than Jeremie. Can be used as the right-winger in a 4-2-3-1 for cup matches, and has decent potential. Nadiem AMIRI Position CM | Age 26 | Squad Player Home Grown Status Trained in Nation Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Contrary to Andrich, has 2 years on him and is extremely versatile, while also having homegrown status. One of the hardest-working players on the team, but lacks the ability for this level. Starts the game considering his options. Optional replacement: Claudio Echeverri (River Plate) Noah MBAMBA Position CDM | Age 18 | Breakthrough Prospect Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Good enough to eventually replace Palacios but doesn't have the best reading of the game going forward. Despite this, he is good enough to feature regularly from the start of the save, and I encourage you to do so. Gustavo PUERTA Position CM | Age 19 | Breakthrough Prospect Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ On the contrary, Puerta is a frustrating mould of player that could replace Palacios but doesn't have the positional awareness to do so. Isn't good enough to feature regularly and would benefit from a loan. Optional replacement: Assan Ouédraogo (Schalke 04) Ayman AOURIR Position CAM | Age 18 | Future Prospect Home Grown Status Trained at Club Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Just like any young player trained at the club, does not have the potential to make it at this level, but homegrown status could make it worth giving him a chance. See how he develops. Both-footed, but weak mentally Forwards Patrick SCHICK Position ST | Age 27 | Regular Starter Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Recently made his comeback in emphatic style, scoring a hat-trick of goals and proving that he's not quite done yet! Slightly better in most areas than Boniface, shares a dominating physique but most importantly provides that extra creativity and support required of the Complete Forward that can get others around him more goals. Yet another dangerous aerial threat, should look to ease back in to avoid further injury but when it comes to choosing between him and Boniface to let go at the end of the season due to the (inevitably) high demand, his age might mean that you're forced to give him the boot. Optional replacement: Matija Popović (Partizan Belgrade) Victor BONIFACE Position ST | Age 22 | Regular Starter Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Slightly better at pressing off the ball than Schick, and already in possession of that dominant physique that makes it easy for him to bully the opposition defence and score plenty of goals. Needs to improve his creativity and weak mental attributes, but at just 22 years of age, time is well on his side. Will play from the start due to Schick's injury and will likely keep him shut out, will also be engaged in the African Cup of Nations in the New Year. Adam HLOŽEK Position CF | Age 20 | Squad Player Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Fantastic player with bags of potential. Fast, versatile, capable of playing on the wing or behind the centre forward. This means that you should always be trying to play him, either from the bench or starting cup games. Amine ADLI Position CF | Age 23 | Squad Player Home Grown Status None Rating ★★★★★ | Potential ★★★★★ Features as a dynamic bench player in real-life, benefiting from a late introduction to outpace tired legs. Definitely hasn't fulfilled his potential at the club, but still has time to improve. Up to you if he's worth using or not.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen "There has never been, nor likely will there be, a better time to manage Die Werkself." History Bayer 04 Leverkusen were formed in 1904 by employees of the German pharmaceutical company "Bayer" whose headquarters are in Leverkusen and from which the club gets its name. It was formerly the best-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball and other sports including rowing, tennis and hockey. In 1999 the football department was separated from the sports club and is now a separate entity formally called "Bayer 04 Leverkusen GmbH". The club goes by the nickname "die Werkself", which means "the Company's Eleven", but tends to be known universally by another, less fortunate nickname. Towards the end of the 2001-02 season, Leverkusen became the first team to reach the final of the Champions League without ever having won a national championship. They also sat atop the Bundesliga table, five points ahead of Dortmund with just three games left to be played, and prepared to face Schalke in the final of the DFB-Pokal. What followed would come to be known as the "Treble Horror" - the biggest collapse in European football. Two losses - the first at home to Werder Bremen, and the second at relegation-threatened Nürnberg - allowed Dortmund to sweep ahead with three consecutive wins. Leverkusen were then shredded 4-2 in the German cup final, before a now-famous Zidane volley in the Champions League final sealed their fate. They would henceforth be known as the second-men, or "Vizekusen", while the rest of Europe preferred the term "Neverkusen", to highlight the gravity of the occasion, and the fact that the club will likely never return to such opportunity. While the club has since lived up to this prophecy, today their future seems brighter than ever before. In the space of just 12 months, Leverkusen have gone from battling against relegation to contending for the German title. New coach Xabi Alonso has attracted widespread acclaim for his tactical approach, that combines the high-pressing Gegenpress style familiar with the Bundesliga, with the Tiki-Taka philosophies that focus on creating diamond patterns in the midfield like his former manager Carlo Ancelotti. There never has been - nor likely will there be - a better time to manage Die Werkself; the club has assembled one of the most formidable groups of players in all of Europe, blending youth and experience with an abundance of quality, and it looks as though it is only a matter of time before they lift their first trophy in 30 years.

Yeah, I'm starting to think for this reason that BWM is better for Pala. Needs to be a Carillero role for DM imo

No, I don't have one from that far back. I'm pretty sure I hadn't offered Antonio Silva a new deal yet when I submitted this save though, and I definitely hadn't begun to negotiate with Bah yet, and I'm sure they'll all request to be my new highest-paid player by a long shot.

Update: Rafa, the first player in my team to speak up and request an improved contract. The first major decision to be made of the whole save. He wants €100k a week, over 1.5 times that of my highest-paid player. I'm not even allowed to offer him any more than €50k a week. It's rejected instantly. The dressing room loses faith in me. I can't tell them that the club can't afford his terms, because that option doesn't exist on FM. I can't tell the player that I want to renew, but can't afford to meet his terms, because that option doesn't exist on FM. I'm going to get sacked, and there was quite literally nothing I could do about it. Awesome game.

From the quick look around I've had (especially serious bugs relating to the playability of Your World mode) there haven't been any bug fixes.

They say a picture paints a thousand words... well, you can take a lot from these today. Not only did we see more of Grimaldo cutting inside from the left wing in the build-up, but we saw Palacios moving outside to present a backward passing option and, more importantly, to cover the space left behind in case Hoffenheim broke away. His movement off the ball, the way that he covers both sides of the pitch, covers both wing-backs when they push up, I really don't think there's a role that fully encapsulates this in the game. It would be some kind of horizontal Box-to-box Midfielder, a side-to-side one if you will In the distance, we can also see Hofmann move inside to a more narrow position, giving Frimpong lots of space on the right. A similar situation happens later which results in him taking up this position: Grimaldo's movement off the ball resulted in the winning goal here, but what I find far more interesting about this movement is that Palacios has come to cover the right-hand side of the pitch, after Frimpong made a run into the box and now remains next to the goalkeeper. You can also see that Palacios moving to cover Frimpong instead hasn't stopped Grimaldo from continuing to cut inside.

I agree that renewing in the second half of the season is realistic, just unfortunately not possible on FM, which is why I stress that the sole issue here is a complete lack of loyalty on the player's behalf. The real issue is, if you leave the contract to be renewed until post-January, another club can then offer them a contract. I think it goes without saying that inrl if Kroos or Modric got a contract offer from PSG in January, their first move would be asking Real Madrid what their stance is on renewal, because they'd rather stay. Sadly, the opposite is true on FM, and usually the outside club only needs to offer halfway-acceptable terms in order for the player to abandon loyalty and agree to sign for them. I think the most accurate and realistic way to fix this would be to heavily decrease the frequency with which over-30s are offered contracts by other clubs in the January window.

Palacios and Xhaka actually don't rotate starting positions at all, but this is a very understandable misconception. Xhaka is exactly what you think of when you think of a Deep-Lying Playmaker. He sits in the centre of midfield and sprays progressive passes left, right and centre, whilst occasionally but very rarely supporting the attack. He certainly doesn't support them as much as Palacios... but interestingly, he doesn't rack up anywhere close to the same defensive contribution numbers as Palacios, either! Not because he's not as good, but simply because defending isn't his primary objective. Here's where your misconception becomes very understandable. While Xhaka remains in the centre of midfield, what you will often see happen during a game while Leverkusen are out of possession, is Palacios will move around Xhaka, acting as the primary ball-winning midfielder of the two, popping up to the right of him but also often to the left as well. When we are in possession, he will support the attacks more than Xhaka, but still not "support" in the sense that he enters the box. Once again, this can be seen in the example I gave above. Notice how Xhaka is nowhere to be seen, but Palacios is lurking safely just outside the box, ready to regroup to a more defensive position as soon as we lose the ball. The issue in FM is that, as Palacios' primary objective is to contribute defensively and win the ball, he should be a role such as Ball-winning Midfielder that makes that clear in the game, but the issue then is that the BWM role on FM doesn't often result in these forward runs being made, nor are you likely to see him moving around Xhaka in the same way that we often see inrl.

@Sébastien ChabaI taking your satirical condescension in jest, the first impression I get from your tactic is that you actually have quite a good grasp on how we play in real-life (with some exceptions), but don't quite understand how tactics work on Football Manager. The formation and positioning of the players represents where they sit when the team is out of possession, whereas your formation is an (almost) perfect representation of how our players move in possession. Take Wirtz for example; he does not sit next to Boniface out of possession, he sits alongside Hofmann and acts as our creative outlet. If he ends up next to Boniface, it is only when we are in possession, and more often than not because he has dribbled with the ball into that position himself. Similarly, you seem to have your wires crossed with Kossounou, or more likely the new Inverted Right-back role. This role can be best represented with Ben White as an example; he defends from RB out of possession but when in possession will move inside to cover the forward runs of any CBs, or just budge up next to them to make a back three when Zinchenko joins the midfield. Odi does the opposite of this - he sits centrally, and then moves out to cover Frimpong's attacking runs. He will also occasionally move further up the field to support the attack - something that I very much doubt you will see happening with your Inverted Full-back. Finally, you are correct in saying that Frimpong does indeed defend slightly higher up the pitch than Grimaldo, but again as a lot of us have stated, this is due in part to Grimaldo defending quite deep in reality rather than Frimpong starting out on the right wing. CWB is for sure the most accurate way to replicate what he does, and at least from my experience, has resulted in exceptional returns for me, being my best performer and providing both goals and assists. It's funny that you started your post by mentioning the Freiburg game and then said this... I invite you to go back and watch Grimaldo's movement off the ball for our first goal. As you can see, he starts off wide but when Wirtz turns the defender and starts making his run on goal, we will see him begin to move centrally in order to present a goalscoring threat. So many times this season this happens, and often the ball is squared across to him, but in this instance Wirtz goes for goal and is rewarded. That's just one fresh example that came to mind instantly for me, as it was only on the weekend, but I'm sure if you watch more of our football, you will notice it happening a lot more.