Midfield Partnership

[mufctimmyg]

looking at revamping my midfield. i play a 3 man midfield. i am happy with my attacking midfielder, rooney. dont use wingers at all just wing backs in a 532 formation.

want to know who you would ideally have in a partnership.

currently favouring schweinsteiger and alaba as targets. got everything pace, passing, mental.

do like a quick midfield, however have to have passing ability.

been using scholes and giggs for a year and they are immense however they are old and starting to lose it!

[Blidly]

Fletcher , Erikson , Ayew? Fletcher as a BMW, and Erikson and Ayew as AP, wouldnt break the bank either

[QWERTYOP]

I'm quite happy with Steven Schumacher & Sean Thornton...

[mufctimmyg]

yeah thing is ayew is at arsenal. cant prise him away and tbh fletcher is great but i prefer playing him as a ball playing centre half. very clever player tactically and allows me to add a man to midfield when needed.

and erikson is not a centre mid. i would have to play him as an attacking midfielder.

[Eugene Tyson]

My personal list of good performing midfielders that were cheap


Gylfi Sigurdsson - Hoffenheim
Muhammed Demirci - Besiktas
Mateo Kovacic - Dinamo
Alan Dzagoev - CSKA Moscow
Nicolas Lodeiro - Ajax
Sammir - Dinamo
Willian - Shakhtar
Alex Teixeira - Shakhtar
Yacine Brahimi - Rennais
John Fleck - Rangers
Georginio Wijnaldum - PSV
Erick Torres - Chivas
Carlos Villanueva - Al-Shabab
Marko Marin - Werder Bremen
Siphiwe Tshabalala - Kaizer Chiefs
Eugene Konoplyanka - Dnipro
Gabriel Torje - Udinese
Joel Valencia - Zaragoza
Douglas Costa - Shakhtar
Lenny Nangis - Stade Caen
Nicolas Gaitan - Benfica
Kevin Strootman - PSV
Andrea Poli - Sampdoria
Joe Allen - Swansea
Ruben Yttergard Jenssen - Tromso
Felipe Anderson - Santos
Bressan BATE
Mehmet Ekici - Werder Bremen
Albin Ekdal - Cagliari/Juve
Sergi Roberto - Barcelona
Milan Badelj - Dinamo
Radja Nainggolan - Cagliari
Vincent Pajot - Stade Rennais
Andrea Bertolacci - Roma

[Eugene Tyson]

yeah thing is ayew is at arsenal. cant prise him away and tbh fletcher is great but i prefer playing him as a ball playing centre half. very clever player tactically and allows me to add a man to midfield when needed.

and erikson is not a centre mid. i would have to play him as an attacking midfielder.

Retrain him - he's young and will take to it quickly - that's what I did.

[AlexLightsaber]

Ganso from Santos is very good.

[mufctimmyg]

yeah ganso is. might look at him. got everything bar pace i suppose.

and yeah retrain erikson however i just think for premier league his physique is that of an attacking midfielder

price isnt really an issue. however strootman is one worth looking at. thank you

[Blidly]

yeah thing is ayew is at arsenal. cant prise him away and tbh fletcher is great but i prefer playing him as a ball playing centre half. very clever player tactically and allows me to add a man to midfield when needed.

and erikson is not a centre mid. i would have to play him as an attacking midfielder.

Erikson when playing at CM is amazing for me

[mufctimmyg]

fair enough. may try it.

my midfield has a lot of demands on it but i always try things. no real harm as long as i am happy that the player can play elsewhere.

valencia is the one who i am trying in cm atm. doing well atm.

[mufctimmyg]

who is the most similar to antonio valencia? ideally a left footed player!

[Blidly]

fair enough. may try it.

my midfield has a lot of demands on it but i always try things. no real harm as long as i am happy that the player can play elsewhere.

valencia is the one who i am trying in cm atm. doing well atm.

Erikson is amazing as an AP for me , and had the bonus of playing AMC, AML, AMR with good results if i need to change his position.

[Eugene Tyson]

who is the most similar to antonio valencia? ideally a left footed player!

Douglas Costa can play MLRC, and AMLRC - he's both footed.

Also can slot in as striker if need be.

Very versatile and cheap.


Think the same with Willian and Marko Marin

[mufctimmyg]

marko marin is useless. had him at bayern in this formation couldnt play anywhere.

douglas costa yeah is a good player. always done well.

willian never tried but always goes chelsea for big money.

and yeah i know i like versatile players. difficult to get right balance in squad.

is kevin prince boateng any good from your experiences?

[Eugene Tyson]

I've never bought him, he's not my list of players. I don't think I would buy him really.

Wijnaldum is good and cheap.

Brahimi off Rennes


They're the only left footers I can think of. Besides the ones I mentioned.

[Eugene Tyson]

Griezmann off Real Sociedad

If you trained him a CM - he'd be great I think.

Versatile too. Had him in one save - he was complete savage.

[mufctimmyg]

yeah i kinda agree. just know he is a good player.

my problem is having gone from 4231 to 532. the style of midfielder i need has changed. used to be pretty happy with DLP and AP then a trequartista. now looking more towards the B2B midfielders. fletcher is one. may end up having to play him there.

just been thinking that there must be quite a lot of players who are similar to giggs(in peak) and valencia, who i could turn into a central midfielder. getting tempted to train bale but cmon there isnt a better lwb in the world than bale so i dont think its the best idea. may do it though if fabio comes back a better player following his loan spell!

[mufctimmyg]

wijnaldum is quality, bit expensive on mine.

other two i have scouted and look decent. if you say they have done well for you i may buy as gambles if less than about 10million

[Eugene Tyson]

Absolutely worth the gamble, I gave up paying €80m for players a long time ago.

I just bargain hunt. Brahimi is quality - I bought him and 6 months later teams were bidding €25m for him.


Warning though, because they are young they might have random PAs.

[mufctimmyg]

yeah. buying the massive name players isnt as satisfying as winning buying unknowns or bargains

[toon army 06]

Fletcher , Erikson , Ayew? Fletcher as a BMW, and Erikson and Ayew as AP, wouldnt break the bank either

Flectcher is not really a dm ball winner hjes a box to box player.

[Jay96]

Xherdan Shaquiri

Swiss youngster. Top, top signing.

[mufctimmyg]

shaqiri is a top signing if you play wingers. i dont.

and fletcher yes is box to box player but on the game he has all the attributes for a top defensive midfielder, however i play his a ball playing centre back. gives flexibility in the squad and formation. isnt an issue since i play 3 centre backs

[SCIAG]

Flectcher is not really a dm ball winner hjes a box to box player.

The two are very similar in FM.

Tom Cleverley?

I used Valencia as an AMC once, he was excellent.

[mufctimmyg]

tom cleverley yes is quality.

valencia growing into the cm role excellently tbh. would love a left footed version of him.

[Blidly]

Flectcher is not really a dm ball winner hjes a box to box player.

I was thinking of having 2 roaming attacking players with fletcher winning the ball back, otherwise you would leave your defence exposed if they counter

[T3hB3n...]

shaqiri is a top signing if you play wingers. i dont.

and fletcher yes is box to box player but on the game he has all the attributes for a top defensive midfielder, however i play his a ball playing centre back. gives flexibility in the squad and formation. isnt an issue since i play 3 centre backs

Shaquiri is an all-round excellent player. You'd be wise to consider that one type of player doesn't specialise in working with others. Depends how good you are tactically.

[mufctimmyg]

yeah that would work with flecther. doesnt fit my formation. however is kinda what i am doing just playing fletcher naturally deeper and having two willing runners in midfield.

yes i know how good shaqiri is. i have never seen him fulfill his potential on football manager since the update. goes to bayern after first season and rots in the reserves. shame really. the reason i dont want him is his position

yeah i know some players cant play together in certain formations. kinda why i started a thread on partnerships. want to know the best pairings/trios in midfield that have worked successfully!

[SCIAG]

Andrea Poli - Sampdoria
Milan Badelj - Dinamo

I would go with one of those two as a balance to Rooney and Valencia. Three very attacking midfielders will leave your defence exposed.

[mufctimmyg]

yeah i agree. balance is key to any partnerships. will have a look and try them

[Eugene Tyson]

Who have you gone for? Made a decision yet?

[mufctimmyg]

no not exactly.

i have bought quite a few. none seem to be working in the way i want. going to go big in next transfer window and go for vidal and marchisio. that has everything i want

[Blidly]

no not exactly.

i have bought quite a few. none seem to be working in the way i want. going to go big in next transfer window and go for vidal and marchisio. that has everything i want

Who did you buy who was rubbish?

[!.m.!]

I play Asamoah and Hazard. As my two CM's have Alex Song tucking in behind them. They provide a great mix of stability in Asamoah and pure genius in Hazard.

[Play Up Pompey!]

I got Andrea Bertolacci for free after one season, he's a good all round midfielder and he's left footed.

[mufctimmyg]

i will have a look at him.

yeah that sounds like a balanced midfield. will have a go at getting song and asamoah.

it was cristeg and douglas costa. not defensive enough. both good players. dont work together in my formation though

[JojoVillaHursty]

Hitzlsperger im his prime now so might be worth a shot.

[mufctimmyg]

maybe. bit old and past it. but that kind off player. asamoah similar on game and does a good job.

got holland national job and wow what a pairing strootman and sneijder are