Fraser

I had success with a back 3 in FM23 but the exact same formation (with a very similar team) isn't as effective. Players not putting in challenges, even with instructions to "Get stuck in" and press more, appears to be a problem all over the pitch in FM24 but the biggest issue I had with a back 3 is the central DC's tendency to go walkabout. I think the outside DC's maybe cover wide more, and if the central DC pushes up or chases the ball then there is a giant gap right in the middle of the defence. I think a Stopper role in the centre is a complete no-no this year and maybe a back 5 either needs the 'wing backs' to start on the Defensive line rather than the Defensive Midfield line OR to be on defend duty. What's interesting is that, although the tactical presets have seen minimal changes, more of them are now using mid-block in FM24 and the default roles for some of the full-backs and wing-backs are either more defensive or more geared towards them playing inside. For example: The main Gegenpress presets for 4231 and the 424 have a Wing Back on Defend at DL, where last year it was a Wing Back on Support. The main Control Possession presets for 4231 and 433 have an Inverted Full Back on Defend at DR, where last year it was a Wing Back on Support (and the DL in the 433 is now a Inverted WIngBack on Support when it was also a Wing Back on Support last year). For the 523 then it's an Inverted Wing Back on Support at WBL, when it was a WBS last year. The main Tiki-Taka presets and Vertical Tiki-Taka are seeing the same pattern.

In My Gladbach save on FM23 the B team didn't play games but I scheduled a friendly every week (I did the scheduling once every 3 months or so and against other local teams). What is handy with the friendly approach is if you want to use them to get fringe 1st teamers or players returning from injury to get match fit, then you can - and you can schedule away from the 1st team fixtures so they can be on the bench (I usually had them on a Wednesday or a Thursday). The B team did eventually get promoted in to the 3Liga, so I lost some flexibility, but my younger players developed in a better standard of league. On a side note - I've managed B teams in Spain and they are very different saves. It can be good fun but you lose a lot of control with the squad composition.

BUNDESLIGA2 PREVIEW: There are some giant clubs down in the second tier, and they make up the promotion favourites. Hertha dropped last year after some poor seasons, Schalke were in the Bundesliga2 a couple of seasons ago but went up and came back down again and HSV (or Hamburg) have been down in the division for a while. Hannover, Dusseldorf, Nurnberg and St. Pauli are all big clubs that could all stake a claim in the promotion picture, and should at least be aiming to put pressure on the 3 favourites. Karlruhe, Paderborn, Greuther Furth and Kaiserslautern all have had stints in the top flight (some more recent than others) and will be looking for a return, but probably need to invest well and hope for some luck. Anything more than mid-table in the first season would be a big overachievement. Braunschweig, Hansa Rostock and Magdeburg are expected to be nearer the bottom than the top. Magdeburg have the distinction of being the only team from the former East Germany to win a European trophy. Osnabruck, Elversberg and Wehen Wiesbaden are the newly promoted teams and are expected to have to fight for the 3rd bottom spot, and a playoff against the 3rd best team in the 3.Liga. PLAYERS TO WATCH: There are a mix of ageing Bundesliga stalwarts, solid players and promising youngsters plying their trade in the Bundesliga2. I must admit I was also very surprised to see Michael Cuisance on loan at Osnabruck. Still only 24 and with a decent pedigree, he could be one to look out for. Other names worth mentioning include goalkeepers Zieler (Hannover) and Heuer-Fernandes (HSV), defenders Marton Dardai (Hertha) and Halstenberg (Hannover), midfielders Flick (Nurnberg), Reis (HSV) and Appelkamp (Dusseldorf) and forwards Reese (Hertha), Johannes Eggestein (St. Pauli) and Terrode (Schalke). Of the ‘old-timers’ it’s good to see Lars Stindl at Karslruhe, Max Kruse at Paderborn, Anthony Ujah at Braunschweig and Lewis Holtby at Kiel (I can’t believe Holtby is only 33, seems like he has been around forever!!) Budgets and expectations are: 3.LIGA - A BRIEF OVERVIEW: Another fun division. The likes of 1860 Munich and Dynamo Dresden are big clubs down there. Arminia Bielefeld and Ingolstadt both have relatively recent top flight seasons and have fallen down to this level. There is a chance for some of the more regional teams to come up and have an impact, as the 4th tier Oberliga produces 4 promoted teams from different regions every season. You sometimes also get the ‘B’ teams of some of the Bundesliga clubs too, as with Dortmund II and Freiburg II this season.

I couldn't see a Germany thread and I usually run at least one save in Germany for every FM release. THE CONTENDERS: FC Bayern will be strong favourites after winning on the final day last season and smashing their transfer record to bring in Harry Kane. Their main competitors, and the favourites for the Champions League places, will be Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverksuen and RB Leipzig. For Dortmund the main question is how they recover from throwing away the title last year. At Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso has his team playing exciting and winning football while in Leipzig the ‘RosenBallsport’ machine keeps rolling. They’ll press all day long but the question is how well the new players compensate for losing Gvardiol, Szoboszlai and Nkunku to the Premier League. EUROPEAN DREAMS: There are a number of teams around the same level, a bit below the previously mentioned 4 teams, and a good season for them could mean a European places. Wolfsburg have invested again but with Lukas Nmecha out long term, a lot rides of Jonas Wind’s ability to score goals. At Union it’s a Champions League season for Berlin’s only top-flight club, who have made some ambitious signings. Over in Frankfurt it could be said that last season seemed like maybe the end of a cycle for Eintracht. They have made some clever moves in the market, which should help them continue to challenge for European places. Borussia Monchengladbach are another team seeking to find an identity. Some big players have left recently, and for little or no transfer fee – though Manu Kone remains for now, in a strong midfield unit. Hoffenheim have talent in the team, and the age profile of a lot of players means they should be at their peak. But where are the goals going to come from? Stuttgart might be an unusual pick as European contenders but there is the nucleus of a good team. Guirassy is banging in the goals and there is plenty of support from midfield and some solid centre backs too. AIMING FOR THE TOP HALF: Freiburg may even be more likely challengers for Europe than some of the teams above. There is a strong spine to their team, and plenty of creativity. Werder Bremen bringing in Naby Keita on a free might be the surprise signing of the summer. He can still be a difference maker but can he stay fit? I wouldn’t expect a relegation battle for Werder but they are unlikely to trouble the top teams. Koln’s squad seems a little weak, and I’m not sure how well equipped the first team is to compete. Good home form is the key to staying out of the relegation picture for them. Mainz, like Freiburg, could be equipped to challenge for the European spaces. The injured Burkardt is a miss and is unlikely to see much action before the winter break but I’d have them in my top half predictions. FIGHTING TO STAY UP: Augsburg should be too strong to be pulled into the relegation mix. I expect Demirovic to score goals and there’s enough quality that I’d say they are more likely to end up in 9th or 10th than 16th (or worse). Bochum might just survive by virtue of there being two worse teams. They certainly have not overspent. They did well enough last year. Home form is key to staying up again. Heidenheim are the reigning Bundesliga2 champions. Promoted teams can sometimes use the momentum of coming up to get off to a good start but I just don’t see the quality in this group of players. The best hope is that someone hits a goalscoring streak and that one of the other teams has a bad season. Darmstadt are the other promoted team. Very similar to Heidenheim in that their chances appear slim and might hinge on getting a good start. If I was in charge then I’d probably be gambling on Vilhelmsson to play at ST. The youngster might be a surprise package and, even if they go down, a good season from him might add a few million on to his transfer fee. AN ALTERNATIVE ELEVEN (PLUS 3 SUBS) – no Bayern, Dortmund, Leverkusen or Leipzig players, and only 1 player per team. GK – Casteels (Wolfsburg); DR – Scally (Gladbach), right DC –Kabak, (Hoffenheim), left DC – Uduokhai (Augsburg), DL – Gosens (Union); DM/MC – Ljubicic (Koln), MC – Keita (Werder); AMR – Knauff (Eintracht), AMC – Doan (Freiburg).; AML – Fuhrich (Stuttgart); ST – Burkardt (Mainz), SUBS: Def: Gimber (Heidenheim), Mid: Stoger (Bochum), Att: Vilhelmsson (Darmstadt) To fit everyone in I took out players including Ginter, Pacho, Barreiro Martins, Skov and Guirassy – so there is plenty of quality in the league. Budgets and expectations are:

I'm mindful that Gegenpress is not the only style with a high press, an intense press and counter pressing, so it's not the only 'pressing' tactical preset. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it's successful because of the instructions when they win the ball back. Most other strategies with counter pressing or an intense press, and no low block, are about keeping the ball. Gegenpress is a direct, high tempo, get in behind style. That being said - I've done tests, going on holiday for a season, with multiple teams and using the various tactical presets and Gegenpress is definitely the strongest. They default is also stronger than tactics and custom presets that I made and had success with. I might do a test with a couple of the other presets set up with Gegenpress transition and defending instructions, but keeping their own 'in possession' ones.

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I think about starting a new save in FM and want some details about a team, I can usually only find transfer and wage budget details. I hardly ever see what the board or the fans expectations are or information around facilities, predicted finishes etc, With that in mind, I used the time with the FM24 Early Access to compile data for a number of teams and store it on a spreadsheet – so I don’t have to set up and load a game to check for this data. That spreadsheet is attached to this post. I’ve no real intention of updating this beyond what it is now, as I plan to spend my FM24 hours on a new save from today, but I am happy for others to use my spreadsheet as a base (as long as I’m credited somewhere). I hope that someone finds this useful. I created it for myself but I figured I’d share it on here too. Leagues includes are the top 4 divisions in England and Scotland, the top 2 divisions in France, Germany, Italy and Spain and the top divisions in Argentina, Brazil, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkiye, USA and Mexico. The data included is as per attached image. I've also included a key, on the 2nd worksheet of the spreadsheet, that explains how each description for facilities and youth is ranked. For example, State of the Art facilities are the best, Poor facilities are the worst. FM24 budgets and expectations.xlsx

I think the Inverted Winger sits narrower when he is out of possession (this includes when his team has the ball but he isn't the player in possession), where the Winger stays very wide and only cuts in when they are given the ball.

You picked the wrong forum mate. Some addicts have made peace with their addiction (even if it does include going on Google Maps and seeing if Canada has a good view of HFX Wanderers FC's stadium - it does not!)

Next year, if the Womens' leagues are included, we can get wife players. As a Scotland fan, I'd marry Erin Cuthbert!!!

There used to be a rule in a guide somewhere that said you should always have at least 3 Defend duties and 3 Attack duties, but even the preset formations for the various tactical styles don't follow that rule exactly. I think the old rules were: 5 Def, 2 Sup, 3 Att for defensive 4 Def, 3 Sup, 3 Att for counter 3 Def, 4 Sup, 3 Att for standard 3 Def, 3 Sup, 4 Att for positive 3 Def, 2 Sup, 5 Att for attacking Nowadays, I think most of the Counter formations are heavy on Support players.

I believe that, in real life, one of the Saudi clubs spent around £25m on the Celtic winger Jota and haven't even been able to register him because they signed bigger name players, so them spending like it's Monopoly money (and not just on world class players) seems pretty accurate.

If Isaak Toure has enough potential to make the team in a year or two, then having a 6ft9 centre back opens up a lot of options for some set piece fun!!!!

Support roles will generally defend more than Attack roles will (it's not an exact science, but I always like to think that Defend duty means stay back, Support duty means follow the play and Attack duty means get ahead of play.) You could use a Winger on Support and, if you want them to get forward more, than add the Get Forward player instruction, You should note that they will play on a slightly lower individual mentality than an Attack duty player, so they will also take less risks going forward. There will be other attributes to consider for tracking back as well, so check work rate for willingness to do the work and check stamina and natural fitness for endurance and recovery.

From my own experience with a Genoa save a few years ago, the role of a Wide Playmaker with an Attack duty pushes the wide midfielders in towards the central AM spots when you have the ball.