Dictate The Game
Latest Posts
FM22 Trailer: What can we take from it?
Every year, Football Manager fans get two days that feel like another Christmas. The most obvious is release day, when the new game becomes fully available. But the second one feels even more special, at least to me; the day when the first trailer launches. It’s unexpected, it could happen any day, and it’s guaranteed to bring up all of the hype. It marks the beginning of the new game cycle, with all new features soon to be announced and… Read More Read More
Top Tips for the transfer market in Football Manager
It’s that time of the year again! The transfer market is in full swing, with offers coming and going, contracts getting checked and renegotiated and every bit of the off-season fun. But while it can be fun for the fans to see who their team get, it’s a really stressful part of the year for managers and DoFs, and FM is no different. Fear not, though, for the DTG team comes to the rescue, with our top tips for the… Read More Read More
Tips for International Management
The Euros and Copa America are in full swing! I thought I’d try to treat you guys with a bit of a look at International Management, so let’s dive in! Scouting the National Pool The tricky thing about international management is keeping track of your players while they’re away at their parent club. Also knowing who is coming through that you should pay attention to. Obviously, the player search functions come in handy here and you can make sure you… Read More Read More
Top 10 Underrated Clubs to Manage in FM21
That time of the year is upon us and we’ve been playing Football Manager 21 for about 6 months now, maybe we need something to spice up the game and make it feel fresh and exciting again? That’s why I’ve decided to do a Top 10 Underrated Clubs to try in Football Manager 2021 list. So let’s dive in. Underrated Club – Atalanta The first club in our Underrated Clubs to Manage list is Atalanta. They seem like they are… Read More Read More
Read to win: How football books can improve your FM experience
Reading. It’s that boring thing your English teachers tried to get you into. However, I’m guessing that by now you’ve figured out, as most adults do, that it’s not reading that’s boring, it’s 19th Century novels. Any reader’s boredom often comes from the topic or style of the book or article, not the act itself. Since you’re here, I’m going to go ahead and assume football and video games are interests of yours. And since you’re reading this site you’re… Read More Read More
FM21: How To Survive In The Top Division
First of all: Congratulations! You worked hard to get your team to the promised land of the Top Division in your nation! That’s the good news. The bad news is you have to survive in the top division while competing with the big clubs on a shoestring budget in FM21. AND with a smaller amount of staff. AND with inferior players. Luckily, not all hope is lost! This is why we play Football Manager, to test ourselves against the big… Read More Read More
Total Football Journeyman: Perfecting the Attacking Trident
The theme of my last few articles has been the concept of on-the-field partnerships. And how such relationships between players have proved to be so important for some of the greatest winning teams in the history of the game. Today, nobody can think of the great Barcelona team 2000s without remembering the names of Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi. Or Chelsea team from that same period. That team dominated Premier League and Europe and was defined by the legendary trio of Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele and Michael Essien. The effect… Read More Read More
School of Thought – Develop young managers on FM
With the announcement that Julian Nagelsmann will be taking over at Bayern Munich for next season, that will make it three coaches in succession that have taken German football’s most laureate job after having worked for one of Red Bull’s network of teams. His successor at Leipzig, Jesse Marsch, comes from the same school. Others managers linked with that structure, like Marco Rose, Roger Schmidt, Oliver Glasner or Adi Hutter, are succeeding elsewhere. Red Bull academy’s influence can be seen… Read More Read More
Mastering Substitutions | A Guide To Utilising Your Bench During A Game
Did you know that the players sat with you in the dugout can be just as useful as your Starting XI? I’m sure you did – but are you using them to your full advantage? Friendlies, Cups, League games. Every game you play needs a strategy and this also extends to the bench. In this article I’m going to use the five W’s show you the key to mastering substitutions.
Because No Good Story Starts With A Glass Of Milk
We’ve all been there. That awkward moment, staring at the main menu. Struggling to decide on a save. Unable to commit. Whether a function of “decision paralysis” or a bog-standard lack of inspiration, it is a feeling any long-term Football Manager aficionado understands all too well, especially at this stage of the annual cycle. Our focus today is on how to resolve this impasse and get back to enjoying a save. How to fall back in love with the game.
Recreating Guardiola’s Tactics in FM21 – Part 2
In our previous article, we talked about the history of Pep Guardiola’s tactics and the 4-3-3 tiki taka tactic he utilized at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. In this installment, we will explore the 3-4-3 tactic he has used more recently at Manchester City. Part 1 – http://dictatethegame.com/recreating-guardiolas-tactics-in-fm21/ This of course has roots at Barcelona as well when Pep was a player. Johan Cruyff developed a similar 3-4-3 when he was Barca’s manager. In Guardiola’s tactics it’s slightly different… Read More Read More
Total Football Journeyman: Building Effective Partnerships in FM21
The theme of this article is the concept of on-the-field partnerships. And how such relationships between players have proved to be so important for some of the most successful teams in the history of the game. Today, nobody can think of Barcelona from mid-2000s without remembering the names of Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi. Or Chelsea team from that same period. Alongside Man United, it was easily the most dominant team in Premier League and Europe at the time. And the names of its legendary trio: Frank Lampard, Claude… Read More Read More
Recreating Diego Armando Maradona in FM21
I love youth development and I have a weakness for a good story. What happens when I combine the two? Well, in FM20 ”Santástico” happened. It was a blog/Twitch series managing Santos FC in Brazil, with the aim to create the next Pélé. I absolutely loved the series and I’ve been longing to do something similar in FM21. I’m so excited to announce that the time for this is now. It’s time to see if I can recreate the career… Read More Read More
Ending Poor Form in Football Manager 2021
Ending poor form with your team in Football Manager 2021 is always a frustrating experience. The highs of winning matches and trophies are addictive, but the lows of poor team form can be tough to end. This is why several tips and tricks are available to aid your cause in this, such as this article! Below I guide you through the different ways to end your team’s poor form, such as reversing low player morale and low dressing room atmosphere…. Read More Read More
Moneyball | FM21 | Part 2
Statistics, finances and transfers. Welcome back to Moneyball. In my first post of the series, I outlined what Moneyball is, the club I’d chosen to take forward, and the rules and restrictions I’ll be using this year. If you missed it, I’d recommend starting there, and also reading my FM19 edition for a wider background on the subject. This post will look at results from the end of the 20/21 season and a deep dive into one signing we’ve made… Read More Read More
Total Football Journeyman: Swiss Army Knife Method to FM Tactics
Recently, I changed my approach to both tactic creation and playing matches in FM21. I would like to share this approach with you, because it has given me a lot of joy. It’s what I call the Swiss Army Knife Method to Football Management. At its core, my approach uses a very basic 4-5-1 shape. But unlike my previous articles, which often chronicled historic tactics and teams, this guide is not about any one particular formation. It’s really about building a whole… Read More Read More
From Kingston to Kirkcudbright | PART THREE | Acclimatising Nicely
Here we go again, it’s FM21 experiment time. Prepare yourself for part three of my four part series, “From Kingston to Kirkcudbright”, which sees me make it into the New Year. For anyone who’s forgotten, I am trying to answer the question of “are football players from the UK overhyped?”
Total Football Journeyman: Le Carré Magique
When the Dutch Total Football first appeared on the international football scene in the early 1970s, it seemed to be destined for greatness. With the way Ajax was playing, football enthusiasts wondered if anyone could ever stop the Totaalvoetbal juggernaut. The expectations were set when Amsterdam club took home every European Cup between 1970 and 1973. A total of 3 European Cups! Then came the two consecutive World Cup Finals in 1974 and 1978. But in both Finals, the Flying… Read More Read More
Recreating Guardiola’s Tactics in FM21
From Barcelona to Bayern Munich to Manchester City, Pep Guardiola’s tactic have evolved football over the past decade. His key principles are rooted in ‘The Barcelona Way” possession, fluidity, and numerical advantages. His teams let the ball do the hard work and this has provided much success over the years, winning numerous Champions Leagues, League Titles and Domestic Cups. Today we will make an attempt at recreating Guardiola’s tactics in FM21.
The Five Channels: Attacking movement on Football Manager
As much as anyone loves the majestic performances of Maldini, Baresi and Bonucci, there’s nothing quite like a well-scored goal. Much like everything else in football, though, attacking and scoring are about movement as well as skill. What players do with the ball at their feet you can’t control, but you can control where they do it. Create overwhelming attacking movement on Football Manager with what I call the Five Channels..
Football Manager – Revolutionary Football?
Football tactics are a constantly evolving aspect of football. They always have been and they always will be. Over the years the tactics of our beautiful game have been revolutionised, by managers, players, teams, and nations. It’s something we maybe take for granted; revolutionary football. Take the 4-4-2 for example, someone had to be the first to use that, someone had to revolutionise football and play a formation never before seen on the green grass. So just how do we… Read More Read More
Six Teams to Manage in the MLS | FM21
The 2021 MLS season is starting in a few weeks. Now is the best time for you to start your journey on the other side of the pond on Football Manager 2021. In this FM21 guide, here are six teams to manage in the MLS. If you unsure about MLS rules and regulations, don’t fear! We have you covered with our How to Manage in the MLS guide here.
Managing your Squad during Fixture Congestion on FM21
Fixture congestion in Football Manager is hard to manage, but there are ways to improve your teams performance throughout these times. Whether you’re in the best leagues in the world, or playing multiple fixtures each week. We all want to find the best way to keep our team fit, and continue to perform. We all hear of the stories of teams first venture in to continental competitions and not being able to perform as well. This comes down to a… Read More Read More
Selling your Squad Players in FM21
Selling your squad players in FM21 can be a satisfying or frustrating experience depending on which team you are managing. Your best players are likely to be approached for a transfer, but selling your lesser known squad players can be more difficult. This article aims to give you the best tips on offering out players you want to sell and what to do when negotiating a sale. Also, advice on what to avoid when selling players is provided, as you… Read More Read More
Total Football Journeyman: Arrigo Sacchi & The Cult of Universal Player
Catenaccio and its later Zona Mista iteration, had a huge impact on Italian Football. To the point where this defensive, counter-attacking strategy embodied the meaning of Gioco all’italiana, Italian Game. For almost three decades, Italian giants like Inter, Juventus and AC Milan dominated Calcio with their risk-averse tactics. The success of Catenaccio’s Holy Trinity managers, Helenio Herrera, Nereo Rocco and Giovanni Trapattoni, encouraged copycats with their own Scudetto dreams. At the same time, any diversions towards riskier tactical approaches were… Read More Read More
Trial and Error: Guide to Trials in Football Manager
Lower leagues saves can be great fun, but it’s hard to find the right signings. Learn how to with this Guide on Trials on Football Manager.
Staff Roles in FM 2021: What Do They Do?
It’s your first day. You arrive at the club. You meet the Head of Youth Development. The Chief Scout. The Head Performance Analyst. Technical Director. Loan Manager. Head of Sports Science. Head Physio. Your head spinning, you try to make sense of the crashing wave of information pouring over you, and take the first incipient steps toward a drink problem at your lunch break. Well, worry no more, and drink a little less. We’re going to look at Staff Roles in… Read More Read More
From Kingston to Kirkcudbright | PART TWO | You Call That A Summer?
Last month I was delighted to debut my article series with “Dictate the Game”. A reminder to everyone that my FM21 experiment is set up to answer one question once and for all. That question is “are football players from the UK overhyped?”. Here we go again with “From Kingston to Kirkcudbright”. Recap There are many ways that we could delve into this question, but for those who read part one you’ll know all about my method. Yes, using FM’s… Read More Read More
Managing in the Lower Leagues in Football Manager
This is my lower league love story. It may be intimidating to start all the way down in the depths of Lower Leagues in Football Manager. You might be scared of how hard this could be to start winning, and how long it could take to work your way up to the top. Maybe you don’t have the patience? However, you may be able to find a diamond in the rough. There are many nations in Football Manager that have… Read More Read More
Moneyball | FM21 | Introduction
After looking for something to pull me back into the world of Football Manager recently, having once again failed to find myself invested in any of my saves this year, I found myself reading my old articles. Something I’ve attempted several times in the past is Moneyball. In 2019, tedious games led to a slow process. In 2020 the wrong club choice led to a low interest in the save. This year, I think I’ve found a balance. Now I… Read More Read More
The impact of the Medical Team in FM21
In a previous article I focused on the impact of one specific member of the Medical Team, the Physio. Some experiments were run using out special league and we were able to see what sort of impact a good physio (or not) can have on things like the amount of injuries, injury length and overall performance. But the Physio is but one member of the Medical Team. From the Premiership down to the lower leagues it is common for there… Read More Read More
Zona Mista: Liberos and Masters of Dark Arts
Part 3: Putting the Whole Zona Mista Tactic Together Zona Mista was not simply a counter-attacking tactic. It was a whole system centered on proactive defence and tactical disruption. That is disrupting, “mucking up” your opponent and generally preventing them from crafting anything productive on the ball. In retrospect, it’s unfortunate that this aspect of Italian Game is the reason for its infamy and hate from opponents. But it is also the reason why Zona Mista was as effective as… Read More Read More
8 more Teams to try on the Winter Update
No messing around today. Who even reads introductions? You’re all here to skip through this part and read the headings, see one that catches your interest and then load up FM. Right? Did I get away with not writing an intro? Anyways the Winter Update gave us some small changes, and we’ve looked through the patch notes (which can be found here: https://community.sigames.com/forums/topic/548954-football-manager-213-main-winter-update-out-now/) to find some fun saves for you to try! Chelsea – A familiar name in an unfamiliar… Read More Read More
How to Get Your Strikers Scoring in FM21
Knowing how to get your strikers scoring goals in FM21 is a skill worth learning. Picture the scenario: your strikers have scored a vast number of goals throughout the season, looking very threatening going forward. At some point, your striker(s) stop scoring and start missing what were previously easy chances.
Total Football Journeyman: From Mighty Magyars to Flying Dutchmen
Guide on Half-Space Control in FM21 What is the one historical football style you always wanted to recreate in Football Manager? If you, my dear reader, were to ask me then you probably won’t be surprised by my answer. Especially if you are familiar with my writing over the recent years. Mostly it’s been about recreating Total Football in the simulated world of Football Manager. Ever since FM14, I have attempted this. If my past tactical musings interest you then… Read More Read More
Aston Villa FC Club Guide
Jack Grealish is the best player in Birmingham, no doubt about that. At the moment Aston Villa is the best club in Birmingham. How do you take the next step? How do you go from relegation battles via mid-table mediocrity to break the top 6? To help you achieve that, here’s the Aston Villa FC club guide for FM21!
5 Teams You Should Manage With Winter Update | FM21
The official winter update by Sports Interactive is now out and it is the perfect opportunity to start a brand new journey in Football Manager 2021… whether you fancy staying in Britain, or making up for the lack of travel by jetting abroad in game, here are five teams you SHOULD manage in FM21 with the winter update. Wrexham This is probably the most obvious one on the list, with new Hollywood superstars owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, plenty… Read More Read More
How to Recreate Tactics on Football Manager
It’s not a stretch to say that every FM player is, to some degree, a football fan. But even as we all share the love of the beautiful game, everyone has their favourite style. Be it a possession heavy style or a deadly countering team, we all want our side playing a certain way. When the time comes to take inspiration from our favourite real-life managers, however, the job can get tricky. Fear not, for help is on the way,… Read More Read More
FM21 | Guide to Moving Clubs
There comes a time in every football manager’s career where the grass looks greener. It might be that you feel you’ve taken your current clubs as far as they can go, or you’ve received an offer you simply cannot refuse. Either way, this article should help you make the transition as smooth as possible. This is my guide to moving clubs in FM21.
Using the Similar Player Filter: Buying Like for Like in FM21
Player transfers play a huge part in most FM21 saves. That’s part of the draw of Football Manager. Whether you are in the Premiership making big money deals or down in the lower leagues fighting for scraps and free transfers. Almost all of us (I’m ignoring you hardcore youth academy challengers) have dabbled in the transfer market to improve our teams. But what if we don’t want to, or can’t afford to, upgrade our teams? What if we have a… Read More Read More
Five of the most satisfying moments in Football Manager
Football Manager is always full of ups and downs, but there are moments in the game where you get that immense joy. I want to talk about the five most satisfying moments in Football Manager, which have really filled me with happiness. This article is slightly different to my usual style. An old article I wrote on our previous site about why Football Manager is more than a game gave me inspiration to write this. We all know during this… Read More Read More
The Title Defense: 4 Principles
So, you’ve won the title. You’ve worked hard, dragged your team up the leagues, and finally won the national title. How do you keep it? This article aims to help you with your Title Defense.
From Kingston to Kirkcudbright | PART ONE | And So It Begins…
As a new writer for “Dictate the Game”, I am delighted to start my first article. Entitled, ‘From Kingston to Kirkcudbright‘, this debut piece is going to take readers on a journey that comes in the form of an FM21 experiment. The article will be looking to answer a question we possibly think we already know the answer to… “Are football players from the UK overhyped?” And whilst plenty of research into this topic has been done in real-life (see… Read More Read More
Every Club Vision | Premier League | FM21
In this FM21 guide, we will be showing you every FM21 Premier League team’s club vision. Club Vision is a vital part of Football Manager 2021 and underlines your time at the club for many years to come. Failure to meet the proposed club vision could lead to putting your job at serious risk. You can also check out our Club Vision guide for the MLS here. Arsenal Arsenal haven’t fared too well since the departure of their greatest ever… Read More Read More
FM21 – Get the most out of your players
Footballers are humans. Albeit sometimes very well paid, slightly pampered, self entitled and warped, but human non the less. Football Manager gives you the opportunity to dictate these humans virtual lives, and I’ll wager that some of them have tried and tested your patience to the point of almost disliking the real life version of said player, even though he hasn’t wronged you in any way. Read on to find learn some secrets of how to get the most out… Read More Read More
FM21: 10 Databases to freshen up your save
It’s that time of year for some people; you’re either 5 years deep in a save on vanilla databases, building your squad season upon season. You’re pushing for a title and with one more regen (sorry newgen, force of habit) striker and a good injury free run you’re in with a shout as champion. You’ve won a cup or two but don’t really matter, it’s all about that elusive league trophy. In an alternative universe you are at a crossroads:… Read More Read More
FM21: Starting a Non-League Save
We all enjoy leading our team to major trophies in FM21, but for those who have not started a non-league save (in any country), it is a different world from managing a top tier club. From little money to less training time, starting a non-league save can be jarring for new and older fans.
Zona Mista: FM21 Recreation
This is the follow-up to my last piece, which was the first part in the Zona Mista tactic guide. It can be found here. Whereas that article gave an introduction to the Catenaccio roots of Italian Game, this one will examine the player roles you will actually need to set up the Italian counter-attacking style in FM21.
Alternative Signings: Positional Switches on FM
Navigating the turbulent waters of the transfer market is one of the great pleasures of playing Football Manager; finding that future world-beater, snatching that top-class player on a free from a rival, or simply closing a long wanted signing. But sometimes, be it through budget limitations or time constraints, it’s hard to find the players you need. When necessity becomes urgent, it’s time for some improvisation. Here are five positional switches you can try and pull off with alternative signings… Read More Read More